letters
Set us up with poor students
WE have had severe problems throughout December with recruitment of part-time restaurant staff and other situations.
We are a small group of hotels and produce some 15,000 meals during December for Christmas parties and Christmas party nights. In the past, there have been available, fortunately or unfortunately, a number of unemployed persons who have been eager to take these temporary positions. I am sure that the majority of employers will have noticed that there are not so many of these, if any, to be found.
The Government's recent proposals for a return to work for single parents and disabled or handicapped people have borne no fruit this December.
However, whatever happened to the student population, eager for cash to pay off their bank loans and get money in the bank for Christmas? Why is it arranged that they break up five days before Christmas and go back two or three weeks into January, when in January there is little or no Christmas spirit left?
Could someone please wave the banner at the Department for Education and Employment and advise them of our dilemma, and perhaps the education department can work with the catering industry more closely during the holiday periods.
EJ HASTIE
on behalf of the Grand and Windsor Hotels,
Whitley Bay,
Tyne and Wear.
Laying a sound foundation
IN REPLY to Nick Wimberley's letter regarding English menus (Caterer, 4 December, page 24), I wish to make some points.
"Culinary jargon", as he referred to it, includes terminology given to us by the French and Italians dating back many centuries. To quote Cracknell and Kaufmann in their translation of Escoffier's Guide to Modern Cooking, many terms won't precisely translate, so have been left in original form.
Words such as confit, fumet, villette and bouillon are a part of the chef's everyday vocabulary, and menus would be poorer without them.
As chefs, we are responsible for preserving classical cuisine, and educating both the public (who are eager to learn) and young chefs, who will need this knowledge for the future. Take this away and we will have spineless kitchen cultures where anyone in checked trousers can be called a chef.
Don't get me wrong, we need modern innovation, but it has to have a foundation. Had Escoffier been with us today, I'm sure he would be at the leading edge of food trends, but recognising food's history.
Remember, he updated his book four times!
LAWRENCE BRACKSTONE
Spalding,
Lincolnshire.
Hidden cost of a minimum wage
FORBES Mutch's opinion (Caterer, 4 December, page 22) is spot-on with my own view that a minimum wage could well push up inflation, especially as regional differences are not being taken into consideration.
If the minimum wage is set at around £4 per hour, then this will equate to a minimum salary of any full-time employee of £8,300 per annum. Not a problem so much in London and the Home Counties, but as you move west and north salaries do drop off.
This means that the gap will narrow between junior and more senior team members. That won't wash, as the more senior people will demand a proportionate rise in salary.
All these changes are being pushed through while we are sitting on the edge of a downturn in the economy which could fuel inflation still further.
CARL CSATLOS
Proprietor,
Chatlos Recruitment,
Swindon,
Wiltshire.
Clean up that woeful washroom
WALKING into a café and placing an order, I then visited the washroom. I was quite disgusted by its filthy condition. I felt duty bound to inform a member of staff, who reluctantly attended to the problem.
On returning to my table, I failed to eat what I had ordered. Given the condition of the washroom, I concluded that the entire establishment did not adhere to an acceptable hygiene standard. Consequently, I will never return to that establishment.
The back of house is as visible to the customer as the front. Don't let dirty washrooms drive customers away.
JOSEPHINE NABUKEERA
Edgware,
Middlesex.
The kernel of it is: this idea is nuts
A recent quote, allegedly made by food safety minister Jeff Rooker on 5 November, was drawn to my attention by a long-standing client. This is of interest to all independent hoteliers.
"It is incumbent on the catering industry to know the exact ingredients of the meals which they are serving," the quote ran.
By this the minister intends to enable anyone with any allergy whatsoever to ensure that the meal which they purchase will not trigger a reaction.
If, in the catering industry, there are professionals in the business of preparing and serving edible food of a quality reflected in the price of the dish, it is not their business to match their presentation with the client's personal needs and diet. Once this responsibility is accepted by a caterer, he is immediately liable for something totally beyond his control, and you can be sure that the increasingly litigious public will not hesitate to take advantage of the fact.
Make sure that your disclaimers are prominent on every menu, that your waiters are trained to sidestep any question on ingredients which has not been agreed with the chef and that you do not allow the client to rely on any explanation which you are not prepared to back up in court.
I myself suffer from this infamous allergy and have to exercise care in what I eat, especially if my chief taster, my wife, is unavailable.
I believe it is incumbent on me to ask, when in doubt, whether foods contain peanuts, and in some places I know that I no longer have to:Josh Hampton, the renowned chef at the Ebury Wine Bar, London, at least stars up all the items on the menu containing nuts and clearly indicates that point.
JAMES NAIRN
Managing director,
Brodie Marshall Hotels,
London SW1.
Setting straight the Scots record
Robin Murray clearly did not enjoy his visit to World Travel Market (WTM) recently (Caterer, 11 December 1997, page 20).
He is entitled to his opinion about Scotland's presence there. However, it is important to separate opinion from fact. And the facts are these:
l Scotland has been represented by the Scottish Tourist Board (STB) at WTM for 15 years.
l Our presence has, for most of that time, been represented by the "Scottish castle", our familiar WTM landmark, 21ft high.
l Our objective at WTM is to introduce Scotland's supply trade to the international travel trade. Therefore, our 35 partners on the Scotland stand represent a cross-section of the industry and are transacting hundreds of thousands of pounds-worth of business with which to lay their foundations for subsequent years.
Robin Murray clearly missed some important partners on our stand. Edinburgh was represented by the Edinburgh Tourist Board; Edinburgh Castle, as well as its other properties in Scotland, by Historic Scotland; the top visitor attractions by Great Houses of Scotland, Historic Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland; Loch Ness by Loch Ness Lodge Hotel; quality hotels by Scotland's Commended Hotels; and the whole of Scotland by the STB and the area tourist boards.
GRAHAM BIRSE
Scottish Tourist Board,
Edinburgh.
A fine idea for mobile phones
I sympathise with John Jenkinson's experience of mobile phones (Caterer, 11 December, page 20).
The world of sailing and powerboating exists on the end of a cellular phone. My bar-café is in the heart of a large marina and one evening last March, my bar was besieged by seven phones ringing in a short period of time.
When the last phone rang, I suggested to the person receiving the call that he make a small donation to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) for the disturbance caused. This he willingly did and so my mobile phone tariff was born.
I have since charged incoming calls at 50p each and outgoing calls at £1 each, all monies going to the RNLI. This is done in a light-hearted way without causing offence to the customer and is often policed by other customers on our behalf.
With two exceptions everyone has paid the "fine", and as most have become regulars I do not think this strategy has cost me business. In the period March to September, we raised £300 for the RNLI.
The next person who uses a laptop during lunch is going to be charged a fiver!
FRANK HARDMAN
Harpers Bar-Café,
Lymington,
Hampshire.
