The Radstock Mayor Rupert Bevan writes:

Much of my day job involves meetings- Zoom, Skype but occasionally face to face and these latter often mean discussing stuff over a coffee, breakfast or lunch.

Sadly I have to report that the majority of these experiences, by which I mean coffee or light meals, have left both my co-director and me feeling miserable, even angry. If one is paying for a meal, one can consider it fair to expect that the food being served is a: sourced from raw materials that are suitable for human consumption and b: properly cooked. Imagine then the disappointment when you find these conditions are not met and you end up with a plate of inedible food.

It is as if the current pandemic has given chefs an excuse to stop bothering. Now we know that many establishments are hanging on in there, white knuckled, in the hope that better times lie ahead, so why kill off the seeds of renewed consumer interest by fobbing the clients off with greasy sausages (need crorking), lumpy mashed potato and greyish vegetables that have been reheated once too often?

Whilst the British generally prefer a diffident approach to challenging restaurant staff, the decision has been taken and noted nevertheless: they will vote with their feet.

It is true to say also that some establishments make you feel welcome, serve up hot coffee and well cooked, well presented food. However I am finding increasingly that these are the exceptions to the rule. There is no economic or moral justification for dispensing second best from the kitchen.