The Caterer Blog

Did I get a shock on Friday or what? Off I went to the Hell’s Kitchen studio to poke around the twin kitchens - supplied by Hobart and set up for the ten celebrities to do battle under the guidance of Marco Pierre White - for a My New Kitchen-style (or in this case My Temporary Kitchen) feature due to appear in 13 September issue of Caterer. As expected, there were a few chefs there prepping ingredients ready for the start of the run but someone I hadn’t planned on running into was MPW himself yet there he was centre stage, several turbot at the mercy of his knife as he effortlessly filleted them at amazing speed – “The cheeks are the best part,” he informed me.

How refreshing, I thought. You’d kind of expect the star of the show to waltz in just before the cameras start rolling, not be on set days before to get everything ready. His trusted aides were also present – Tim Payne will head up the blue kitchen, Matt Brown the red kitchen, and Roger Pizy will oversee pastry for both. I stole a look at the menu – the turbot will be à l’orange with coriander and a braised pig’s trotter will come with morilles and pomme mousseline. And there are plenty of fine ingredients that the celebs will no doubt be familiar with, such as foie gras and truffles, although probably never before had to prepare themselves – at least not for 74 people.

So, service is certainly going to be busy. How will you divide your time between the two kitchens, I asked MPW. “I’ll fucking run,” came the answer.

Exclusive: Marco Pierre White on why he's back behind the stove for TV's Hell's Kitchen>>

Marco, sharp implements and a Candian lobster>>

It seems ministers really can’t do any thing right when it comes to school meals.

A scathing article in today’s Telegraph entitled “Ministers’ glossy nonsense on school meals”, is certainly worth a read and illustrates the current mood amongst school caterers and teachers perfectly (in a word, not terribly generous).

To be fair to Ed Balls and team at the Department for Children, Schools and Families (catchy, isn’t it?), improved environments to eat the new healthy grub in and more time to do so to make it a more socially enjoyable experience, have been at the top of school caterers’ wish lists for some time.

Jamie Oliver may not be to everyone’s taste but no-one can argue about his level of recognition.

So much so, that I can today reveal that “Jamie Oliver” has become an official metaphor.

The chef’s high profile push to improve the standard of school meals means everyone launching a campaign feels duty bound to refer to him, no matter how tenuous the link.

TV cook Nigella Lawson seems to have landed the BBC in more hot water after she inadvertently seemed to endorse supermarket Waitrose in her latest show.

The first episode of her new instant cookery series, Nigella Express, saw the domestic goddess use the store and its products not once, not twice, but three times – possibly breaching the BBC’s policy on product placement.

In one shot she was seen taking a packet of Waitrose pork chops from the shelves, while another showed her fridge full of the supermarket's products, and a third saw her travelling to the supermarket in a taxi. (Not very environmentally friendly one might add.)

The Beeb itself slams any such suggestions saying: "We absolutely refute any claims of product placement. The programme was produced within BBC guidelines."

But was it?

Fans of the humble pint can drink easy now - the imperial measure has been saved from abolition. This means British pub-goers can order a pint in peace and not have to worry about going all 'Continental' and drink a half litre or, Heaven forbid, a quarter litre of beer while they stand outside and smoke their fags.

Apparently the pint measure, much like miles, yards, feet, inches, pounds and ounces is one of the "traditions that make Britain unique" , according to Günter Verheugen, EU Commission Vice President responsible for enterprise and industry.

Gunter's quote on the subject, which has so alienated the EU from sections of British society, is worth presenting in its entirety: “Our proposal is designed to honour the culture and traditions of Great Britain which are important to the European Commission.

"People in the UK and indeed throughout the EU love the traditions that make Britain unique. There is no good reason why these imperial measures should not continue to be used and we've decided to enshrine this fact in EU law. We can all drink to that!"

Of course we can Gunter, particularly as this amendment to the Metric Weights and Measures Act has been done in true EU style - with a fudge. Both Britain and Ireland can retain their imperial weights and measures not because the law has been revoked because they don't have to fix a date in law for ending them - or in English: the pint is here to stay forever! Cheers!

