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Medium White Kidney BeanEnglish novelist L. Somerset Maugham is credited with saying that to eat well in England, you must have breakfast three times a day. For centuries on the continent, diners were indulging in coq au vin, creamy fettucine alfredo and spicy paella, while back in Britain they were left to face bland beef, mushy peas and soggy pudding. The island that had conquered most of world seemed incapable of conquering the kitchen. Yet today, London stands at the epicenter of the world's food landscape, and what was once a culinary wasteland is now the third leading city in the world- — after Tokyo and Paris — in the number of Michelin-starred -restaurants (45 in all, with Gordon Ramsay's at 68 Royal Hospital Road racking up three Michelin stars. In a truly staggering statistic, 116 restaurants throughout the United Kingdom have been awarded Michelin stars.) What was responsible for the dramatic turnaround? In London's culinary Dark Ages (the 1980s) before Ramsay got nasty, before Jamie Oliver got naked and before Nigella Lawson got her own cooking show, it seemed that the only way to get a really good meal in London — other than breakfast — was to opt for Indian food (which always has been top-notch) or to shell out major pounds at Le Gavroche, where the father-son team of Albert and Michel Roux have worked their magic for years. Finally, several of the city's top chefs decided that they had had it with the contempt shown by their counterparts across the channel in Paris and the lack of faith shown by their own countrymen. Chefs Marco Pierre White, Nico Ladenis and Richard Corrigan began opening restaurants (Mirabelle, -Criterion, the Oak Room and the Belvedere for White; Nico's at 90 for Ladenis; and The Lindsey House for -Corrigan) that got the -attention of foodies from New York to New Delhi. They were aided in their efforts not by another chef, but by an entrepreneur, Terence Conran, whose series of stylish restaurants, from Orrery to Le Pont de la Tour to the Bluebird Café, began cropping up all over the capital and appearing regularly in the pages of the top food magazines. London has never looked back. Today, a new generation of Young Turks is storming the city's restaurant scene: chefs Tony Fleming of Axis, the hip new restaurant at One Aldwych Hotel, and Aiden Byrne, who has single-handedly reinvented the kitchen at one of London's most -venerable dining spots, the Grill at the Dorchester. I had a chance to eat with both chefs during a recent visit to London and to get their thoughts on the city's exciting food scene. Just what has brought about this revolution in modern British cooking? Fleming, who trained with celebrity chefs Richard Neat and Marco Pierre White before becoming executive chef at Axis in 2007, and Byrne, 36, the Liverpool-born Wunderkind who took over at the Dorchester Grill a year-and-a-half ago, agree that the most important change in the London food scene is the newfound love of British produce. That doesn't mean a re-invention of traditional dishes such as fish and chips, steak and kidney pie, and ”bubble and squeak,“ but rather chefs working directly with local suppliers to celebrate the best produce the British Isles have to offer." Seasonally, British produce is as good as that from any other part of the world,“ Fleming says. That realization has meant an end to imports from France and the rest of continent, and a resulting focus on the best British produce at any given time: asparagus in May, strawberries and tomatoes in August, English and Irish farmhouse cheeses, Jersey Royal potatoes from the Channel Islands, crabs in the summer from England's south coast and prawns from Dublin Bay, and grouse from the north of England and Scotland from August to December. Not to mention local fish such as John Dory, turbot and brill, which Fleming says ”can be caught yesterday and in my kitchen today.“ Fleming, who makes regular visits to sprawling Borough Market on the south bank of the Thames in search of the freshest -produce in Britain, prefers his -ingredients to be, whenever possible, local, sustainable and organic. At Axis, that results in dishes such as braised lamb breast, sautéed cabbage and roast langouwstines, Middle White pork pie, buttery grain mustard mash and pickled -cucumber, and blackberry and pear soufflé with blackberry sorbet, which are neither overworked nor complicated. They follow Fleming's -guiding principle — ”keep it British; keep it simple.“ The legendary Dorchester Hotel, situated across from Hyde Park, has become such a bastion of culinary excellence that it keeps three first-class restaurants filled with satisfied patrons — the glamorous China Tang, the newest establishment of celebrated French chef Alain Ducasse, and the recently refurbished Dorchester Grill. It is the last, presided over by Byrne, that has London and international food critics especially excited. Byrne, author of the book Made in Great Britain, echoes Fleming's opinion that it is the excellent British produce that has elevated the country's — and especially London's — restaurants.”Just look at what we have here,“ he says. ”The finest beef from Scotland, oysters from east England and Northern Ireland, potatoes from Jersey, cheeses from Wiltshire and Somerset (counties in southern England).”There is nothing we can't grow, nothing we can't get. Byrne can often be found as early as 3:30 a.m. at New Covent Garden Market, selecting mushrooms, baby artichokes and borlotti beans before shopping for meat at Smithfield Market and fish at Billingsgate. His passion for all things British shows up on the Grill's menu, with poached west coast turbot with razor clams, spring vegetables and lemon thyme butter; Denham Castle lamb with fennel risotto and confit garlic; and fillet of angus beef with braised Devon snails, parsley pearl barley, bone marrow and smoked bacon. Despite his numerous accolades, Byrne thinks his greatest accomplishment has been ”making fine dining -accessible to the masses.“ The sun might have set on the British Empire, but it is shining brightly on the state of British cuisine.

