Menu Testing

On Thursday last week Russell had to cook up and test out the whole proposed menu for ‘The Cheerful Soul’ under the scrutinising eye of Raymond Blanc and our mentor John Lederer, who you may remember as being one of the judges on series one of ‘The Restaurant’.
It was a lot of work to create one of each dish at the same time. We both got our chef whites on and got cooking. We presented all the dishes along with the costing for each dish down to the last gram of flour.
Their favourite dish was a Rhubarb Trifle, it was quite flattering to have chefs walking around Le Manoir kitchen eating Russell’s Rhubarb Trifle saying ‘that’s delicious’.

There were a couple of other dishes they really liked, one of which was this Ham Terrine served with Russell’s cauliflower piccalilli.

Don’t think the menu testing was by any way smooth and easy – oh no! Raymond and the others don’t just want the food to be OK. They want it to be really good so they were critical of every little aspect – things that most of us wouldn’t think twice about gets noticed by Raymond Blanc. He always gets his hands stuck in and rearranges things on the plate!

So the outcome was that we had a few dishes staying just the way they are, a few that will be changed slightly – different accompaniments, arranged differently etc, and a few we will change completely. It was the first time Russell had cooked up all the dishes on the menu so he decided he didn’t like them all either.

A chef’s work is never done – back to the kitchen Russell!

The quest begins...

It is hard to decide exactly what you want from a restaurant when someone says they are going to help you get one.
We have always dreamed of what our restaurant would look like and where it would be but it has all just been daydreaming and now it is a real decision.
We have looked at so many very different restaurants that we have been around the country about 4 times and our poor, battered little Micra decided to shed its exhaust just for some piece and quiet.
Of course we want the premises to be lovely and we want a garden for guests to sit outside in the summer with a nice glass of wine and delicious summer lunch BUT first and foremost it has to work as a business so we need to make sure it is the right size, is in an area where people want to come and eat out and not too far away from civilization.

We found one that we couldn’t stop thinking about! A place that we walked in and it felt like home, it is in Surrey, but in typical Michele and Russell style it is a complex proposition! We don’t like to make things too easy for ourselves (perhaps this is why we decided to do a reality TV show to get help opening a restaurant rather than just ask a bank for some money – on second thoughts given the current climate maybe there is some sense there after all!) We have to first take Raymond Blanc to get his approval and then the financial deal needs to be done so we don’t know if we will be there yet.
We also stopped in on James and Ali’s old restaurant from the show (it is now called ‘The Hare and Hounds’) while we were out looking just to have a look around. It was great timing as we incidentally met up with one of the owners who offered us a lovely lunch; they had just changed their menu so they were trying it out on us and it really was nice. They have taken on a new chef who speaks with a strong Californian accent and has an American flag wrapped around his head like a bandana so as not to leave you in any doubt of his origins – he still cooks a mean English fish pie. If we can’t have the one in Surrey we would like to find somewhere just like that.
Then we looked around a pub restaurant near Oxford it is well out the way of any towns so you would have to drive there, it is a really lovely building and has a garden but we don’t like the fact that it is so far away from anything we always think ‘why would you drive when you can walk somewhere?’
You could help us out by letting us know what you think. Where would you like us to be and why? Where needs a good restaurant? What do you think about the places we have mentioned?
If you prefer to email rather than post on the blog contact us at keepintouch@thecheerfulsoulrestaurant.co.uk and we will also add you to our address book to let you know what happens next.

Cooking demonstration at Brasserie Blanc

Russell and Raymond Blanc cooking.

No like this!!! you English pig.

Raymond Blanc came to Brasserie Blanc Bristol today to cook with 5 competition winner from local papers. Russell joined in and lead the Mussels demonstration...

...Raymond wanted to test out Russells Mussels!

You can watch Russell undergoing the mussel test by clicking this link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5965824160110200990

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year to all!

One of the questions we are being asked a lot is “where is your restaurant?” the answer is, we still don’t know.
We are looking for a premises and it is a big job in itself to find the right place.
All we know is that the restaurant will be not too far from Great Milton in Oxford where Raymond Blanc is based. We are both really looking forward to finding the right place and as soon as we do we will let you know.
We are currently still working in Brasserie Blanc but concentrating a lot more on creating all the paperwork needed for our restaurant. We will be creating a restaurant with the same kind of atmosphere as we did on the show, relaxed and welcoming and filled with cheer. During the show we were supposed to create our dream restaurant, but as you know we didn’t have a choice of location or a very big budget or much time to makeover the restaurant so we created as close a representation as we could with all the constraints we had. The food will be British ‘brasserie’ style, simple recipes but beautifully cooked with fresh ingredients, similar to that created on the show but again we will have a lot more time to plan and prepare dishes. Russell is currently working on creating you delicious menus.
Our aim is to be open by May but it really depends on when we find the right premises.

The Wright Stuff - Living and working together...

Part 1

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HuxHZsaKNWU

Part 2

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=P27-J4iNI5g

Love Food Hate Waste...

Click this link to read about 'Colchesters Tastiest Leftovers' where we got to be the judges!

http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/3859427.Colchester__TV_s_The_restaurant_winners_turn_the_tables/

Click this link to read more about the 'Love Food, Hate Waste' campaign...

Russell the waiter.

Michele skipped to work like one of her beloved bunnies this morning. She tells me it was because of her new "Air-Ware"(tm) soles but I think it was about 30% Clarks and 70% joie de vivre at not having to go back into "that bloody kitchen". I am happy to report she is now firmly entrenched at the hostess desk where she belongs and has been looking after me during my journey to the other side. Kitchen work is very focused and even though you are working in a team it can be a bit solitary, even introvert so it was really useful to be able to connect with customers directly and see what they thought of their experience. Working out front has re-enforced my view that a good host is essential and no matter how good the food is guests will not return if the service and atmosphere are not right.

Running up and down stairs with peoples dinner was quite fun even though I did chuck somebody's chips all over the table (which they were very nice about - nothing wrong with a few table chips). The kitchen team has five bells to call the waiters and every time a bowl of soup is ready it sounds like Westminster Cathedral after a Royal wedding, I think we will just have one.

My "best bit" of being out front was working behind the bar. I find it quite creative and involves working with your hands so I guess it has similarities with cooking but you also get to interact with guests, like a best of both. Thanks to Esther for showing me the skills and also thanks to Joe barman who makes the best Lattes this side of Keynsham.

Time to get back in my hole now, I'll report back on what I've been doing if Michele lets me out again!