The Editor's Hospitality Blog

Last night 20 top London chefs gathered in the kitchen's of The Langham hotel, London to prepare a dinner in aid of Leuka, the charity for the leukaemia care unit at Hammersmith Hospital.

The annual event, Who's Cooking Dinner? is now in its 11th year and was set up by chef Peter Gordon (who's sister was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia) and restuarateur, Chris Corbin (who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in 1990).

Chefs cooking for the 200 guests included: Tom Aikens (Tom Aikens Restaurant), Jason Atherton (Maze), Rainer Becker (Zuma), Brett Graham (The Ledbury), Angela Hartnett (Murano) and Chris and Jeff Galvin (La Chapelle).

Guests were treated to a gastronomic feast which included dishes such as: Poached Native Lobster with cardo lardo, celeriac mousse, lobster vinaigrette and parsley mousse (Tom Aikens); Wagyu beef sirlion with wafu sauce and Japanese mushrooms (Rainer Becker); Guinea fowl cooked in hay with hay butter emulsion (Claude Bosi); Soft pistachio meringue with blood oranges and spring rhubarb (Sally Clarke) and warm PX prune and hazelnut cake with white chocolate mousse, baked rhurbarb and a chocolate chilli wafter (Peter Gordon).

The event last night raised almost £430,000 for Leuka, including a post-dinner auction of many of the chefs' services for private dining, either at the chef's restaurants or the bidders' home.

The Who's Cooking Dinner? event has been raising money since 1999 and has raised in excess of £3m to date. The monies raised provide funds for clinical trails to study new therapies, buy specialist equipment and modernise clinical facilities.

Last night's chefs included:

Tom Aikens - Tom Aikens Restaurant
Jason Atherton - Maze
Rainer Becker - Zuma
Claude Bosi - Hibiscus
Sally Clarke - Clarke's
Richard Corrigan - Corrigan's Mayfair
Hélène Darroze - At The Connaught
Mark Edwards - Nobu
Chris & Jeff Galvin - La Chapelle
Peter Gordon - Providores
Brett Graham - The Ledbury
Angela Hartnett - Murano
Mark Hix - Hix
Philip Howard - The Square
Tim Hughes - Le Caprice
Giorgio Locatelli - Locanda Locatelli
Michele Lombardi - Harry's Bar
Julian O'Neill - The Wolesley
Bruce Poole - Chez Bruce
Tong Chee Hwee - Hakkasan

If you want to know more about the Who's Cooking Dinner? event or about Leuka go to www.whoscookingdinner.com 

Overuse has cheapened the currency of the word to the extent that a Google search reveals iconic status being conferred upon Katie Price, Bernard Manning's World Famous Embassy Club and even the Countdown TV theme.

In the case of the London Eye, though, the term is surely applicable. In ten years, London's south-bank Ferris wheel has morphed from zero to hero.

Ridiculed during construction for problems hoisting it into place ("British Airways can't get it up", was Virgin Atlantic's gleeful dig at the Eye's original sponsor), the Eye was then hit by technical problems that delayed its public opening for many weeks after its official launch by then-Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

But these teething problems were quickly forgotten once the public experienced the wonders of the wheel. Today, the London Eye is the UK's most popular paid-for visitor attraction and its 32 capsules treat more than 3.5 million people a year to an up-close view of the capital. This extraordinary success won Managing Director, David Sharpe, the Leisure and Tourism award at the 2008 Cateys.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Eye must at times struggle to keep from blushing. The Singapore Flyer, the Wheel of Perth, the Great Dubai Wheel and the Beijing Wheel - all are striving to replicate the magic of our London landmark.

The Eye stands as an emblem of the power of innovation. In ten years it has woven itself into the fabric of London life, and is now closely linked with the international image of London.

Can your business boast its own equivalent of the London Eye? Have you conjured a new and game-changing asset with the power to transform your customer offering?

With the onrush of visitors to the London Olympics just two years away, now's the time to set your creative powers to the challenge.

