La Becasse, Shropshire - Review

La Becasse

Category: Michelin Stared
La Becasse, 17 Corve Street, Ludlow, Shropshire. SY8 1DA Tel: 01584 872325
Head Chef: Will Holland (Alan Murchison Restaurants Ltd)

La Becasse, Corve Street, Ludlow/

PIG's Head Starter/

Lamb Main Course

Kelly & Victoria in the 1st Floor Lounge Bar

The Bill!

Andrew & Victoria at the Globe, Ludlow, "Post La Becasse"

If you are Visiting Ludlow, Shropshire and you have remembered to book in advance then you would be mad to miss out on this lovely restaurant. I remember it as The Oak Room, Ken Adams before Passing to Claude and Claire Bosi, Hibiscus which has now relocated to London (again well worth a visit...)

Will Holland a regular on Saturday kitchen makes you proud to be from Shropshire, with the menu championing local food producers and the care and attention that goes into the food La Becasse makes it my favourite stared restaurant.


This particular occasion we dined with friends Andrew and Victoria also regular patrons and foodies but this was their first time at La Becasse. We all chose from varying menus with myself starting with the PIG' HEAD, Jellied pig's head ballontine, chickpea salsa, preserved lemon, caramelised onion hummus (as pictured... slightly eaten!)

Followed by Lamb, Confit lamb breast farced with pine nuts, rosemary and capers, sprouting broccoli, anchovies and salsa Verdi (pictured below)

Strawberry & Warm lemon curd crepe, a strawberry, olive oil and basil salad and also a black pepper caramel and strawberry sorbet with Sparkling wine.

I'm not going to analyse the dishes as food is to be enjoyed and chefs cook because they love creating great food as we the customers love eating it! I will say the dessert for me was the high point, I had previously tasted the Pigs head and the lamb although wonderful could not top the Crepe and sorbet, let's be honest who would normally read black pepper and olive oil on a dessert menu? It's having a final course that leaves you longing more that makes you remember the experience.

Until next time... thank you La Becasse for such a memorable lunch, see you very soon!!

Service: 9 Tight, Crisp and Unobtrusive as you would expect (felt a little stuffy this time opposed to more relaxed when we visited last)
Cleanliness: 9 Exceptional, it's clean and you can imagine how immaculate the kitchen must be!
Drinks: 9 Cocktails were lovely if a little pricy!
Food: 8 yes only 8 (Food Choice maybe? But 10 for dessert) Nothing really stood out this time, maybe spoilt last visit with the tasting menu!
Rooms: None (although the oak dining room is lovely although very little natural light and the upstairs lounge is extremely comfortable and relaxing.

De Vere Mottram Hall, Cheshire - Review

De Vere Mottram Hall, Cheshire

6th June 2011,
Venue: The Classique, De Vere Mottram Hall, Wilmslow Road, Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire. SK10 4QT.Organiser: Vicky Collins, White Events, Studio One, 138 Banks Road, West Kirby, Wirral. CH48 0RF

</

Cedric Pioline - Reached Wimbledon final in 1997, great player and extremely entertaining to watch.

'The Classique'

Henri Leconte - French professional, what a character! Added lots of fun to the proceedings.

</

Richard Krajicek - Wimbledon winner in 1996 where he defeated Pete Sampras. (Krajiek enjoyed lots of banter with the crowd! A really good sport!)

Jeremy Bates - Long serving as British Number One.

Itinerary for each day

Veuve Clicquot Champagne Reception
Gourmet 3 course lunch served in the Gallery,
including complimentary fine wines
Play commences
High Tea

Play resumes

- The Clicq Bar will remain open following play

What a fantastic day, being so close to World tennis stars of recent years, especially leading up to Queens and Wimbledon it all felt like the summer had started properly...until it poured with rain!
Not dampening our spirits Lunch was perfectly acceptable and dissected and analysed by my table hosts Mark, Jamie and Rob from the Liverpool based catering company Pickled Walnut who themselves cater for many of these events during the summer season... a welcome and deserved day off for them to sample some of the competitions fair!

