22. London: 50, West Midlands: 1.

  In the recently announced Estrella National Restaurant Awards a bunch of critics put their heads together and chose what are, in their humble opinions, the 100 best restaurants in Britain.

  We won't be too surprised to find that they rated 50 of their choice to be restaurants located in London. Nor will we be too surprised that these doyens of gastronomic criticism rated only one West Midlands restaurant - Carter's Of Moseley - good enough to feature in the top 100 list and then in a rather lowly number 66 position though this single West Midlands representative is sufficient for the ever-optimistic Birmingham Post to claim that Brad Carter 'has helped put the Second City centre-stage again' which seems just a little unjustified.

  I don't think that this has anything to do with the quality of our great restaurants but it is more a consequence of the blinkered viewpoint of London-based, elitist critics who, in the words of Giles Coren, view us as 'One eyes'.

  What a waste of time these lists are. And what a shame that the Birmingham Post gives publicity to them though I suppose Brad Carter is glad of the mention.

  The Post points out that this is Carter's return to this particular list - in 2016 his restaurant was placed at number 91 and then was absent from the list in 2017. Meanwhile Adam's was at number 52 last year and Simpson's was at 91 but both have been dropped completely from the 2018 list.

  The post quotes the organisers of the list as saying, "From Michelin-starred dining rooms with tasting menus to casual neighbourhood bistros and steakhouses, the awards are a celebration of places in the U.K. that make eating out a true pleasure." Although they don't add the obvious qualification which states, "providing they're in London or the Home Counties".

  Meanwhile, I am delighted to report that Maribel, where Richard Turner is head chef, has opened in Brindley Place and some friends and I had the magnificent 7 course dinner there 2 or 3 weeks ago. The new decor is very chic and the excellent front of house staff who served us previously when the restaurant was Edmund's fit in nicely in their new stylish get up. Turner has designed a wonderful menu, much of it beyond criticism, with some splendidly delicious dishes which look good, as shown below, and taste even better. Turner certainly seems to be on form with this new venture.

13. 2018 Michelin - Turner's Loses Its Star.

  This year's entrants in the Michelin Guide were announced at a live event on Monday 2 October 2017 held at The Brewery in east London.

  Last year's event was held at the Institute of Engineering and Technology in Savoy Place in London and was streamed live and looked like a very uncomfortable affair (see Blog 4).

  The Michelin Guide Great Britain And Ireland 2018 will be published on Thursday 5 October.

  This year's event confirmed that it's really all about London and its elitist classes who dine there. A sushi bar off Regent Street which seats just 9 diners and where a meal costs £300 became the fifth U.K. Restaurant to be awarded 3 stars. Meanwhile Claude Bosi, previously of Ludlow, saw his restaurant Bibendum in South Kensington achieve 2 stars making it the 9th restaurant in London to be so rewarded. Six more London restaurants were awarded single stars meaning that there are now 70 Michelin starred restaurants in London. No London restaurant lost a star except that one restaurant in the city closed.

  Yes, it really is all about London. We one eye yokels (to paraphrase Giles Coren - see Blog 6) who live in the provinces, clearly can't recognise a great meal when we see one or smell one or taste one. What a load of rubbish. And yet we still think that Michelin is the be all and end all of judging food quality.

  Birmingham chef, Richard Turner, last year decided that he'd had enough and purposefully gave up ridiculously expensive tasting menus and flim flammery in the full expectation of losing his Michelin star for his restaurant Turner's At 69 and the result is that has indeed lost his Michelin star this year. I don't suppose it'll bother his regular customers that much.

  Otherwise the situation in Birmingham remains unchanged - Purnell's, Simpson's, Carter's of Moseley and Adam's all retain their single stars but no new restaurant has been awarded a star nor have any of those established on the list received an additional reward. Slightly further afield, Peel's at Hampton Manor and The Cross at Kenilworth both retain their single stars and in Cheltenham Le Champignon Sauvage retains its 2 stars.

  So no real advance in the Michelin stakes for Birmingham and the West Midlands but what can we expect from a publication so centred on London and the south-east?

  But spare a passing thought for Manchester which likes to fantasise that it is Britain's "Second City" (which it isn't of course) - the 2018 Guide has not brought it any stars and so the city has not had a Michelin-starred restaurant for 40 years! Doubtless the Conservatives attending their party conference in Manchester this year will be looking forward to 2018 when it will again be held in Birmingham, Britain's real second city and gastronomic second city as well.

