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Think you've paid attention these past 12 months? Think you're up to speed with what's been happening in the world of hospitality? Think again. Tom Vaughan serves up 25 humdingers to test how well you really know the highs, lows and outrageous tales of 2009.
(28 December 2009 0:00:00)
The industry can look back on 2009 with relief that predictions of widespread carnage had been exaggerated. Many businesses have proved resourceful in the face of economic meltdown, but the year hasn't been without its casualties, as Daniel Thomas reports.
(23 December 2009 12:24:00)
Hoteliers should ‘take heart’ from strong occupancy levels recorded in London and Edinburgh, as the rest of the UK experienced difficult trading in the run-up to Christmas. According to preliminary monthly figures for October and November by PKF Hotel Consultancy Services, occupancy in the capital increased by 5.9% compared to last year.
(22 December 2009 13:30:00)
Contract caterer Compass has won a double deal to operate branded retail outlets at two new-build hospitals, in a deal worth nearly £50m. The company has signed 15-year contracts with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, following a competitive tender.
(22 December 2009 12:30:00)
The deadline for nominations to the Shine Awards 2010 is fast approaching and are set to close on 3 January. The awards, which are supported by industry training body People 1st, are the only UK awards for female talent in travel, tourism and hospitality industry.
(22 December 2009 11:30:00)
Liverpool restaurateurs Gary and Colin Manning are to expand their Quarter restaurant in the city by adding a deli next year. The Quarter Kitchen, which will sit alongside the Quarter, will be the brothers’ fourth business in Liverpool’s Hope Street area after their flagship 60 Hope Street restaurant and Host.
(22 December 2009 10:42:00)
The British Association of Hospitality Accountants ‘Hospitality Accountant of the Year 2009’ was named as Red Carnation Hotels’ group financial controller Andy Thomas. Other awards presented at the BAHA lunch on Friday at Radisson Edwardian’s Mayfair hotel in London...
(21 December 2009 12:21:00)
In November, the Hotlier of the Year 2009, sponsored by the Casna Group, was picked up by the managing director of Red Carnation Hotels, Jonathan Raggett at the Hotel Cateys Awards ceremony.
(21 December 2009 12:12:00)
Celebrity chef Atul Kochhar is to reopen his Michelin-starred restaurant Benares next month after he was forced to close it following a fire earlier this year. The restaurant in London’s Berkeley Square will reopen on 18 January...
(21 December 2009 11:12:00)
Story of the week: Italian restaurant chain Strada became the big winner in this year's Caterersearch.com Web Awards, picking up the title of Website of the Year and winner of the Restaurant - Group category. Raymond Blanc chose the winner of The Restaurant last night...
(18 December 2009 15:00:00)
They say that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. This year has been as challenging as any in living memory for UK hospitality, requiring the industry's best talent to step up to the plate and do everything within their powers to continue to delight their customers and keep trading.
(18 December 2009 15:00:00)
Many hotels now offer a DVD library of films for guests to watch in the privacy of their room, but if you provide this service you must comply with copyright law. Distribution specialist Filmbank explains the implications for hoteliers.
(18 December 2009 14:41:00)
Charles Morgan is group operations director at AB Hotels.
(18 December 2009 14:38:00)
Daniel Galmiche is the new executive chef at The Vineyard at Stockcross in Berkshire, who prepared lunch for the industry's greats at Caterer's Hotelier of the Year event last week. He spoke to Janet Harmer about the lunch and his plans for Christmas.
(18 December 2009 14:32:00)
Robbie Bargh is the founder of the Gorgeous Group.
(18 December 2009 13:58:00)
Identity theft has become a serious problem for businesses that accept debit and credit card payments - making it even more important for hospitality operators to be PCI compliant. Yet, as Daniel Thomas reports, many are failing to get on top of it.
(18 December 2009 13:58:00)
The Earl Grey MarTEAni is available exclusively at the Martini Library at HUNter 486 in The Arch hotel, London W1.
(18 December 2009 13:58:00)
Topics covered in our weekly briefing include:New Year's Eve VAT hangover could cost businesses dearly; and free customer service and marketing masterclasses.
(18 December 2009 13:57:00)
For this week's cover feature, Festive Seasoning, we invited industry movers and shakers to describe their favourite part of 2009. "Seeing the end of it", responded restaurateur Claudio Pulze. "What a terrible year for our industry". As for what we should all look forward to most in 2010, Compass Group's UK executive chef Nick Vadis spoke for us all when he said "getting out of the economic downturn and putting the Great back into Britain".
(18 December 2009 13:57:00)
ESS Support Services Worldwide, the offshore and remote business sector of Compass Group, has been awarded a new contract in the Netherlands with Wintershall Noordzee BV. The five-year contract, which is estimated to be worth in excess of £10m, covers nine manned and 15 unmanned...
(18 December 2009 13:30:00)
The Zetter hotel in east London has confirmed that former Michelin-starred chef Bruno Loubet is set to open a restaurant within the property. The announcement comes after weeks of speculation of the chef joining the 59-bedroom hotel in Clerkenwell, which it denied just last month.
(18 December 2009 12:30:00)
Kenco has announced that all its freeze-dried coffee will be sourced from beans grown on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms from January 2010, ahead of its stated schedule.
(18 December 2009 12:29:00)
Italian coffee specialist Lavazza has opened its first UK Espression café -with food created by Ferran Adrià - in Belfast City Airport.
(18 December 2009 12:23:00)
The seventh annual Caterer and Hotelkeeper Excellence in Food & Drink Awards honoured the cream of the crop in food and drink products at London's Dorchester hotel last month.
