Recently in Jamie Oliver Category

So the heads of state attending the high-profile G20 summit in London's Docklands are to get down to the not inconsiderable task of saving the world economy today.

Well good luck with that one. But it appears the G20 circus has been both feast and famine for the world leaders and those in the hospitality industry.

There was some trouble in the City yesterday affecting Compass Group and Lexington, while later the likes of Barack Obama enjoyed a slap up meal at Downing Street prepared by Jamie Oliver.

The Ritz hotel was one of many taking no chances, electing to board up and hucker down. And thanks to Vacherin for their snap from one of their contracts yesterday that you can see at the top of this entry.

At the Excel Centre at London's Docklands where the summit proper is taking place, it's good news for Compass Group, whose Leith's brand is looking after the feeding duties. However it's not so good for Creativevents who run a number of fixed sites, a stand and on-floor catering at the exhibtion centre on a standard day and have been, essentially, kicked out for the duration.

All around caterers have had to adapt, with Elior, which has many contracts within the City, ordering in extra stock and changing some menus to temporarily make more use of dry and frozen goods in case protests affect deliveries.

Still, with most City clients facing lockdown on the premises, Simon Titchner, managing director at ISS Eaton, candidly told Kitchen Rat: "Actually the protests helped us yesterday as takings were up across the business as all customers used their internal restaurant facilities as they could not go out."

Feast and famine. Feast and famine.

G20 Sumit website>>

World leaders start G20 summit>>

Vacherin appoints head chef for first public restaurant venture>>

Recession presents "great opportunity" for contract caterers to prove worth>>

The food cooked by top chefs encourages unhealthy eating, according to an independent report from a group of senior dieticians.

Nigella Lawson, Rick Stein, Jean-Christophe Novelli and John Burton-Race are all noted for using large amounts of cream and butter in their cookbooks, thus promoting saturated fat intake way beyond the recommended daily allowance.

The findings come from The Fat Panel, a collection of dieticians including Sian Porter, a member of the British Dietetic Association. She said: "these recipes are fine for a special occasion, but if you cook regularly from them there is a high chance you will be taking in a lot of fat".

"Nigella, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Rick Stein use the highest levels of saturated fat. If you look at Nigella's egg and bacon pie, it uses butter which is fine for indulgence but not as a habit."

Phil Vickery was also mentioned in the report for using too much saturated fat, but Jamie Oliver and Delia Smith were given a healthy rating by the panel.

 Industry must improve gluten-free offering >>

Rick Stein takes over lease on local Cornish pub >>

The school dinners journey instigated by Jamie Oliver may be far from over, but Kitchen Rat hears that the end is nigh for school catering brand Scolarest.

Having received a very public kicking at the height of the school dinners story in 2005 - Turkey Twizzlers becoming a catch-all phrase for all that was wrong with the system - "new Compass", as it essentially is now under Roy Gardner and Richard Cousins, has decided to make a break with the past and phase out the Scolarest brand.

So, before term is out, the sector's biggest private caterer will be trading as Chartwells, a brand that is active in the USA and until now had been reserved for the independent school market in the UK.

It would seem, Jamie Oliver casts a long shadow...

Sodexo's Jane Bristow on a mixed future for school catering>> 

Graysons appoints ex-Compass education man to head schools business>>

Compass wins £4.5m school dinner contract>>

Last night's instalment of the Jamie Oliver on Channel 4 showed the pig ejaculation as previously trailed in this blog space for the 'Save Our Bacon' programme.

But it was also a chance for Jamie to put forward a challenging proposition to the British public: spend more on pork products even though you more than likely have less money at the moment.

Porker shoot-off aside, it showed the reality of the pig meat trade, the sow stalls in particular. A kind of equivalent of chicken battery farmed conditions; they were banned in the UK in 1999. In the EU, however, they'll be legal until 2013, which could make our industry sadly unable to compete in future - it's in the balance rather.

The programme featured Caroline Mortimer, who, as Caterersearch exclusively revealed last year, is the new head of catering at the Met Police. She vowed to use only British Pork on canteen menus as soon as was logistically possible. 

Jamie took on Hugh's F-W's animal welfare mantle with aplomb in this latest edition of Channel 4's 'Great British Food Fight', and has hopefully convinced a fair number to switch to more humanely reared, British pork.

Jamie Oliver to launch DIY food stores across the UK >>

Oliver to open first Jamie's Italian in London >>

Our favourite twizzler killer Jamie Oliver has been involved in the more proactive side of the food chain as TV screens will soon reveal.

The celebrity chef has been filming a documentary on the British pork industry as part of the new Channel 4 Great British Food Fight season.

And at one point, because Jamie is looking into all aspects of the pig cycle, he's required to, erm, encourage a boar to make other boars, something that's done artificially in pig land.

