Food critic AA Gill, writing in the Sunday Times Magazine this weekend, talks about his penchant for knowing the origin of certain ingredients. "Deer? What sort of deer?" he asks. "Frogs' legs? Where do they come from?"
Unconsciously, he raises an issue that the Meat & Livestock Commission (MLC) says is becoming increasingly important to consumers. According to the MLC, customers in restaurants are following a retail trend by demanding to know the origin of red meat.
As a result, British Meat, the marketing arm of the MLC, has launched a campaign to persuade chefs to increase the labeling of meat on menus. The organisation has issued a set of best-practice guidelines to assist chefs and restaurateurs with this labelling, suggesting that, if these aren't followed, consumer demand will eventually lead to labelling becoming a statutory legal requirement.
Fair enough, so far so good - if customers want more information, chefs should provide it. The campaign is well-timed and the advice practical. And I agree, as always, that voluntary acceptance of guidelines is better than legislation with all the red tape and bureaucracy that goes with it.
However, a note of sober caution needs to be introduced. If a campaign encourages customers to start questioning the origin of ingredients, where will it end? Red meat is one thing, but could the industry cope if the public begins to demand information about every item on the menu?
What about fish and poultry? What about the vegetables? Genetically modified food is in the news again, so isn't there a case for identifying the source of the courgettes and the exotic fruit salad?
Providing information on everything would become a nightmare, not only for the trade but for customers as well, as they struggle with the small print on menus an inch thick.
British Meat claims that the guidelines demonstrate a relationship of trust between producer, supplier and chef. That might be so. But it would be a shame if the demand for information got out of hand, creating a culture of suspicion and breaking down the sense of trust that also needs to exist between the chef and the customer.
In principle, the British Meat's stand on menu transparency should be supported. I just hope it doesn't snowball in time into something impractical and unmanageable.
Gently, Bentley
Minimalism or not, that is the question. Or at least it's one that taxes the brains of hotel designers the world over. London's latest high-profile opening, the Bentley, has gone to the other extreme, offering opulence and gold instead of stark white walls and sofas. It may not be to everyone's taste, but it certainly offers a contrast to some of the hotels we have seen in recent years. Go and check it out for yourselves.
JENNY WEBSTER, HOTELS EDITOR
Root one catering
Organic food is a growing market and the premium prices it commands can certainly be good for business. But there are few caterers who would consider going 100% organic. Yet, on page 30 we meet a couple who did just that in the highly competitive arena of London event catering. And after just two years they say their business, Organic Express, is poised to compete with the mainstream.
BEN WALKER, DEPUTY CONTRACT CATERING EDITOR