British restaurant declared best in world

[jamotto]

Link

quote:

---

LONDON (AFP) - A British restaurant emerged as the best in the world in an annual list that also revealed Britain -- a country often laughed at for its poor food -- is home to the largest number of top eateries.

The Fat Duck, in a village in Berkshire, west of London, won the coveted title of top dining spot at The World's 50 Best Restaurant's 2005 awards on Monday night, which also featured 13 other restaurants in Britain alone.

Critics, however, argued that the annual list -- compiled by the magazine Restaurant and chosen by more than 500 chefs and experts -- was more of a guide on good places to eat rather than the best the world has to offer.

Comprising entries from mainly developed countries, France had eight restaurants inside the top 50, while the United States only had six.

Asia was notably lacking in representation at the awards in London, with just one restaurant in Hong Kong, called Felix, coming in at number 49.

Owned by chef Heston Blumenthal, The Fat Duck in Bray wowed the judges with original dishes such as sardine on toast sorbet and bacon and egg ice cream.

"It's a complete package of enjoyment I am after," said Blumenthal, whose scientific approach to creating new flavours has seen him dubbed the guru of "molecular gastronomy", according to The Guardian newspaper.

"If I discover something new and get a sense of excitement about it, I want to pass it on to the customer in the dining room," he was quoted as saying by the daily.

"It is like when you see an incredible view or drink a great bottle of wine -- the experience is heightened if you share it with someone else."

The restaurant, which offers three extensive menus ranging in price from 37.50 pounds (71 dollars, 55 euros) for lunch to 97.50 pounds, snatched the top slot from The French Laundry in California, pushing it into third place.

Second in line was Spain's El Bulli, while fourth and fifth went to Tetsuya's in Sydney and Gordon Ramsay in London.

Ella Johnston, the editor of Restaurant magazine, said the public's growing enthusiasm for food drove Britain's dynamic restaurant scene -- which has moved far away from the stereotypical, bland image of meat-and-two-veg in the past.

"British chefs used to just go abroad to the US and France," she was quoted as saying in The Guardian.

"Now, with people becoming more adventurous eaters and with more money in London and the surrounding areas, they know they will have an audience for great food," she said.

Jay Rayner, a food critic in the weekly Observer newspaper, however, argued that the list was an unfair reflection of the world's dining industry.

"By no stretch of the imagination are 14 of the world's best restaurants in the UK," he said in the Observer's sister Guardian newspaper.

While agreeing that The Fat Duck deserved its number one rating and other eateries were tasty, Rayner said: "The list is a collection of 50 good restaurants, some of which deserve to be there, some of which don't.

Johnston agreed that the list could be seen as "Angloscentric", but she denied that it was biased as it had been chosen by an international panel that included prominent figures such as the Chinese chef Ken Hom.

---

bacon and egg ice cream? YUCK!

[Kevin Trotter]

Is this a joke? I spent some time in England in the 80's. Great women,cool people, great sense of humor, but the food...I dont know man..is this a joke or something?

[jamotto]

nope, if you want the best, GB's got it.

[DennyMala]

I'm not arguing with you guys...I'll tell you one thing only, I'm italian and I've been in GB...I cannot understad how they survive eating that way...

[Ben Zwycky]

You obviously haven't been to the right places, and definitely haven't tasted anything my mum cooks. Absolutley gorgeous

My wife is a very good cook as well, but she's Czech, and she's copied a lot of my mum's recipes as well as creating her own.

[DennyMala]

Probably not... still here in Italy wherever you go you'll eat good stuffs...

[Ben Zwycky]

Basically any country pub in England is a good bet, and there are lots near where my parents live.

[DennyMala]

Well...maybe I have difficult tastes....I don't know; I tried many pubs as I am a beers fan and like to try every new brand or recipe I find...but with scarce results apart for the sandwich and hamburgers of various flavours. Good I might just say but cannot compare with a full italian meal.

[Ben Zwycky]

Those were probably city pubs, am I right? country pubs (in small villages or in the middle of nowhere) are a whole different story.

[DennyMala]

Yes, city pubs....the smallest town where I've been there is Inverness in Scotland. The other steps was London and Edinburgh.