260467 Tue Oct 02 08:16:44 -0700 2001 18 26 International 0 1376435 Does Jamie have a restaurant in london and what is it like ? ? Do tell. thanks, Tue Oct 02 08:16:44 -0700 2001 0 les 1 1376437 He whose face was made for slapping does indeed give his name ( if not that often his presence ) to a restaurant these days. It is called Monte's and is in Sloane St. It is in a private members club and open to suckers ( I mean paying xutomers of course ) for lunch and is members ( an appropriate term for those foolish enough to dine there ) only in the evening The menu is faux italian with essence of "nicked from everybody else" and there are not enough hot needles in this world that could be poked into my eyes to make me go there. But if that slimy fake cockney oik cooking crappy italian food schtick lights your candle, knock yourself out. S Tue Oct 02 08:55:48 -0700 2001 1376435 0 Simon Majumdar 2 1376440 Uh, Simon, how do you really feel? Tue Oct 02 12:36:02 -0700 2001 1376437 0 rossi 2 1376473 I am not a Jamie Oliver lover by any means but Mr Majumdar, have you even eaten there ? I have, and while it is unspectacular to say the least it was not too bad (I wasn't paying however). Also, remember that Jamie Oliver is nowhere near that kitchen, he's merely a consultant. You think he has time to get his hands dirty with his busy Sainsbury's filming schedule ? Nah ... I have enjoyed some of your messages on this board over the months but if you are going to be a critic, make sure you've at least eaten there. Thu Oct 04 08:18:38 -0700 2001 1376437 0 AL 3 1376474 The point of my messaqe was that there is no way I would eat there. And there are plenty of other reasons to be a critic of Oliver not least taking on the bastard role of consultant. Thu Oct 04 09:02:06 -0700 2001 1376473 0 Simon Majumdar 4 1376475 Fair point. Where do you eat in London as a matter of interest ? I would be very interested in any recommendations you have. Thanks. Thu Oct 04 09:24:11 -0700 2001 1376474 0 AL 5 1376486 You're new here, aren't you? Thu Oct 04 12:52:55 -0700 2001 1376475 0 ironmom 6 1376530 This is brilliant, so many people have been raving about this jumped up little twat, that it's a real relief to read some agreeable comments. The one thing JO has done is to get the young people interested in cooking, albeit a "throwinthepan" type of thing but at least it's not just reheating a frozen pizza!! Sat Oct 06 08:50:12 -0700 2001 1376486 0 Lindsay Freeman 7 1376597 please don't under estimate young people. Fri Oct 12 10:12:45 -0700 2001 1376530 0 laura 8 1376919 I am not underestimating young people, I've spent most of my working life teaching young people how to cook, but not many of them were interested. JO has done a good job in getting their interest but he's not more than a sous-chef who got lucky. Unlike other chefs around who are truly masters of their craft. For me the one chef who is truly great is Raymond Blanc. Sat Nov 03 04:53:02 -0800 2001 1376597 0 Lindsay Freeman 4 1376489 Simon, I too, would bear the blindness of a thousand needles before patronizing venture related (even remotely) to that jackass. I'd rather be strapped to a chair and made to watch endless episodes of Emeril's sitcom than be forced to endure a split second of Jamie Oliver doing anything. I certainly wouldn't feel obligated to actually eat at a restaurant he's connected to just to be able to steer people away from it. My question: What in the HELL is he doing on television? Thu Oct 04 14:27:30 -0700 2001 1376474 0 Greg Spence 5 1376493 I would have no problem if he was just making a buck and that was it. We all have to make a living. But, this is a man who thinks what he is/says/does matters He has in the last few weeks told the world that he has done more for food in the UK than anyone for 200 years. Immodest, Moi? Since most of his "recipes" compare badly with Margaritte Patten's from the second world war, a bit rich He has criticised MPW ( who deserves all the criticism the world can heap on him but not from this cretin ) for "going commercial" I guess this was in between Sainsbury's adverts He also said that cooking in the US was about 50 years behind the UK. Charlie Trotter anyone? The truth is that he is a crummy sous chef who has struck lucky. Perfectly fine if you want to make a few quid but don't go believing it. It is the equivalent of N'sync wanting to make that difficult "grown up" album. When they mix it with the pro's it makes their flaws all the more glaring God I hate hime with every last sinew of my being Thu Oct 04 15:41:06 -0700 2001 1376489 0 Simon Majumdar 