Straight from the Chef's Table

Knives at dawn! UJ restaurant moles report from the frontline of London's restaurant scene.

Overheards

Westbourne Grove may finally be getting its groove back. Daylesford Organic is rumoured to be spending £5 mill on their new store, and chic choc shop Atelier de Chocolate will be opening there too. That should reintroduce a bit of flavour to the area.

People singing for their supper at The Real Greek . To tie in with the release of Mamma Mia, diners have been challenged to sing the title song in return for free mezze. Whether that makes you more or less keen to go we don't know.

The only reason LCA addicts (that's devotees of Le Cafe Anglais ) are managing to cope with weekends away is by ordering the restaurant's Survival Pack. Containing anchovies, chili flakes, risotto rice and all those other gourmet ingredients you couldn't possibly live without, it's a snip at £95. 'Hey man, got any parmesan custard? I need a fix.'

Spotted

Rick Stein's beer, Chalky's Bite (named after his late trusty Jack Russell) winning first prize at the Quality Drink Awards at Vinopolis. Its hint of Cornish fennel makes it the perfect accompaniment to seafood. For human consumption only.

Precocious kids enjoying the new Petit Gourmand menu at Le Cercle . The little brats, sorry, darlings, are gorging themselves silly on ravioles du Royan (that's cheese ravioli) and black cod with crunch ratatouille. Fish fingers and chips will never be received with quite the same enthusiasm.

Trend - Posh Picnics

A ham roll and a flask of squash on a scratchy blanket just doesn't cut it these days. Recent al fresco feasts we've attended have featured Scotch quail eggs from Foodfullstop.com and organic Gravadlax from Abel & Cole. Would it be wrong to say we kinda miss Salad Cream?

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.