A few weeks ago I treated my husband (who also happens to be the Caradiaz IT Manager) to a posh meal for his birthday. The chosen venue: Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's.

We hadn't been there before and upon making that admission our waiter asked 'Are you exicted to be here?', a comment that we actually thought a bit on the arrogant side... Once at our table, our waiter quickly proceeded to enquire about the special occasion that led to our visit - surely there could be no other reason for us to be there - so my poor husband then had to come clean and admit to his birthday, a response that of course satisfied our waiter very much - after all he was right, there was a special occasion involved - and made him shake my husband's hand enthusiastically saying 'congratulations'.

By now, we were really rather worried about the big fuss made around us when all we wanted to do was enjoy a nice meal. But thankfully, once we ordered and the food started to arrive, we were left to eat in peace and there we no more surprises ... well, until dessert time when our waiter brought to the table a kind of cupcake with a candle lit up on a plate decorated with the words 'happy birthday' written with chocolate. It was a nice touch and something a lot more inconspicuous than having the whole restaurant - including the Ambassador of El Salvador to Taiwan - singing 'happy birthday to you', as it happened to me a couple of years ago during dinner at the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel in Taipei. But that's another story which I may tell you about some other time.

All in all, the experience at Claridge's wasn't too bad. We had a lovely meal, the food was gorgeous and we couldn't find anything that was 'out of season' on any of the three menus we were offered to choose from. Hang on, is this really the same chef that constantly advocates for keeping the menu simple in his tv show, Kitchen Nightmares?