6 1376583 I agree with Simon that Oliver is a joke, although I have eaten at Monte's and think the food was moderately good for some, but not all, dishes. As for Oliver's statement about having done a great deal for UK cooking, I agree that's ludicrous. While the evolution of cooking in a country is collaborative and nobody should be taking credit, I would have to say the Roux brothers have made significant contributions (speaking as a francophile with respect to food). For example, Albert Roux has helped train: (1) Michel Roux, Jr, of course, (2) Nico Ladenis, (3) MPW (whose system I dislike), and (4) Ramsay (and possibly, even Wareing) (whose cooking I appreciate a great deal). MPW in turn played some role in the emergence of (1) Novelli (dislike),(2) chef at Fat Duck, and (3) Phillip Howard at The Square (like). Michel Roux produced (1) Alain Roux and Mark Dobson, the chefs at Waterside Inn (like a great deal), and (2) Pierre Koffman (like a great deal). Pierre Koffman in turn produces, among others, (1) Anthony Demetre of Putney Bridge (like a great deal), and (2) chef at Caviar Kaspia, London. Thu Oct 11 06:33:36 -0700 2001 1376493 0 rabasse 3 1376476 I don’t quite follow AL’s logic. You don’t have to read a Jeffrey Archer novel to know it’s drivel. You don’t have to listen to a Steps album to know it’s aimed at kids. You don’t have to explore the finer tenets of fascism to know there are one or two minor flaws with its basic philosophy. And you don’t have to eat at Monte’s to know that anything attached to Jamie Oliver is likely to underwhelm. Thu Oct 04 09:27:26 -0700 2001 1376473 0 jon mitchell 1 1376438 Jamie is consultant at Monte's. I reviewed it earlier this year on the foodndrink.co.uk site - link below. Link: http://www.foodndrink.co.uk/archive.php?id=2-6&subject_id=40 Tue Oct 02 09:18:07 -0700 2001 1376435 0 Neil Haidar 2 1376542 Down at the bottom of the review I saw the basic price info: Monte’s, lunch for two including a bottle of Selvapiana Chianti Rufina ’98 (£29.95), two glasses of Vin Santo, water, coffee and service, £142. ------ one hundred forty-two pounds... yikes. I could fly round trip to Los Angeles for a nice meal over there and STILL come in cheaper than that! Mon Oct 08 01:38:18 -0700 2001 1376438 0 JK Grence 1 1376444 This is what The Restaurant Game (see link, below) has to say...corrobotating - but a little less scathing - what our Si has said... "Jamie doesn't know his noodles from his pasta One of Manchester's cosmopolitan bar/restaurants played host to the cheeky chappie of cuisine last weekend when Jamie Oliver, on tour promoting his new book Happy Days with Jamie Oliver, chose the Restaurant Bar and Grill to conduct an interview over dinner. But the man who recently proclaimed that he had "done more for English food throughout the world in the past two years than anyone else has done in the past hundred" is clearly a bit weaker on his knowledge of Italian cuisine. Oliver, being interviewed by Julia Llewellyn Smith for he Financial Times, ordered a starter of linguine with crab, coriander, inger and sweet chilli sauce. However, on arrival of his dish, Oliver announced: "These are not linguine, they're noodles. I thought this would be Italian, but it's more of a Thai dish." Being rather closely connected to the Restaurant Bar and Grill, we decided to put Jamie's theory to the test and ask manager Dan Stephanescu, on duty that night to clarify which dish it was Jamie ordered. "It was," he confirmed, "the linguine." So there you go: Jamie Oliver doesn't know his noodles from his pasta. But at least he's got good taste; for the record Master Oliver found his noo..linguine "damn tasty mate." Link: http://www.therestaurantgame.com Wed Oct 03 06:14:33 -0700 2001 1376435 0 magnolia 1 1376567 wow, i'm amazed at the vitriol ... i love JO, i love the show, i love how it's shot, i love how he cooks. i think the whole thing is hilarious. but then, i'm a mid twenties single urban dweller (whose life revolves around food). perhaps this is a generational issue? i think that the way JO cooks is relevant to many of us. i simply don't have the time and energy to spend hours on complex dishes, but i still enjoy cooking a good meal for myself and my friends. certainly this is not french haute cuisine, but it's quick and fun and tasty. Tue Oct 09 19:44:58 -0700 2001 1376435 0 hjb 2 1376570 Oh, good. I had wondered if JO connected with people near his age. The lad (Jamie O) is certainly very full of himself, but he's an entertainer as well as doing some cooking. wrayb Tue Oct 09 23:46:47 -0700 2001 1376567 0 wrayb