Ramsay swearing attacked – for more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

Ramsay in the soup over F-word
Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay stirred up furious protests from Channel 4 viewers and MPs after his Friday night show served up 312 swear words in just 103 minutes (or one every 20 seconds). The chef used the F-word 240 times in Gordon's Great British Nightmare, starting just 31 seconds in a programme that attracted three million viewers. Viewers started to protest on the the Channel 4 website within 30 minutes while 49 rang the broadcaster to complain. Former Labour MP Denis MacShane has called on Ofcom to investigate the show for breaching its rules on swearing, describing the chef as "a terrible role model to every child and adolescent in Britain". A Channel 4 spokesman portrayed Ramsay's swearing as "a genuine expression of his passion and frustration." Ofcom said it would comment on the complaints received next week. 1 Febraury
Read the full article in the Daily Mirror >>

Ramsay rapped over unholy language>>

Five-star hotels in London slash rates below Travelodge
Rates at five-star hotels in London have dropped towards or below those at Travelodge as the economic crunch hits the luxury end of the market while boosting the budget sector. The Observer checked the price of a double room for one night at top hotels across the capital on Thursday and found that Travelodge’s £102.60 was beaten by the nearby five-star Grange Holburn, which was charging just £86.25. Other huge discounts at prestigious hotels included £129 at the Waldorf and £114 at the Westbury in Mayfair, while the Landmark had slashed the rates of its superior rooms from £550 to £140. "Five-star prices across the country are 24% down on a year ago," said Andrew Pumphrey, marketing director of laterooms.com.
 â€" 1 February, Read the full article in the Observer >>

Jamie’s school meals boost pupils health and brains, finds study
Jamie Oliver's drive to improve school meals has brought startling improvements to exam results and classroom attendance, according to an Essex University study of the schools in Greenwich, South-east London, where Oliver launched his Feed Me Better campaign in 2004. Pupils of 11 who ate Oliver’s meals had improved by up to 8% in science and 6% in English, while the number of sick days dropped by 15%. Nutritionists hired during the campaign found that most school meals provided less than half the daily recommended amount of iron, which improves children’s learning ability and focus. Oliver’s menus introduced iron-rich foods such as red meat, pulses and green vegetables while reducing sugar- and fat-drenched processed foods such as Turkey Twizlers. Pupils who did not resist the switch said they had more energy and so could concentrate for longer while head teachers said the lack of additives meant children were less hyperactive in the afternoons. â€" 1 February, Read the full article in the Sunday Times >>

Failed bomber of Giraffe restaurant sentenced to life in jail
The failed suicide bomber who tried to blow up the Giraffe restaurant in Exeter last year has been jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum 18 years. White Muslim convert Nicky Reilly assembled the home-made nail bombs in a cubicle in the restaurant’s lavatory but succeeded only in injuring himself. The judge said it was “sheer luck and chance” that dozens of people had not beem killed or hurt because the chemicals in one bomb reacted prematurely and exploded in Reilly’s hand. Reilly - who is 22 but has a mental age of 10 and suffers from Asperger’s syndrome â€" is believed to have been recruited online by men in Pakistan. â€" 31 January, Read the full article in the Independent >>

Explosion at Exeter restaurant injures one>>

Italian ban on ethnic foods spreads
Italian officials have been accused of “gastronomic racism” and “culinary ethnic cleansing” after several areas moved to ban foreign food outlets. Last week, in a bid to protect its “culinary patrimony”, the town council of Luca banned any new ethnic food outlets from opening within the city wall and told existing outlets to stop importing food and use only Italian ingredients. The crackdown on non-Italian food spread yesterday to Lombary and its regional capital Milan, where the number of ethnic restaurants has grown by 30% in a year to 668. However, celebrity chef Vittorio Castellani said no dish on earth was uninfluenced by different cultures and that many dishes regarded as Italian were imported, such as tomatoes from Peru and spaghetti from China. The city spokesman for Milan reflected this confusion when he said that French restaurants would be allowed but he was unsure about Arab-influenced Sicilian cuisine. â€" 31 January, Read the full article in The Times >>

By Angela Frewin