You read it here firstNice to see Bill Toner's career back as a popular topic of speculation among his contract catering cohorts. After his U-turn - alleged U-turn, that is - on teaming up with transparency prophet Jerry Brand and close buddy Roy Miller at Host, the rumour mill has sparked back into life. Not wanting to be caught out of the loop,
Caterer can officially confirm that the ex-Aramark boss has been lined up as the new chief exec of Compass UK & Ireland. Well, so we hear anyway.
Another chance to try...
Good news for fans of Ian Pengelley's pan-Asian nosh. The flame-haired chef and renowned hell-raiser is now available for hire at private parties. To cook, that is. Pengelley will come to your home or, as the blurb puts it, your private yacht, jet, country estate or penthouse. Clearly such high-rolling diners must have been lacking at his Pengelley's restaurant in London which shut last December after less than a year.
ACE shot down in Hollywood
It seems the recent launch of the Association of Catering Excellence didn't go exactly as first hoped. When chairman Norman Deas took to the podium to unveil the group's new-look golden logo, he told guests that sadly there would be no musical accompaniment. And what fitting fanfare had they hoped to play? Er, the
Star Wars theme tune. "Lucasfilm wanted us to sign all sorts of papers, so we gave up in the end," said Deas. Was Darth Vader poised to sweep into the room with a tray of vol-au-vents at this point?
Basso to soprano?
The Goring media machine swung flamboyantly into action again last week. After recently trumpeting its role in hosting the marriage of "brave and beautiful" Boyzone z-lister Stephen Gately, the five-star London hotel wanted the world to know about its new managing director. Without any obvious hint of irony, it introduced David Morgan-Hewitt as "an occasional singer in all ranges of the musical register", "a meeter and greeter on a heroic scale" and "a redoubtable trencherman". Bet they don't ask for that at Travelodge.
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