CLH Digital - Issue #137

Issue 137

Resolution Needed as Rail Strikes Set to Cost Hospitality £1.5 Billion www.CLHNews.co.uk

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Hospitality leaders are warning that the train strikes planned in the run up to Christmas and into and January will have the same devastating effect on hospitality as the pandemic lockdowns.

Trade union is planning industrial action on 13 and 14 December, 16 and 17 December, 3 and 4 January, and 6 and 7 January.

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UK Hospitality is urging the transport secretary to help all parties involved find a settlement, which would lead to the strikes being called off.

UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls has written to the Transport Secretary Mark Harper outlining the scale of the damage facing the sector.

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 3...)

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Issue 137

Editor's Viewpoint

Welcome to the latest issue of CLH Digital I have to say in all my years experience of hospitality, training, frontline operations for several leading operators, running my own business, editing and hospitality publication for the past 22shutterstock_346350440.jpg years I have never seen a period when it is one catastrophic setback after another.

PUBLISHED BY RBC Publishing Ltd Roddis House, Old Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH1 1LG

The pandemic, energy costs, inflation, staff shortages and now rail strikes, rising interest rates a constant kick in the teeth for the sector which is desperately “trying to paddle a canoe through the storm”.

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01202 552333

FAX: 01202 552666 sales@catererlicensee.com

I am old enough to remember the strikes of the 1970s dubbed the “Winter of Discontent”, which had a devastating effect on the economy for years afterward.

That was a time of higher wages and higher prices which created, I think the term is “stagflation”, defined as a combination of high inflation and economic stagnation. Inflation drives prices up, but purchasing power down.

EDITOR

Peter Adams

www.CLHNews.co.uk @CLHNews CLHNews

The long-term effects were devastating for the entire country. I saw it in my home town of Liverpool and, while I am by no means an economist, I think I am knowledgeable enough to know that some of the wage demands being bandied around are unsustainable, and if granted will lead to increases in goods delivery costs etc. Even if they are passed on to consumers, this will no doubt lead to a dramatic footfall reduction in the hospitality sector and falling consumer spending in other sectors.

I just returned from Cornwall (a mixture of business and pleasure) staying at the same harbourside hotel as I do annually, but noticed this time around that heating in the rooms went off for the day, came back on the evening and went off about 10.30pm for the rest of the night.

EDITOR

Prior to that it was always left on and left to the hotel guest whether to lower the temperature or switch it off altogether.

SALES EXECUTIVES

This has all come at a time when the sector was desperately trying to get back on its feet. I think in many ways, if not for the current economic woes, the sector would be on track for a rather lucrative Christmas and New Year.

Times are different, and personally I think this is a superb idea and one, I think, that will cut costs of energy considerably.

David Bartlett Guy Stephenson

I often “hark back” to the days when I had my business here in Bournemouth. A wine bar restaurant in the town centre which I took over in 1986 and had until 1994. They were the days of high unemployment, high interest rates, and despite all of that we always enjoyed and extremely lucrative Christmas and New Year, which werre always booked well in advance. It is the time of year that the public want of respite from the doom and gloom.

In the coming weeks we hope to have some leading experts who can give advice guidance and tips on how to keep energy bills down without impacting on guest comfort!

PRODUCTION & DESIGN

The World Cup has now kicked off and at time of writing this Wales suffered their first defeat! And tonight I’m off to my local pub to watch the England/USA game, and I hope football fans around the country are going to do the same!

PRODUCTION & WEB ADMIN

Hospitality is the only sector (in my humble opinion) which provides that respite, so I very much hope that the talking heads get round the table and come up with a deal to keep hospitality on track for a profitable rest of the New Year period.

Once again I would ask the favour, we want more Twitter followers! So please do follow us on Twitter @CLHNews, and encourage as many people you know in the trade to subscribe to our digital issue.

Further details can be seen at www.catererlicensee.com

The Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News Group is published by RBC Publishing Ltd, Suite 4, Roddis House, Old Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth, Dorset. Contributions are welcome for consideration, however, no responsibility will be accepted for loss or damage. Views expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial team. Whilst every care is taken when compiling this publication to ensure accuracy, the publisher will assume no responsibility for any effects, errors or omissions therefrom. All rights reserved, reproduction is forbidden unless written permission is obtained. All material is assumed copyright free unless otherwise advised.

CLHNews Peter Adams

Matthew Noades Charlene Fox

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Issue 137

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Resolution Needed as Rail Strikes Set to Cost Hospitality £1.5 Billion (...CONTINUED FROM FRONT COVER)

nation’s workers and hospitality customers this Christmas.”

Analysis by UKHospitality shows that the fresh wave of rail strikes set to hit the country in December will cost the sector £1.5 billion on strike days, similar to the level of disruption caused by the Omicron Covid-19 variant last year.

STRIKES “DEVASTATING FOR HOSPITALITY”

Hospitality businesses have already seen large-scale cancellations, which are unlikely to be rescheduled, and will have a devastating impact on the sector and its workforce at the most critical trading period of the year.

The Transport Secretary has been urged to bring all negotiating parties to the table to find a settlement to avert the strikes and the consequent damage to businesses and workers.

TIME FOR GOVERNMENT TO DELIVER A SOLUTION UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “The impact of rail strikes already this year has been devastating and wide-reaching, but this will pale in comparison to what we will see as a result of the upcoming strikes in December.

“This disruption will devastate hospitality businesses during its busiest period of the year and will once again force the public to cancel and rearrange plans, just as they were preparing for an uninterrupted Christmas. Businesses have already seen mass cancellations which won’t be rescheduled, costing the sector billions in lost sales.

“The Christmas period is not just good for businesses, it’s the most lucrative time for workers where they can benefit from additional overtime and higher levels of tips due to excess demand. “These strikes damage all parts of society and it’s now time that the government proactively brings all partners to the table to deliver a solution that protects the

difficult winter in the months that follow. Pubs have been hoping to make the most of Christmas party bookings and festive gatherings for the first time in three years.

“The announcement of further strike action during the festive period will be catastrophic and will inevitably have a knock-on effect on service either side of the key holiday period,” said NTIA chief executive, Michael Kill. “These sporadic weekly or daily planned strikes are eating into consumer confidence, leaving many concerned about travelling. Our industry is already suffering heavily from rising costs as inflation reaches a 40-year high, and with consumer disposable income at an all-time low, coupled with rail strike action, we feel we are revisiting Christmas 2021.”

CANCELLATION KNOCK ON EFFECT Sacha Lord night-time economy advisor for Manchester said many businesses could be forced to shut down in the new year following the fallout of the pandemic and now a flood of cancellations due to industrial action by rail unions. Mr Lord told BBC Radio 4: “The damage is going to be phenomenal. I’m seeing people now who have bought tickets to my events who are saying we can’t get from London to Manchester.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, summed up the thoughts of all: “This is devastating news for pubs.”

She added: Businesses across the country will be relying on a busy Christmas period to pull them through what is set to be an incredibly

“Our industry desperately needs this Christmas boost. We urgently need a resolution to reinstate train services and ensure that customers and staff can travel easily and confidently, or the impact on trade will be catastrophic.”

STRIKES COSTING MILLIONS ALREADY

“There is a knock-on effect, in terms of hotel cancellations, restaurant cancellations because they can’t get there as well. The damage is going to be incredible at a moment when the industry really needs to grab every penny it can.”

INDUSTRY “NEEDS CHRISTMAS BOOST”

“News of these rail strikes in the weeks leading up to Christmas will hit pubs in town and city centres hard. The week of the strikes is usually the busiest in the year for our industry, but instead of supporting pubs, customers will be cancelling bookings and staying home, whilst staffing shortages will be exacerbated by a lack of transport options for employees.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our message to the public is, we are sorry to inconvenience you, but we urge you to direct your anger and frustration at the government and railway employers during this latest phase of action.”

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies, said: “Industrial action has already cost the industry millions in lost revenue, is stalling its post-pandemic recovery and threatening its long-term sustainability.

“We are asking the RMT to stay at the negotiating table, work with us towards a fair deal and end a dispute that is harming passengers, the industry and their members.”

The Aslef union, which represents train drivers for 12 train companies, has already announced its members will hold another strike on November 26 in a dispute over pay.

October Takeaway Sales Double Pre-COVID Levels but Stall Year-on-Year Deliveries and takeaways now account for nearly a quarter of all sales at Britain’s leading restaurant groups, having doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 restrictions. Combined delivery and takeaway sales were down by 7% on October 2021—the 11th consecutive month of year-onyear decline.

CGA by NielsenIQ’s new Hospitality at Home Tracker shows sales by value in October 2022 were 97% higher than in October 2019—the last comparable month before COVID-19. Takeaway and click-and-collect sales have grown 55%, but deliveries have soared 236% as consumers switched to the convenience of third-party ordering platforms.

Karl Chessell, CGA’s business unit director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said:

Deliveries and takeaways accounted for 24% of the total sales of groups contributing to the Hospitality at Home Tracker in October 2022, with eat-in sales making up 76%.

However, the Tracker indicates growth has stalled since the end of

“Deliveries saved many restaurant businesses during COVID-19 lockdowns, and consumers continue to be attracted by their convenience.

The plateauing of sales since the end of restrictions is a positive sign that some people have reverted to eating out rather than ordering in over the last 12 months, but it may also reflect increasingly cautious spending as the cost-of-living crisis mounts. Sustaining sales and protecting margins will be major challenges as the squeeze on disposable incomes tightens.”

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Issue 137

Next Step in Keeping Business Costs Down Digitising the Supplier Order Process with Choco

By Alex Kiely, General Manager of Choco UK (https://choco.com/uk/) process, replacing the ‘gut feel, phone and paper list’ system. All available products are shown on the interface in real time, giving chefs the confidence that in a few clicks they can know exactly what products they are ordering and at what cost. This is hugely important, with inflation soaring and food costs changing on a daily basis, the platform provides transparency to chefs for accurate budgeting.

Food waste on the restaurant and supplier side is also adding to economic worries, and it is also leading to more of a focus on creating more sustainable environments. Currently 30-40% of food produced goes to waste each year and nearly three-quarters of that waste happens in the supply chain before consumers are involved. Waste is the third-largest driver of climate change. If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest in carbon dioxide emissions on the planet.

The UK food industry has a real appetite for tech. It’s adventurous.

Many of us know that digitising our business is not optional anymore.

The margin for error with orders being exchanged on pen, paper, voicemail or WhatsApp is too high. Wrong, misheard, or misspelt orders cost money and reputations. If anybody has been watching The Bear, the recent US TV drama about a top chef who takes over his brother’s neighbourhood restaurant in Chicago, you’ll have seen the repeated scenes of increasing frustration when orders are delivered in the wrong quantities.

As our industry prepares for a difficult few seasons, Choco, the industry’s No.1 global ordering platform, has launched to the UK restaurant and supplier market.

Choco can enable both suppliers and restaurants to make every possible financial and process efficiency, improving margins and strengthening the digital food chain.

Choco’s app allows suppliers to offer customers a fully digital ordering

We estimate that, when using the Choco app, restaurants are saving on average 1.27 kilos every week by reducing their ordering mistakes and saving up to two hours every week by improving their efficiency in the kitchen.

THE SUPPLIER PERSPECTIVE Shaun Henderson, founder of Henderson Seafood, the Brixham-based, sustainable and ethically sourced fish supplier to the restaurant industry is using Choco. “We use it as a platform for our customers to buy online from us. We typically take 50 orders a day. WhatsApp or phone can be prone to human error, but Choco eliminates that. It saves time for our customers as they simply tick box what they want, the order comes through to us, we process it, and the invoice is automated, saving us even more time. Onboarding has been quicker than ever imagined and we were up and running within two weeks - two thirds of our orders are already coming through Choco. Customers have really taken to it.

Choco has really changed the way we do things, and we couldn’t be happier.”

London's Fitzrovia district serving a seasonal menu of modern British cuisine, uses Choco. “I’ve never come across an online food ordering platform for restaurants before, so when I was introduced to Choco I loved the concept. We’ve been using the platform for a few months now and it’s truly transformed the way we do things.

99% of our suppliers use the platform. We can see in real time what is available, and we can select exactly what we want any time of the day. It not only saves me approximately 20 minutes at the end of each service, but it also cuts out the human error, so I now get exactly what I ordered.

Previously, when done by phone, I could be waiting around to speak to someone, then I could read something out wrong or the supplier could have noted it down wrong so with Choco, we both know exactly where we stand so it’s a more seamless, efficient experience.”

Find out more about him and Choco UK at https://choco.com/us/stories/life-at-choco/london-launch https://choco.com/uk/ contact@choco.com

THE CHEF’S EXPERIENCE Chris Bassett, Head Chef at Portland, a Michelin starred restaurant in

Look to British Workers to Fill Vacancies Minister Tells Businesses UK businesses should be “looking to the British workforce” rather than relying on immigrants to fill vacancies post-Brexit, a minister has said.

Director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Tony Danker, speaking at its annual conference called on the government to bring in overseas workers to solve shortages in the UK, saying it must be “practical” on the issue.

However immigration minister Robert Jenrick, speaking on Sky News’ said that companies should be looking closer to home first.

Brexit has prevented many overseas workers being able to work in the UK leaving businesses struggling to recruit, in particular the hospitality sector which has relied heavily on European staff in recent years.

Despite four quarterly falls this year, overall vacancies remain high at more than 1.2 million.

In August to October 2022 they were 429,000 (54%) above pre-pandemic levels of early 2020, and 32,000 (2.7%) higher than a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Mr Danker said: “People are arguing against immigration but it’s the only thing that’s increased the potential growth of our economy since March.

“Remember that GDP is a simple multiplier of two factors − people and their productivity. And it’s time to be honest: we don’t have the people we need, nor do we have the productivity.”: Adding that “Our labour shortages are vast.”

“First, we have lost hundreds of thousands of people to economic inactivity post COVID. And anyone who thinks they’ll be back any day now – with the NHS under this kind of pressure – is kidding themselves.

“Secondly, we don’t have enough Brits to go round for the vacancies that exist, and there’s a skills mismatch in any case. And third, believing automation can step in to do the job in most cases is unrealistic.”

He called for economic migration in sectors with shortages, with fixed-term visas, and a shortage occupation list overseen not only by the minister for immigration but also by the secretary of state for education and businesses.

Mr Jenrick said the government would “listen to the business community” and was “aware of certain skills shortages”, adding: “We want a pragmatic, sensible relationship with business.

“But overall, our ambition is to reduce net migration. We think that’s what the British public want. That was one of the driving forces in the vote to leave the European Union back in 2016, and it’s simply not true to say that we’ve adopted a sort of closed door approach since then.”

Mr Jenrick pointed to schemes like visas for health and social care workers, and said more than 300,000 work visas were issued last year “to people who had a certain living standard so they could look after themselves and not rely too heavily on the state” and would cover so-called shortage occupations.

“I think that’s the right approach, rather than drawing on lower skilled workers,” he added.

Restaurant Insolvencies Worse Now than During Pandemic says Report Restaurant company insolvencies are happening at a faster rate than during covid, according to new research by audit, tax, and advisory firm Mazars.

Insolvencies have increased 59% over the past year, jumping from 984 in 2020-21 to 1,567 in 2021-22. In the last three months, the number of restaurant companies becoming insolvent increased by 15% to 453, up from 395 the previous quarter.

Restaurants across the UK have been dealing with the highest level of inflation since 1981 and a slowdown in consumer spending. As well as increasing food and energy costs, restaurants have been hit by shortages of labour, particularly for skilled roles such as chefs, which has pushed up staff costs. Some restaurants have already revealed they will be cutting their trading hours in order to save on the cost

of energy.

Rebecca Dacre, partner at Mazars, said: “Insolvencies of restaurant businesses are now happening at a far faster rate than during covid. It is a very toxic mix of rising input costs, sharply rising finance costs and weak demand. Most restauranteurs have not seen this combination of negative factors before. The Christmas trading period is usually a bumper period for hospitality businesses.

However, restaurants will be bracing themselves for a very tough winter and many face a real battle to keep afloat. There’s a certainty of further insolvencies if they don’t receive much more support from the government, but the chances of the government fully turning on the taps is low.”

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World Cup Offers Extra Time for Significant Sales Uplift in the On Premise visit their usual venues specifically to watch the FIFA World Cup, 19% will visit their usual venues and watch the FIFA World Cup if it happens to be on, and 12% will actively seek different venues specifically to watch the FIFA World Cup. However, the extent of its impact for the On Premise is inseparable with the progress of England & Wales, as by far the biggest uplifts are seen when the home nations remain in the tournament. Drinks offers tying into the excitement generated by the national sides are a opportunity for licensees to drive maximum value from the occasion.

Major sporting events have always had a major influence on drinks consumption and consumer behaviour in the On Premise, and with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 kicking off yesterday (November 20), there’s no better time for venues and drinks suppliers to optimise the opportunities presented by the biggest event in football’s calendar.

