The Editor's Hospitality Blog

If you missed out on winning two tickets to Taste of Christmas with Gordon Ramsay at Excel for this weekend, don't despair, the organisers of Taste have released more free tickets!

Taste of Christmas is launched in partnership with Taste Festival and Channel 4 and will celebrate the best in Christmas food, drink and entertaining at London's Excel Centre in East London on 4-7 December.

Vistors will be able to visit some of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants in site including Jason Atherton's Maze and the newly opened York & Albany, with Angela Hartnett.

There are 300 tickets up for grabs and as an extra treat each successful winner will get a seat at Gordon Ramsay's Live Theatre demonstration.

To enter go to www.tasteofchristmas.com/winner and you will be able to download a ticket to bring along with you.

Tickets are available for Thursday 4 and Friday 5 December so hurry and enter now!

It's that time of year again! The time of the year where we over-enduldge in food, drink and festivities with the excuse, "well, it is Christmas!"

This year the The Food Standards Agency has launched a campaign to make us all aware of the how even the best food can also contribute to a miserable Christmas.

Food is often left out, reheated and reheated again (yep - that'll be the turkey!) And before you know it you have a household of sick people frequenting the bathroom!!

'GermWatch', the Agency's latest food hygiene campaign and it hopes to highlight food safety in the kitchen and just in time for Christmas it has released this viral video:

GermWatch reminds people how easy it is to spread germs - maybe you forgot to wash your hands before preparing food, or perhaps you used the same chopping board for raw meat and food that was ready to eat. 

So remember folks, spread Chrismas cheer, not kitchen germs! If you don't you might run out of loo roll!

We're now on day four of our amazing online advent calendar which features 24 fabulous prizes in the run-up to Christmas.

However, just in case you haven't had a chance to click on the doors today, I thought I would drag you kicking and screaming to it because today we have a fantastic prize - an overnight stay at Danesfield House.

Two lucky people will get to enjoy an executive bedroom, while experiencing the stunning talents of Adam Simmonds' delicious cooking as they dine in the Oak Room.

So what are you waiting for? Entering is as easy as ABC, simply go to the advent calendar and click on today's date.

Later in the month we also have dinner, bed and breakfast at any Malmaison or Hotel du Vin property, meals at Andrew Fairlie @ Gleneagles, Hibiscus, Arbutus, the Greenhouse, Purnell's and L'Ortolan as well as tickets to the O2 and Wembley to any events of your choice so be sure to enter each day - and don't forget to log on to your favourite website at the weekends too!

A story on the Considerate Hoteliers Asssociation blog reveals a heartening dose of stiff upper lip and adherence to standards shown by hotel staff caught up in recent events in Mumbai's Taj Palace Hotel.

"11 hotel staff at the Taj Palace died in the atrocities in Mumbai, many whilst trying to take guestst to safety. We salute their heroic action for which many of the guests probably owe their lives. A tale that has emanated from the hotel in the aftermath of the debacle goes something like this. After it was all over and guests were leaving the hotel, one guest went behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of champane and several glasses. Asked what he was doing by a member of staff, the guest said that after such an ordeal people needed a drink and did the staff member have a problem with this? "Not at all" came the reply, "but Sir, you have the wrong glasses".

While researching the article, I found an interesting essay by Santamaria Relais & Chateaux website, in which he discusses the relationship between Catalan cuisine, history and culture. In it, he refers to a 14th century Catalan cookbook written by Fransesc Eiximenis, who delivers an amusing tract on table manners that carries some good advice for anyone spending Christmas with their extended family:

• Take care not to lick your fingers or anything else.
• Never for any reason take the choicest foods that you find before you.
• Never wear a belt or overly-tight garment to table.
• Under no circumstances ever scratch your head or any other part of your body while at table.
• Never blow your nose into your bare hand, make any noise or blow your nose at table with your head raised; if you wish to sneeze, lower your head.
• Conversation among guests must be on happy, pleasant topics that will not offend anyone.
• Never refuse any meat that is offered to you.
• When you are a guest, see that you arrive on time and do not keep your hosts waiting.
• Never yawn at table under any circumstances.

By the way, you've only got until 23 January to enter the 2009 Roux Scholarship.