Table talk
Ice treat, hot off the plane
The owner of a tiny curry house flew out of his local airport in Bournemouth last week to provide catering at a celebrity dinner - in New York. Enam Rahman, who runs the Original Balti House, got off at JFK with his array of dishes packed into ice boxes. Staff at the seaside restaurant had been stunned when a fax came through asking them to cater at a dinner party for celebrities including rapper-turned-actor Ice-T. A wealthy American in the entertainment industry had visited the restaurant and was so impressed with the food that he decided to fly it over for the Big Apple bash at a cost of £4,000.
Try the marsh-gas and mildew soufflé
The Internet is awash with recipe Web sites, and the spread runs from the matronly manner of Queen Delia of Norwich to a site that publishes only grotesque recipes. Do you want to know how to make head cheese and hog maw, banana wormbread, or how anchovies and yogurt create karma? Browse www.gazillionaire.com/food.html and prepare to be disgusted. If you die as a result, be warned - we have good lawyers.
No, no, "rissoles" with an "R", not a "P"
A businessman in Yokohama, where the World Cup final will be played next month, has started a Web site to help Japanese restaurant operators translate their menus into English to help overseas football fans. Japan badly needs such a service, as much of the English displayed in public either makes no sense or veers between the bizarre and the downright obscene. For example, after a hard day's training, our football heroes will be able to down an isotonic drink called Sweat, a vending coffee machine tells users to "keep loving new pot house" and a central Tokyo restaurant operates under the slogan: "Yum! Yum! Come on my table!"
Something to do when you're awake 24 hours a day
Starbucks fan John Smith has pledged to visit every one of the firm's coffee shops worldwide. So far, the Texan computer programmer has been to 2,850 out of 3,650 shops, including 38 on one visit to Britain. Smith has spent more than $4,500 on petrol, hotels and coffee over the past 18 months, but has failed to explain his attention-seeking behaviour beyond admitting that he is "strange". Starbucks said: "His enthusiasm is very flattering."
Nothing missing, except a Champions League place
Jonathan Walker, general manager of the recently opened Crowne Plaza alongside Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre, had an interesting stay at the Malmaison hotel in Leeds recently. Arriving in his bedroom to find someone else's suitcase and suit carrier in his wardrobe, he rang down to reception to report the mistake and get a porter to come and take them to the correct room. The luggage turned out to belong to Peter Ridsdale, the chairman of Leeds United FC, who accompanied the porter to collect it. Walker was rather taken aback when, as the porter collected the luggage and closed the door, he overheard him say to Ridsdale: "Don't worry, sir, we'll check it to make sure nothing has been taken."
