Raymond and Oli Blanc webchat 3 February

Bonjour

Bonjour Raymond!

Je me pemert de vous poser une question en français! Je voulais savoir - Raymond, est-ce que vous estimez, comme beaucoup de Français , que la cuisine anglaise est inférieure a la cuisine française. J'ai vecu en France et mes amis français n'arrêtaient pas de dire que la bouffe anglaise etait degeulasse! J'espère que vous n'êtes pas (tout à fait) d'accord.

Ces gens qui denigrent la cuisine Anglaise maintenant ne savent pas qu'il y a une revolution gastronomique en Grand Bretagne. Cela etait vrai il y a vingt ans mais certainement pas maintenant. Londres, par example, est maintenant une ville ou la gastronomie est classee par mi les meilleurs au monde. Sa creativite etait construite sur la diversite des cultures.

La France a un tresor qu'elle doit protege comma un patrimoine precieux. Autrement ell le perdrera. Deja, il y a plus de McDonald en France qu'il y a en Grande Bretagne. Nous de plus en plus dans les Francais mangent du fast food. Et la France devrait etudier le cauchemard de la mal bouffe en Grande Bretagne il y a vingt ans et ses consequences.

granjura

Raymond- we are having a discussion about the school lunches in the UK. Considering Jamie's study of those school lunches- what do you think about the issue? Should strict school uniform be more important than healthy food- from a French point of view?

There are so many studies, which demonstrates very clearly that good food is so important to the health of a young child. His learning abilities, his attention span and his joie de vivre, also connection with where the food comes from (seasonality etc) so of course it's a no brainer. Nutrition is important and at last the government is recognising it. Soon the school food plan will be available in every primary school from 5-14.

Galen

I adore French cooking. Have you a good recipe for a sauce Robert as it's one of my favourites.

Sauce Robert belongs to an old repertoire of French cuisine and if i did do this sauce, I wouldn't use demi-glace as it's to heavy and rich. I would use brown chicken stock, but for a quick recipe, 10g of butter, 100g of onion (chopped finely), 70g of white wine (dry) and 100g of brown chicken stock, 15g mustard.

Sweat the onion in butter for 5 minutes, add the wine and boil to remove alcohol, whisk in the mustard, add the chicken stock, reduce until it coats the back of the spoon.

p.s a little bit of fresh herbs such as tarragon, thyme or rosemary will add character to your sauce.

Marthamuffin

Raymond I am interested to know how you got your kids cooking? Also curious to know at what stage to give them new tasks (cutting) and to let them near hot pans?

The fact is, I opened my restaurant as a 28-year-old, and was totally self taught. I had to devote my full attention to creating a successful restaurant and I must say, both my sons were at private school and we were both working so hard that there was no time. It's only after, when they were young adults, that we managed to cook together. They were only coming back once a month and during holidays.

Hearmeroar

Your tweet about the Great British Back Off where you said, “The Great British Bake Off. Not much skills, female tears and a winner so thin who makes me doubt of her love for great cooking, baking.” - did you expect to receive the reaction you did? Do you think your comment was slightly misogynistic?

I don't remember that day!! Probably I was in a very out of sorts on that morning, which is very unusual. I agree that my comments were harsh and to some unfair, especially for young people as I understand how difficult it is to work on camera. I apologise!

CaffeineAddict

Hi Raymond and Oli. Who is your favourite chef?

It has to be my Pops (he's got me in a headlock at the moment, which is affecting my choice). But in all seriousness I think some of my favourite recipes have come from Papa, such as essence of tomato, spring vegetables or cafe creme.But you can also cook some beautiful, simple and rustic food like Henri.

CaffeineAddict

Hi Raymond and Oli. Who is your favourite chef?

Of course, there's only one Maman Blanc. She established the cornerstone of my own cooking which is about celebrating seasonality, the very best produce, best variety, and cooking them simply to create some wonderful, delicious food.

wolfie

Following on from chelsss' question I wondered why a worm? I have never thought of worms as gastronomic experts although in this I may be quite wrong

Fair point - but I think if we look at having a rat as a chef in Ratatioulle, or friendly sharks in A Shark's Tale, I think if you have the right character and the right design you can make any creature appealing to children. A worm may seem humble but he has a vital job in the garden where he will aerate the soil and help enrich it through decomposition. But to be fair, Henri did complete a three year stage under RB's tutelage at Le Manoir and Brasserie Blanc and came through with flying colours.

rosesarered

Hello,
my 8 yr old Grandson is autistic and obsessed with worms; as in, he loves them, and I have to make up 'worm stories' all the time.So, they are a family who live in my garden, parents and 2 children. Daddy worm is very brave and likes having dangerous adventures. Am running out of steam with them though, so what you have created is 'just the job'!
Because Grandson doesn't eat much , do you have a very simple easy to eat recipe [no lumps or much chewing needed] that I could make for his supper. He likes strong flavours. Thank you.

The simplest would be, as he likes strong flavours, to give him a nice ripe Camembert, place it in the oven and bake iot for about 10-15 minutes about 150 degrees. Then the flesh will become very creamy and dip toasted bread, cereal or rye in the liquid Camembert. Easy delicious and a great party dish. Of course, you can add as much garlic as you like, or rosemary, or even truffle.

rosesarered

Hello,
my 8 yr old Grandson is autistic and obsessed with worms; as in, he loves them, and I have to make up 'worm stories' all the time.So, they are a family who live in my garden, parents and 2 children. Daddy worm is very brave and likes having dangerous adventures. Am running out of steam with them though, so what you have created is 'just the job'!
Because Grandson doesn't eat much , do you have a very simple easy to eat recipe [no lumps or much chewing needed] that I could make for his supper. He likes strong flavours. Thank you.

Well Henri is thrilled that your grandson is a fan and you can tell him that Henri is a huge fan of his.

chelsss

Who came up with the name 'Henri Le Worm' ? Oli or Charlotte?

The actual idea was first formulated in my head, BUT it wouldn't have happened without Charlotte. So you could say we both gave birth to a worm... That my first-born is a giant, segmented creature that breathes through its skin.

nicky68

Hi Raymond. My husband has promised that one day he will take me to Le Manoir. I am dying to do - it looks amazing - but I am quite fussy and scared that the food will be too fancy for me. Can you reassure me before he changes his mind and takes me to Pizza Hut instead?

Yes Le Manoir is an amazing place. It has 11 gardens and wonderful food. Please, you must see it as the most welcoming place in the world. The first thing I did was to kill the protocol of tables, to create inclusive luxury. Please look at all the reviews, it's the most welcoming place in the world.

bethannie

The Restaurant was one of my favourite TV programmes. Will it ever come back do you think? Did you enjoy being a judge?

Being a judge in The Restaurant was a two-edged sword with so many people that were inept at cooking but "made very good television". They would have made terrible restauranteurs. But we have one best-kept secret, which is the two young men (James and JJ - the ones who winked at me) who are now running an extremely successful cocktail bar called The London Cocktail Bar. Would I do it again? If you give me the right gifted students, yes. Otherwise no!