Rose Gray, who co-founded London's River Cafe with Ruth Rogers in 1987, has died after a long battle with cancer, according to reports circulating on Twitter. Gray and Rogers were awarded MBEs in the New Year Honours List for their services to hospitality, and had recently released their eleventh recipe book, the River Cafe Classic Italian Cookbook.  

Chefs to have graduated from the River Cafe kitchens include Theo Randall, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Earlier this evening, Guardian food critic Jay Rayner tweeted: "marking the death of Rose Gray of the River Cafe. A woman who with Ruthie Rogers had a huge impact on British restaurants."

Fergus Henderson's St John Restaurant responded: "Terribly sad news about Rose. A great friend of St. John and will be sorely missed and fondly remembered."

You might feel that you've got your hands more than full running lunch and dinner service, but Anthony Demetre and Will Smith, the men behind Arbutus and Wild Honey, feel there's a gap in the market - for afternoon tea.

Earlier this month, the two-times Michelin-starred pair launched afternoon tea at the Mayfair outpost, Wild Honey.

"It's just at Wild Honey," Will Smith tells us, adding that he doesn't think afternoon tea is a Soho (read Arbutus) thing. But Smith's thinking behind the concept was that people are often pushed for time and that a later, lighter offering might just do the trick.

The menu, called Sweet and Savoury, available from Monday to Friday from 3pm-6pm, includes a selection of Prosecco, Champagne and Champagne cocktails, savouries such as croque monsieur (ham, Gruyere and toasted sourdough), £5.95, a board of charcuterie (speck, finocchiona, coppa and five-year bellota), £12.95, and warm potato soup with chive cream, £5.50.

Continue reading "Fancy a spot of afternoon tea in the heart of Mayfair darling? Why not try Wild Honey?" »

Acorn winner Will Holland showed viewers why he is one to watch by coming back on to BBC's Saturday Kitchen for the second time.

Appearing on the show with legendary cook Ken Hom, the Michelin-starred chef Holland cooks roast wood pigeon with sugar, orange, mango salsa and wasabi, with a red wine and sesame reduction.

The protégé of Alan Murchison has also been tipped as one to watch over the next 10 years by the Good Food Guide in a list that includes Marcus Wareing, Jason Atherton and Angela Harnett.

The Acorn awards are in their 24th year this year and celebrates the 30 people under 30 who are nominated by their peers and colleagues for having made an impression in their field.

Holland joins a long list in great names in the industry includes Marco Pierre White, Michael Caines and Gary Rhodes.

The Acorn Awards was created to give something back to the young people who have chosen to contribute their talent to hospitality and if you know someone who deserves an Acorn Award, then there is still time to nominate your candidate.

Go to www.caterersearch.com/acornawards2010 to find out more and how to nominate.  

When it comes to improving the diet and thereby the health of the nation's children, we are all stakeholders.

As parents, we wish to see our children achieve their full physical and mental potential. As taxpayers, we welcome the savings in NHS expenditure that a decrease in the rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes would deliver. And, as industry professionals, we recognise the positive impact our businesses stand to derive from our children having a mature, healthy and respectful relationship with the food they eat.

Perhaps more than any other industry, hospitality has a vested interest in encouraging children to engage with food and cooking. For any food service-based operation to prosper, it needs to attract employees with a passion for cooking and serving great meals, and customers with a passion for eating them.

Continue reading "Support our School Meals Matter campaign" »

The industry's great and good gathered at St George's Primary School in London's Mayfair today, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Academy of Culinary Arts' Chefs Adopt a School programme.

Roy Ackerman, Heston Blumenthal, Willy Bauer, Brian Turner, Albert Roux, Raymond Blanc, Gary Rhodes, William Curley, Andre Garrett, Robin Hutson, Harry Murray, Ramon Pajares, Alain Roux, Richard Shepherd, John Williams and Cyrus Todiwala were just some of the personalities on hand, as The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall sat in on Chefs Adopt a School sessions by Thames Valley University lecturer, Michael Coaker and Chefs Adopt a School's Idris Caldora.

