how was the food?

 

Bonkers... When you order a G&T aperitif and a guy turns up with a vat of liquid nitrogen you know it'll be different.

Snail porridge, boiled eggs that are a dessert, edible gold leaf... it's more akin to a West End show than a wholesome meal. An experience to be remembered though.

 

Wow!! Would love to take the mrs burns...

My guess is they are running a commercial machine rather than the sage home espresso machines... May be wrong tho...

 

It's just down the road from me but I've never mustered up the courage for snail porridge and I'm scared of the bill!

I think he'd almost have to use a DB over a Nespresso machine given the endorsement. Although really he ought to be using some kind of Bessemer furnace with a fractionating column and an angle grinder with a coffee cutting wheel…

 

Let's hope his doesn't fail like the ones on here, four so far!!!

 

Let's hope his doesn't fail like the ones on here, four so far!!!

That many, wow!

I really doubt he uses the Sage DB in the restaurant, it might be a good machine but it's not exactly designed for commercial use.

 

That many, wow!

I really doubt he uses the Sage DB in the restaurant, it might be a good machine but it's not exactly designed for commercial use.

I doubt very much he would recognise a Sage DB if it landed in his lap....

He is paid (quite a lot) for his name to appear on stuff.... Not stuff that is necessarily

a) Any good or

b) Anything he knows anything about

If they paid him enough he would have one in his restaurant, and have various pictures etc of it "in" his kitchen/restaurant....

The target of this advertising isn't proper coffee aficionados but people errrm how can I put this - people who are gullible - who think that stuff "must be good" because it has his name on it (or other celebrity names - it's not just Heston).

I am not saying that the Sage isn't good... it might well be... But that has nothing to do with Heston I doubt if he knows much about what makes good or bad coffee...

I am not sure he knows what makes good or bad cooking tbh - although he certainly knows what makes good theatre!!!

and lest you think I don't like him - I have tried to book tables at his place a few times but so far unsuccessfully (mainly because I think about it and then can't get a table "exactly" when it suits me and I don't want to go "enough" to work round when I could get a booking.... ie If/when I go - it will be for a reason.. but going won't be the reason!)

 

Defining if your an aficionado ( whatever that is ) by what brand or type of machine you own ( be it a sage or a anything else ) is a little bit excluding for my tastes.

I'm Ve had some very good coffee made by very knowledgable people on a range of different machines

Sorry .

 

Let's hope his doesn't fail like the ones on here, four so far!!!

Four dual boilers?? Dam, was eyeing up a db for our new house next year :-( may look for something else now

 

I doubt very much he would recognise a Sage DB if it landed in his lap....

He is paid (quite a lot) for his name to appear on stuff.... Not stuff that is necessarily

a) Any good or

b) Anything he knows anything about

If they paid him enough he would have one in his restaurant, and have various pictures etc of it "in" his kitchen/restaurant....

The target of this advertising isn't proper coffee aficionados but people errrm how can I put this - people who are gullible - who think that stuff "must be good" because it has his name on it (or other celebrity names - it's not just Heston).

I am not saying that the Sage isn't good... it might well be... But that has nothing to do with Heston I doubt if he knows much about what makes good or bad coffee...

I am not sure he knows what makes good or bad cooking tbh - although he certainly knows what makes good theatre!!!

and lest you think I don't like him - I have tried to book tables at his place a few times but so far unsuccessfully (mainly because I think about it and then can't get a table "exactly" when it suits me and I don't want to go "enough" to work round when I could get a booking.... ie If/when I go - it will be for a reason.. but going won't be the reason!)

Curious to know what makes you such an expert above him owning at one time the top restaurant in the world who has spent 20+ years studying food on a micro biological level assisted by some of the top food scientists in the world against what you can bring to the table ?

 

Defining if your an aficionado ( whatever that is ) by what brand or type of machine you own ( be it a sage or a anything else ) is a little bit excluding for my tastes.

I'm Ve had some very good coffee made by very knowledgable people on a range of different machines

Sorry .

No you missed my point.....

If you know coffee/your machine etc you can probably get really good coffee with very cheap/simple equipment....

If you know what you are doing you might even enjoy the challenge of making really good coffee with very cheap/simple equipment...

I wasn't commenting on wether a Sage (or another machine) is a "good" machine....

I was commenting on the "Heston" bit.. and the reasoning/rationale for it....

Sage aren't paying for Heston's name in order to convince people with an interest or understanding of coffee and its intricacies to buy the machine...

Those people will research the various machines and buy one that they think will do the job they require (and that might be the Sage)...

Sage pay Heston for his name in an attempt to "convince" people that DON'T have a deep interest or understanding of coffee that they will/can/may get really good coffee by buying it.... ie It is a magic bullet!

James Martin (who is a decent cook) has his name all over many many different types of knife.... he can't possibly either use them all or think each one of them is the "dogs danglies" but makers of those knives think his name will convince enough people (that don't really know or want to know that much about knives) to buy them - to justify paying for his name...

He also sticks his name on a "Burr Grinder"..... that is actually a blade "grinder"...... and cost about 15 quid......

If anyone buys something because it has a celebrity endorsement they are either gullible or just a fashion victim.....

If an aficionado (however thats defined) buys something with a celebrity endorsement I would expect it to be because they think it does the job well (possibly despite the celebrity endorsement)

 

Curious to know what makes you such an expert above him owning at one time the top restaurant in the world who has spent 20+ years studying food on a micro biological level assisted by some of the top food scientists in the world against what you can bring to the table ?

I never claimed to be an "expert" and certainly not "above" him..... but to be frank wtf is "food on a micro biological level"...

