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WSH, the UK’s largest independent food services management operator, has weathered the turbulent economic conditions of 2009 with a 10% trading uplift and revenues in excess of £300m. Alastair Storey, chairman and chief executive of WSH, described 2009 as an “incredibly challenging year”...
(28 January 2010 10:00:00)
Pub giant JD Wetherspoon has bought a seafront pub in Paignton, Devon, for around £1m. The Talk of the Town pub is the second acquisition in the Bay this year for Wetherspoon following its recent development of the former Bar Med unit in Fleet Walk, Torquay, which has now been rebranded...
(27 January 2010 18:17:00)
Bar and restaurant operator Moonshine Bars bought the former Puzzle Pub site in London’s Horseferry Road from the administrators of the Food & Drink Group. Moonshine’s father and son owners Tom and Robbie Gill bought the free-of-tie lease through leisure property agent Davis Coffer Lyons...
(27 January 2010 18:08:00)
UK beer sales could be about to turn a corner, according to new figures released by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA). The BBPA said that sales saw their lowest fall for two years in the fourth quarter of 2009, indicating that they might finally be lifting out of a recessionary slump.
(27 January 2010 17:54:00)
Campaigners say Pub Industry Framework Code of Practice is still unfair to publicans and calls for mandatory rules for pub companies. Neil Gerrard reports.
(27 January 2010 17:21:00)
BaxterStorey has been awarded a contract worth £10m to provide catering and facilities management services at four sites of global reinsurance firm Swiss Re, Caterer has learned. The five-year deal sees BaxterStorey take over the firm’s London headquarters based at 30 St Mary Axe...
(27 January 2010 17:07:00)
Greene King's tenanted Pub Partners division has launched a new campaign to encourage more pubs to attract more women aged 35 and above to visit pubs. Pub Partners has asked fifty of its female licensees to assess what it offers at its pubs for the 'SWAG' (Sassy, Wise and Grown Up) market ...
(27 January 2010 16:27:00)
A London council is considering the implementation of a ‘No Fry Zone’ around its 65 primary schools in a bid to curb the growing obesity trend in the region’s children. Lewisham Council is to meet later this month to discuss the proposal after a report found that a quarter of 10-year-olds...
(27 January 2010 16:13:00)
Sir Rocco Forte confirmed this week that a new financial arrangement to ensure the future operation of his 13-strong luxury hotel company had been secured. “We have agreed a new facility with the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), with whom we are very pleased to continue to have a strong...
(27 January 2010 15:05:00)
Michelin-starred restaurateurs Will Smith and Anthony Demetre are set to launch another restaurant in London. The move, which was first revealed by Caterer's restaurant blog Guide Girl,
(27 January 2010 15:01:00)
Springboard's Awards for Excellence celebrate what a great place the hospitality industry is to work. The 2009 awards, which were held at the InterContinental...
(27 January 2010 15:00:00)
Manny Franks, one of the founder members of the Restaurant Association, has passed away aged 89. Franks served on the executive committee of the Restaurant Association from its inception for more than 25 years. His dedication was recognised with an MBE and fellowship of the Institute of Hospitality.
(27 January 2010 14:49:00)
Fresh Start is a new promotional initiative to help increase sales of Quality Standard beef and lamb during the early months of the year.
(27 January 2010 14:45:00)
Gillian Thomson is to leave her position as managing director of Company of Cooks after only seven months in the job. Thomson had previously worked as head of operations at Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH), but left the group in May 2009 after eight years. She went on to join contract caterer Company of Cooks...
(27 January 2010 14:12:00)
The removal of Mitchells and Butlers (M&B) chairman Simon Laffin now looks like a near certainty, after another major shareholder indicated it had aligned itself with billionaire Joe Lewis. Elpida, the investment vehicle owned by racing tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier which holds a 17.6%...
(27 January 2010 11:23:00)
Greene King has bought eight pubs from Punch Taverns for £15.9m, as it reported 'relatively strong' growth in the 38 weeks to 24 January 2010. In a trading update this morning, the company said that like-for-like sales in its managed pubs division were up by 4.3%, although they rose by 5%...
(27 January 2010 11:15:00)
Two new dining concepts are set to launch in London later this year at retail and commercial development St Martin’s Courtyard. In addition to Jamie Oliver, who will launch a flagship restaurant for his Jamie’s Italian chain at the Covent Garden-based development, two new brands will make their UK debut ...