Category: Outside Caterers

Service: 5, Very average, young girls looked like the typical temp's, pleasant but not polished!
Cleanliness:5, Marquee was smart and clean, table setting good but lots off odd crockery! Should have hired from Catering Centre UK!
Drinks: 7, Champagne easy and the table wines and waters displayed well in large wine buckets, plenty of it too!
Food: 5, Average Quality with lots of bought in components, catering for the masses at a budget...
Rooms: - Did not stay at Mottram hall although a De Vere hotel you would expect to be of a good standard. Lovely setting and grounds! 9 out of 10 for outside!

Nandos Review

Nandos

Category: Restaurant / Take Away

Nandos - Don't ask Duarte if it's traditional Portuguese, and don't get his father started on the subject! We're not sure where or why the Portuguese are famous for anything related to Nandos... but another marketers dream to brand and chain a chicken restaurant!

A step up from KFC, expensive for what you get... know what you will get next time... buy into the brand and availability, everything we as fresh, local food lovers hate!
Hats off to them, it's a good concept and operation...it was packed!

Service: 9, Very Good, (better than expected, probably lucky with the team they have working as they were very enthusiastic)
Cleanliness: 6, not bad considering the turnover of tables.
Drinks: 5, average choices, Nice to have the help yourself refill on soft drinks.
Food: 7, Quality good, Not a lot of chicken, I bet they hit their GP well!
Rooms:, None

TGI Fridays (Birmingham) Review

TGI Fridays - Birmingham

Venue: 180 Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham. B16 9NY Tel: 0844 372 7902

TGI Fridays, I should have known better to call in at the Birmingham TGI Fridays after never having a great experience in both in the UK and New York. However I had seen the Birmingham TGI's had been refitted in recent years and Kelly had mentioned she had never been, to add a little further persuasion, some good friends of ours are frequent visitors and highly recommend. So we pulled off the Hagley road and went in.

Seated in a tall booth, our first impression was that it was very busy for 5pm on a Sunday...and by very I mean "Very"! That said we decided to get an order in ASAP as we may have a wait on our hands!

Easier said than done! It took 15 - 20mins before we were acknowledged by the staff, and then I had to remind them we would also like a drink with our order, which took a further 10mins to arrive! It seemed we were keeping the waiter from a job far more important than serving us, as it felt we had to coerce the waiter to stay at the table so we could actually order! As a rule of thumb… you know when things start badly they rarely recover!

We expected a reasonable wait and the food was delivered after about 25mins which was fine as we expected a far longer wait but getting more drinks and the waiters attention was like waiting for my invite to the Royal Wedding... it never came! (I'm still sticking by it was lost in the post!!)

The food was what you would expect, salt laden, sticky mass produced corporate chain food with fried sides... great when you want that hit of food but rather too salty for me!

In the near hour we waited for, first of all, service and then the food, we did see first-hand the exceptionally inept cleaning skills of the staff... frustrating to say the least, I felt like getting up and training them myself. Exactly how hard is it to clean a table? They wiped all the meal debris on to the seats, squirted some "Cleaning Solution" on the table then wiped over with a dirty cloth. Basically just smearing all the leftovers across the table!

We watched several customers be seated and every time if noticed the people had to wipe food off the seats before sitting down. If this is how they operate front of house just imagine what a un-organised mess the kitchen must be in?!

Poor service, bad cleanliness, salty food... I now realise the secret to running an extremely busy and profitable restaurant!
So if you're in Birmingham and thinking of popping into TGI's, my advice…. don't bother!

Service: 1, and I only give that because there were actually staff there, in body only!
Cleanliness: 2, complete joke!
Drinks: 8, for menu, when you finally get them.
Food: 5
Rooms: None

CCUK Weston Park Review

Weston Park

Category: Hotel, Restaurant, Farm shop
Reviewer: RichardVenue: Weston Park, Weston Under Lizzard, Nr Shifnal, TF11 8LE. Tel. 01952 852100 Web: www.weston-park.com

To Be the first Rated on the New Catering Centre UK website is going to set the bench mark rather high, as how do I rate such a Jewel, of not just Staffordshire, but the whole of England!