In 2022, a third (33%) of consumers are watching sports in the On Premise, with a similar proportion (32%) doing so at least once a week, and one in seven (14%) visiting to watch the major crowd-pulling events.

Football is by far the most popular sport, with more than two thirds (69%) of sports consumers watching it in pubs and bars this year.

CGA’s research in to the 2021 Euros laid bare the gigantic impact of sport in the On Premise, with average daily sales soaring by 64% at venues where the tournament was shown, compared to a 5% drop at venues that didn’t. Unsurprisingly, beer was the star player, with an estimated 1,340 pints sold across all matchdays, despite the adverse effect on attendance of COVID-19. Lager makes up much of this success due to its association with football, but World Lager’s role in this is expected to continue as it grows prominence vs the traditional Standard Lager brands. That doesn’t mean there’s no room for other categories though, with Spirits and Cider also taking advantage of the tournament’s “halo effect” during the last FIFA World Cup in 2018.

Looking ahead to the FIFA World Cup 2022, CGA OPUS data revealed that 20% of consumers intend to

On top of traditional seasonal uplift in visitor numbers, it’s a formidable opportunity for brands to meet their goals and deliver successful end of year results, despite what continues to be a challenging time for On Premise sales.

Paul Bolton, Client Director – GB Drinks said: “The FIFA World Cup is a massive opportunity for the On Premise and drinks suppliers to claw back any recent deficits caused by market turbulence, and to finish the year on a high. Whilst we are hopeful that it will be a successful tournament on the pitch for England & Wales, it will be interesting to see who the big winners are in the On Premise, due to the overlap with Christmas, so strategy and execution are crucial for venues that are hoping to have the best of both worlds. But there’s every reason for optimism, with over-performing brands and venues putting themselves in pole position as first choices during the FIFA World Cup and also for future sporting events once it’s over.”

Pubs See Business Rates Assessments Slashed 17% Rating for pubs is notoriously complex. Unlike other rates assessments which are primarily based on rents, valuations for pubs are based on an assessment of ‘fair maintainable trade’, which is calculated using information drawn from turnover, passing rents, services offered, the local area and other factors.

tality and leisure relief scheme from 50% to 75% for 2023/24, up to a cap of £110,000 per business.

Whilst pubs were allowed to reopen for outdoor service in April 2021, the majority had to wait until 17th May, when the Government’s roadmap allowed customers back inside pubs.

Despite rateable values falling overall for pubs, experts say the reductions do not go far enough.

Further analysis by Altus Group shows rateable values overall for restaurants will fall 5% down from £1.23 billion to £1.17 billion whilst hotels 4-star and above, including 3-star chain operated hotels, will see their rateable values plummet by almost a third falling from £1.61 billion to £1.11 billion. Hotels under 3 stars will see their rateable values fall 23.5% from £213.48 million to £163.31 million.

Analysis of official Government data by the real estate adviser Altus Group, Britain’s largest ratings advisory, shows that pubs will see their rateable values fall overall by £247.16 million from £1.48 billion to £1.23 billion under the 2023 revaluation down 17%.

At Autumn Statement 2022 the Government announced that it will now make sure that for businesses who see a declining business rates bill because of the revaluation will benefit from the full decrease next April.

Robert Hayton, UK President at Altus Group, says “whilst pubs are big winners under both the Autumn Statement and 2023 revaluation” he added “at the assessment date pubs were effectively closed and trade

The Government is also freezing the business rates multiplier which will keep the small business multiplier and standard multiplier at 49.9p and 51.2p respectively whilst extending and increasing the retail, hospi-

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The new rateable values are based upon an assessment date of 1st April 2021 and will be used to determine the basis of the business rates tax calculation from 1st April 2023 until 31st March 2026.

had been severely impacted by coronavirus restrictions for over a year.

Our view is that the market on the valuation date was far worse than these new values suggest. Many ratepayers, especially those large operators precluded from the relief scheme, will now want to consider challenging their future rateable values.”

DISHWASHERS • GLASSWASHERS • REFRIGERATION

The Government has now adjusted the rateable values of all 2.1 million non-domestic properties across all sectors of the economy in England and Wales to reflect changes in the property market.

A Zero Hours Time Bomb?

How to Work Out Holiday Pay Under New Rules 6

CLH DIGITAL

Issue 137

By Gareth Matthews, employment law partner at MLP Law (www.mlplaw.co.uk) As we enter the busy Christmas season, hospitality businesses should beware of new changes to zero hours contracts and how holiday pay is worked out. Following a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, the previously commonplace practice of adding 12.07% to wages to cover holiday pay for zero hours workers is no longer acceptable – and hospitality managers must act now to protect themselves.

Zero hours workers, or casual workers, have no set hours and businesses are under no obligation to offer them hours.

This makes them an attractive solution to seasonal rush periods like Christmas or major sporting events which see pubs, bars, hotels and clubs heat up in terms of footfall.

The very nature of zero hours work means that people under these contracts end up working variable hours, but this causes difficulty with holidays as all workers in the UK are entitled to paid time off. When there is no set amount paid each week, it becomes tricky to work out a formula to ascertain holiday entitlement and so many organisations settled on enhancing the time worked by 12.07% to reflect a holiday pay allowance.

However, following a recent challenge to this protocol, the Supreme Court has now ruled this this is legally incorrect and that employers must follow a new process to establish holiday pay entitlement.

Now, employers need to work out how many hours were worked on average in the last 52 weeks where the person worked. This gives a weekly average which is then multiplied by 5.6 (5.6 weeks being the minimum holiday amount, including all bank holidays) to give a holiday allowance. In many cases, this will give a greater sum that the 12.07% method.

This change will impact all businesses using zero hours workers but particularly those who use seasonal workers, due to the ruling that the average must be taken from weeks worked, not merely the past 12 months – which would have brought their average pay rate down.

There are two solutions for businesses using zero hours workers: Firstly, you can approach the issue by ensuring that all seasonal workers have clearly defined fixed term contracts for each season worked. This takes away the ongoing agreement to offer work, removing a year-round relationship and agreeing upfront a holiday entitlement.

The risk with this approach, however, is that workers may not return following the completion of their fixed term contract; so you must be confident that you can easily replace these workers before choosing this route.

A second option is to tackle this change proactively with zero hours workers, making sure they take annual leave throughout the year so they do not accrue huge payments.

Whatever is right for your business, it’s advisable to receive proper legal input and speak to an expert to find out what is goinG to be best for your organisation.

Young Welsh Chefs and Gareth Bale’s Wales Team Share a World Cup Dream Gareth Bale and the Wales squad will not be the only Welsh team fulfilling a dream by competing in a World Cup. Whilst the Wales football team opened with a draw against the USA at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on Monday night, a team of talented, young Welsh chefs is in Luxembourg preparing to cook up a storm at the Culinary World Cup which begins this weekend.

The Junior Culinary Team Wales, comprising young chefs from across the country, will be competing against 15 other teams from around the world at the high profile culinary event.

The competition comprises two different elements: a Restaurant of Nations hot kitchen when teams must prepare a three-course menu 70 people and a ‘Table of Fire’ which will see teams prepare four different kinds of cold and hot finger food, a cold, festive fish or seafood platter, hot main courses and dessert for 12 people.

Wales presents its ‘Table of Fire’ on Sunday, November 27 before heading into the hot kitchen the following Tuesday.

Junior Culinary Team Wales is managed by Michael Kirkham-Evans, a lecturer at the Grŵp Llandrillo Menai campus in Rhos-on-Sea campus and coached by Danny Burke, co-owner of Olive Tree Catering, Runcorn and former Senior Culinary Team Wales captain.

The team is captained by Calum Smith, pastry chef at Shrewsbury School, who is joined by Harry PaynterRoberts, sous chef at Carden Park Hotel and Spa, near Chester, Sion Hughes, head chef the Spa at Carden Park Hotel, Stephanie Belcher, chef de partie at Coast, Saundersfoot, Harry Osborne, head chef at the Quay Hotel and Spa, Deganwy and Jay Rees, who is studying for a degree at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai Both Sion and Harry Osborne are former Junior Chef of Wales winners.

Squad members, who will be supporting the team in Luxembourg, are Amira Milner from Signatures Restaurant, Conwy, Heather Spencer, commis chef at Links Hotel, Llandudno and Pippa Taylor, who is completing a Culinary Arts Degree atGrŵp Llandrillo Menai campus in Rhos-on-Sea. Calum said and the Junior Culinary Team Wales are looking forward to competing against the world’s best chefs.

“I am delighted to be captaining Wales in only my second major international competition,” he said. “It means a-lot to me and to my family.

“Since competing for Wales at the Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart in 2020, it has been an exciting 18 months’ practicing.

It’s a young team, with a lot of different experience across the country, and we are hoping that we can deliver in both the Restaurant of Nations and the Table of Fire.

“The relationship the team has built with our coach Danny Burke and manager Mike Kirkham-Evans has been great. Their work behind the scenes has been phenomenal and we wouldn’t be where we are without them.”

Calum also praised president Arwyn Watkins, OBE, and others at the Culinary Association of Wales for their guidance and advice.

Mr Kirkham-Evans says the squad is a good blend of skills, knowledge and youth. “Their development over the last 12 months has been fantastic at every practice and they are raising the bar in terms of their work ethic and dishes produced,” he said.

“Our mission is to keep developing young Welsh chefs who will hopefully progress into the Senior Culinary Team Wales in the future.”

Graham Tinsley, MBE, the Culinary Association of Wales’ culinary director, said: “The junior team has great potential because the chefs are very dedicated, have practised hard and have created some great dishes.

“They have gelled together really well under the leadership of Mike, who is a good organiser and Danny, who is a very good chef with a lot of competition experience.”

Take a Bite Out of the Best the South West Has to Offer!

Hale Events’ trade shows can help your business succeed in 2023. With 2022 already ending, it's time to plan how you will find ingredients for your new menus, the best retail food and drink, and the equipment and services your business needs to keep ahead of the competition.

drink retail, then this is the show you cannot afford to miss!

Taking place well before the all-important summer season kicks off, the show is regarded as a cornerstone of the Cornish business calendar. It’s an absolute must for buyers to compare a range of competing offerings, as well as get a feel for the trends from afar shaping the market - all under one roof.

Hale Events’ three trade shows have real bite. They introduce buyers to a wide range of exhibitors and suppliers, to help them find ways to maximise profits whilst improving efficiencies. They enable networking with colleagues to share challenges (and solutions!)

THE SOURCE ROADSHOW - Tuesday 27th June, Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol.

Hospitality and retail are facing another tough year, and it’s more important than ever to draw the silver lining from the economic storm clouds in every way possible. These shows do just that!

Returning to Bristol after last year’s inaugural show, this show brings both the best of the South West, as well as the latest innovations from around the world, to Bristol’s food and drink buyers.

THE SOURCE TRADE SHOW - Wednesday 8th & Thursday 9th of February 2023, at Westpoint near Exeter.

The Source trade show takes place in February. There's been a food and drink and hospitality show in this time slot in the South West now for more than 20 years. This is one of the key times of year for buyers to seek out new suppliers of products and services. In partnership with regional food group Taste of the West, this trade show will delight your senses with the latest flavours and ideas.

EXPOWEST CORNWALL - Wednesday 8th & Thursday 9th March, at the Royal Cornwall Showground, Wadebridge.

If you have a Cornish business that’s in hospitality, catering, or food and

These shows will satisfy your appetite, whether you run a pub, hotel, restaurant, café, deli, farm shop, holiday park, tourist attractions, catering business, supermarket or if your business is food and drink. They’re free to attend for trade buyers – all you need to do is visit the relevant show website to register or ring the team at Hale on 01934 733456. Of course, they welcome enquiries for stand bookings via the websites too, or you can call the sales team on 01934 733433. Visit www.hale-events.com to find the website you’re looking for.

Feed your need for the latest flavours!

Issue 137

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One In Nine Hospitality Jobs Still Vacant As Staffing Crisis Continues One in nine hospitality jobs remain vacant despite recent improvements in recruitment, new surveys from CGA by NielsenIQ and Fourth reveal.

uncertainty about the future of the sector, and the Business Confidence Survey indicates that just 8% of leaders feel confident about the next 12 months for the eating and drinking out market.

The October Business Confidence Survey, that goes out to leaders of multi-site businesses, shows 11% of roles are vacant—a figure that is level with the last survey three months ago, but down from a peak vacancy rate of 15% at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sebastien Sepierre, managing director – EMEA, Fourth, said: “From a labour standpoint, the hospitality sector is precariously placed as, despite a growing headcount, operators are still struggling to fill roles. Recruitment is just one major issue that is facing sector businesses, with sky-high inflation, the cost-of-doing-business crisis, soaring fuel costs and dented consumer confidence, all factoring into what is an incredibly challenging trading period.

The recovery in recruitment since the end of COVID-19 restrictions means the sector has increased its headcount by 8.8% in the 12 months to September, according to Fourth’s latest Hospitality Workforce Report. It suggests that efforts to attract more people to work in pubs, bars and restaurants, including through the Hospitality Rising campaign, are starting to pay off.

The data from Fourth’s Hospitality Workforce Report, which analyses more than 700 companies across the UK restaurant, pub, and bar, QSR and hotel sectors, shows a staff turnover rate of 8.3% in September—equivalent to one in 12 workers vacating their post. This is the highest figure since March 2020, when the start of the COVID-19 pandemic led many overseas workers to return home.

Staff shortages have forced many hospitality operators to raise pay levels to attract new workers. The Business Confidence Survey from CGA and Fourth indicates that average pay has risen by 9% in the last 12 months.

The shortages are a risk to guest experiences and sales in the run-up to Christmas, with some venues likely to be forced to cut opening hours because of a lack of frontline team members. They are further increasing

“It is now essential that operators focus on retaining existing members of staff and keeping them motivated. For the longer term, campaigns like Hospitality Rising are hugely important, ensuring that sector businesses are creating an environment for new recruits to see the benefits and rewards that a career in hospitality can offer. Technology can play a pivotal supporting role here, making it easier for businesses to hire, onboard, engage and retain team members, ensuring they are tackling this challenge head on and as efficiently and productively as possible.”

Karl Chessell, CGA’s director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “Brexit and COVID-19 have taken a heavy toll on staffing in hospitality, and with one in nine jobs open there are clearly some severe challenges in recruitment and retention. The rising expense of labour and many other inputs is hitting margins across hospitality hard, on top of a cost-of-living crisis that may squeeze consumers’ spending over Christmas—when businesses generate the cash that sustains them through the quieter first few months of the new year. Operators are working flat out to recruit, and cross-industry initiatives like Hospitality Rising are helping to sell the sector as a great place to work, but the staffing crisis is likely to stretch well into 2023.”

The Institute of Hospitality Search for Restaurant Manager of the Year 2023 The Institute of Hospitality has launched its prestigious Restaurant Manager of the Year (RMOY) competition for 2023, with luxury hotel The Hari London confirmed as headline sponsor in a 3-year sponsorship deal.

and the UK hospitality industry. So regardless of the size of business you work in, just apply and you could be our next winner.”

Restaurant Managers need to apply by Monday 14 January 2023 to be in with a chance of winning the title ‘Restaurant Manager of the Year 2023’ and winner’s trophy.

Andrew Coney FIH, General Manager at The Hari London said: “We are thrilled to be sponsoring the Restaurant Manager of The Year award in 2023. As we all know, Restaurant Managers are the life and soul of each establishment, and it is such a pleasure to celebrate their hard work!”

This year’s winner will also receive, a tailored professional development programme designed around them to help their current role and future career, a year of tickets to attend the top IoH events, including Above & Beyond and the Fellows’ Dinner, one year’s IoH Membership and much more, to be announced in the coming weeks.

The closing date for entries is 14 January 2023 and the successful candidates will be invited to the Hotel Café Royal, London on 6 March 2023 where they will compete in the semi-finals. Tested on their technical skills by a panel of leading industry professionals, the lucky few will then take part in the UK RMOY Final, on the same day, with the winner announced that evening.

The RMOY competition began in 2009 with Peter Avis FIH, now General Manager at Galvin at Windows and 10 Degrees Bar, London Hilton Park Lane, taking the coveted title.

Launching the competition, Robert Richardson FIH MI, IoH CEO explained: “This year’s competition is expected to uncover some amazing ‘unsung’ individuals. We would encourage anyone who has the job title ‘Restaurant Manager’ and is passionate about what they do, to come forward and complete our very short entry form. All our previous IoH champions have excelled in their careers and are a credit to the Institute

The Hotel Café Royal’s, Managing Director Guillaume Marly, who hosted the event in 2022 said: “We are delighted to be hosting Restaurant Manager of the year 2023 at Hotel Café Royal. It is a brilliant opportunity to acknowledge the many dedicated, professional and talented individuals in our industry.”

Competition key dates: • competition opens – 21/11/22 • Entries close: 14/01/23 Follow the link for entry form & T&Cs

Staff Shortages This Christmas for 62% of Hospitality Businesses 8

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Three quarters of operators say they are expecting a shortage of kitchen staff and 74% say they are expecting not to have enough front of house staff this Christmas. Over 60% (62%) said they were expecting a shortfall in both.

