The Editor's Hospitality Blog

Those clever people at the London 2012 organising committee have revealed the logo for London's Olympic Games - and the public response has been less than enthusiastic.

Given that their spikey hedgehog of an emblem cost around £400,000 to develop, it's easy to see why the knives are out.

A London 2012 spokesperson called the logo "modern. bold [and] flexible".

Postings on Radio Five Live's 606 message board beg to differ: they call it "s**t" and "a bit urgh", and suggest Blue Peter viewers could have done a better job.

Elsewhere, claims have been made that the emblem plagiarises the logo of cult 70s kid's show, Tiswas.

The hospitality industry has more to gain from a successful Games in 2012 - so do you think this logo will work hard to enough to convince the world that the UK is a destination of choice?

let us know what you think.

The latest series of the BBC's Great British Menu ended over the weekend, with Sat Bains, Mark Hix and Richard Corrigan combining to create a four-course meal showcasing the best of British ingredients at a banquet at the British Ambassador's residence in Paris.

The success of the show - and the seismic news that Delia Smith is about to re-enter the fray with a new series - got me thinking about my favourite foodie shows on the box. Here they are, in no particular order. Agree? Disagree? Either way, let us know.

Summer has arrived in London. A riot of hydrangea colours the Ritz's Piccadilly frontage, and outside Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurant on Royal Hospital Road, the agapanthus are blooming.

There were more agapanthus on show in Sir Rocco Forte's beautiful central London garden, where I went to a press party yesterday to mark the tenth birthday of Rocco Forte Hotels. Sir Rocco was there, of course, along with Lady Forte - who looked stunning - and his sister, the hotel designer Olga Polizzi.

When journalists get together, the conversation can quickly descend into a game of one-upmanship, and yesterday was no different. There were loads of luxury travel, conference and incentive journos at the bash, and they all proceeded to outdo one another with tales of swanky press trips to New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, the West Indies ... I was able to get my own back, mind you, when the conversation turned to UK restaurants.

Sir Rocco was on top form, and told me all about his training for the forthcoming triathlon world championships. I munched guiltily away on the tasty canapes circulating the garden, as he described his gruelling daily exercise regime. How is it that captains of industry always manage to fit two-hour, pre-dawn gym sessions into their super-hectic schedules?

John Campbell took me on a tour of his impressive kitchen within the Vineyard at Stockcross, the other day. John's cooking, which won him a well-deserved second Michelin star earlier this year, is based squarely upon the sous vide method. It's a method he promotes with an evangelist's zeal.

I love John's boundless energy and infectious passion for food. As we talked, he grabbed a marker pen off a passing chef and began to sketch out his blueprint for preparing perfectly-cooked cuts of meat on a nearby fridge door, like a white-coated Rolf Harris. I only hope the ink wasn't permanent ...

Of course, sous vide is nothing new, but it's the way John has built the hotel's entire food offering around it that is really interesting. John talks about 'de-risking' the business of serving food, and certainly there's a discernable calmness and order to his kitchen. Already, many eminent chefs are sending scouts down to the Vinyard to witness his system, first-hand.

Incidentally, my lunch at the Vineyard was phenomenal, and threw up some interesting taste combinations, such as lemon curd and scallops.

Forthcoming Caterer and Hotekeeper guest editor, Marco Pierre White has been over in the States recently, promoting the US release of his autobiography and, rumour has it, progressing the launch of a Frankie's restaurant in Las Vegas.

Marco's book - called White Slave over here but rebranded as Devil in the Kitchen for our transatlantic chums - has gone down very well. The New York Times review called it a "moving, unaffected, delightfully honest book", and his tour has drawn a lot of media attention.

Most of the journalists despatched to interview the chef have had their questions politely answered and have then headed back to the office to file their copy. But a few, such as Bethany Jean Clement of Seattle's free weekly alternative arts and culture newspaper the Stranger, have been 'Marco-ed'.

Bethany's tale of a boozy session with Marco is sure to enduce alcohol-related flashbacks in anyone else who has spent an evening with the former three Michelin-starred chef and lived to tell the tale. Her description of Marco administering his 'house cocktail' bears repeating.

It involves a champagne flute full of sambuca set afire, extinguished by clamping one's hand over the glass; then the entire contents are gulped down, followed by the inhalation of sambuca fumes through a straw. "Mario [Batali, one presumes] says it's like drinking liquid heroin!" he proclaims more than once. Dinner's over, a crowd of admirers is circled around, supplies materialize, the PR people look stricken, and Marco demonstrates as cameras flash. I sit to his right; it takes very little goading for me to follow suit. It's exhilarating, disgusting, idiotic. During the sucking-of-the-fumes part, Marco leans in, his face inches from mine, shouting, "SUCK HARDER! YOU'RE NOT SUCKING HARD ENOUGH!"

