Quote from: spiceyokooko on January 07, 2012, 07:46 PM

Quote from: Razor on January 07, 2012, 07:04 PM
It's total crap and if they really want to understand what is good or bad information, then that can be achieved through civil debate without the need for sarcasm and put downs.

And posting pictures of monkeys when you and your cronies decide you don't agree with an opinion is your definition of 'civilised debate' is it?

Yeah, hands held up, I let myself down in doing that, however there is no point in holding a civilised debate with you as it's clearly a case of "my way or the highway" as far as you're concerned.  You don't debate Spicey, you question, then disagree, then ridicule and as a grand finale, you throw a good CHEFSPOON of sarcasm in, just for good measure. 

And if by "cronies" you mean, like minded individuals, that are sick to the back teeth of your obvious contempt for other members methods and opinions, just because they don't fit in with your "far superior" way of doing things then I'm glad to be one of the cronies, especially if that means that I don't fall into the "obnoxious elitist catergory" that you seem to single handedly occupy..!

Ray

Quote from: Phil (Chaa006) on January 07, 2012, 12:02 AM
I don't have a chef's spoon.  I don't have an aluminium frying pan apparently identical to those used in BIRs.   I don't have an 8kW blast furnace, or even a gas hob.  But I can still cook a Chicken Madras and a Pulao rice that are the equal of most BIRs and better than some.  What am I doing wrong ?

LIKE!

Quote from: Razor on January 07, 2012, 07:44 PM
what it implies, from my part anyway is, if you are struggling with any of my recipes, they please, ask away!  For instance, if you can't get hold of a certain ingredient, then ask so I maybe able to offer an alternative ingredient.  And how welcoming does that sentence sound to a new member who may not necessarily be new to cooking but could be new to forums in general?  It's my way of making them feel at ease.!

OK, fair enough, especially if you mean  questions related to your recipes. I also accept that there are plenty of people on the first few rungs of the ladder, or higher actually, who would appreciate any general help you might generously provide.

I'm still genuinely puzzled by any suggestion (by others, not you) that there are cliques here. I doubt if I'm included. Who is?

Quote from: George on January 08, 2012, 02:04 AM


I'm still genuinely puzzled by any suggestion (by others, not you) that there are cliques here. I doubt if I'm included. Who is?

I'm sorry, clique members aren't allowed to talk about the clique, otherwise we get instantly assassinat....

Quote from: George on January 08, 2012, 02:04 AM
I'm still genuinely puzzled by any suggestion (by others, not you) that there are cliques here. I doubt if I'm included. Who is?

Well certnley not me George I'm what one would call a "rank outsider" (and I don't mean "rank" as in smell )
but It don't make me a bad person, ;D
I still have a lot to learn, And I love this forum

Les

Quote from: natterjak on January 08, 2012, 11:04 AM

Quote from: George on January 08, 2012, 02:04 AM


I'm still genuinely puzzled by any suggestion (by others, not you) that there are cliques here. I doubt if I'm included. Who is?

I'm sorry, clique members aren't allowed to talk about the clique, otherwise we get instantly assassinat....

WE'VE BEEN HIT...........MONKEY DOWN!!!!  WE NEED BACKU......................

On a more serious note and getting back on topic of chef spoons and their use for measuring essential ingredients, by which I mean those that can seriously impact on the flavour of a dish ie. garlic/ginger, tomato paste, mix powder, less is better.  Unclefrank found this out with C2G's madras and PaulP when making IFFU's base.  If a recipe or an account of observations made in a BIR kitchen that include the measure "chef spoon" one should err on the side of caution and equate it to 2.5 tbsp rather than 4tbsp.
As a forum i think we should avoid the this unit of measure for all key ingredients.  That's not to say a chef's spoon of precooked pepper/onions or a level chef's spoon of spicy onions is incorrect though.  The impact of these ingredients is far less critical than mix powder, garlic, tomato paste etc.  Well that's my thoughts anyway for what they're worth.

My thoughts too, CH.  Some ingredients are so fundamental to the creation of the dish that any vagueness as to quantity could have a truly damaging impact.  Much better to stick to standard, recognised measures such as, for example, 'tsp', 'tbsp' (with the addition of 'heaped' if necessary) to avoid confusion.
al.

Quote from: spiceyokooko on January 07, 2012, 01:53 PM
The forum is useful, but it's a shame it's so cliquey and there's as much misinformation and fluff as there is useful information.

I agree Spicey; we should all try to change/improve that! 

The stupid pictures of monkeys are a prime (ate  ) example of it!  :

I disagree there are any cliques here any more. I agree some regular posters like a bit of banter with each other but does that make it a clique?

In the social sciences, the word "clique" is used to describe a group of 2 to 12 (averaging 5 or 6) ?persons who interact with each other more regularly and intensely than others in the same setting.?

Okay, maybe it does but I don't see why that is a bad thing. It's not like other people are excluded from these chats is it?

I also can't think of a single instance of any deliberate misinformation being given out. It may appear that way because we all have different opinions and experiences of how things should be done. If we had a thread about making a ham and cheese omelette I'm sure there would be lots of differing opinions. If you put 10 BIR chefs with 20 years experience each in a room and asked them to provide a definitive guide to cooking a Madras they couldn't do it because they will all cook differently.

Quote from: chriswg on January 17, 2012, 03:45 PM
I disagree there are any cliques here any more. I agree some regular posters like a bit of banter with each other but does that make it a clique?

Yes, it can certainly appear that way.

Quote
In the social sciences, the word "clique" is used to describe a group of 2 to 12 (averaging 5 or 6) ?persons who interact with each other more regularly and intensely than others in the same setting.?

Exactly!

Quote
Okay, maybe it does but I don't see why that is a bad thing. It's not like other people are excluded from these chats is it?

Yes!  Definitely so!  AND they, and their opinions, are trashed accordingly (by the clique!  Watch this space!  )

Oh, and don't forget the "passive/tacit cliquishness"!