Chefs Adopt a School was founded in 1990 to encourage school leavers to consider a career in the hospitality industry. It was immediately apparent that the level of children's food and cookery knowledge at secondary school age was lamentably poor. The Academy decided that to make a real difference, they needed to focus on a younger age group. A programme was developed to engage, educate, inspire and equip primary aged children with the vital life skills of practical cookery and food knowledge - from plant to plate. Lessons were created to deliver workshops to children in schools that had no cooking facilities.

Today, the programme reaches 21,000 children annually. Now the Academy is looking to reach out to the remaining 4.5 million primary school children across the UK.

Speaking at the event, chef and Academy of Culinary Arts President, Brian Turner called the scheme's plant-to-plate food education "transformational - it's a force for good and teaches children life skills".

The Prince of Wales called Chefs Adopt a School "a brilliant idea".

"Food is related to ourentire cultural heritage", he said, "and we must find a way of reconnecting children to our food, culture and seasons".

London's Goring Hotel (the capital's only five-star hotel still owned and managed by the family that established it) held a Luncheon for Chefs and Food Lovers yesterday as part of its centenary celebrations.

Chief Executive, Jeremy Goring pulled on a fetching woolly hat to welcome arriving guests on the hotel's front steps. These included Sir Terry Wogan, Delia Smith, Albert Roux, Raymond Blanc, Gary Rhodes, Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) and Tom Parker-Bowles.

Lunch was a free-for-all, as guests swapped tastes of a range of Goring dining-room favourites from down the years - all expertly prepared by Derek Quelch and his brigade. These included:

• Mrs Goring's pigs fry salad with poach duck egg, cider vinegar and honey dressing (the War years)
• Jellied eels with parsley vinegar (the Roaring Twenties)
• Terrine of Goosnargh duck leg with roasted beetroot (the Thatcher years)
• Poached fillets of Dover sole Americaine (the Edwardian era).

After a while I complained of being full. "Novice", cried Matthew Fort, as the Great British Menu judge and food writer spooned a large slab of oxtail pudding onto his plate. He later revealed he was heading off after lunch for a full dinner at Northcote. You've got to admire his metabolism.

On Sunday I was invited to an interactive theatre show based on the classic British TV show Fawlty Towers.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but when we arrived, ordered our drinks long-suffering waiter Manuel was working the crowd offering peanuts from a silver platter and pouring salt into your hand.

Faulty Towers... the dining experience was certainly that. An experience. Think of your worse dining experience: odd or no cutlery, tables served randomly, bread rolls thrown onto your plate, an escaped rat and a screeching hostess... if it wasn't theatre, it wouldn't be funny!

Faulty Towers... the dining experience has been performing since 1997 and has toured the world with it unique style and its interaction with the audience. It has performed throughout Australia, South Pacific, South-east Asia and also a sell-out season at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

If you have ever spent an evening watching Fawlty Towers cringing at Basil's faux pas, Manuel's antics and Sybil's attempt at keeping order then this is for you.

Don't expect a great dining experience, but a chaotic and crazy one - only to be expected when dining with the Fawlty's!

See more photos on Table Talk here >>

You can find out more about Faulty Towers at www.interactivetheatre.com.au

It's a pub crawl with a difference: four pub company bosses will this Friday attempt to scale Africa's highest mountain Kilimanjaro for charity.

Peach Pub Company co-founder Lee Cash and Peach's Tim Doyle as well as Lovely Pubs' chief executive Paul Salisbury and his brother David have so far raised £15,800 but are calling for further sponsorship to meet their £25k target.

The foursome are raising funds for When You Wish Upon a Star, the organisation that makes wishes come true for very sick children, and the Get A-Head Charitable Trust, which fights head and neck diseases, especially cancer.

"We're really chuffed with people's support so far for our charity climb, but are asking for one last big push to help us crack our £25k target," said Cash, adding: "The climb's for two really good causes and we'll definitely be giving it our all." 

To sponsor the quartet visit www.thethreemountaineers.co.uk

If Gary Barlow can do it...

(Picture shows left to right: Tim Doyle, Paul Salisbury, David Salisbury and Lee Cash)

Blog by Emma White