Life is full of new experiences and I had one just yesterday. Never before have I been served popcorn at the end of a meal – unless you count the time I scoffed a bag of the toffee variety after a hot dog on a visit to the cinema – but there it was, served in a little copper pan after dessert and in place of petits fours. And it was quite the nicest popcorn I’ve ever tasted, sort of sweet then salty, which is obviously what diners at Odette’s in London’s Primrose Hill think when they ask for a bag of the stuff to take away.

Head chef Bryn Williams makes it with vanilla sea salt from Halen Môn, one of the Welsh producers showcased in the brunch to promote the Welsh Assembly Government’s ‘Wales The True Taste Awards’ that I was attending. Bryn uses lots of Welsh produce on his menus and champions it tirelessly. I can see why.

Despite being a journalist writing about hospitality I am, like the rest of the population, a consumer of hospitality too. I appreciate excellent service and a quality product as much as anyone else. From time to time though the odd thing will really get my goat: like hotel bed sheets.

I recently stayed in a hotel in Paris and was subject to some pretty zealous house-keeping. Don't get me wrong - I love coming back to a clean and tidy room after a hard day of exploring one of the most romantic cities of the world. But one thing just plain annoys me: bed sheets. Is there really any need for them in this day and age?

I'm currently at the National Association of Care Caterers (NACC) annual conference in Birmingham.

Listening to the various speakers today covering everything from malnutrition amongst the elderly - which NACC chairman Sue Hawkins described as a national scandal that is costing the nation £7.3b a year and putting the stretched NHS under pressure through longer stays and treatment - to the failure of the system to support dementia suffers, it certainly puts things in perspective.

Hey, it's certainly not been all doom and gloom but you get the impression that with an ageing population the conference delegates - dedicated, passionate about what they do, underpaid and overworked - are facing a struggle at least as challenging as school meals reform.

Although there wasn't the fire of the LACA school meals conference I last attended at this very Hilton in July, there does appear to be movement at last with the Government seemingly engaged with the NACC and its peers to improve food standards for those in care.

We'll know more next month with the Government due to unveil its action plan during Meals on Wheels week. It might not sound like much but Hawkins told me it is if catering is to be seen as an integral part of the clinical process - as it undoubtedly is - because it's the first time all the various stakeholders involved in care for the elderly have worked in unison.

More in Caterer next week.

Isn’t it annoying when you really fancy a glass of Pimm’s but you’re out of mint, cucumber or oranges because, let’s face it, you can’t have a Pimm’s - of which the biggest seller worldwide is apparently JD Wetherspoon - without them. Not that I’d want you to think I sit around all weekend drinking Pimm’s but it is a predicament I often find myself in during the summer months. So you can imagine my excitement this weekend when I discovered a new product which means I never have to miss Pimm’s o’clock again.
It’s a slice of orange, cucumber and mint frozen in an ice wedge made from natural mineral water. How clever is that? The company, which calls itself Frecco, also does ice wedges filled with portions of lemon, lime or orange for your gin, vodka, rum etc, all fast frozen at -40°C and with a shelf life of 12 months. I bought the retail product stocked in Waitrose but it’s also aimed at restaurants as a labour-saving item and packed in bags of 200 loose cubes.

See more innovative products in Buy It! Check out some Pimm's recipes.

OK, so I'm a bit slow off the mark, but dining at Hell's Kitchen on Friday night with The Times's Giles Coren and the Evening Standard's Fay Maschler, allerted me to the article below (published last Monday in The Guardian). Why? Because both food critics were slightly miffed at being critiqued by theatre reviewer Charles Spencer and - horror of horrors - that Jay Rayner (who incidently writes for The Guardian's sister publication The Observer) had been deemed as top journo. Thought you might like to have a butcher's.

We all know pubs are desperate to get more women and families through the door - research last week showed that just 42% of pub-goers were women - but Peach Pub Company hit upon a rather novel idea last week.

Some of you may remember the scene in the film Trainspotting where a group of girls ask the blokes what they are talking about - to which they reply as one: "Football. what are you talking about?" The girls reply in unison is "Shopping." Well canny Peach has applied the same philosophy to getting punters through the door. Blokes will go the pub under the excuse of football, why not get girls in the boozer shopping?

