Liver draws a Blanc

MICHELIN-starred kitchen superstar Raymond Blanc has been savaged by the food police from London's Westminster City Council over pink lamb's liver served at Brasserie Blanc, his Covent Garden establishment. The council insists the liver has caused food poisoning and needs to be cooked beyond pink. But rather than conform to their nonsense, Blanc has haughtily removed the dish from his menu and will not, in future, serve liver in any of his restaurants. "To comply with Westminster council, liver would need to be overcooked to such an extent that our customers just wouldn't eat it," a spokesman for the chef says. According to the council, however, rare lamb's liver can cause vomiting and diarrhoea and "could potentially be life-threatening for the elderly, or the young or compromised". Humbug, we say.