The big South Beach wine and food deal in Florida last weekend sounded great. Had some friends there.

But in the WS article today...

"Some found it hard to acclimate, however. Gordon Ramsay, London's top chef of the moment, flew in to give two demonstrations and cook at a Caymus Vineyards wine dinner at Smith & Wollensky. But only a few hours after arriving, he caught a plane home, leaving without explanations or apologies."

Who is this guy? What is this all about? Anybody know?

Gordon Ramsay is the famous and famously volatile chef from London. An ex footballer, more than a few people claim Ramsay is currently the greatest chef on the planet. He was caught on tape with multiple expletive laced beratings of his kitchen staff.

Never heard of him. Interesting. Although, London (or England, in-general) is not the 1st place that you think of (when considering the elite of the Dining-world).

Smith & Wollensky is a good Steakhouse place. Not great. Good. And, I guess, the last couple of years they really expanded & went public. They are big on Opus. But, I found Wine-prices (in NYC) to be very high...

LCC,
Would definately disagree with you on the London front. Restaurants such as the Nicholson St Restaurant, Ramsey's(of Gordon Ramsey fame), and several others (1st Floor Diner, the Oriental, Ronnie Scotts Jazz lounge and Restaurant) are of world class standards. I knew a chef who worked for Gordon Ramsey and she said that he was intolerable to work for although talented. She left and went to work for Richard Geen of the Almond Resort group.

He has an ability with food that is awesome. Met him when he was here in NZ in 1999 on tour promoting his book and TV series. Outside of the kitchen he is actually quite mild and a bit of a "bloke". Inside the kitchen he gets really intense and anal- not a bad thing but many people find him hard to deal with. Hes good but I don't no if I would put him as the best chef on the planet.

Mark Harrison (formerly the chef at Jamie Olivers restuarant, then worked as Jaguars Formula 1 Chef) is one of the best I have worked with and is a perfectionist. He produces some of the best Bisques I have ever had. He used to work for Tony Astle , who is French Perfectionist with regard to Cuisine and it shows. Tony worked with a number of very good French chefs in no less than six three star Michelin (sp?) restaurants throughout Burgundy, Paris and the Rhone.

I have to put Richard Geen up there also. He used to work at the Ritz and then in the UAE for the Royal family. Then he ran a couple of restaurants in Sydney, came to NZ (where I worked for him.) then back to the Almond resort group (who he used to work for before the Ritz.)I think he is in Bhutan at the moment. His food is probably more fusion but it is excellent in flavoural expirience and texture. He knows Charlie Trotter personaly and apparently Charlie thinks quite highly of him.

Jeremy: I am not stating anything against the guy (personally). And, I am sure that England offers some great Restaurants. But, the country is not known or I should say is not on the list of best cities/countries to dine in... (never been there, from what I read).

P.S.: Found Sydney to be 1 of the best (so far). Period. And, Auckland...right up there also.

LCC,
Sorry wasn't meaning to be antagonistic- personally, what I have heard is that he is a real pain in the butt to work with. I would put London ahead of Auckland and Sydney but not Melborne. having said that its a hell of alot more expensive to dine decently in London rather than in Sydney or Auckland.

Ramsey is quite egotistical according to everything I read or saw. He seemed alright when I met him but that was for a whole ten minutes, and I didn't have to work with the guy so....the rumours would follow through.

Even more interesting. I guess our taste in Dining differ. I found Melborne to be very disappointing. Just goes to show you that everyone has their taste...

Did you get to Est Est Est in Melborne? This would be the best dining expirience I had in all of Aussie. Also there was Chinese restaurant that recived 3 Michelin stars (can't remember the name -although outstanding)in Melborne, dined there as well.

Sadly Est Est Est closed down two years ago- the Chef sold it, since it has be changed the food is very mediocre.

Really & sadly, I do not. This was 3 years. No way...

Not wishing to be nationalistic, controversial nor antagonistic but WHAT??????????

I am not a fan of London, as a place to be, but it is one of the dining capitals of the world. The range of food and the number of top restaurants puts it amongst the elite. The quantity, quality and depth of quality of British chefs is huge and they are at the forefront of modern cuisine. There is so much it is almost impossible to make recommendations but also almost impossible to get into these establishments. Jeremy is right though -it's flipping expensive.

I suspect the continued lies about British food are to blame. It's not all over-cooked roast beef and Yorkshire Puddings, you know?

Gordon Ramsay is Scottish, foul-mouthed, egotistical and brilliant. He is also funny and intelligent but I would not mess with him as he failed his anger-management course, was a professional sportsman and is huge.

Here's a link:

http://www.gordonramsay.com/gordon.html

and here's a taster of the London restaurant scene:

http://www.zagat.com/browse/index.asp?newLID=39

Sheesh!

I'm with you, KillerB. I love eating in London. Particularly in the Indian restaurants there. Had the best Indian ever at Tamarind.

I have spent a lot of time at Hardy's on Dorset Street in Marylebone. It was across the street from the B&B I always stayed at. Great wine list and very good food. Off the beaten path and mostly locals eat there. They have a good staff, creative menu, and nice atmosphere. Some of the best steamed mussels I've ever had I had here - the creamy juice in the bottom of the bowl was heaven with crusty French bread and Chardonnay.

KillerB - some people here in the US make jokes about British cuisine but the reality is that London has fantastic restaurants. If you can afford them...

I've eaten at some fabulous places on my last trips to London. It remains one of my favorite places to visit.

I'm a big fan of the Nicholson St Restaurant in London, have dined there twice- both times with the chef from my Deli. It was his old work so finding a seat was much easier than having to book six months out.