Show Notes

• Common sense prevails as Pizza Express scraps 8% admin fee on staff tips as reported in Big Hospitality, quickly followed by Zizzi and ASK Italian operator Azzurri Group according to The Caterer. It might have started with Pizza Express, but they're falling like dominoes now. Ha! Geddit?

• It doesn't stop Business Secretary Sajid Javid ordering an investigation into the "abuse" of tipping in restaurants, as the BBC puts it. Cue another lengthy Chilcott-esque affair that withers on the vine. Unless you leave your tips in cash of course, which four in five customers prefer to do according to a recent survey by CGA Peach.

• My good friends at H&C News are launching the next phase of #HandCSocial roundtable events at Hotel Football in Manchester on October 1st. Fill out the Survey Here if you want to take part. Can't recommend this get-together highly enough.

• A story coming out of New York in finedininglovers.com about a 16-year-old opening his first restaurant is not exactly earth-shattering news. What does make it compelling however is when a failed restaurateur rants about how offended he is that this kid can be termed a 'chef'. The phrase peanut butter and jealous jumps to mind.

• Ooh, there's an UPDATE to this story as Teen Chef Flynn McGarry Responds to His Critics with an interview in grubstreet.com. Common sense in this saga is coming from the teenager himself.

• I don't usually like to link to anything in the Daily Mail, but this exhaustive list of Top chefs' secrets that will change the way you cook forever is worth sharing. Every budding cook should print a copy and keep it in that kitchen drawer.

• Is this the DEFINITIVE top ten list of street food stalls in London as test-driven by the Ashleigh Arnott and Laura Richards at Time Out? Definitely a bucket list I could manage.

• What's in your cup? asks Tim Sturk in this brilliant essay in Caffe Culture about the coffee we choose to drink everyday. This is a guy who has trained over 2000 baristas, so he's well placed to take the topic of coffee and filter out the bullshit.

Campaign: Please Sign - and share - this Food Tech A-level Petition.

Food Teachers are campaigning to save the Food Technology A-Level.

Please read this very compelling Open Letter to the DfE by Food Tech teacher Rachel Richards and support their campaign on Twitter @FoodTCentre and use the hashtag #savefoodtechAlevel.

Here you'll find the consultation paper (Food tech on page 17)  - respond before 24 September 2015.