The new findings, from major sector initiative Hospitality Rising, in partnership with hospitality research consultancy KAM, highlight the ongoing challenge of recruitment and staffing within the hospitality industry – with 69% of hospitality operators noticing an increase in the number of people leaving hospitality in the last 12 months.

In response to the survey of hospitality businesses, the majority said vacancies not being filled was having a significant impact on the welfare of their current team members (79%), the quality of the customer experience (79%), as well as sales and turnover (65%).

In a bid to tackle the problem, operators are implementing a series of measures to reduce the impact on customers this Christmas, including increasing staff wages (70%) and reducing covers or adapting service times (46%). Others reported not carrying out private events such as parties over the festive period or closing for periods of time.

Mark McCulloch, founder of Hospitality Rising and Campaign Director, said: “This research brings home the stark reality of the workforce crisis in hospitality and the absolute need we have for bold and creative ways to solve it.

“By working collectively via initiatives such as Hospitality Rising, we can bring more people into our dynamic and rewarding industry and ensure that we aren’t leaving revenue on the table due to a shortage of staff. The first phase of Hospitality Rising, our

#RiseFastWorkYoung campaign, has already proved its effectiveness – driving 17,000 applications via our dedicated jobs board in its first three weeks.

“We’ve been blown away by the support we’ve received so far, with over 300 businesses including global brands and some of the world’s most successful hospitality leaders backing our campaign.

“However, in order to keep up momentum and drive the next stage of the campaign we need more operators to come on board and more companies to pledge financial support. Hospitality is nothing without people and we are determined to work together to ensure the best and the brightest are attracted to the industry to ensure a bright future for the sector.”

Katy Moses, founder/MD of KAM says: “Customers tell us that they’re excited about the upcoming festive season and despite the cost-of-living crisis many intend to put more effort into Christmas 2022 because of the disappointment of the last two years. It’s heart breaking, albeit sadly not surprising, that staff shortages continue to limit the vitality of the Hospitality sector with customer service levels, employee engagement and sales being impacted. The research really highlights the critical role which Hospitality Rising is playing in attracting new people to the sector.”

To find out more information about Hospitality Rising or to get involved in the campaign, visit https://hospitalityrising.org/ Download the survey results here: https://kam-media.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2022/11/Hospitality-Rising-The-Current-State-of-Play-Oct-2022.pdf

Greene King Fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support Feted at Westminster Event year for charities and worthy causes.”

PubAid and the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group (APPBG) have celebrated Greene King’s outstanding achievement in raising more than £13 million for Macmillan Cancer Support, presenting the brewer and pub operator with a trophy at a special reception in the House of Commons.

Kevin Hollinrake, Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business, including the hospitality sector, presented the trophy to Greene King CEO Nick Mackenzie, who said: “The real reward for our fundraising comes from knowing that our efforts are providing support for people with cancer, when they need it most, and I’d like to thank our team members and customers for their unwavering energy in raising money for Macmillan. We are grateful for this recognition from our peers in the pub industry and our thanks to PubAid and the Beer Group for this award. Greene King is proud to be a patron of PubAid, which has done much to promote a positive narrative around pubs over recent years.”

Greene King has raised the impressive sum over the past decade, through a range of activities in pubs, from hosting cake sales, raffles, quizzes, family fun days and more, as well as company-wide fundraisers such as its Macmillan May initiative.

The Rt Hon Alun Cairns MP, Chairman of the APPBG, said: “It is a real pleasure to join PubAid and my parliamentary colleagues in the APPBG in congratulating Greene King for this laudable achievement. Their efforts will have helped Macmillan nurses and other professionals to provide much-needed support to people living with cancer across the country.

“Everyone involved in this fantastic team effort should be very proud of what they have achieved.”

PubAid President Keith Bott said: “It’s hard to think of a better showcase for how pubs can be a force for good in their communities, and society more broadly. Every pound raised in a Greene King pub is a

testament to the determination of its licensees, managers, team members and customers to make a difference to this worthy cause.

“It’s doubly impressive that Greene King refused to let the lockdowns of the last few years derail their mission to support Macmillan; in fact they managed to raise an amazing £1.2 million in September and October 2021 alone. Their dedication is an inspiration to the thousands of other pubs in the UK who together raise more than £100m every

PubAid celebrates pubs as a force for good in their communities, promoting not only their fundraising work, but also support for grassroots sports, estimated to be worth £40m every year. Working with the APPBG and with sponsorship from Matthew Clark, PubAid runs an annual Community Pub Hero Awards scheme, recognising those pubs who go the extra mile to support their local communities and charities. The 2022 Awards have just closed, attracting close to 200 entries including 60+ nominations from MPs.

Pubs and Clubs Across Northamptonshire Asked to Sign Up to Night-Time Safety Scheme Bars and pubs in Northampton and Kettering have been urged to sign up to a safety scheme that will improve safety for customers at their venues.

Licensed premises across the two towns were visited last week by a team from the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (OPFCC), Licensing Security & Vulnerability Initiative (Licensing SAVI), and Northamptonshire Police encouraging them to sign up to Licensing SAVI. The scheme, which is being funded by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold sees venues improve their safety and security by taking part in an online self-assessment that gives them a star rating that they can display in their premises, showing the steps they have taken to make customers feel safe.

As a result of the visits, a further 16 venues have signed up for the scheme in Northampton and Kettering, taking the total amount of licensed premises registered to 45 across the county.

Encouraging licensed premises to gain an LSAVI accreditation is part of a wider programme to tackle violence against women and girls.

Stephen said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for licensed premises to complete the Licensing SAVI assessment and show the public that they are taking their customers’ security seriously, with measures to keep them safe.

“It is great to see so many venues get on board with the scheme already, but we want to see as many places signed up from across the county as we can. I’m very grateful to every venue that has signed up so far.

“I am committed to doing all I can to help keep women and girls safe and supporting the Licensing SAVI scheme will help to improve things further.”

The Sound Bar in Kettering, which is one of the first venues in Northamptonshire to receive a five-star accreditation from the scheme after completing its LSAVI health check.

Tracey Parsons, Designated Premises Supervisor for The Sound Bar, said: “The fact that we can offer people the notification that we are safe is great.

“The accreditation is a way of showing our customers that we will look after them if they come into our venue at night.”

Hospitality Shift Workers Will Work 43% More Hours this Weekend Issue 137

Hospitality industry workers will collectively work 43% more hours this weekend compared to usual, according to analysis from shift work platform, Deputy.

With Black Friday coinciding with Wales and England World Cup fixtures, hospitality workers are set to potentially deliver a record performance in what will be a much needed boost for the sector.

Hours to be worked this Friday are forecast to rise by 45% compared to the average Friday, with the same rise predicted on Saturday (26th), and 38% more hours expected to be worked on Sunday (27th) compared to average.

The estimations are based on analysis of the shift patterns of over 12,000 shifts worked by UK hospitality workers over the Black Friday weekend in 2021. Hours worked this weekend could exceed these estimations given the World Cup effect.

In the midst of one of the busiest weekends in hospitality, patrons are being urged to show their support for the workers who serve them through the launch of ‘Shift Worker Sunday’ on 27th November.

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“Hospitality workers are expected to be particularly busy this weekend. This is the first time that a major sporting tournament has coincided with Black Friday and the fact that both Wales and England football teams are playing is expected to drive a combination of shoppers and football fans to our pubs, cafes and restaurants.

“With this in mind, it’s important that we look after the people that make it all possible.

“Shift workers, such as those in hospitality, keep our communities connected and thriving, especially during the busiest, most hectic and chaotic times of the year. This is therefore the perfect time to recognise the hard work they do to support and uplift our communities and why we’re launching the first-ever Shift Worker Sunday.

“We’re encouraging people to show their appreciation by making a small gesture on Sunday. It could be giving a tip, gifting them a coffee or leaving somebody a great review. You could write a thank you note for the hospitality staff working through the busy Christmas period or tell them about a time they made a real difference to your day. The most important thing is to show people your appreciation and to be kind.”

David Kelly, General Manager for EMEA at Deputy said:

Supply Chain Concerns as Delivery Workers Vote to Strike Almost 400 workers delivering food to KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Wagamama will strike over a real terms pay cut.

A majority of 76 per cent of those who voted were in favour of industrial action.

Bestfood drivers, who also deliver fresh food to the likes of Pizza Express and Zizzi, will announce strike dates imminently.

Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer, said: “The parent companies of Bestfood – Booker and Tesco – are making serious money.

“Shareholders are trousering large dividends, while the people who do the graft are struggling to make ends meet.

“All these workers want is a pay deal that protects them from this crushing cost of living crisis.

“Now, some of the best know restaurants on the UK’s high streets will face shortages over Christmas.”

A Best Food Logistics spokesperson said: “Best Food Logistics provides colleagues with a competitive and comprehensive reward package, and we are committed to a constructive dialogue with our colleagues and GMB to reach a way forward.

“We will be working closely with our customers to ensure they can continue to get the products they need and remain actively engaged with GMB to reach a positive outcome for our colleagues and customers.”

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Hospitality Can Drive Economy Forward, Business Leaders Hear “If the sector is to drive the economy forward like we know it can, it’s essential that business rates bills are reduced in that Budget and that hospitality is a key pillar of Scottish Government’s economic plans.”

Leading figures in Scottish hospitality recently joined together to celebrate the sector and its contribution to the economy and society.

Speaking at the event, UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls highlighted the important role hospitality plays in Scotland, employing around 200,000 people and contributing £9 billion to the economy.

In addition to dealing with soaring energy costs, staffing challenges and dampening consumer confidence, Scottish hospitality businesses are also facing the unique challenges of a new Deposit Return Scheme, outdated property taxes and a transport system that is not fit-for-purpose.

Commenting on the event, she said: “Scotland’s vibrant and world class hospitality community makes enormous contributions to our economy and society, but it is facing into the fiercest of economic headwinds that we have ever experienced.

UKHospitality Scotland Executive Director Leon Thompson said: “Our hospitality businesses are already at the centre of Scottish society and our tourism offering to the rest of the world, but I’m hearing constantly that businesses are worried about their survival.

“Of course, it’s not only economic turbulence that’s hitting us, with so many areas of Government policy and regulation that touch our business.

“Whether it’s rising costs or the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme, businesses are seeing more and more cost and regulation inserted into their business at every level.

“The Autumn Statement was more positive for our sector than initially feared, with encouraging news on business rates relief for venues in England.

“It’s important we see this translated across the UK though, and we now need to see the Scottish Government freeze business rates and implement rates relief in its Budget in December. In the long-term, there remains an urgent need to reform the business rates system, which is out-dated and not fit-for-purpose.

“The dual challenge of additional legislation from both the UK and Scottish Government has created a raft of bureaucracy that is holding business back. In both Westminster and Edinburgh, UKHospitality continues to press for effective and streamlined regulation that provides the support businesses need to survive the winter and also encourages growth.”

The Drinks Trust’s Energy Crisis Fund is Now Open for Applications Ross Carter, The Drinks Trust Chief Executive, commented: “The support we can offer is thanks to the generous support of industry business and organisations who have understood the acute hardship faced by many of our colleagues. We could encourage more businesses to do the same, and join our donors and us in delivering what support we can.”

As the hospitality and licensed on trade sector struggles with rising energy costs, the Drinks Trust has opened applications to its energy fund.

It is widely known that the hospitality industry workforce now faces the combination of rising prices, rocketing food and energy costs and the prospect of recession as the vital Christmas trading period approaches.

Pam Rowan, Human Resources Director at Pernod Ricard UK, commented: “We are acutely aware this year continues to be a tough year for many and it’s important to us that we continue to support those in the hospitality industry. We have been long supporters of The Drinks Trust’s work and we know this significant contribution to the Energy Crisis Fund will have a positive impact on those who need a helping hand this winter.”

According to a recent survey produced by UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) and Hospitality Ulster, more than a third of the UK’s hospitality sector is at risk of business failure in early 2023 due to the cost of living crisis.

The prospect of business closures will further exacerbate the profound financial hardship being experienced by many within the industry workforce. With the increased cost of energy and food has now put many individuals in energy poverty.

To address this, The Drinks Trust is now opening applications to the Energy Crisis Fund, a grant-giving initiative to support industry colleagues struggling to pay gas and electricity bills and otherwise unable to heat and power their homes this winter.

With the support of leading industry businesses, The Drinks Trust has fundraised over £150,000 to date to support the people of the drinks and wet-led hospitality industry. Further donations to the fund are welcomed and will allow The Drinks Trust to provide much-needed support into 2023.

The Difference in Engaging Food Hygiene Training is Right in the Video I’m passionate about helping food businesses to succeed by ensuring their staff are trained to work safely. My experience shows that training can’t just be a ‘tick box’ exercise. To produce safe food and for a business to get a good food hygiene rating, staff need to understand food safety. This is only possible if they learn and retain knowledge from training.

The Safety Expert has created an online Level 2 Food Hygiene course for hospitality businesses that enables staff to learn through video. The course consists of videos that are filmed in real-life scenarios with practical examples. The course is created and delivered by Natalie Stanton, Founder of The Safety Expert. Natalie is a Chartered Environmental Health Officer, food safety advisor and trainer.

Natalie said: “Presenting information in a visual way can increase knowledge retention. That’s why I opted for video. My mission is to bridge the gap between elearning and face-to-face training. I want to retain the flexibility and affordability of online training whilst presenting information in a visual way to ensure staff learn and remember as much as possible. I know now more than ever food businesses are experiencing a high turnover of staff. It is essential that all of these staff are trained to work safely. After all, a business is only as good as its staff.

Having worked as a local authority EHO for over 11 years I’ve seen many examples of how poor staff training can impact a business. During a food hygiene inspection, it only takes one mistake from a food handler to cost the business its 5-star rating. For example; I’ve seen food handlers panic to get food into the fridge and cause cross-contamination by storing raw meat incorrectly. The EHO can’t ignore this when calculating a food hygiene rating. Effective training should help staff make the right decisions when it comes to food safety.”

To find out more: www.thesafetyexpert.co.uk info@thesafetyexpert.co.uk

For an exclusive use code CLH248.

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The Energy Crisis Fund will be distributed in grants of £350 per person, and applications will be open on Monday 7th November. Applicants will be assessed and prioritised based on their financial circumstances.

To find out more about The Drinks Trust’s Emergency Energy Crisis Fund and how to apply, please visit: www.drinkstrust.org.uk/get-help/assist/emergency-energy-crisis-fund If you would like to support the Fund, please get in touch with The Drinks Trust Fundraising team to find out more: partnerships@drinkstrust.org.uk or donate https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Emergency-Energy-Crisis

NEED LEVEL 2 FOOD HYGIENE TRAINING? The affordable, fast and effective way to train staff in your hospitality business.

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✓ Engaging and interactive content ✓ Unlimited free retakes

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*Offer only applies to Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene course for catering when purchased online at www.thesafetyexpert.co.uk.

Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers or discounts.

Find out more:

Email: info@thesafetyexpert.co.uk Website: www.thesafetyexpert.co.uk

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UKHospitality Scotland Calls on the Scottish Government to Implement Business Rate Support UKHospitality Scotland has called on the Scottish Government to implement business rate support

Treasury, as a result of today’s statement, the Scottish Government will receive an additional £1.5 billion of

Responding to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, UKHospitality Scotland Executive Director Leon Thompson said:

funding over 2023-24 and 2024-25. This as a result of today’s tax and spending policy decisions, including the

“Today’s statement underscored the severe difficulties faced across the economy. Hospitality remains on the front line of these challenges, hit by increases in the cost of doing business and the cost-of-living crisis experienced by customers. The support on business rates promised today by the Chancellor will give hospitality businesses in England some hope.

“In Scotland we now look ahead to 15 December and the Scottish Government’s Budget. According to The

business rate relief set out for England.

“With a third of our members concerned about business survival this winter, it is imperative that the Scottish Government allocates support on business rates quickly. This move will make the difference between survival or closure for hospitality venues across Scotland. This vital support in the Scottish Budget can help to secure the future of businesses and the jobs so many people depend on.”

Craft Union Pub Company Announce Winners of Operator Awards 2022 Craft Union Pub Company, which was named the Best Community Operator at the 2022 Publican Awards, has announced this year’s winners of its Operator Awards.

The Operator Awards recognise the best of the best across the company and celebrate the hard work of Operators carried out over the last year across all its sites. The winners spanned across ten categories from best sales to pub of the year.

