The Editor's Hospitality Blog

Multi Michelin-starred chef-legend, Alain Ducasse is set to open his first British restaurant at London's Dorchester Hotel later this month.

This interview, recorded for an American TV show as Ducasse prepared to open in New York a few years ago, gives you a glimpse of the man behind the legend (go to -20min 50sec for Ducasse's segment).

Last night, superchef Alain Ducasse, the man with the most Michelin stars in the world, hosted a star-studded dinner at his new restaurant at London's Dorchester Hotel before it opens to the public tonight.

Welcoming us, Monsieur Ducasse promised not to serve frogs' legs, if guests promised not to mention the rugby world cup.

The table plan read like a who's-who of the UK dining scene: Mark Hix, Tom Aikens, Marcus Wareing, Raymond Blanc, Philip Howard, Michel Roux jnr, Gary Rhodes, Giorgio Locatelli, Henri Brosi, John Campbell, Theo Randall, Sir Terence Conran and many others came to meet the great man and sample his food. At the end of the meal, all of them lined up like kids outside a sweetshop, to view the magnificent kitchen Monsieur Ducasse has had put in at the restaurant.

The sight of so many top-drawer chefs in one room prompted the Vineyard's John Campbell to tell me: "if a bomb drops on the Dorchester now, you'll have nothing to write about anymore in the Caterer!" I replied that it would leave UK foodies dining on beans on toast from then on.

Christopher Cowdray wouldn't have been at all pleased to see a bomb land on us. Christopher is the CEO of the Dorchester Collection. As our seared scallops course arrived, Christopher pointed out to me the amoeba-thin shaving of dried tuna that topped the dish, and which moved like a flickering flame in the heat rising off the scallop below. Stunning.

It's been a busy week! I breakfasted with Jaume Tapies, chairman of Relais & Chateaux, last Friday, at the group's recently-opened 'maison' in London's Beauchamp Place. the property is effectively a shop window for the hundreds of luxury restaurants and hotels within the collection, offering passers-by a chance to browse marketing material and cookbooks, get a sense of the properties and book a stay.

Tapies tells me that Relais & Chateaux has been prospecting British hotels and has for the first time been "knocking on doors" at those hotels it feels would be worthy additions to the brand. He expects that at least ten or twelve more UK properties will feature in the collection in the next two to three years. He also promises that the 2009 guide will "change completely" from previous years' editions, with the generic page template replaced by a fresher and more design-led approach.

Monday of this week saw the start of three days of intensive Cateys judging at the splendid Dorchester Hotel on London's Park Lane. I now know the identies of the majority of Cateys winners for 2008 - but if I told you I'd then have to kill you, as they say, so I'm keeping shtumm. What I can tell you is that the winners were chosen by a bewildering array of hospitality's great and good. Judges included Brian Wisdom of People 1st, the IOH's Philippe Rossiter, Bob Cotton, Heston Blumenthal, Hotelier of the Year Michael Gray, Robert Cook of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, Travelodge's Grant Hearn, William Baxter, Alaistair Storey, Marcus Wareing and a host of other big names.

Judging is an exacting - and exhausting - process. Luckily, I was able to recharge the batteries with a fortifying dinner at Restaurant Tom Aikens, above the King's Road. the occasion was the restaurant's fifth birthday, and Tom pulled out all the stops to create a stunning tasting menu that was complemented by great wines picked by head sommelier and 2008 UK Sommelier of the Year winner, Gearoid Devaney. Happy birthday, Tom.

One award not yet allocated is the Silver Award - and we need your help with this category. Which individual has, in your opinion, done more to further the cause of UK hospitality in the past 25 years? let us know and you could win yourself a pair of tickets to the industry 's Oscars night in July.