Critics wrong to condemn all

Lucy Mangan, a journalist with The Guardian, had a pop at pub food last week. As a result of being served a bad beef sandwich in a pub in Bournemouth, Ms Mangan suggested that all pub food should be incinerated. And the sooner Gordon Ramsay opens his chain of food-oriented pubs the better, she added.

From time to time, writers decide to condemn pub food based on the briefest of inspections. Some years ago, even the saintly Delia Smith wrote off pub grub, following a disappointing meal in Suffolk.

I know the county well and could reel off a string of pubs where you can eat excellent tucker, but my small voice would be lost in the storm whipped up by a name such as Delia's.

I have had poor meals in pubs, but while I wouldn't condemn the entire pub trade as a result of a few disappointments, this is done regularly by food critics who would never write off all Britain's restaurants on the basis of one sub-standard or revolting dish.

Not only is it absurd to condemn all pub food in this way, it also ignores the vast improvements that have taken place in recent years. Brewers and pub operators have invested time, effort and money to improve the quality of food on offer hugely.

Now that the British are more Continental, eating out regularly, 60,000 pubs would not be high on their list of eateries if every inn, tavern and alehouse served inedible rubbish.

It is equally ridiculous to compare pubs with restaurants or to think that gastropubs should become the norm. My experience of gastropubs tells me they are really restaurants and not subject to the pressures of preparing and serving food in a genuine pub.

Take, as an example, the coastal village of Cley next the Sea in north Norfolk. Cley has two pubs, the George and the Three Swallows. The George was famous as a bird watchers' pub but a few years ago it changed hands and reappeared as a gastropub. I can't fault the food, the fresh fish in particular, but this is a restaurant operation serving lunch and

dinner to a restricted number of customers.

The Three Swallows remains a genuine pub which serves an excellent pint of Adnams and good grub. You can eat anywhere in the pub or al fresco. It is a different setup to the George's: there are no uniformed waiters, the dishes are more familiar fare, but the quality is high. It is also significantly cheaper to eat in the Three Swallows than in the George. It appeals to people with less money and limited time to eat.

While Lucy Mangan was suffering in Bournemouth, I was on holiday nearby on the isle of Purbeck where, with my wife and sons, I ate satisfactorily in several pubs. It was instructive to sit in Hall & Woodhouse's lovely thatched and beamed Half Way Inn between Wareham and Corfe Castle. At 4.30pm, it was busy with people ordering hot dishes.

The Brits now eat when the fancy takes them. It puts a pressure on pub catering that is beyond the ken of a restaurateur serving meals at fixed times to a small clientele. Pub food has to be fast in the best sense of the word, available to diners round the clock.

Gordon Ramsay may be the answer to Lucy Mangan's prayer. But celebrity chefs' pubs are not the norm and the likes of Ms Mangan should try to understand both the pressures on pubs and the efforts being made to improve their catering. In short, stop beefing.

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