Stephen Vines says the decision may stem the panic over a mysterious strain of flu but it will cast

Stephen Vines says the decision may stem the panic over a mysterious strain of flu, but it will cast cooks into deep gloom over the New Year celebrations. Hong Kong authorities announced yesterday that all chickens would be gassed within 24 hours, as part of a drive to counter the “bird flu” virus which has killed four people and infected up to 16 others.
The decision to slaughter the territory’s estimated 1.2 million chickens was taken after hundreds of chickens died on Saturday at a poultry market, and as traces of virus were found at a chicken farm near the Chinese border.The step looks drastic. But the authorities feel they have no choice, if they are to quell panic among tourists as well as locals, and restore confidence in the supply of one of the Chinese diet’s most basic ingredients.The chickens will be collected from almost 200 chicken rearing farms and from about 1,000 shops and market stalls. They will be gassed with carbon dioxide, placed in plastic bags and transferred to landfills in three parts of the territory.The dead chickens, strangely enough, will then form part of the base on which Hong Kong’s huge new housing developments are to be built, on land reclaimed from the sea.As queues lengthened yesterday outside hospitals of people wanting checks to discover if they had the disease, angry chicken sellers accused the government of over-reacting. None of the 122 said they had copied violent behaviour from the film or any others they had recently seen.Four months later only three claimed to have been influenced by the film. One offender said Last Gasp had given him the “good idea” of slashing a victim’s Achilles tendons to stop him escaping.

British Airways’ new cut-price offshoot, which should start flying in the spring from Stansted. BA picked up the name when it bought British Caledonian (remember them – they never forgot you had a choice); Blue Sky was the name of that airline’s tour operating subsidiary.
C is for Culture… Winter vegetables may be slowly baked – best of all in a wood-fired oven, their current passion. This produces sweet-tasting, melting-soft tomatoes, onions, beetroot, pumpkin, sweet potato, artichokes, porcini.And to round off, a toast to the Year of the Vegetable then, 1998? Happy New Year!BRUSCHETTAServes 66 x 1cm/12in thick slices of pugliese or sourdough bread1 large garlic clove, peeledextra virgin olive oilToast the bread on both sides then lightly rub with garlic. Drizzle with olive oil.BRAISED WHOLE RED CHILLIES IN OLIVE OILServes 612 large fleshy red chillies, washed, with stalks intact2 cloves garlic and 1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt100ml/312fl oz extra virgin olive oilPrick the chillies.

Place in saucepan with the garlic and just cover with the oil.Heat gently and slowly simmer for 30 minutes Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool in the oil.To serve, remove from the oil and split open. Remove some of the seeds.BRAISED SPINACHServes 62kg/4lb 8oz spinach4 cloves of garlic, finely slicedsea salt and freshly ground black pepperPick through the spinach; discard any old rough leaves Wash thoroughly. Blanch in boiling water for three minutes, then drain.In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat oil and add garlic Allow to colour, then add the spinach. Toss together, season.BAKED RADICCHIOServes 62 medium hard heads of radicchioMaldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil2 tablespoons of aged balsamic vinegarjuice of half a lemon1 small bunch of fresh marjoram, leaves taken from stalkPreheat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas 6.

Trim the outside rough leaves from the radicchio heads and cut each in half at the base. Then cut into quarters, always from the base to keep each quarter attached at the stem.Place the radicchio quarters in a lightly oiled baking dish. Season with the Maldon sea salt and freshly ground pepper and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes or until leaves are crisp and the stems are al dente.Allow to cool. Dress with the lemon juice, olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with fresh marjoram.CHICK-PEASServes 6175g/6oz dried chick-peas, soaked overnight in cold water1 large potato peeled13 head of garlic14 head of celerysea salt and freshly ground black pepperextra virgin olive oilPut chick-peas into a saucepan with the potato, celery and garlic Bring to the boil and skim surface. Turn heat down and simmer for one to one a half hours.Drain chick-peas, season with salt and pepper and toss with the olive oil and serve up with the bruschetta, chillies spinach and radicchio.BOLLITO MISTOThis alternative recipe for the traditional Bollito Misto (the classic dish served in Italy on New Year’s Eve) can be made up of any or all of the suggested birds.Serves 101 small goose (3.6kg/8lb approximately), with as much of the fat from the inside removed as possible2 small gressingham ducks (1.35kg/3lb each)1 large free-range chicken (2.7kg/6lb)2 cock pheasants (1.35kg/3lb each) wrapped in lard or baconFor the stock:Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper2 heads of celery, hearts and leaves, halved lengthways2 red onions, quartered9 organic carrots, scrubbed and halved lengthways8 bayleaves2 bunches of fresh thyme2 heads of garlic, quartered1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley1 tablespoon white peppercornsFor the goose, duck and pheasant stock only:800g/1lb 12oz tin of peeled plum tomatoes50g/112oz dried porciniTo serve:2 heads of celery, hearts and leaves, halved lengthways12 organic carrots, scrubbed and halved lengthwaysTo cook the goose: three hours before serving, place the goose with the neck, gizzards and heart with a third of the stock ingredients as well as half of the tomatoes and porcini in a saucepan with enough water to completely submerge the goose Bring to the boil.