The Editor's Hospitality Blog

Parlez-vous Francais? Non? Never mind, Caterersearch thinks of everything. We have an exclusive interview with legendary French, multi-Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse and although it's conducted in his mother tongue with our star reporter Gemma Sharkey, we have delivered, for the first time in Caterersearch history, subtitles! 

Discover his thoughts on winning two Michelin stars at London's Dorchester last month, along with his views on the British culinary scene, Bocuse d'Or and our man in Lyon, Simon Hulstone.

And while you're in the Michelin mood, why not check out Kerstin Kühn's interview with guide editor Derek Bulmer in addition to British-based award winners Martin Burge (speaking to Emily Manson), Claude, Bosi, Angela Hartnett and Marcus Eaves.

Sweary Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay found himself mired in controversy again at the end of last month, when an episode of Gordon's Great British Nightmare registered no less than 312 times on the swearometer - that's one profanity for every 20 seconds of the 103-minute Channel 4 show.

Now, a Scottish hotelier has decided that enough is enough. Ian Milne, of the Royal Hotel in Keith, has decided to take a stand against gutter talk by instigating a 'no swearing' policy at his establishment, where a sign warns potential customers, "if you have to swear do not come in".

Swearers in his bar will first be asked to refrain, and then refused service at the bar. Repeat offenders will be banned from the hotel bar and reported to the police.

Mr Milne claims he is not asking for something wildly ridiculous. I fear, though, that he may have the quietest bar in Keith if he polices his new law zealously.

Hix Oyster & Chop House supremo, Mark Hix has some interesting things to say about surviving and thriving in the recession. Writing in the Independent, Hix offers the following pearls of wisdom to struggling operators:

• "The most damaging expense for restaurateurs isn't wages, rent or even food - it's losing customers."
• "Value is key, and ... means being more careful about what you're spending, yet still giving your customers quality food."
• "Give your customers choice. A lot of restaurateurs think they have to have every starter under £10 and every main under £20, but it's more sensible to have a range ... If you don't give people the option to spend more, they're not going to."
• "Restaurants can't afford to fall out with their suppliers. Too many people take advantage by not paying on time, but the industry needs to tighten up on this. You wouldn't walk into a restaurant as a customer and say, "Do you mind if I pay for my dinner in two months?".
• "There isn't any one thing you can do to stay strong, but if you've got good food and a good atmosphere, you're halfway there."

Oh no! Not again! French newspapers have reported that the French Michelin Guide has been leaked again.

Due to be released on the 2 March, Michelin remained tight-lipped about the results, but you can find out more about this latest Michelin blunder on Guide Girl.

You can't walk down the high-street without seeing the sea of red hearts, roses and general "spreading the love" messages beamed from the shops and restaurants.

So, in a time of so-called economic crisis, restaurants and shops are vying for our custom.

Restaurants are offering some of the best deals ever - there has been no better time to take a visit to Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, or if you want something a little more quirky, visit TrustedPlaces for their list here.

And of you are into Twitter, the social networking phenomenon that's hitting the web, Galvin at Windows is offering a special Twitter Menu for you to enjoy overlooking the beautiful view of London. So get Twitting! 

Whatever you do this Valentine's Day, make it a special one! 

Gordon Ramsay begins this week as fodder for the tabloids once again.

Check out Guide Girl, Caterersearch's blog dedicated to the world of restaurants, guides and all things Michelin, to find out what he's been up to. 

First of all, we heard that Gordon Ramsay Holdings is to step back from day-to-day involvement in Maze Prague.

Now, according to Guide Girl, Caterersearch's blog dedicated to the world of restaurants, guides and all things Michelin, a leading critic is questioning how much Jason Atherton was involved in setting up the restaurant in the first place.

Check out Guide Girl for the full story.

The Malmaison and Hotel du Vin annual "Corkers" awards ceremony took place last month to celebrate the achievements of the two hotel groups and their employees.

The dinner and awards took place at 30 St Mary's Axe, London, otherwise known as the Gherkin, where the catering is run by Searcy's, and was attended by 50 employees.

Award winners were largely on the invite list this year, as chief executive Robert Cook decided to scale down the event from previous years' 600-plus. Cook told employees who had won what and who would be en-route to the awards ceremony by sending out recorded video messages to all hotels with special instructions to watch their DVDs at a certain time on a chosen day.

While tomorrow night sees Heston Blumenthal, John Campbell, Marcus Wareing, Angela Hartnett and Phil Howard strut their stuff at South Downs College in aid of The Ark, an arm of Hospitality Action (HA) which focuses on educating people in the industry about the dangers of alcohol dependency and drug misuse, May brings a different kind of fundraiser for the HA in the form of a once-in-a-lifetime Great British Menu dinner involving all the finalists from the 2008 BBC2 hit series. Fancy attending? For more details, check out our Guide Girl blog.

 Last night, five Michelin-starred chefs, with no less than 10 Michelin stars among them, descended on South Downs College to cook a gourmet dinner and raise money for The Ark Foundation.

Heston Blumenthal, Marcus Wareing, John Campbell, Angela Hartnett and Phil Howard gave up their time to raise money for the arm of Hospitality Action which focuses on drink and drug abuse awareness. Working alongside the students and lecturers of South Downs College, the chefs managed to raise just under £20,000 for the charity.

But while many will benefit from the work of The Ark, they weren't the only winners for last night presented those college students - front and back of house - to not only rub shoulders with the Michelin elite, but also learn under the fine tutelage of Skylon GM Simon King and the Boundary's house manager, Olubunmi Okolosi.

Our video is still in the editing suite at the moment, but don't forget to check out the Caterersearch video channel over the next few days to see the highlights.

In the meantime, check out some of our photos from the night.

Three-Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal has been forced to close his Bray restaurant, the Fat Duck, following a food scare, according to Telegraph.co.uk.

The article stated that dozens of customers had reported feeling unwell after eating at the restaurant, however, initial tests conducted by environmental health officers as well as the restaurant's own food safety consultants have been negative.

Blumenthal closed the restaurant on Tuesday and reservations for have been cancelled.

It went on to say that no date has been set for the restaurant's reopening.

He told the Telegraph: "After 14 years of work, to come to the point where you have to close the restaurant is upsetting. The Fat Duck for me is very much a labour of love. The samples have all come back negative. It's very strange. We called in the environmental health officers and they said it could be a non-specific virus which is going around."

On Wednesday night, Blumenthal lead a brigade of Michelin-starred chefs who cooked alongside the students of South Downs College for a dinner in aid of The Ark. The dinner raised just under £20,000.