Conference govt02::basingstoke

"your big standard cokking with all that blood."

I always hated Allo allo !

"Bog standard cooking"

    
    
    Ian,
    
    I think you are probably looking in the right place but BCOT tend
    to offer these as one day only specials (usually on a Saturday).
    
    Lesley
    

What I'm really after is something that teaches you about
such things as quantities, pricing, health & safety 
requirements, accounts, etc...

    So the rumour about you being after Vera's job in the canteen is true
    then ?
    
    Promotion is promotion is promotion I suppose...

 > What I'm really after is something that teaches you about
 > such things as quantities, pricing, health & safety 
 > requirements, accounts, etc...

  Well it looks like Mr Lloyd is on the right track, as usual - although he's
  a generation of catering staff out. Just spend a day or two in the canteen;
  they're particularly hot on Health & Safety... not to mention quantities.
  IS could probably help you with the accounts etc.  So all you need to do is
  work out the pricing.

  Seriously though, vegi catering is just a question of knowing how much cheese
  to grate for the baked potato.


  /Ian

Well this is just the kind of small mindedness that has driven me to 
investigate this avenue.

You see, I've had this dream, since I was a little kid, when all the
other boys dreamt of being train drivers and doctors. I've had this
dream of opening a vegetarian restaurant/cafe/take-away where I can
spread the word and bring vegetarianism to the masses, educating 
the "man on the street". Bringing an end to the prejudices that 
surround the vegetarian way of life. Mr Lloyd is right is saying that
I should get a proper job. That is exactly what I intend to do.

Yes, you are entitled to your own opinions and choices, but it needs 
people like me to really show you the way, the right way, to live
your life. To open your minds to choice, the right choice, my choice.

Go to the canteen at lunchtime. Choose the roast dinner. But, just for
a moment, before your teeth sink into the flesh, think of where that
meal has come from, what suffering was endured by that poor defenceless
animal. Think of the starving people around the world and how many 
people could be supported on the grain fed to that animal. OK, you
may say, "I like meat", but isn't that rather a Machavellian attitude?

    Ian,
    
    As the son of a Professor of Agriculture, I would love to correct your
    misunderstanding of the realities of life :*)
    
    But that would be rather like me imposing my opinion on you, and we
    don't want that do we? ;-)
    
    Jon
    
    p.s.  most fish are not grain fed
          most sheep eat grass
          most livestock animals are killed swiftly and painlessly
          most people are media misinformed
          most generalisations are statistically inaccurate

Re .7

You should be in politics mate, how about forming a new party,
the Vegetable Party ?

I used to be a vegetarian, but came to my senses when I had a few
drinks one night and accidently ate chilli con carne. I thought
about the cattle being slaughtered but decided it was just fate
and they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and that it wasn't
my fault etc. etc.

Que sera sera.......

    
    
    Back once again to the original question - Ian I think the catering
    courses you are interested in rarely, if ever, involve any cooking
    it is a different subject.  Also B & D often do a one day workshop
    to enable you to get a basic NVQ qualification in catering.
    
    If you ever get to open that restaurant/cafe let us know - I'm sure
    you'd get plenty of customers that appreciate good food.
    
    Lesley
    

Excuse my ignorance, but what is B&D?

If I ever do get this thing off the ground, I'll do special rates
for DEC people. 10% extra. That is, if there's anyone left by then.

>>    If you ever get to open that restaurant/cafe let us know - I'm sure
>>    you'd get plenty of customers that appreciate good food.
    
    Yeh but would they put up with the abuse ? Mr Fischer isn't the world's
    most tolerent person - could you imagine him in a situation where he
    has to be nice to people ?
    
    Paul
    

I guess you haven't experienced my good side as I'm usually
only nice to people I like.

Have you got rid of that pet yet?

    I can see it now..........it'd be like something out of Fawlty Towers.
    
    RE: .9
    
    I didn't know you were into once a vegetarian Rich, having said that, I
    should've guessed as they do say "You are what you eat"
    
    Phil.

I remeber when Rich was a vegetarian. We went for a curry and he had 
chicken tikka!

Yeah, but I only ate a little bit of chicken.

Wasn't Fawlty Towers a hotel? Or is that "an hotel"?

Actually, I've got a story about that, but I won't go into it 
here.

    Do insects count as meat or vegetable?
    
    			Dave

    
    
    re .16
    
    Actually Rich, I remember the occasion very well, it was your birthday
    and I was the ONLY person who would go out for a drink with you...
    
    Being delighted with this show of friendship you bought me a Curry and 
    you consumed a Whole Tandoori Chicken, with no rice, no vegetables. If
    I remember correctly most of the Chicken was eaten Medieval Style -
    with your fingers! ....and to top the evening off spilled your pint over 
    my meal.
    
    A Good Night was had by all!!!
    
    
    	Cheers Mate

Thanks mate, I really needed you to remind me of that !

In fact I just thought it was a large onion bhaji, I think I
threw up later when you told me it was chicken.

Rich

  Is B & D Black and Decker or perhaps, Basingstoke & Deane?


  /Ian

>Go to the canteen at lunchtime. Choose the roast dinner. 

No thanks! of all my vices that's one I don't partake of.

>think of where that meal has come from,

That's an even worse concept... I would guess some kind of a recycling  
factory where they compact left-overs into tissue thin shreds coated in 
MSG. But then I've not eaten the canteen roasts so I couldn't be sure. 

Re: the debate on whether the world would be a better place or not etc etc

There are good grounds in it but the same idealistic grounds also hold
for wouldn't the world be a better place if no-one used motorcars and 
polluted the atmosphere, it just doesn't work like that. Well, not unless
the Greens win the next election in which case I suspect it'll start to 
come close just before the working mens revolution kicks them out of 
parliament for denying the people blackpudding.

Personally I eat eggs and meat and stuff now but do my best to make sure it's
had a decent life/it's parent did. Seems like a good compromise. I find 
I'm far less affected by cute 'n' fluffy aspects of the meal I'm eating 
now I've accepted that's just the way it goes but would always try not to 
eat anything I either have emotional attachements to, (eg: cats) or that 
I suspect may be more intelligent than us (dolphins) or that is endangered
in any way (not rabbits!) 


Re: the courses, there's a place (somewhere round here I think) that 
does Cordon Vert cookery courses (a bit like courdon bleu but it's greener
cause there's no meat :-) which initially sounded like just what you 
need (well, a printable element of same that is... ) 

However now it seems to have changed and you seem to want to do commercial 
catering/business studies. I think these courses are very food oriented.

Thinking about it I think the majority of their courses are also residential
weeks away.... (don't know if they have any job openings and I suspose you 
would be preaching to the converted... ) 

I very much doubt you'll find there are classes set up specifically to teach 
people to run meat free restaurants since if there was sufficient demand
for the courses you'd probably find you wouldn't be in the nice situation 
of wanting to educate the masses as  the masses would already have been 
educated by all the other professional vegetable caterers. 


Would this restaurant cater for vegans/true vegetarians? 
and ovo-lacto veggies? lacto veggies? where is your line drawn?