So, well done again Birmingham, given the uphill struggle in the face of Michelin inspectors who think that civilisation begins and ends in London, there's much to be excited about still when it comes to food in the city.

4. Birmingham's Michelin Constellation 2017 - Peel's Is A New Star.

  Today's (3 October 2016) "Michelin Guide 2017" launch event held at the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in Savoy Place in London has defined the Food Scene in Birmingham for the upcoming 12 months.

  The event was held at that particular venue as it is said to pay homage to the Guide's historic motoring background, the Guide having been introduced in France in 1900 by André and Edouard Michelin to inform motorists of where they could find good food and accommodation, the location of the most scenic driving routes and the places where driving essentials such as tyres - naturally - could be bought. Thirty five thousand copies of the first edition were printed and given away free by the brothers and 4 years later, a Belgium edition was released.

  The first edition of the British Isles version was published in 1911. The Guide began to award stars for fine dining establishments in 1926 though initially this involved the awarding of a single star with the hierarchy of 3 stars being introduced in 1931 and the meaning of each star being defined in 1936 so that:- 

  1 star was defined as representing "A very good restaurant in its category" (Une tres bonne table dans sa categorie)

  2 stars were defined as representing "Excellent cooking, worth a detour" (Table excellente, merite un detour)

  3 stars were defined as representing "Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey" (Une des meilleures tables, vaut le voyage").

  No Guide for Britain was issued from 1931 to 1974, the first star being given in 1974 to Le Gavroche, then in Lower Sloane Street in London, founded in 1967 by Michel and Albert Roux. Birmingham's first Michelin stars were not obtained until 2005 when Jessica's (chef Glyn Purnell) and Simpson's (chef Luke Tipping, relocated from Kenilworth) were both awarded a single star.

  Since 1955 the Guide has also awarded the Bib Gourmand which recognises restaurants which offer "exceptional good food at moderate prices" - a menu offering items priced below a maximum determined by local economic standards. Bib (Bibendum) is the company's name for the Michelin Man which has been its logo for more than 100 years. 

  The 2016 British Guide included 3 x 3 stars, 23 x 2 stars and 143 x 1 stars plus 155 Bibs Gourmands where meals should cost up to £28. Famously Birmingham restaurants took 5 x 1 stars in the 2016 edition - Purnell's, Simpson's, Turner's, Adam's, and Carter's Of Moseley.  

  And so .... to 2017. Who's up and who's down in Birmingham and The West Midlands?

  Peel's Restaurant At Hampton Manor in Hampton In Arden with its chef Robert Palmer was the only winner of a new one star award in the West Midlands. There were no other changes in star status in the area - Purnell's, Simpson's, Carters of Moseley, Turner's@69 and Adam's all keep their one star. Out of 18 new single star winners the usual London-centric awards gave 7 of the awards to the capital's restaurants with a further 3 in the Home Counties. 

  Slightly further afield in the West Midlands - Le Champignon Sauvage retains its 2 star status and The Butcher's Arms in Eldersfield in Worcestershire and The Cross at Kenilworth (in Kenilworth of course) retain their single star status.

  One can only conclude that travelling out of the safe south east is just that little bit too tiresome for Michelin inspectors though a trip up to Cumbria always seems worth the effort, an underpopulated area which has 2 new star winners. There was only one restaurant which was upgraded from one to 2 stars - Raby Hunt in Darlington so it seems as though Glynn Purnell will have to keep battling on for another year. 

  The ceremony which was streamed live on You Tube was rather awkward and the audience of prominent chefs didn't really look as though they were enjoying themselves that much. Still, there were canapes and champagne served at the end to cheer them all up. 

  Spare a thought for poor old Manchester, which, every so often, claims that it's Britain's "Second City"  - it still hasn't got even a single Michelin single-starred restaurant. Perhaps the Michelin inspectors don't like the place because it rains there so much!

  Peel's new star seems to be well deserved - the restaurant won the 2016 Birmingham Food And Drinks Awards "Best Fine Dining" prize with Hampton Manor also winning the Birmingham's Best Hotel award. 

  So Birmingham moves on with another Michelin starred restaurant in its vicinity. Great!