Table talk

Let them eat ice-cream and kangaroo!

London's homeless and needy found rich pickings at the close of the International Food Exhibition, at Earls Court, last week.

Not only were there crumbs from rich men's tables, there was enough H„agen-Dazs, smoked salmon and kangaroo meat to feed 5,000 and more.

Two catering distributors, Puritan Maid and London's Breadwinner Foods, assisted a brigade of Gurkhas in collecting 70 pallets of left-over food - 10 times more than expected.

This was distributed, with the help of the Salvation Army, to those who needed it most. The commercial value of the hoard was put at £50,000.

Marco polo prize travels to bertie's

Albert Roux's long-term friendship with Marco Pierre White is well-documented. But now he is being linked to another Marco.

Bertie's, the Paris restaurant devoted to British cuisine, where Mr Roux designs the menus, has been awarded the 1995 Marco Polo prize, awarded annually to the city's best foreign restaurant.

Reservations about roomline

The rapid march of the lodge market is illustrated by figures from Roomline, Forte Travelodge's reservations centre in Dudley, West Midlands.

Since it opened in 1990, Roomline has expanded from 30 staff to more than 100 and the number of telephone calls handled each week has risen from 14,000 to 55,000, equivalent to more than a million reservations a year.

A capital way to remember 1945

Members of London's Capital Club enjoyed menu items at May 1945 prices last week. Grilled pork sausages and mashed potatoes set them back 7.5p, parsnips 2p, and semolina pudding 2.5p. It must have been a sober affair, though. Under the food-control order, port in 1945 was limited to one glass per member per day.

Stakis drowns its company sorrows

The secret of a healthy relationship between the sales/marketing department and the financial director was discussed recently at a meeting of the British Association of Hotel Accountants.

Mike Glancy, sales and marketing director at Stakis, gave the main address, which stressed the importance of backing up marketing plans with hard financial projections.

But the real reason for harmony in the Stakis camp was revealed during the question-and-answer session at the end. When asked how he ensures good communication with his finance people, Mr Glancy said: "We go down the pub together for a pint." Who needs fancy management techniques?

suffering from goose bumps

Coombe Abbey, a new hotel near Coventry, has had problems with power-cuts caused by geese crashing into overhead power lines. Flashing beacons on pylons should keep the shortsighted geese away. Look out for next week's feature on this unusual new hotel.

A worry shared is a worry halved

the fact that this is a very intimate industry struck home recently when adopted business restaurateur Sue Gray of No 6 and a Caterer reporter were dining in Lambs on Stratford-upon-Avon's Sheep Street.

In great detail, and with some frankness, they discussed the No 6 open day. Sue kept expressing her nervousness about the coming event and speculated on the sort of people likely to show up.

A man sitting on the next table eventually leant over and said: "Don't worry, Sue. I'll be there tomorrow and I'm sure it'll be wonderful."

By now bright red, Sue wondered how many other diners had party to their table talk.