Hotel menu lists calorie counts

A TOP Cork hotel has launched a new calorie counting menu for health conscious diners.

The Clarion Hotel’s Asian cuisine restaurant, Kudos, will now display the full calorie counts for all of its dishes and sandwiches.

It shows that Kudos’s crispy pork belly, on its “bites” options, has just 163 calories, while the spicy chicken dish, Ayam Pangang, comes in at 1,035 calories.

Clarion Cork’s head chef Tommy Butler said he wanted to give diners as much information as possible about the food they eat, and in the process give them control over their calorie intake.

He worked with Harriett Lynch, a consultant dietician and director of Healthpro, to develop the new menu, and to ensure the dishes met the nutritional requirements.

“We realise that customers have become increasingly aware about not only what they eat, but about the nutritional content of their food,” Mr Butler said.

“We have certainly seen an increased interest in the healthier options which is great.

“It is important that people know what they are eating to control their fat intake and we expect our new menu to be extremely popular.”

While food outlets in the US are obliged by law to display the calorie count of their products, there is no such law in Ireland.

In Britain last month, fast-food giant McDonald’s began to display the calorie content of its food next to each item on its menu boards. But McDonald’s Ireland said they had no plans to follow suit here.

Dr Donal O’Shea, the director of the Weight Management Clinic at St Columcille’s Hospital in Loughlinstown, estimates that there are as many as 327,000 Irish children classed as being obese or overweight.

The Government’s Special Action Group on Obesity is examining the possibility of introducing a tax on sugary drinks.

Health Minister Dr James Reilly has said he plans to write to fast food operators in Ireland, asking that they introduce calorie posting on menus in their restaurants.