London chefs may have missed out on the Independent newspaper's top award (chef of the year went to Whatley Manor's Martin Burge), but several of the capital's restaurants, bars and food shops managed to secure an award in the paper's Food and Drink Awards. Terroirs got Best Restaurant, Chez Bruce picked up the Best Wine List, The Goring hotel got Best Breakfast (which Hot Dinners can confirm is one of the best we've had this year by a long shot) and the Electric Bar got - you guessed it - Best Bar. On the food shop front Marylebone's La Fromagerie was voted Best Deli, while Clarendon Roads Michanicou Brothers got the gong for Best Greengrocer.
Other news stories this week:
- Did Heston's programme mislead viewers? According to Richard and Peter Harden, the recent Channel 4 follow-up programme on Heston Blumenthal's Popham Little Chef may have dramatically enhanced the sequence when the cafe was 'reviewed' for inclusion in the Good Food Guide. Find out what the fuss is all about here.
- American lard-asses get the Jamie treatment as Oliver heads across the pond to show them the error of their ways
- Better bush tucker? Ready Steady Cook chef Gino D'Acampo joins the I'm a celebrity get me out of here cast for the new series.
- Blagging for the common good - how food bloggers turned blaggers for a charity banquet
- Restaurateurs are tightening their belts as a new survey reveals half of London restaurants failed to make a profit last month
