THE South of England really is a deprived region compared to say Yorkshire, when it comes to hospitality, particularly food and the places that serve it.

Classic British dishes are rarely served, for that matter what is served is often unrecognisable as what it is supposed to be.

Chefs in the South appear to me to be lazy or all owners allow lousy ingredient budgets.

Just scan the web for restaurants outside of London and see what you find.

Now scan the web in Beverley, York, the East and West Riding of Yorkshire and the difference in terms of website presentation, range of dishes and pricing show clearly what I mean.

No I have not solely relied upon website presentation. I have eaten in many of the restaurants you will see advertised on the web in the North and in Surrey, Hampshire, Kent, etc.

Most pub grub would be far better if it was bought from M&S microde and sold at the same grossly over-priced levels as the food most pubs produce now.

For a start it would save employing so called chefs and boost the already over-blown profit margins of the pubs in the South of England.

I have yet to enter a restaurant in Hampshire where I am not met by bare table tops, poor quality seating and carpets/floors that are in need of a damn good clean.

For quality food at fair prices, well-produced in good ambiance, the South of England is a desert!

To those who claim to be restaurateurs, my advice is perform like one and start giving your customers quality and value for money.

Dr Raymond Edwards, Fareham