The Editor's Hospitality Blog

Our hearts go out to Heston Blumenthal, who last week was forced to close his beloved flagship restaurant, the Fat Duck, following a food scare.

Read Guide Girl for the latest developments....

His decision to close the restaurant before the environmental health officers even knew about the situation illustrates what many people already knew about him - that he is one of the most considerate chefs you could ever wish to meet.

Inevitably, this will have financial ramifications for him, but we hope this isn't something that is sustained - 2009 is going to be tough enough for many operators - and so it's good to know that he hopes to reopen later this week. 

Hats off to him for putting on such a brave face and for giving us a lesson in morality. Read Guide Girl for the latest developments....

Fat Duck unlikely to reopen this week>>

Caterer's food blog, Rhubard and Mustard, is taking a look at some of the competitors in this year's Great British Menu, which will hit our TV screen later this month.

Rhubarb and Mustard will be putting together a series of blogs looking at some the chefs that are battling out this year together with a top recipe.

First up is Brummie chef, Glynn Purnell. Glynn was the first to get full marks for his desert in the last series and sent GBM judge, Prue Leith, into orgasmic heaven with his Strawberries with tarragon and black pepper honeycomb with burnt English cream surprise.

Will he be able to do the same again? 

Check out Rhubarb and Mustard for more.

Having spent the last five weeks of my life planning my social calendar around the BBC1 hit series Mistresses, I was devastated to find out last night that next week is the last episode in the series. What am I to do?

But all is not lost as The Apprentice, Sir Alan Sugar's search to find a new member to join his rather scary team, with the softener of a six-figure salary, kicks off next Wednesday (25 March, 9pm, BBC1).

So, here at Caterer Towers, we were rather keen to spot that one or two of his would-be apprentices hail from our jolly old industry.

Caterer and Hotelkeeper sister magazine, New Scientist, recently caught up with Ferran Adria to find out how vital an ingredient science is to his cooking.

Catch the interview with the legendary, three-Michelin-starred chef, Ferran Adria, here.

Latest Caterersearch news

Norovirus may have closed Fat Duck restaurant, says Blumenthal

Video: Atul Kochhar, Charlie Trotter and Oriol Balaguer speaking at Gourmet Abu Dhabi

In the Daily Mail today, news that the Christian owners of a seaside hotel may face prosecution for banning a gay couple from staying in a double bedroom at their hotel.

Peter and Hazelmary Bull, owners of the Chymorvah hotel in Marazion in Cornwall, apparently refused to let the couple, Martyn Hall and his civil partner Steven Preddy, share a bed at the hotel on the basis that they don't allow unmarried couples - heterosexual and gay - from sharing a bed under their roof.

The Bulls, who have the support of the Christian Institute, adopted this policy when they bought the hotel in 1986. In fact, the hotel website states: "We have few rules but please note that out of a deep regard for marriage we prefer to let double accommodation to heterosexual married couples only."

Hall and Preddy have lodged a county court claim for up to £5,000 in damages alleging "direct discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation".

The result of this case will set an interesting precedent, but, in the meantime, Caterersearch would be interested to hear your views.

Well the first showing of this year's Apprentice and our two hospitality hopefuls Yasmina Siadatan of Mya Lacarte in Caversham, Reading, and Rocky Andrews, who owns sandwich business empire Fatso's Filling Station in the north-east managed to escape Sir Alan Sugar's boardroom battle.

This week's task - to make as much money as possible running cleaning companies - saw the boys jump into the lead (on profit rather than revenue), led by another hospitality champion, Howard Ebison, who had slipped past our beady eyes as he'd been described in the press as a retail business manager. He's an area manager for 10 pubs for Mitchells & Butlers.

Anita Shah got the bullet, largely because she didn't spot that the girls had spent too much on cleaning products. Fancy that.

Lots of early tension. While our guys flew below the radar, I think there's enough egos among this year's crop of apprentices to make 2009 outstandingly bitchy. Don't forget to root for all THREE of our guys.

Next week they cater for a corporate function. Bring it on!

The fourth series of the Great British Menu hits our screens on Monday and this year the chefs will compete to honour the men and women from all three forces serving in Afghanistan with a glorious homecoming dinner that captures the authentic tastes of home.

The first round is for the central region, where Glynn Purnell, of Purnell's in Birmingham takes on Daniel Clifford from Midsummer House, Cambridge. Each chef will prepare their starters for judges Oliver Peyton, Prue Leith and Matthew Fort.

Purnell kicking off the show by cooking home corned beef with English mustard cream and textures of beetroot and radish, with brown sauce, while Clifford cooks asparagus with crispy hen's egg with smoked duck and fresh truffle.

And to whet your even more watch the trailer for this year's show here: 

Who do you think will make the final? Join in the discussion on Caterer's new community site, Table Talk here. 

David Harper of hotel consultancy, Leisure Property Services, is a man on a mission. His employers have granted him a sabbatical to take part in the Clipper Round the World Race to raise money for Cancer Research, early next year. David's targeting raising a £10k donation.

David is a sailing novice, so the 5000-mile Australia to China leg he is participating in is a pretty daunting prospect - especially as it will encompass a range of conditions, from tropical heat to artic cold.

The extent of his challenge was brough home to David, when he discovered that one of his fellow trainees is Nick Ward, the author of Left for Dead, a book about his exeprience of being the last person rescued from the sea in the 1979 Fastnet race disaster.

Any pledges would be gratefully received by David.