Top chef reclaims his crown

Just a year ago Ian Pengelley had only £2.50 left in the world.

His career as a top London chef had nose-dived into debt, misery and despair following a succession of ill-fated career moves, and his critics said he would never recover.

But last night the 36-year-old proved them wrong as he received a Tatler Restaurant Award for new restaurant Gilgamesh.

The restaurant, which opened less than eight months ago in Camden Town, won in the Most Original Restaurant category for its innovative menu, unique location and huge popularity.

"It's good to be back," said Mr Pengelley after accepting the award. "I have been very lucky that this has happened to me after such a run of disaster. People said it would only last five minutes and here we are going great guns."

He said that when he got the call to be pan-Asian master chef at Gilgamesh he had no money and was suffering from depression.

"I was down to my last £2.50," he said. "When Gilgamesh was born I was petrified I was going to get my feet burnt again but it has been a wonderful opportunity to work with fantastic people in a fabulous environment and we have grafted really hard.

"Now I feel vindicated and I can stick two fingers up to anyone who thought I couldn't do it." Mr Pengelley's career has seen him at the helm of several of London's groundbreaking restaurants. The peak was his two-year stint as master chef at E&O.

When Gordon Ramsay invited him to open Pengelley's in Sloane Street, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to add his name to a list of celebrity cooks.

But what followed was a calamity of kitchen chaos, bad reviews and a clash of personalities which meant the plug was pulled on the restaurant before Christmas 2005.

He admitted the venture was a disaster. "What Gordon Ramsay Holdings do, they do brilliantly," he said. "But I wanted to do it my way." He left the restaurant with no money and no job prospects. "It seemed like the end," he said. "But then Gilgamesh came along and I haven't looked back."

Jeremy Wayne, Tatler's restaurant editor, who hosted last night's awards, said Mr Pengelley and Gilgamesh deserved praise for coming such a long way in such a short time. "Pengelley has laid himself on the line and it has paid off," he said.

Gilgamesh is named after an ancient Mesopotamian hero, whose adventures are recounted in carvings on 12 tablets found in the library of the Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal, who ruled from 669 to 626BC. Philip Roth also named a character Gil Gamesh in The Great American Novel of 1973.

Other winners at the ceremony included The Greenhouse for Fabulous Food, Le Gavroche as Most Consistently Excellent Restaurant and The Wolseley as Restaurant of the Year. In 2005, The Wolseley was listed in the worst five restaurants in London for service and quality following a magazine survey.

There were also awards for Galvin At Windows, London Hilton (Best Front House); L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (The It Room 2007); 1707, Fortnum & Mason (Best Wine List); and Arbutus (Best Newcomer).

Jesus Adorno of Le Caprice won the Louis Roederer Lifetime Achievement Award.