The topic for last night’s Big Debate at King’s Place was Is French Food A Spent Force? The evening was part of the foodie-themed events programme that makes up half of London Restaurant Festival, the other half being the special Festival Menus at around 600 restaurants across the capital.

The Big Debate drew some big names. Arguing in favour of the motion were Rosie Boycott (the Mayor’s food adviser) and Janet Street-Porter. Food critic AA Gill and broadcaster Jonathan Meades were against – arguing that French food is still a major culinary force.

The entire debate lacked some clarity, I thought, about whether “French cuisine” referred to the food in France, food inspired by French cooking, or the French method of cookery itself (maybe all three?) But some interesting points were raised.

The ladies’ case centred on the fact that the quality of food in France – at restaurants, supermarkets and markets – has shown a marked decline in recent years, while the British equivalents are booming. The men pulled the history card, saying their first experiences of French food had been a revelation and that since British cuisine has French cookery as a basis, it’s still a force to reckoned with. Meades, who lives in France, also denied that local food there had got worse.

The debate was then opened to questions from the audience that, truth be told, often wandered off on tangents depending on the asker’s personal experience.

Getting personal myself, I don’t know that either side was entirely convincing, and I was slightly disappointed that none of the debaters seemed to get beyond France or the UK to discuss the position of French cuisine globally. However, the well-informed crowd (and debaters) obviously enjoyed the tussle.

In the end, an audience vote declared in favour of the blokes – that French cuisine is not a spent force. Vive la France !

The launch was attended by members of the press, chefs, restaurateurs and PRs. We spotted Observer food critic Jay Rayner, TV’s William Sitwell and Silvena Rowe, Tom Parker-Bowles, Wahaca’s Thomasina Miers, Pierre Koffmann,  John Nugent from Green & Fortune and Nick Jones, proprietor of Soho House and Shoreditch House.

Fay Maschler, festival chair and co-founder, spoke about Festival Menus, which will be at the heart of London Restaurant Festival 2010. Festival Menus give each participating restaurant the chance to show off their signature dishes at a special, fixed price.

Rosie Boycott, chair of the London Food Board, said London Restaurant Festival had the full support of both herself and London Mayor Boris Johnson.

“This is a great festival, encouraging Londoners to dine out and support their local restaurants and also maybe discover local gems which they may have right on their doorsteps. The real bonus is that there is a menu for every pocket.”

Festival director Simon Davis announced American Express as the headline sponsor for this year’s festival. He went on to outline five big festival events for 2010 so far:

• Gourmet Odyssey: a sell-out at LRF 2009, this year it will be expanded to Soho and Shoreditch
• London Restaurant Festival Suppliers’ Market at Covent Garden. A free-entry event
• London Eye Restaurant Capsules: there will be ten nights to dine on the London eye at LRF 2010
• Supersonic Masonique: the Bistrotheque boys are back with another fabulous pop-up restaurant
• Festival Awards: this year’s event will be huge

Restaurants interested in taking part in London Restaurant Festival 2010 can sign up now. Register online before the the end of April to qualify for the £99 (+VAT) discount price at www.londonrestaurantfestival.com