Jamie’s...

It's Notting Hill Carnival weekend so that means just one thing at From Beer To Paternity Towers... me and the Missus are getting the fuck out of town so we don't have to put up with thousands of tourists parading down our street screeching whistles and acting like they've just had their first pint and it's made them very pissed.

So we had a few days in Brighton and while we were there we went to Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Brighton which is called Jamie's.

I must confess that I have been through several stages with the mockney chef geezer. I quite liked him when he first arrived on the telly chef scene as he was very much part of that whole cool Britannia thing. And he was chatty and chirpy and it even encouraged an idiot like me to try cooking dishes I'd never thought about.

But within a year or so he was absolutely bloody everywhere. His books took up entire aisles in bookshops, he seemed like he was on several telly channels all at once, he was advertising this and promoting that...

In fact being Jamie Oliver or one of his beautiful friends who got invited round to sample his food seemed like the lifestyle dream everyone wanted... thus making anyone who couldn't aspire to that feel a bit shit and a bit useless. And as one of the shit and useless who wasn't beautiful I went off him pretty rapidly.

But then he came back with his frankly brilliant 15 show, then his School Dinners show, then his Ministry Of Food show, and rather than Jamie the brand you started to see Jamie the chef who actually cared and wanted to make a difference (as well as a few quid) and I was back in love with him.

So it was with mixed feelings that I ventured into one of his chain restaurants with the Missus when we went to Brighton but I'm pleased to report the place, the service and the food was bloody brilliant. And it wasn't massively expensive and they serve a great Bloody Mary.

And, even better, the Missus loved it so that's an easy birthday or Xmas present sorted out.

On the negative side, though, Brighton does still have a gay sex shop called Prowler. I reckon that's terrible branding. They may as well just call it Rapist and have done.