Restaurants could be new scapegoats for obesity
Food manufacturers came in for a hard time at the end of 2003 for the obesity epidemic in the UK. Early signs are that restaurants are in the firing line for 2004.
The Sunday Times kicked off the year with a light-hearted article called "Does this man have a licence to kill?" in which journalist John Elliot took a calorie count at the Savoy Grill and suggested: "Restaurants are accused of being the real villain in Britain's descent into obesity."
That same night The Fattest City was on television. In Houston, Texas, two-thirds of the population are overweight and one-third are obese. Texans consume an average of almost 4,000 calories a day whilst expending 2,000. The programme showed a 44-stone lady putting on an oxygen mask to help her breathe at night. It also discussed the health issues prompting insurance companies to pay for individuals to have their stomach stapled at $30,000 (£16,000) a time.
There were many factors contributing to obesity in Houston but the programme showed the local restaurant trade as willing accomplices in this "obesity epidemic". It showed how all-you-can-eat restaurants encouraged people to sit for hours eating everything in their path. It pointed to super-large portions as the norm with no smaller options available for more modest appetites. Also it showed "macho" dishes so large a "normal" person wouldn't be able to finish one. The theory is that if the customer can finish a 32oz steak plus all the trimmings they can have the meal free. Guess what? People try eating these dishes and regularly succeed.
I know it is New Year and people want to shed their festive pounds, so obesity is topical, but I find this new mood citing restaurants as scapegoats disturbing.
Individuals control what they put into their mouths. The key to healthy eating is education, education, education. If people understand a good diet then they have the tools at their disposal to manage their own health.
But the problem is that we are talking about people here, not machines. What the media are actually saying (and what the public is in danger of believing) is: "People are easily tempted... restaurants are tempting. It's not the customer's fault for overeating... it's the restaurant's fault for making the food so good and the portions so big."
Food suppliers acted swiftly on this issue in 2003 and have won credit for doing so. It looks like the hospitality industry will be in the firing line this year. If we do something now, we have a real chance to take an early lead on this issue.
Bob Walton, owner of Trunkwell Mansion House, Langan's Marquee and the Elm Tree pub
Praise for the unsung heroes of top kitchens
It's very hard for me to understand how so many of these highly lauded, celebrated chefs can be doing their jobs so well if they are "pulled about" at so many locations by so many people. There are not enough hours in the day. For instance, Michael Caines of the delightful Gidleigh Park... I am sure the wonderful Hendersons are pulling their hair out at times when Michael is not there.
So many accolades are given these men, but what about the chef who is holding the fort in their absence?
Ian Tippet, Glacier National Park Hotels, Montana, USA
Vending machines can be a force for good
I have been alarmed to see the recent calls in the national press for vending machines in schools to be banned. It's the range of products being stocked in them, not the dispensers themselves, that are causing the problems.
At Abbey Well we work tirelessly with school caterers to find effective ways of encouraging children to adopt a healthier diet. Last year we launched the resealable "Fat Boy" 250ml PET bottle. Because it's a bottle that vends like a can, its fun design is proving to be very popular with children and, most importantly, they are drinking more water as a direct result.
The launch of the Department of Health's Food in Schools programme is welcome news, as it will go some way to tackling the problem by banning fizzy drinks and junk foods. It is a definite step in the right direction. And with 95% of secondary schools providing vending machine facilities, we already have a direct means of improving children's eating habits. Vending should be channelled properly and used as an educational tool, not as a source of blame.
Tony Robson, Managing Director, Abbey Well, Northumberland
The national chef competition survives
I am writing in response to Yoram Odentz's letter (Caterer, 18 December 2003, page 16). At UBF Foodsolutions we recognise the value of competitions within the cheffing community and have worked in partnership with the Craft Guild of Chefs, sponsoring the National Chef of the Year competition with our Knorr brand for a number of years.
The National Chef of the Year competition allows chefs from all sectors of the industry to compete against their peers at the highest level possible to win the title. I whole-heartedly support Yoram's desire for competitions to remain on the agenda for chefs and hope that he will take up the challenge of entering the 2004 National Chef of the Year competition.
Calum Ross, Managing Director, UBF Foodsolutions UK
Everyone wins with menu transparency
It was good to see Diane Lane predicting that 2004 will see traceability and menu transparency as key issues for caterers. She is not alone. The English Tourism Council has research showing that 71% of consumers want to eat locally produced food when dining out of the home, while Mintel, in its Eating Out Report, says that "consumers increasingly want to know where the food on the table has come from and how it has been produced" and that "consumers appear to be seeking a more honest approach, such that they want to know that they are able to find out the relevant information about the food they eat - ie, a certain transparency from suppliers is required."
The Meat & Livestock Commission has championed the case for menu transparency and, along with other producer bodies, such as the National Farmers' Union, fully supports the hospitality industry's move towards the use of more local ingredients on menus and would urge all caterers to look at the facts, listen to the customer and inform them of the origin of the food they are serving.
It is my view that caterers who support the local economy can use this fact to create significant free PR and marketing opportunities for their businesses through local media and the local tourist board.
Tony Goodger, trade sector manager - foodservice, British Meat Foodservice