Letters
FRESH FOOD POLICY SUITS STUDENTS
In response to the article "If it's Thursday you've had your chips" (Caterer, 11 November, page 6), I would like to offer the following observations, based on Cater Link's experience as contract caterer in a number of schools in the South-east.
We have found that, when questioned, students in senior schools are prepared to be very candid about their eating habits.
They are well-informed about healthy eating and what constitutes a varied and balanced diet; they know what foods they should be eating, and they know they shouldn't be eating "junk food".
But offer junk food alongside healthier food and students will opt for the junk food. Remove the junk food and they will eat healthier food - and enjoy it.
There is no such thing as bad food, only poor diet. By being selective about the choices available, we have found that we can steer young people towards a balanced diet. In independent and state schools alike, we have adopted a fresh-food policy where, for example, chips are served no more than twice a week - coincidentally, the same as is being proposed in the Government's discussion paper. In all instances, there has been improved take-up and a consequent improvement in the financial performance of the service.
Although there is a perceived risk to sales levels attached to edited-choice menus, the benefits of a fresh-food policy in terms of health alone outweigh the risk. In any case, it is our experience that with a positive approach there can be significant financial rewards.
At the inner-city London Nautical School, our daily menu offers:
• Two choices of main course (one of which is vegetarian).
• Low-cost "fillers" such as jacket potatoes and pasta.
• Vegetables.
• A salad bar.
• Sandwiches and baguettes.
• Hot and cold sweets.
Success is also highly dependent on a genuine partnership between school and caterer, with effective communication between the school management team, the contractor management, pupils and parents being crucial.
Tony McKenna
Managing Director,
Cater Link,
Matfield, Kent.
WHAT'S THE POINT OF HIRING LINEN?
Bob Gledhill's article (Caterer, 11 November, page 28) alerts us to many of the problems associated with linen hire and garment rental contracts, but it fails to ask the obvious question: "Why hire in the first place?"
If we accept the old adage that you get nothing for nothing, we also have to accept that the full cost of purchasing the linen to support the laundry service will be passed from the hirer to the customer. The hirer would argue that they have more purchasing power than an independent hotel or restaurant, and this may be true. However, when it comes to costing replacement linen, this price advantage is seldom passed on to the customer. If there is no advantage to be had, why not purchase linen and forgo the complications of a contract?
As an independent launderer who does not hire linen, I find my customers have many things in common. They are high-quality hotels and restaurants who purchase their linen and who consequently have a selection of qualities and prices to choose from. Like others, they have found a laundry specialist who has made laundering, and not the provision of linen, the speciality.
Lastly, they are not tied to a contract of any type and can sack their laundry whenever they feel the service is not up to scratch. I am sure that hoteliers and restaurateurs up and down the country will appreciate how attentive a laundry can be when it doesn't have a three-year contract to hide behind.
Gareth Draper
Sales Director,
Shaws Laundries,
Gravesend, Kent.
NO CONTRACT IS THE BEST POLICY
As one of the most successful laundry entrepreneurs in the last 20 years, I agree with Michael Gottlieb's views.
I pioneered the "no contract" philosophy many years ago. It was a radical decision, made on the basis that linen contracts were devised to provide a "barrier to exit". I communicated with customers and understood their requirements, and relied on my passion to provide a good service.
Also, I believe that if everybody else does it, don't do it.
David Coulter
Coulters Laundry,
Sturminster Newton, Dorset.
STICK TO THE FACTS ON BEEF SAFETY
Ian Thompson has stated publicly (Caterer, 11 November, page 20) that E coli 0157 is encapsulated within the flesh of meat. Total nonsense.
If he took the time to read the Pennington Report (April 1997), he would find that the threat from this organism comes from cross-contamination. The report goes on to suggest that the best preventive measure is to adopt best kitchen practices such as hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) systems - measures that were clearly not in evidence in the case he refers to in Lanarkshire.
Surely, as someone responsible for the hotel services in a leading hospital, Mr Thompson should be aware of, and be able to distinguish between, evidence and media hype.
Beef, if properly handled in accordance with good kitchen practices, poses no greater bacterial risk to the consumer than any protein commodity.
This view is supported by Professor Pennington, who led the inquiry into the E coli 0157 outbreak and said in October this year: "Safeguards governing British beef not only ensure the highest safety standards in Europe, but have done much to enhance its quality.
"Consumers can have every confidence in the supply and quality of British beef and the nutritional qualities of beef make it an ideal choice for meals."
If Mr Thompson wishes to read the facts for himself, I would be more than happy to arrange for a copy of the report to be forwarded to him.
John Gray
Foodservice Trade Manager,
The Meat and Livestock Commission,
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
RDA HAS FAR-REACHING RESPONSIBILITIES
You may like to know that I have cleared up a local mystery, which identifies the areas covered by the Regional Development Agency (RDA).
In the course of verifying the exact area for the Young Chef of the West Country competition, I was told by a person at RDA headquarters in Exeter that the area consisted of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Cumbria! And I was assured this was correct. Now we all know where we are.
Chris Chapman
Chief Executive, CRC, Honiton, Devon.
