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A round-up of the weekend’s news affecting the hospitality industry. News includes: Firmdale Hotels posts record annual turnover; Cliveden plans special Profumo scandal tour this month; nearly 50% of consumers cut back on eating out and pubs, finds survey; doctors demand radical curbs on junk food and more…
(12 July 2010 12:58:00)
Domino's Pizza has reported a 30% rise in profits in the first half of the year, boosted by the football World Cup and ITV's Britain's Got Talent TV show. The company saw a 28.6% increase in pre-tax profits to £17.5m for the 26 weeks until 27 June. Like-for-like sales were up 13.7%, nearly double the increase for the same time last year.
(12 July 2010 12:37:00)
Pub insolvency rates are down a third from the height of the recession but Government spending cuts and a slowdown in consumer spending could tip more businesses over the edge, a survey has warned. According to research from consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the insolvency rate in the pub sector peaked in the last quarter of 2009, when 88 pubs businesses failed
(12 July 2010 12:23:00)
McDonald's is set use its expertise in people development and customer service to train an army of 70,000 volunteers for the London 2010 Olympics. The fast-food chain, which sponsors the event, was unveiled today as "presenting partner" of the Olympic and Paralympic Games' Games Maker programme.
(09 July 2010 18:11:00)
Anna-Marie Dowling, currently managing director of the Grand Jersey Hotel & Spa, has been appointed general manager of the Royal Horseguards, Guoman's five-star hotel in London. She will join the 281-bedroom hotel in September, replacing John Beecroft, who has already left the hotel.
(09 July 2010 18:07:00)
Prospective employers are more likely to overlook visible tattoos and body piercings than an ineffective handshake, according to a survey of business owners.
(09 July 2010 17:06:00)
Nobody wants to discuss the pay rates and working hours, but we need to promote hospitality's opportunities, says Peter Hancock, chief executive of Pride of Britain Hotels
(09 July 2010 16:59:00)
Despite the Government's tougher stance on immigration, sometimes the only candidates with the required skill set are not UK nationals. Nicola McMahon describes the precautions to take when employing foreign workers.
(09 July 2010 16:29:00)
London pub operator Renaissance Pubs has opened its fifth venue, in Kennington. The new pub takes its name from the Oldham market where the first British fish and chip shop opened 150 years ago...
(09 July 2010 16:06:00)
Rockfish Seafood & Chips, Dartmouth, Devon Chef-restaurateur and seafood aficionado Mitch Tonks has launched his third restaurant in the South West....
(09 July 2010 16:06:00)
Gelupo, London The team behind Soho Italian restaurant Bocca di Lupo has launched this gelateria, delicatessen and espresso bar across the road. Inspired...
(09 July 2010 16:06:00)
This recipe for pappardelle with crab, fennel and tomatoes was taken from Theo Randall's new book, Pasta.
(09 July 2010 15:59:00)
The quiet man of the London restaurant scene, Theo Randall has gone about building a legion of fans for his simple, seasonal Italian cooking since opening at London's InterContinental hotel four years ago.
(09 July 2010 15:52:00)
Casual dining chain La Tasca is set to give away thousands of free meals if Spain wins the World Cup. The tapas restaurant and bar group, owned by the Bay Restaurant Group, will offer the meals to customers who watch the game in any of its restaurants showing the Spain vs Netherlands World Cup Final on Sunday.
(09 July 2010 15:41:00)
No one could ever claim that to choose a career in hospitality is to take an easy option. It's no secret that the hours can be long, the pressures great...
(09 July 2010 14:47:00)
Jonathan Downey is the owner and founder of the Match Bar Group. Jonathan Downey's bar empire, which includes Match bars in London, Ibiza and Melbourne, as well as Milk & Honey in London and New York, came into being almost by accident.
