Restaurant Critic Lands Michelin Star

In a nice turn of events a Swedish food blogger who offered dining recommendations on his website gastroville.com has been awarded a Michelin star barely a year after opening his first restaurant. Mikael Jonsson won the accolade for Hedone, the Swedish restaurant he opened 14 months ago in an unfashionable part of Chiswick High Road in west London. It is the first professional kitchen he has ever worked in. Jonsson gave up his day job as a lawyer as word spread that Hedone was serving up something special. Jonsson nurtured a passion for food while growing up in Sweden, training as a chef before becoming a lawyer. He maintained his blog while living in Monaco and Malta, evaluating restaurants and offering advice on sourcing often overlooked ingredients. When Hedone opened, Jonsson began blogging the trials and tribulations of running his own restaurant. With a dinner menu starting at £50, Hedone won acclaim for dishes including a squab pigeon dish, roasted complete with an entire leg and claw, and Jonsson's use of foraged ingredients including sea aster. Jonsson said: "I am overwhelmed, utterly unable to digest it at this stage. When I think that just over a year ago I was embarking on my first ever restaurant venture, having never cooked professionally, I am actually staggered at what we have achieved."