The Editor's Hospitality Blog

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".

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.

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.  

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.

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."