the salt & pepper diaries

We’ve just launched the new web site for Ottolenghi and as part of the ‘deal’, our team were offered a day’s cookery course with Yotam and the gang at Leiths School of Food and Wine.

We’re all huge fans of the Ottolenghi approach to cooking and were spoilt last year when the provided all the food for a company picnic. Now with the launch of the new book (highly recommended!) it’s much easier to (almost) recreate the magic – not sure this goes for the pastries – far too good in the restaurants!

So we all started early with a challenge of creating dinner for two (we were cooking in pairs) of Chicken and courgette burgers with spring onion and yogurt sauce, Bulgar salad with caramelized onion, feta and tarragon and Crunchy cucumber and red onion salad. This was then followed by a Raspberry and passion fruit ‘mess’.

All very simple and fun to make dishes, so there was more time to chat to Yotam, get some tips, learn about the recipes, the influences and the techniques.

Highly recommended and finishing up afterwards to sit down to the results with a glass of wine was the perfect conclusion.

Thanks guys – a great day!

Urban Spoon has just released a great new i-Phone application. Simply select your country, then city, cuisine type and price bracket and a single restaurant recommendation is presented, along with all details, link to web site and a diner rating.

The neat part though is the ‘shake’ feature. i-Phones have a clever technology feature called the ‘accelerometer’ – this detects whether the handset is being held in ‘portrait’ or ‘landscape’ positions and adjusts the screen view accordingly. The Urban Spoon app though is using this tech a little differently - when a gadget obsessed foodie just fancies a random suggestion – give the phone a shake and see what pops up. You never know, could be a nice surprise.

So momentum is accelerating for the case to stop restaurateurs abusing the tipping system and using the ‘service charge’ to top up wages, and in some cases, cover total salary costs, instead of providing these extras as a genuine reward for good service.

To give a little background, ten or so years ago, the then Department of Trade and Industry reached an agreement with the hospitality sector that allowed service charges – not cash tips – to be used as wages. This was a back down by the government to appease opposition toward the use of the minimum wage.

So not illegal, but entirely unfair to cheat the individuals who serve so well AND the punters who believe that the 10% or 12.5% that they gladly add to the bill is being offered as a thank you for a great experience.

Currently, the only thing the concerned diner can do is ask when paying what the restaurants tipping policy is. If unsure, give cash. The only downside to this is often the back of house team, all who contribute equally to any dining experience, perhaps miss out – but at least it’s a start.

The Independent newspaper has launched an energetic campaign supported by names such as Mark Hix, Giorgio Locatelli, Shaun Hill and Tom Aikens. To join in and add your thoughts, go to www.independent.co.uk/tipping. There’s also a few stories here from restaurant staff and customers alike regarding teh subject.