SHHH...

NOISE CAN RUIN A MEAL

A new study has shown that background noise affects both the intensity of avour and the perceived crunchiness of foods. In the study, participants ate sweet foods or salty ones while listening to silence or noise through headphones. The participants then rated the intensity of the avours. In noisier settings, foods were rated less salty or sweet than they were in the absence of background noise, but were rated to be crunchier. Dr Woods, one of the researchers, commented: Just as enjoyable music can enhance the eating experience, if you dislike the background noise it can reduce your liking of that food. The research was done by Unilever and the University of Manchester and was originally reported in the journal Food Quality and Preference.

DAVID RUSSELL ON

Youve Lost That Buzzing Feeling

Could we be kidding ourselves that we need coffee to get through the day? Could that caffeine x be all in our heads? Regular coffee drinkers beware; that buzz which you may think you rely on for a quick kick-start could wear thin in time. British and German scientists have conducted research into the pick me up effect we attribute to coffee, and found that caffeine addicts dont get the same energy boost that more moderate coffee drinkers do. If you consider coffee your lifeline and scoff at these ndings, it may be that coffee seems benecial to you simply because a shot of caffeine staves off withdrawal symptoms such as drowsiness and headaches. The paper, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology (a must read!), asserts that individuals who consume high amounts of caffeine can develop a tolerance to its stimulatory effects, and that using it as a pick-me-up may be futile as they may only work in those unused to coffee. In the study, moderate to heavy coffee drinkers (having one to six cups per day) were asked to abstain from coffee for 16 hours before being given either an espresso, which provided a 100mg dose of caffeine, or a caffeine free drink. The results showed that those coffee drinkers who were given the caffeine free drink reported a drop in alertness and more headaches, whilst the coffee drinkers given the espresso did not report a drop in alertness or increase in headaches, but their levels of alertness were no higher than habitual non-coffee drinkers. Such dismal reading may have you running to the nearest Starbucks, but be heartened by thinking of all the benecial effects of coffee. Little known health benets include helping to reduce the risk of tooth decay; trigonelline, which gives coffee its aroma and bitter taste, has both antibacterial and anti-adhesive properties to help prevent cavities. More signicant benets like lowering the risk of dementia, and cutting stroke risk for women, are also attributed to coffee. The answer, I suppose, is like all things in life, moderation, so swap your coffee for water, herbal tea, juice or smoothies from time to time in order to better enjoy its benets.

CHEF OF THE YEAR

Robert Dant has been awarded the accolade of chef of the year by a UK contract catering company at The Restaurant Show in London. Compass, the UKs largest contract caterer awarded Dant the accolade after he impressed the team of judges, including chef Jason Atherton. Nick Vadis, executive chef of Compass UK & Ireland commented that the competition was incredibly close, with each chef producing food to be proud of. Dant will be awarded a culinary trip to South Africa as well as a stage with Atherton in his new restaurant in London, Pollen Street Social.

AIR AID FROM BRITVIC

Within TUCO universities, Britvic pay 0.03 per bottle sold to a charity of each universitys choice. This week they awarded a cheque for 3,134.16 to Nottingham Air Ambulance which was generated by sales of Drench Water at Nottingham Uni over the last 12 months. Each ambulance mission costs approx 1,000 so this cheque could potentially save three lives.

UNIVERSITY CATERER 7

06-10.News.v1.kd.indd 7

8/11/10 12:44:55