And to finish, maybe a 'waffer-thin' mint?
You've heard of a truffle menu, but chocolate? That's what the London restaurant Mju (say "mew") is putting on from 10-16 March to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of King's Road chocolate shop Rococo. The menu starts with chocolate tapenade on crostini and continues through beetroot and goats' cheese tempura with chocolate balsamic vinegar through several courses towards a pudding of white chocolate and saffron panna cotta with rhubarb confit. Thankfully, as far as one can tell, the main course of rack of lamb with anchovy and capers is entirely chocolate-free. Phew.
You take that back - or it's handbags at 20 paces
The run-up to Six Continents' shareholder meeting this week was a battlefield of insults hurled between management and hostile bidder Hugh Osmond. But things took a bitchy turn when JD Wetherspoon's Tim Martin questioned whether Osmond was "punching above his weight" in his bid to take on the company. "My dear friend Mr Martin," came Osmond's retort. "My only question to you is about your hairstyle."
Still living the superstar life, then, Donny?
A new Welcome Break coffee shop had been open less than 24 hours when 1970s heart-throb Donny Osmond popped in for cake and a frothy one. General manager Caroline Bruce, who runs the service area on the M74 motorway at Gretna Green, said: "Donny was on his way to a concert in Glasgow and decided to stop off here. He spent more than 30 minutes chatting, signing autographs with customers, and even sang a few bars of Puppy Love. He was an absolute delight."
Looks like a real pukka part for Pitt
A Los Angeles film producer is negotiating for the rights to the documentary Jamie's Kitchen, with Brad Pitt being approached to play Jamie Oliver, according to the Daily Express. Quite how that compelling documentary would translate into a Hollywood blockbuster is anyone's guess. The Comic Strip's spoof movie of the miners' strike starring Al Pacino as Arthur Scargill springs to mind. No doubt it's the same producer who wanted to make Anthony Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential into a film, also with Brad Pitt in the lead role. That idea doesn't seem to have caught fire either. But you never know. Did we tell you about our screenplay of Antony Worrall Thompson's battle with Henley Council to put chicken coops in his back garden, starring George Clooney?
Sorry, he's out on an under (table) cover job
Caterer journalists pride themselves on being investigative, but some people seem to think we're undercover agents. A PR for Edinburgh-based chef Tommy Miah spent ages trying and failing to contact Dan Bignold, our food and equipment writer, because he thought he worked for the FBI, not RBI (Reed Business Information).
All the fun of the fair
Energetic guests at the Crowne Plaza London St James should no longer suffer moments of boredom. The hotel now offers a Fun Zone, a custom-designed games room where guests can quaff aperitifs over pinball, arcade classics, bar billiards and table football. All this while listening to their favourite tunes on the juke-box. Hotel guests can access the fun between 11.30am and 2am. Hotel life doesn't get much better than this.