Interpretations of Classic Dishes

Whenever I see the phrase "our interpretation of a classic dish.." on a restaurant menu I instinctively look for the exit.

"Interpretations" of classic dishes invariably mean small poncy portions of undercooked meat and vegetables covered in foam, jus and drizzles. They are an insult to the classic hearty dishes of the past, and are usually an excuse for an ego trip by a young wannabe celebrity chef.

Fish Fingers and Custard Day

Fans of fish fingers and custard will be salivating in anticipation, as tomorrow (3rd April) has been declared by Birds Eye as being Fish Fingers and Custard Day in honour the Doctor Who episode (The Eleventh Hour) broadcast on 3rd April 2010 in which Doctor Who ate fish fingers and custard.

As such, Doctor Who has replaced Captain Birds Eye on a special bespoke pack of fish fingers.

The bespoke pack has been sent to Matt Smith (who debuted in The Eleventh Hour), along with a year’s supply of fish fingers.

Chef Rich Moves To The Dover Castle

Fans, such as myself, of Chef Rich's cooking (especially his chili) will be pleased to know that having left The Pub With No Name he is now in residence at The Dover Castle.

The Grosvenor Hotel

Yesterday, as I have done for over twenty years when travelling to London for a social event, I popped into the Grosvenor Hotel at Victoria station for a drink.

The bar was closed (it was 11:45), and the bistro fully booked for a private function. However, I was advised by reception staff to go to the lounge for a drink.

No problem, or so I thought.

I was about to sit down by a small coffee table in the lounge when I was told by a member of staff there that there was a minimum table charge of £30!

Suffice to say I said no way, and went back to reception to raise the issue.

The response?

"The law allows us to charge a minimum £30 cover charge."

I needless to say walked out.

I have used that place for over twenty years (eating and drinking), and have never been treated so badly there (or indeed anywhere else) before.

The sheer greed and arrogance of an institution that treats a loyal customer, of over twenty years standing, in this way beggars belief.

I urge you all to boycott the place until they come to their senses!

IKEA Meatballs Contaminated With Horsemeat

Reuters report that Czech inspectors have found horsemeat in meatballs made in Sweden for the IKEA Group. The inspectors took samples for DNA tests in IKEA's unit in the city of Brno from a product labelled as "beef and pork meatballs".

Ironically, as per the IKEA website: 

What we are proud of

We want to offer quality food products at low prices. At the same time we want you to know that we source food products in a responsible manner. We are working in all parts of the food chain, from the farm to the IKEA store, to be able to offer food you can trust...

Food safety 

We want our customers to feel confident that the food served and sold at IKEA is safe and of good quality. That is why we require our suppliers to have special quality programs in place.

Also, all our stores in the UK & IE are subjected to independent, unannounced food safety management audits to ensure the highest level of food safety training and food safety standards."

760kg (1,672lb) of the meatballs were stopped from going on sale after the contamination was discovered.

As I have noted before, take a leaf out of IKEA's book, don't buy ready made meals but "self assemble" your food (ie make it and cook it yourself) by buying the ingredients from trusted local butchers.

Tesco Responds To Horsegate

Tesco have sent out the following message to its customers from its CEO Philip Clarke:

"Dear Mr Frost,

Nothing is more important to Tesco than the trust our customers place in us. And that trust depends on the quality of the products we sell.

Since we became aware that a small number of Tesco processed meat products have been contaminated with horsemeat, we have been working flat out to get to the bottom of the issue.

While tests continue, today I want to make a clear promise to customers and to tell you about the rigorous processes we have put in place to prevent this situation happening again.

Here's my promise: we will set a new benchmark for the testing of products, to give you confidence that if it isn't on the label, it isn't in the product. And that will be backed up by an industry-leading commitment to enable you to find out much more about what's in the food we sell and how it's produced.

Let me tell you some of the things we are doing immediately:

I have asked my team to review our approach to the supply chain, to ensure we have visibility and transparency, and to come back with a plan to build a world class traceability and DNA testing system

We are building a new website, which will enable our customers to see the progress we are making with our testing programme, and which products have been tested so you can be sure of where we are in the process

We pledge that over the weeks and months ahead, we will open up our supply chain, and give you more information than any retailer has before to enable you to make informed choices about the food you buy for your family.

