Hearts of oak

Not before time there has been a recent stirring of pride about British ingredients and their provenance. So fulsomely has the trend been adopted that menus are now liable to give you the email address of the mother of the lamb you are eating.

Antony Worrall Thompson weeds and breeds some of his own produce on his smallholding near Henley. It might be that a suckling pig that he, or rather its mother, has reared will be thrown on the fire at KEW GRILL, the branch of Notting Grill, which he opened this spring. I visited in the first week when chaos reigned. Now, he tells me - but he would, wouldn't he? - that it runs on oiled wheels.

Before Ken Livingstone gets his hands on them, there is still time to appreciate the beauty, tranquillity and wonderful planting of the Royal Parks. Since May this year, at INN THE PARK in St James's Park, there has also been the possibility of sitting in a Michael Hopkins-designed building with a Tom Dixon interior, eating British dishes masterminded by Oliver Peyton.

The winter menu has some noble beasts to share if you ring ahead to book the whole roasts of Gloucester Old Spot pork, organic goose, Elwy Valley lamb and more.

Sir Terence Conran, the first English person to visit France, as Craig Brown noticed, changed his allegiance when he opened PATERNOSTER CHOP HOUSE in the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral. Suddenly British was best, a stance that might have put something of a crimp in the plans of his son Tom.

Given the job of turning the former Bluebird Club restaurant into BLUEBIRD DINING ROOM and opening it to the public, Tom planned to celebrate the best of British. But let's just see it as loyal support. The cooking of Bluebird chef Mark Broadbent is receiving warm notices generally and the room is pleasingly adult.