Well two weeks have now passed since Paco left, and on the whole we are getting by pretty well. Things are very different now, Andre is making a lot of changes, trying new approaches, trying new things. Thats neither good, nor bad, but its different. Some work, some dont. We had our first Gourmet ... be plenty of backup when we needed it. Now that Paco, Greg, Walter and Anna have gone, things seem...

Its been nearly six months since Paco left. Hard to believe, so much seems to have happened since then. The place is almost unrecognisable now, we've re-arranged the furniture in the Library, the table layout has changed in the restaurant, the staff are all different, and many of the regulars have now gone elsewhere. About a month ago our new manager Mark started, and he seems to be settling...

... night. So, how do we solve a problem like Paco? Well it seems that, wisely, they are planning...

Commis, Commis and Chef Sommelier in order). Paco has been offered a dream job back in Spain at El...

At yesterday’s Barcelona Wine Festival, there was an interesting exchange at one of the sessions. When introducing Javier Santafe of the Viñas de Vero winery of the D.O. Somontano , moderator Paco Campo said that Somontano could well be considered the Napa of Spain. This prompted a quick-witted rebuttal from Mr. Santafe: “In our opinion, Napa could be considered the Somontano of California...

Finished the first draft of the new wine-list. Initial response from Paco and Greg is very good. Some small adjustments to make, underlining headers to distinguish them from the main body of the list, tweaking some of the empty spaces by adding some graphics - label images etc. But over all the response is good. Im very happy with it, although I know there will be a couple of weeks of proof...

Chez nous, les petits, les vendanges commencent par la mise en bouteilles. C'est qu'il faut faire de la place pour la prochaine vendange, même si elle n'est pas miraculeuse. Emprunter du matériel de qualité, se munir d'un accolyte capable de jouer de la boucheuse et de l'embouteilleuse (Merci Stéphane!). Cette année, même le petit Paco s'y est mis. Résultat des courses : un peu plus de 1600...

... they inform the Chef de Rang that they had a gift voucher to pay for the meal. So Paco goes over to see ... moment now. The dozy eejit then tells Paco that they've left the voucher at home " I didnt think I...

Nos vendanges 2008 sont terminées. Dimanche dernier, avec mon Paco, nous avons terminé notre saison en ramassant la petite parcelle de cabernet de Bezigon. Un peu après 9 heures, le raisin était encore blanchi par le givre et le pauvre Paquito en avait bien froid aux mains...Il se distrayait en ... compter sur nos vendangeurs, toujours prêts à couper dans la bonne humeur. Et pour Paco, on lui...

On Sunday night we all had an emotional send off for Paco at the Foxcote Inn, Little Barrow. Leigh and Cathy had invited the Arkle team to say goodbye to Paco and to wish him all the best ... to pick out defining flavours. Paco loved this wine, and I have to say it was one of the stars ... service. We are all going to miss Paco terribly much, hes an incredable act to follow, and Im sure he...