Awards

	Best of Wight 20019/20 Now in its 13th year The TOP 5 in no particular order (please note this is about the cooking not in-vogue eateries)
As a life-long gourmet who took up cooking because I liked eating nice food, I have spent more years than I can remember eating out and cooking for other gourmets. My work now takes me away from home and I find myself eating out alone, a lot. Being alone makes me fussy and I have certain requirements, most of which I have applied to selecting the entries for the Wight Good Food Guide. My major criteria is would I recommend this eatery to my gourmet friend who is on a budget. For instance they are happy to pay high prices for the best providing it is the best. Their budget will not allow for a waste of their taste buds either - let alone their money! In addition to these requirements, I look for cooking skills, ingenuity without it being ridiculous and a person who cooks from the heart - the rarest attribute of all. Being a small island it is impossible to be anonymous. However, this matters little because a talent-less chef is not going to miraculously become a talented one the minute I walk through the door. I believe that all publicity is good publicity even bad publicity, which is why I only recommend eateries that are worth the expense. If I write critical reviews people will only flock to mock thereby giving inadequate cooks the wrong impression. This year I have noticed that Chef/owned eateries are coming to the fore and are a safer bet for consistency and heart-felt cooking ( I mean cooking from the heart not for the heart). Finally - Chefs move around a lot on the island - I put this down to poor wages or poor working conditions. But also poor job prospects for the ambitious. This could change if the island became renowned as a gourmet Island with many fine places to eat. Sadly still a long way to go. I firmly believe that if you look after your staff with good pay they will look after your business.	Red Lion - Freshwater A small touch of the traditional pub remains and consistent cooking
	Bonchurch Inn - Bonchurch Excellent Italian cuisine in an old traditional coaching house
	Off the Rails - Yarmouth Now they know, how to make a sandwich
	Harbour Kitchen - Cowes If you want a good burger go to somewhere that specialises in them
	Smoking Lobster - Ventnor Top notch ingredients
	Top 3 Little Gems	Ventnor Fisheries - Isle of Wight Crab Old Smithy - Godshill. Cream cakes Calbourne Classics natural yogurt