Over to you

With a hospitality background myself, I agree with many of Sam Wilson’s points in ‘The customer is often wrong’ [Oct, p130]. But I take exception to describing mothers as ‘“MumsNet types with battering prams... nursing two lattes, as if that were enough to keep the place in profit”.

After having both my babies, cafés were lifesavers. I was on maternity pay and couldn’t afford expensive lunches. New mums are encouraged to socialise and breastfeed, and for me this would take hours, but I was always aware of not outstaying my welcome.

I’m sorry if mothers aren’t profitable enough, that breastfeeding takes time, that prams take up space. The customer may not always be right, but mothers need more compassion and less berating.

FEBRUARY’S FEATURE ON SUSTAINABLE VENISON [P72] GARNERED LOTS OF INTEREST

From: Brenda Moody

Informed and inspired by the article, I popped to my butcher and asked about the venison. They explained theirs was wild, from an estate less than a mile away – as local as you can get! I bought mince and cooked the venison smash burgers. We learnt a lot from the article, enjoyed the food and felt we were helping the environment.

From: Venetia

I was pleased to see venison championed as a naturally lean red meat with benefits to the environment. It’s widely available as haunches to roast, as mince, sausages and cuts for stews, but recipes in food magazines are rare. Please keep giving recipes to encourage less adventurous cooks to eat venison. It’s good value for money too.

From: Lesley Foxton

The people I know involved in hunting venison are lovers of nature. If deer culling has to be, this is the answer. I urge cooks to try it – I’ve made burgers, ragù, meatballs and more... Deer isn’t always dear!

Subject: What about Cornish pollock? From: Caroline Pontin

I enjoyed the recipe for za’atar and almond-crusted pollock [Jan, p80] but I was disappointed to see you promoting Alaska’s pollock fishery. We have masses of pollock off the Cornish coast. It’s time to support the British fishing industry more.

Food editor Tom Shingler replies…

You’re right – the reason we (and Jack Clarke at the Marine Conservation Society) focused on the Alaskan fishery is most of the sustainable pollock in supermarkets comes from Alaska. Cornish pollock is fantastic but harder to source. We want people to see pollock as a more sustainable alternative to overfished cod and haddock – but in future we’ll make it clear that there’s plenty of them swimming around our southwest