As someone who has carried the Mark of Marco - a champagne flute-shaped blister - on my palm, I can well appreciate how her head felt the following morning.

I'm off to the Hospitality Action Question of Sport dinner at Wembley Stadium tonight. The idea is that guests get wined and dined, check out the stadium's makeover and test their knowledge of sporting trivia, while the industry's charity makes pots of cash.

I'll report back tomorrow on what goes on. Meanwhile, to get in the mood, a few of us have racked our brains to contrive a 'top ten' of sportstars with hospitality connections.

Can you think of any we've missed?

Gordon Ramsay seemed set for a career-making sign-up to Rangers FC, before a cruciate knee ligament changed his plans. Lucky he could cook a bit ...

Terry Venables Current England assistant coach, El Tel once owned a nightclub called Scribes West on Kensington HIgh Street.

Lee Dixon Former Fat Duck shareholder Lee Dixon still co-owns the Riverside Brasserie on Monkey Island.

Frankie Dettori This year's Derby winner lent his name to the chain of restaurants he launched in partnership with Marco Pierre White.

David Coulthard co-owns Monaco's "chic, affordable and accessible" Columbus Hotel with Malmaison mastermind, Ken McCullough.

Sir Alex Ferguson managed Fergie's pub after his playing career ended. Downstairs bar, the Elbow Room was apparently named in honour of his robust style of play.

Together, Sir Ian Botham and Alan Lamb (AKA Beefy and Lamby), are the face of British meat.

Shoeless Joe's Bars may not have worked out, but Victor Ubogu now runs a corporate hospitality company firm that's got a packed summer and autumn schedule.

Roberto di Matteo followed his Chelsea career by opening two restaurants, Friends and Baraonda, a stone's throw from Stamford Bridge.

(... to sound of barrel being scraped ...) Christian minister and erstwhile heavyweight boxing champion of the world, George Foreman is now making the world a thinner place, thanks to his Lean, Mean, Fat-reducing Grilling Machine.

Do you know the name of the captain of the 2002 Winter Olympics women's curling team? If so, we could done with you on our team at last night's Question of Sport fundraiser in aid of Hospitality Action.

The event was held at Wembley Stadium, whose Delaware North catering team produced a great tuna nicoise starter and a perfectly pink lamb main. Delaware North Companies UK MD Simon Dobson opted not to apply the one-hour blackout rule adhered to by many London restaurateurs between 9 and 10pm last night in support of climate change campaign, Lights Out London. Just as well - the vertiginous escalators at Wembley are hard enough to negotiate at the best of times, never mind by candlelight.

A great crowd turned up. I saw Ian Styles from Elior, who gamely brought along a real sportsman, Wasps and England rugby player Simon Shaw. David Field from Nestle was there; Malcom Plows from Coca Cola, Andy Kemp of 3663 and Arena, Peter Hazzard ...

In the event, the Coca Cola team won the event, but more importantly, £82k was raised for Hospitality Action.

By the way, the name of the curling captain was Rhona Martin.

Well done to the team from Blackpool and the Fylde College for triumphing in this year's Nestlé Toque D'Or competition, which reached a climax last Friday at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

As ever, Nestlé's Martin Webster treated guests to a slick and pacy show, and guest presenter James Martin did a good job of hosting proceedings, even if his scatalogical references to chocolate puddings threatened to put the gathered throng off its lunch.

As he opened the gold envelope to reveal the winning team's identity, Alastair Sykes, Chairman and Chief Executive of Nestlé pulled off a dramatic pause that Brucie would be proud of on Strictly Come Dancing.

If you've ever been to a Toque D'Or final, you'll know just how bonkers the winning team goes when it hears its name announced. This year's winners were no different - and who can blame them? As well as the thrill of being crowned the best college brigade in the country, they get to enjoy a study tour at the Johnson & Wales University in North Carolina, USA.

Much screaming and punching of the air later, we settled down to a suitably lavish lunch created by Henry Brosi to mark the occasion:

* Seared scallops with cauliflower pureé, parmesan crisp and sherry vinaigrette

* Roast fillet beef with red onion marmalade and ravioli from shank, seasonal vegetables, horseradish mash, burgundy jus

* Citrus fruit granité with rosemary cream cheese sabayon and vodka sorbet cannelloni

If the rosemary sabayon sounds odd, take my word for it: it worked really well.

The June issue of Chain Leader USA landed on my desk today. I'm no baby bird when it comes to portion sizes, but each month I turn through its pages with a mix of shock and awe, marvelling at the gut busting portions of beans, ribs and rice its ad pages carry. No wonder the USA faces such a spiralling obesity problem.

