We should put our money where the kids' mouths are
I was delighted to read Forbes Mutch's Comment on school meals (Caterer, 20 February, page 5). This is one of the most important sectors to influence future generations, not only on food, healthy eating and how to cook, but also about the catering industry and its customers of tomorrow.
Cooks in schools work on one of the smallest food budgets in any sector of the country (varying between 35p and 45p for a main meal with vegetables and dessert) and take the most knocks from so-called "experts" such as the Food Standards Agency.
At least in Scotland the importance of school meals has been recognised with the proposal for direct investment by the Scottish Executive of £63m over three years, in addition to funding for improving dining rooms, swipe cards to help reduce the stigma of free meals and additional supervision by non-teaching staff.
It is time funding was given to the English school meal services to help promote healthier eating, improve the ambience of school dining halls and the condition of many kitchens.
I suggest Tony Blair puts our money where the children's mouths are, and maybe Jamie Oliver should take up the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) challenge to produce a meal as good as the ones entered for the annual LACA School Chef of the Year competition, for the same amount of money and on a regular basis.
Vic Laws, Director, AVL Consultancy, Woking
I agree with Richard Ware ("Allow more time for school meals", Caterer, 27 February, page 22). If the school dining experience is to be improved and a full range of well balanced dietary requirements are to be catered for, architects and planners need to provide dining facilities that can caterer for schools with more than 1,000 pupils.
It totally defeats the objective if, having built a school for a total pupil intake of more than 1,000 children, the dining facilities have a capacity for only 300 children, bearing in mind that the majority of schools do not have first and second sittings and often allow less than 50 minutes to process the lunchtime meal.
This is bound to produce, even with a swipe card, frustrations with the paying system for the customers, and it is no wonder older pupils often decide to walk to the nearest corner shop instead of queueing for half-an-hour and then finding nowhere to sit.
All agencies have a part to play in improving school meals, not just the caterers.
John Fullerton, Head of Service, Citywide Services, Salford, Lancashire
Relentless pursuit of profit is root of the problem
Martin Rae's observations about what some chefs call a dish isn't unusual (Caterer, 27 February, page 22). As a chef with 30 years' experience and having, like Martin, done my share of temping, my favourite is lemon mousse - made with tinned custard, lemon juice and aspic jelly powder. Needless to say, when I came across this, I offered to make a more acceptable product, teaching the "chef" in the process.
What Mr Rae says only serves to highlight that, within mainstream UK catering, there is little need for "chefs" to have any knowledge of cooking. I have been called "posh" because I can make a dish without using convenience products.
Until big-chain branding moguls relent in their pursuit of a 20% wage bill and 70% gross profit, and nominated suppliers stop seeking 20% continued growth, the problem will remain. Most of the "chefs" in these situations have only one priority - profit.
Bruce Gregory, Manchester
Bad hair day for the boys
On Tony and Giorgio's TV programme we are told to cook by putting "something of ourselves" into everything we prepare, and the boys certainly practise what they preach. My wife and I count the occasions when hair gets in the food. We each select a candidate and the outcome of who offends most often decides who makes the tea after the programme. Giorgio is currently the worse offender.
David and Vicky Wood, Thehospitality.biz, by e-mail
NVQs: make sure you check training provider
It's unfortunate that DJ Chambers has been treated so badly ("I'm still waiting for my NVQ certificate", Caterer, 6 March, page 24) but let's not blame the NVQ system and become disillusioned with what is an excellent system for both established caterers and newcomers to the industry to obtain qualifications.
One piece of good advice could save us from similar experiences - check out the training provider.
We are a small seasonal holiday village that has seen 120 NVQs successfully completed by our staff in just five years. The secret is to have a good relationship with a professional organisation, in our case, North Devon College, Barnstaple. We have experienced very few problems and advisers are readily available.
So remember, we are talking about education, not the supply of meat or fish. Find out whether the organisation wanting you to book on its courses has teaching and learning as its primary objectives, and is not just out to make money.
Steve Willis, General Manager, Croyde Bay Holiday Village, Devon
Could your life-changing drama feature on TV?
RDF Television, producer of Faking It, is producing a new Channel 4 series called Navigators, which offers help and support to people going through a life-changing personal drama by introducing them to mentors who have been through a similar experience.
One of the films is about redundancy, and we are looking for people who have successfully turned their life around after losing their job by starting their own business, downsizing, changing career or getting a new job.
If you or anyone you know has followed a dream by opening a restaurant after redundancy, we would love to hear from you.
Kim Boursnell, RDF Television, Tel: 0207 313 6839; e-mail kim.boursnell@rdfmedia.com
People are bigger war casualties than businesses
Jarvis Hotels says the uncertainty of the Iraq situation isn't good for business (Caterer, 13 February, page 8). Hilton has developed its domestic market and is "well placed to deal with any effects of action in Iraq". Six Continents says war will "probably have an impact on tourism".
But in all this discussion and analysis, has anybody remembered that war displaces people, maims people and kills people? Surely this is a more important point than the effect on the economy.
John Day, Worksop, Nottinghamshire