Teaching schoolchildren to cook is only the start of the solution
Gordon Ramsay makes a very valid point (Caterer, 10 July, page 8). An alarming number of children are eating "junk food" on a regular basis. Children should not only be taught to cook, they need to be introduced to nutrition.
A healthy life is important to young people.
Cookery needs to be reintroduced to schools. It is all very well teaching information technology, but everyone needs to eat at some point.
There have been some appalling examples of obese children featured in the national press recently, and this trend [for eating the wrong type of food] has to be brought to an abrupt halt.
Giving children food that is unhealthy will only escalate the problem.
Leo Robertson
By e-mail
Moffat mortgage mathematics are a mystery
It is very evident from the Troubleshooters article (Caterer, 10 July, page 44) that Todd and Louise Moffat have thought through their plans for the development of the business, and are obviously looking at ways to maximise the profit.
As they say, the largest overhead for a business of this kind is the mortgage, so in this instance I am stunned that they have saddled themselves with a mortgage which, frankly, I struggle to understand. The closest I can get is 7.75% over their quoted 15-year term, when it should be no more than 5.5% (with the latest cut in interest rates).
I calculate, from the information in the article, that they are paying between £15,756 and £29,000 per annum more for their funding than they should be. The latter figure is based on interest only, the former on capital and interest over 20 years.
New entrants to a business should be assisted as much as possible in their first year, and positive cash flow is the key to relieving the strain of the initial learning curve.
I applaud clients who try to rid themselves of the mortgage as soon as possible but, in the beginning, be sensible - you can always adjust the repayment term once you have understood your cash flow.
Equally, be aware that it is only the interest element that can be offset against profit, so a quick capital payback is not always the tax-efficient route to take.
Hugh Caven, Managing Director, Walbrook Commercial Finance, by e-mail
Drink water - after all, it's only natural
According to recent newspaper reports (Daily Mail, 9 July): "Bottled water has a two-year use-by date and can be up to two years old from sitting in a hot warehouse or a supermarket. It can also be out of date, as bottling companies do not have to specify time of bottling, and therefore tap water is fresher than bottled mineral water."
I would like to point out that, as natural mineral water is defined as a food, it must comply with the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 and the Food (Lot Marking) Regulations 1996, and must have a sell-by date by law.
Best-before dates are used because food labelling laws require the batches to be traceable, because they reduce the chances of incorrect storage, and because they aid stock rotation.
It is the same with fine wine, which stays in bottles for many years without any deterioration.
With regard to claims that bottled water is old, of course it is. Some of the most popular types of bottled water, natural mineral water, fell as rain or snow as long as 3,000 years ago.
Natural mineral water is exactly that - natural - nothing has been added. It is bottled at source from a protected and unpolluted source, under tight regulations. This is more than I can say about tap water.
In addition, when natural mineral water is bottled at source, it is given an airtight seal in a clean environment to retain its quality, consistency and freshness. This also stops oxygen getting into the bottle, which could cause deterioration.
Customers and consumers can be reassured that they can rely on the qualities of natural mineral water, as only natural mineral water is guaranteed to be naturally wholesome, with no treatments or preservatives added.
With natural mineral water, you know what you are drinking.
AC Robson, Managing director, Abbey Well, by e-mail
Ring round is still rosy
I feel that Jenny Webster is putting a totally different and unfair slant on what was, and still is, the purpose of the "ring round" (Caterer, 19 June).
The ring round's primary purpose is to establish which local hotels have vacant rooms for the day, so that enquiring potential customers can be advised of alternative hotels to contact when your hotel is full.
This practice is to benefit the customer, not to squeeze a high room rate from them. This presents a good impression and, we hope, encourages customers to come and stay with you in the future when you do have rooms available.
Paul Makings, Operations director, Wyborn Hotels
Don't limit healthy choices for children
I couldn't agree more with Gordon Ramsay and Lizzie Vann (LACA conference report, Caterer, 10 July, page 8).
I would like to add one point to their comments, however. The choice of food offered to children at school is crucial. There shouldn't be just one healthy choice for the children to avoid; it all has to be healthy, delicious and attractive.
School is one of the few places where children make regular food choices without parental guidance. This early independent decision-making can form habits which can become the foundations that form their adult food choices. Give them chips every day as children and they will choose chips regularly as adults.
We feel so strongly about this issue that, six years ago, my co-directors and I broke with conventional wisdom and set up the Brookwood Partnership - a school meals contract caterer providing an "Eating for Life" programme with the emphasis firmly on fresh, healthy and delicious foods.
It is possible to offer children a choice of "home-cooked" foods, low in salt, sugar and fat, and free from additives and preservatives. It is possible to make healthy food attractive to children.
Granted, it's not easy - and it does require investment - but it is possible. The secret, as Ramsay pointed out, is to keep it fresh and keep it simple. The stumbling block, as Vann highlighted, is the funds available to schools.
An investment in good quality food at school is an investment in the future health of the nation. Vann is right when she points to the long-term savings for the NHS by investing in children's nutrition.
The case for increasing funding available for school meals is growing all the time. Let's hope the Government listens to Vann's plea for more money.
Graham Sibthorp, Managing partner, Brookwood Partnership, by e-mail