Clare Smyth interview: With all the budget changes coming, businesses will have to close

Despite regular missives from other nations about the quality of British food, Smyth, who was made an MBE in 2013 and catered for Prince Harry’s wedding, is confident that we have no point to prove. “We punch well, well, above our weight in the world of gastronomy, and that team shows the world just how strong we are,” she says of this year’s competitors: chef Tom Phillips (Restaurant Story), commis Harry van Lierop (the Ledbury) and coach Ian Musgrave (the Ritz). As starry establishments go, you’d be hard-pressed to outdo that list, though the balance, as ever, is not quite even.