This is the nerve centre," says Simon Tanner, a powerful, determined-looking man with a five o'clock shadow. He shows us into a windowless cave inside a grim railway depot in Battersea, south London. A wall calendar spotted with the initials BP and NB and various coloured symbols covers the exposed brickwork. Next door are some production kitchens.
Anyone who has seen too many cockney gangster flicks would get a sense of déjà vu. Isn't this where Bob Hoskins hung his adversaries on meat hooks and tortured them in The Long Good Friday?
Although Tanner has the organisational skills of a master villain, he uses them to give pleasure not pain. This is no gangster's lair. Far from it. We are in the logistical headquarters of the Northern Belle and British Pullman, sister trains of the world-famous, luxurious Orient-Express. Tanner the development chef, is the brains behind planning menus, buying, preparing and distributing food, drink, tableware, and uniforms to both trains.
And with the number of departures rising from under 100 in 1982 to about 350 this year, Tanner needs to employ all the cunning of a criminal to keep things running smoothly.
The delivery schedule to the Victoria-based British Pullman and Crewe-based Northern Belle is planned one month in advance, but remains flexible. In some cases (see The Grand Tour, below) deliveries are made while the train is on route.
Tanner prints the menus in his "nerve centre" and can modify them up to the night before they are sent with the food.
Menus must reflect the trips' celebration of British heritage, so fusion or New World dishes are out of the question. The space constraints of cooking on a train mean passengers have set menus and Tanner has to devise dishes that will satisfy a variety of customers, from smart Cheshire ladies to Yorkshire businessmen.
Since passengers are buying a luxurious experience, he needs to pay attention to regional tastes: "A lamb shank on a train out of Manchester would be perceived as peasant food. They want to see caviar or lobster. Similarly black pudding will go down well with Londoners but not Scots. Menus must essentially offend nobody, be perceived as posh, and be substantial."
Of course, certain dishes are off limits. For example, consomm‚ is too liquid and cools too rapidly; ice-cream is impossible because there are no freezers on the trains. But Tanner enjoys pushing the boundaries. He put medium-rare venison on the menu and it was well received, though he originally worried the on-board ovens would make it tough and dry. Last summer he tried a strawberry and Champagne soup, which went down unexpectedly well.
This morning he is overseeing a dispatch for the Northern Belle's York trip the following day. The train is nearly fully booked, with 219 passengers out of a capacity for 252. As much food preparation as possible is done beforehand. "The chefs on the train don't have time to be doing anything unnecessary," Tanner explains.
The main course for the early evening dinner is breast of Cornish game hen. The breasts have arrived already butchered and de-boned, and are now being stuffed with thyme, tarragon and leek.
The load, including pre-prepared vegetables, fruit salad and flowers, is put on to palettes, wrapped in clingfilm, and fork-lifted into the back of driver Aki Mehari's refrigerated truck. Mehari, who knows the location of every train station siding in the UK, then heads for Crewe station for 2pm, where the food is loaded on to the train and kept refrigerated overnight, thanks to a generator.
The following morning - at 6am - we board the Northern Belle at Crewe and watch the mist rising over the countryside as we head towards Birmingham. Train manager James Humphreys jokes that he's thinking of entering Caterer's View with a Room competition. No doubt he would win hands down. No restaurant or hotel could compete with the stunning moving panoramas passengers enjoy on trips through Snowdonia, the Scottish highlands, or the Settle and Carlisle coastal route.
For all you railway boffins out there, the Northern Belle's six dining cars are mark II first-class open carriages from the 1960s. They were stripped out and re-designed by James Park Associates at a cost of £4m. Each carriage bears the name of a famous stately home or castle. They are served by two ex-British Rail kitchen cars dating from 1952.
Now in its third year on the rails, the Northern Belle came into service because Orient-Express noticed the large numbers of northern customers travelling down to London for trips on the British Pullman. Sales have risen from £1m to £3m in 2002 and £5m is forecast this year. The train is already 58% towards its target for the calendar year. The business broke even last year and expects to make a small profit in 2003.
Leisure pound
Only 30% of bookings come from overseas visitors, while women make most domestic bookings. Humphreys says people are spending their leisure pound where they feel safe, so the domestic trains have benefited from a desire to stay closer to home. Exotic destinations are suffering. Australia's Orient-Express, the Great South Pacific Express, will suspend operations from 8 June because of the fall in revenue from American and Japanese tourists.
