The Caterer Blog

Chefs keen to promote the use of british produce might want to check out the Dalemain Marmalade Festival, which is being held on February 18th, in the Lake District. Sponsors, Sharrow Bay Hotel are offering dinner for two for the makers of the marmalade judged to be the best in the world.

Frank Bruni, restaurant reviewer of the New York Times, has published his review of Gordon Ramsay's new Manhattan address. Frank's reviews are said to make or break a restaurant, so this posting is worth reading.

A letter has arrived at Caterer's offices highlighting a recent visit to Post, the Banstead-based restaurant launched by Ready Steady Cook's Tony Tobin at the end of last year (you might remember it on Caterer's cover just before Christmas). The reason for the letter? The author was expressing his dismay at being greeted in the restaurant's foyer by a "board of fame", ie a selection of signatures from football players and other minor celebrities. The board also included the signature of the owner, Tobin. Do you think we're all rather seduced by celebrities and do you think chefs are the main culprits for wanting to become celebrities themselves?

Here's a good idea. Cloudy Bay Vineyards are launching a new online service, the Cloudy Bay Locator, on the first of March. The site will enable foodies and wine enthusiasts to locate restaurants in their area that feature the Kiwi company's brands on their lists. For Cloudy Bay stockists, this represents a nice bit of free marketing.

Having wanted to go to St Alban since it opened, I finally got myself down there the other night and, on arriving early, sat in the lounge area waiting for my hubby and friends to arrive.
Out of natural and possibly a little bit of professional curiosity I couldn't help but obvserve the goings on at reception etc and I must say I was simply blown away. Simply Red lookalike Byron - formerly of sister restaurant the Wolseley - was heading up the team and oozed just the right amount of charm, recongition and friendliness for the 'W1 London dining set' to feel important, loved and special. Trinkets were remembered and reunited with guests, Evening Standards doled out for waiting guests without asking, and friendly banter was in abundance. It really was a sight to behold and was followed up by equally good service throughout the night.
They say service costs nothing, well at £130 per couple, with one of us not drinking, that's perhap stretching it a bit, but, it truly was a pleasure dining there. The food may not have been the most memorable I've ever had, but the service was a benchmark setting experience, well done guys...how can we get more of the same elsewhere? Answers on a postcard please...

So James Horler, chief executive of spanish tapas chain La Tasca, looks set to become a very rich man.

Bolstered by private equity backing from new owner Blackstone, Tragus, owner of Cafe Rouge, is continuing in maurading down the UK's high streets with a £96m deal for La Tasca.

In these environmentally aware times few of us may think there's a future in Coal but ex Ma Potter's boss John Gater is the exception.

Gater, who has already pulled off the Eskimo-and-snow-style trick of selling Coal to the Welsh with the launch of the first of the casual dining restaurants in Cardiff in 2006, is back on the expansion trail having sold his Ma Potter's chain to Cafe Rouge owner Tragus earlier this year.

The casual dining market is a beast but Coal, the first of which is in London's Wimbledon (the Cardiff site went to Tragus and is being rebranded as a Bella Italia) looks to have what's needed for success and Gater appreciates that he needs to move fast.

Scoop of the year (well so far anyway), I can reveal that the owners of Arbutus (Will Smith and Anthony Demetre) have named their second site. Wild Honey (I'm assured it's not named after the 1967 Beach Boys album), will open in St George Street at the end of May or early June.

The owners of Caterer's Adopted Business Arbutus gave us the exclusive news this afternoon and added: "We know the name is a bit off the wall, but it 'says' informality."

Ridiculous story of the day (well, apart from Jose Mourinho escaping from Stamford Bridge in a laundry basket) is about the nutter who walked in to a Zizzi's restaurant and, ahem, removed his crown jewels

Premium casual dining (PCD). Not familiar with the term? Well in this job I've started to encounter it more and more in recent years, sometimes dropped into conversation by analysts and on other occassions used by proud restaurateurs as short-hand for quality.

Regardless, there's a tangible shift occurring in the casual dining market with the maturing sector undergoing a sort of brand stretch (think of the emergence of the premium lager a few years back and you get the idea).

Consumers with money to spend that are either put off or too lazy to go the fine-dining route but want more than Pizza Express, now have the PCD to meet their very particular needs.

Independent Internet reviews are on course to make hotel and restaurant star ratings obsolete, according to new research among 5000 travellers by architects Woods Bagot.

Almost 58% of their respondents said they now resort to consumer reviews when looking for a steer on where to stay.

The research challenges the assumption that only web-savvy youngsters head online for hotel feedback. Over two-thirds of people aged between 35 and 54 reported being more inclined to check peer comments about accommodation on tripadvisor.co.uk and other sites.

