My letter to Mr Clive Aslet , The Times

I sent the response below to The Times, after Mr Aslets review. I am not sure if they published it. But here it is.

"Thank you so much for your kind words. Given that before 2004 I had not owned/managed a restaurant or been a chef, your accolade is warming. I am also humbled by your confidence in making such a public statement about my skills.

As for the room, etc. my blog, linked from our website, discusses this in detail. A bit harsh though, given that you stayed one night and in one room you weren't even sure you wanted a single or double and only confirmed last minute. Hence you got the last room in the house! You could have asked to see some of the other rooms too!

However, if a kindly investor wishes to bank on my potential as a “Michelin Star” Chef ;-) we could spruce the hotel rooms with swanky showers, balconies, etc., we are just an impecunious family trying to eke out a living and have few protagonists in the press - apart from Paddy Burt."

Clive Aslets comments in The Times- 28 July 2007- The room and service

Now that I have filled in appreciating his positive comments about my food, here is a quick look behind the scenes at his comment on rooms and service.

Mr Aslet "went to bed happy. I woke up thirsty. Where was a bottle of water? Not to be found". Of course not. He didn't buy one, did he? Hey, for £42 pppn (the room he was in) do you honestly expect free bottled water as well ? Just go down to some of the hotels charging as much as we do and you won't even find the "excellent coffee" that you had here. An eg: Our owners who ran this as a 3 star Hotel in 2003 had signs in the kitchen that said "For Breakfast staff" "Turn on the coffee machine. Reheat coffee from previous evening". That would be have been great eh ?

Moreover, if you pop by into the many small hotels near us, you will find teeny sausages, one sliver of bacon, a few bits of mushroom - all from a wholesale supplier. Do you think you would even find a breakfast like ours using local farm produce with mushrooms griddled to perfection around here. If you do, please let me know.

Mr Aslet says - "bedrooms that don’t betray the considerable investment that the owners have made in the hotel since buying it four years ago".
Of course not. Have you read my blog? and about the conditionof the hotel? Do you know that the ceiling dropped in our Coach House and had to be rebuilt quickly so we could live "literally" with a roof above our heads? This comment is particularly surprising coming from you as you understand the economies of old buildings. Surely, you would know that even spending a couple of hundred thousand pounds can disappear into the black hole with nothing to show for it in a building like ours. (As it happened to us). Now we are at a stage when we can spruce the hotel up. But we are rung dry - spent.

You know, what is particularly humiliating, is to watch and listen to criticism about rooms with my hands tied back unable to do anything. I know that some of the rooms are not as I want them to be, but I am powerless and penniless to change it. My vision is grand, with furniture made by the craftsmen of Channapatna in Mysore, with silks and cotton bedding in every room and elegant bathrooms with a touch of Southern India, soaps and oils made from sandalwood. Helpless, powerless, penniless, sad - that is my response everytime we get hauled up for the rooms.

On the funnier side - Mr Aslet said "For example, I had to get out of bed to switch on the light". I sent this article to my wonderful creative Parisien artist friend - Nicolas Taffin (http://www.polylogue.com) Here is his response-

"Beautiful (about the Michelin bit) !

But what? he had to get out of bed to switch on the light ???
Poor man.

Anyway, I'm a bit anxious about something.
Will we have to get out of bed to switch the light ? :-)

I hope Mark will give us a password to switch the light from the bed
using a terminal command across Wi-fi."

A bit of perspective in life is invigorating. Don't you think?

My other friend on IOW said " Good God! Did the man wet himself at night? He had to "get out of bed" to use the toilet. Poor man!! "

Then Mr Aslet writes - "Despite a confirmed reservation, I wasn’t expected when I arrived".
Naughty, naughty. You were expected. We had all your emails. The registration book was not handy and my memory gave way. Usually, I remember every one due to arrive. But then, lets jog your memory about your part of the action-

Your booking - you sent an email with confusing information about your arrival to my husband!! - not to the hotel website! How did you manage to do that? Then you were unsure of the room - requested a single then changed to a double room and then to a single occupancy of a double room - all for one night. You requested a standard double room and not a premier or sea view room for “one night only.” If you had you would have seen a room with a view rather than ones that face the cliffs.

Hey, this is not a problem, we are all human and make mistakes, just as you wrote Bonchurch and not Bonchurch Manor in your article!!

As my comments on "The Times" site says, if I had the money, this would look a million times better. Therein lies the challenge.

The Times - Clive Aslet says-Give Star in Michelin Guide for us.

"If the Michelin Guide cared about proper food, rather than the degree of starch in the napkins, it would give Bonchurch Manor a star", says Mr Aslet in the Saturday Times, July 28th 2007.

What an accolade !! I am stunned. To say this publicly as well ! Wowee! How often is Indian food recognised as being complex and delicate enough to warrant such grades. Usually,this food conjures up slapped on "curry type" cheap gunk. God forbid if you charge "Western Food" prices for dishes that are delicious !! In such a public climate, I am absolutely honored by Mr Aslets comments. For a white person to make this statement is bold and radical.

If you look at some of the food blogs listed on my Tiffin Room blog you can find the most amazing cooks and recipes. They are ordinary people yet their cuisine is heavenly. And any way should'nt the Michelin Grading be more inclusive- taking into its fold the vast spectrum of people and food from around the world?

Mr Aslet says "I got back to a superb breakfast, made from local, free-range produce. The coffee was excellent". True, True. The experimentation - the errors, the fine toning of the ingredients have resulted in a breakfast that we think is the best. Would you find a breakfast cooked only with olive oil and tomatoes sprinkled with fresh basil in a place which provides accommodation in such a splendid location at £42 pppn !!

Do you know that in 2004, when we were experimenting with presentation, taste and variety, we offered a selection of breads- cheese, pumpkin, aniseed, fruit, plain etc. And guess what. Perhaps 2 people asked for this bread. Everyone wanted the synthetic plain white or brown toast. And the coffee- we had a couple who wanted to try every type of coffee we had on our menu. Java, Italian, Blue mountain. Would any other Guest Accomodation provider have allowed this ? We think not.