Editorial

London remains one of the most

ancient cities in the world, from

where parts of civilization were

progressively constructed by

people living there. It is always

the same combination of wealth

and power, dynamism and

freedom which create, invent

and break the mould. Yet it

appears that, nowadays,

globalization has provided such a

significant change in inhabitants’

behaviour that you wonder what

makes being a real Londoner. The

question of what it means to be a

Londoner and how far it is

located in the core of the

individual is open for exploration.

There is a sense of being in the

middle of a great migratory

process in which Londoners are

constantly re-inventing

themselves, or at least making

adjustments to radically new

conditions. Hence, you no longer

necessarily define a Londoner as

a good old Cockney. In spite of

London’s huge historical

background, is being a Londoner

more a matter of origin or rather

of attitude? A day trip in London

has enabled us to answer to

these questions, but as being

Parisians, to be also given the

opportunity to establish a

contrast between Londoners and

Parisians and especially how they

view each other. This is what we

did: transcribing the random

voices of those who live in

London and especially those who

put up to share their

observations at some cafe table.

London 2012 The place to be at in 2012...............6

Statistics The British Family...................................8

Gordon Ramsay A Master chef in town................10

Identity The Cockney’s heritage ...........................16

Diversity Cosmopolitan London.............................17

Being a Londoner The attitude you must get .......19

Paris and London Frogs and Rosbifs......................26

We all remember the packets of

biscuits bunched in the luggage by

our mother before leaving to

England. She was afraid we died of

hunger given the so-called awful

food eaten by the Brits. Yet, it is no

longer the case. Things have

changed, evolved, the UK and

especially its capital has become

quite a likable place to enjoy healthy

and refined cuisine. After several

years of hard working, the Master

British Chef, restaurateur and

television personality Gordon

Ramsey is today, the favorite chef all

around the world. Awarded 13 times

by Michelin Guide Stars, he currently

owns 12 for his momentum of

courage, and his numerous skills that

led him through the difficulties of

being such an important figure for

the entire culinary domain.

Ramsey has described

his early life as

“hopelessly itinerant”

Born in Johnstone, province of

Scotland, and raised in Stradford-

upon-Avon Ramsey is the second of

four children. His father Gordon was

at various times a swimming pool

manager, a welder, and a

shopkeeper, besides being a very

violent man in the household, unlike

his mother Helen Cosgrove who kept

a steady job as a nurse. Ramsey has

described his early life as “hopelessly

itinerant” due to the aspirations and

failure of his father that made the

family move constantly. However, in

his autobiography Humble Pie the

renowned chef describes his early life

as being marked by abuse and

neglect from this "hard-drinking

womaniser" of his father.

“Perhaps I was doomed

when it came to

football”

He wasn’t predestined to be a chef in

his youth. He played football for

almost 8 years when seriously injured

his knee, smashing the. His football

career ended up with several wounds

causing him to remark later in his life

“Perhaps I was doomed when it

came to football”.

By this time his interest in cooking

had already begun and he started to pay more attention to his culinary

education so he enrolled at North

Oxfordshire Technical College to

study Hotel Management and

describes his decision to enter

catering college as “An accident, a

complete accident”. He started in the

late 1980’s as a commis chef at the

Roxburgh House Hotel. After some

issues in the institutions, he was

forced to move to London where he

worked in a series of restaurants until

being inspired to work with the

temperamental Marco Pierre White

at Harveys.

“Rages, bullying and

violence”

Ramsay, tired of “the rages, bullying

and violence” decided that the way

to take control of his career was to

study French Cuisine when his

mentor White encouraged him to

work for Albert Roux at Le Gavroche

in Mayfair. After a successful year of

cooperation working, Albert Roux

invited him to work in the French

Alps as his second. Upon his return

to London in 1993, Ramsay was

offered the position of head chef at

La Tante Claire in Chelsea. Shortly

thereafter, Marco White re-entered

his life, offering to set him up with a

head chef position and 10% share in

the Rossmore, owned by White's

business partners. The restaurant was

renamed Aubergine and went on to

win its first Michelin star fourteen

months later. In 1997, Aubergine won

its second Michelin star. Despite the

restaurant's success, a dispute with

Ramsay's business owners and

Ramsay's dream of running his own

restaurant led to his leaving the

partnership in 1997. In 1998, Ramsay

opened his own restaurant in

Chelsea, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay,

with the help of his father-in-law,

Chris Hutcheson. The restaurant

gained its third Michelin star in 2001,

making Ramsay the first Scottish chef

to achieve that feat of winning 3 Michelin Stars.

Brett Moore depicts Gordon

Ramsey’s book Humble Pie

“Gordon Ramsay has been

called a lot of things in his life.