Compared with his 12 years as restaurant manager at the Chester Grosvenor hotel, in Chester, Humphreys says life on the Northern Belle is a lot more challenging: "You don't know what's going to happen. Things you take for granted in a normal kitchen aren't there. There's no cellar to nip down to and there isn't an unlimited water supply." The train are filled up at stations by attaching pipes to the undercarriage.
The only time the train has broken down was on 12 September 2001. "The relief engine also broke down. We were there for four hours," Humphreys says. "Passengers got a complimentary day. It can be their lifelong ambition and if the whole day doesn't go well, it could come back to haunt you. We've got to keep their dream alive." If delays pass the one hour mark, Humphreys cracks open the Champagne. Many customers feel like they're getting extra value for their money.
The train won't get back to Crewe until after midnight, so the 32 staff, including eight kitchen workers, fill up with a hearty breakfast before the first passengers board at Birmingham. There is a cheerful and infectious camaraderie among the staff. The team ranges from 65-year-old assistant chef Peter Bore, who spent 29 years in the merchant navy's kitchens - "I've seen enough of the world, I want to see some of my own country" - to head steward Stephen Weir, 22, runner up in last year's Young Chef Young Waiter competition. The guys in the kitchens wear T-shirts with the message "I survived 2002" on the front and "Northern Belle, £5m in 2003, I'm committed" on the back.
Overall, Orient-Express's operating profit from trains and river cruises worldwide rose from $7.3m in 2001 to $8.3m in 2002.
At 11am, in Derby, the diesel engine is de-coupled and a steam engine put on. More than one-third of the Northern Belle's costs go on haulage, which is contracted to EWS Railways. It costs £14,000 a day to rent a steam engine. Gross ticket bookings today amount to £47,085, at £215 per head. As we hurtle on, trainspotters pop up in the most unlikely places.
After an afternoon exploring York, we get back on board at 5.30pm, ready for the main meal. The team is one man down in the kitchens. In an admirable display of hands-on management, Humphreys helps out plating up the main courses and moving them through the serving hatch. The heat becomes oppressive but the windows can't be opened because soot from the steam engine will come in. In any case, air would cool the plates. Only once every plate has been served can the air conditioning be turned on. The cheese course then gives the team time to scrub down and start the desserts. All washing up is done by hand.
Six months into the job, executive chef Kurt Randall recognises the business is growing and building up a loyal client base. Consequently greater investment will be needed. Orient-Express's management would like to see Michelin stars for the train, which would not be feasible with the present kit. The 1950s ovens have two settings - on or off. Two brand-new kitchen cars are on their way. They will have to be custom-built because train kitchens are a thing of the past in the UK. In the long term, the Belle needs to have its own production kitchen in Crewe: "The last thing staff want to do after an 18-hour shift is to load on food," Randall says
He is excited about taking things to the next level and is looking forward to cooking his own menus on board. "I can see what works on a train. You've got to conquer every sector you go into."
As the sun - and wine - starts to go down, the bonhomie increases and spreads through the carriages. By the time we get off in Derby, there is a buzz of newly made friends saying goodbye on the platform. The thought of boarding an ordinary train to London is painful.
The grand tour
Simon Tanner calls the Orient Express Grand Tour of Britain "our jewel in the crown." After two successful runs in 2002, Orient Express has announced three departure dates this year - 6 June, 5 September, and 3 October - for the ultimate land-cruising journey around Britain. The Northern Belle is pulled by the Flying Scotsman steam engine for the final leg of the tour. For £2,650 per head, passengers leave London and venture north on a circular route via York, Edinburgh and into the Scottish highlands. The seven-day tour returns via Chester, Snowdonia and Bath. Nights are spent at three hotels along the way. Places are limited to 100.
En route deliveries from Battersea are supplemented by local purchasing along the way. In Oban last year, train manager James Humphreys bought fresh oysters straight from a fishing boat and served them as a starter.
At a glance
The Northern Belle made its first trip on 31 May 2000.
Turnover: £1m in 2001, £3m in 2002, £5m forecast this year.
Total capacity: 252 passengers in six dining cars.
Staff: 32, including eight kitchen staff
Prices range from £145 for a four-course lunch to £2,650 for the seven-day Grand Tour.
The trains "lives" at Crewe but picks up passengers at 23 locations including Manchester, Liverpool, York, Leeds, Chester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Birmingham.
Head office
Sea Containers House
20 Upper Ground
London SE1 9PF
Tel: 020 7805 5060
Fax: 020 7805 5908
www.orient-express.com