(27 January 2010 10:42:00)
Sodexo has today announced the signing of a three-year multimillion pound deal with Thames Valley University. The contract, which began in January, is worth more than £4m in total turnover. Services to the university’s students and staff across all four of its campuses...
(26 January 2010 18:02:00)
Hotel revenue per available room (revpar) rose by 10.5% in London but fell by 10.4% across the regions in the week ending 9 January 2010, according to figures from hospitality research company STR Global. Revpar at London hotels increased to £59.50, up from £53.84 in the equivalent week of 2009.
(26 January 2010 17:24:00)
Spanish celebrity chef Ferran Adrià has announced he will close his three-Michelin-starred restaurant El Bulli for two years. Adrià made the unexpected announcement today at a press conference at international culinary congress Madrid Fusion, where he had earlier performed a cookery...
(26 January 2010 16:48:00)
Nescafé Gold Blend is launching an Employee of the Month competition which will run on packs purchased from wholesalers and cash and carries.
(26 January 2010 14:45:00)
London is the city with the most hotel bedrooms in active development in Europe, according to the latest STR Global Construction Pipeline Report. The capital currently has 5,794 rooms in the pipeline out of a total 100,013 rooms being developed across 587 hotels throughout Europe.
(26 January 2010 14:43:00)
Venue of the 2010 Ryder Cup, the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales, has announced a record year for leisure visitors. The five-star, 400 bedroom resort sold 20,000 more room nights to leisure visitors in 2009 than it did in 2008.
(26 January 2010 14:35:00)
The semi-final of the British Culinary Federation Chef of the Year, sponsored by Aubrey Allen in conjunction with EBLEX and Moët & Chandon, was held at University College Birmingham last week. Sixteen competitors battled it out for a place in the final,, which will be held at Hotelympia at London’s ExCel...
(26 January 2010 13:00:00)
Vincent McKevitt, founder of Tossed salad bar chain and Inspiration Team member, shares his thoughts on building a successful business.
(26 January 2010 12:55:00)
This year will certainly turn out to be the best opportunity the hospitality trade has ever had to capitalise on espresso-based coffee. The latest news from the barista championships, potentially the biggest promotional event in speciality coffee, is all good...
(26 January 2010 12:54:00)
New-look Hotelympia will soon be opening its doors to an audience of over 40,000 – running from 28th February – 4th March. Boasting an impressive exhibitor list of 600+ and covering ...
(26 January 2010 12:50:00)
Noodle bar operator Chopstix is to launch a site at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent as part of an expansion strategy to double its portfolio over the next two years. The company, which operates under the Chopstix, Wok in a Box, Oodle Noodle, New Organic Noodle Concept and Noodle Stop brands...
(26 January 2010 12:40:00)
Manchester-based Hydes' Brewery has sunk into the red with a £1.3m pre-tax loss for 2009 after profits were dragged down by more bad debts. The company, which brews Hydes' Original and Manchester's Finest, as well as operating an estate of around 80 pubs...
(26 January 2010 12:24:00)
‘Grow your own school dinners’ is Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s suggestion to help tackle childhood obesity in the capital. Nearly one in four children in the city is classed as obese. This figure rises to one in three by the time they are aged 11. Fast food exclusion zones around schools...
(26 January 2010 10:41:00)
A lack of corporate customers has rocked independent provincial hotels, as it was revealed that insolvencies in the hotel sector have rocketed. New figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) showed that insolvencies fell all UK industry sectors apart from hospitality and leisure...
(26 January 2010 10:24:00)
Knowledge – make sure you know where your coffee beans come from – at the moment Gwilym is using a blend of two – 50% Yellow Bourbon, pulped natural from the Fazenda Passeio ...
(25 January 2010 23:55:00)
Care caterer Caterplus has won a £35m contract to provide kosher catering and services to Jewish Care, the largest health and social care charity serving the Jewish community in the south east of England. The five-year deal follows the success of a previous contract to provide services to three ...
(25 January 2010 17:19:00)
Jamie Oliver is expanding his high street restaurant chain Jamie’s Italian, with four new sites set to open in as many months. The celebrity chef, who launched the Italian restaurant group nearly two years ago now, currently operates seven outlets in the South of England and Cardiff.
