Leiths Food Solutions
‘When I opened David’s first magazine (Eat Soup) I was enchanted by his fresh and insightful views of the restaurant business. He has an intelligent eye for what works and over the last fifteen years he has built up a trusted relationship with many chefs and food producers who can see that he has a true understanding of our craft.’
Henry Harris
Chef Patron, Racine, London
World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards
April 2008
Chris Barber and David Lancaster were invited to the prestigious World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards event in London.
Launched in 2002, the 50 Best has quickly become the industry Oscars. As well as the top chefs and restaurateurs, the guest list was made up with the big names in food media, and all the top culinary celebs.
David Lancaster, one of the principal LFS consultants, was the founder and original editor of the award sponsors, Restaurant Magazine.
Top prize once again went to El Bulli, but The Fat Duck came a close second.
LFS senior consultant Nigel Sutcliffe is a former managing director of The Fat Duck.
Not quite rocking all over the weekend
21 April 2007
Chris Barber teaches cookery at rock weekend
Could a holiday with the pros turn him into the bassist he’d always wanted to be? Tom Horan signed up to find out.
Rock'n'roll and the country-house weekend go back a long way. Parking the Bentley in the swimming pool; snorting industrial quantities of cocaine in the snooker room; playing "hide the Mars bar" with the female guests - since the 1960s, musicians have made these pursuits as much a part of the bucolic English retreat as croquet, crumpets and the general-knowledge crossword.
Read more at the Daily Telegraph
Legendary Lunchtimes - Restaurant Magazine
29 March 2006
Article by David Lancaster (extract)
Lunchtime trade may have changed, but if you play your cards right it needn't be a thing of the past.
What single issue facing modern restaurants is as likely to keep the owners of a gastropub, high street pasta joint and Michelin-starred restaurant all awake at night? Bad reviews? Suppliers? Staff?
Chances are, in the current climate, it'll be lunch trade, or rather, the lack of it. An empty restaurant at two in the afternoon is a common sight these days, and should set alarm bells ringing. In the words of one leading operator, "A healthy daytime trade is now what really marks out successful places from those that will always be struggling".
A host of factors are to blame. We work the longest hours in Europe, and the 'lunch hour' has been an early victim of this. Even the business lunch has shrunk to an occasional, end of the month treat. So, what can you do?
A confidential report is a great resource for a chef and an owner to correct a weakness, or make more of their strengths, before thousands of people read about it in The Sunday Times.
Tasty Menu for Food Festival - Henley Standard
7 April 2006
Article by Richard Reed (extracts)
Event attracts 22 sponsors
Support for the Henley Food Festival continues to grow and now a total of 22 organisations have stepped forward to sponsor the event.
Some of the most prestigious chefs in the country will be on hand to demonstrate their culinary skills, and other items are being planned to entertain and inform the 10,000 visitors expected to attend the two-day festival...
Chris Barber, a former local chef and now in charge of Leiths Food Solutions, will be hosting the demonstrations. He said: "I am thrilled that the best chefs in the area have all accepted the invitation to appear, and with such diversity on offer - from Mary Berry to Raymond Blanc - there will be something for everyone.
"I am particularly proud to have two of the hottest young stars involved, Tom Kerridge and Mike North, both local and both with Michelin stars."
2008 © Leiths Food Solutions