An interesting point made by a chef i was watching on youtube
said that in one of his first jobs in a French restaurant,
he was assigned to the saucier
to learn how to make borderlaise sauce.
He was told that the size of the vegetables should be cut in
relation to how long they're going to cook for.

So he asked the saucier, "why have you cut these ones so small
if they have to cook for an hour and a half?"
The saucier looked at him, paused for a while,
then said "you're a genius"
From then on, the saucier changed his recipe from the
classical way of making it.

He said the flavour is so much better than when cut small
using the traditional classic French technique,
and was surprised that nobody had ever thought of it before.

The bigger the pieces of veg, the longer they take to release their
flavour.
If you cut them too small and say cook for 2 or 3 hours,(as in a base gravy) there's going to
be no flavour left.

Frank. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOOuZCVNvNU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwhX_EyqCIk

What is fond?
Fond is all the little brown bits that collect on the bottom of the pan during caramelisation.

I made some French onion soup the other day and was caramelising over a kilo of onions for more than an hour when i kept noticing "the vinegar smell" which many people have struggled to attain when cooking Julians gravy recipe.

I would suggest that those same members slowly caramelise a few onions in oil for a long time (regularly stirring and scraping) to understand what it is theyre trying to achieve.

 Frank

Posh Brummie Curry 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFa2VC4FrXk
Achari Venison part1


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLfVmv-YYa0
Achari Venison part2



http://www.youtube.com/user/birminghamplus/videos

http://www.welovehotstuff.com/index.html

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jan/27/foodanddrink.restaurants


Something triggered an old memory the other day so i googled it. Its still going and doing very well by the looks.
My old man found this place back in the 80's as there was a record/cd shop on the same street (avid collector)
We used them for both my much younger brother and sisters christenings around 1990.
Excellent food and prices. Different to the usual flavours you would normally find in a standard BIR, neither better nor worse, just different. 
When we used to go there, it looked like your typical british cafe. Slightly run down with net curtains on the windows and was frequented by a few dossers from Rowton house around the corner for a cup of tea and the like.
Not been there since the 90's so a revisit is in order. 
Even though i havent been there in 20 odd years, the reviews speak for themselves.
Recommended and worth a visit.

Cheers, Frank.