Table Talk

With a nice Chianti?
Chef John Benson-Smith was quizzed by delegates at the CESA conference on his efforts to raise the standards of food served in British hospitals. To give an example of how bad he had found healthcare catering to be when he first began to consult, Benson-Smith told the story of a man who woke up after a liver transplant operation only to be served - you guessed it - liver.

Disney gets the bird President Bush has pardoned a couple of turkeys and sent them on an all-expenses-paid trip to Disneyland. The US president was taking part in an annual ceremony that spares the lives of turkeys that would otherwise be served up as Thanksgiving dinner. The animals, called Marshmallow and Yam, were chosen after an "election" on the White House website. Bush said: "In the end, the voters made the choice, and it was a close election. You might say it was neck and neck." Flanked by his vice-president, Dick Cheney, Bush said: "The granting of the turkey pardon is not a responsibility that I take lightly." Cheney was spotted sniggering in the background as the feisty 37lb Marshmallow, also named as the national Thanksgiving turkey, was wrestled to the table by its owner. Marshmallow and Yam travelled to sunny California, where they will retire in style at Disneyland. They served as honorary grand marshals at the park's Thanksgiving Day parade last week.

The call to Matins St Thomas's Monastery in Prague is the largest of five buildings that in combination will give Rocco Forte Hotels its first property in the Czech Republic. Bank of Scotland is joining the hotelier in the project, which will result in a five-star, 101-bedroom hotel. The monks, who will continue to occupy part of the monastery after the hotel is finished in 2007, can expect to awaken to the sound of drilling early in the new year.

Sacrificial lamb To celebrate 10 years in business, Cyrus Todiwala's London restaurant Caf Spice Namaste has drawn up a special menu dedicated to its regular customers. Among the dozens of names, Peter Hazzard, the former executive director of food service at Sodexho, is a regular guzzler of jardaloo ma gos, a Parsee dish of diced lamb simmered with Hunza apricots. Todiwala comments: "It is simply a must and one we cannot escape from. I am relenting now and bringing it back on the menu to appease the man who our industry considers ‘God of large banquets'."