All the winners celebrated alongside one another and with senior members of Stonegate Group including Ian Payne, MBE, Chairman of Stonegate Group and Frazer Grimbleby, Craft Union Operation Director. The categories and winners included: Most Outstanding Pub of the Year – Winner: Chris Hodge, The Rose & Crown Worthing Best Community Pub Operator – Winner: Jonathan and Tanya Childs, The Garden House Norwich Best Compliance Award – Winner: Jason Herringshaw, The Tiger Inn Cottingham Best Events – Winner: Cherylynn and Kira Mallinson-Brown, The Pack Horse Leeds Best Investment – Winner: Lee Lomas, The Beehive Inn Droylsden Best Newcomer – Winner: Catherine Bulford, The Phoenix Rainham Best Sports Performance – Winner: Claire Turner, The Moot Hall Arms Leeds

Demonstrating Craft Union Values – Winner: Carole Jones, The Wig & Pen Swansea Best Sales – Winner: Annie McTaggart, The Central Hotel Middlesbrough Best Profit Growth – Winner: Andrew Noon, The Black Bull Brigg Nick Andrews, Managing Director of Stonegate Pub Partners, said: “Congratulations to all of our Operators who won awards at this year’s Operator Awards, you should be very proud of all of your efforts and hard work.”

Craft Union Pub Company celebrated seven years of trading earlier this year with the investment and reopening of its very first pub, The Market Tavern in Hanley. It has the philosophy of putting brilliant pubs back at the heart of local communities and works closely with the pub’s Operators to do this and maintain the role their pubs play in customers’ lives.

Craft Union also launched a bespoke learning and development programme this year names Elevations, supporting its teams in becoming the best they can be and providing a great offering to their communities.

Nick continued: “Our Operators work so hard in making their pubs brilliant and doing all they can to be involved with their communities, it is great to see the Craft Union philosophy being displayed. We do our utmost to support all involved with Craft Union from running a successful local business to personal development.

As our teams grow, we are excited to see all the amazing work that will be carried out at our pubs across the country.”

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Issue 137

World Cup Licensing: The Government’s Own Goal

By Melissa Toney, food and drink specialist at law firm, Shakespeare Martineau (www.shma.co.uk) The hospitality sector has been hit hard over recent years by the Covid-19 pandemic, staff shortages, soaring energy prices and the cost-of-living crisis. However, the Government has promised measures to support the sector, but has scored an impressive own goal by not granting automatic licensing extensions in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Granting automatic extensions would have eased the burden on already struggling businesses and brought a massive financial boost to the sector, with an estimated £91 million predicted to be spent on pints alone during the tournament. This lack of foresight was compounded further by poor timing, with the announcement coming less than a week before the first game; making it impossible for venues to apply for variation to their licences in time.

In order to achieve a licensing extension by the first game (and those of Wales and England), venues would have had to submit a late notice on the same day as the

announcement, as the application takes five working days to be processed. As a result, many venues were not granted extensions to undertake activity not included in their existing licence and would not be able to show these popular games.

As the tournament continues, venues may apply for Temporary Extension Notices (TENs), although this is not an ideal solution. Firstly, it is an administrative and financial burden for venues, costing £21 per application, and secondly, it takes 10 working days for the application to be processed. A series of TENs can be extended to cover 26 days but each TEN can only last seven days at a time, with a 24-hour break, venues must be able to predict which games will be popular, meaning preparation is key. Even then the total amount of TENS available to a premises is insufficient to cover the entire tournament.

To ensure their applications for TENs are successful, venues should ensure they have read their licenses thoroughly and are meeting all the requirements. It is possible to indirectly breach conditions by undertaking ctivity not included, and Local Authorities will be particularly vigilant during the World Cup. With The Society of Independent Brewers warning that 70 per cent of pubs could close in the coming months, the future of hospitality looks uncertain. If the Government want the confidence of the sector, then they will have to answer some tough questions about their decision-making as to why automatic licences extensions were not granted for the World Cup and take strong action to save the sector.

Parents Must See the Potential of Hospitality Sector to Help Tackle Jobs Crisis, Says Top Chef Raymond Blanc OBE -Celebrity chef backs Hospitality Rising campaign, hailing industry as ‘extraordinary’ place to workOne of the world’s most respected chefs, Raymond Blanc OBE, said parents must see the hospitality industry as a place they want their kids to work in as he backed a major recruitment campaign, Hospitality Rising.

Speaking in an exclusive new Hospitality Rising podcast, the celebrity chef, who is Chef Patron of Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, believes that in order to attract young people into the industry, managers must also provide support, care and patience along the way.

Having started working in the kitchen after moving from France to England back in the 70s, Raymond is the latest among big-name chefs to back the bold Hospitality Rising campaign, ‘Rise Fast, Work Young,’ which has been launched in a bid to help fill the industry’s 400,000 vacancies.

Raymond believes now is one of the most important times for opportunities to be made within the industry and urged parents to teach their kids that it’s a great place to work.

He said: “The movement and awareness of Hospitality Rising is so important because it can connect a whole nation. You have the power of connecting people at all sorts of different social and academic levels”.

“It’s a great time to be bringing young people to our industry and to show them how exciting, and how extraordinary the industry can be.

You’re talking about working in a very smart, elegant environment which is all about beauty and refinement, and making people happy.

“And because of the changes and the revolution we’re creating in our industry, I hope that every parent would think one day, yes, I would want to put my son or my daughter in this industry.

“It’s up to us to change the industry, which is about people, training, supporting the young, and caring for them.”

Alongside Raymond, the campaign is being backed by Michelin-starred chefs Tom Kerridge and Angela Hartnett, as well as brands including Pret A Manger, Prezzo and Hilton, and much more.

The recruitment drive, which officially launched last month, highlights how quickly workers can climb the hospitality ladder with the powerful message ‘you can’t go further faster.’

It comes as figures from KAM, which is supporting the Hospitality Rising effort, show that only 1 in 5 people would consider a hospitality job and 42 per cent of current employees are thinking about leaving the sector.

Raymond continued: “Food, it sounds easy, but it’s a skilled craft. This business today can offer any young person, or older person, avenues where you can be everything you wish.

“Through this craft you can travel anywhere across the world, create your own business and pass it on to other young people.

“It’s up to us to change the industry. People say oh the young, they don’t want to work.’ I believe this is wrong – give them a good manager, a patient manager – and believe me, that young person will grow into someone who is going to be a great success for himself in his life and will enjoy it.

“Training is a crucial part in helping a young or older person to be confident. When you’re confident you feel in control; it’s like a warm, fuzzy feeling inside you.

“So, beyond the working hours and beyond the training, there’s so much that an employer can actually do, and it’s up to us to do it.”

By asking backers to pledge £10 per employee, the recruitment campaign aims to reach a £5m target, allowing for a “government-sized” collaborative campaign that will change the perception of the industry and bolster its workforce for good.

Mark McCulloch, founder of Hospitality Rising and campaign director, said: “Like Raymond says, the hospitality industry can only become a greater place by ensuring we have employers who create the best training and support for those who wish to kick start a career within the industry.

“Through Hospitality Rising, we are trying our best to create a new era in hospitality by working with the best employers who care for their teams and are committed to changing it for the better.

“We also want employers, role models and parents to shine a light on the opportunities and promise of where hospitality can lead. This movement is all making the industry a better place for all, including creating an environment that supports young people and gives them the confidence to be the best they can be.”

To see the full range of Hospitality Rising podcasts featuring backers and chefs, visit the campaign’s Youtube channel.

A full list of vacancies can be found at www.hospitalityrising.com

More Than Great Coffee For Your Business As we enter the winter season with the continued inflationary pressures, rising energy bills and increased labour costs; operators from all corners of the hospitality market are looking at their total offer to consider changes that will make guest eating and drinking occasions work more efficiently and effectively, better for the guest experience and better for business.

The demand for quality remains but the expectation for value for experience grows, here’s where Douwe Egberts Cafitesse can help your business with more than great coffee.

With a range of Douwe Egberts’ Cafitesse machines to choose from, each is a beautifully designed high-speed, self-serve coffee machine with varying capabilities to suit the needs of your venues, your hospitality occasions and your guests. Each is also built for reliability to serve high volumes of coffee and drinks at peak times, whether pots or cups, served or self-serve. Perfect for high-demand usage, all day long, from breakfast to evening service.

Douwe Egberts Cafitesse knows how to deliver great tasting coffee at high speed and in high volumes, now being experienced by the 135,000+ machines being used worldwide, serving two billion cups every year and counting.

Sourcing coffees from around the world, Douwe Egberts Cafitesse coffee is roasted and brewed to create perfectly balanced blends full of flavour – capturing all the flavours and precious aromas to deliver a consistently delicious coffee, cup after cup. Within the range, we also offer UTZ Certified blends including Intense and Classic Roast.

Discover the benefits of Douwe Egberts Cafitesse in your business, scan the QR code shown.

FREE TRIAL OFFER EXCLUSIVE TO HOTELS ONLY See for yourself the difference Cafitesse can make to your guest experience and the efficiency of your serving team.

Applying is no guarantee of a free trial. Selection criteria and geographical restrictions apply. For full terms and conditions visit www.jacobsdouweegbertsprofessional.co.uk/cafitesse-freetrial-terms-of-use See the advert on the facing page for further details.

The Importance of Local Community in an International Industry 16

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By Giles Fuchs, owner of Burgh Island Hotel (www.burghisland.com)

er its distinctive characteristics and capabilities and how these can support the community. At Burgh Island, for example, we hosted last year’s Bigbury Net Zero assembly on climate change, marrying our sizeable entertainment space with our meticulous dedication to sustainable practices.

Hospitality is understandably inclined towards the international — as an industry, we rely on a steady stream of visiting guests to keep our doors open. Yet, when serving our guests, we must not neglect the local businesses and communities that we owe so much to.

Indeed, with almost half of UK travellers seeking experiential travel trips where they can truly explore an area’s history, culture, and traditions - maintaining the local connection has never been so important to a hotel’s success. By forging a symbiotic relationship with local businesses and organisations, hotels can support their communities economically, socially, and environmentally – and without turning away the modern traveller.

BEING PART OF A COMMUNITY History and heritage may well be the darlings of regional tourist boards across Britain, but for hotels hoping to promote and preserve their setting, it remains vital to recognise the important part played by community initiatives in nourishing local culture. By participating in initiatives such as arts programmes or environmental campaigns, hotels can simultaneously foster good relationships with local communities while ensuring a lively destination for their guests.

With a host of resources at their disposal, hospitality businesses can play a unique part in local initiatives. Alongside providing of facilities and catering for conferences, meetings, and events, each hotel should consid-

Our local and environmental commitments stem from our desire to do right by the environment and community that makes our island such a special place to live, work and visit. However, community engagement can also serve to benefit hotels in a more commercial sense. By extending a hand to their neighbourhood, hotels expand their reach much further than the local boundary stones through the additional marketing opportunities and brand recognition that community engagement presents. Positive community-orientated initiatives prompt for local and national news coverage, offering opportunities for promotion across a wide readership. Moreover, a place on the website of a socially- or environmentally conscious community group will raise an establishment standing among those 78% of tourists searching for eco-friendly accommodation in 2022.

OFFERING LOCAL BUSINESSES A HELPING HAND Guests don’t just want a place to sleep, eat and drink. They want to make lasting memories that they won't find elsewhere. In fact, Booking.com predicts that over 70% of s tourists will seek to escape their comfort zone and try something new in 2023. Undoubtedly, hotels that advertise the novel experiences their neighbours provide and partner with local businesses to offer exclusive deals will attract a wide pool of guests who want to engage with the local area. At Burgh Island, for example, we have collaborated with local fishing experts to curate a range of trips, allowing guests to cast their nets into one of the industries that gave rise to Bigbury-on-Sea. Collaboration can provide vital custom to hotels and local businesses alike. However, it can also afford a combination of social and environmental benefits. For instance, Burgh Island’s Nettlefold Restaurant sources 80% of its ingredients from local communities within a 30-mile radius. Not only does this cut the environmental cost of transporting produce onboard gas-guzzling vehicles, but we also feel smaller, local businesses are more attuned to the eco-friendly desires of our guests, and less prone to mass and, indeed, overproduction. By purchasing products from within a restricted radius, hotels can boost local business, cut

their carbon footprint, and sow a reputation for eco-consciousness all at once.

EMPLOYING LOCAL, EASING SHORTAGES Cultivating lasting relations within the local community can help a hotel promote itself not just to guests, but also to potential employees. With the shadow of a staffing crisis looming over the sector, securing loyal and enthusiastic workers has become a pressing concern for UK hospitality.

Indeed, as of October 2022, 158,000 industry vacancies remained unfilled according to the Office of National Statistics.

The positive reputation a hotel builds through community relations can attract staff from the neighbourhood by both showcasing the hotel to local residents and forging individual bonds between existing employees and members of the community. And with McKinsey research highlighting a lack of belonging among the top reasons employees leave a role, this pre-established connection will undoubtedly lead to long-lasting careers and a happier workplace, much to the benefit of business, staff, and guests.

With only 16 staff bedrooms currently on the island and, given its remote location where access is controlled by the tide, it’s important that staff can live nearby. House prices in South Hams have bucked current economic trends and remain expensive despite a drop in prices nationwide.

In 2022, amongst the 29 local authorities in the Southwest, South Hams recorded the highest property price rise, increasing by an average of 24.3%. Average house prices are now over £400,000 as the area becomes a popular destination for second homes and summer holidays.

We have recently invested £500,000 into transforming Korniloff care home into luxury staff accommodation with 22 high end ensuite double bedrooms. Burgh’s purchase of Korniloff is a move to shield employees from rising house prices and increasingly unaffordable rents, allowing them to focus on their roles at the hotel and progress their careers.

Through supporting local initiatives, collaborating with nearby businesses, and forging strong relationships with workers from the area, a hotel endears itself to both local community and visiting guests. It’s important that those hospitality businesses looking to serve the global market remember that, however far they spread their sights, their foundations still lie in the local community.

Scottish Government Publishes Consultation on Restricting Alcohol Advertising & Promotion sibility body and marketing regulator, said: “The majority of adults in Scotland are moderate or non-drinkers and it is encouraging that binge drinking, alcohol-related crime and underage drinking have all significantly declined. These recommendations are entirely disproportionate and inhibit consumers’ ability to make informed choices, and restrict the ability to trade for producers and retailers who ensure that alcohol is sold responsibly.

The Scottish Government has published a Consultation on Restricting Alcohol Advertising and Promotion in Scotland which closes on 9 March 2023.

The consultation will consider: • A ban on sports sponsorship in Scotland, which would also include bans on players and staff featuring in alcohol adverts in print and online.

• A ban on alcohol events sponsorship • A total ban on outdoor alcohol advertising including on vehicles and in public places.

• Restrictions on the retail of display of alcohol: • restricting window displays of alcohol, • restricting the use of mixed alcohol and non-alcohol aisles, • prohibiting aisle-end displays of alcohol, • structural separation of alcohol (barriers) / redefining the alcohol display area, and/or • covering alcohol behind till areas similar to tobacco.

• Ban the sales of alcohol-branded merchandise in Scotland.

• Extending any marketing restrictions to low and no alcohol alternatives which share branding with drinks over 1.2% ABV. • Banning alcohol adverts in print media • Banning alcohol-related social media channels and websites in Scotland • Banning or introducing a watershed for alcohol advertising on TV and radio • Restricting alcohol advertising in cinemas • Restricting the content of alcohol advertising to only factual statements • Requirement for the alcohol industry to provide information and data to the Scottish Government on alcohol marketing campaigns and sales data in Scotland.

Director of CAMRA Scotland Stuart McMahon said: “The Scottish Government’s plans risk punishing local breweries, cider producers and

“The Portman Group’s Codes of Practice have played a significant role in helping to achieve reductions in underage drinking, through extensive commitments to ensure that marketing and sponsorship does not target under 18s or vulnerable consumers. the vast majority of people who consume alcohol responsibly instead of targeting intervention and help to those suffering from alcohol dependency.

“The Scottish Government’s own Health Survey published last week shows that average weekly intake has fallen to well below the official UK Government weekly guidelines. This has all occurred at a time when the amount of advertising spend has increased, suggesting that there isn’t an immediate correlation between them.

“The heavy-handed measures proposed in this consultation risk limiting the ability of start-up, small and independent breweries and cider producers to bring products to the market and improve consumer choice of distinctive, quality Scottish beer and cider.

“However, there is still work to be done in addressing the small minority that drink to harmful levels and they require targeted health led interventions.

“Preventing beer and cider from being displayed in shops would be totally disproportionate, as well as undermining people’s ability to explore and choose different products.

“Local pubs and brewers are a vital part of our social fabric, bring people together and tackling loneliness. They also do a huge amount for local community groups, charities, and grassroots sport – all of which would suffer if onerous restrictions banning reasonable advertising of alcohol get the go-ahead.”

Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group, the alcohol social respon-

“We are pleased to see that the Scottish Government are prepared to work with existing regulators, and we commit to engage fully and constructively with the process.”

We strongly encourage you to read the consultation now to begin formulating responses on how this would impact your business. As we develop the Portman Group’s industry backed response we will share key headlines and points if you wish to adopt them in your own response.

