Table talk

Male landlady may break the mould

Table Talk can reliably inform you that sexual equality is alive and well - for the first time ever a man has reached the finals of the 1996 AA Landlady of the Year competition.

Derek Davies, "landlady" of Alpine Lodge in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, is up against 19 landladies of small hotels, guesthouses and inns for the title. They have been selected from more than 3,500 establishments by AA inspectors.

US finds French art hard to bare

The label on one of France's most famous wines, which shows an arty sketch of a naked woman, has been withdrawn in the USA because feminists found it offensive.

The drawing by artist Balthasar Klossowski, better known as Balthus, appears on the label of Château Mouton Rothschild's 1993 premier grand cru classé de Paulliac.

But angry American women have complained the sketch is sexist and gratuitous and demanded the 30,000 bottles be withdrawn from sale.

Wine-grower Baroness Philippine de Rothschild said she would change the label for all further bottles being exported to the USA, but added: "I am upset by this unfortunate misunderstanding. It was a perfectly innocent drawing by a respected artist."

Big match warm-up for hotel students

Euro '96 promises to be a fine showcase for football skills, but employers in the hotel industry will have their eyes on other talent during the tournament.

Manchester Training and Enterprise Council has come up with a scheme whereby 70 final-year students will work for local hotels, including the Ramada and Portland Hotel, during the three-week championships starting in June.

The scheme, called Extra Time, will provide students with valuable big match experience and it is hoped some will be kept on permanently.

Yes, it's that section of the magazine where you get to read all the funny beef incidents of the past week…

Fishing for a more popular name

A Southampton steakhouse owner is changing the name of his restaurant following the mad cow scare. Vasilis Andreou is renaming the T-Bone & Spaghetti House to become the New Fish & Spaghetti House - with the accent now on seafood dishes.

Practise what you preach

You know how the Department of Health keeps banging on about how safe British beef is? Well, isn't it odd that its employees are eating imported Argentine beef in their staff canteen?

A spokesman claimed what is served in the canteen is up to its contractor, Compass Group, which has decided to take British beef off the menu. Mmm, most reassuring!

Soaring steak sales aren't pie in the sky

I'm afraid to say that British Meat is less than happy with me for an item I wrote about the British Steak and Kidney Pie Competition.

I thought it was rather funny the competition was announced the week the BSE scare broke. But it's no laughing matter and "attracted huge interest in the licensed sector". Brian Kilkenny, trade marketing manager at British Meat, assures me: "Steak and kidney pie is the overwhelming first choice of people who eat in pub restaurants."

Apparently, the competition's finalists have seen sales of the pies rise in recent weeks due to media attention surrounding the competition.

Congratulations to the Happy Return in Chard, Somerset, which scooped the best pie title.