| Tweet | | | | the other hand likens the birth of a restaurant to |
| Share | | | | the birth of a child, months & months of |
| I had a very enjoyable lunch at our Bistrot on | | | | preparation, reading all the books on how to |
| Baker Street with Jason McAuliffe the Bistrot's | | | | successfully raise it, group discussions on choosing |
| new General Manager. We are delighted that he | | | | the right name, worrying whether it will it be born |
| has joined us and is already settling in extremely | | | | on the due date or if it will be late and need to be |
| well, in fact Chris, Jeff and I think he was born to | | | | induced! Whichever way you look at it there's no |
| manage the Bistrot; it really is such a good match. | | | | doubt that opening a restaurant is no mean feat |
| Jason has an incredible background and I am sure | | | | and has resulted in a mixture of joy, excitement, |
| that many of you will remember him fondly from | | | | trepidation, and stress. Whilst when pregnant you |
| his time at Chez Bruce and the Grill Room at the | | | | may gain a little weight, we have all lost it with |
| Dorchester. He is quite a character; immensely | | | | Spero, General Manager of Galvin Restaurants, |
| charming and professional with a superb | | | | topping the weight loss list with a staggering 14lbs. |
| knowledge of wines. I think his appointment is | | | | We are now eagerly anticipating the arrival, Sara |
| perfectly timed as this year on 5th September | | | | is nesting, Chris and Jeff are choosing the |
| the Bistrot will be 5 years old and we planning a | | | | celebratory cigar and we are all dreading the |
| number of celebrations, about which I promise to | | | | months of sleepless nights to come. |
| keep you posted. | | | | Last week we celebrated the arrival of the |
| When we first opened the Bistrot we very much | | | | long-awaited 'sail canopy' that completes our Cigar |
| wanted to offer affordable French cuisine and we | | | | Terrace at Cafe A Vin. The canopy means that |
| still do that today with our 3 course fixed priced | | | | we can enjoy al fresco dining whatever the |
| lunch and dinner menus at £15.50 and £17.50 | | | | weather, and it has some super heating system |
| respectively, the same price that we started with | | | | too, which will allow us to sit outside long after |
| 5 years ago. I chose from the prix fixe menu this | | | | the summer has gone. |
| week and it always amazes me how the boys | | | | Chris and Jeff were so excited by the arrival of |
| manage to achieve this price, as the quality of | | | | the canopy that they chose to mark the happy |
| ingredients is very good indeed; good husbandry, | | | | event in true Galvin style with a lovely glass or |
| Chris tells me. | | | | three of Calvados and a Cigar - and they |
| I have always kept a little photo diary of each | | | | thoroughly recommend the experience. One of |
| restaurant particularly as we have made dramatic | | | | our very regular guests, that much loved local |
| changes to them all and as Bistrot guests will | | | | artist, kindly suggested that we should also think |
| know, three previous restaurants graced the little | | | | about offering Pashminas so we have duly obliged |
| premises at 66 Baker Street before we turned | | | | but hope that we wont need to take them out of |
| up. The image that appears on this diary page is | | | | their basket on too many occasions. I will post a |
| the latest one that I have taken of the | | | | photograph of the terrace next week - so watch |
| restaurant but if you are interested to see some | | | | this space! |
| pre-Galvin makeover photos do click on this link | | | | We also enjoyed another award. Chris and Jeff |
| (add link) | | | | were honoured at the Caterer & Hotelkeeper |
| This is the penultimate week for the Long Launch | | | | Awards ceremony on Monday night with a |
| retrospective, and I still liken the birth of each | | | | 'Catey', one of the highest accolades in the |
| restaurant to that of children, which of course | | | | hospitality industry, winning Independent |
| makes the Bistrot the eldest. I shall leave it to | | | | Restaurateurs of the Year. The wonderful bronze |
| you to choose how you interpret that, just to let | | | | statuette now has pride of place in La Chapelle, |
| you know Chris and I are both the eldest children | | | | and is truly a thing of beauty. The boys were |
| in our families. | | | | obviously a popular choice and it is a testament to |
| The Long Launch Retrospective | | | | the respect that the industry has for them. There |
| When talking about opening a restaurant the boys | | | | was a resounding cheer when they went up to |
| (Chris and Jeff) like to use car analogies. We have | | | | collect their prize and I felt immensely proud. |
| spent weeks showing everyone our 'Ferrari-like' | | | | I shared a very pleasurable lunch with our |
| stove and our 'DB7' of a wood-fired oven. We | | | | daughter, who is now on her incredibly long |
| have held many team meetings discussing service | | | | summer holidays, at La Chapelle - we both had |
| suggesting that many of our lunchtime Cafe | | | | the prix fixe menu priced at £24.50: Escabeche |
| guests may want a speedy service '0 to 60 in 7 | | | | of mackerel with aubergine puree to start, |
| seconds', but that it must still purr like a 'Subaru | | | | followed by Tranche of calves liver with |
| engine'. How La Chapelle needs to exude the style | | | | caramelised onions and Alsace bacon and for |
| and class of a Rolls Royce, with the quality and | | | | pudding Cherry soup with lemon sorbet; delicious |
| finish of a lovingly polished walnut dash. Sara, on | | | | and remarkable value I thought. |