Perhaps this can be explained by the fact that, the more you travel around the world, the more you appreciate the inconsistencies in regional ratings systems.

Of course, user-generated reviews bring problems of their own, with an emerging trend towards operators planting fake reviews for their own properties.

Popped in for dinner at Club Gascon last night - stunning food, of course, and fabulous service - but what really caught my eye (apart from being on the next table to David Walliams of "I'm a lay-dee" fame) was the amazing floral displays.

So what? I hear you ask. Well, just clap your eyes on this beauty. And the person responsible for this incredible piece of work? Chef-patron Pascal Aussignac.

We were contacted earlier this week by London’s Galvin Bistrot de Luxe about a letter requesting payment for a bogus dry-cleaning incident.

And after putting up a news story on the Caterer website, we discovered Galvin wasn’t the only victim of this sham.

The restaurant recently received a letter asking it to reimburse a £7 dry-cleaning bill after a waiter apparently spilt drink on a diner’s shirt and promised the restaurant would cover any costs. The bill was sent with a letter requesting reimbursement to be sent to Shipu Miah at an East London address.

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.

The on-off relationship between Britain and France has always been a prickly one, as any chef who has done his training on the other side of the Channel will know.

They call us Les Roast Boeufs, we call them frogs, yet we all seem to love spending time in each others countries. However, it appears that detente is finally here.

The English might still be down after losing the Rugby World Cup final but at least England can claim one title: the world’s best fans. And that is according to the French. One hospitality mogul managed to blag tickets (well, pay through the nose) for the final for him and 17 of his closest mates. So off they went on the Eurostar dressed as Knights of the Roundtable, resplendent in St George’s flags and chain mail.

However being a man with class as well as cash, he booked a table for 17 at one of Paris’ most respected restaurants. You know the type, full of well-healed French families all discussing Satre and eating some seriously unethical fois gras. Their musings were broken by the arrival of 17 drunken English knights, all ready to chow down before the final. But instead of shocked indignation and mutterings of discontent all the French diners stood up to applaud the supporters of the finalists. A nice gesture by the French, as they do what they always do: roll over and surrender.

Cool: Top Cat, Thierry Henry, Zak Morris, trilbies, Scotts, La Petite Maison, Angelus

Not cool: Paul Daniels, Chris de Burgh, Screech Powers, spandex, Wimpey, Aberdeen Steak House, Garfunkels

Who knows what unspoken deity determines coolness. Whoever they are they probably eat seafood. That’s the opinion of Harper’s Bazzar & Moet who, acting as a self-appointed prophet, have disseminated the word on high – through their glossy magazine’s 2008 eating out guide – that Scott’s is the coolest place to eat in London.

Surprise, surprise, 11 out of the top 20 restaurants are in Mayfair or Soho. And all the usual suspects are there; The Ivy, J Sheekey, Le Caprice, Nobu, Zuma. Proving that all you really need to be cool is Russell Brand in you. Which doesn’t rule that much out.

This week's edition of Caterer looks at the restaurateurs who are brining quality dining to London's fringes. As a man stuck very much in the suburbs of south London I can confirm the palpable excitement that surrounded the opening of a Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Beckenham.

As a resident of Beckenham I am confused. When I buy a train ticket I am told I am in zone four of London (London has six transport zones, so the further out you live the more you pay). But my postal address says Kent, historically the county in which the towns of Bromley borough resided before creation of the borough for administrative purposes in 1965. The fine dining restaurants of central London are 12 miles and a hefty taxi journey south of the river away. Grabbing a quality, quick, bite without a train journey rather limits your options.

But recently Beckenham has shifted upmarket when it comes to dining (it all began when the Hog's Head turned into a Slug and Lettuce). Despite the average price of a one bedroom flat topping £200,000, if you wanted to eat it it was a local Italian, a local pizzeria or a Pizza Express. They still exist and are unbelievably still busy. But last month my world just got a little bit more exciting. A small shop next to the abandoned police station had closed for renovation. The small sign outside made my mouth water and heart race. Opening soon, it read, Gourmet Burger Kitchen. Thank you Clapham House Group, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I thought my grub at London’s Souk Medina was good stuff but of course at that point I didn’t realise the chef’s special ingredient was mouse droppings.

Okay, I’m being facetious, but I did indeed eat out a couple of times at Souk Medina in Covent Garden before Christmas.

I really enjoyed its Moroccan style and relaxed vibe, although the authentically low furniture wasn’t the best for my lanky frame.

Hell I’d even planned to go back if ever my wife is let lose on the shops of the Seven Dials area again and I need a stiff drink.

