Table Talk
Compass chief is no kissing Cousins
New Compass big cheese Richard "Plasterboard King" Cousins has wasted no time getting stuck in. The man charged with the unenviable task of steering the Compass supertanker into calmer financial waters has already got his hands dirty at site level - at the Goldman Sachs contract in the City, to be precise.
Cousins apparently went down to see one of his top blue-chip clients to crack a few heads together and tell them that they weren't making enough money. All of which put a few noses firmly out of joint.
Compass clients, you have been warned!
Softened by age, or by a dose of self-interest? Hard to imagine uncompromising Irish chef Richard Corrigan fawning over many people, but maybe he's softening in his old age. In a recent interview with The Dubliner magazine, he was glowing in his praise for no-frills airline billionaire Tony Ryan.
When asked who his best customer was, Corrigan said: "Dr Tony Ryan. The man is a true gourmand. Watching him eat is a joy." And his favourite Irish food? Dr Tony Ryan's bacon and cabbage, of course. "I really would have loved to have gone across to him afterwards to thank him. It was that amazing."
Moving stuff - until you realise there may be other reasons for the outpouring. Like the fact that Corrigan plans to open a restaurant at a £34m food village in Ireland with owner - you've guessed it - Dr Tony Ryan.
Wife had a good word for him - but we won't repeat it Guests aboard the Aurora cruise ship for this year's Catering Forum were concerned to hear that a fellow passenger had been rushed to hospital in nearby Guernsey with a broken ankle. But the murmurs of concern were cut short when travellers learned how it had happened. The victim, Out of Town restaurant group managing director Frazer Grimbleby, had tried to relive his gymnast past on deck in front of a crowd. He managed one back-flip but his second saw him hit the floor in a crumpled heap.
Grimbleby rued his decision to try the feat in socks but may also have regretted ringing his wife to tell her about it. Apparently, after a one-word expletive, she slammed the phone down.
