My dream ‘kitchen' cabinet
Peter Hancock, chief executive of Pride of Britain Hotels, imagines a government run by the best and brightest in the hospitality industry.
David Cameron's recent cabinet reshuffle got me thinking about the dream kitchen teams that leading chefs have had fun compiling for The Caterer in the ‘Chef revelations' column. So who would be in my dream cabinet if it had to be made up entirely from within our industry?
How disarming for members of the opposition to be routinely addressed as Sir and Madam (it's a very difficult habit to break) and instead of fighting to catch the Speaker's eye, the endless repetition of "no, after you". It wouldn't be long before the meetings moved out of Whitehall and into the grander hotels, starting with a glass of Champagne and probably ending with a whip-round for Hospitality Action.
But if the team I propose here actually got its hands on the levers of power, there could be no stopping them. All have what it takes to win an argument and to achieve success.
Anyway, considering the mess we've been landed in by career politicians in the past, it's hard to believe that our colleagues could do much worse.
Please feel free to violently disagree with my choices, but here they are:
â- Prime minister: David Morgan-Hewitt (for his magisterial command of others with good humour)
â- Chancellor of the Exchequer: Alistair Storey (for his golden touch and generous heart)
â- Foreign secretary: Raymond Blanc (a man who can make us love the French can achieve anything)
â- Business secretary: Ufi Ibrahim (can't understand why she isn't in that job already)
â- Education secretary: Anne Pierce (imagine Springboard with a budget of £50b)
â- Defence secretary: Fred Sirieix (however severe the cuts, he's still got his fists)
â- Health secretary: Jamie Oliver (because good health starts in the kitchen)
â- Work and pensions secretary: Penny Moore (a safe yet charitable pair of hands)
â- Chief whip: Jonathan Raggett (don't be fooled by the red carnation, he's Tory to the core)
â- Secretary for culture, media and sport: Roy Ackerman (well, two out of three isn't bad)
â- And finally, home secretary with responsibility for law and order: it has to be someone who calls a spade a spade and isn't afraid of offending anyone. May I suggest our very own chief inspector, Alex Polizzi?