My wife Kelly and I had been invited to attend our good friends Matthew and Sarah's Wedding with the ceremony to be held in St Andrews Church located on the Estate and followed by, in the main house, a wedding breakfast served in the Victorian Orangery.
After approaching through the Shrewsbury Gate and driving through wonderful picturesque parkland where they hold such events as the ever popular V festival, we pulled outside the main house under the portico where we were met by a traditional "footman" who arranged for the removal of our luggage and the parking of my car. We were then swiftly escorted to our room, "The Four Poster Room" where we overlooked some of the estates formal gardens and the 'capability' Brown Parkland. You could not help but feel in oar of the years of history and the sites this historic house had laid witness to.

After a lovely Marriage ceremony we proceeded back to the main house where champagne and strawberry's were served by the rather competent and cheery waiting staff. After some informal photos and a enjoyable stroll through the formal gardens where we had the perfect opportunity to catch up with some old friends that a flown in from the middle east. We were then called to take our seats in the Victorian Orangery and after passing through the marble Hall and spectacular dining room, which can quite comfortably seat 40plus guests. We were not disappointed with the setting as we entered into the Orangery with its Natural stone walls,floor and glazed exterior, one can only imagine the exotic fruits and plants which were once cultivated in this magnificent space.

Seated on round tables of 10 guests, with an oval top table for the bride and groom and their immediate family. The room itself was well spaced out and the table settings were immaculate, as I would have expected for Weston Park!
The wine was poured by the waiting staff who delivered us firstly with a rather pleasant Sauvignon Blanc followed by a Cabernet Savignon before our main course was served along with it homemade bread, although the waitress missing me out in the first round was frustrating, I was lucky to partake on her second visit to the table.

Terrine of Smoke Salmon, herb cream cheese with lemon along with capers and coriander oil was delivered next with the skill and speed that you would expect, the waiters would tray down the plates from the main house kitchen where two of the senior staff, dressed wearing tails, presented the food. It was a very well executed service, one I'm sure which has been carried out many times to ensure perfection.
It was a wonderfully light starter and, like any good dish, left me wanting more. The tower of cleanly cut salmon layered with the cream cheese was delicate and refined, mouth wateringly good and an excellent dish for banqueting.

The wine flowed and the chatter continued, I didn't even notice the table being cleared and the wine being replenished! We had plenty of table water which was also replenished without having ask, a simple thing but so often forgotten at large functions. Our Main course of Duck arrived and was perfectly warm and well presented considering the travel time! Perfectly cooked I'm guessing with a Combi (Rational perhaps?)which left the Breast moist and with the hint of pink, again a tried and tested dish perfected for this occasion no doubt, this was served along with table vegetables, although once gone they were not replenished, which left some of the larger appetites on my table expecting more!

By now the wine had been flowing and the Red was very drinkable, served from the Artis Perception Wine Glasses. I later found out they prefer to use for functions to reduce the crystal breakages! (I have some 10,000 Perception Glasses on the Event Hire, so was rather pleased to see them used at Weston Park)
Dessert of pear and mixed nut treacle tart with vanilla ice cream was a soft sweet ending to what felt like a lovely light wedding breakfast, the meal was completed with coffee and petit fours before the champagne and speeches.

As we relaxed, after the speeches with a bar service in the Marble Hall, the room was swiftly transformed for the live band and dancing that followed. Although vast in size the Main House at Weston park is one of the most relaxing and comfortable venues I have been lucky enough to attend, it felt personal and not complicated, the staff were courteous and friendly without intruding and a credit to Graham Curry the Head Butler.
As the main house is not a hotel and you can only stay as a invited guest this adds to the charm and if I'm honest the attraction of Weston park. To be able to walk the corridors where great Poets and Artists, Kings and Queens and in recent years World Leaders have been, leaves the most wonderful lasting memories of both seeing our close friends Marry and the wonderful setting supplied by Weston Park.

Service 8, very pleasing and hugely above average considering they are not full time serving staff.
Cleanliness 9, a credit to the back of house team.
Drinks 7, limited range as to be expected and lacking something with basic pub bar glasses.
Food 9, excellent, the best banqueting food I can remember.
Rooms 9, if you can fall in love with a room!!!! Excellent (except en-suite across landing, although adds to the charm)