What If We Just Got Rid of Fine Dining?

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

@ML8000

The other thing, perhaps ignore Michelin stars. Find another way to review restaurants that is NOT associated so closely with the French brigade model.

Yes, but…

The only starred place we visit, is a very casual village pub. They still have space where you can just get a drink but most customers are dining. But this is very much a pub setting - just with elevated food. My review of it from last year:-

[Fence, Lancashire] White Swan

Fifty three years ago, to the day, we were having dinner in the restaurant of Manchester Airport’s then only hotel. We’d seen singer Matt Munro in the bar (this was before “celeb spotting” was a thing, so it was quite exciting, even though he was an older generation’s star)). And we’d ordered corn on the cob as a then very fashionable starter. It came, inelegantly, with a fork stuck in each end. And it was cold. It was one of the very rare occasions over our life when we have sent food back i…