2009 MasterChef winner Mat Follas a “rare talent”, says critic

The BBC’s 2009 MasterChef winner Mat Follas is a chef of “exceedingly rare talent”, according to the Guardian’s food critic.

Matthew Norman says he enjoyed one of the most pleasing meals in years at Follas’ restaurant the Wild Garlic in Beaminster, Dorset.

“Nothing the programme could ever accomplish could compensate for unleashing Loyd Grossman on this island, but MasterChef should be very proud of itself indeed,” he says.

Meanwhile the Observer’s Jay Rayner says the chefs at World Service in Nottingham are competent cooks, but are trying too hard to produce highly evolved ultra-modern food that is exhausting for the customer.

The Times’s Giles Coren is delighted to find terrific service and good, simple, modern home cooking at the King John Inn in Wiltshire, while the Sunday Telegraph’s Zoe Williams finds that Avista in the Millennium Hotel in London is either very special and amazing or inexplicable.

For these reviews in full and more, see What’s on the menu? To book a table and view the latest restaurant deals, visit Caterer Eats Out. Visit Guide Girl for the latest gossip from the fine dining world.

MasterChef winner to open restaurant in Dorset >>

Italian eaterie to replace Brian Turner venture >>

By Kerstin Kühn

E-mail your comments to Kerstin Kühn here.

If you have something to say on this story or anything else join the debate at Table Talk - Caterer's new networking forum. Go to www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk

Caterersearch.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next restaurant job here with Caterersearch.com jobs