Herb Extract Three Far North Queensland coffee growers have won a 12-year legal battle against the Queensland Government.The Supreme Court in Cairns has ordered the government pay the Atherton Tableland growers $9.1 million in compensation after their crops were destroyed in 1996 by a spraying program targeting Papaya Fruit Fly.Nat Jaques lost 50,000 trees to the sprays and he says the Department of Primary Industries was found to be negligent."The frequency of sprays was one of the impacts - they did ten consecutive sprays over ten weeks," he says."Concentration was another factor, the solvent used in the spray program was another factor."A combination of all ended up destroying our production and trees."They were aware of the damage they had caused but refused to pay any compensation, so we had no alternative but to take legal action."

Farming Machines Increasing costs are forcing some farmers in West Virginia tochange the way they do business."A lot of farmers own their land but let somebody else farm it,"said Bill Aiken, field representative for the West Virginia FarmBureau. "In a lot of areas, land rent is not very expensive becausethere aren't many farmers around to rent it."According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 21,000 farms in WestVirginia. Of those, about 14,000 farmers file a Schedule F with theInternal Revenue Service. That document reports profits and lossesfrom farming."They've been doing it for years," he said of the practice ofleasing land to others. "As people get older and new generations(take ownership of farms), it's becoming more and more common."It keeps the land active," Aiken added.Aiken knows one Tucker County farmer who regularly receivessolicitations in the mail from farm owners who want to rent land,he said. That farmer has a larger operation and rents land fromothers in the area."In other areas, land is scarce," Aiken said. "Around Morefield,it's hard to find farm land."Increasing business costs are leading some farmers to find moreprofit in leasing their land rather planting and harvesting it,Aiken said. Diesel and other fuels used to run farm equipment andfertilizers have experienced tremendous price increases the pastcouple of years, he said."The biggest dollar value in West Virginia is in poultry," he said."... But most farmers raise cattle. (The increases) really affectthem a lot."Something as basic as transporting cattle to market costs much moretoday than it did just a year ago, Aiken said.Farmers today are caught in a seemingly vicious and never-endingcycle from which there is no escape in sight. For example, one waygovernment officials have chosen to help alleviate the high fuelprices, which would help farmers, is increasing the use of ethanol.But ethanol is made from corn. Today, about 20 percent of thenation's corn crop goes to ethanol production. That has led to anincrease in corn prices, which hurts farmers.Adding to the difficulties associated with increased prices, somefarmers in the state, particularly those in the fruit business, arehaving problem finding enough help, Aiken said."It's not as much of a problem in West Virginia as it is otherplaces," he said. "But it can be difficult to get adequate help."The fruit industry needs farm laborers because the product must behandled with care, Aiken said. Harvesting machines can be rough andbruise delicate fruits."It's been difficult to get people to pick since the crackdown onimmigration," he said. "... Most all fruit is picked by handbecause it can't be bruised."West Virginia used to be among the top 10 states in the nation forproduction of some fruit, such as peaches, he said. But the numberof orchards has declined recently."There are still a lot, but it's not where we want to be," Aikensaid.But that trend could be reversing somewhat, he said."The trend is for buying local," Aiken said. "We're seeing more andmore farmers markets."Despite all the problems, agriculture remains in important segmentof the state's economy, he said."Agriculture is still a pretty viable industry in the state," hesaid.Some farmers are benefiting from the healthy oil and natural gasmarkets in the state, he said. Those who own lands on which thosewells are located are seeing increased royalties today.Farmers who know where to look can find success in today's market,Aiken said."I think there are some opportunities to look at in this market,"he said. "The biggest competitor for West Virginia apples wasWashington State. Now, (fuel costs) have caused them to increase.It gives our guys a competitive edge. You have to look foropportunities."