The Caterer Blog

Driving home the other night, I listened to Jamie Oliver being interviewed on BBC Radio Four. Oh yes, I thought, plug for his new TV series, Jamie's Chef. And it was. But the ex-Pukka boy won me over with his honesty and refusal to dodge tricky questions. Call me naive to believe him but I think he does put his heart and soul into projects like the school dinners campaign and Fifteen.

The thing is, I think it's difficult to fake sincerity on a sustained basis in the media: it's very obvious when someone is trotting out well-rehearsed phrases just to look good (we've all seen chefs do that on TV) - the camera or microphone will always expose you in the end.

In today’s national newspapers one of the big chef stories is Marco Pierre White taking over ITV’s Hell’s Kitchen later this year, which Caterer already reported in October last year.

Back then Marco told us he was really looking forward to returning to the kitchen and said: "A little something tugs at me every week and I look forward to getting back in the ring.”

If you caught the BBC Three programme The Roadkill Chef a fortnight ago then you might be familiar with the idea of taking the 'murder' out of meals.

However, if you are anything like me, then you wouldn't have watched it for moral reasons, but out of the morbid hope for drama. There was a heart-wrenching scene when the roadkill chef Fergus Drennan stood by a recently killed badger. Crouching down, a single tear in his eyes, he nudged the little pulverised chap, and told how badgers bury, and often wail for, their dead. It was a beautiful moment, I have to admit, for the badger, in one last throw of the dice, to rear its head and plant a TB-laden bite on Fergus's hand. What would he have done? Meekly prise its jaws from his hand and nurse it to health or finish it off with the car jack? In fact, what actually happened, was he popped him straight into his pot.

Anyway, my point is actually in relation to Fifteen Restaurant, where wayward youths are given the chance to turn their lives around. But not in the eyes of everyone. After a booked customer discovered that a chef at Fifteen had been found guilty on an assault charge, he was in contact to immediately cancel his booking, citing his abhorrence to the notion that a man convicted of assault should cook his meal.

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.

In today's Sun newspaper TV chef James Martin has come under fire because some the recipes in his latest cookbook seem to lack originality.

The Saturday Kitchen host's eponymous cookbook reportedly includes three desserts resembling those of Delia Smith as well as six dishes that are similar to a recipe book called Pie.

While the publishers of these books have decided not to pursue the matter, the whole story raises the question of whether there actually is such a thing as originality when it comes to recipes.

A lot of chefs I have asked about where they find their inspiration say they nick ideas from everywhere they can, including other chefs and recipe books.

So I guess the question is: "Is there anything wrong with nicking ideas?"

What do you think?

So, BBC2's new reality show, The Restaurant, starring Raymond Blanc, began last night

The programme features nine couples whose dream is to run their own eatery. They have to create their perfect restaurant and then open the doors to the paying public.

Each week, one of the restaurants will be eliminated, with the overall winner getting to run their own restaurant, financially backed and personally supported by Blanc with a six-figure sum of his own money.

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?

I wrote a while ago in relation to ‘Monkey Tennis’; Alan Partrdige’s last desperate pitch to the BBC, and compared it to the mooted idea by Fresh One Production to purchase Little Chef and have Jamie Oliver save it on screen.

And, annoyingly, I tried to be too funny too soon.

But then could anyone know that the BBC would actually go ahead and commission Monkey Tennis – or as close as you could get – and I’d be left sounding repetitious.

Expecting to watch Countdown, I switched on BBC2 the other afternoon I saw a listing that blew my mind – Food Poker.

Wow.

And more importantly: How?

Jess and Laura, the twins who made it to the final of Raymond Blanc's The Restaurant but were pipped at the post by Jane and Jeremy Hooper, are set to make their hospitality debut tonight.

The pair - who many viewers felt should have won the BBC2 show - will be offering food in the style of their Brown and Green restaurant at a pub near to where they live in south-east London.

Regulars at the Gipsy Hill Tavern in Crystal Palace will be treated to Jess and Laura's food every Friday night and Sunday lunchtime.

I bring you this world exclusive news having seen a flyer on my car last night, living, as I do, three minutes from the Tavern.

The Hoopers' Eight at the Thatch pub/restaurant in Thame, Oxfordshire has been a hit with both customers and critics, so the twins will be hoping to emulate them.

Update: The twins' initial efforts seem to have gone down well, if this posting on the Virtual Norwood message board is anything to go by.

"Was in there on sunday afternoon and sampled some of their food and its GORGEOUS!!! very reasonably priced and wholesome! I had bangers and mash - with spinach mash and onion gravy! and then banoffee pie for after which was amazing! all home-made! get in there and try it!!"