I had hoped that Artisan at Booths would become the kind of packed to the rafters deli that Kendal so deserved.

But the culinary enterprise opened by Prince Charles, with an eatery on the side, bears no comparison with the eatery, with culinary enterprise on the side, it has become today.

That's not to take away from the glorious cheese counter manned by Gareth Thompson whose enthusiasm and knowledge are second to none - or those local food producers who are given a spot on what seems to have been gradually declining shelf space over the years.

Instead, the powers that be have decided to focus more on feeding people in situ rather than enticing them with goodies which they can purchase to play with at home.

Not that I'm averse to someone cooking for me, especially when the menu features such dishes as 'crayfish and flaked hot smoked salmon salad with lemon dressing and creme fraiche' (my choice from the day's specials), or 'St Anthony's goats cheese tartlet with walnut oil, toasted pinenuts and dressed house salad' (my chum's choice from the main menu).

These dishes weren't cheap - £9.74 and £7.45 respectively. So a bit of avocado, a slice of raw fennel, even a bread roll, would have been good with mine. However, the salmon and crayfish portions were generous.

For puds, I had lemon tart - good lemon filling, but not good pastry, and I had to remind the waitress about the cream - and my friend had white chocolate mousse with raspberries - ten out of ten on this one, and it tasted as good as it looked.

With hindsight, I wish I had plumped for one of the Artisan platters; the other specials, roast pork loin, and a Lancashire hotpot on the table next to ours looked good too, as did the chunky chips and battered fish.

In short, I wish I had picked something else. But that's my problem, not Artisan's.