“Nice guy” probably isn’t one

of them. Chef Ramsay is more

known for his temper and

scathing outbursts in the

kitchen. However, despite his

unconventional management

style, he is without a doubt one

of the best chefs in the world

and has several successful

restaurants to prove it.”

Moreover, Gordon Ramsey’s

celebrity is also due to his

participation in many shows such as

“Hell in Kitchen” on the American

BBC or “Nightmare in Kitchen” on iTV

where he helps restaurant owners to

deal with their issues. He says in one

episode I quote “From an early age I

understood that cooking was never

going to be a job, it's a passion. Poor

old Antony Worrall Thompson, poor

old Delia Smith, I don't think the

penny's dropped yet!”

So far, Gordon Ramsay’s one of the

most favorite chefs of all the

audience and yet, he is still down to

earth. It is very unaccustomed for a

celebrity to still feel compassion

about his own journey, and to feel

that he’s able to make mistakes as

well. But the important part of his

journey is his wanting to bring closer

the French and English gastronomy.

What we need to focus on is the way

we must go beyond the clichés of

English food seen as bland and

strange because English chef

innovate and build themselves a

reputation around the world

precisely because they want to

export their expertise, give a true and

real image of the current English

cuisine that inspire itself from many

other cuisines of the world, becaus

e if you look closely, they’re many

kind of restaurants in cities such as

London. And it’s precisely what

makes the wealth of English cuisine:

heritage is being built in a globalized

world where are cultures meet. As for

French cuisine, it’s more a

phenomenon that has continued

throughout the centuries by

becoming a model of tradition and

creativeness for all the chef around

the world. After questioning a few

people in London, their thought

about French cuisine was that they

use strange animals to make a plate

such as frogs. Likewise, the French

people say about English cuisine that

it looks more like fast food than

elegant and sophisticated. Their

worst nightmare is the English

traditional pudding that looks ,

according to them I quote“like a

strange mountain of moving jelly”.

This year, since London became the

place to be at in 2012, our team

decided to make a small course if 5

places through the city for all the

tourists in need to eat where London

food calling takes place:

1. Bloomsbury

Malabar Junction

107 Great Russell Street,WC1

020 7580 5230 ££

TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD

Indian. Do not be deterred by the exterior , so 1970’s. The bright room

with a great fence , candelabras , and

Plant look like chic restaurants of

south India. It’s a good thing since

the house is specialized in cuisine

from Kerala Enjoy the cheap cocktails

such as the Imperial (£5.90), and be

aware that the Amritsari fish is a

must !

2.Soho

Wahaca

80 Wardour Street, W1

020 7734 0195 ££

PICCADILLY CIRCUS

Mexican. Customers are flocking to

this new address ! In the huge L-

shaped room with walls made of

gray bricks. The idea is to stay green,

starting with the 100% recycling of

garbage . The cuisine excels with

dishes inspired by Mexican market

such as tacos or enchiladas. Grilled

fished, including the famous red

mullet with chili worth the trip.

3.Mayfair

Sartoria

20 Savil Row, W1

020 7534 7000 £££

OXFORD CIRCUS

Italian. Spacious, elegant, serene ... are the first adjectives that come to

mind when you go into this Italian-

tailored located in the middle of

Savile Row tailors. On the menu, a

set of classic dishes Alps,

meticulously cooked and served.

Spinach ravioli, baked monkfish sprinkled with crispy Parma ham, the

list never ends. A real treat!

4. Shoreditch

Bistrotheque

23-27 Wadeson Street, E2

020 8983 7900 ££

BETHNAL GREEN

Local cuisine. A Quasi-institution in Shoreditch, Bistrotheque is prized for

its innovative cabaret as for its dining

room. Located in a back street that

looks like White Chapel, this

restaurant is very bistro road with its

white tiles and dark wood chairs. The

menu is short but appetizing,

starting with the generous fish &

chips, with mushy peas, or the

refreshing fennel salad. Set menus

from £ 17.50, and Sunday brunch is

always mobbed.

5. Clerkenwell

Bistrot Bruno Loubet

The Zetter hotel

86-88 Clerkenwell road, EC1 £££

020 7324 4455

FARRINGDON

French. This annex of Zetter

Townhouse stands with a green

terrace on the small square of

Clerkenwell. It may be the !ost

pleasant baroque dining room of

London. Original idea of Bruno

Loubet from Bordeaux who flew back

to the British capital after a decade in

Australia. Loubet has not earned his

Michelin star for nothing and the

menu holds the upper hand. The

cocktail menu and wine list is also

exemplary. “Ze meust”