Day one in Luxembourg

Day one in Luxembourg actually starts with an early rise at my Gatwick hotel, followed by a short walk to the terminal. I arrive at the airport with muddy shoes and mud splashed up my only pair of jeans....Aggghh!. After an espresso and a banana & pecan loaf in Costa, all is again well with the world, well almost!! It's a short flight to Luxembourg and what a change to fly BA, low cost is great and has its place but boy is BA good. There's just enough time for a breakfast roll, orange juice and a cup of tea. We touch down on European tarmac five minutes ahead of our scheduled landing time. Moving swiftly though immigration and onto the taxi rank it's a twenty five minute journey on the wrong side of the road to the hotel. Arriving at the Hilton Luxembourg, and it's a bloody giant, it's massive, my neck hurts from looking up, it's that high! A quick check in, Wifi booked and paid for for the duration of the stay with an extremely helpful woman on the front desk who speaks better English than I do. Right, off to the exhibition centre. It's a cold and damp day in The Grand Duchee of Luxembourg as we make the fifteen minute journey to the centre. Car parking spaces are scarce but when in need any kerb will do. So it's the senior team on today, it's an 11.00am start and they are allowed one hour to set up, strictly no mise en place until 12 noon. The teams then work to six that evening when the restaurants open. The team of six chefs will serve 100 covers between 6-9.00pm in the most erratic set up known to man. With over one thousands seats the diners can sit anywhere which means that they could either be next to, or at the furthest point away from the service kitchen. The waiters can therefore serve an array of national teams food across perhaps four tables next to each other meaning their food collection point could be any of the nine kitchens. It really is the most bizarre and disjointed service that I've ever seen and no one that I speak with can make any sense as to what is the reason behind this service style. Up to ten white coated judges walk between the competing teams' kitchens, they

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watch, they interact and they move in on the teams of chefs who are allowed no help whatsoever, and everything must be made on the day from scratch. The rest of the show is mainly food driven, being very honest, there are very few exhibitors outside the Salon, perhaps these really are hard times. Simon and his team are in great spirits, their presentation pieces look very strong against the fellow competing teams, the kitchen looks organised, efficient and very clean, everyone of the team knows his role, and it seems an efficient outfit.

We arrive at the restaurant for seven, we have a reservation for four, and are dining according to our ticket with "Angleterre cuisine 1".It's a strange room, a huge space filled with random tables of collective friends and family all supporting their count. It feels almost like a huge marquee. The front of house teams is made up of catering students who are keen and efficient. The food that arrives is of the same quality and standard that I'd tasted at the run through at The Elephant, Torquay and at the Restaurant Show. We are at the other end of the room, it's one of those instances where your place your hand across your forehead in a salute style to enhance your vision. The food and plates arrive hot, well presented and the taste is fantastic. The Halibut is cooked perfectly; the langoustine royals are light and delicate. Next to the main course, again hot food, hot plates, the venison is cooked perfectly; pink and tender and served with smoked parsnip and braised haunch of venison Bon Bons The dessert of Lemon Curd and lime meringue arrives swiftly and is an outstanding way to complete the meal. It's light, clean and very refreshing. Simon and the team, at this stage, are almost completed and well into a clear down in the kitchen. This is more than can be said of the Danish team who appear to be what is known in kitchen terms, oh yeah, in the shit big time. Their team of six has grown to at least ten, most are in civilian clothes and are scurrying around in what appears to be a desperate and valiant effort to get the food out. We await the results...

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