Bucks is the place for food lovers (From Ealing Times)

Bucks is the place for food lovers

2:37pm Wednesday 4th January 2006 in Food and Drink By Sandra Carter

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE is an exciting place to live if you love eating out in style. And it just gets better.

The trend for top chefs to turn their backs on London and set up in the stockbroker belt continues to grow. The prices to buy or lease a restaurant here are lower, and they think we all have fat wallets, so out they come.

This is good news if you want a good choice of venues for an extra special night out. But I wonder if we're reaching saturation point for restaurants serving stylish food at stylish prices. The downside is that whenever a little country pub turns haute cuisine, there are fewer places left to find a simple pub meal at low cost.

But I'm not grumbling. It's been a good year for trying out new venues with ambitious young chefs seeking to make their mark.

Awards have been flying round the county this year too. Top accolade went to Heston Blumenthal, who lives in Marlow and runs The Fat Duck in Bray, just over the Berks border.

After gaining three Michelin stars in January, The Fat Duck topped Restaurant magazine's list of the 50 best restaurants in the world.

Spring saw Tom Kerridge causing waves at The Hand and Flowers in Marlow. He brought his experience alongside Gary Rhodes and Stephen Bull plus two years as head chef at a Michelin-star restaurant in Norwich, and promised: "We're trying to offer a Michelin standard of product at a lower price to a more varied clientele."

And just a few weeks ago Simon Crawshaw left the high life at Chez Nico and the Sloane Club and bought The Three Horseshoes at Bennett End.

More awards followed around the district: The Red Lion at Coleshill was named Home Counties Community Pub of the Year; The Ivy House near Amersham was Freehouse of the Year; The Green Dragon at Haddenham was Bucks Dining Pub of the Year; The Compleat Angler in Marlow was awarded three AA rosettes.

And Malik's Tandoori at Cookham, again just over the Berks border, continued its habit of winning awards, being named Top Curry House for the South-East in the British Curry Awards.

Stoke Park Club's Chris Wheeler featured on ITV's Hell's Kitchen and his restaurant was rated in the Top 20 out-of-town restaurants by one guide.

Celebrity chef Phil Vickery opened his own restaurant, The King of Prussia, saying: "I'm determined not to be too restauranty or gastropubby." Although you won't find him behind the stove, he works closely with the pub's chef, Andy Knight, especially on desserts which are Phil's passion.

Definitely a man to watch is Aiden Byrne, who arrived at Danesfield House near Marlow in October with huge experience (at 22 he was the youngest chef ever to gain a Michelin star and has headed up several top London restaurants). He's determined to lift Danesfield to heady heights.

Chefs continued to come up with innovative ideas: I like the fresh take on Italian food at Pasta Ate in Little Chalfont, and the fascinating tastes of South Africa across the road at The Cape.

If you like a view with your food, OTT at Bourne End marina has a matchless position, while at reputedly the oldest free house in England, The Royal Standard of England at Forty Green, Matthew O'Keeffe has brought in a new era of cosy fires and pints alongside super pub food.

Meanwhile lots of more modest pubs and restaurants continued to offer good food and friendly service. We're blessed in Bucks.