Table talk

Fresh fowl ducks out in time

In his new guise as directeur des cuisines at leafy Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire, one of Jean-Christophe Novelli's key goals is to bring more fresh and seasonal cuisine to the tables of Auberge du Lac. Just how fresh quickly became apparent midway through our interview, when one of the ducks waddling around on the terrace decided to wander up a couple of steps and make its way inside. Fortunately, it changed its mind a moment later, as it had been heading straight for the kitchen.

Courting sentence? Or a case of hung jury?

Did you know the oldest court in England still sits every 40 days in what is now a hotel - and, what's more, it still has the right to pronounce the death penalty? King Canute set up the court of forest rangers, known as verderers, at the Speech House in the Forest of Dean back in the 11th century, and no one has since thought to quash their power. The verderers can still sentence to be hanged anyone found poaching venison or chopping down trees. However, Philip Mehrtens, general manager of the Speech House hotel, thinks there's not much danger of a hanging nowadays. The gibbet outside has gone missing. This leaves the verderers at a bit of a loose end. "They usually end up in the bar if there isn't any other business," says Mehrtens.

Chilled-out canapés under the canopy

The Rainforest Café was surprised to find it is considered one of the "coolest" restaurants in London. In the Cool Hunt 2002 report, commissioned by PR firm Hill and Knowlton, the popular themed restaurant, which re-creates the sights and sounds of a tropical rainforest, rubs shoulders with Locanda Locatelli, Moro and Nahm. "We are thrilled by this finding," said general manager Brendan Lucey. "Cool celebrities, including Madonna and Tom Cruise, frequently visit Rainforest Café."

Onion problem is wept away

It's exactly what commis chefs have been crying out for. A new finding by Japanese scientists could lead to genetically modified onions that don't make us cry, science journal Nature reports. Previous studies had suggested that, in order to create a tear-free GM onion, scientists would have to tamper with its flavour. New research now finds that a previously unknown enzyme, called lachrymatory-factor synthase, is solely responsible for making us weep over the chopping board. A GM onion with the enzyme suppressed would be easy to create, according to scientists.

Finding the right route to Routiers

If there is one thing worse than running a correction, it is running a correction to a correction. So sincere apologies to David Hancock, the editor of the Les Routiers pub guide, whom we mistakenly called John Hancock last week. In the previous week we had, with equal inaccuracy, written that David was editor of the main Les Routiers guide. He isn't. So for the record, and with apologies (again): David Hancock is the editor of the Les Routiers pub guide; Liz Carter is the editor of the main Les Routiers guide. For good measure, we should perhaps apologise to John Hancock, the New Zealand winemaker. He was the man we had unaccountably confused with David Hancock.