James Isherwood & Blogging about food

There once was a man... who dared to blog about food and wasn't a 'expert' - here is the story (Oh, and beware the language in here is a little fruity!)


http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2012/nov/08/top-chefs-unite-against-blogger-s-review

As foody-bloggers - the Isherwood story is a worrying one for anyone with an opinion.  We have, over the years of writing about curry, been contacted by a few curry house owners who didn't like what was written.

Very occasionally there have been little legal threats but they never materialise because ordinary people writing about their experience and then letting others know is not something to be afraid of if you own a restaurant but something to learn from.  Listening to customers who experience your products & services are valuable inputs to making you more money in the future. Listen to them - it can make you a better restaurant and a far more profitable one.

Pub Curries

In recent weeks because of both work and being out and about around the country I have had chance to sample a lot curry in pubs rather than traditional (as I call them) curry houses. I have learnt I think the three big trends for pub curries.

There are it strikes me three types:

1. Slop - far too many pubs get away with a basically mild brown indeterminent meat based slop that gets called curry. It invariably isn't hot, it normally tastes old as it is clearly coming from a big pot somewhere. But importantly it comes with rice which is normally stodgy. The way to avoid these is they are normally merely described as Lamb/ beef curry...avoid. this really is just cashing in on curry being a popular dish and wanting orders for mild rubbish.

2. Faux Curry - or fake curry which ever you prefer. This is slightly better than slop as the neat contained within is normal more 'meat' looking and again they are always brown. Faux curry is more related to lumpy gravy or the emptied out content of a pie than to a real curry. The clue to this stuff is they normally offer a poppadom with it to add authenticity but it doesn't and it frequently gets called balti which in places it is served normally means you get the rice and 'curry' in different bowls - these curries tend to get called Rogan Gosh because it sounds inoffensive the uninitiated. The clue here is avoiding anything described as rogan !

3. Made to order - one in 10 curries in pubs are actually made...not just pulled from a big pot. Many obviously are made for serving say 10 and then they have to make a fresh batch. Good normally and often un pretentious fayre...these curries are good tastey and normally chicken. The clue here is always ask if freshly made... and invariably they are described as hotter than normal because getting a consistent heat is tough so they warn people.

Anyway those are my musings after the recent foray into the dark and shadowy world of pub curry.

If you want a good example of a fresh made curry in these parts you won't go better than The Guardsmans Inn curry Wednesday in Maidenhead on Green fell Road.