We are officially back in the wine cellar today, and so, technically, I shouldn’t be posting any more holiday ramblings – but there was one more comment that I wanted to make about chefs, food and up-market restaurants. Give me my food on a plate please!

I remember back in the early 80’s when an English chef called Antony Worrall-Thompson opened a very trendy restaurant in Knightsbridge called Menage-A-Trois. Only starters and desserts were served – very small portions using highly imaginative food presentation – the technique then widely known as ‘Nouvelle Cuisine’. It was all the rage. Having said that, despite all the playing around, arranging the food on the plate to create a pretty picture, as far as I recall, it still tasted pretty good.

These days chefs continue to present food in creative ways, but then one of the latest trends might just be pushing the envelope a bit too far. Chefs are now using some very odd ‘platters’ on which to serve – and when I say platter, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything ceramic. It started with wooden boards and pieces of slate, but has now extended to plant pots, flooring panels, shovels, a dog bowl and even a shoe….. yes, I did say a shoe.

Apart from the obvious hygiene implications (that some of these materials are porous and therefore difficult to clean), my belief is that it’s all gone a bit to far, and in a way, chefs should get ‘back to basics’ – stay in the kitchen, make good tasty food and present it nicely… on a plate! Sometimes it’s all just too easy to get carried away, and lose focus on the real job at hand.

And for me, now, it’s back to work – just focusing on making great wine!