L'Enclume named top UK restaurant

L'Enclume was on Wednesday named Britain's best restaurant with judges calling the Cumbrian establishment a "joyful celebration of this country's magnificent diversity". The two Michelin-starred restaurant, which featured in Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's BBC series The Trip, displaced Heston Blumenthal's The Fat Duck at Bray at the top of the Good Food Guide's annual top 50 list. Specialities cooked up by chef Simon Rogan at the Cartmel riverside restaurant include cod "yolk", oyster pebbles and sandwort. Judges said Rogan's eaterie had a "fantastic way with seasonal ingredients from the Cumbrian land and coast that are a joyful celebration of this country's magnificent diversity". Independent inspectors from the Good Food Guide, which was first published in 1951, gave L'Enclume top marks for its cooking for the second year in a row. Elizabeth Carter, the guide's consultant editor, called Rogan the "leader of the pack when it comes to modern British cooking." Rogan said the award was "something we have always dreamed about." "We have received this accolade because of our focus on both the food product and the customer -? keeping it natural and fresh in the kitchen, and friendly but professional in the dining room," he added.