Ian Hoare stated in part: That said, I have as little desire to visit
the Fat Duck as El Bulli, from what I've seen of both."

I don't think I would go out of my way to eat at El Bulli either. I just
read an article in the May 2005 issue of Smithsonian titled "Homage To
The Anchovy Coast." There is a picture of grilled watermellon topped
with anchovies. The text says: "standard fare for superstar chef Ferran
Adria, who's likely to serve an anchovy gelato for dessert". Adria is
the El Bulli chef. Everyone to their own taste, but to me such
combinations are as strange as chocolate syrup served on a steak as
sauce.

I wonder if any of the new generation of superstar chefs have enough
skill to duplicate the classic dishes from the time of Escoffier
including the classic sauces. It seems to me that the quality of chefs
and restaurants has been going down nearly everywhere since the early
1900s. There are a few exceptions. Demel in Vienna probably is turning
out baked goods just about as they were 100 years ago. Fortunately, with
2 day air express, you can now sample many of their products nearly
anywhere in the world.

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