Sponsorship comes too late to save British olympics bid
By Gaby Huddart
ANGER is mounting following the revelation that the official British team will still not compete in the Culinary Olympics in Berlin, despite the offer of substantial funding.
New sponsors came forward late last week following Caterer's discovery that lack of sponsorship funds had forced the Britsh team to withdraw just six weeks before the olympics (News, 1 August).
But the offers came too late, according to team manager Brian Cotterill, who had already asked the Scottish culinary team to take its place.
Among the potential sponsors who came forward was Reed Exhibitions, the organiser of culinary shows such as Hotelympia and Hospitality Week, which immediately offered £10,000.
"We felt it was imperative the British team should be given a chance," said Sara Binns, director of Reed Hospitality Exhibitions. "Had we known about these problems earlier, Reed could have put forward its sponsorship then."
Similarly, Mercedes-Benz Trucks made offers of free transportation of food, fridges and other equipment to the olympics.
Members of the ill-fated British team have taken the latest twist in their fortunes as a bitter blow.
"I feel totally frustrated to know that we are not going to the olympics but the money is out there for us," said Claudio Notarbartolo, a consultant chef. "It's incredibly upsetting."
Fellow team member Tony Grove, senior lecturer in food preparation at Bournemouth and Poole College of Further Education, echoed these feelings of disappointment and frustration. "For many years we were the standing joke of cuisine in the world and it seems ironic that now we are one of the best, we can't go and show it," he added.
And Mr Grove called for a shake-up of the way the British team was organised so that it never had to pull out of an international event again.
"We have to get together and thrash this out to make sure it doesn't happen again," he said. "We should immediately start planning for the olympics in four years' time and should ask Reed if it will give us its sponsorship to help us prepare for then."
Bruce Sangster, the Scottish culinary team captain, suggested the British team should take a leaf out of his team's book.
"We have been preparing for this event for a long time ahead and in our team all the members have clearly defined roles," he said. "We have got ourselves very well organised and that's the key to it all."
Meanwhile, preparations are going well for the Scottish team and Mr Sangster said he was hopeful the team would come back with a medal.
