FOOD critic Michael Winner has taken up the challenge to visit an East Lancashire restaurant.

Celebrity chef Andrew Nutter challenged Winner, also famous for directing films such as Death Wish, to come to his restaurant on the moors above Edenfield after no Lancashire restaurants were reviewed in the new edition of Winner's Dinners, a collection of his columns that appear in The Sunday Times.

Andrew Nutter said he was disappointed no restaurants in the area were reviewed, leaving out not just his but Paul Heathcote's restaurant at Longridge.

However, Winner was more than happy to accept Nutter's challenge -- despite admitting to knowing nothing about him.

He told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph: "I apologise for not having been to Lancashire very much, if at all.

"I have heard nothing but good of Paul Heathcote and, although I have not previously heard of Andrew Nutter, I certainly have now. I shall now have to find a wonderful hotel in Lancashire that I can stay in for the weekend so I can visit Andrew and find out for myself.

Issuing the challenge, Andrew Nutter, a fan of Winner's column, cited two reasons why he feels restaurants here are better than those in London -- the service and the price.

"Because Nutter's is a family-run restaurant, I treat all customers as guests in my house," he said. Prices in Lancashire are about half those in London. Nutter's offers a three-course meal for under £30 whereas in London it costs more than £50. Nutter said he was disappointed the majority of reviews in Mr Winner's book were in London.

He said: "I am delighted Michael Winner has accepted. We threw down the gauntlet and he has risen to it. I will show him what proper food and service is all about."