"If you watch it then you'll see how it fits in," says a spokesperson clearly intending no pun. "His focus is on the reality of pigs' life."

"He takes in the artificial insemination, in the birth, in how they die."

It all brings back best-forgotten memories of Rebecca Loos performing the very same act on channel Five's reality TV show The Farm.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall calls on industry to switch to free-range poultry >>

Jamie Oliver to launch new high street restaurant group >>

It seems that Heston Blumenthal, everyone's favourite three Michelin-starred chef/scientist, isn't off our television screens at the moment.

After an appearance on BBC2's irreverant music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks earlier this month which left Heston shuffling nervously in his seat, our Heston turned up on Sky Sports' Saturday morning show Soccer AM over the weekend.

Heston - a huge fan of nouveau riche Islington side Arsenal - turned up on Saturday and proved he's perhaps better off in the kitchen when he missed the target in Soccer AM's 'Road to Rome' segment (but then, to be fair, so did everyone else).

Kitchen Rat got to thinking about what other TV shows Heston could make guest appearances on.

A stint on Location, Location, Location perhaps? "I'm looking for another large house in Bray, with a massive kitchen and fireproof walls"...

How about Cash in the Attic? I have found this old bunsen burner - how much could I flog it for on eBay?"...

Perhaps we could come up with a new format- Challenge Heston - where contestants have to come up with even more palate-challenging food concepts than bacon and egg ice-cream. Or How to Cook Good Naked, with regular guests Gok Wan and Jamie Oliver. 

Kitchen Rat considered a concept that would see Heston being filmed as he attempted to save Little Chef but decided it was too far fetched...

 You sometimes hear managers talking about their staff as if they're criminals - 'all that pilfering that goes on, nothing I can do about it'. Hands in the till, they're all at it, apparently.

Well, now guests can be served by real-life criminals - convicted juveniles at the Neudeck jail in Munich.

The £11.5m conversion of the prison building into a four-star hotel will involve the recruitment of "teenagers and young people who have only otherwise known violence, crime, drugs and a lack of orientation", according to Hildegard Denninger of one of the project's sponsors, Biss magazine.

In echoes of a certain person's restaurant training project, 15 youngsters will be trained by full-time staff. Some of those involved in running the programme will include social workers.

Our advice? Probably best not order a Bloody Mary.

European hotels suffer a dismal August of plunging profitability >>

Jamie Oliver backed Fifteen Leeds takes step closer to reality >>

Jamie Oliver has criticised local authorities for the fact that only 5,000 out of the 125,000 dinner ladies had been trained in healthier eating. Oliver said that it was a "bloody disgrace" that more attention had not been given to these those serving food to children in schools. 

Speaking in front of a select committee group of MPs, Oliver also said that more support needed to be given to the School Food Trust. He praised their work, but said that "as they are a government quango they can't always tell the truth. They can't be as outspoken as I can be".

However, Oliver added that there were flaws in the government's plans to teach primary school children to cook. He demanded that the government invest £6.5 billion over the next ten years into the overall meals and teaching provision.

Oliver also called for someone to direct policy for the coming decade. "Why isn't there a minister of food?" he asked the panel. "Why isn't there someone from the private sector all over this like a rash?" he asked. "Why haven't we got one person driving this for the next ten years?"

Tory leader David Cameron may have urged us to "hug a hoodie", but it seems that this touchy-feely approach could in fact be the missing piece in the school-dinner uptake puzzle.

While Jamie Oliver has been making headlines once again, slamming the Government for a lack of investment in the school meals system, and caterers themselves are still kicking up a fuss about the new nutrition-based standards, the bods at Surrey school meals may have a simpler, more cost-effective solution to the problem.

A recent pilot at ten schools in Surrey saw new starters at primary level offered free school meals for a week to entice more children to use the service.

But, put simply the uplift from this initative was disappointing.

However, before schools minister Ed Balls thinks he's found the perfect reason to dismiss the Food for Life Partnership's calls for free school meals for all, an insider at Surrey has a quite different take on why the caterers literally couldn't give the stuff away.

It's because the children are missing their mummies. Aaaahhhhhh!

"My own daughter was the same when she went to school, which was of course the first time she'd been away from home. She found it all so traumatic at first that she simply wouldn't eat very much at all for the first few weeks."

So, a hug as well as healthy grub to boost school dinner uptake. Bet Jamie Oliver never envisioned that one.

School meals round-up>>

Word reaches Caterer Towers, from more than one source, that chef campaigner and all round good egg Jamie Oliver is planning to launch a bi-monthly foodie mag, imaginatively entitled "Jamie" from next month.

Jamie's people refused to shed any light on the rumour ("little birdies should be shot and stuffed," we were told) but we're assured it's got legs.

More as we get it...