Read the full consultation document now at https://tinyurl.com/bdh5d87s

Hospitality Expert Predicts Key Restaurant Trends for 2023 18

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As 2022 comes to a close, it’s time to look ahead to what trends will be cropping up on the restaurant scene next year. Here, Guy Cooper from catering equipment manufacturer and distributor Mitchell & Cooper (www.mitchellcooper.co.uk) has used his knowledge to bring together his top trends for 2023.

customers know about them, to maximise how on trend you are. Make sure that your menus are accurately coded too so that people can tell which dietary option is which easily. As the increase in plant-based eating is partly about sustainability, you might also want to explore seasonal and ‘nose to tail’ dishes, and advertise this too.

From the rise in new cuisines to tech that could add to the customer experience, there’s plenty on the way to be excited about. Fuelled by increased competition to get customers through the doors, restaurants will find new and unique ways to make themselves stand out.

SOLO DINING It might surprise you to learn that the trend of solo dining is on the rise. The hashtags #SoloDate and #DiningAlone are gaining views on TikTok, and eating out solo is becoming much more commonplace. It’s therefore a good idea to accommodate for those looking to dine alone, with smaller tables and counter seating available for those out on solo dates.

DEALS AND NOVELTIES As we move into 2023, it’s no secret that many consumers will need extra temptation to encourage them to enter a restaurant, and establishments will become more creative with finding different attractions to bring in custom. This might include deals on set menus, sharing plates, including a drink with a meal price, or other ways to bring in more interest.

We might also see restaurants experimenting with more novelty elements to increase footfall, such as themed nights or menus, guest appearances from popular chefs, and more. There may also be an increased focus on ‘nose to tail’ cookery, utilising as much as possible out of the produce that is bought. The year is set to be an exciting one in this sense, with establishments going the extra mile to bring in more business.

NEW CUISINES While the UK food scene still has its favourites, such as Indian and Italian cuisines, there are set to be some new trends on the horizon next year. The first is West African food, which has increased in popularity with restaurants like The Africa Centre and Ikoyi in London raising awareness about how many wonderful dishes this region has to offer.

Then, there’s Colombian and Kurdish cuisine which are both rising in popularity and will continue to do so throughout 2023. So, if you’re interested in exploring new dishes and regions for inspiration at your restaurant, this is a great time to try out some new things.

PLANT-BASED MENUS The interest in vegan and plant-based cuisine is only set to continue into 2023. Consumers have become much more interested in how their buying choices can be kind to the planet recently, and this is a part of the rise in plant-based food. But there’s also the factor that many people are increasingly realising how tasty and fun plant-based menus can be!

So, incorporate some plant-based and vegan options into your menu next year, and keep everyone accommodated for. It’s also a great time to push your plant-based choices in your advertising and make sure that

Menus will also become more accommodating to those dining out alone, with mini versions of sharing and tasting platters, and tapas selections that offer set menus for solo diners. This new trend is a great way for customers to come and experience what your cooking has to offer without being distracted from it, so make sure to offer space for them and to create enticing menu options for those interested in the food.

“There are lots of interesting trends coming up on the horizon in 2023, and jumping on them is a great way for restaurants to get a head start on the year. There will be lots of growth in new cuisines and menu types next year as establishments find more innovative ways to encourage customers through their doors. It’s set to be a great time for new catering trends and for diners to explore new cuisines.

“As well as new experiences, we should see more technology on the horizon too. This might include simple things like menu apps, or it might be more innovative, with customers being able to order before they get in the restaurant. Or, establishments may explore tech’s potential further, and utilise it to create playlists to go with set menus.”- Guy Cooper, Managing Director at Mitchell & Cooper

Greater Manchester Launches Christmas Campaign to Save its Hospitality Sector With just one month to go until Christmas, Greater Manchester’s Night Time Economy Adviser has launched a festive campaign to support the cityregion’s hospitality industry.

‘Give the Gift of Going Out’ aims to help the struggling sector by encouraging the public to support their favourite restaurants, bars, hotels, theatres and live gig venues by gifting family and friends a night out this Christmas.

The campaign will draw attention to local venues which provide Christmas gift vouchers or deposit bookings, and aims to remind the public of different present ideas, while simultaneously promoting the joy of spending time with loved ones.

Venues supporting the campaign and offering Christmas vouchers include Cocoa Cabana Chocolatiers, Alex’s Bakery, The Barking Dog Urmston, Atlas Bar, Three Little Words, Albert’s Schloss, Calcio! sports bar, 53Two, Riva Altrincham and Another Hand.

Restaurants include Abeja Tapas Bar in Stockport, A Tavola Gastronomia Siciliana in High Peak, WOOD Manchester, Con Club in Altrincham, Hawksmoor, Menagerie, the Northern Quarter’s Cane & Grain, and Platzki while hotels supporting the initiative include the King Street Townhouse, Hotel Football in Old Trafford and Motel One. Meanwhile, Junkyard Golf, Base Bar, The Royal Exchange, The Palace

Theatre, The Opera House and The Stoller Hall are also taking part, with further operators to be announced over the next month.

Sacha Lord, the city-region’s Night Time Economy Adviser, who is leading the campaign, said, “Treating loved ones to a night out not only gives them memories to cherish, but will go a long way in supporting local landlords and independent venues across Greater Manchester.

“We all know the difficulties that our favourite restaurants, bars, theatres and hotels are going through, and January is always the bleakest time of the year for the sector. Not only is footfall typically down as people choose to save and stay indoors, but as a result staff often find they aren’t booked for as many shifts as normal.

“By buying a voucher or putting a deposit down now, we can support the sector through the difficult post-Christmas period, and move away from gifting presents that just sit unwanted in the cupboard.

“What better way to help your favourite venue, and the local workforce, than gifting a loved one an evening out this Christmas.”

The general public can view all venues taking part in the Christmas initiative at www.givethegiftofgoingout.com or by looking out for posters in venue windows.

Jangro Launches New Catering And Hospitality Catalogue Jangro, the UK and Ireland’s largest network of independent janitorial distributors, is delighted to launch a brand new catalogue, dedicated to the commercial caterer and hospitality sector. Available now in a compact A5 size, it is packed with many new sustainable choices. These include disposable food packaging, cutlery and drinkware that are made from recycled materials and are also compostable, biodegradable, or recyclable.

From mixology, dispensing and serving essentials for bartenders, a large range of glassware (entry-level to fine dining), through to front of house essentials, including crockery, cutlery, oven to tableware, and presentation displays, the new catalogue has it all.

It caters for everything required within commercial kitchens, including equipment and furniture such as ovens, cookers, toasters, dishwashers, juicers and blenders, as well as cook and bakeware, storage and kitchen utensils. For staff, there is an array of uniform and PPE on offer, including chef’s clothing, headwear, hand protection, and footwear.

Also included are kitchen hygiene supplies, which are essential to avoid cross-contamination and the risk of foodborne illness. The catalogue covers all chemicals, paper products, and cleaning products, including the new ntrl range, Jangro’s innovative line of natural and

more sustainable cleaning products.

All ntrl products use raw materials that are derived from plant-based extracts; their natural formulas are 100% biodegradable, contain zero petrochemicals, and can reduce the product’s carbon footprint by up to 85%.

Jangro is also proud to offer products for hotels, from brands including Elsyl, and Taylor of London, as well as ranges that are 90% natural. Other features include an array of different signage, fire safety equipment, first aid, waste management, plus washroom essentials including baby change facilities.

Jo Gilliard, CEO of Jangro comments “We are thrilled to unveil our new Catering and Hospitality Catalogue. It may be a more compact size than previous editions, but it is absolutely bursting with everything a catering business might need for its establishment.

What’s more, we have included more sustainable options than ever before, helping our customers to make responsible choices and meet their own sustainability goals.”

For more info or to order a free copy visit Jangro.net or call 01204 795 955.

New Report Shows Government Underestimates True Value of Club Culture in the UK 20

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With recent reports stating that 1 in 3 Nightclubs are at risk of closing in the coming months, the NTIA and AFEM have expressed concern that the UK faces losing the world-renowned club network, the breeding ground for the artists, DJs, and entrepreneurs which shape this amazing movement.

The pandemic has shown, the report says, that the Government does not recognise the importance of the sector, and has limited knowledge of its value, particularly its value outside of simple economics, but Electronic Music and Club Culture in the UK also has community and cultural importance as this new report shows.

Dance music shapes our communities and our culture across the UK. Clubs and festivals improve the health, well-being, friendship and happiness of millions, year in year out. They are positive, unifying and inspiring forces in an increasingly divided world.

The creativity of the scene powers every corner of popular culture.

Whether they’re gloomily-lit dark rooms or flamboyant, otherworldly fantasylands – clubs have become an increasingly fundamental part of modern social infrastructure.

Night Time Culture Economy accounts for 1.6% of GDP – or £36.4 billion – and 425,000 jobs across the UK.

The report goes on t say that these quantified benefits are often presented when urging the wider public to tolerate what some only perceive as noise-polluting local venues. However, nightlife’s contribution to the UK economy far exceeds the revenue it generates, and is significantly underestimated by the UK Government in its lack of consideration and direct support.

Adding that by focusing exclusively on their commercial value, the Government and key stakeholders overlook both the roles individual clubs play within their local communities and the broader socioeconomic context within which nightlife operates.

Mayor’s Tourism Campaign Provides Multi-Million-Pound Boost To The Capital A tourism campaign led by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to encourage visitors back to the capital has helped bring in £289m additional spending to London, new figures reveal.

ever seen. This has included spending £7m to encourage international tourists back to London, £2m to attract overnight UK visitors and £1m for reaching out to Londoners.

The Mayor expanded his Let’s Do London campaign – already the biggest domestic tourism campaign the capital has ever seen – earlier this year to reach international audiences and encourage even more people to enjoy everything London has to offer following the impact of the pandemic on our hospitality, culture, leisure and retail sectors.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Our hospitality, leisure and culture sectors are world-leading and a major driver of our economy, but they have had an incredibly difficult few years due to the impact of the pandemic and now the cost of living crisis.

The Mayor’s campaign has been a huge success, delivering a return on investment of £28 for every £1 spent*, bringing in an additional £289m spending to London. It is also estimated that the campaign will bring an additional 600,000 visitors to London from other parts of the UK, Germany, France and the USA. Sadiq launched his Let’s Do London campaign last year to support the capital’s tourism industry after the devastating impact of the pandemic and travel restrictions saw the number of overnight stays in the capital more than halve. Prior to the pandemic, London was the third most visited city on the planet with the thriving tourism sector accounting for as many as one in seven jobs and contributing almost 12 per cent of the capital’s gross domestic product. Visitors to London also went on to spend more than £640m in local economies outside of the capital.

Through the Let’s Do London campaign, the Mayor has been working with London’s business growth and destination agency, London & Partners, and the London Tourism Recovery Board, to encourage Londoners and tourists across the world to enjoy the capital by shining a spotlight on the world-leading range of attractions and entertainment.

This began with the biggest domestic tourism campaign the capital has ever seen and was extended earlier this year when the Mayor visited New York to launch the largest international tourism campaign London has

“I’m delighted that my Let’s Do London campaign has helped bring in an additional £289m spending in London.

“I will continue to bang the drum for our capital and highlight our unparalleled offer to visitors from all round the world, as well as the many exciting free events that we have on offer, as we build a better, more prosperous city for all.”

Michael Kill, CEO Night Time Industries Association, said: “The Let’s Do London tourism campaign has been hugely successful for the capital, encouraging people to return to London post pandemic, reminding the world about how much this amazing city has to offer. The proactive response by the London Mayor in conjunction with business leaders from across London in response to the end of the pandemic has led the way in recovery campaigns.”

UKHospitality Chief Executive, Kate Nicholls, said: “London is one of the most vibrant cities on Earth and it’s fantastic to see the success of the Mayor’s campaign, bringing much needed visitors back through the doors of our amazing hospitality venues. The sector is so critical to London, generating £36 billion for the economy and employing half a million people, and I’m certain the campaign will go from strength-tostrength, attracting even more people from at home and abroad to visit. As we head into winter, I can’t wait to see even more people enjoying the capital’s Christmas offering and the return of our world class fireworks display this New Year.”

18th Annual British Curry Awards to Honour Founder, the Late Enam Ali Mbe Onion Bhaji Index Indicates Average Cost in the UK Will Rise From £4 to £12 The UK’s award ceremony to honour the nation’s top curry restaurants, as voted for by the British public, The British Curry Awards 2022 will pay tribute to the late Enam Ali MBE. The 18th annual ceremony will be held on Monday 28th November at Evolution London in memory of the event’s founder and the UK’s leading spokesperson for the curry industry, who worked tirelessly to promote the curry industry globally for over 45 years.

The finest curry restaurateurs from across the UK will come together in the Capital to honour Enam Ali’s memory and in the hope of being recognised as the best restaurant in their region and honoured with a jewel in the crown of the UK curry restaurant industry award sector. Recognised globally as the original and most coveted award ceremony in the UK curry industry, also referred to as the ‘Curry Oscars’, as termed by former Prime Minister David Cameron, British Curry Awards will also welcome prominent personalities from the worlds of politics, sport, showbiz and entertainment alongside celebrity chefs and curry restaurant owners and their staff from across the country.

The 2022 event also marks the introduction of the Diners Choice Award – a new category that will reward curry establishments that are able to engage their customers through social media. Any nominated establishment in Britain will have a chance to win this award if they receive the highest number of live, public votes on the night.

However, the UK curry industry, known for its resilience in weathering operational and business challenges such as staff shortages and the pandemic, now faces further uncertainty with the energy and cost of living crises and amid rising inflation. With spiralling costs, It is estimated that the average price of a curry could reach as much as £30 and industry leaders fear it could lead to the closure of thousands of curry restaurants across the UK. Curry restaurateurs have seen their shopping bills increase by an average of 40 per cent. The price of oil alone has increased by more than 100 per cent; while the cost of other curry house essentials such as a 25kg

sack of onions has now doubled to more than £14.50. The situation is unsustainable for the industry as curry houses are desperately trying to minimise off-setting these costs against menu pricing, as households are facing tightened budgets themselves.

The Spice Business ‘Onion Bhaji Index’ indicates the average cost of an onion bhaji in the UK will jump from £4 to £12 per portion, while rising inflation means the average price of curry house favourite, the chicken tikka masala, would rise from an average menu price of £7 to £17, which diners are simply unable to afford. Add to that soaring energy bills, it is estimated that around seven in ten restaurants could be forced to shut their doors for good without government intervention.

Jeffrey Ali, Director, British Curry Awards says, “The British Curry Awards 2022 marks the first year without our Founder, the late Enam Ali MBE. For decades, he tirelessly dedicated his life towards promoting and championing the UK Curry Industry, cementing The British Curry Awards as an ‘institution’. As the natural custodian of this revered brand, we proudly strive forward with our responsibility to continue his legacy, ensuring The British Curry Awards remain THE platform to inspire future generations to push the boundaries and innovate Britain’s favourite cuisine.

Whilst the international community, especially the UK, faces a continued onslaught of economic uncertainty and political instability, we take solace from the general public who continue to support local businesses such as their local Curry Restaurants. We’re currently developing the ‘Onion Bhaji Index’, which will help consumers and business owners alike to better understand prices at their local curry establishment. As a consumer forward award platform, our goal is to promote the best in Britain, bringing real value to our nation’s customers. We have received tens of thousands of nominations this year and look forward to announcing the results of our months-long judging process and live vote due to be held at the biggest and most anticipated ceremony on the hospitality calendar.”

Best of Beer Writing Recognised in Annual Awards 22

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TOP PRIZE FOR AUTHOR AND FILMMAKER Beer author and filmmaker Jonny Garrett has been named Beer Writer of the Year 2022 at the Guild of Beer Writers’ Annual Awards, presented on 23 November.

Beer Writer of the Year is the top accolade in the Guild’s annual competition for communication about beer and pubs, which this year received 190 entries across 16 categories – the highest number ever, and matched with a record prize fund of £19,500, shared between 27 Gold and Silver award winners.

On his way to the top honour, Garrett won Gold Awards in the categories for Pub Communications, Books and Video Communications – the latter with Brad Evans, his co-presenter on the Craft Beer Channel on YouTube. His book, A Year in Beer, was published earlier this year by CAMRA, and he also contributes regularly to beer magazines and websites such as Good Beer Hunting. Garrett has been named Beer Writer of the year once before, in 2019.

Pete Brown, chair of judges for this year’s Awards after taking the Beer Writer of the Year title in 2021, said, “Choosing an overall Beer Writer this year was exceptionally hard, but Jonny was the judges’ choice because of the range of his work, from print articles to website posts, films and a new book. Whatever he does, he has complete mastery of his topic, thanks to painstaking research, and is able to communicate it to beer nerds or a generalist audience. If we ever get a beer programme on mainstream TV, Jonny should definitely make it!

“We were impressed by the standard of submissions across the board this year. The knowledge, energy and passion shone through entries whether newspaper columns, blog posts, books or films. Several winners tonight are relatively new to beer and pub writing, proving that our robust judging rewards talent, not time served.

