30/09/08
It seems the 'drink tap water' message is working. Expect the Carafe for London to be decanting our drink of choice around the city's eateries by April.
With the shortlisted entries now down to 10 (from a total of 115 designs), finalists in the Carafe for London competition were revealed at City Hall this month and the winner will be announced in December.
The competition, at the heart of the London on Tap campaign, gained strong support from business, government, the hospitality industry, environmentalists and design communities.
And sales of bottled water have dropped during the campaign, as more people switch to the greener choice of tap water.
Meanwhile, tap at the table has for some months been a subject for public comment on the Consumer Council For Water website. ‘Tap into water in restaurants – have your say’ records consumer expectation, satisfaction and outrage in almost equal measures.
Proprietors, it seems, can charge anything from 30p to £1 for a glass of water. One customer was told the price was for "the hire of the glass, not the water".
Clearly in a restaurant we like and expect to be to be served with a jug of complimentary fresh tap water. With the Carafe for London, where once this may have been considered an expression of hospitality, it will now also serve to demonstrate the establishment's own good taste.
Contact: Karen Coyle
