Food - the proof of the pudding really is in the eating

In September 2009, Traction Man, a UK blogger who had spent much of the year in hospital, made the headlines when his "hospital food bingo" game.

It was, as the BBC reported at the time, a challenge he set for his friends to try to identify the meals he had been served up over a period of time, which he described as being invariably "mushy, minced and overcooked".

Not surprisingly perhaps it wasn't always easy for them to guess what was on the "menu" just from the photographs alone.

Commenting at the time on the story, Laurent Ruquier, a well-known radio and television presenter in France, suggested on his daily round-table radio show here that it perhaps went a long way to illustrating the British (and US) obsession for the way in which food is presented and how it looks.

Although The French, he mused (not necessarily seriously) were often equally guilty of paying as much attention to the appearance of what was on their plate, on the whole they were more concerned with taste, edibility and flavours.

Well at a time when many of us are probably recovering from seasonal excesses, two rather different dishes left food for thought (sorry) for one particular gourmet - or should that be gourmand? - on this side of the Channel.

One was sautéed scallops served on a bed of puréed sweet potatoes bought from a local delicatessen and in theory a truly mouth-watering treat for the eyes (if such a thing is possible.



The other was a more homely looking (all right then it resembled something of a dog's dinner when served up) venison in a red wine sauce accompanied by a couple of mashes involving potatoes, celeriac, carrots and various spices.



Certainly from the photos you can see that one definitely looked more tempting, but as if to substantiate that old adage that "the proof of the pudding really is in the eating" it shouldn't be too difficult to guess which one really tickled the taste buds while the other disappointed.

Bon appetit.