TV chef backs British food

Calor's commitment to quality food production has been reinforced by the announcement of a programme of chef activity aimed at promoting the importance of quality ingredients sourced from the British countryside.

The UK's leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas – LPG – powers thousands of restaurants, pubs and hotels and has teamed up with restaurateur and celebrity chef Brian Turner to promote the use of British produce for professional results.

Calor's aim is to demonstrate the link between quality food production and quality food preparation, with its fuel playing a key role. Calor LPG is widely used in the British countryside in the production of poultry, beef, vegetables, grain and salad crops.

Brian Turner, who owns and runs two restaurants – Brian Turner Mayfair in London and Brian Turner's Restaurant at the NEC – has created four special recipes using quality British food to launch Calor's 'Quality Cook' initiative, that will run throughout 2005. In addition to illustrating professional results through Brian Turner's special recipes, the company's Quality Cook campaign will feature competitions aimed at professional chefs, surveys promoting regional dishes and a series of road shows at farmers markets across the UK in early summer.

'I'm a firm believer in buying British, and our home produced ingredients offer the best quality and freshness,' he says. 'It makes sense to use quality assured ingredients for the best results and professional chefs have a leading role in promoting this message to the consumer. I'm therefore pleased to create some recipes as part of this message.'

The recipes, shown below, can be downloaded from Calor's web site, www.lpg-catering.co.uk and are available on request as recipe cards:

West Riding Lamb Faggots

Pork Dumplings with Cabbage

Roast Spiced Fillet of Beef

North Sea Turbot

'Brian Turner has an acknowledged reputation for supporting British quality food, so it made sense for us to work together,' says Calor's Paul Riding. 'For example, in 2004 he was Ambassador for British Quality Chicken and he created the menu for Calor's Village of the Year Awards in December, where British Quality Chicken was used.

'Just as professional chefs will insist on gas for a professional result, so they should demand traceable, assured, quality ingredients,' he added. 'And, just as cooking in non-mains gas areas means cooking on Calor LPG for the cook quality they demand, so professional chefs should make every effort to use British produce. Calor's Quality Cook campaign aims to promote the link between quality food and quality results and our launch at Hospitality is just the first step.'

'Rural businesses – whether farmers or professional chefs – are at the heart of our operation, with Calor providing an integrated package' adds Paul Riding. 'We look forward to demonstrating the natural link between farmer and chef and to reinforcing our established presence in the catering sector throughout the coming year.'