S08.E04: London

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Visiting London, post Brexit vote, Bourdain finds comfort in classic British cuisine including roast bone marrow at chef Fergus Henderson’s famed restaurant St. John, Scotch eggs at Princess Victoria Pub with Nigella Lawson, and pig’s trotter a la Pierre Koffman with chef Marco Pierre White at the Rudloe Arms, plus a meeting with revered artist Ralph Steadman at his studio.

[halopub]

Preview clip of the Marco Pierre White section on CNN.com.

One of these days I'll have to carefully compare these episodes with The Layover, but it's great that Bourdain will be visiting some old friends in Henderson and White. During The Layover episode I was surprised by how approachable and relateable White was.

Edited to add: there is a second promo clip that includes Jay Rayner.

Edited October 18, 2016 by halopub
Added link

[biakbiak]

Is Fergus really that unkown? I think he is pretty chef famous, not to mention he has literally appeared on all Tony's shows since A Cooks Tour and even shows like A Mind of a Chef that he has a more of camera role (producer/voiceover).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Bourdain's blog on London/Brexit

[Snarklepuss]

Aside from the Brexit stuff, I felt like I saw this episode before with all his usual London characters represented, plus this time, Nigella.

Are Londoners still that upset about Brexit months later?  I confess I haven't kept track.  Having been to London when there was a collective "mood" going on about terrorism I know how that place can be with stuff like that.

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, Snarklepuss said:

Aside from the Brexit stuff, I felt like I saw this episode before with all his usual London characters represented, plus this time, Nigella.

Are Londoners still that upset about Brexit months later?  I confess I haven't kept track.  Having been to London when there was a collective "mood" going on about terrorism I know how that place can be with stuff like that.

This was filmed right after the Brexit vote. They hadn't planned on it being part of it and it was just going to be a food heavy episode.

[Snarklepuss]

3 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

This was filmed right after the Brexit vote. They hadn't planned on it being part of it and it was just going to be a food heavy episode.

Sorry if I wasn't clear - I know this episode was filmed just after the vote as that was obvious from watching the show, but I'm wondering if it's still a big issue there now or whether it's blown over somewhat.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I agree that this episode felt like a rehash of his previous trips to London. The only new things were Nigella and Tony asking people Brexit questions. 

On 10/24/2016 at 10:59 PM, Snarklepuss said:

I'm wondering if it's still a big issue there now or whether it's blown over somewhat.

The people I know in the UK are still very concerned with the repercussions of the Brexit vote. It has already affected a lot of people due to the fall of the GBP and it doesn't look like things will get much better in the near future. 

[halopub]

On 10/26/2016 at 9:54 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I agree that this episode felt like a rehash of his previous trips to London. The only new things were Nigella and Tony asking people Brexit questions. 

I did learn that (malt?) vinegar is White's key component to a chip butty and mushy peas.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, okay, you got me there! Three new things!

[Athena]

On 2016-10-24 at 0:20 AM, biakbiak said:

Is Fergus really that unkown? I think he is pretty chef famous, not to mention he has literally appeared on all Tony's shows since A Cooks Tour and even shows like A Mind of a Chef that he has a more of camera role (producer/voiceover).

I think Tony meant that given Fergus's influence on the food scene on both sides of the Atlantic, he is relatively unknown to the general public or even the newer "foodies". People know who Marco, Nigella, and Tony are, but Tony and Marco were influenced by Henderson. Due to his personality, privacy, and his health issues over the years, Henderson has tended to avoid the spotlight. He is hugely venerated in the NYC food scene. He's definitely a chef's chef. This article goes into more detail about it.

Nigella's presence on this show was nice. I really like that they seem to have an actual friendship and I believe it. That was probably her real kitchen too which you never see in her cooking shows now.