When a reader asked me what I thought of Eight at the Thatch, the Thame restaurant run by the winners of BBC 2's recent series The Restaurant, I had to admit I didn't know.

So, in the guise of research, it was soon agreed that I should point my mini in the direction of Thame and see how Jeremy Hooper, from the Royal Marine Corps, and his wife Jane were coping with the challenge of running their first restaurant under the watchful eye of celebrity chef Raymond Blanc.

Together, Jeremy and Jane managed to convince Raymond and his panel of inspectors that they had passion, determination and the skills needed to run a successful business, despite their lack of commercial experience.

But did they have the staying power? This was the question that was put to me and what I aimed to find out.

Well, it's certainly a beautiful building and tastefully brought up to date without losing that olde world charm. Old beams have been highlighted, thanks to the pristine whitewashed walls, areas of old tiles have been preserved, and modern wooden flooring used where needed. Single fresh flowers adorn the tables. It's all very stylish - cosy too.

We ate in the bar area, by the fire, but made our food selection from the main restaurant menu.

Within moments, it became clear that Raymond had had a hand in training the lovely young people working there. They were not just polite, they were observant and thoughtful too, always keeping a watchful eye on the tables in their charge without hovering. It soon became clear that they had been trained to wait for the right moment to interrupt with the obligatory "Is everything all right for you?", which is all too often uttered just as you are in the middle of an interesting conversation.

I chose the Icelandic cod fillet with caper and lemon herb butter, which came with creamy mashed potato and green beans at £15.50.

My colleague Chris had the pumpkin and chestnut risotto (£9.50), which contained whole roasted chestnuts.

Within seconds of digging our forks into the food, we declared it perfect. The lemon and herb butter was simply delicious and the cod turned out to be a generous piece of fish cut from the thickest part of the fillet.

The creamy texture of the risotto could not be faulted.

Sitting there by the fire eating this delectable food, we agreed that there were times when life didn't get any better.

There were several real ales on tap, probably the most popular being Timothy Taylor's Landlord, a classic strong pale ale that's won more awards nationally than any other beer. It's full-flavoured balance of hops and fruit is perfect for this time of the year.

Other items on the menu included Jeremy's onion soup (£4.50), which I was informed is actually a cream of onion. Jeremy's Aberdeen fillet medallions with wild mushrooms and red wine jus (£15.50) sounded good, so did the roasted autumn vegetable and lamb stew at £9.50.

Side orders of vegetables were £2.80 each, which was rather high, but rustic bread and butter was supplied free.

Puddings were all priced at £5.50 and included favourites such as home-made sticky toffee pudding with poached pear, and Cox Pippin tarte tatin.

While there was no menu for children, dishes could be made specially for them from the main menu, as Raymond insists children's meals are as important as the adults'.

Summarising is easy. It's quite clear that Raymond's quest for excellence, his discipline and professionalism, along with his insistence that everyone who walks through the doors of a restaurant is important, has rubbed off on Jeremy and Jane and all working at Eight at the Thatch. A delightful experience.