And I am determined that no customer will lose out as a result of the testing process we are going through, so from Saturday 16 February if a product is tested and then withdrawn from sale, we will provide you with a better alternative for the same cost. You can find more details at your local store.

This is just the beginning: I am clear that, as the UK's leading food retailer, it is Tesco's responsibility to lead on this issue. Our priority right now is to complete our testing programme as quickly and thoroughly as possible, because people need to have confidence in all Tesco products. In addition, we are looking in great detail at every aspect of how products are sold in Tesco and at how our relationships with our suppliers become more transparent and collaborative.

Where changes are needed, we'll make sure they are made. And let me be clear that this doesn't mean more expensive food - it just means doing things the right way, and accepting nothing less than the highest possible standards in the supply chain.

My absolute focus is on giving our customers complete confidence that every single product on sale in Tesco is of the highest quality and contains exactly what it says on the pack. It's what you expect of us, and it's what we demand of ourselves.

Yours sincerely,

Philip Clarke

Chief Executive

The Horsemeat Scandal of 1948

As the old saying goes, there is nothing new under the sun. The current horsemeat scandal is nothing new, in 1948 the very same scandal had hit the headlines.

How To Behave In Restaurants

Shergar Lasagne

The horse meat scandal refuses to go away, Findus have now been caught up in it with the revelation that their "beef" lasagne contains up to 100% horse meat!

Unsurprisingly they have withdrawn the product from sale, and have issued an apology.

The offending product was made by French food supplier Comigel.

Criminal activity is suspected, and whilst saying that there was no evidence the horsemeat was unsafe, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has ordered it be tested for traces of an equine drug which is harmful to humans (phenylbutazone).

All food companies have now been ordered to test their beef products.

Let's see what comes out of the woodwork!

The solution is simple, stop buying ready made meals produced in factories and use only fresh ingredients from trusted local butchers.

Advice To Chefs

Don't serve beef gravy with chicken pie!

The Sir Charles Napier - Updated

50 Southover Street
Brighton
East Sussex
BN2 9UE

Tel: 01273 601 413

Since my last mention of the Sir Charles Napier, in July 2012, the pub has changed hands and changed chef.

A belated, but warm welcome to Landlord Daniel and Chef Lee who took over in Q3 2012.

I am happy to state that the ambiance, warm welcoming atmosphere of the pub and food served is still of a high standard.

Lee's menu, which includes fish, steak, pies etc changes on a regular basis. However, one staple that is his trade mark is the most excellent steamed bacon pudding (cubes of bacon wrapped within a suet pudding) served with crushed potatoes and vegetables. A most excellent dish, tasty, hearty and warming; ideal for these cold winter days!

Also of particular merit are the chicken goujons served with a lightly spicy sauce.

Local pubs, when they are well run deserve to be supported by the local communities which they serve. The Sir Charles Napier is one such pub; go there for a drink and meal, you won't be disappointed!

Burger Off!

The next time you are unwise enough to buy a ready made burgers, pies, curries etc from a supermarket, make sure that you are 100% certain which hapless animal was slaughtered to provide the meat for the product.

The BBC reports that horse DNA has been found in some beefburgers being sold in UK and Irish supermarkets, the Republic of Ireland's food safety authority (FSAI) has said.

The FSAI said the meat came from two processing plants in Ireland, Liffey Meats and Silvercrest Foods, and the Dalepak Hambleton plant in Yorkshire.

It said there was no risk to health.

The burgers were on sale in Tesco and Iceland in the UK and Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland they were on sale in Dunnes Stores, Lidl and Aldi.

The FSAI said the retailers stated that they were removing all implicated batches of the burgers.

A total of 27 products were analysed, with 10 of them containing horse DNA and 23 containing pig DNA.

Horsemeat accounted for approximately 29% of the meat content in one sample from Tesco.

In addition, 31 beef meal products, including cottage pie, beef curry pie and lasagne, were analysed, of which 21 tested positive for pig DNA.

KFC Battered By Chicken Brain/Kidney Photo

A picture of a chicken brain/kidney found in a KFC meal in Colchester, and posted on the Facebook account of Ibrahim Langoo, has gone viral and undone millions of dollars of advertising spend by KFC over the last few months.

As ever, one bad impression of an eatery can override many good ones.