“Everyone who received an award or a commendation should be extremely proud; they really are the cream of British beer writing in 2022 and we wish them all success in their future career communicating about beer, pubs and cider.”

The Guild revised its Awards this year, splitting the previous Broadcast category into Audio and Video sections and introducing new Awards for Best Communication about Diversity in Beer and Pubs, and for Best Communication about Cider, following the decision to include cider writing within the Guild’s remit.

Brown was joined on the judging panel by Mitch Adams, Beer Sommelier and beer buyer at Euroboozer; Molly Davis, head of communications at the BII; Claire Dodd, travel and drinks writer; Matt Eley, communications consultant and former editor of Inapub magazine; Fergus Fitzgerald, production director at Adnams; Kelly McCarthy CBII, licensee of the Old Sun Inn in Yorkshire; John Mitchinson, co-founder of crowdfunding publishers Unbound; Ned Palmer, cheesemonger and author and Michelle Perrett, industry journalist and communications expert.

The Brewer of the Year title, sponsored by SIBA, was presented to Andy Parker, founder and head brewer at Elusive Brewing, who won the highest number of votes in a poll of Guild members.

Presenting the Award, Guild Chair Emma Inch said: “Andy’s passion for brewing shows in every beer he produces, and what ends up in the glass is always a shining example of its style. He hasn’t forgotten his homebrew roots, running an annual competition that gives the winner a platform to brew their own beer, and benefit from his time and knowledge as a mentor.”

The winners were announced at the Guild’s annual dinner held at One

Great George Street in Westminster. Each dish was served with a specially selected drink: Asahi Fuller’s Honey Dew; Little Pomona Wading In Cider; Geipel Bock; Bohem Amos; Thornbridge Jehanne and Adnams Broadside. Beers from some of the Award’s sponsors– Asahi UK, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company, Greene King, Heineken, Krombacher, Shepherd Neame, St Austell Brewery, VisitFlanders and SIBA - were enjoyed before and after dinner.

AND THE WINNERS WERE...

SIBA Award for Brewer of the Year Andy Parker, Elusive Brewing Guild Award for Best Corporate Beer Communications Winner: Untold Agency for Republic of Beer campaign for Budweiser Budvar UK Guild Award for Best Citizen Beer Communicator, sponsored by Krombacher Winner: Oli Haydon for www.youtube.com/user/pintsizedthinking Silver Award: Matthew Rogers for CAMRAngle magazine Award for Best Beer Business Communicator Winner: Stephen Beaumont for articles in Just Drinks Best Communication about Pubs, sponsored by Shepherd Neame Winner: Jonny Garrett for films on cask ale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHv4ebfo4mc Silver Award: Alastair Gilmour for articles in Meet and Drink: The Microbus, Gateshead (review) (meet-and-drink.co.uk) Highly Commended: David Jesudason for articles in Good Beer Hunting and Pellicle Award for Best Communication about Beer & Travel, sponsored by VISITFLANDERS Winner: Lily Waite for articles in Pellicle You Had Me At Hello — The Salutation Inn at Ham, Gloucestershire — Pellicle (pelliclemag.com) Silver Award: Dan Saladino for chapters from his book Eating to Extinction Award for Best Communication about Sustainability in Beer and Pubs, sponsored by Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company UK Winner: Anthony Gladman for articles in Ferment and IBD Silver Award: Mark Dredge for articles in Ferment Award for Best Communication about No and Low Alcohol Beers, sponsored by Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I Winner: Laura Hadland for blog articles https://www.extremehousewife.com/2022/01/low-alcohol-ale/ Silver Award: Jane Peyton for Food Talk Show https://foodtalk.co.uk/podcasts/dry-drinker-january/

Award for Best Audio Beer Communicator, sponsored by Asahi UK Winner: Eoghan Walsh for A History of Brussels Beer in 50 Objects — Brussels Beer City Silver Award: Jane Peyton for articles on Food Talk Show https://foodtalk.co.uk/podcasts/wish-you-were-beer/ Guild Award for Best Video Beer Communication, sponsored by St Austell Brewery Winner: Jonny Garrett & Brad Evans for Craft Beer Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52nl1Fh6qnQ Silver: Danny Savage for pub stories broadcast on BBC News Award for Best Newcomer to Beer Communication, sponsored by Fuller Smith & Turner Winner: Reece Hugill for article in Pellicle: I Want To See Mountains Again — The Banked Beers of Teesside, North East England — Pellicle (pelliclemag.com) Silver Award: Ashley Joanna for articles in Belgian Smaak The Sage (Humans of Belgian Beer) | Belgian Smaak Award for Best Book about Beer or Pubs, sponsored by Heineken UK Winner: Jonny Garrett for A Year in Beer (CAMRA) Silver Award: Jaega Wise for Wild Brews Highly Commended: Em Sauter for Hooray for Craft Beer Best Beer Communicator, Regional Media, sponsored by Adnams Winner: Alastair Gilmour for articles in Meet and Drink Battlesteads, Wark (meet-and-drink.co.uk) Silver Award: Ashley Joanna for articles in Belgian Smaak The Adventurer (Humans of Belgian Beer) | Belgian Smaak Highly Commended: Breandán Kearney for articles in The Brussels Times Magazine Award for Best Communication about Diversity in Beer and Pubs Winner: David Jesudason for various articles including: https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2022/4/18/disability-pubs-and-taprooms-the-invisible-barriers-preventing-diversity-in-british-beer-culture Highly Commended: Ruvani de Silva for various articles including: How ‘Ladies Who Lager’ Is Changing Perceptions of Women as Brewers in India | VinePair Award for Best Communication about Cider, sponsored by Inch’s Cider Winner: Gabe Cook for Modern British Cider Silver Award: James Crowden for Cider Country Award for Best Self-Published Writing about Beer Winner: Eoghan Walsh for articles on Brussels Beer City: Where are you from? // Brussels Beer Project launches their Lambic brewery — Brussels Beer City Highly Commended: Mark Dredge for work on beer flavours https://www.beerdredge.com/post/the-beer-flavour-wheels-why-and-how Highly Commended: Beth Demmon for her Prohibitchin’ blogs April Dove Is Brewing A New Community - by Beth Demmon (substack.com) Award for Best Commissioned Beer Writing, sponsored by Greene King Winner: David Jesudason for various articles including The Triumphant Story of Britain's Desi Pubs - Gastro Obscura (atlasobscura.com) Silver Award: Jemma Beedie for various articles including The Connemara: Irish pub culture in wine country (beer52.com) Highly Commended: Will Hawkes for various articles including: Black by Day, Red by Night — Mild Ale and the Industrial Heartland Where It Never Died — Good Beer Hunting The Michael Jackson Gold Award for Beer Writer of the Year 2022: Jonny Garrett

Free Support For Hospitality To Safeguard Record Festive Turnover Rob Easton BSc, PgDip, MSc, MBA, Head of Environmental Health at Shield Safety discusses the potential £4bn revenue spike heading towards the UK’s hospitality sector during the 2022 festive period but warns venues could be at risk if they aren’t prepared for surging footfall.

With less than two weeks until the kick off of the FIFA World Cup 2022, venues across the UK can claw back lost earnings from the 2020 and 2021 festive seasons, which were severely impacted as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. This period also comes at a time when the hospitality sector is struggling with rising costs, recruitment challenges and disrupted supply chains. The prospect of a bumper Christmas period could provide the lifeline that many businesses are seeking, however, if managed poorly, the rise in trade could tip an already rocky boat.

Statutory fines for hospitality vary according to the severity of the breach, but even if a venue is not hit with a fine, the review process can and does result in significant business disruption, even closure, while investigations are undertaken. So, in the event that there is no breach, a fine is avoided but the venue has still lost potential income from having to close its doors. We are campaigning to help venues avoid this situation.

We can be fairly confident of record footfall in venues this Christmas. To put some context to this, during the last World Cup, spending in hospitality increased by 41% compared to the previous year and this shot up to 73% on the day of the England-Croatia semi final. Coupled with the Lionesses' victory in the European Championships earlier this year, there is huge excitement for the World Cup this winter.

If venues aren’t managing their safety systems in the right way, increased revenues could be hit by large penalties, due to a predicted lift in expedited reviews by police and licensing authorities throughout the festive period.

A recent survey from Access Hospitality found that 76% of football fans are looking for venues to watch the World Cup this winter and 30% of respondents said they would be happy to sit in a heated beer garden. This shows the scale of opportunity for hospitality but interestingly, if they have outdoor space they can adapt with patio heaters and can provide alfresco dining options such as BBQs or pizza ovens, there’s scope to really diversify, enhancing customer experience and bringing in vital revenue.

There is a golden opportunity for the hospitality industry here, as Christmas and the 2022 World Cup coincide; people are going to turn out in record numbers and for UK venues this will be the first full trading festive period since 2019. This does however need to be managed carefully to avoid an own goal. A huge increase in visitors will take place against the challenges of varying staffing levels, adapted menus, venue layout changes, more outdoor presence to mention just a few. Venues need to be prepared to avoid heavy fines for health and safety breaches, so many of which are easily avoidable.

To help the hospitality industry be prepared, stay safe and avoid fines, Shield Safety has produced a free XLMAS Guide and risk assessment template, which is available to access and download for free here at https://info.shieldsafety.co.uk/hubfs/Content/XLMAS/xlmas-guide-with-links-to-ra-template.pdf. In addition to the spirit of England’s last (and only) success at the FIFA World Cup in 1966, they are offering a free “Safety Net” – access to their RiskProof safety checklist software and Safety Advice Line for 66 days – the Safety Net businesses really need this festive period. You can access at https://try.shieldsafety.co.uk/safety-net

For a venue with an average weekly turnover of £12k, fines for culpability or harm range from between £25k to £120k, with top fines equating to 6% of the entire year’s turnover.

Shield Safety also has a free webinar to help more venues learn how to prepare for the busy festive period, which can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/759076029/0d8f5f0f9a

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Food for Thought as Omne Research Reveals Consumers Still Hungry for New Eating Experiences Omne Agency today unveils its Unchartered Waters report, detailing the ongoing pressures facing food and hospitality operators and brand-new consumer research – and the opportunities to drive growth through consumer’s hunger for new experiences.

Sustainability is a tangible driver of business growth. Visible sustainable practices pay dividends in driving loyalty and boosting a venue’s reputation – as 42% of consumers will recommend sustainable venues to family and friends.2

Leading foodservice agency Omne’s report finds that 79% of operators are ‘concerned’ or ‘very concerned’ about the cost-ofliving crisis. Food inflation is up 18.8% YoY (up from 15% in August) and soaring energy and labour costs combined with rising staff pay (+10% over the last twelve months) has added heat to the kitchen.

#3 A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY Experience is everything in hospitality. Consumers notice when venue’s put in extra effort.

64% of consumers agree that being able to try new food items enhances their overall going out experience – and 91% consumers describe having new or different food choices as “more important” to the overall eating experience compared to last year.

In contrast to these pressures, Unchartered Waters focuses on opportunity and the importance of the new.

The report shows that 39% of consumers have not visited a new hospitality venue in the last year. However, there is still a clear hunger for ‘new’ compared to 2021 – as 62% of consumers are now more likely to try a new dish when out.1.

In the full report, Omne reveals five key actions that food and hospitality operators can implement to fit in with consumer’s mid-crisis desire for new:

#1 QUALITY IS KEY When consumers are offered a choice between a cheaper meal that is greater value for money or a more expensive meal that is better quality, over two thirds (65%) opt for the latter.

Quality and value for money are intertwined in the minds of consumers. 44% of consumers define value for money as “something which is good quality” – whereas only 13% define it as “the cheaper option”.

Premiumisation is an effective way for operators to tap into this attitudinal shift.

#2 DEMONSTRATE ETHICAL AND SUSTAINABLE THINKING Sustainability is rising up the agenda for modern consumers. Omne’s research reveals that 79% of consumers agree, or strongly agree, that a venue’s sustainable practices have become more important than a year ago.

#4 ENHANCING THE VALUE FOR EXPERIENCE Experience amplifies the value of the products. And Omne’s research shows that it is also a key driver of loyalty and repeat visits – with 67% of business leaders ranking experience as second only to service as the most influential driver of consumer visits in 2022.

#5 ESTABLISHING INNOVATIVE COLLABORATION WITH SUPPLIERS Supply chain issues and rising costs are increasing the pressure on venues. Omne’s data shows that 53% of venues are considering working with fewer suppliers or rationalising their supply bases.

When asked how suppliers could help food and drink operators, the answer was overwhelmingly through competitive pricing (74% of all respondents) – with this figure rising 10% YoY. The full report details the most decisive pillars of a Supplier-Operator relationship – and explores how operators can grow more lucrative relationships in the face of rising costs.

Anna Massey, Strategy Director at Omne, said “These are challenging times for food and hospitality businesses. But as this report shows, when the market changes, new opportunities for growth emerge. And there is a clear opening for the businesses who focus on consumer’s growing desire for ‘new’. New menu options, new experiences – and a renewed approach to sustainability.”

To access the full insights, contact Charli Garner, Director of Hospitality Brands, at charli.garner@omne.agency.

Bristol People Are Still Planning to Party This Christmas The challenging financial climate is not preventing people in Bristol from planning to party this Christmas, city hoteliers say.

Bookings for festive events are up on last year although they have not returned to the pre-pandemic levels of Christmas 2019.

“Of course, we have the unusual situation of a winter football World Cup this year, and we have party opportunities during that time because planners have been reluctant to book events for dates when England are playing – or when they may play, depending on how they progress in the tournament.

The Bristol Hoteliers Association (BHA) says that there are still dates available for party planners, thanks mainly to the football World Cup.

“There are a lot less corporate parties, which seems to be more down to people running out of time to organise them than a reluctance to spend.

BHA Chair, Raphael Herzog, said: “We are pleased to see that, despite the cost of living crisis and concerns over energy prices, people are still keen to enjoy themselves this winter.

“Overall, the Christmas party season for 2022 is encouraging, an improvement on last year, which is a move in the right direction.

“Because of the pandemic, many have not really been out for the last two Christmas seasons and, if anything, because of the current climate, they are even more determined to enjoy themselves this year.

“So many people have been affected by the impact of the lockdowns, energy prices and the cost-of-living crisis, but if there is one time, more than any other, when people feel they do want to let their hair down and try to have some fun, it is Christmas, and we are seeing that in our bookings.

“We are pleased that festive party bookings for 2022 are higher than in 2021, even if they have not returned to the levels they were at in 2019.

“But there are still some dates available, especially around the World Cup, so it’s not too late to book a festive event at one of our wonderful venues.”

Taking Steps Towards A Sustainable Future For Hospitality Businesses guide those working in the sector to net zero by 2040, it’s clear the topic of sustainability is only going to grow.

Yet, while the appointment of a chief sustainability officer might not be possible, there are other steps hospitality businesses can take today to help foster a sustainable future. One of the ways that pubs and bars off the mains gas grid can unlock significant reductions in their carbon emissions is through the transition to sustainable fuels.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR OPTIONS Calor Futuria Liquid Gas (previously BioLPG) is a sustainable fuel made from a blend of waste, residues and sustainably sourced materials.

As the drive towards net zero continues to gain pace, UK businesses are continuing to put sustainability at the heart of their operations.

Research has highlighted that almost two fifths (37%) of UK businesses have appointed a chief sustainability officer, while over half (56%) have an employee in post, whose remit includes sustainability.

And, with the UK Hospitality Association unveiling its 10 pledges to

With busy pubs and bars requiring a fuel source that offers increased reliability and a controllable flame for cooking, Futuria Liquid Gas can be utilised for a variety of uses, such as hot water, heating and cooking requirements. In addition, Calor’s range of storage options, including underground tanks, which can be hidden out of sight, means there’s a solution for every business.

Available in a 100% blend, bulk Futuria Liquid Gas can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 86% (kgCO2e/kWh) when compared to using heating oil and up to 80%4 compared to conventional LPG. For businesses keen to demonstrate their reduction in carbon emissions, the Green Gas Certification Scheme ensures traceability of all Futuria Liquid Gas delivered to, and used up by, hospitality customers, while also highlight-

ing the amount of CO2 saved.

THE FUTURE WITH CALOR As part of its commitment to offer its customers 100% sustainable energy solutions by 2040, Calor is raising awareness about off-grid energy options and encouraging hospitality businesses to make the switch to bulk Futuria Liquid Gas – helping to support pubs and bars across the UK to deliver on their sustainability goals for today and tomorrow.

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Nelson Hotels & Inns, an award-winning collection of family-run hotels, inns, and restaurants across Cheshire, has recently revealed it will potentially see an overall annual increase of 135% in energy costs. The group is behind wellknown venues such as the Grosvenor Pulford Hotel & Spa in-between Chester and Wrexham, The Pheasant Inn at Burwardsley, The Fishpool Inn at Delamere and The Bear's Paw in Warmingham.

