The night of the long knives

Star newsreaders and rivals Mary Nightingale and Katie Derham stepped away from their desks to become the toast of the town last night. While the capital's chefs and restaurateurs battled it out for the ITV London Restaurant Awards, Nightingale and Derham competed for the frock of the night prize.

The pair went head to head last November in the race to become the network's top female newsreader - the battle of the golden girls, as it was dubbed at the time.

Nightingale, 38, won the fight to present the main ITN evening news, while Derham had to make do with the role of anchorwoman on London Tonight.

When it came to the real contest of the evening - the Tio Pepe ITV London Restaurant Awards 2004, hosted by Nightingale at the Grosvenor House Hotel - chef Tom Aikens picked up two major awards, while his bitter rival Gordon Ramsay was snubbed. Aikens won awards for New Restaurant of the Year - beating high-profile new venue The Wolseley - and the Tio Pepe ITV London Restaurant of the Year.

The latter award is the most prestigious as its shortlist is made up of the winning restaurants in the other categories.

It is a remarkable result for Aikens, 33, who only opened his restaurant with wife Laura last spring, after they sold their flat to make the investment.

Aikens made his name at 26, when he became the youngest ever chef to hold two Michelin stars while at Pied à Terre. It was also here that reports of his temper began to emerge and he quit the restaurant after extraordinary claims that he turned on a 19-year-old trainee in a fit of anger, branding him with a hot pallet knife.

At the time even Ramsay was outraged by the claims. He said: "I am glad to see he's got his comeuppance. He never deserves to work in London again. People say I have a fiery temper but I have never resorted to burning a young boy's arm."

Aikens took a break from restaurants and worked as private chef to Lord Lloyd-Webber. But he is now back as the star of London cuisine.

His highly praised menu has featured wild salmon cured with beetroot and orange, pigeon steamed with thyme served with a chestnut velouté and duck consommé.