Burton-Race's move to London pays off

The "great gamble" of closing down his two-starred Berkshire restaurant and moving operations into London's Landmark hotel eight months ago paid off for John Burton-Race, who scooped two stars for his new restaurant.

"It was a great achievement for my team," said Burton-Race, adding that moving 40 staff from Berkshire to London had been highly disruptive, and the team had been assessed over just a five-month period. "It's nice to be on the map in London."

While he felt there was still plenty of work to do in adapting to the very different, larger environment of a hotel, Burton-Race said he already had an eye on a third star: "Definitely - there is plenty of life in the old dog yet."

He was equally pleased about the "more innovative awards" made this year to ethnic and pub restaurants. "It is good news for the restaurant trade," he said.