A graph is Berge if no induced subgraph is an odd cycle of length >3 or the complement of one. It has long been an open question whether there is a polynomial time algorithm to test if a graph is Berge. Recently in joint work with Neil Robertson, Paul Seymour and Robin Thomas we found a decomposition theorem for Berge graphs, proving that any such graph either admits a useful decomposition or falls into one of five basic classes. This led to a proof of Berge's strong perfect graph conjecture, and it was naturally expected to also lead to a polynomial time recognition algorithm for Berge graphs, but that does not seem to be the case. In November 2002 in joint work with Paul Seymour we finally found such an algorithm. It does not use the decomposition theorem- we do not test whether a graph has a certain structure, but rather test directly for odd holes and antiholes. The proof of correctness does not use the decomposition theorem either. In this talk I will give a survey of both of these results.