The Swan at Salford took that very approach when it hosted the 3rd annual SNAP Up A Frock event helping to raise £8000 for SNAP, the local Milton Keynes charity that helps young adults with learning difficulties. Designer outfits and accessories were donated to SNAP and all the profits go to charity.

Well done Peach, not only on flogging a few more G&Ts and Pimms but for showing that boozers aren't all about blokes, pints and football.

Thanks to Simon Murray at www.visualcomms.co.uk for the pic from the day.

One of the undeniable benefits of writing about food products is getting to taste them so it was of great amusement when a box of 'Erotique' chocolates showed up on my desk. Hand-crafted from luxury Venezuelan chocolate with a cocoa solid percentage of 70%, the chocolates sound heaven-sent...until you see how they're shaped. I wouldn't class myself as a prude, but I thought chocolates shaped as intimate body parts were confined to Ann Summers-themed events and raucous hen parties. It appears not. These high-end chocolates start out at a meagre £25 for one 150g portion and are billed as the 'ideal gift to give and receive'. Make of that what you will.

Offerings include the Venus - 'a stunning reproduction of the female body' and Adonis - 'a torso to rival David's' - gilded with 22 carat gold and filled with Champagne ganache. Other delights include the Phallic Delight, Chocolate Pout - strawberry ganache filled chocolate lips - and a collection of chocolate stilettos featuring leopard skin, rose petal and pom-pom designs.

So where do these naughty chocolates come from? The Erotique Collection is the brain-child of former Claridge's head pastry chef Phil Neal. After living with an obsession for chocolate for 28 years, he opened Theobroma Cacao - 'the chocolate lovers' paradise' - in Chiswick in 1999. Such was the success of his chocolate shop, Neal now also sells a selection of chocolate drinks and coffees for customers to sit in and enjoy.

But if, like me, you find the whole erotic chocolate idea a bit of a turn off, Theobroma Cacao also offers a more conventional selection of luxury truffles, figurines and simple chocolate bars. Thank god for that!

Isn't it a pain when a power cut throws a room into complete darkness just when you are about to tuck into a good meal. But what if the lights are turned off intentionally and the whole purpose is to eat without light?

Clerkenwell-based Dans le Noir does just that. Introduced first in Paris and now in London, it aims to challenge the senses while raising awareness of the restrictions faced by blind and partially sighted people. Food is served by blind waiters and waitresses in total blackness.

I was invited to dine in the dark shortly before I joined Caterer & Hotelkeeper several weeks ago and I challenge anyone to suggest a more unusual dining experience.

Following hurried first-time introductions with fellow diners at the reception, you are led in a hand-linked chain through a darkened corridor surrounded by thick heavy curtains. As the light diminished one lady two people behind me immediately buckled and retreated back to the reception. The rest of us continued to our seats, one cumbersome step at a time, unsure what to expect next.

Spot the odd one out:

1. Youth hostelling with Chris Eubank
2. Cooking in prison
3. Rescuing Little Chef with Jamie Oliver
4. Monkey Tennis

That’s right – only number three was actually a serious idea. The remainder were the final, desperate pitches of Alan Partridge as he tried to resuscitate his moribund BBC career with commissioning editor Tony Hayers. Yet somehow they sound more plausible than Fresh One Production’s mooted Little Chef show.

Time will tell, but surely it can’t be true. Jamie Oliver revamps Little Chef? How? Drive it around Italy?

If we’re going leftfield on programme ideas then read on for some of my own creations, all a little more likely to be commissioned I feel.

It must be a nightmare for caterers to put together a menu that appeals to the majority of tastes, is adequately labelled and takes in to consideration food allergies...especially if they are imagined.

Why are smoothies so expensive? For all my good intentions to eat well, fulfil the five a day recommendation, drink plenty of water and so on, I cannot fathom why smoothies should be so expensive. Can somebody tell me?

For the first time, I popped into a smoothie bar beside work the other day to give it a go. I asked for something to 'energise' as I was feeling rather tired following the brilliant Prince concert the night before.

I decided to watch what they put in to see if there were any magical ingredients to justify the ₤3.95 price tag. But a sprinkling of strawberries, banana and mango slices later along with a dollop of yoghurt I was none the wiser.

I think I'll stick with my cup of tea and a doughnut next time. Far more reasonable.