Pub food is much better than it used to be, according to a new food guide, despite celebrity chef Ainsley Harriot's comments to the contrary.
Just last week, the Automobile Association's (AA) Pub Guide 2002 announced that pub meals were undergoing a revolution, using freshly cooked local produce "in place of tired fare such as American-style burgers".
And popular TV chef Gary Rhodes, who is famed for hosting a number of television programmes including Rhodes around Britain, told thePublican.com: "Some pub food is absolutely amazing.
"I've had some excellent meals in pubs and some pubs serve just as good food as restaurants at half the price."
This contradicts Ainsley Harriott's comments in an interview last month when he said: "Pubs let us down but most of us have a good restaurant down the high street".
This year saw the AA introduce its Pub of the Year awards for the first time. The awards are judged regionally in England, Scotland and Wales. The Drunken Duck in Ambleside, Cumbria, was chosen as the undisputed English winner because it has its own fishing tarn and microbrewery. Diners have been enjoying delicacies such as stir-fried prawns marinated in lime, chervil and chilli.
The Wheatsheaf in Swinton was chosen as the Scottish champion because it has been using local produce, and The Bear in Crickhowell, Powys, was the Welsh winner for its extensive and imaginative menu.
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TV chef challenged over remark (20 September 2001)
Trade hits back at TV chef's pub food criticism (13 September 2001)