The Caterer Blog

It's not only Chicago that has become a foie gras-free zone in the US - its now every restaurant owned by celeb mega chef Wolfgang Puck.

You can see him talk about this move in this video on YouTube below.

A report in the New York Times, explains its not just foie gras that Puck is cutting out of his menus, but also any product that is produced in an inhumane way... so that's no veal and pork from animals kept in crates and no poultry or eggs from birds kept in cages.

A hundred years ago, urinals up and down the country would be reeking this time of year as the short English asparagus season starts. And, while I'm sure many chefs are more than aware when the veg is at its best, it's amazing how many good quality restaurants will still have asparagus, or maybe a similarly unseasonal strawberry dessert, on their Christmas menu.

I have to agree with the sentiments of Pete Weeden, head chef at the Paternoster Chophouse in London, when we chatted about the subject earlier today: "Someone told me it was great that we could get strawberries six months a year now and I nearly cried," he said. "I want to eat English strawberries for two months a year when they're at their best, stuff my face with them 'til I feel sick and don't want to see one for another 10 months."

A strong performance - that was the general verdict from the 300 diners at London's Dorchester Hotel who watched Compass Group UK managing director Ian El-Mokadem grappling with Alastair Stewart's questions at today's Arena lunch.

Elmo, as he's known in business circles, had a few factors against him - not least the fact that most of the audience owned up to having worked for Compass at some time, so of course knew exactly how they would run the catering giant.

But despite that, El-Mokadem put in a confident performance after almost a year in the job.

It had died down for a few months, but it was only a matter of time before the whole foie gras argument kicked off again. Should or shouldn't it be allowed? Well, the RSPCA have now launched their own campaign asking for a nationwide ban on it.

But is there another solution for the restaurant keen to pop the delicacy on its menu?

The romantic (if that's the right word) image of maltreated ducks and geese is of plump birds nailed to the floor and force-fed corn with metal pipes. It might not always be the case, but news broke earlier this year of the most ethical method yet.

Spanish farmer Pateria de Sousa claims to be taking advantage of the birds migratory feeding patterns to swell their livers before slaughter, thus taking force feeding out of the equation.

While randomly digging around Caterer's server earlier today (no, we don't really do any work here) I found this very interesting list of top 10 things not to say to vegetarians (supplied by the Vegetarian Society) from a back issue. We at Caterer HQ thought it was pretty funny but then again none of us is a vegetarian...

Top 10 things not to say to a vegetarian:
1) Bet you’d love a bite of my sausage luv.
2) But where do you get your protein from?
3) You still eat bacon sarnies though, don’t you?
4) I’m veggie too – I just eat chicken and fish.
5) I’m veggie Monday to Saturday, I just can’t miss my Sunday roast.
6) When you say you’re veggie babe, does that mean you don’t enjoy any meat at all(said with a wink and creepy smile from drunk men in clubs).
7) Hi, my name’s Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
8) Do you eat wafer-thin ham though? (From Nana in The Royal Family!)
9) So you’re vegetarian, what about the poor carrots…don’t you think they scream?
10) You don’t look like a vegetarian…you look really healthy.

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!

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.

The latest Buy It! announced the launch of The Young's Lexicon of Fish last month, which is designed to serve as a reference tool for chefs and diners and give them the confidence to experiment with different types of fish.

Like many British children, when it came to fish, I grew up on a diet of cod or plaice with chips. Captain Bird's Eye was a dear friend to me.
As an adult I've been accustomed to tasting a fair few more breeds but flicking through the guide I was astounded by the sheer number of fish available to try - many of which I had never even heard of. Have you ever heard of...

Forget fish - its not sustainable these days anyway - pigeon and chips is the new dish of choice.

Unlike cod, the humble pigeon is plentiful these days and infiltrating the trendiest of menus.

Marco Pierre White lists a stuffed Bresse squab pigeon in a sea salt crust as one of his ten favourite dishes. Bresse pigeon with fois gras even ordains White's menu at his restaurant at Chelsea Football Club.

But for those of you who can't get hold of wood pigeon, remember that every city centre street is filled with the flying rat, some of whom clearly want to be remembered fondly by hungry diners.

A Worcester chip shop last week told the tale of a hapless pigeon flew directly into one of its deep fat fryers. Yes you read that right - the bird embarked on a kamikaze mission of flying head first into boiling fat.

"It must have been a painful death," said Dawn Jennings, owner of the Angel Plaice, with no hint of irony. "It was quite distressing at the time, but we can laugh about it now."

One wonders what would have happened if the pigeon had gone into a Glasgow chippie. Deep fried pigeon with tatties anyone?