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Back on the air

Hi Folks,

We have been off the air for a short time due a hacker attack, which turned the website into a Palestinian propaganda tool. After upgrading our blogging package, we hope that these problems are behind us.

Still the upgrade has knobbled one or two modifications to the the original package: for example, the Pot Luck feature no longer jumps to the recipe, but hopefully I'll figure that out over the next day or two. Also the formatting is slightly different than before so the layout of articles is a big hit and miss. Again, I hope to address that over the next while.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Gavin

Aubergine Slices with Walnuts and Garlic

This Georgian-influenced meze is known as Cevizli Patlican in Turkey. It is simple to make and tastes delicious, despite the prodigious amounts of garlic involved. You certainly won't be bothered by vampires after this dish, but gently frying the garlic and mixing it with walnuts mellows the flavour a lot. Try to get hold of walnuts that have not been stored for too long as they can taste bitter, but this can be compensated by blanching briefly and drying well in a very low oven.

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Beetroot and Yoghurt Salad

Beetroot and yoghurt seem to be a match made in heaven. The sweetness of the beetroot complements the natural tartness of the yoghurt. Various combinations are found all over the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. For some reason it's also very popular in Sweden. I've presented two recipes here: the absolute simplest and a delicious posh version that's just scrumptious.

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Food Report: Restaurant d'Aumale, Hotel de Bourgtheroulde, Rouen

We were recently in the fair city of Rouen in Normandy. On our meanderings through the town doing touristy things, we also kept an eye out for nice places for dinner. We came across the fantastic-looking five-star Hotel de Bourgtheroulde on Place de la Pucelle, thought the restaurant looked promising and booked dinner for later that evening.

We arrived at 8pm and were shown to a table for four that had been trimmed to two as all the proper tables for two had apparently already been booked. The table was also near the service area, which was not great but did offer some insights to subsequent events.

We were repeatedly asked whether we were ready to order when it was very clear that we were not. It would have been more appropriate to ask if we needed any help translating the menu, since French is not our mother tongue. Normally, closing the menus is a sign that one is ready to order. Service from the head waiter was brusque and unfriendly. After ordering the food and the wine, an amuse-bouche arrived. As we were seated near the service area I could see that our starters arrived before we had even finished our amuse-bouche. This was not so critical as both starters were cold dishes.

We were beginning to worry that dinner would be over much too quickly. To our horror, this was confirmed when we saw that our main courses arrived from the kitchen before we were finished eating our starters. Both main courses were hot dishes, which had cooled down by the time they were served and hence were not in peak condition.

There was absolutely no break between amuse-bouche, starter and main course. This would be bad at a cheap restaurant but it is unforgiveable at an expensive one.

We did not want dessert but rather were looking forward to the cheese course. I requested the wine list so that we could order a glass of red wine to accompany the cheese. The head waiter bluntly informed me that only bottles of red wine were available: no half bottles or glasses. I find this very strange. It is not acceptable that I should buy a complete bottle of wine when all I require is a glass with my cheese. Even if this is the case, the rude and unprofessional manner of the waiter was unacceptable. I would have expected some flexibility from a five star establishment: maybe a glass of wine could have been sourced from the brasserie or the bar. It is little things like this that make great restaurants.

When we declined to buy a whole bottle of red wine, the waiter seemed to go on "autopilot" and asked us whether we wanted cheese, dessert and coffee. It was like he was reading from a script. We declined all three and just asked for the bill. We left the restaurant one hour after we entered. That may be fine at lunchtime but it is just not good enough in the evening. We mentioned our dissatisfaction at the reception desk. While I could see their concern, all they offered was a business card with an e-mail address. This suggests a lack of training in dealing with complaints, which will occur from time to time even in the best-run business.

So to summarise, we unfortunately had a most negative experience in this restaurant. We felt rushed and unwelcome. The attitude of the head waiter was extremely rude and unprofessional. We have never been treated in such a manner anywhere before. Unfortnately I could not recommend this restaurant further, in fact I would have to advise that staying away would be the best course of action.

PS: Most of the text in this post was sent to the e-mail address supplied by reception. Surprise, surprise - absolutely no reaction.

Gortnanain Vegetarian Guesthouse and Organic Farm, Co. Cork

Some very good friends kindly gave us a voucher for Gortnanain Vegetarian Guesthouse and Organic Farm, which we used last weekend. This guesthouse is situated in the rolling countryside just outside Kinsale in Co. Cork and consists of the small guesthouse itself and around 9 acres of land given over to growing a staggering array of vegetables and to a lesser, but increasing, extent fruit. The bulk of this produce is used to supply a handful of restaurants in Cork city, including one of the world's great vegetarian restaurants - Dennis Cotter's Cafe Paradiso.

Not only do Lucy and Ultan tend the crops, they also do a great job as hosts and chefs for dinner and breakfast. After arriving, we were given a nice cup of tea and had a great chat. We also got to meet the house's other permanent residents, Snapple and Bramble - head rabbit catchers on the farm. There was one other couple staying that night: Michael and Lorna from NYC. Everyone - guests and hosts alike - sits around the big kitchen table for dinner.

The dinner menu is fixed, but Lucy did ask when we booked, whether we had any preferences or allergies; and they work out the menu based on that information and whatever is available in the garden. Gortnanain has no wine licence but provides a glass or two on the house and you can, of course, bring your own. Dinner was excellent, especially the tomato salad, which completely changed my views on the merits of beefsteak tomatoes. These were ripe to perfection and bursting with flavour. The conversation was great and continued after we retired to the lounge for tea and coffee. Lucy and Ultan's take on organic was very refreshing. They are committed to local organic food because being near, it's in peak condition, and organic farming is so much better for the environment. They made no claims that it's necessarily better for you: for that they'd rather wait for conclusive scientific evidence. Mind you, I think it's obvious that they believe it.

Next day, after a delicious breakfast, Ultan gave a tour of the farm. It was quite astonishing, what could be produced from a small plot. As we wandered up and and down drills of various vegetables in glorious sunshine, with Ultan weeding as we went, it was quite obvious the amount of work that goes into producing such great vegetables. You must need huge commitment to be doing this on the many rainy days we have.

I can't recommend Gortnanain highly enough and would urge you to spend a night or two if you're ever in the area. I know we're looking forward to our next visit.