Table talk
The (nearly) naked chef with plenty of pluck
The chef at a flagship London store was plucked like a Christmas turkey last week to the astonishment of passers-by. As part of Austin Reed's innovative series of live window displays on Regent Street, Marcus Ebelthite enjoyed a full waxing treatment lovingly administered by the store's health and beauty girls. The tall, dark, handsome chef of Austin's Café Bar has made quite an impression since the Everson Hewett-run bar opened in September. When the girls wanted to take a closer look at his athletic - and now hairless - torso he was only too willing to help. Ouch!
Veggie Society hands out crisp rebuke to Walkers
The Vegetarian Society's Imperfect World Award to highlight businesses that seem to ignore their potential vegetarian customers went to Walkers cheese and onion crisps at the society's awards ceremony in London.
A judge complained: "I just can't get my head around why any crisp manufacturer would use cheese powder with animal rennet. Are they trying to lose business?"
The award for the most long-winded award category we've heard of in a long time must go to Best Vegetarian Provision in an Omnivorous Café or Restaurant. Of course, that's not to take anything away from the winner, Arisaig restaurant in Glasgow.
Cause for concern - or just a cunning ploy?
A third of employers in hotels and catering don't believe their staff are key to making the business profitable, according to research from Investors in People UK. I'm sure you'll be surprised and disappointed with that finding. Ruth Spellman, chief executive of Investors in People, certainly was.
She said: "It's surprising that in a customer-facing industry, where good customer service is essential, many employers in hotels and catering fail to recognise the link between people and profit."
A closer look at the research, however, reveals that only 20 employers from the hospitality industry were questioned.
Could it all have been just a cunning ploy to persuade more companies to take part in the IIP accreditation scheme, I wonder?
Today's special: soup in a basket
Restaurants in Italy have started a trend for serving meals without using plates. Smart establishments across the country are serving food in unconventional receptacles such as flower pots, vases and jam jars.
Fulvio Pierangelini, whose Gambero Rosso restaurant near Livorno, Tuscany, was recently named the best in Italy, is one chef championing the new fad.
He said: "You can substitute plates with all sorts of containers, as long as you do it with a touch of irony and always with due respect for the client. I've been experimenting with lots of different substitutes for plates that I've picked up at local markets. For instance, I've been serving minestrone with spaghetti in flower vases because it's much easier to eat."
Pierangelini reckons that not using plates is also cheaper.
