Water marks

The popularity of flavoured waters and cordials has grown steadily in the UK in the past 10 years, due partly to a desire to consume less caffeine among the health-conscious sector of the public, and also partly to a search by drinkers for an alternative to alcohol.

But it is sometimes difficult for manufacturers of cordials and flavoured waters to achieve the optimum balance between flavour and sugar. And with carbonated drinks, the perfect "bubble ratio" is hard to get, often resulting in customers spluttering over an excessively fizzy liquid.

To get a better picture of the current market in these products, Chef teamed up with Food From Britain, the Government-funded organisation which promotes home-produced speciality foods, to sample a range of cordials and flavoured waters from the UK. The aim of the session was to provide a platform for caterers to make the most of the assortment of home-produced cordials and flavoured waters that are now available.

The tasting was hosted at the Stables restaurant at the National Trust-owned Dyrham Park in Chippenham, Wiltshire. Our panel comprised five representatives from the catering industry - including a head chef, head waiter and food writer - all working in the Wiltshire area.

Four cordials and four flavoured waters were sampled. The cordials were diluted using the National Trust's own-label Natural Spring Water, which was non-carbonated, and a glass of undiluted cordial was also given to the panel so they could get a taste comparison of each cordial in its original state.

The tasters

Laurent Coffre is head waiter at the 40-seat Oscar's restaurant in the Royal Bath hotel, Bournemouth. The hotel has 131 rooms and the restaurant caters for about 40 people on weekend evening meals and up to 25 for weekday evenings. Coffre is interested in the cordials, because of their diversity - they can be used in cooking, as mixers with cocktails or with sparkling or still water.

Caroline Yates is a food writer and committee member of the Guild of Food Writers. She trained in cookery at the Cordon Bleu school in London and worked at Leith's School of Food and Wine, where she still teaches part-time. Yates has written two books on vegetarian cookery. She favours flavoured waters and cordials with understated flavours that do not overpower the palate.

Helen McDonald is manager of the Stables restaurant and was our host. She caters for an average of 400 people a day for morning coffee, lunch and tea. There is no evening service unless the restaurant is privately booked. McDonald serves the National Trust brand of water. She prefers cordials and flavoured waters to be full of taste and to complement whatever food they accompany.

Peter Taylor is chef-proprietor of the River Station in Bristol - the 1998 Menu of the Year Catey winner. It has a 150-seat restaurant, averaging 80 covers in the week and 180 on a Saturday night, as well as a 90-seat waterside café with deli. Taylor does not currently serve flavoured waters in his restaurant. If he did, he would look for a variety that was natural and understated. He thinks it would be important to stock both carbonated and non-carbonated products to cater for customers' preferences.

Ruth Fann is the regional enterprises manager for the Wessex region of the National Trust. She looks after catering facilities at the nine National Trust properties in the area, appointing local food suppliers as well as those nationally recommended by the trust.

Fann likes cordials and flavoured waters to have a discernible, but not overwhelming, taste and to be refreshing enough for visitors to drink alone or with a meal.