The glamour may have diminished somewhat from the role of the waiter or waitress, but nowadays fewer and fewer people in western Europe aspire to be part of the front of house staff. In a survey conducted by Square Meal magazine revealed that half of the complaints that they received last year were to do with poor service, a rise of 7% on 2006.

Waiting Tables not Interesting
The status of waiters and maitre d's is in sharp decline and with this, the quality of service is declining too. In recent years, western Europe has seen an influx of job-seekers from eastern Europe who are filling the many..

Many are now ignoring the German smoking ban in force since Jan 1st this year, affecting Berlin and 11 states. The remaining states of Saxony, Rheinland Palatinate, Saarland and Thuringia will bring in their own ban from July, although it remains to be seen how effective it will be. Recent data showed that a similar smoking ban in Hong Kong had actually increased the level of smoking as people defied the ban.

Smoking Complaints
German Police are not following up on complaints about smokers and seem to have allowed the bar and cafe proprietors their own discretion on whther they allow smoking on premises..

Having been at the pinnacle of modern European cuisine for over a decade, The Fat Duck restaurant in England, is still a pioneering force in the culinary world thanks to its owner and head chef, Heston Blumenthal. So what puts this restaurant at the top of the pile?

Science and Cooking
After failing to gain employment in the kitchens of London, Blumenthal set himself the task of learning to cook and he began accumulating his knowledge and expertise on his travels to France. In 1995 he opened The Fat Duck in Bray, situated near Maidenhead..

Imagine a restaurant so huge that it spans six floors and needs 35 chefs to hold the fort. Welcome to the famous Tour d'Argent, Paris' oldest restaurant which has just been re-opened to grand fanfare after 3 months of re-furbishment and upgrade.

The new owner André Terrail, 27, set about re-establishing the reputation of this gastronomic legend, as it had fallen in Parisian estimation in recent years. Frequent changes of the "master" chef in meant that the Tour d'Argent suffered inconsistency in its..

Germany, the "Land of Ideas" has come up with many excellent inventions in the past, including the diesel engine and the printing press. Now to add to its list of accomplishments is a fully-automated restaurant dubbed the "Robot Restaurant". 'S baggers restaurant in Nuremburg was the brainchild of local businessman Michael Mack who wanted to do away with the stuffy traditions of waiter service and create something new and exciting..

France banned smoking in all of its bars, cafes and restaurants on the 1st of January this year, this followed a wider public smoking ban introduced on 1st February 2007. It will be interesting to follow the effects of the ban, also implemented in Berlin at the same time. In another part of the world Hong Kong now reports INCREASED..

In the UK, the British adore Indian cuisine. It could be said, that they love it more than any other modern culinary import as it is an industry worth £3.5 billion. So why now, after such dazzling success over the years, is the curry trade falling on hard times? Firstly, UK government regulations surrounding temporary work permits have tightened dramatically in recent years, meaning a great shortage of skilled chefs. Secondly, the price of rice worldwide has increased dramatically in only..

In a similar move to the French, authorities in Germany have banned smoking in cafes bars and restaurants effective from today. The Germans however have been more lenient than the French in its enforcement. Berlin has decreed that a grace period should be allowed, and the ban will not be enforced for the first..

France has finally taken the leap and banned smoking in restaurants cafes and bars. From 1st January 2008 it will be illegal, although outside areas such as terraces and under pavement awnings are exempt. It's been a long time coming; in an attempt to curb smoking October 2003 saw a 20% government hike in cigarette prices. Recently on 1st February 2007 a national ban on smoking in public was imposed covering airports, railway stations, hospitals, offices and schools, but leaving the restaurant business..

Amador of Frankfurt famous for its Molecular Cuisine wins a 3 star endorsement in the latest Michelin guide. The Spanish restaurateur Juan Amador is particularly commended for developing his own style of MC, including Müritz lamb with coconut and curry says Jean-Luc Naret of Michelin. "Everything we make is basic on classical cuisine," says Chef Juan. "Even when we cook with modern..

The furore surrounding the new 2008 Michelin Guide for Los Angeles reached fever pitch last week when some over anxious chefs decided to raid the Michelin website in advance of the official announcements. Whether they hacked into the site, or obtained the information legitimately is unclear, but the whole of the Las Vegas and Los Angeles results were..

After opening only 11 months ago the New York Michelin Guide announces it has awarded Gordon Ramsay of 'The London' two stars in its first year making Ramsay one of only 6 establishments in the city to have two stars. Gordon Ramsay now claims that between all his various restaurant ventures he now has the largest total of Michelin Stars in the world; currently 12 stars..

Bottled water is under attack again, this time in the States where the mayors of New York and San Francisco are urging people to use tapwater to help save the huge amounts of energy on bottle production. Paradoxically it is oil at the centre of this issue rather than water..

Described as soft, shy and determined, Anne-Sophie Pic, 37, celebrates her award today of three Michelin Stars, the first of its kind to a woman in more than 50 years. Behind the award a touching story covering four generations of the Pic family. Just imagine, 4 generations! How many people do you know are still working in a business started by their great grandmother ?

All over the web restaurants are getting reviewed and rated by us mere mortals. No longer do we hang on the words of the Sunday paper celebrity gourmets, we have people power at our fingertips

We continue in part ll by shedding some light on exactly who inspects the Restaurants, their training , and how they are expected to work.
It is clear the organisation takes its role very seriously, and no restaurant will receive an award unless it has been visited multiple times by several different inspectors to ensure consistency of results. There are many other good guides now competing but none can boast such a thorough process

The Michelin Guide has had extraordinary success. This year it will celebrate it's 107th birthday. Originally distributed as a free guide, it was written for the adventurous french motorists of the time, to point out where they could get their often broken car repaired and which hotel to stay at in the meantime