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TITANIC BELFAST LAUNCHES RECRUITMENT DRIVE FOR 80 ROLES Titanic Belfast has announced it is recruiting for 80 frontline staff as it looks forward to 2020. The exhibition is recruiting for fixedterm contracts across the front line at Titanic Belfast and on-board SS Nomadic, including Visitor Experience, ticketing, hospitality outlets and retail to join its over 300 strong team. Chief Executive of Titanic Belfast, Judith Owens, said: “From the very beginning in 2012, we have valued our staff as one of our key assets and reasons for success. This year, we are recruiting for 80 roles and we want staff who are truly passionate about communicating Titanic’s story and showcasing the best of Belfast and Northern Ireland to local, national and international tourists – if this is you, you could be part of our award-winning crew.”
MARK ANDERSON ON THE VERSATILITY OF KALE At this time of year my go-to ingredient is Irish kale, which is definitely having a moment in Ireland right now. As we know, the popular green is no longer being overcooked until it’s wet or only being used in Colcannon. Kale is a brilliant, super versatile winter vegetable. It comes in many different varieties with a huge range of flavour, colour and texture, from Redbor Kale and its distinctive maroon, curly leaves and mild cabbage-like flavour, to the purple-green leaves of the sweeter Red Russian Kale variety. Kale roasts deliciously, is great in gratins, soups and stews and makes the most irresistible crisps to nibble on or scatter over a salad. My favourite way to use kale is to roast it. Kale takes on an entirely different quality when roasted and becomes crisp and crackly in some parts, tender in others. For the perfect snack I like to serve kale crisps with a drizzle of natural yoghurt or Velvet Cloud, which is my favourite Irish sheep’s milk yoghurt. Nice and creamy, but still sharp enough to cut through the flavour of the kale. Kale is a great everyday vegetable that’s easily grown and very inexpensive and is one of Ireland’s most widely available and commonly grown crops. Not only is kale delicious when cooked properly, but this dark green leafy vegetable has been deemed a ‘superfood’ in recent years due to its nutritional value and is packed with antioxidants. And finally, it’s a great source of Vitamin C. Mark Anderson is Culinary Director at Gather & Gather Ireland
TOURISTS OPTING FOR STUDENT HOUSES IN CORK DURING SUMMER MONTHS The latest report by property agents CBRE shows that hotels in Cork city are being affected by the growth in purpose-built student accommodation, with a surge in summer letting offers of apartments to tourists. Commenting on the report, CBRE Executive Director and Head of Research, Marie Hunt said: “The hotel market in Cork is becoming more competitive with additional new supply due to come on stream this year, including The Dean.” She added that Cork’s hotel sector experienced a slight deterioration in trading performance in 2019 but added that this is in the context of a record performance the previous year. “There are approximately 1,250 new hotel rooms in planning in Cork at present, albeit not all of these will come on stream in the short to medium term,” she said, mentioning The Dean and The Windsor by MacCurtain Street and Kent Rail Station, as well as one planned for Morrisons Island, to be run by Premier Inns. “Both occupancy and RevPAR have also been affected by summer rentals of purpose-built student accommodation which has come on stream in the city in recent years,” she said. ISSUE 1 2020 | HOTEL
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