Meal of the Year:

La Closerie de Kerdrain in Auray, Morbihan (Brittany). Astounding cuisine and service. Deserves at least one if not two Michelin stars but currently only has three knives and forks. Go there!

Disaster of the Year:

L'Essentiel in Périgueux, France. Good cuisine ruined by trying to be more upmarket than necessary. Rotten service. All kinds of other problems, which will be detailed on TripAdvisor shortly, now that I have some days off at the end of the year to write it up. Has a Michelin star in the 2011 guide, but definitely doesn't deserve it.