Unanimous ‘No' for chef group

UK chefs' clubs have taken the first steps towards creating a new national federation after formally rejecting plans for a unified association.

At a meeting in London's Lanesborough hotel last week, the associations voted against proposals for a unified body, put forward by Brian Cotterill, president of the Chefs and Cooks Circle.

"The feedback was a unanimous ‘no'," said Brunton Smith, chairman of the Federation of Chefs for Scotland. "Most people wanted to keep their own identity, so they could keep their own autonomy and traditions." But a meeting to discuss a national forum will be held at London's Four Seasons hotel in May.

Cotterill was disappointed. "It's the wrong way to go. We've had an umbrella organisation for 20 years and nothing's happened," he said.