Best Place to Eat

The March edition of Gourmet magazine claims that London (UK) is the best place to eat on the planet.

It is certainly better than it was twenty years ago - even ten years ago, but I doubt that this is a correct claim. I have had some of the best meals I have ever eaten there - especially at Locatelli and at 15 - but I have also been well fed here at home in Edmonton - Pack Rat Louis, Hardware Grill, Jack's Grill, Chance..

I suppose food is a very personal thing - the kind of thing where experience counts. Having been brought up as a young child in a restaurant (my grandfather was Marcel Leclerc - a well known chef in the north of England who was trained in Paris; he owned Hardy's restaurant in Bradford opposite St George's Hall) and having been cooking seriously (as an amateur) since I was 20 I guess my standards are high.

But its good for London that people like Gordon Ramsey are around and doing well.

Tonight is The Oscar's - a traditional Murgatroyd evening of dining, drinking and watching. The theme tonight is Tex-Mex (we are doing a chili while the kids do everything else).

I have made my Oscar selections (stuff below shows % of 200,000 voting - my selections in bold and red):

Actor in a Leading Role : (4%) Don Cheadle - HOTEL RWANDA(6%) Johnny Depp - FINDING NEVERLAND(17%) Leonardo DiCaprio - THE AVIATOR(3%) Clint Eastwood - MILLION DOLLAR BABY(69%) Jamie Foxx - RAY

Actress in a Leading Role : (14%) Annette Bening - BEING JULIA(2%) Catalina Sandino Moreno - MARIA FULL OF GRACE (3%) Imelda Staunton - VERA DRAKE(76%) Hilary Swank - MILLION DOLLAR BABY(6%) Kate Winslet - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

Best Picture : (64%) The Aviator(4%) Finding Neverland(19%) Million Dollar Baby(10%) Ray(3%) Sideways

Actor in a Supporting Role :(8%) Alan Alda - THE AVIATOR(9%) Thomas Haden Church - SIDEWAYS(10%) Jamie Foxx - COLLATERAL(57%) Morgan Freeman - MILLION DOLLAR BABY(16%) Clive Owen - CLOSER

Actress in a Supporting Role : (52%) Cate Blanchett - THE AVIATOR(3%) Laura Linney - KINSEY(7%) Virginia Madsen - SIDEWAYS(7%) Sophie Okonedo - HOTEL RWANDA(30%) Natalie Portman - CLOSER

Directing : (47%) The Aviator(46%) Million Dollar Baby(5%) Ray(1%) Sideways(0%) Vera Drake

Its not been a great year for film (2004), with almost all of the real winners being released in the October - December period.

It's nice to see the film Vera Drake being recognised through a nomination. Worth seeing. Ray is outstanding.