Food Inc

 WTF are Food Inc, a repected foodie group in the USA, up to. On their Facebook page they say: "Let your Senators know that the Food Safety Modernization bill is worth their vote. Find out more about the current form of this important bill (which our partner orgs, Barbara Kowalcyk, Michael Pollan, and Eric Schlosser all support) at the link below......"

To the 284 people who've commented, I say:
I'm reading this in the UK and I sincerely hope that in America you have more sense than to allow government agencies to meddle in your lives more than is absolutely necessary. I tried to buy some reduced price onions on sunday - told I couldn't because they were out of date and had to be trashed: in other words I couldn't even have them for free. What sort of world are we living in when a date-stamper tells you what you can and can't eat?

Old School Thai?

Call me a grumpy old cynic by all means: I just read this article about a new "concept" restaurant in Brighton, Street Thai. Big Hospitality, 29th November 2010

It promises "authentic" Thai street food which the manager/executive chef describes as "affordable, simple and super tasty”.  I've googled to try and get an idea of prices but there's absolutely zilch on the net. You can bet a penny to a pound though, I'm sure, that it won't work out much cheaper than flying to Bangkok for the real thing!

Licensing Reforms

Ewan Turney, the web editor of The Morning Advertiser, reports on the likely items to be included in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill to be unveiled tomorrow, the 1st December.

Big Hospitality, 29th November 2010

I wouldn't strongly object to retailers being prevented from selling alcohol at less than the cost of Excise Duty and VAT if that's going to avoid the even stupider proposals to charge a putative 50p per "unit" (you nits?); making bars and clubs contribute towards policing - in many areas of the country high streets would be consist of boarded-up, semi-derelict shops (little or no income in business rates) if it wasn't for the bars, but - heigh-ho - if it gives greater freedom of opening hours then a small levy may be a worthwhile trade off.........Finally, the thorny problem of what to do about under-age drinkers. As one who received a police caution some years ago when I was a joint licensee of a neighbourhood bar which served some kids while I was absent, I don't have a problem in principle with increased fines for persistent offenders but what stuck in my craw then - and still does - is that the real offenders (the kids) got off scot-free and would have been called as prosecution witnesses if I'd contested the action. What sort of idiotic message is that to send out? Don't bother answering......

More tea, Vicar?

 Is nothing sacred? Once upon a time we Brits were proud of our tea ritual: 

"One lump or two?" was about as controversial as it got. Then it all went a bit Boston Tea Party in the 1980s with the Long Island cocktail making its way across the pond. Yes, I hold my hands up - I was one of  the first (at Atmosphere), and it features in my book, "The Cheat's Guide to Good Cocktails". But now we're about to see a glut of shoddy imitations as several companies roll out  the "Tea Liqueur"! 

Morning Advertiser, 26th November 2010

Harrumph!

Samarqand, London W1

AA Gill reviewed this place in The Sunday Times recently and I loved the sound of it so much that I joined their Facebook group - must be my Russian ancestry coming out!

The Handbook, 25th November 2010

The Mythical 24/7 Pub

On the 5th anniversary of the "24-hour" Licensing Act, Brigid Simmonds, the Chief Excutive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), urged the coalition government not to tinker with existing legislation to appease scaremongers.

The Morning Advertiser, 24th November 2010

How to live the high-life as a student!

I love this story in the Caterer. I acquired the taste for food and booze way beyond my means while I was a student at the Polytechnic of Central London (University of Westminster). I blame one of my first friends there - an ex-public schoolboy with panache and a unique style of his own - for introducing me to all sorts of new cuisines and wines; he recently confessed on LinkedIn that he'd been known to walk out of places without paying if the staff went AWOL when he was ready to shell out! This is another scenario entirely........

Caterer, 23rd November 2010

M&B to dispose of its franchised stock

Having now completed the sale of 333 pubs to Stonegate, M&B is seeking to concentrate exclusively on its 6 food-led themes by further disposals.

Big Hospitality, 15th November 2010

Enterprise Inns to sell Michelin-starred pub

This headline caught my eye for  two reasons: if you were a chef of that standard would you rent a pub tied on barrelage etc - and, secondly, if you were Enterprise Inns would you sell an asset that you could be exploiting for positive PR?

Big Hospitality, 15th November 2010

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares

Poor Gordon! Not only was he publicly exposed for cheating on his wife but now he's slagging off her dad - whom he recently sacked as CEO of GRH - by writing an open letter to long-suffering Tana's mum. Marcus Wareing, who is about to open a second restaurant, must be watching from the sidelines with a sly grin.

Chris Hutcheson: Caterer, 9th November 2010

Marcus Wareing at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel: Big Hospitality, 9th November 2010