Mumm's

Two stars

Michael Caines, Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon

Germain Schwab, Winteringham Fields, Winteringham, Lincolnshire

One star

Robert Clayton, Bath Priory, Bath

Galton Blackiston, Morston Hall, Blakeney, Norfolk

Heston Blumenthal, Fat Duck, Bray-on-Thames, Berkshire

Marcus Ashenford, Chavignol, Chipping Norton

Christopher Bradley, Mr Underhills at Dinham Weir, Ludlow, Shropshire

Claude Bosi, Overton Grange, Ludlow, Shropshire

Tessa Bramley, Old Vicarage, Ridgeway, Derbyshire

Kevin Mangeolles, George Hotel, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight

Max Renzland and Alex Bentley, Monsieur Max, Hampton Hill, London

Bruce Poole, Chez Bruce, London

Giorgio Locatelli, Zafferano, London

Paul Merrett, Interlude, London (restaurant now closed)

Richard Corrigan, Lindsay House, London

AS THE official Champagne for the Greenwich Meridian 2000 celebrations, Champagne Mumm selected a symbolic setting for its gala dinner honouring the 1999 stars of gastronomy. A stone's throw from the Royal Observatory, the Royal Naval College played host to 400 dinner guests, among them some of the biggest culinary names of Europe.

Almost all of the 111 recently honoured chefs from eight European countries - the UK, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Belgium - were in attendance at the London event, which took place last week. Celebrity chef Brian Turner hosted the evening on behalf of Mumm, while legendary French chef Paul Bocuse was brought on stage to congratulate each newly awarded chef.

Thirteen chefs representing British-based restaurants were among the European line-up and included recently promoted two-Michelin-starred chefs Michael Caines of Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon, and Germain Schwab, chef-patron of Winteringham Fields in Winteringham, Lincolnshire. Among the new one-stars at the dinner were Tessa Bramley, chef-proprietor of the Old Vicarage in Ridgeway, Derbyshire, and Claude Bosi, head chef of former Adopted Business Overton Grange in Ludlow, Shropshire, while Willi Elsener and Kenneth Poon of London's Dorchester and Raymond Blanc of Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire, were some of the established starred chefs there.

Having met at the Tower Thistle hotel at St Katharine's Dock, guests boarded the Silver Sturgeon and travelled downstream to Greenwich for the dinner and drinks reception. Throughout the evening, Air of Insanity (affiliated to the renowned touring company, Cirque du Soleil) added a touch of theatre to the event with a number of aerial acrobatic acts, while back of house Mustard Catering put on an equally well-received performance, preparing and serving a four-course meal from the college's basement kitchen.

After dinner, guests moved to the Queens Mary block where some serious dancing ensued. n