WineChap was (again) a guest of one of the main sponsors Veuve Clicquot – whose unmistakeable saffron-coloured branding was omnipresent – from the Guildhall chandeliers to the winning chef’s smart scarves, via the labels on the many magnums of Brut poured and their own giant “babyfoot” (table football) table at the after party with its unorthodox 3-2-5-3-3-3 formation.

I was chatting with legend Pierre Koffman (from Tante Claire to BBC’s Saturday Kitchen) before the awards, about whether the entrants really were the world’s BEST restaurants or if most fashionable/best-marketed/targeted by the wealthiest people were better definitions. But say what you like about the awards – and people do, especially those unable to secure an elusive ticket (rumour has it Raymond Blanc, one of the UK & Ireland panel members could not get a seat for his wife) its an entertaining bash and has propelled a number of restaurants in to the stratosphere. Noma (third time consecutive winner) saw its bookings on a Monday lunch go from 14 to having a waiting list of 1040 in four years admitted head chef Rene Redzepi. Such influence is undeniable.

The evening was smoothly compered as usual by Mark Durden-Smith, looking ever more like a pre-op or at least pre-make-up Eddie Izzard and rattled along at a better pace than previously with only a few pauses – including a typically magnanimous speech from Per Se/French Laundry’s Thomas Keller for his lifetime achievement award. Spain and Scandinavia were to nobody’s surprise the evening’s real winners but although previous stalwart St John fell out of race, the UK did well with The Ledbury highest climber (34 to 14) and Heston’s Dinner highest new entry at 9.

Full reports are available variously (we recommend Hot Dinners – below).

My top 10 #Worlds50BestTweets from the evening.

10th

• hot-dinners.com ‏ @hotdinners:-    “RT World’s 50 Best round-up http://bit.ly/Kwdo8M + the full list & all you need to know about the top 10: http://bit.ly/IRW50u”

9th

• Matthew Fort ‏ @matthewfort:-    “Can’t help feeling that the circus of 50 Best is best regarded with the detachment of several thousand miles.”

8th

• Richard Vines ‏ @Richardvines:-    “Heading to @theworlds50best. I’m not planning on Tweeting the results, but it promises to be a great evening.”

7th (x2)

• Lucas Hollweg ‏ @lucashollweg:-    “5 is osteitis francescana in Modena”

• Lucas Hollweg ‏ (c0nt):-    “I meant osteria. predictive disorder”

6th

• Bitten & Written ‏ @bittenwritten:-    “Redzepi. Penalty. Free-kick (35 yards). Tap-in. 3-0.”

5th

• Neal Martin ‏ @nealmartin:-    “Still searching for KFC in #worlds50best #restaurants. How many secret herbs and spices does #Noma have?”

4th

• Andy Lynes ‏ @AndyLynes:-    “From next year, I believe #worlds50best will be know as World’s 50 Most Similarly Priced Restaurants”

3rd

• Galley Slave ‏ @Galleyslavery:-    “Facial hair of making a huge impact on the list this year… Best Female Chef award not withstanding… #50best #worlds50best”

2nd

• Bob Granleese ‏ @bobgranleese:-    “Only 3 more to go. Still hope for Gregg’s Table. #50best”

1st

• Tim Hayward ‏ @timhayward:-    “#50best Everyone is talking about ‘Gastronomy’ this year. I think that’s like your horoscope but with more methane.”

Not a reference to Bordeaux En Primeur week – but a far more useful link to WineChap’s MarchLondonLovesBusiness column that we forgot about. Whilst a few hundred journalists and merchants sweat tweedily around the Chateaux of the Medoc and Right Bank trying to sound enthusiastic about the rare gems of a distinctly average vintage or/and emphatic in their insistence that it will only sell if prices are no more than 10% above the ’08s on release, WineChap has been discovering the most appropriate beverage to pair with our great Fish and Chips. We all know that our national dish is now Chicken Tikka Masala (and pairing wines with your Sunday night cuzza will be the subject of a future article), but what of our iconic British dishes?

Classic Sunday roast beef, steak & kidney pudding, shepherd’s pie, or even a full English breakfast could all be front-runners, but, of course, a good old fish’n’chips leads the pack.

So what drink pairs best with really good Fish and Chips?

I was inspired to consider this essential question by the launch of Perrier Jouet’s Belle Epoque 2002, which for a venerable Champagne house was refreshingly innovative and low-key, and was hosted at Geale’s Fish Restaurant in Notting Hill.

Click here for full article….