35. First Michelin Star For Stratford upon Avon.

  The Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand Awards having been announced 3 days ago - the West Midlands gained three new Bib Gourmands (Charlton Arms in Ludlow, The Leaping Hare at Stanton in Gloucestershire and The Bell Inn at Langton in Gloucestershire) and lost none -  we now know the higher awards which have just been announced at a long and tedious ceremony hosted by a very inexpert interviewer at the BFI IMAX Cinema in Waterloo. Winning chefs were asked a couple of questions each which made the ceremony drag on for even longer and it was all preceded by a toe-curlingly embarrassing interview with Gordon Ramsay whose waist seems to be expanding rapidly in his middle age.

  There were no new stars for Birmingham but Paul Foster's well thought of Salt in Stratford upon Avon was awarded one star only about 15 or 16 months after it first opened. I visited two or three times in 2017 soon after it opened its doors to the food-loving public and I posted a review on Tripadvisor which is shown below. Yes, I know I hate Tripadvisor but sometimes it seems worthwhile to write about a new restaurant if one has a positive opinion about it to give it some support.

  It's disappointing that Birmingham has not upped its star count this year but there were only 18 new stars in the United Kingdom this year plus 3 restaurants taking 2 stars. Manchester which likes to pretend it's the Second City once more failed to be awarded a single star and remains a Michelin desert. Of the 18 new single star winners it's not surprising that six are located in London and 3 more in the Home Counties. Michelin is fun to read but its opinions are only those of people who think they're greater experts than the rest of us and often prove that they are not.