The Caterer Blog

Poor old Wozza. There he was trying to do his bit to encourage home cooks to make use of locally grown organic produce and next thing you know he's being accused of trying to poison the nation. Well, not quite.

In an interview with Healthy And Organic Living magazine the celebrity chef, who is otherwise known as Antony Worrall Thompson, recommended a weed called henbane as a great addition to salads.

But it turns out that Wozza had made a wee mistake. Henbane, which is a close relative of deadly nightshade, is actually a classified poison. It can cause convulsions, hallucinations, nausea and vomiting, and even death. In short: it should never be eaten.

Thankfully the magazine's editor picked up on the mistake and when subscribers opened their latest edition of Healthy And Organic Living, a letter drew their attention to the blunder.

And we're pleased to report that Wozza himself hasn't lost his sense of humour. "I was thinking of a wild plant with a different name, not this herb, but, of course, I've ended up killing half the nation instead," he told The Times. "It's a bit embarrassing, but there have been no reports of any casualties."

It seems given even a hint of a theme those good people in Yorkshire will run with it, hence as the Beijing Olympics get under way we have the Pudding Pentathlon.

Yes sports fans, while pudding is not the obvious choice of althletes it is at least 100% performance enhancing drug-free.

The sweet, which follows fast on the heels of Yorkshire's Black Swan's take on the Credit Crunch, has been created by the Best Western Monkbar hotel in York's head chef Dave Asbury and has five different desserts from the five continents represented by the Olympic Rings.

The desserts lining up under the starter's gun are:

Europe - bread and butter pudding

Oceania - peach melba

Asia - banana fritters

America - key lime pie

Africa - taste of Africa (a tiramisu-style dessert layered with Kenyan coffee sponge).

Quite enough to keep any human-rights protester fuelled and comfortable up their pylon of choice for days.

Sodexo in Olympic hopeful sponsorship deal>>

Tourism industrygroup set up for 2012 London Olympics>>

There's nothing quite like snuggling down in a darkened room with a big bag full of popcorn.

We all know that feeling - one hand compulsively scooping handfuls of crunchy, salty, sweet or sticky corn puffs into the mouth while the other partially covers a fearful eye as the drama plays out onscreen.

You know you've had a good film when you stand up resembling a human corn morsel - corn stuck in your teeth, crumbs down your front and remnants in your hair.

It's noisy, smelly and messy - but that's just part of the fun. Or that's what I thought until it emerged at the weekend that one of the UK's most successful arthouse cinema groups has made the remarkable decision to faze out popcorn in some of its cinemas.

Just when you think you've seen it all in hotels someone comes up with something so wonderfully pointless that you just have to take your metaphorical hat off to them.

Yes, a recent stay at a hotel in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire for my friends' wedding supplied a quite unexpected bonus memory.

On checking into our room - a quirky affair with modern touches sitting alongside features such as a four-poster bed, a glance around the toilet became a baffled stare.

Bath and shower - check; toilet - check; slightly weird transparent double basin - check; urinal with glowing blue under-lighter - What!

Yes, oddly next to our conventional toilet there was a wall mounted urinal with flip up lid - let's not be vulgar now, darling - and an odd blue light below to kindly light up your undercarriage.

Of course, the why? was the thing that ultimately stumped me. An attempt to recreate the public loo experience, perhaps? Or - God forbid - extra capacity when you're both in a rush to get to your business meeting/wedding breakfast/ lavatory convention?

Suggestions written on some clean toilet roll to the usual address...

North-east boutique hotel to have Tardis and cinema themed rooms>>

World's first sand hotel opens in Weymouth>>

Fifteen categories are open for entries and a panel of judges will be looking for the best examples of fresh thinking, significant advances in design, cost effectiveness in use and innovative application of technology.

Judges will also again be selecting a Best Installation case study and Best Maintenance case study for the installation of equipment in both back and front of house locations.

To view the full list of categories please click here for an entry form.

If last year's winners are anything to go by, competition will be tough.

IMC's Food Waste Recycling System scooped last year's Green Award, boasting a 'dewaterer' to reduce wet waste by 80% and a Big Hanna In-Vessel Composter. Judge's concluded that it was "a great piece of green kit".

The Menu System Slide Control induction hob from Euro Property Services won the Ranges, Fryers and Ovens category with judges commenting that it "takes induction to another level".

Judges were equally impressed by the "unique" Winterhalter GS500 Energy + dishwasher which they commented was "the only hood machine on the market that doesn't need a canopy".

If you feel your product deserves recognition submit your entry by 31st October 2008.

Winners will be announced on 19 January 2009 during the annual Hospitality exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham.

They pronounce on your restaurants, but what motivates them, and are they fully qualified to pass judgement?

We're offering you the chance to put the Observer's Jay Rayner, Nick Lander from the Financial Times and the Evening Standard's Charles Campion on the spot in our new feature 'Ask the Critic'.

It's a chance to press the UK's top restaurant columnists on exactly how much chef training they've received, for example, or what you should most change at your restaurant - in their opinion.

So e-mail your enquiries to catererfeatures@rbi.co.uk or write to Tom Vaughan, Caterer and Hotelkeeper, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5AS - together we can grill them.

The owner of pub chain Yates's has renamed its Mansfield outlet after double Olympic gold medal winning swimmer - and local girl - Rebecca Adlington.

The newly renamed Adlington Arms has promised the 19-year-old swimmer a free meal whenever she wants one

Toby Smith, chief executive of Town and City Pub Company, said: "Rebecca Adlington has achieved a phenomenal feat.

"As a nation we're very proud of her and she is a shining example to all young people of what can be achieved with hard work and commitment.

"What better way to honour her than to name her local pub after her.

"We hear she's a fan of burger and chips, so, Rebecca, whenever you come into Adlington Arms your meal is on the house!"

He'll no doubt be glad that Adlington was in Beijing when the BBC's Rogue Restaurants programme exposed the Yates's in Reading for poor hygiene.

Are you top dog when it comes to welcoming guests with pooches into your establishment?

Or are they barking up the wrong tree if they think you'll let a man's best friend through the door?

The Kennel Club is running it's 'Open for Dogs' competition to find the UK's most dog-friendly businesses, including pubs, cafés, hotels, B&Bs and tourist attractions.

Customers can nominate places they think are pulling out the stops to accommodate their canine friends, with innovative services or simply a bowl of clean water.