This month, one article caught my eye in particular. If you are currently struggling with the challenge of rethinking your food offering and marketing to take account of the growing trend towards healthy eating, spare a thought for the Fatburger restaurant chain. The canny execs at Fatburger HQ have cottoned on to the fact that their brand name might not strike quite the right chord in these health-conscious times. The result is a brand campaign to emphasise the fact that the name refers to the size of the burger, not its fat content.

Tastefully, the chain chose to launch the campaign straight after Easter, no doubt mindful that those abstemious souls that have observed the 40 days of Lent are in need of a Fatburger Triple King or three. The accompanying TV ad features Fat-fans waxing lyrical about Fatburger's "fantasy, bring-it-on, blow-your-mind" burger. Tellingly, the customer who describes a Fatburger as what a burger would look like "if Godzilla and King Kong were to make a burger" was apparently consigned to the cutting room floor.

On its web site, Fatburger advertises its Fatwear range of clothing, available in all sizes from small to extra large. You can't help guessing there's not much call for smalls.

Congratulations to everyone at the British Hospitality Association, which this afternoon marks its centenary year with a celebratory lunch at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

For our part, we have marked the occasion by inviting BHA Chief Executive, Bob Cotton, to guest-edit Caterer and Hotelkeeper this week. Bob's issue hits the news stand tomorrow, and is as thought-provoking as you would expect from a man known for his stongly-held opinions.

I'm going along to today's lunch, and I'll report back on what goes on later on.

Some 1200 captains of industry turned out at this afternoon's BHA centenary lunch at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London's Park Lane - and I got the first name-check of the event!

Opening the event in front of a packed house, BHA Chief Executive, Bob Cotton said, "now I know how Mark Lewis feels when he opens the Cateys!" Bob went on to point out that the BHA lunch was taking place on the very day that power at No 10 passed from Tony Blair to Gordon Brown, meaning that, for a few hours at least, no one in government was formally responsible for regulating the hospitality industry. (Bob later went on to make a plea to "leave us alone and stop trying to regulate hospitality more and more").

The guest list read like a who's-who of the industry. My table alone boasted such luminaries as One Aldych supremo Gordon Campbell Gray, Jeremy Goring of the Goring Hotel and Regent Inns executive chairman, Bob Ivell. There was a very complimentary name-check for Jeremy Goring's hotel later on in the afternoon, to which Jeremy responded by punching the air and whispering "get in there!" to me.

The afternoon's two guest speakers were Sir Rocco Forte and Sir David Michels - who were introduced as "two young men with promising careers ahead of them". In his speech, Sir Rocco questioned the hotel industry's increasingly short-termist, money-oriented approach. He stressed the value of continuity, dedication, nurturing your staff and treating the customer as king.

My favourite tale of the day? Gordon Campbell Gray's admission that when he was in Antigua overseeing the development and launch of his Carlisle Bay resort, the task was so all-consuming, and at times such an uphill battle, that when Christmas Day came, he holed up in his room alone and ate a whole box of Quality Street.

Finally, well done to the Grosvenor House - it can't be easy catering for such a vast number of hospitality bigwigs, and for the record I thought the food was enjoyable and the service professional.

Come next Monday morning, smoking in public places will be an offence. Smokers across the nation are facing up to the fact that their way of life is about to change forever.

I bumped into a friend of mine here at Caterer's offices, this afternoon. "Why the sad face?" I asked him. "I've just had my last fag in the smoking room", he replied, with a forlorn and distant look in his eyes. I should give you a bit of context here: our smoking room is a bare and stinky place, where lone figures stand, cigarette in hand, staring out of the window at suburban Sutton's underwhelming landscape. In truth, I don't think it's the room Fergus will miss, more the several-times-daily ritual of getting up from his desk, taking the lift down to the first floor, lighting up and inhaling deeply.

This weekend will see an end to such rituals. In bars and clubs, punters will nurture a pint and a fag in a reassuringly fuggy room for the last time ever. In restaurants, diners will blow smoke-rings with the last post-dinner cigar they will ever enjoy at table. And in pubs, old men in cloth caps will stuff a wad of Old Virgina into their pipes one last time.

If I sound like I'm already in mourning for a lost way of life, don't be fooled: I'm not a smoker, and I look forward to getting home from the pub without feeling I've been kippered. And it's a fact that Caterer campaigned actively for the smoking ban on the basis that it would be benefit the health of hospitality workers, for whom passive smoking is a professional hazard.

Still, I feel the pain of all you smokers facing a lifetime of lighting up on the pavement in the rain. And I hope that your last smoke indoors is a truly memorable experience.

Where do you plan to savour your final smoke? Let us know - better still, send us an image of your last cigarette.