A WELWYN Hatfield restaurant has been included in the new Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland 2011.

IT started in 1911 as a small instruction manual for motorists travelling across the UK.

Now, 100 years on, it is the indispensable guide for food lovers the length and breadth of Britain – and the borough of Welwyn Hatfield is once again featured in its prestigious pages for the latest edition.

The Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland 2011 was published last month, featuring the country’s finest restaurants, pubs, hotels and guesthouses.

As well as a comprehensive overview of the best value for money establishments, there is of course the revised list of restaurants that have attained the pinnacle of fine dining and been awarded the most coveted prize of them all – the hallowed Michelin star.

And once again, Welwyn Hatfield can boast to have the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Hertfordshire – the Auberge du Lac at Brocket Hall, Lemsford.

The restaurant, led by executive chef Phil Thompson, has retained its star for the third year running, making it one of only four establishments in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire to be given the honour.

Michelin Guide editor-in-chief Rebecca Burr said: “This centenary edition underlines the UK’s greatest strength which is the rich diversity and variety of its restaurants.

“The country embraces all kinds of restaurants and every type of cuisine and the public’s appetite shows no signs of abating.

“There is no doubt that 2010 was a difficult year but those hotels and restaurants that represented value for money, at whatever price, were the ones who were best placed to weather the storm.”