Table Talk
Pizzas must be flat. Sorry, it's the law…
Do the Americans dictate federal burger specifications? Is sushi protected by Japanese law? No, but that hasn't stopped pizza-makers in Napoli from pressuring the Italian agriculture ministry into publishing draft legislation that, if it comes into force, will prevent pizzas being made that do not conform to the Neopolitan ideal. So if you are in Italy and you like deep-pan pizzas, or even deepish-pan, forget it. According to the legislation, pizza must be no more than 35cm in diameter, with the base at the centre rising no more than 0.3cm high.
As long as nobody chooses My Way West End tapas and cocktail hangout Salvador & Amanda is presenting a night of Desert Island Discs with two hospitality stars manning the decks each Wednesday. Eric Yu, managing director of Salvador & Amanda, says: "Knowing someone's favourite records often tell me more about that person than a conversation, or a look at their CV and this is where the idea came from." 24 tracks are played throughout the evening and at the end the two castaways will provide a short explanation of the songs they chose. Acclaimed New York DJ-turned-restaurateur Arthur Baker, Jonathan Downey of Match Bars and Justin Carter of the Elbow Room are among the castaways.
You always knew cooking was a performance art Those of you who enjoyed Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen should head down to the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, west London to catch Patatboem until 19 June. It's a "culinary concert" and you get to eat all the food at the end of the evening. You'll be able to watch chefs and musicians sing, slice, chop and chant through a pile of raw ingredients and jazz riffs to compose a two-course meal before your eyes. The menu is marinated duck with ginger and Oriental spices, with minted pea pur‚e and vegetables. Peter De Bie, the Belgian behind the show, is an old hand at food-related theatre. At one of his previous shows the audience were fed profiteroles while they watched a chocolate waterfall and were showered with a blue cocktail from a copy of the famous Brussels statue Manneken Pis (boy taking a slash). Well, it makes a change from the usual stream of four-lettered abuse.
