Food standards

[Gordon Steadman]

It was Ronnie's birthday this week. Our local butcher does some fantastic fillet steak so we were a bit pissed off that he didn't have any for Wednesday. We ordered some for today but decided to go out on Wednesday evening and push the boat out with some good old Brit fish and chips. The restaurant has a fantastic reputation out here, rave reviews.

Nice place, good friendly service. Plates arrived and I could just about see Ronnie over the food. It looked like they had caught a whale and added a field full of potatoes. It looked fantastic. The batter was crisp but..... the fish was over cooked and the chips were not exactly crisp.

We had out steak today and allowing for the fact that it was cooked by a Gordon Blue chef... absolutely fantastic. Mouth wateringly, gobsmackingly ongerful. Just a few sprouts fresh in from the garden, onions and mushrooms. More than enough for a main meal.

Do we expect too much to have better food when we eat out than we have at home? I know it's supposed to be the occasion and all that but I still expect a professional chef to be better than me. Maybe most people have lower expectations. The fish and chips cost €33 for the two of us, not a fortune but I would have paid twice as much for today's meal and thought I had a bargain.

It seems that quantity has taken over from quality. You can get adequate food in the average bar here for €7 a head but that is all it is - adequate.

P'raps I'm just becoming (have become) a grumpy old man but when I eat out I want better than I get at home.

[Marco]

Great topic, Gordon, and as somewhat of a self-confessed gourmand, one rather close to my heart. I shall comment properly later. Just one thing, it's a bonus when the woman you marry in the first place is an unofficial 'Gordon Blue' [read as cordon bleu] chef! ;)

Hence why, I find it extremely difficult to better outside the food Del makes at home......... At best, it's sometimes equalled, but at considerable cost!! :eek:

Expensive fish & chips, btw, even allowing for the portion size. I suppose you're paying for the 'fancy restaurant'. In Wrexham, you could get the same quality, or better, at a nice cafe, for about £6 a head.

Marco.

[CageyH]

Talking about food, have you sampled the Pâte and Saucisse I brought with me yet?

[Macca]

People seem to equate quantity with value which is pretty depressing really. The 'inn' I am staying at this Xmas offers a 'rump steak' for £5.99 - how is that possible? The answer is that it isn't and I won't be chancing it. My usual rule of the thumb with steak is that if they are charging less than £20 don't bother as you can't do it properly and make any money charging less than that.

[Gordon Steadman]

Talking about food, have you sampled the Pâte and Saucisse I brought with me yet?

Yup, the pate was excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed it. the sausage we are in two minds about. Ronnie is never that keen and I found it just a little underwhelming, although my tastes in such things were formed from living by Lake Como in Italy and if there is one thing the Italians do really well.....I'm sure there must be others if only I could think of them:eyebrows: (OK Gorgonzola is pretty special)

However, the thought was appreciated. Have you had the Air yet? I hope the post is kinder to you than me. Alan sent me a package that arrived yesterday that he posted 22nd October!!:eek:

[walpurgis]

No portion of meat is worth £20.

[Gordon Steadman]

People seem to equate quantity with value which is pretty depressing really. The 'inn' I am staying at this Xmas offers a 'rump steak' for £5.99 - how is that possible? The answer is that it isn't and I won't be chancing it. My usual rule of the thumb with steak is that if they are charging less than £20 don't bother as you can't do it properly and make any money charging less than that.

The steak for the two of us was €18. Just the meat. Quality costs. If the portions we were offered is typical, I'm not surprised we look around and see so many people looking like the aforementioned whale! The French used to be slim on average but they seem to be adopting the US/UK typical lifestyle now - depressing indeed.

[Marco]

People seem to equate quantity with value which is pretty depressing really.

Indeed, but only the idiots and undiscerning. It's QUALITY that should matter most, not quantity... And when you cook at home, if you know what you're doing, you can have both! I've never bought into the nonsense you hear some folk coming out with: 'Oh, we can't afford to eat well', usually the same ones who spend about £200 a week on fags and booze! :doh:

How much does a pot of home-made vegetable soup or chicken broth cost, or a plate of pasta? It's about EDUCATION, not money. More folk need to start learning how to cook, and thus what goes into things, before they become more discerning about what they eat, and food standards (especially here in the UK) start to rise.

Rarely have we been disappointed with the food in France, but then we tend to target the 'Les Routiers' lorry-driver cafes, where the food is basic, but superb, and the prices cheap! We know places you can get a superb three course meal, with coffee, including a half carafe of wine, for €13 a head! :)

And it's mostly all home-made or locally sourced stuff: beautiful selection of cold meats, pates, pickles and salads to start, followed usually by a selection of two or three hot main courses [you choose one], all served with veg or chips (it's not uncommon to be offered things like cassoulet or some form of game, depending on where you are or the time of year), and the desserts commonly feature a superb creme brûlée or lemon tart - that type of thing... Sometimes you get a selection of cheeses, too! It really is incredible value, and couldn't viably be replicated here.

Otherwise, we dine in small, family-run restaurants, where the accent is always on quality and VFM. We avoid any type of chains like the plague!!

Marco.

[Macca]

No portion of meat is worth £20.

I'm talking about in a restaurant as part of a meal not buying it from a butchers.

There are literally a couple of places round here you can get a decent steak for £20 and loads of places that do steaks from between £9.99 and £14.99 and they are universally rank. So no way would I try a £5.99 steak.

