Table talk
Must be the Tories drowning their sorrows
Politicians are increasingly juggling the task of running the country with getting the next round in. Alcohol consumption at the Houses of Parliament has shot through the roof. The Federation Brewery, supplier to the Palace of Westminster, has seen orders of beer double since October last year - politicians and visitors are now knocking back 2,500 pints a month. A brewery spokesman said: "Our sales figures to Parliament have gone up by 100% from October to May. On average, 2,500 pints are drunk a month, but that doesn't include drinks such as gin and whisky, which are also popular."
No soft options
Every weekend, people up and down the land get chucked out of karaoke bars for drinking too much and overdoing the warbling. Now, apparently, a US bar owner has turned this venerable tradition on its head by throwing out a customer for not drinking. Karen Ellis, from Salem in New Hampshire, was happily sipping a Pepsi with friends when bar owner Jim Wong told her that he couldn't afford to pay the DJ if his customers only drank soft drinks. He then ordered an astonished Ellis, the designated driver of her party, to leave and come back later to pick her friends up.
We call it love-apple purée here, madam
Bottles of tomato ketchup may be readily associated with the high-cholesterol diet of the roadside café but, according to scientists in the USA and Israel, dolloping the red stuff on your food can help fight breast cancer and osteoporosis. Researchers have found that lycopene, which gives tomatoes their red colour, can help men fight prostate cancer and, in the latest studies, help women tackle breast cancer and brittle-bone disease. Whether this means ketchup becomes a must-have accessory on fine-dining tables around the country is, of course, another matter.
This is what they mean by cooking the books
A new and enlightened approach to recruitment is being seen in Germany's financial sector. Businesses are telling potential executive high-fliers to ditch the suit and tie, don a toque and get into the kitchen. Caroline Stever, a director of Dresdner Bank, said: "We needed three high-quality recruits for our private client business, so we narrowed the selection down to eight and asked them to cook a meal together." Stever chose a menu, including risotto and chicken, and put the would-be bankers to work. A leading head-hunter firm has even built its own "recruitment kitchen" in Frankfurt as a means of assessing flair, initiative and teamwork. Lars-Albert Nagtegaal of Talent Networks said: "More orthodox tests give you an idea about a person's theoretical knowledge. Put them in the kitchen and you find what they can do in practice."
Don't take us to court over it
In our eagerness last week to tell you about Hospitality Action's Tennis Day, we got the date wrong. In fact it takes place on 12 July at the David Lloyd Club in Bushey, Hertfordshire, so there's still plenty of time to get over your shyness and sign up. Give those spare tyres and knobbly knees a good airing by calling Nicky Pallister of Portfolio Group on 020 7520 5000. And remember - it's all for charity.
