Egon Ronay guides back on menu

Link : http://uk.news.yahoo.com/041004/344/f3tx8.html



One of the best known restaurant guides is due to make a return to bookshelves after an absence of seven years.

The Egon Ronay guide was the first of its kind when it was published in 1957, at a time when Britain was something of a culinary wasteland.

Restaurants were judged on the quality of their food and assessed by a team of inspectors.

It went on to sell millions of copies and spawned a number of associated titles, including as a pub guide, another on small establishments, and guides on accommodation and dining in locations as far afield as Scandinavia and the US.

Egon Ronay, the former restaurateur who began the series, sold the rights to the guides to the Automobile Association in 1987 which subsequently passed them on to another company.

Yet another company which got involved went bankrupt and the future of the guides ended up in the hands of the High Court.

In 1997 the court decided to return all publishing and other rights to Mr Ronay, but other work commitments meant the titles were never released again.

But Mr Ronay has now announced that he is resurrecting the main restaurant guide which will be published at the end of February next year, sponsored by the RAC.

The new edition will continue the tradition of the original - with inspectors attending restaurants unannounced and paying for their own meal.

The guide will not accept advertising from hotels and restaurants, further helping to ensure its impartiality.