(09 July 2010 14:37:00)
Yorkshire-based brewer the Great Heck Brewing Company has bought its first pub. The firm bought O'Donoghue's in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, from Scottish & Newcastle for an undisclosed sum off an asking price of £175,000.
(09 July 2010 12:24:00)
Motorway services operator Welcome Break has opened its first site off the motorway network. The service station, which includes a Starbucks, KFC and Waitrose food shop, is on the site of a former Little Chef at Oxford Peartree on the A34/A40/A44 Peartree Interchange.
(09 July 2010 12:06:00)
London restaurant Roast plans to roll out a fast-food version of the British dining concept, with the first site due to open at Westfield shopping centre later this year. The Roast takeaway outlet will open at Westfield in September, marking the first of a planned group of outlets offering quality hot British food on the go.
(09 July 2010 11:51:00)
This year’s Caterersearch.com Web Awards, which recognise the best websites across the hospitality industry, are now open for entries. Now in their third year, the awards the people and organisations responsible for developing some of the most effective hospitality websites on the internet today.
(09 July 2010 10:43:00)
Alberto Crisci is the catering manager at High Down Prison in Sutton, Surrey, where The Clink, a high end restaurant run by inmates, this month celebrates its first birthday. Crisci spoke to Kerstin Kühn.
(08 July 2010 15:58:00)
After stints with some of Europe's most successful chefs, young gun Russell Bateman is finally making waves of his own at Colette's restaurant at the Grove hotel in Hertfordshire. Tom Vaughan reports.
(08 July 2010 15:55:00)
Scottish hotel operator PAG Hotels has gone into administration. The company owns the four-star Auchen Castle hotel in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway, as well as Castle Venlaw in Peebles.
(08 July 2010 15:45:00)
When Ian Sarson took over from Ian 'Elmo' El-Mokadem as group managing director of Compass UK and Ireland, many viewed his appointment as a sign of changing times at the company. As his first 100 days in office draw to a close, Janie Stamford asks him about his plans for the future.
(08 July 2010 15:38:00)
The Caterersearch.com 100 - our list of the most influential people in hospitality - was published last week. Here, in association with Bisto, we look in detail at the biggest players in the hotels sector.
(08 July 2010 15:38:00)
With the cost of card payment processing continuing to rise, how many traders are aware that better deals can be found for such essential business overheads?
(08 July 2010 15:38:00)
As the Rezidor Hotel Group celebrates the 50th anniversary of its first property, president and chief executive Kurt Ritter maintains ambitious plans for the group's growth. Janet Harmer reports.
(08 July 2010 15:33:00)
The number of children eating school lunches in England every day has risen by almost 321,000, according to new figures. The annual survey of school lunch take-up for the 2009-10 year, carried out by the School Food Trust and the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA), showed that take-up of healthy school lunches increased in both primary and secondary schools
(08 July 2010 15:30:00)
This recipe for crab and sea vegetable salad is by chef and restaurateur Mark Hix. For more recipes, see our article, Mark Hix - Wild at Heart .
(08 July 2010 14:10:00)
Mark Hix doesn't just talk about wild food; he lives it. Michael Raffael caught up with the Catey Chef Award winner to find out how his enthusiasm for foraging and fishing feeds into his dishes
(08 July 2010 14:07:00)
This recipe for crab and sea vegetable salad is by chef and restaurateur Mark Hix. For more recipes, see our article, Mark Hix - Wild at Heart.
(08 July 2010 14:07:00)
This recipe for crab and sea vegetable salad is by chef and restaurateur Mark Hix. For more recipes, see our article, Mark Hix - Wild at Heart.
(08 July 2010 14:07:00)
This recipe for crab and sea vegetable salad is by chef and restaurateur Mark Hix. For more recipes, see our article, Mark Hix - Wild at Heart >>
(08 July 2010 12:58:00)
The 188-bedroom Park Inn Hyde Park has been sold to a private investor for a sum believed to be in the region of the £35m asking price. Considerable interest was shown in the property, which is managed by the Rezidor Hotel Group under the Park Inn brand, with more than 40 viewings of the hotel taking place.
