After decades of humiliation, we can now be taken seriously. Having watched ‘British Cuisine’ re-invent itself on TV complete with Jenny Bond voice-overs; we are now undoubtedly living in the golden age of restaurants proud to be serving British food and proudly pushing local produce. And why not? It makes for moving PR pitches and it allows for fancy farmer names on menus. Canteen takes the concept to the max and have smeared the Union Jack all over the shop like free sachets of HP sauce

I will never be able to afford the Martin 0M-28. The solid mahogany, the musky rosewood and that resonant, clear and crisp ring, I was John Mayer possessed strumming along to ‘No such thing’, now eternally burned into my memory from years of fandom. Achingly, I have to put down the guitar in the shop on Denmark Street and head out to lunch across the road at Giaconda instead, and sit there to dream about legendary guitars seemingly tempting me to empty my wallets. But in recessionary times, I’ve only got enough for a Blueridge, not quite a Martin or a Taylor and definitely not a Cherry Sunburst Les Paul

There are two Toms in London who appeal to me. Both are men of food and both have legends written about their conquests in the kitchen. “Why yes of course I would like to sample an all expense paid meal at Tom Ilic” when their hype department called. Can we stop calling this food blagging and call it a blag-pass instead? It sounds rather more palatable. Read at your peril

This review is way overdue. First of all, wild honey’s reputation precedes them, yet I feel like their presence is still relatively low-key. I think of wild honey as the new wave of modern awesome british restaurants serving exciting food and modernising the sour reputation british food carries. Did I mention their three course set lunch menu is only £

Gordon Ramsay looms over British cooking like a big bad shadow. He owns no less than ten restaurants (in the UK) under his label and his formidable marketing machine is used extensively to turn those restaurants into brand names in their own right. All that gloss is seemingly a way of guaranteeing a quality fine dining experience, albeit one that feels manufactured (aren’t they all to some extent?) . My visit to Maze was not based on Gordon’s merit alone, rather I was drawn to the man in the kitchen, Jason Atherton. He has gained a cult status since opening Maze and I had to find out just how creative his unique taster menu really was

We have a shortage of good, great British restaurants. There has been so much press lately about how crap British food really is, but you know I wonder, is it really that bad? Everybody has heard about a certain Jamie ranting about how food in this country is the ‘new poverty’. Conversely, there has been positive media on British food with shows such as Great British Menu , essentially a cook-off showcasing the best dishes from the region, and the winning dishes being served at a swanky venue to self-important members of ‘high society’ most probably somewhere in London. A phrase on the show that gets mentioned alot is local produce. I think its a great concept, not only is locally sourced food fresh, it keeps costs down and it helps out your local butcher. Successful chefs are also resourceful buggers. Emergence of the great british restaurant To average Joe Bloggs, possibly suffering from the recent credit fallout that is ravaging the city, all he really wants is a good meal. Media attention, good or bad, usually makes for interesting shifts in society, and in this case, Great British restaurants. What kind of name is 32? Well its not a name. Its the actual address of the place. I recall when this gastropub opened last year they only had so much as a black banner with no words, I walked back and forth a few times before I realised that 32 Green Queen

Fish and chips is a national symbol. The reason I say so is because everybody has their own personal experience of it. If you ask someone where their favourite chippie is, you’ll get this long gaze (like he’s going down memory lane), with a lowered voice, they go ’i know this place…’. You can tell from their facial expressions how much they enjoy it.  The story usually ends with a polite nudge to pay a visit and proclamation that you wont be disappointed. Oh the joy of having found that dish. my chippie story I grew up in a really small town on the other side of the world and as far away from england as can be. But you know, I still remember my first brush with the old fish and chip combo. It was in a ‘western restaurant’, as they are call it in asia, that served steaks roast chicken and the like. I ordered a large haddock and chips.  The beauty is its simplicity. It can taste so good, when the batter is crispy, the steam gushing out on first cut and silky smooth fresh fish