Chefs hit out against Daily Mirror's sting

Chefs have defended their right to buy produce on an ad-hoc basis from small suppliers following a Daily Mirror sting involving the sale of wild salmon to Jamie Oliver's Hoxton restaurant, Fifteen.

In an article published last Monday, Daily Mirror journalist Ryan Parry said he had sold farmed salmon, which he represented as rod-caught wild fish from Scotland, to Fifteen's sous chef, Tommy Parsons. Although a limited number of wild salmon can be sold when caught by net after 11 February, it is illegal to sell Scottish rod-caught salmon at any time of the year.

Parry claimed that Parsons and other staff at Fifteen did not adequately check out the salmon's sourcing. He also questioned whether they should be buying produce from the back of cars.

However, Claude Bosi, chef-patron of two-Michelin-starred Ludlow restaurant Hibiscus, said: "We sometimes get fishermen coming to us with pike, for example, and the quality is beautiful. You'd be stupid not to take it."

Addressing health and safety concerns that might arise from using non-regular suppliers, he added: "It is very easy to tell the quality; that is a basic part of being a chef. If you can't tell that, you should change jobs."

Stephen Harris, chef-proprietor of the Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent, agreed. He said: "If you can get good stuff that's part of the enjoyment - how sanitised do we want to become?" He added that he was more concerned with the mix-up of wild and farmed salmon in the Mirror sting. "I would be mortified if one of my sous chefs couldn't tell the difference."

A spokesman for Fifteen claimed that Parsons had voiced suspicion about the authenticity of the salmon sold to him by Parry but was swayed by the cheap price that was offered. He added that Parry, more famously known as the fake footman who infiltrated Buckingham Palace in a previous sting, had been non-committal when asked how the fish had been caught and obtained out of season.

Commenting on the fact that four other restaurants - including Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons and Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant - had turned down the deal, the spokesman said: "Jamie is keen to encourage smaller suppliers, so buying like this can happen. They usually have stringent checks, but obviously on this occasion they didn't." He added that the restaurant was using the fish for student training, rather than for the menu.

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency said that although normally suppliers would have to be registered to sell food, there was an exemption in the case of salmon. However, he urged caterers to buy only from reputable businesses.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper, 5 - 11 February 2004