Managing Director, Andrew Nelson, comments below on the rising trend of switching to flexible contracts as inflation continues to strike the hospitality industry, as well as the decisions they’re having to make as the group sets to launch its fifth addition to the collection, The Manor, at Greasby on the Wirral this winter.

WHAT STEPS ARE YOU TAKING TO MANAGE THESE RISING COSTS? We immediately sought out prices to renew our energy contracts with suppliers and find a solution that works in our favour. Ahead of the announcement of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, some companies were refusing to offer an indicative price due to the ongoing situation. Even when the governments support package towards utilities was announced, it was unclear how much this would reduce the fixed price contracts, as suppliers were reluctant to advise what proportion of their pricing consisted of the wholesale cost. Furthermore, there was no guarantee we wouldn’t be hit with the full extortionate rates if the government aid was not continued after 6 months.

However, we ultimately found that by switching strategies, from a fixed price fixed-term contract to one that is flexible, we are currently able to achieve a better rate than we would by relying solely on the governments 6-month aid. Rather than having a fixed price, our flexible rates are bought the next day ahead of the auction price of electricity. On top of this, there’s the management fees and non-commodity charges which are passthrough.

Our new flexible rate is currently lower than the government’s support bracket of 21p per KWH on the

wholesale price. Whilst these types of contracts do not guarantee a fixed annual price, should this rise over the current government rate, the national subsidies will then come into play. This is a trend we are seeing more throughout the industry and is working well for us currently, so we hope this will be beneficial for other businesses in the short-term.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER CONCERNS SURROUNDING THE RISE IN ENERGY COSTS? The deepening energy crisis is already creating troublesome situations for our industry and the soaring rise in bills will unfortunately be a hurdle that many businesses will not be able to overcome. It’s a frustrating time and a shame to see yet another factor following the pandemic that’s causing the hospitality sector to struggle.

As we prepare to open our fifth venture within the midst of all this, we are certainly having to be more mindful about outgoing costs and design plans to factor the increase in bills.

The rising cost of living also threatens to effect footfall in the forthcoming months, especially during what is usually a very busy Christmas period. We’ve seen a really positive response to enquiries around Christmas at our venues so far, but this will most likely have a serious impact on a lot of businesses who rely on continued support from the public.

HOW HAS THE WIDER HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY REACTED TO THIS? Alongside hotel professionals and industry body leaders throughout Cheshire and the surrounding area, we are now making a conscious effort to discuss how we can all collectively try to help each other in this situation. But ultimately, it is long-term government support that will prevent further business closures around the UK. The aid that the government put in place throughout the COVID-19 pandemic was a huge help to our industry, but the recently unveiled plans for a 6-month energy cap for businesses are only limited and without further long-term support, many operators will simply close permanently as their utility contracts become due for renewal.

Recent announcements that business rates will continue to be discounted will help, but what the industry really needs to survive, recoup and flourish is a permanent cut to VAT. We are seeing astonishing rates of closures within the industry now and without a cut to VAT, this will only accelerate as the cost of living and recession continues to bite. We hope to see further plans revealed sooner rather than later.

WTTC Announces Former Prime Minister Theresa May as Keynote Speaker for its Global Summit

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) unveils Theresa May as a keynote speaker at its upcoming Global Summit in Saudi Arabia, alongside former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, taking place between 28 November and 1 December.

demic) will meet government officials from across the globe in the Saudi capital to continue aligning efforts to support the Travel & Tourism sector’s recovery and address the challenges ahead, to ensure a safer, more resilient, inclusive and sustainable sector.

Theresa May served as Prime Minister from 2016 to 2019 and the second longest-serving post-war Home Secretary, serving for six years from 2010 to 2016.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “Theresa May has a longstanding interest in the environment and as Prime Minister, she launched the ‘25 Year Environmental Plan’ to tackle issues such as plastic waste. In 2019 she formally committed the UK to achieving ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050, making Britain the first major economy to do so.

May is the UK’s second woman Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher and is the first to hold two of the Great Offices of State.

Last year, May was appointed Chair of the Aldersgate Group, an alliance that drives action for a sustainable economy.

“During the pandemic, Theresa May was concerned about the uncoordinated global response, and she showed great political leadership calling for international cooperation based on evidence.

Taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 28 November to 1 December, the global tourism body’s highly anticipated 22nd Global Summit is the most influential Travel & Tourism event in the calendar.

During the Global Summit, industry leaders from a sector worth over 10% of global GDP (before the pan-

“Our event will bring together many of the world’s most powerful leaders in our sector to discuss and secure its long-term future, which is critical to economies and jobs around the world.”

Elis UK Partners with Harts Group for Laundry & Washroom Requirements Textile and laundry services provider Elis UK (https://uk.elis.com) has partnered with Harts Group to deliver on laundry and washroom requirements for all its London restaurants. These include the modern Spanish Barrafina and Parrillian restaurant groups, the Mexican El Pastor chain and the historic Soho Quo Vadis restaurant and private members’ club.

tion to detail that Elis has shown. The service has proven to be reliable and straightforward, allowing the restaurant teams to focus on their core business operations rather than worrying about the availability of laundry.

Aurelija Sovaite, Operations Manager of Hart Group, said: “We chose Elis after reviewing several options and we’re very pleased by the attention to detail shown in the transition of the services. Visiting every restaurant and getting a full understanding of the needs and challenges of each has meant that the service Elis has designed fits our requirements, reduces the number of deliveries and collections and offers true value for money. As a result, I now spend little time of dealing with complaints in regards to laundry and washroom services, and we’re delighted to have selected Elis as our laundry and washroom partner.”

The company required a range of products such as chef and front-ofhouse uniforms, table linen, kitchen linen and washroom services.

Garments needed to be smart and professionally laundered, with a strong emphasis on quality and brand image. It had historically experienced a lack of consistency with service levels from a range of suppliers, creating complexity and additional administration pressures.

Elis worked closely with Harts Group to understand its key requirements at a site level. It completed site surveys and meetings with the management team of each restaurant. This helped to identify the number and type of garments required and the number of wearers, enabling Elis to work out a schedule that would fit the restaurants’ exacting requirements, while offering a consistent level of service. As a result, Elis was able to reduce the number of weekly collections and deliveries, increase the amount of stock in circulation, and combine all services into one straightforward delivery model. This reduced the carbon footprint of the services being delivered, and unlocked further commercial benefits.

Following the site visits, Elis gained a strong understanding of the operational and logistical requirements for the group and was awarded the contract. The service cycle commenced as part of a two-phase roll-out to support the Group during the withdrawal of the incumbent suppliers.

Hart Group was impressed with the thorough preparation and atten-

Harry Bown, Director of Operations at Hart Group, said: “Having worked with some well-known laundry suppliers in London for many years, it’s been refreshing to work with a supplier of Elis’ professionalism and quality. It was important that we streamlined our invoices and supply chain to remove complexity. Laundry and washroom services have historically taken time to manage. However, Elis has delivered on its commitments and caused no disruption to our operations during the transition.”

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Work-Related Stress Hits British and European Workers imbalance favouring work.

Europe is in the midst of a work-life-balance recalibration with 93% of workers admitting they have tried to improve their work-life balance.

According to the study, which polled 6,000 Europeans across five countries, Londoners have the longest commute, at 43 minutes, closely followed by workers in Hamburg who commute for an average of 40 minutes.

This follows alarming news that 49% of Brits have suffered from workrelated stress. 35% of Brits have taken time of work due to stress, 16% have been signed off work due to stress and 31% have gotten ill due to work related stress.

Working on the commute is seen as a positive productivity technique by those who do it. 54% feel more organised about the day ahead, 47% are less stressed during their actual working hours and 44% say it helps them avoid working overtime.

“This can’t continue,” says Chris Timbs, Vice-President Marketing for Novotel in Northern Europe. “The increased level of work-related stress in the UK and across Europe is unhealthy. Everyone should be able to take a moment to unwind and recalibrate. Mindfulness at work is proven to positively influence performance, satisfaction and work engagement.

That’s why we work with Calm to help our guests bring mindfulness into their work day.”

The Novotel study revealed 11.15 a.m. is the most productive time of day in the UK. In an average week Brits consider themselves to be productive for just 5 hours and 11 minutes out of a working day which Press releasePress releasePress releasePress releasePress releasePress release is usually around 7 hours and 40 minutes long. The longest working day in the UK is in East Midlands where workers work an average of 8 hours and 8 minutes.

On average Europeans work 4 hours and 20 minutes of overtime a week on top of contracted working hours which is mostly spent on emails and generally ‘catching up’. In the UK, the average overtime is 3 hours and 55 minutes, however, the North East and Yorkshire areas do

“Sometimes life-changing habits can be as simple as listening to a meditation on your lunchbreak or commute home,” suggested Emlyn Brown, VP Well-Being at Accor. “Designed for busy executives, Novotel and Calm’s exclusive new meditations follow different themes to reduce stress, improve relationships and boost productivity. Time is our greatest asset, it is life’s ultimate luxury which there isn’t enough of. As work pressure mounts, it is increasingly vital to focus on our mental health and make time for ourselves to rebalance our busy lives.”

more overtime than any other region of Britain, 4 hours and 47 minutes and 4 hours and 50 minutes respectively. Brits tend to wind down from work in the evening at 18.38 p.m.

Europe is divided on the most productive work set up – home or office. According to the research, 42% find their place of work, for instance the office, the most productive working space. Interestingly, just 33% of Brits agree that the office is the most productive. 21% of Europeans find home-working the most productive option (27% in the UK) and 25% of Brits and Europeans find a hybrid solution of part home, part office is the most productive solution.

Novotel, a favourite choice for meetings and business travel, has partnered with Calm, the #1 App for Sleep and Meditation, to help meeting goers, business travellers and work-from-anywhere locals take time for mindfulness.

Novotel’s exclusive Calm mini-App, featuring meditations, sleep music and Sleep StoriesTM, is now available to all Novotel guests and the exclusive collection of six meditations are available for meeting delegates in hotels across Europe.

Poland has the healthiest work life balance of those polled in Europe, revealing a 50-50% split whilst workers in other countries indicated an

Isle of Wight Distillery in High Spirits After Achieving B Corp Status The company’s B Corp certification comes three years after the distillery relaunched Mermaid Gin in a strikingly sculpted, plastic-free and fully recyclable bottle. The distillery is now in the process of setting its nearterm science-based targets, to eliminate and reduce its emissions.

One of the key efforts recognised as part of the scoring and certification is the dedication of the distillery to reduce its impact on the environment by minimising waste and preserving resources. The Isle of Wight Distillery has engaged in a number of local and global initiatives that reinforce its commitment to sustainability including:

• Seagrass restoration - Mermaid Gin is working with the

The Isle of Wight Distillery, producers of high quality and hand-crafted spirits, Mermaid Gin and Mermaid Salt Vodka, is delighted to announce today, that it has received B Corp certification from non-profit organisation B Lab. The distillery is the first business on the Isle of Wight to achieve B Corp status and earned an overall score of 88.6, ranking it the highest scoring gin distillery in England to date. The home of Mermaid Gin is the 27th distillery in the world and the 13th distillery in the UK to achieve B Corp status.

The distillery achieved B Corp Certification by meeting and exceeding rigorous benchmarks across five categories of the B Impact Assessment: Community, Customers, Environment, Governance and Workers. This involved working with its employees and customers to reach a high level of inclusion and working with its supply chain to achieve a high level of transparency and accountability. The distillery met these criteria independently and unusually, without guidance from external consultants.

“Since our inception in 2014, the team at the Isle of Wight Distillery have been committed to the environmentally friendly production of spirits and the preservation of our island and marine environment,” comments Xavier Baker, co-founder, Mermaid Gin. “We want to use our brand as a force for good within the local community and are delighted to join a community of B Corp businesses that have been recognised for their commitment to operate in a way that has a positive impact on the planet”.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust to monitor and restore seagrass meadows in the waters surrounding their island home. It is estimated that 92% of these seagrass meadows have been lost over the last 100 years. As well as financially supporting the project, the team take part in surveys and beach clean-ups, working as ‘Marine Champions’ for the Trust.

biodegradable paint and features an all-natural cork with a wooden top.

The neck tag is recyclable and the tamperproof seal is crafted from corn and potato starch, which composts in food waste in 6-12 weeks. The cases of Mermaid Gin fit six bottles which do not require bubble wrap for protection and all tape has been replaced with metal staples.

• Mermaid Gin is working with Surfers against Sewage (SAS) a national marine conservation and campaigning charity tackling plastic pollution and protecting the UK’s coastline for people to enjoy safely and sustainably.

• The iconic Mermaid bottle is crafted from 100% natural materials, designed to be reused and plastic-free. The glass bottle is decorated with

As well as putting environmental sustainability at the core of its operation, the distillery has a strong focus on the community. The majority of employees live locally and it uses local suppliers where possible.

“Our mission when we founded Mermaid Gin and Vodka was not only to create great quality spirits but also install responsible practices in everything we do. We are a small team, the majority of whom live and work on the island and I am so proud of what we have all achieved. To be considered as a company that holds some of the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability in the world of business, is a great honour. Not only are we passionate about making people’s lives better and considering the well-being of our planet, we are proud of our Isle of Wight heritage and hope this achievement will give other local businesses the inspiration to become B Corp companies as well.” adds Xavier.

9 in 10 Brits Are Concerned About Christmas Costs The latest research from product intelligence platform Vypr has identified consumer concern over costs in the year’s run-up to Christmas. In a nationally representative study, around 9 in 10 people are concerned about Christmas costs, with 56% saying they are very concerned and 33% feeling moderately concerned.

Vypr asked a sample of its 65,000-strong community how they planned to spend over the festive period in terms of shopping, eating out and overall celebrations. With inflation in the UK rising beyond expectations (10.1%- according to ONS), 53% of respondents plan to spend less overall this festive season. 35% plan to spend less on their Christmas shopping.

With concern over rising costs, consumers are looking at all aspects of their spending to make cutbacks with less eating out and drinking than in previous years. For example, 45% of respondents are cutting back on festive meals, while 42% anticipate reducing their spending on gifts.

Commenting on the research, Ben Davies, Consumer Intelligence Expert

and Founder at Vypr, said: “We’re in the midst of a 2nd ‘once-in-a-generation’ crisis in the space of 3 years, and it’s clear that consumers are feeling worn down, whilst being highly anxious about household budgets as we approach Christmas.

“The only prediction we can make is that this Christmas will be very different & subdued to pre-pandemic festive periods in terms of allocation of in-home and out-of-home household spending. The discounters are likely to win big in food & drink, whilst e-commerce players offering strong value propositions will be the ones that win in non-food.”

Vypr has produced a free guide based on the research, which details the impacts across each demographic. Please find the eBook here https://vyprclients.com/christmas-shopping-behaviours-a-trend-analysis-site/ [Gated] To understand shifts in consumer behaviour and purchasing intent weekly, Vypr’s consumer spending tracker can be accessed here.

Kitchen Automation to Serve Up Greater Food Quality in Tougher Times 30

CLH DIGITAL

Issue 137

By Amelia Jonas, Karakuri’s Director of Product (www.karakuri.com) Many factors go into consumers’ decisions to choose a brand to dine with, but, unsurprisingly, the taste of the food comes top of the list.

Remembering the taste of the food from a great restaurant brand means customers crave that food and return to that restaurant brand time and time again. Therefore, it is vital that it tastes the same each and every time they return. One bad meal means a restaurant brand can lose that customer for good.

Each foodservice operator - from Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) and fast casual (FSR’s) restaurants to cafes and pubs - has teams spending months, sometimes years sourcing the highest quality ingredients at a good price, testing and perfecting recipes, and training their teams on the optimum way to prepare and cook their food so that it can be served to customers perfectly every time.

However, times are tough, especially in the hospitality industry. Inflation is at its highest in over 40 years, and there is a huge labour shortage crisis. With costs climbing and staff shortages, every part of a foodservice business is being scrutinised. This includes enhancing in-store operations, labour saving initiatives and menu management. Decisions on ingredients, product makeup, product sizes, and menu sizes are all under considera-

tion by brands, franchisees, and their food development teams.

Whatever the decisions made, what is understood by everyone is that the quality and taste of the food must remain high and the experience must be consistent. After all, it's those reasons a customer chose to purchase that food from that brand. These reasons are also the driving force for rising interest in kitchen automation. Automating some or all of the cooking procedures in a commercial kitchen can have huge benefits, standardising quality control and eliminating the possibility of human error, ensuring the food a customer buys is the same, every time!

BUSY KITCHENS CAN SEE STANDARDS SLIP. When team members are 100% focussed on getting meals prepared and to the customer in a timely manner, quality standards are significantly reduced. For example, if chips are taken out of the fryer 30 seconds too early, they will be less crispy, or if a pizza that was supposed to have 10 perfect lines of drizzle on the top has eight messy ones instead, the customer will notice. Sometimes there is just too much to juggle at once and communication becomes unclear. This can easily lead to overcooking and food being thrown away. Slip-ups like this might seem small but the knock-on effect on taste, consistency, and wastage can be significant.

