Kerridge urges caterers to see new allergen legislation as a positive

By Jo Bruce

- Last updated on GMT

Tom Kerridge's new six-part BBC Two show starts on Friday 3 October. Image Credit: BBC/Outline Productions/Richard Hill
Tom Kerridge's new six-part BBC Two show starts on Friday 3 October. Image Credit: BBC/Outline Productions/Richard Hill
Top chef Tom Kerridge says caterers should view the forthcoming allergen legislation as a positive opportunity to improve customer experience.

He said: "It's all about staff training and them understanding every dish and giving further training.

"Instead of worrying about it as legislation I'm seeing it see as a positive, as the more staff know about your dishes the better the customer experience will be anyway."

He said he was considering colour coding his menu, so that customers could easily see if any of the 14 allergens covered by the legislation are in a specific dish.

Kerridge, whose Hand & Flowers in Marlow is the only UK pub to hold two Michelin stars, said he hoped another site may join him in this achievement when new Michelin stars are announced on Thursday (25 September).

He said: "It would be phenomenal for more pubs to get two stars. Stephen Harris at the Sportsman is doing world-class cooking and he has an amazing team and I would love him to get two stars."

He added: "It would be terrific for more pubs to get Michelin stars. The pub is a fantastic driving-force for the British cultural scene."

New TV show imminent

Kerridge's new six-part BBC Two show 'Tom Kerridge's Best Ever Dishes' starts on Friday 3 October.

He said many of the dishes featured on the show is food you can enjoy in a pub environment.

Kerridge will be creating his ‘best ever’ versions of some of Britain’s favourite dishes such as lasagne and treacle tart.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "Tom will shake up these classics, share his cooking tips that raise these well-known favourites from the ordinary to the extraordinary."

Among some of the favourite dishes he will be cooking on the show are slow roast lamb with a bay leaf bush, pulled beef brisket, almond milk risotto and stuffed mackerel.

He will be featured out and about cooking at different locations including a steel works in Yorkshire, Wickham fire station and cooking mackerel with a fisherman in Cornwall.

He said some of the dishes in the show will will have an influence on the food on offer at his new site The Coach, which is due to open in Marlow in mid-November.

* 'Tom Kerridge's Best Ever Dishes' starts on BBC Two on Friday, 3 October at 9pm

Related topics News Licensing Law Ingredients

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