There's a rat in the kitchen

Thomas Keller of The French Laundry fame has developed a taste for working with Hollywood since he taught Adam Sandler to make a club sandwich for 'Spanglish'. Keller's variation on the BLT is arguably the best thing in the 2004 rom-com. But with 'Ratatouille', which has taken $188 million in the States, Keller has given his expertise to a more successful production, albeit one that features a gastronomically gifted rat called Remy (pictured) who cooks in a Parisian restaurant. Keller inspired the elaborate version of the title dish for the Disney cartoon. In return, aside from the fee, he got to do the voice for a dining punter.

Meanwhile, those that feel that every Michelin-starred meal should end in a Jacuzzi will be heartened by the news that The Hand & Flowers in Marlow has opened Flower Cottage. Down the road from the heavily praised grub pub, its cowhide draped Angus suite includes, for those that favour digestion aided by bubbling jets of water, a hot-tub terrace.

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