Metro, 10 October
Marina O’Loughlin at Marco at London’s Stamford Bridge

Like many other people in the food business, I watched with appalled fascination as the rumours about Marco Pierre White's appearance on Hell's Kitchen turned into car-crash reality. Oh, nothing against the show itself, which is just your average sleb-baiting pap. It's just that White – the coolest chef in the universe as far as I'm concerned – should have condescended to do it.
Marco at London's Stamford Bridge - Metro article in full >>

Time Out, 10 October
Guy Dimond at Divo

Just when I thought I'd seen it all - every conceivable dining concept, from Sino-Cuban fusion food, through bars carved from ice, to restaurants where the waitresses are drag queens - along comes Modern Ukrainian dining, set in a pre-revolutionary palace, two minutes from Piccadilly Circus.

Bloomberg, 5 October
Richard Vines at Texture

If you've been watching Raymond Blanc's television series The Restaurant, a new London establishment founded by a couple of the chef-restaurateur's proteges provides a lesson in how it should be done. Texture brings together Icelandic-born Agnar Sverrisson, who headed the kitchen at Blanc's Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons, and the Frenchman Xavier Rousset, who was head sommelier. Their professionalism contrasts with the ineptitude of some of Blanc's contestants. The only real question mark is how much you like Sverrisson's style of cooking.
Texture - Bloomberg article in full >>