(08 July 2010 11:55:00)
The four-star, 131-bedroom Novotel Bristol Centre hotel is up for sale after going into administration. Situated in the Temple District of the city, close to Bristol Temple Meads station, the hotel is operated on a lease by Accor under the Novotel brand.
(08 July 2010 11:55:00)
Nelson Williams, the former operations director of Searcy of London, has been appointed managing director of contract caterer Elior's concessions business. Williams fills the position made vacant by Adam Elliott after he left to join stadia caterer Lindley Group as its chief executive.
(08 July 2010 11:34:00)
The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales – venue of the 2010 Ryder Cup – has bought a nearby 200-year-old country inn. The Newbridge on Usk, which has six bedrooms, is the first acquisition for the five-star, 330-bedroom resort outside of its 1,400 estate. It has been purchased for an undisclosed sum from a partnership which included by Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans.
(07 July 2010 18:23:00)
The second Hotel Indigo - the new boutique hotel brand from InterContinental Hotels (IHG) - has opened in London today. Located near the Tower of London,...
(07 July 2010 16:30:00)
Two backbench Liberal Democrat MPs have called on the coalition Government to save school meals from public sector spending cuts. Annette Brooke and Bob Russell want education secretary Michael Gove to ring-fence cash for good school food, which they say is essential to protect child health, improve behaviour and "maximise pupils' ability to learn and achieve".
(07 July 2010 15:30:00)
Hand Picked Hotels boss Julia Hands is determined to expand the group's portfolio, despite the business being £99m in the red. Along with her husband, private equity boss Guy Hands, she has risked millions of pounds to shore up the business after the company's debt reached £126m.
(07 July 2010 14:46:00)
Peter Llewellyn has joined Swinton Park as general manager. Llewellyn has more than 20 years of experience in the hotel industry and trained at Chewton Glen.
(07 July 2010 12:26:00)
Harry Murray has been appointed chairman of Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa near Bath in Wiltshire. Murray has been managing director at the AA five-red-star hotel for the past 13 years.
(07 July 2010 12:26:00)
The George Hotel in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight has appointed Liam Finnegan as head chef. Finnegan, aged 25, was previously sous chef at The Bath Priory and the two-Michelin-starred Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Devon.
(07 July 2010 12:26:00)
Macdonald Hotels & Resorts has appointed Beverley Molmans as general manager for its newest property, the 120-bedroom Macdonald Windsor Hotel, which opens this September.
(07 July 2010 12:26:00)
The Legacy Cardiff International Hotel in Merthyr Road, Cardiff, has appointed Anne Miles as its general manager. She was previously general manager at Express by Holiday Inn Cardiff Bay and, most recently, operations manager at the Park Plaza Hotel.
(07 July 2010 12:26:00)
Von Essen hotels has appointed Sally Strang as marketing manager for Hotel Verta in London. joins von Essen with more than 25 years' experience in the hotel, aviation and hospitality industries
(07 July 2010 12:26:00)
Fifteen Cornwall has promoted Andy Appleton to head chef. Appleton has been at Fifteen Cornwall since April 2007, and was previously senior sous chef at Fifteen London, as well as head chef at the Tabernacle Bar and Grill in London.
(07 July 2010 12:26:00)
Philip Jansen has joined Brakes Group as group chief executive. Jansen joins from Sodexo where he was group chief operating officer and chief executive Europe.
(07 July 2010 12:26:00)
The Legacy Royal Victoria Hotel in Llanberis, north Wales, has appointed Tracy Salisbury as general manager. Salisbury joins the property after 13 years with Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, during which time she was brand support manager at Premier Inn hotels.
(07 July 2010 12:26:00)
Choice Hotels Europe has made three new appointments within its UK-based organisation.
(07 July 2010 12:26:00)
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