Is that like chopping it up really, really small?

 

I never claimed to be an "expert" and certainly not "above" him..... but to be frank wtf is "food on a micro biological level"...

Is that like chopping it up really, really small?

Oh and is that "micro biological level" similar to the sort of level where food poisoning occurs as I know he has some experience with that........

 

Wouldn't surprise me if they had 2 on the premises for 15-20 drinks per day.

They have VST refractometers too ; )

 

Anyway matt perger is the only celeb endorsement worth bothering with

 

I had a set of jim bowen endorsed darts..

 

I had a set of jim bowen endorsed darts..

Did they have a photo of his face on the flights?[emoji2]

 

Oh and is that "micro biological level" similar to the sort of level where food poisoning occurs as I know he has some experience with that........

Whilst that expression is a bit fluffy, there is nothing wrong with taking flavour and taste down to its constituent parts to learn how things interact. We do this with coffee as much as we can, and understanding how something works is integral to becoming an expert in just about any field.

The sensationalist fluff of "studying at a micro-biological" level may be a bit OTT, but studying food is a perfectly constructive thing to do.

 

Anyway matt perger is the only celeb endorsement worth bothering with

-_-

 

I never claimed to be an "expert" and certainly not "above" him..... but to be frank wtf is "food on a micro biological level"...

Is that like chopping it up really, really small?

well if you ever manage to get your people to talk to his people and book a table -come back and we can compare notes.

 

Well well well...

I've now had a good look at the photograph of the "coffee menu" that I took on Saturday, and googled some of the narrative.

They are VERY VERY obviously Nespresso descriptions - almost word perfect from the Nespresso capsule descriptions.

Still - the ristretto that I had was pretty good, tasty and had good crema and mouthfeel.... so I guess they have a well looked after Nespresso machine!

Reinforces my thoughts that, if you just want a cup of drinkable coffee with minimal fuss and almost zero mess, and don't have any deep desire to understand the process and become a Barista - you should just buy a Nespresso machine.

 

Well well well...

I've now had a good look at the photograph of the "coffee menu" that I took on Saturday, and googled some of the narrative.

They are VERY VERY obviously Nespresso descriptions - almost word perfect from the Nespresso capsule descriptions.

Still - the ristretto that I had was pretty good, tasty and had good crema and mouthfeel.... so I guess they have a well looked after Nespresso machine!

Reinforces my thoughts that, if you just want a cup of drinkable coffee with minimal fuss and almost zero mess, and don't have any deep desire to understand the process and become a Barista - you should just buy a Nespresso machine.

The official Nespresso caps I have used at my mums produce a surprising amount of crema and a decent shot, before a manual setup they really are a very good option. Hard to ever recommend a B2C for convenience with Nespresso about really.

 

Whilst that expression is a bit fluffy, there is nothing wrong with taking flavour and taste down to its constituent parts to learn how things interact. We do this with coffee as much as we can, and understanding how something works is integral to becoming an expert in just about any field.

The sensationalist fluff of "studying at a micro-biological" level may be a bit OTT, but studying food is a perfectly constructive thing to do.

I have tried to explain - I have no issue at all with Heston's "fluff".....

He makes food a "multi-sensual-experience".... as I mentioned above he is very good at theatre... and that really is not a bad thing..

He doesn't chuck a couple of prawns on a plate with a slice of lettuce - He serves them in scallop shells with a personal I-pod hidden in a conch shell subliminally playing sounds of the sea-shore and has miniature fans gently wafting the essence of fresh kelp etc etc....

All of which makes the occasion so much more than a "prawn cocktail".....

My issue is/was about "celebrity endorsement" (in the case of Sage the "endorsement" is by Heston) not being aimed at the members of this forum....

I doubt many on the forum would buy the Sage because it is/was "endorsed" be Heston.

I would imagine (and some reading of previous threads would confirm anecdotally) that Heston's "endorsement" of the Sage would actually put off many forum members rather than encourage them to buy it (because Heston has given no indication that he knows Jack about coffee).

I would think that most forum members who have bought (or are thinking of buying) a Sage do it despite Heston.....

I feel I have repeated myself enough now but you know how it is - "I cannot rest! Something on the Internet is WRONG!"

 

There's a nespresso machine at one of the places I work and while it clearly is better than a lot of the alternatives in that sort of environment it's a long long way from a well made espresso.

If I was eating at The Fat Duck (still plan to one day, assuming it comes back from Australia in one piece... sniff) I'd want a heck of a lot better, given the extraordinary attention to detail that goes into the food, the skill level of the chefs / staff and the general expectation of gastronomic perfection. It surprises me.

 

I had a set of jim bowen endorsed darts..

I think that's a load of Bull . [emoji202]

Sorry couldn't resist!

I thought about a Sage DB but like Drewster said, it was not because of Heston Services. In fact, that put me off a bit because I was worried that people would think I was a celeb chef fan. The main reason I considered it was because up until we started hearing of the problems, it sounded like a good machine. Also I could have got a trade deal which would have made it the same price as it would probably sell for if it didn't have the Heston badge. I don't go a bundle on celebs full stop, let alone pay extra for a name of someone who is famous for something else.

I'm surprised that he would offer a Nespresso to people who are dining at the fat duck. Amongst those will be some who have gone there for the celeb thing (if Heston isn't enough, er, Rolf Harris lives nearby!) but surely he would realise that a fair proportion would be knowledgable and adventurous foodies who are equally discerning in what they drink.

If I ever get the chance to go there I'll tell you if the coffee is Nespresso. I can taste one a mile off, having tried them all at work.