Gastro pub awarded two stars in new Michelin Guide

Two new restaurants have been given two-star ratings in the 2012 Michelin Guide, and for the first time ever two stars were awarded to a gastro pub.

The new awards went to Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham and The Hand & Flowers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

The Hand & Flowers joint owner Tom Kerridge recently won The Great British Menu – a TV competition where top chefs compete to win the chance to cook a four-course banquet for a high-profile figure.

Kerridge told the UK’s Caterer and Hotelkeeper: "The fact that Michelin is awarding two stars to a pub means they are embracing British culture. My cooking may be French but we use British ingredients, we are a British pub and serve ales and we have fish and chips on the menu at lunchtime – the only two-Michelin-starred fish and chips in the world!”

Kerridge opened the Hand & Flowers in 2005 with his wife, Beth Kerridge, and in less than a year they were awarded one Michelin star.

The Restaurant Sat Bains, run by owner Sat Bains, is still the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Nottingham and was awarded a second star for its “original and creative” cooking.

There are only 17 restaurants in Great Britain and Ireland that have been awarded with the two-star accolade.