Originally Posted by
Marco
Nice one, Bath's a beautiful place - indeed my kind of place. It has so much going for it, some of which you mention, and is also steeped in history. The abbey is stunning, as indeed are many of the buildings. In short, Bath is 'real'/has soul, and also class, which sadly can't be said now for many of our large towns and cities.
I'll direct this bit at both you and Guy, since you mentioned desserts... You only have to watch some cookery/foodie competitions on TV (such as Masterchef) to understand the reason for the disparity between the quality of savoury and sweet dishes served in most restaurants.
Desserts require a totally different discipline, so subsequently require totally different skillsets, along with greater attention to detail and artistic flair to produce. It's also much more of a science, requiring ingredients to be accurately measured and cooking strictly timed - essentially very little can be 'judged by eye' or left to chance, which to an extent you can get away with when making starters or main courses.
Basically, it's much easier 'dumping' some meat and two veg onto a plate, than perfecting a Soufflé Suissesse or some raspberry millefeuilles, and some chefs simply can't 'do' desserts to a professional standard, simply because they haven't been suitably trained. That's why in the best restaurants there are patisserie chefs, who's only job is to make puddings (specialising in pastry)!:)
I'm lucky with Del, in that respect, not only does she have a good grasp of the culinary basics, but also the patience and artistic flair to create some wonderful desserts. It's a totally different mindset and skillset though, from that required to produce savoury dishes to a high standard.
Oh, and she also does a killer Eggs Benedict! Interesting you should mention that Mike, as we haven't had that for ages, so watch this space!;)
Marco.