Gordon gets three stars

Spats between chefs and critics are meat and drink to the restaurant scene and one of the liveliest of recent years has been that between Gordon Ramsay and Egon Ronay.

Last year, when the veteran critic awarded Ramsay - widely recognised as one of the foremost cooking talents of his generation - a mere two stars, the notoriously vocal chef did not take it kindly.

So, it comes as an intriguing surprise to discover that this year's edition of the Egon Ronay guide, published today, has awarded Ramsay's Royal Hospital Road restaurant three stars - its highest accolade.

Could it be that Ramsay has taken Ronay's comments to heart? Last year's guide bemoaned a number of inconsistencies in the chef's cooking and presentation, saying: "We have noticed small cracks in the smoothest of surfaces."

That prompted a characteristically robust response from Ramsay. "I'm not particularly bothered about being in the guide. I mean, who is Egon Ronay?" he said. "What does he know about haute cuisine? Doesn't he usually write about service station food?"

Ronay dismissed this as "Gordon being Gordon" and criticised "testosterone-driven cooking". But he also revealed that he'd written to Ramsay with a few gentle criticisms.

"I simply told him what I thought was a little bit less than perfect," the veteran critic told the Evening Standard today. Did Gordon fire a volley of Anglo-Saxon expletives in the direction of Ronay's office?

Surprisingly, no. "He wrote saying that he had taken my observations in the same spirit in which I wrote it and thanked me," said Ronay.

Having now awarded him three stars, does Mr Ronay think his criticisms had the desired effect? "I wouldn't like to say," was his diplomatic response.

This year's guide reads: "Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurant displays rare perfection and refinement. If some inconsistencies may have been noticeable in the past, they have disappeared."

Ronay opened his first restaurant in Budapest and he published the first of his guides in 1957.

The Automobile Association took over Egon Ronay Guides in 1987, which they eventually sold. After the new owners went bankrupt in the Nineties the High Court returned all publishing rights to Ronay.

This year's guide is his first to award gastropubs, which he describes as the phenomenon of British cooking.