Stress

A long, long time ago, in the days of black & white and Romans and Honda C90 step-throughs I worked for Berni Inns. Coincidentally that's where I met Paul whose funeral I blipped a week or so ago. 

Many of you youngsters won't have enjoyed the sophisticated charm of a prawn cocktail, 4oz rump and chips with Black Forest gateaux to finish, all  washed down with a carafe of house red or - for really special occasions - a bottle of Piat D'Or. What a time to be alive.

The Berni brothers made their money through careful quality and portion control. Steaks arrived pre-cut and cryovaced. Before the restaurant opened the steaks were unpacked and placed on aluminium trays. Vegetable oil was poured over them and then the "secret ingredient" was added - this was a seasoning mix called Stress. Stress was delivered in sealed sachets and I think we used one per tray of steaks. There was no list of what was in it and nobody claimed to know - it was a secret held by the Berni brothers.

One of the ingredients was certainly celery salt and whenever I open the jar I'm reminded of the nights I had to work the grill because a chef had let us down.