Table Talk

19 July 2004
Table Talk

What would you expect from a money-monger?
Aboard P&O's Aurora last month, there were two conferences running at the same time - the Catering Forum and PIMS, which stands for something about investment management. Michael Hirst, former chairman and chief executive of Hilton International, had a provocative encounter with one of the other lot in the lift. The PIMS delegate looked him up and down, leaned forward to peer at Hirst's name badge, and declared haughtily: "Oh, you're with the fruit and veg mob." Before Hirst could deliver a suitably stinging retort, the lift opened and the PIMS delegate had vanished.

We Khan offer you a refund A London restaurant group offered free DNA tests to diners to see if they are descended from Genghis Khan. Last week, the Shish restaurants in Hoxton and Willesden Green promised free meals for anyone found to be related to the Mongol warlord. The bizarre promotion marked the Mongolian government's decision to allow citizens to have surnames for the first time since they were banned by the communists in the 1920s. Seventeen million people worldwide - including the British Royal family, Iranian royalty and Dracula - are thought to be direct descendants of Genghis Khan. Diners only needed to have a small brush rubbed around the inside of their mouths, and these have now been sent for analysis. The results will be ready in two months.

A Ramsay by any other name… Waiting staff have particularly smelly breath, compared with other professionals, according to Gold Spot breath freshener. Constantly talking to diners makes the mouth dehydrated, which leads to bad breath, apparently. Luckily, the kind people at Gold Spot have produced some top tips to stop the stink. These include eating at least two pieces of citrus fruit with breakfast, drinking water throughout the day, and choosing green tea instead of normal tea or coffee. And avoid garlic, curries, onions, alcohol and cigarettes at work. Still, we presume that, if you use Gold Spot spray, as Gordon Ramsay does, you can ignore all the above.

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