jamie goode's wine blog: A big birthday weekend

Sunday, April 13, 2008

A big birthday weekend

Fiona's mother is 70, and so we've been hosting an epic of a surprise birthday weekend here chez Goode. Family have flocked to Feltham from the corners of the world (well, Geneva, Devon and Herefordshire, to be more exact) for three days of celebration. We've been accommodating most of the participants, with some overspill booked into the Travelodge over the road. It's been exhausting but great fun.

Families are great. I love the way everyone is thrown together - a melange of ages, interests and personality types - and yet it seems to work pretty well most of the time. There's a richness to it. And as generations transition, there's a natural renewing of it all. It doesn't grow stale.

On Friday I drove up to Malvern to pick Fiona's Auntie Moira up. It was a straight run, some 2 h 20 min, and as I arrived early I went for a walk on the Malvern Hills (above), which are always spectacular, even on a rather chilly, overcast spring day. The return journey was not so straightforward though, and took five hours. Ouch. We arrived just after Fiona's mother, and the surprise welcome. The dinner that followed was great fun, and despite a critical mass of kids, there was no nuclear explosion.

Yesterday, we left all the kids under the watchful care of Hannah, the oldest cousin, and her boyfriend Josh, as we headed off to lunch at Dean Timpson at The Compleat Angler in Marlow (above). It's a stunning setting on the river, sandwiched between the lovely bridge and the weir. The food was really, really good: top quality, with service, presentation and attention to detail of Michelin star standard. I spent some time with the wine list, which has some excellent producers shoulder to shoulder with mediocre ones. In the end I ordered a Vidal Syrah from Hawkes Bay, which was quite elegant and old worldy in style, and a Bordeaux Sauvignon Semillon that was crisp and fresh (and was also the least expensive wine on what is quite an expensive list).

I can't help but mention ££££. You expect a top quality joint like this to be expensive, because it costs a lot to do a restaurant really well. But it was the way it was expensive that left me a little disappointed: the menu itself is good value, but all the 'unseen' items, such as water (we were poured eight bottles at £4.80 each), espresso (£4 a single shot) and drinks seem excessive. I'd much prefer it if restaurants put their margins in their food. People look at how much they spend on the total bill when they consider returning; at the prices Timpson charges per head when all these extras are included, he's batting with the big boys, and will end up being judged with more scrutiny.

Today is the final day of the epic. Overall, it has been a superb weekend. Now we're trying to persuade Fiona's brother to issue us with an extended invitation for Geneva this summer.

Labels: ,

5 Comments:

At 8:18 AM, Anonymous Laurence said...

Jamie. i know exactly what you mean about the wine at restaurants. We have a michelin starred place near us - food superb; chef wonderful, but the wine is at 400% of retail. (eg the mud house pinot noir is £30 a bottle when it can be bought locally for £8-9). Whislt they have a great list (400+bins), the list is an irrelevance. Rarely go there simply because decent wine takes teh price to astronomical levels.

 
At 8:34 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Some things are easy to counteract - just order tap water!

 
At 6:50 PM, Blogger Douglas Blyde said...

Absolutely in agreement, restaurants should dare to charge more on the menu (when warranted) as opposed to the buried Gordon Brown-esque taxes on things like water, side dishes and H2O.

 
At 2:07 PM, Anonymous keith prothero said...

Will not bore you with my views on UK restaurants are there rip off wine lists.Just astonished that so many nutters are happy to pay!!
Have to disagree with you about relatives Jamie.Hate such shin digs myself,and our extended family tend to meet only at weddings and funerals-which suits me just fine.
Bloody Victor Mildrew I can hear you say!!

 
At 4:13 PM, Anonymous Doug said...

If you are ever in Marlow, Jamie, go to the Hand and Flowers - pub with Michelin star. Stunning food, succinct wine list. Looked at the Angler wine list, unforgiving prices, patchy selection. A list does not have to be big to be good...

 

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

<< Home