As Gordon says why go to eat out at a place when you can cook it better yourself - and cheaper too?

[struth]

Happy to pay as little as i can for food but it has to be decent quality and taste of something. I can eat for between 1 and 2 pounds a meal and get all i need..tastes good too. I never eat out as i cant afford it plus if i make it i know whats in it. Never have coffee out either as it silly priced and usually tastes crap. Dont go to pub...too dear as well.have a drink in comfort at home and much cheaper too. ..and dont have to listen to inane chatter :lol:

I know im a mean old bore:D

[walpurgis]

I'm not really a red meat eater, not keen at all, so it's neither here nor there to me. Nearest I get is the occasional sausage or two or a corned beef sarnie! Like a bit of chicken or turkey now and then though.

[struth]

I like red meat but its not keen on me these days... Get a bit occasionally in a ready meal(probably jockey) but mostly fish or chicken myself...had river cobbler for breakfast and salmon and spinich fish cakes for lunch... Lovely low cal low collestoral tasty etc....smoked river cobbler is a super buy

[Roy S]

Had reasonable fish & chips in Wetherspoons today, not a mountain of food but adequate, £4.40 including a drink (don't know how they do it?)

[Gordon Steadman]

We eat red meat no more than once or twice a month so when we do, it has to be good.

Our friends who run a farm are making us a nice half a pig at the mo. Interesting to see how it walks! We know exactly what it has eaten and how it's been treated. In the spring, we will be going to be with the butcher and choose how we want it jointed and then be making sausages out of the scraps. When you get used to this quality of meat, it really is hard to put up with what is called meat, even in French supermarkets. We spend less than most people on our diet as most is home grown.

I reckon if you have to do something, you should make it as enjoyable as possible.

[struth]

We eat red meat no more than once or twice a month so when we do, it has to be good.

Our friends who run a farm are making us a nice half a pig at the mo. Interesting to see how it walks! We know exactly what it has eaten and how it's been treated. In the spring, we will be going to be with the butcher and choose how we want it jointed and then be making sausages out of the scraps. When you get used to this quality of meat, it really is hard to put up with what is called meat, even in French supermarkets. We spend less than most people on our diet as most is home grown.

I reckon if you have to do something, you should make it as enjoyable as possible.

My brother used to do a couple of pigs every year. Then shared it out along with his lambs...hes retired and its one of his hobbies along with sailing. The meat is far superior..ive got a smoker and used to cure and smoke the bacon

[CageyH]

The pate and saucisse I took up to Gordon was from a "home grown" pig.
We tend to get most of our meat from a butcher well away from Toulouse. It's cheaper and far better quality.

[CageyH]

Have you had the Air yet? I hope the post is kinder to you than me. Alan sent me a package that arrived yesterday that he posted 22nd October!!:eek:

No. No sign of the parcel yet. I was hoping to find a "calling card" from the post office when I got home, but the letter box was empty.

[Oddball]

Last yr ,when I was in Normandy for a few days we went into the local supermarket (Ten?? cant remember now ) but the meat counter was a dream compared to back home!!
I was tempted to buy some cheaveax
I too have to watch what I eat now , but I do prefer a smaller portion of great quality to a plate overflowing with average quality food.
Being a farmer means I appreciate as much as anyone how things are reared , but going back to France , they do know how to keep to more traditional methods of farming , and the food over there is literally to die for

And the drink , apart from the lack of a cask bitter :cool:

[Gordon Steadman]

Last yr ,when I was in Normandy for a few days we went into the local supermarket (Ten?? cant remember now ) but the meat counter was a dream compared to back home!!
I was tempted to buy some cheaveax
I too have to watch what I eat now , but I do prefer a smaller portion of great quality to a plate overflowing with average quality food.
Being a farmer means I appreciate as much as anyone how things are reared , but going back to France , they do know how to keep to more traditional methods of farming , and the food over there is literally to die for

And the drink , apart from the lack of a cask bitter :cool:

In the main it is still true but the signs are there sadly. The supermarket trolleys overloaded with ready meals and fizzy drinks and the increasing number of tubs of lard walking.....rolling around. All the big supermarkets could be located anywhere. Fortunately, there is still a strong tradition of village life and many small shops still sell quality food.

The one thing I would agree with is the supermarket meat counters plus the fish and cheese counters. They all offer fantastic choice and are presented beautifully. The rest is just a stupid and unnecessary choice of packaged food.

[Oddball]

In the main it is still true but the signs are there sadly. The supermarket trolleys overloaded with ready meals and fizzy drinks and the increasing number of tubs of lard walking.....rolling around. All the big supermarkets could be located anywhere. Fortunately, there is still a strong tradition of village life and many small shops still sell quality food.

The one thing I would agree with is the supermarket meat counters plus the fish and cheese counters. They all offer fantastic choice and are presented beautifully. The rest is just a stupid and unnecessary choice of packaged food.
Ha , yes , forgot to mention the cheese ailse - it was yards of wheels of Camembert and such like!!
A few yrs before we stayed at a Gites near Faverolles where the lady fed us on home made Normandy food , 7 courses , and the husband who had 40 Normandy milking cows ,kept us fuelled with home made pommeau , cidre , and the best red wine ,and home made Calvados to finish - burp.

Oh my