Karen Hanton Interview
'I would never have believed that having spent my twenties training and working in corporate Human Resources, that 15 years on I would be running the UK's biggest online restaurant booking company toptable.co.uk (www.toptable.co.uk/index.cfm?refid=visit)', says Karen Hanton. 'It wasn't that I didn't like the HR job, it's just that I think I had an unfulfilled creativity that couldn't be satisfied within a large organisation. So, aged 29, I quite recklessly - with hindsight - gave up my job and believed that I should work for myself embarking on a career developing properties, which I adored. To take some raw material and transform it into something special was just so satisfying. Then, in between times, there was the IT recruitment company started in 1990 and sold to a public company 5 years later. It has been a varied career all right!'
'But the most exciting project ever is toptable.co.uk where we have close to 200,000 registered members who make bookings with us at over 1,200 restaurants nationwide. I mean the Internet is just so fantastic in the context of booking isn't it? The public can search, see a 360-degree image of the restaurant, read a description, check out the menu and other diner's views. And if they like what they see, they can make a confirmed booking for free at the click of a mouse! All at a time of day to suit themselves.'
'It has never been a more exciting time for food and dining in Britain, marrying together the good old British staples with some truly global cuisine. And imagine British wines making their way to some of the finest cellars – who would have thought it. Visiting Britain is a truly golden opportunity to eat your way around the world!'
What is your most memorable childhood 'food' memory?
Milk puddings. I was brought up on a croft in Scotland and we were fed lots of nice carbs to fill us up. My favourite was lovely rice pudding with a skin on top. Also had a bit of a soft spot for tapioca which a lot of people didn't seem to like for some reason – Yum!
What's your favourite food or ingredient 'on your doorstep'?
It is truly remarkable that the milkman still comes around with his float dropping off the pints. Whatever happened to the 'drink a pint a milk a day' campaign?
What is your favourite food secret?
That even if you eat a relatively healthy diet, you need to combine certain things to aid absorption. For example just having a small glass of orange juice in the morning can help your bran flakes impart all their goodness into your system but without the juice is not nearly as effective.
What food would you travel for (within the UK)?
Good Scottish fare like nice black pudding, white pudding and Aberdeen rowies (a breakfast 'roll' made with yeast). An atrocious number of calories but absolutely delicious!
What is your favourite seasonal food?
Nowadays you can get most things year round. But I still like to pick blackberries and have them for breakfast or make jam. There's something quite nice about 'storing' food for winter.
What is your favourite local food shop?
A wonderful Italian called Gastronomia Italia run by a stereotypical Italian with a Scottish accent! I particularly like the ham cooked with Italian herbs and the sausages – divine!
What is your favourite eating place?
It depends. Friday night can find me in La Brasserie in South Kensington which is typically French, nice and bustling with a great atmosphere to start the weekend. I always have the same. Fish soup followed by Steak Frites.
What is your favourite UK pub?
A lovely one called the Hope and Anchor in Rye, Sussex. It's a bit like going back to the fifties and nothing much has changed. It's a bit like an old fashioned cocktail bar where time has stood still.
What is your favourite dish or recipe?
A good steak and kidney pie is hard to beat. And I am also a big soup lover which probably stems back to the farm when we had a huge pot of soup made fresh every day which fed an army of people working the land.
Name an inspirational food person? Why?
I think Gary Rhodes has done an enormous amount for British food which has not always had the credit it deserves. His giant jaffa cake is the most unbelievable pudding.