(25 January 2010 16:13:00)
Gordon Ramsay’s ability to spot a good restaurant is called into question by the Daily Telegraph’s restaurant critic, Jasper Gerard, in his Saturday review of the Pheasant in Keyston, Cambridgeshire. While the food at the gastropub had been portrayed on The F Word during Ramsay’s search...
(25 January 2010 14:40:00)
A round-up of the latest national restaurant reviews including: The Pheasant in Keyston, Cambridgeshire; Faanoos, London SW14; the Criterion, London W1; and The Pearson’s Arms, Whitstable, Kent.
(25 January 2010 14:17:00)
Hertfordshire Catering has signed up the Saracens rugby union team to help convert more school children to the benefits of having a school meal. The St. Albans team is collaborating with Hertfordshire county council’s school meals provider for 12 days of competitions aimed at encouraging...
(25 January 2010 13:18:00)
The Malmaison Aberdeen was the big winner in the annual Corker awards, held to celebrate the achievements of staff at Malmaison and sister group Hotel du Vin. Held last night at the Malmaison Birmingham, The Corkers named the 80-bedroom Malmaison Aberdeen as the hotel of the year...
(25 January 2010 12:21:00)
Selin Kiazim, junior chef at London restaurant The Providores, has been named the 2010 Spanish Young Chef of the Year, winning a 10-day stage at Ferran Adrià’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant El Bulli. Organised by Spanish Foods, the competition, which was open to students and working chefs ...
(25 January 2010 12:07:00)
Mitchells & Butlers chairman Simon Laffin has likened the ongoing spat between the company's board and its major shareholders to "a John Grisham novel". Laffin, who has a background at Mars and was drafted in as a new director in the face of the Northern Rock collapse, told the Observer newspaper...
(25 January 2010 10:52:00)
A round-up of the weekend's news affecting the hospitality industry. News includes: Gordon Ramsay angers recruitment firm – and TV viewers; Ducasse laments loss of home cooking skills in France; Suffolk Center Parc beefs up security after crime spree; Jamie Oliver to launch barbecue-based brand and more…
(25 January 2010 10:30:00)
Central village location just off the A1.Substantial 15th Century Coaching Inn with parking.14 ensuite bedrooms, attractive well maintained trading areas ...
(25 January 2010 0:00:00)
In 2008 Caroline Gregory, managing partner of the Lovat, Loch Ness, won an Acorn Award. She talks to Neil Gerrard about what the award means to her and the hotel, and about her passion for the environment.
(22 January 2010 17:19:00)
The achievements of women in the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sector were recognised last night at the 2010 Shine Awards. The awards ceremony, which took place at the Jumeirah Carlton Hotel, London was attended by some of the most senior representatives of the British travel and tourism industry, including Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP, Minister for Culture and Tourism.
(22 January 2010 17:00:00)
Iconic French patissier-chocolatier Pierre Hermé is set to open a boutique patisserie in London this year. The shop, which will open in Knightsbridge in the spring, will be called Pierre Hermé Paris.Hermé, who in addition to Paris also has a high-street presence in Tokyo...
(22 January 2010 16:20:00)
Story of the week: Last Friday saw the rather unexpected release of the results of the 2010 Michelin Guide for Great Britain & Ireland, which were unveiled five days ahead of schedule after online retailer Amazon accidentally shipped copies of the guide ahead of its publication date.
(22 January 2010 15:57:00)
This recipe for lemon banana ravioli was devised by Brazilian chef Alex Atala, who has become a culinary superstar since opening his DOM restaurant in Sao Paulo 10 years ago.
(22 January 2010 15:39:00)
In another of his regular columns, Peter Hancock, chief executive of luxury hotel marketing consortium Pride of Britain Hotels, explains why the tourist industry has a duty to support Britain's farmers . "What does Britain have to offer tourists? Compared with warmer and less congested countries...
(22 January 2010 15:10:00)
This recipe for palm heart fettucine was devised by Brazilian chef Alex Atala, who has become a culinary superstar since opening his DOM restaurant in Sao Paulo 10 years ago.
(22 January 2010 15:00:00)
As South Africa gets ready to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Kerstin Kühn goes to check out one of Cape Town's most high profile restaurants: Maze by Gordon Ramsay at the One & Only Resort
(22 January 2010 14:59:00)
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