But Westminster council has fined the restaurant’s owners £21,000 for breaching health and safety after a mouse infestation. Admittedly this was at the site’s sister restaurant Souk Bazaar but it makes you think and mostly those thoughts aren’t good (cheese anyone?).

I'm all for authenticity but doubt rodents poo is the thing to look for in a good North Aridcan eaterie.

Anyone else had a favoured restaurant ruined or summoned up the courage to return to somewhere they've had a bad experience?

Starbucks fined £12,000 after mice infestation>>

Although Benugo has joined the WSH Group, home of contract caterer BaxterStorey, anyone fearing any loss of individuality can rest easy.

A chance meeting with Benugo co-founder Hugo Warner at the company’s restaurant at the BFI’s National Film Theatre on the South Bank in London left me in no doubt that Benugo would continue to do what it does without compromise.

Warner’s certainly not planning to put his feet up anytime soon and clearly loves the buzz of operating at locations, such as the BFI, without any client subsidy, essentially living or dying by the operation’s success at getting bums on seats and wallets open.

What’s the Benugo formula? Well, there’s certainly plenty of personality on show in the choice of fixtures, fittings and furnishings at the BFI site. There’s also an evident quality (despite a tiny kitchen) to the food and how it’s served.

But maybe that extra special ingredient is an all too rare one in business: a sense of humour.

I was tickled pink to discover that if peckish at the bar you can order a pint glass of sausage rolls (scotch eggs were apparently tried but didn’t fit).

Certainly not something you’d find available at Gordon Ramsay’s Foxtrot Oscar.

The light lunch opportunity>>

V&A museum calls in Benugo to overhaul catering>>

Although most waiting staff expect a tip, crossing their palms with silver is perhaps not something that crosses their minds.

Covent Garden’s Moti Mahal, which opened in London in July 2005, has introduced a novel weekly palm reading session of a Tuesday evening from 7pm until 10pm.

Palm reading - apparently highly respected in India - certainly ticks the box “something a little different”, although let's hope the waiting staff don’t lose out in the loose change stakes at the end of the night, or their won't be any future in it.

Moti Mahal restaurant review on Areyoureadytoorder?>>

Moti Mahal website>>

After Andy Hageman, the self-confessed Basil Fawlty of Mortons House Hotel in Dorset, news has emerged of yet another Fawlty-style proprietor, curry house owner Mohammed Ullah, who has been dubbed as "Basil Balti".

Ullah, of Newport, Gwent, was given the unfortunate nickname after shouting and swearing at two diners and locking them up in his Indian restaurant in a row over a bill.

The incident happened after a woman became upset when she and her husband witnessed a fellow diner cut her head open in the restaurant's toilet, Newport Crown Court was told. The couple called for an ambulance and decided to leave. Because they hadn't eaten their main course, they decided to pay only for the food they had received.

Bad move.

In true Fawlty fashion, restaurant owner Ullah yelled: “You are f***ing rubbish” at the pair, waving his arms shouting “You make me sick” and “B*****ds, you're all the same” after they refused to pay their full bill, the court heard.

Ullah's defence lawyer said his remarks were “out of character” and he had received a good citizenship award from his mayor. He admitted to behaving abusively and was given an absolute discharge but ordered to pay £95 costs.

Innkeeping with Mr Fawlty

I went for dinner at the newly refurbished Café Boheme in Soho last night. Owned by Soho House founder Nick Jones, it’s always been one of my favourite hangouts and with all the recent excitement over the reopening in the press, I was keen to see what all the fuss was about.

If you're lucky enough to be planning a trip to Europe soon you might be interested in places to grab a bite to eat.

Although McDonald's is everywhere, and you probably won't struggle to track down a branded coffee and croissant, for those looking for something altogether more substantial we have a few choice suggestions. 

Caterer sister title Travel Weekly has done the hard work for us and checked out a selection of Michelin starred hotel restaurants for you to sample when on the continent. Enjoy! 

The Good Food Guide may have faced criticism from some of its former inspectors last year but giving it the benefit of the doubt it has some cheap eats to recommend for these cash-strapped times.

The latest edition of Which? carries a plug for the new Good Food Guide, which is out in September in the form of a list of good-value set menus drawn from the new edition.

Familar names include Tom Kitchin's Kitchin in Leith, Edinburgh and Antony Demetre and Will Smith's Wild Honey (which we have done a Menu Watch on in the past).

Birmingham's Opus; Allium, Gloucestershire; Agaric, Devon; the Anchor Inn, Cambridgeshire; Anthony's at Flannels, Leeds; Artisan and Catch, Sheffield; Old Post Office, Glamorgan and the Trinity, Crown and Castle in Suffolk completes the set, so fill your boots!

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.