Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Restaurateurs, landlords and other purveyors of food should ensure all is shipshape in case they are visited by the "Ladies who Lunch in".
The four are visiting restaurants, pubs and other eateries and printing hard-hitting reviews on the web. Incognito, they simply leave a card announcing: "You have been visited by ladies who lunch in Hampshire".
It's becoming a card that strikes more fear into chefs' hearts than a self-assessment tax form. Now their website - www.ladieswholunch-in-hampshire.co.uk - has won an award in the Hantsweb awards 2004. They collected it at a ceremony at Intech, but made sure they wore dark glasses to preserve their anonymity.
Michael Woodhall, HCC deputy leader, presented the award and warned that their visit was more terrifying than one from Egon Ronay.
One of the ladies, known only as "Carol", said: "We're thrilled to bits. We've been going for three years now. It all started after we had a good meal ruined by poor service and decided to describe our experience on the web. We all meet up about once a month, but go out for meals individually and write up reviews. There are now about 200 on the site."
The ladies are not professional food or drink critics, but just enjoy a "nice meal out with friends".
Comments from the ladies on some eateries include:
* "I opted for a ham and tomato brown baguette. It was dry and rock hard, without even a scraping of butter. It had plenty of nice fresh salad, but no salad dressing! It was boring and not worth eating."
* The waitress was very friendly, even when I sent back my starter. I chose a tapas platter...it was terrible - freezing cold, so everything tasted exactly the same - and obviously all out of tins."
The ladies were runners-up in the best online service in the Hantsweb awards, along with Hampshire List (www.hampshire-list.co.uk). Winner in that category was Chandlersford Online (www.chandlersfordonline.com).
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