Security v Intelligence
As I mentioned here I visited Olympia to cheer on Superchef Winston. I forgot to mention at the time that I was stopped as I entered the building for a bag check, well I had my bag with me, laptop, notebooks, I was callimng in to lend support en route to a meeting with clients in the City. Among the things I carry in said bag is a Leatherman, a multi-tool, pliers, file, screwdrivers and a couple of inches of knife blade. Naturally the substantial gents charged with ensuring that Olympia wasn't hi-jacked and flown into the nearest skyscraper, confiscated this and stored it until I chose to leave along with a collection of pen kinves, nail files and a couple of corkscrews seized from the visiting restauranteurs, sommeliers and chefs who, probably, carry a corkscrew, but "only for self-defence officer".
Now please consider the nature of the event, a restaurant trade show, savour if you will the delicious irony of having my trusty multi-tool impounded and then at every step being invited to test the chopping and dicing capability of the latest Sabatiers and Henckels, being begged to cut slivers of radish with a pristine japanese ceramic, being invited to visit the 50 or so stands offering hands-on experience of the finest in culinary blades and the very finest 'weapons of cork extraction'.
On departing I naturally asked Mongo on the desk if he appreciated the exquisite paradox but he was too wily a lad to engage me in playful banter.
posted by Stuffy @ 8:05 pm
2 Comments:
You just can't get the playful banter these days!
Someone suggested that after celebrity chefs would come celebrity surgeons. After all an operating room is a bit like a smart, restaurant - all hi-tech tiles and gleaming chrome. Plus the cutlery is sharper!
A friend of mine attended this show courtesy of a ticket from the American Embassy (promoting American food). As he left the building having seen all there was to see and looking forward to resting his bunnions, he got a call from his American friends who asked him to pop back. When he reached their stand they promptly stuck a chef's cap on his bonce and forced him to cook sweet potatoes for the rest of the day. Consider yourself lucky you got out of the place!
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