(18 December 2009 12:18:00)
The Lindley Group has scored another Scottish football contract win, to provide catering services for Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC fans. The £600,000 deal with ICTFC increases Lindley’s presence in Scotland, as the firm already manages the catering for seven other Scottish clubs including...
(18 December 2009 11:32:00)
To celebrate its Bring Flavour to Life campaign, Bisto Bouillon is giving away a Bisto Bouillon hamper to four Buy It! readers to help beef up winter menus with some hearty British classics.
(18 December 2009 10:41:00)
As part of its campaign to make menus more lucrative through the use of back-of-house sauces, Heinz Foodservice has a Glo Ray Food Warmer worth £200 to give away to one Buy It! reader.
(18 December 2009 10:39:00)
Following the expansion of its range of frozen foods, Country Range is offering one Buy It! reader £150-worth of the new products delivered to the door by their nearest Country Range wholesaler.
(18 December 2009 10:36:00)
Raymond Blanc has named JJ Goodman and James Hopkins as the winning couple in the third series of The Restaurant. The duo, who ran the Summer House restaurant during the show, beat Christopher Hackett and Nathan Gooding to the title after the series’ final challenge...
(18 December 2009 10:32:00)
To mark the launch of its compact DC 20-4A spray system ice-maker, DC Catering has two pairs of tickets to give away for London's Somerset House ice rink which this year celebrates its 10th birthday.
(18 December 2009 10:20:00)
Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London has made David Gibbons its new conference and banqueting director.
(18 December 2009 8:04:00)
Peter Llewellyn has been appointed hotel manager at Rockliffe Hall, the newly-opened luxury golf, hotel and spa resort in Darlington, County Durham.
(18 December 2009 7:05:00)
Damian Clisby has taken up the role of executive chef at the Cotswold House hotel and its sister property, the Noel Arms, in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.
(18 December 2009 7:03:00)
Marc Whitley, who won a Hotel Catey for Best Hotel Restaurant Manager UK 2009, has joined the Hilton Manchester Deansgate to manage its Podium restaurant.
(18 December 2009 7:02:00)
The Doyle Collection has also announced two new appointments for its London properties.
(18 December 2009 7:01:00)
Scottish hotel firm Adamo Hotel Group has restructured its boutique management team.
(18 December 2009 7:00:00)
Danny Pecorelli, managing director of Exclusive Hotels and Master Innholder (Twitter name: @FoodHero) has been experimenting with the different forms of user-generated content and social networking. "A huge amount has been made recently of Web 2.0 and user-generated content.
(18 December 2009 7:00:00)
The Department of Health wish to commission the development of a tool to assess people who are eligible for free personal care. The consultation on regulations and guidance, published at the same time as the Personal Care At Home Bill, on 25th November 2009 suggests that people who are assessed as ‘critical’ within ...
(18 December 2009 0:00:00)
The Galvin brothers have just launched their third restaurant, in London's Spitalfields. Joanna Wood sees if it lives up to the reputation of its older siblings - Galvin Bistrot de Luxe and Galvin at Windows.
(17 December 2009 17:37:00)
Richard Balfour-Lynn’s hotel group, MWB, is hoping to raise £27.5m through a new share issue in a bid to remedy financial damage done by the recession. MWB Group Holdings (which owns the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin hotel chains and Liberty retail store and operates 73 serviced office centres)...
(17 December 2009 16:12:00)
Shareholders in recession-hit pub landlord Punch Taverns have voted down the latest remuneration package for the company’s directors, at the group’s annual meeting yesterday. A significant 55% of investors voted against the pay report in protest at what appeared to be an “excessive”...
(17 December 2009 15:54:00)
The design and look of a property plays a crucial role in the overall customer experience and it's that experience that keeps the customer loyal and coming back for more.
(17 December 2009 15:44:00)
Our five businesses are still gearing up for Christmas and reflecting upon the design decisions they have made since starting their respective ventures
(17 December 2009 15:44:00)
Beacon Purchasing has always put the needs of our 2,000 members first, listening to the market and ensuring that the suppliers we put forward have what it takes to mirror and match current trends and innovations.
(17 December 2009 15:42:00)
When Dominic originally bought Wild Wood, the property was decorated in vibrant yellows and lime greens throughout, having previously been a Brazilian restaurant.
(17 December 2009 15:36:00)
"We wanted a warm, atmospheric, inviting pub that showed history - an old traditional look with stone, wood beams and fireplaces." Luckily for chef-patron Roger Serjent and his wife and business partner Lisa Choi, much of what they sought was already in place at the Taverners in Godshill, on the Isle of Wight.
(17 December 2009 15:09:00)
The Mulberry Tree in Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, is housed in a new-build property set on the site of a former pub. Proprietor Karen Williams bought the property from a previous owner who had been trying to convert it into a block of apartments but was refused planning permission after local residents waged a campaign against him.
(17 December 2009 15:04:00)
Travel guide Les Routiers has announced the winners of its 2009 UK hospitality awards. The guide has recognised eight independently-owned hospitality businesses across the UK, with the restaurant of the year award going to Simply Blues in Hornchurch and Leigh on Sea, Essex.
(17 December 2009 14:57:00)
The Royal Sportsman has changed beyond all recognition since Louis Naudi bought the 28-bedroom hotel in 1998.
(17 December 2009 14:39:00)
A family-run property, much of the Tudor Farmhouse's design concept comes from visits to other establishments.
(17 December 2009 14:27:00)
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