Even a swanky restaurant like the three-Michelin star Waterside Inn in Bray would give you a bag, although it admits it has never actually had such a request.

BBC: Doggy bag: Why are the British too embarrassed to ask?

The Roux brothers have acted as culinary evangelists in winning adherents for their fine balance of textures and flavours through Le Gavroche and their other outlets, including two restaurants which now have three Michelin stars: the Waterside Inn on the Thames at Bray and a Chelsea restaurant called La Tante Claire, it is said, after one of Mr von Clemm's aunts.

ECONOMIST: Michael von Clemm