Dr B's Restaurant & Coffee Shop

A certain celebrity chef/restaurateur has improved his cult status, maximised turnover and attracted invitations to cook at/for No 10 (though it was suggested, at one stage, for love rather than money) by virtue of selecting fifteen disadvantaged youngsters and giving them the opportunity of a lifetime to learn how to cook under his tutelage. This is fine, and very commendable, except for the bit about No 10, let's hope it has been resolved, but did he know I wonder that all the time up north somebody else is already at it?

Like the Salvation Army, Barnardo's is one of those very English institutions that commands unstinting admiration and usually unquestioning support, so it should really come as no surprise that in Knaresborough, they have established a training restaurant and kitchen for a lucky few of the young people in their care. And they are spreading, with similar operations in Leeds and Belfast.

In some ways it reminds me of the lunches we used to be invited to by the local colleges before they all became universities, and regaled with (sometimes) excellent meals, in which uncertainty was always part of the equation, in return for a very token transfer of money, the latter mainly because it was necessary for the students to learn how to operate the till as part of the course. Sometimes it was difficult to know who was the most nervous, the customers or the providers.

At Dr B's it's all thinly veiled enthusiasm, underpinned by steely determination. Do not expect haut cuisine, though one hopes that in certain cases it might emerge with the fullness of time, after all earning a living is what it's all about. Grub is of the homely variety, and none the worse for that, with comfortable, well-known food, usually cooked to at least, or sometimes beyond, a reasonable standard. A three course lunch for two will set you back around £17.50, without drinks or service (yes, that's also part of the learning curve) and not only will you eat well at bargain prices you will also have the inner glow that comes from supporting a thoroughly praiseworthy organisation. Dr B would undoubtedly have approved.