Yesterday I received a tweet then a
phone call from one of the producers of BBC 1’s Breakfast show - in response to
an article published in the Independent Newspaper
(see here)
They were after a food blogger to talk about the rights and wrongs / dos and
don’t of the ever increasing trend of diners taking photos of food in restaurants.
A handful of restaurateurs in New
York (especially) have decided to ban photography altogether. David Chang who
runs the Momofuku restaurants has never permitted photography in his 2 Michelin
starred ‘Ko’ (This didn’t stop me blogging about it – see
here).
 |
| Marc Wilkinson's Michelin starred Fraiche |
This is unusual (unheard of?) in
British restaurants but I do believe some restraint and respect for other
diners and the chefs is needed.
In the article three for the North
West’s finest chefs, Marc Wilkinson (of Michelin starred Friache), Aiden Byrne
and Simon Rogan offer their opinions that seem to generally agree with mine.
Another opinion was offered by my fellow bloggers (and excellent photographers),
The Critical Couple.
When I take pictures I always use my
small, compact Panasonic Lumix LX5 camera. I never use flash and try and to be
as discrete as possible.
I have seen people getting out of
their seat to take pictures at different angles; getting their dining
companions to hold plates at different angles; using tripods and cameras with
interchangeable lenses (many of which, I’m guessing, are considerably larger
than their penis.)
I have seen some blogs where people seemingly
take a photograph after every bite… I rarely do this unless wanting to show off
a perfectly poached egg, a pink juicy steak or an oozing chocolate pudding.
Of course, I wasn’t the BBC’s first
choice but Food Blogger / Journalist Simon Binns who writes Eat / Drink / Manchester
(see here) was unable to
make the entire show.
Despite the fact that it would have
made my ole’ mum proud; with a face much more suited to radio than TV I decided
to turn down the offer of this potential route to international stardom and
instead set my alarm to ridiculous o’clock to watch Mr Wilkinson and Mr Binns
offer their opinions.
If you were also lucky enough to be
dining at Fraiche one Sunday lunchtime in November last year, it may have been
me at the other table taking photos of every course. If you were, I apologise
if my picture taking in anyway intruded on your enjoyment of the excellent
experience Fraiche strive to offer.
To Marc, I apologise if any of my
pictures do not ‘do justice’ to your food (hopefully that’s where my words come
into play).
To any readers that, a) were not
there, or b) are not Marc Wilkinson – I hope the pictures tempt you enough to
make a booking and go and experience (and perhaps photograph) Fraiche’s amazing
food for yourself!
Course / Photoset 1: Goat’s cheese
cream with edible soil, grissini and beetroot and seaweed wafers.
Course / Photoset 2: A dish inspired
by the a ‘Spanish Omelette’ – quail’s egg, chorizo jelly, crispy shallots,
potato cream and, an ingredient that would improve many a Spanish
Tortilla… a few shavings of the
excellent Montgomery Cheddar.
Course / Photoset 3: Fraiche’s usual
bread selection, Mk.1: Cheese, Five Nut, Mixed Seed and Granary & Treacle.
Course / Photoset 4: Scallops with
smoked butter and lime served alongside a Scallop Ceviche with clams, oyster
leaf, yuzu jelly with samphire and brioche.
Course / Photoset 5: Fraiche’s usual
bread selection, Mk.2: Organic Oat, Tomato, Mushroom and Black Olive.
Course / Photoset 6: Monkfish Tail
with black olive, chive and hazelnut crust. Garnished with blood orange gelée,
black olive purée, hazelnut powder and a black rice crisp.
Course / Photoset 7: Black Face Suffolk
Lamp Rump with pea shoots, pea purée, braised salsify, Girolles, roasted
shallots and a mustard and mint dressing.
Course / Photoset 8: ‘Cheese brûlée’
of Camembert, cherries, hazelnut, almond and pan d’épices and a Sour Cherry
Pannacotta with dehydrated grapes.
Course / Photoset 9: My cheese
selection - Munster, Bleu de Basque, Taupiniere, Époisses de Bourgogne and
Camembert Calvados and, knowing it’s my favourite, James squeezed a little
wedge of Livarot on the slate too. To go with the fairly typical quality cheese
selection at Fraiche I particularly enjoyed the new condiment on the menu of
Pickled Blueberries made with blueberry vinegar and thyme.
Course / Photoset 10: After Eight
with chocolate and mint textures – snow, soil, granita, sorbet and shards of
meringue and tempered chocolate and Vanilla Rice Pudding with fresh mango,
mango sorbet, topped with a nutty wafer.
Course / Photoset 11: As usual, I
ended the meal with a fresh mint tea and a selection of petit fours including a
bit of table theatre with an espuma gun and a dewar of liquid nitrogen.
‘Three is a crowd’ but my wife, my
camera and me will be at Fraiche on Valentine’s Night. My wife and I will be
sharing our love for each other and a love for Fraiche and Marc’s food.
Afterwards, I’ll be sharing my love for Marc’s food with you!
Tweet
Follow @HungryHoss
No comments:
Post a Comment