5 d. ago ‘It was very difficult to hold on to’: are Michelin stars a blessing

The esteemed restaurant guide has struggled to stay relevant, with some leading chefs even barring reviewers or asking for their stars to be removed. Is this the end of fine dining?Time was, the ultimate honour for any ambitious chef was to gain a Michelin star or two. Better still, three. But these days, the world of fine dining is in a state of flux. Far from going to any lengths to schmooze critics or diners, restaurateurs are taking them on, from publicly berating customers who don’t spend enough to ejecting anyone who even threatens to leave an unfavourable review.Nowhere is this gear change more noticeable than in attitudes towards the esteemed “red book”, the Michelin Guide. Last October, Giglio, a restaurant in the Italian town of Lucca, asked for its star to be removed from the guide. It had become a burden, according to co-owner, Benedetto Rullo. Many diners were deterred by the prospect of “fussy” food and a formal atmosphere. “One should be able to go to a fine restauran...

Politics

8 d. ago Trans workers could be asked to use disabled toilets – solicitors

Businesses will likely have to review and change policies, including on toilets, in light of a Supreme Court ruling, according to lawyer Peter Byrne.

Politics

2 w. ago Want to stay sharper and live longer? The London clinic offering brain health checks for £12k

Viavi’s new test promises to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s and provide bespoke strategies for keeping your grey matter in good nick. Claudia Cockerell speaks to its founder

Society

2 w. ago Knife by Salman Rushdie audiobook review – 27 seconds that changed everything

The author recalls the attack that almost killed him in an honest, terrifying and life-affirming memoirOn 12 August 2022, Salman Rushdie was at a literary conference in Chautauqua, New York, about to deliver a lecture on keeping writers from harm, when a stranger rushed at him with a knife. Rushdie – who in 1989 had a fatwa issued against him by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini calling for his death, after the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses – was stabbed in his neck, chest, hand and eye.Knife is Rushdie’s memoir of his “near-death” in which he recalls seeing his attacker and thinking to himself: “So it’s you. Here you are.” The attack lasted 27 seconds and, to this day, the author remains bewildered that he didn’t fight back. “Was I so feeble that I couldn’t make the slightest attempt to defend myself?” he asks. As baffling to him is that the man, a Lebanese-American whom he calls “The A” (short for “Assailant” or “Ass”), had never read The Satanic Verses. Instead, he had watc...

Events

2 w. ago What They Found review – Sam Mendes’s debut documentary has the power to change viewers for ever

This tale of two British army sergeants who filmed the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp uses their profoundly disturbing footage. It’s TV that could alter your whole world viewWhat They Found, the first documentary by the film and theatre director Sam Mendes, is a short, stark shock. The film straightforwardly combines two precious artefacts held at the Imperial War Museum in London: 35mm film, shot by Sgt Mike Lewis and Sgt Bill Lawrie of the British Army Film and Photographic Unit, before and during the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp near the town of Celle in northern Germany in April 1945; and audio interviews given by the cameramen in the 1980s. Lewis and Lawrie did not record sound when they visited Belsen; the words they spoke years later are the only sounds we hear.Lewis and Lawrie do not arrive at Belsen until almost halfway through the film’s 36-minute running time. First, laid over generic archive footage, we hear how they came to be a...

Politics

2 w. ago New DWP planned changes to PIP and Universal Credit under review by Committee

The cross-party Work and Pensions Committee has launched a new inquiry into the proposed welfare reforms.

Politics

2 w. ago New price rules when booking travel or online shopping from today

Changes on Sunday will also ban fake reviews, drip pricing and hidden charges

Economics

3 w. ago Cyndi Lauper review – 80s pop eccentric hasn’t changed a bit

Rod Laver Arena, MelbourneHer farewell tour is a pockmarked history of her roots and wide-ranging influences, full of her trademark elan and vigourGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailFandom isn’t a good look on a critic; we’re supposed to be sober and impartial, analytical and measured. What to do, then, when called upon to review your favourite idol, the singer who first turned you on to the power of pop? Judicious rumination or tinny screams of delight? There’s room for both in this swan song from 80s pop eccentric Cyndi Lauper, as irrepressible here as when I saw her as a teenager, then touring her new album True Colours. She’s had an illustrious career, including a side gig composing musicals – Kinky Boots, and soon an adaptation of 80s workplace comedy Working Girl – but the bulk of her hits are drawn from her first two albums, including the astonishing debut She’s So Unusual. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – the song that gives this farewell tour its name – is also by far La...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Please leave feedback’: how constant online reviews are changing our brains – and our lives

We live under mutual surveillance, asked to leave public ratings for every purchase, meal, taxi ride or hair appointment. What is it doing to us?‘Alexlilly1999* has left you feedback!” pings the Vinted notification. My stomach flips as the app loads and I open my review: “Quite good.” A gut punch. I sit in shock, scrutinising the words in front of me. “Good” is a bit uninspired but “quite” feels both passive-aggressive and viciously spiteful: quite good. Alexlilly1999 has also given me just four stars. It’s a lukewarm write-up considering the dress I sold them was good quality, a brilliant price and shipped quickly. I glare at the review. And then another notification pops up: do I want to leave feedback for the buyer? Well, yes, actually, I do.It’s likely we’ve all, at some stage, been asked to leave feedback online. Called your electricity provider with a query? Please answer a few quick questions about the service you received. Had something delivered by a courier? Please rate yo...

Politics

3 w. ago Welcome to Grand Slam Track, Michael Johnson’s brainchild with speed stars, prize money and live data

The new athletics league launches in Kingston, Jamaica this weekend with a radical format and an ambitious goal to capture ‘the youngest fanbase of any sports league in the world’ – but will it fly or flop?

Politics