Bon Appetit

I have speculated before about the possibility of the Channel coast of France being peppered with little restaurants dedicated to the perpetuation of English cooking, which led one reader to respond with "fat chance". Come, come, madam what were you suggesting?

Because there are certainly plenty of theirs on our side of the water, not least this relatively new addition at Ramsgate where Mark Way holds sway beneath the Royal Temple Yacht Club in a tiny restaurant he took over from his father.

The menu is revealed either in a la carte form on the blackboard, or in the form of a two-course menu maison from a choice of two starters and two main courses. Expect to find langoustine Parisienne flambéed in Pernod, with linguine and cream, a paella that could turn out to be full of surprises and will require you to forget anything you ever heard about a recipe for the dish.

The paella is served in a heavy duty oven-proof pan and is the sort of dish that leaves you gasping for mercy should you try to pursue its complete demolition. A form of French cuisine Bon Appétit most certainly is, though a fastidious Frenchman might raise the odd eyebrow. I suspect that most people nowadays would be able to shrug this off. The art of providing interesting and decent food is one that can take many forms, be it a la Bray or some of our more conventional high culinary spots. The question is can you enjoy it - if you can, you could have found a new recipe.