Herman the German

Akin to an edible chain letter, Herman the German friendship cake apparently originates from the 1720's and the Amish people. They would make a type of  sourdough bread which would be passed among the needy and sick. The Amish began to emigrate from Germany to America in the early C18, where they established settlements in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and they took the recipe with them. The basic premise is that you can either start your own 'Herman', or you may get given one. It’ll probably be given to you in a bowl looking something like this:

(This is the starter mix, which is a substitute for baking yeast) Whichever is the case, you ‘nurture’ your  Herman for 10 days, following the instructions, and every few days adding sugar flour and milk. After the 10 days is up, just before baking, the growing mixture is separated into four portions. You bake the one portion (adding any extra ingredients you think would enhance the flavour) and pass the other three to friends to ‘nurture’ and continue the cycle...

With any luck, your baked Herman should end up looking more like this:

Find out much more about the origins of Herman, along with instructions, tips, advice and recipe ideas here

Where did they get that lamp?

A new website launched in March this year, will help hotel guests to recreate the decoration they enjoyed during their stay, in their own homes.

The site www.discover-deliver.com aims to source the accessories, including furniture, crockery and cutlery, for the customers and deliver the exact item or something as similar as possible in terms of style and quality, to them. The site has it’s own shop where items can be purchased which the researchers have already selected from a number of hotels across the country, but if the customer wishes to own something they’ve seen in any hotel they’ve stayed in, they’re asked to simply take a photo of the item and send it in to the site. There is a charge of  £25 for using the service which is then redeemable against any item they eventually purchase.

Hospitality Action Week

Hospitality Action, the Hospitality Industry Benevolent Organisation, has been offering assistance to those who work or have worked within hospitality in the UK, for over 170 years. This week,14th-20th May is Hospitality Action week and will see a host of fundraising activities taking place all over the country and covering the entire hospitality industry. Find out more here

'Oggy' Oscars

Pasty makers and lovers will be descending on the Eden Project in Cornwall this weekend for the first ever world pasty championships.

For a pasty to now be labelled 'Cornish' not only must it be made in Cornwall, it must also contain certain ingredients and can't be crimped on the top; only on the side! This came about as a result of the EU status award of 'Protected geographical indication'. 

There are 4 categories in the championship... 2 for residents of Cornwall only and 2 for amateur outsiders..including 'Open savoury pasty' in which unusual savoury recipes are welcomed! I know what my unusual ingredient would be! Any guesses?? What about yours....?

E-resources Bonanza!

The Institute of Hospitality has this year introduced a brand new e-Resources Collection, which combines hospitality industry e-books and e-journals on a single platform. The journals package actually contains many VERY useful Management, Marketing and Business titles, including the well-known general management magazine, published since 1922 in Boston, Massachusetts, and claiming a particularly ‘high ranking amongst academic, executives and management consultants’.

To access the Institute’s collections you must be a registered member. Registration is free, but you must be a UCB student or a member of staff. To register if you are on Campus, bring up the One-Log (Non-Athens) portal list of resources, by clicking on the logo in the bottom right hand corner of the screen (Looks like a cogwheel with a green tick in it) and choose ‘Institute of Hospitality (account registration)’ Create a personal account and then you will be able to log-in to the site on each subsequent visit, either by going directly to the Institute of Hospitality home page, or If you want to access the site from the One-Log portal each further time, by clicking on the 2nd link - ‘Institute of Hospitality (member log-in)’.

If you want to access the resource from off-campus, you will need to download software first, to see the One-log logo on your computer. The instructions for downloading the software can be found here.

Essential chocolate guide

The Largest chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut has made available an ‘Essential Guide to chocolate;. The Guide claims to be the ultimate chocolate reference for any chef and includes information on the latest chocolate trends, recipes, how to ‘temper’, plating, and problem solving techniques. You can download the guide here.

Best Employers In Hospitality Awards 2012

On the 28th May this year, the Lancaster hotel in London will host the Best Employers in Hospitality Awards 2012. The competition is now open for entries! Employers enter themselves and then their employees rank them using a bespoke employee engagement tool which asks them to evaluate their employment experience with questions ranging from working environment through to career opportunities. Click on the above to learn more about this year’s competition and the winners of last year’s event. The deadline for completed entries this year is 2nd April.