Yuppie Meal

Is London really undergoing a fast food revolution?

Nipping out of the office to meet a friend for lunch the other day, I had the pleasure of introducing them to Gaby’s, the kosher deli on St Martin’s Lane. Smiling staff somehow found us a table and brought complimentary nibbles to compensate for a slight delay in preparing our kebabs, which arrived within 10 minutes, delicious and filling. Half an hour and twelve English pounds later we left a tip and prepared to head back to our offices – my friend remarked that fast food is fast improving in this town and the days of the vast American chains are numbered.

Making my way back through Leicester Square and the roadblock queues outside Subway, Burger King and of course the Golden Arches, it was hard to agree. There remains an avid market for trashy food, and the artificial smells being pumped out of the various outlets still inspire secret cravings even in a sophisticated London girl.

Food writers point out that London leads the way in alternative fast food, with scores of affordable but authentic kitchens opening all over the capital, from the delightful canteen sushi at Misato to a burger bar with an inbuilt crèche at Babes ‘n’ Burgers on Portobello Road. The pleasure of eating at these places is undeniable, but they can’t really be classified as Fast Food just because they are tasty and convenient.

A meal for two at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Masala Zone or a fry-up at Smiths takes at least half an hour and will set you back almost £30. By far the most popular lunchtime choice remains the sandwich, represented at high street level by the franchise ‘pioneers’ Starbucks and Subway, and of course by Prêt a Manger, which shifts over 100,000 sandwiches in London each day and is part-owned by McDonalds. That burger chain’s high-profile floundering for ‘New People’ may have alienated their core market, and they have somehow mucked up an entire coffee franchise, (remember ‘Aroma Coffee’?) but the prospect of a Big Mac is still regarded as a treat by a huge slice of the population.

We remain a fast food nation. All the recent London trends reflect is a lead group of consumers willing to spend more on their lunch in exchange for the pleasure and nutrition of a proper meal. This in itself is a good sign, but the days of packaged and processed food are not over… in fact, it could be that the clean lines and plastic presentation of Prêt et al are infecting previously messy, waste-free cuisines like those of Japan and India. Even health food shops now serve their wares triple-wrapped in plastic.

To pat ourselves on the back as pioneers of a fast food revolution is smug… and wrong. The revolution will not be sanitised, shrink-wrapped or presented over an immaculate Formica counter. Londoners are an urbane and self-satisfied bunch, and seem to be getting the message about the dangers of fast food – but they think nothing of throwing away their own weight in plastic bags and boxes every month. I for one will never believe the world is changing until I see the lunchtime crowds in Soho eating off vine leaves.

Until then, the daily hunt for someone else to pay for lunch continues…

Harry Harassed

Prince Harry, third in line to the throne, was involved in a minor scuffle outside Pangaea Nightclub on Piccadilly. Last week, Harry left the club in the early hours of Thursday morning and found himself completely submerged by photographers before being smacked in the face by a camera. Harry reacted by pushing the camera into the photographer’s face leaving him with a cut lip. Paddy Harveson, the Prince of Wales’s communication secretary described the paparazzi as ‘pretty aggressive’ and went on to defend the character of Prince Harry. The media have recently criticised Harry and labelled him as the ‘Party Prince’ but as Harveson pointed out he is just a 20 year old man who lost his temper under extreme pressure.

Jerry Springer Comes Out Fighting

Jerry Springer the Musical have got themselves into unexpected financial trouble and reports surfaced in mid-October that the show could be forced to close this month. This threat now seems to have been averted as ticket sales recovered following one of the worst Septembers on record.

Jerry’s troubles stemmed from legal action taken against the Daily Mail which had alleged that it was losing money. Subsequent to the action, the show was forced to curb its marketing budget and as a result… lost money.

Let’s hope these troubles are soon but a memory for the producers of one of the funniest, rudest and most original shows to hit the West End in years.

Art with a Heart

Following the disclosure that the Tate galleries are now unable to afford work by the cream of British artists, following years of under-funding and a remarkable escalation in art prices, several artists have pledged to donate works to the Tate.

Anthony Gormley, Anthony Caro and Anish Kapoor have already donated work, and the list of those who have pledged donations includes Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Lucian Freud, Gilbert and George, Peter Blake, Michael Craig-Martin, Chris Ofili and Rachel Whiteread.

Sir Nicholas was moved to describe the pledges as ‘remarkably generous’. He must secretly hope that being on the list of donors becomes a new status symbol among British artists.

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