Automation - enabled by intelligent kitchen robotics - can help solve this problem. By automating just one cooking procedure (like frying), kitchen staff can spend more time on other areas in the kitchen, improving the attention to detail on the food, or improving the customer experience.

AUTOMATION ENHANCES TRACEABILITY

Traceability is a significant benefit of automating a cooking procedure.

The machine will be able to tell you details including portion sizes, cook times, wastage amounts, and temperatures. Every single food product will be traceable. This enables restaurants to keep track of food in the supply chain, which supports the accurate withdrawal or recall of unsafe food, if required. The more information establishments keep, the quicker and easier it is for them to identify the affected food, mitigate risks to customers, and save time and money.

AUTOMATION REDUCES WASTE Rising food costs mean that kitchen teams need to account for each ingredient. In addition to cooking food to order, intelligent kitchen systems can connect directly to the customer order systems, ensuring that only food items ordered by customers are cooked. Plus, AI-powered solutions can predict how much food really needs to be prepared when it gets busy - very clever stuff!

AUTOMATION INCREASES SAFETY Kitchen automation also improves workplace safety. Intelligent robotics systems can reduce the risk of accidents, as well as help avoid and prevent work injuries, resulting in a safer workplace for everyone. It’s scary that 54% of burns victims got them while using a fryer. By making the workplace safer, uptime and productivity will also increase.

Smart kitchen technology is the future of food service. Now more than ever, in the face of an economic recession, hospitality is relying on repeat business. Delivering high-quality meals with every order, every day, is imperative and new innovations emerging from the market will help serve up great meals.

CAMRA Podcast Returns to the Airwaves for Christmas

The popular CAMRA podcast Pubs. Pints. People. is set to return to the airwaves just in time for Christmas featuring a highly anticipated episode featuring beer and food pairings, perfect for the festive season.

and hop farming. It will be hosted by CAMRA’s Swansea branch to highlight some of the unique campaigning issues in Wales.

The first episode of season six will air on Wednesday 7 December and the show will once again return to its monthly schedule as it goes ‘on tour’ around the country, shining a spotlight on local CAMRA branch activity.

paign to modernise cask beer called ‘Drink Cask Fresh’ as well as a new book from Des de Moor on the nation’s favourite drink. It will be hosted in Northern Ireland, highlighting local issues such as the surrender principle, and the impact that has on local campaigning.

7 June – The future of cask beer will feature an exciting new cam-

The full schedule includes:

The new season will also host a range of new features, including regular beer & food pairing recipes from food and drinks writer Christian Gott and highlights of what CAMRA means to volunteers.

7 December – ‘tis the season for… food & drink highlights some exceptional beer and cider pairings with your Christmas dinner, cheese board and dessert tray. Hosted in Bedford, it will also shine a spotlight on the popular new local brewpub BrewPoint by Wells & Co.

11 January – New beer resolutions will feature Adrian Chiles’ new book ‘The Good Drinker – how I learned to love drinking less’ and the ‘Beer Diet: How to Drink Beer and NOT Gain Weight’ by Gary Greenberg. It will also examine the Government’s approach to beer and pubs last year, and what the Campaign wants to see in 2023.

8 February – More than a pub will cover the varied roles of the Great British Pubs in supporting their communities and as sites of history and heritage. It will be hosted in Burton to tie into CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival Winter which will be held locally by the branch.

8 March – Musically brewed beers will examine the impact and inspiration of music on the nation’s pubs and brewers and shine a spotlight on the local Stockport branch ‘Mild Magic’ passport.

5 April – Women in the Brewhouse highlights the historic role of women in brewing and feature some fantastic all female collaboratives taking place across the country. Hosted in Sheffield, it will also feature CAMRA’s Members’ Weekend, AGM & Conference.

3 May – Wild brewing & foraging will explore some of the more fascinating aspects of brewing including the botany of beer, wild brewing

Podcast producer Katie Wiles said: “The Pubs. Pints. People. podcast is a fantastic way to help share our love and passion for all things beer, cider, pubs and clubs with our members and the wider beer community.

We have a fantastic line up of topics and interviews for our next season and encourage both regulars and new listeners to tune in to the show next month. There is also plenty of episodes currently available from season one to five to whet your appetite until our season 6 launch date!”

Pubs. Pints. People. is available to download on Apple Podcast and Spotify, as well as directly from Acast at https://shows.acast.com/pubspintspeople

Lime Partners With Fuller’s Offer London Hospitality Staff Another Way To Get Home Safe After Late Night Shifts Lime - the world’s largest shared electric scooter and bike company - has partnered with leading pub and hotel business Fuller’s, to offer its London-based hospitality staff an alternative, affordable, safe and sustainable transport option to get home safe.

Lime will provide Fuller’s 2,000 London-based hospitality staff with access to 50% off all Lime e-scooter and e-bike rides in the Capital. The partnership comes as research has found that half of women (49%) feel unsafe when walking alone after dark in a busy public place or quiet street.

With hospitality workers often working after dark, this new partnership offers another option for Fuller’s team members to access a safe way to travel home or connect to public transport networks, particularly after finishing late shifts. In light of the UK’s current cost of living crisis, it also aims to provide an additional extra affordable travel option, as well as an opportunity to get more people cycling.

Georgia Corr, Public Policy Manager for Lime UK said: “At Lime, we know how important is it for those working late shifts to have multiple options to travel home after work, particularly as it begins to get darker earlier at this time of year, and we believe it is important to help where we can. Our partnership with Fuller’s will ensure that workers at all Fuller’s pubs and hotels in central London have access to an extra affordable and sustainable alternative travel option to get home safely at night or to quickly connect them with other public transport options. We are always looking for ways to make sustainable travel more accessible, and offering our services at a reduced rate to workers helps to ease their travel to and from work.”

Dawn Browne, People & Talent Director at Fuller’s said: “It’s our people that make the difference and this partnership with Lime is just another way for us to help make it safer for our team members to get home. It’s a great fit for us - it helps our teams financially too and we know that a number of our team members are already using bikes for hire as a method of commuting. I know this is going to be very popular.”

Lime and Fullers’ partnership was made possible following an introduction by the Women’s Night Safety Charter - a charter designed to make London a city where all women feel confident and welcome at night - of which both companies are signatories.

It forms part of Lime’s commitment to improve women’s safety, and get more women cycling in London. With women making up just 39% of cyclists in the capital, Lime hopes the partnership will help encourage more women to not only cycle, but feel safer on the streets.

Amy Lamé, London’s Night Czar, said: “All women and girls should feel safe travelling, working or going out at night in our city, and we all have a part to play to ensure that is the case. We created the Women’s Night Safety Charter to bring organisations together to prioritise women’s safety at night, and I’m delighted that this partnership will provide another travel option for hospitality workers when they finish working late at night.”

Lime’s discount will be available across all e-scooters and e-bikes for 2,000 of Fuller’s hospitality staff, which includes managers, bartenders, waiters/waitresses, working at any of its London pubs in Lime's service zone.

1 in 4 Small Businesses Plan to Close, Downsize, or Restructure if Energy Bills Relief Ends in April Next Year Issue 137

• Consider the size, not just sector or geography, of firms when determining which businesses are vulnerable, and therefore entitled for further support;

The survey, which measured the impact of the energy price crisis on small businesses, shows small firms await with both hope and anxiety for clarity on whether they will still be eligible for support amid the on-going government review of the six-month scheme, which is due to end on April 1, 2023.

• Maximise planning certainty over the long-term so that small businesses can plan ahead; and • Help small businesses to invest in energy efficiency, through incentives like voucher schemes

The findings have been submitted to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

This rises to 42% of firms in the accommodation and food sector, followed by the wholesale and retail (34%), and manufacturing sectors (29%).

More than four in ten small firms (44%) are considering raising prices to cope with soaring bills when the current EBRS is due to end, and a third (30%) expect to cancel or scale down planned investments.

One in five (18%) have told us they would need to keep prices the same, even though their energy bills are increasing, because customers simply cannot afford further increases.

A majority of 63% say energy costs have increased this year compared to last year. Some 44% report a double, triple or even higher increase in their energy bills, and nearly one in five (19%) say their bills had tripled or higher.

In response to the eye-watering bills, nearly half of small firms (46%) have already raised prices although it has been impossible for them to pass on full costs to consumers tightening their belts amid the cost of living rises.

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• Continue support under the current EBRS to avoid a cliff edge on April 1, 2023;

Small firms’ survival during the ongoing energy price crisis will depend on continued government support through Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) beyond March 2023, according to a new FSB energy survey.

A quarter of small firms (24%) plan to close, downsize, or radically change their business model if the government reduces energy support post-March next year.

CLH DIGITAL

FSB National Chair Martin McTague said: “Our research indicates that small firms are being held back from investment and are at the brink of collapse because of sky-rocketing energy costs. It’d be a real shame and great loss to our economy if those who managed to get through the pandemic and this tough winter with government support end up closing their businesses because relief ends too sharply in April.

“Latest OECD forecasts suggest the UK economy will suffer the biggest hit from energy crisis among G7 nations. But the tides can be turned if the government extends the period of energy support to struggling small businesses after the EBRS ends in April next year.

“It’s important that the government provide certainty to small firms for the long-term as they can’t plan on a six-month horizon.

“Think of the engineering business in Hampshire which 40 local families are dependent on, and the independent launderette that has been serving the community for years. To allow well-run businesses to go under would be a false economy as we enter a recession.

“Business size must be taken into account as a relevant factor in the government review of the EBRS, given the stark impact on small firms which have typically lower margins and are least able to deal with the rising costs. It can’t be a purely sector-based decision, otherwise it’ll lead to deadweight and unfairness.”

In light of the findings, FSB suggests the government should

Chef Barry Vera and Partners Take on Star Lease Joe’s forte lies in operations. He has worked alongside Barry in the development of key hotel food & beverage brands & operations globally, which has included overseeing the ME and Radio Rooftop Bars openings with supply. He also has 13 years of experience supplying gourmet products such as Kobe, wagyu, and USDA beef to five-star hotels and restaurants internationally.

Chef, author and television and radio presenter Barry Vera, together with entrepreneurs Christopher Webb and Joe Scarborough, have taken on the lease of Star Pubs & Bars’ The Green Man in Grantchester and are undertaking a joint £500,000 refurbishment of the pub. Closed for three years, it will reopen mid-January as a village local and destination food pub.

Barry said of their plans:

The Green Man is the partners first pub together. They intend to grow organically, establishing a portfolio of pubs with top quality food a main focus.

Barry was brought up in a pub and has 34 years’ experience in hotels & restaurants around the world, from Conran Restaurants in London, heading Michelin Star kitchens for Marco Pierre White to 5 Star Hotels and restaurants around the world.

He was Culinary & Creative Operations Director for The ONE Group Europe, Middle East & Asia opening the ME hotels in London, Milan & Ibiza and Radio Rooftop Bars in London and Milan. He also consulted, develop & design the Elimar Beach Bar and Restaurant at the Hotel Excelsior in Venice.

Barry’s media work includes three TV series on Discovery Channel and SBS Australia, regularly appearing on Australian and UK TV, and presenting on Talk Radio for three years alongside Penny Smith and with Goggle Box’s Steph and Dom. Chris is a serial entrepreneur having been the owner and CEO of a number of successful companies across a range of industries including property, finance, vehicle management, and entertainment. A lifetime’s interest in hospitality has included opening and selling a 300-cover bar and restaurant in the Algarve.

“We want to attract people who dine out every week, not just on special occasions so our menu needs to have a broad appeal. It will reflect my upbringing in a Yorkshire pub, elements of my journeys around the world and include new takes on historic dishes, such as the traditional Shooter Sandwich.

“We are keen to showcase local suppliers and will also hold speciality evenings with well-known music and sports names who will give talks and co-host dinners. There will be summer events to celebrate, occasions like Ascot and Wimbledon, and in time we intend to make the garden an all-year place in which to relax.

“Chris, Joe and I are thrilled to be taking on The Green Man as we share a passion for hospitality and an absolute commitment to delivering perfection and results.”

Dan Hayward, Star Pubs & Bars Area Manager said: “The Green Man is a great pub in a fantastic village and will benefit from affluent demographics. Situated near the banks of the River Cam, its garden backs onto the main cycleway into Cambridge. It is sad it has been closed for so long, but it was important that the right operators with vision take it forward.

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Festive Ordering

Issue 137

CLH DIGITAL

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All I Want For Christmas Is...

Good Customer Experience

By Oyin Bamgbose, Vice President at Infinity (www.infinity.co/uk/)

With the festive period fast approaching, customers are researching the best spots for the family holiday, work socials and Christmas dinners. For those in the hospitality sector, the final quarter of the year is a time when there is so much more opportunity to deliver the best customer service, connecting and engaging with existing and new customers.

and promotions get discussed at scale. It also highlights how well staff are handling calls, helping to identify common friction points, such as taking pre-orders for large parties. Managerial teams can then come together to create a solution, guiding both new and old staff on how they can address such issues in the future.

Once installed, these analytics are also a great retrospective tool for the following year. Businesses can predetermine obstacles and iron out any problems before they surface. This means that customer service strategies can be revised and enhanced, helping businesses to gain a competitive advantage throughout the year.

CREATING COMPELLING CHRISTMAS ADVERTISEMENTS

Therefore, excellent customer service lies at the heart of hospitality during the colder winter months. It’s what keeps customers coming back, encouraging them to recommend their favourite bar or restaurant to their friends. 88% of consumers in the UK celebrate Christmas meaning that an unpleasant experience over the season can cause damage to a venue’s reputation and loss of business.

In today’s digital world, everything starts with a Google search.

Potential customers will scour the internet for their dream winter holiday or the best spot for a Christmas dinner – but so much more can be gained and understood from a conversation with a call agent. The intelligence gained from these calls can reveal the reason a guest picked up the phone, even tracking the keywords Googled that led them to your website.

In addition, more than a quarter (27%) of hospitality businesses are seeing bookings surge for Christmas already, higher than in previous years. Call intelligence tools can ease the stress of these mass bookings, as well as optimise advertising and streamline staff training – as bars, restaurants, and hotels will have access to the relevant data to positively affect the customer experience. Such tools integrate into booking systems, supplying businesses with a deeper insight into the nature of each call.

With the ongoing cost of living crisis, winter may present challenges for many in the hospitality industry. However, Christmas is a major season for both retail and hospitality. In 2021, PwC expected a total spend of £21 billion on presents and celebrations over the season.

Competition is high, and every organisation wants to be the one that makes an individual’s festivities special. Innovative strategies to market Christmas menus and winter stays are key to capturing the customers’ attention.

BOOST THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Call intelligence can help with this by assigning call outcomes and revenues to marketing activity.

Organisations are able to identify which campaigns, channels and keywords are pulling their weight and which aren’t. in addition, businesses can understand the thoughts and feelings of their callers. Teams then have the information needed to

A recent report found that one in five hospitality businesses are already seeing a surge in bookings for the Football World Cup. Also, three in ten are hiring more people to ensure they can cope with the uptake of customers. With so many new team members, it’s difficult to ensure all staff address customers in the same style and gather the right information over the phone.

Conversation Analytics can identify which destinations, rooms, menus,

Let Your Christmas Menu Sparkle with Just Desserts Classic ginger sponge topped with an irresistible toffee sauce – a real winter warmer!

CANDY CANE CHEESECAKE Digestive biscuit base with a white chocolate peppermint ganache topping, finished with whipped cream and a sprinkle of crushed peppermint candy cane.

Established in 1985 in the renowned Salt’s mill, Just Desserts Yorkshire specialise in baking a range of over 100 quality handcrafted desserts.

With over 100 handcrafted desserts already on offer, Just Desserts Yorkshire have revealed their Christmas 2022 desserts range. Taking inspiration from those Christmas dessert classics, the new product range offers a unique twist on those traditional festive flavours we all love.

The new festive trio includes:

MINCEPIE FRANZI A sweet butter pastry case filled with classic mincemeat, topped with franzipan sponge and finished with a dusting of sugar snow.

GINGER & TOFFEE CHRISTMAS PUDDING

Using the finest of ingredients, the Just Desserts Yorkshire range includes a selection of over 20 large and individual luxury cheesecakes, decorative gateaux and cakes, tarts and pastries – featuring a range of delicious fillings, the famous Yorkshire Scoundrel, puddings and crumbles and so much more.

Widely available for distribution throughout the UK, Just Desserts Yorkshire supply the hospitality and retail sector, including pubs, restaurants and hotels with the finest of desserts. https://just-desserts.co.uk/

create incredible campaigns and optimise costs. The nature of call intelligence allows businesses to determine the true value of the campaign responsible for mass bookings.

ADDRESS CUSTOMER QUERIES QUICKLY More than half of Brits say being on hold is the biggest time waster.

Customers become frustrated, sometimes causing them to call back later or look to book elsewhere. However, during such busy periods, it’s not easy to always have somebody on hand to answer the phone. Staff are often caught up welcoming guests – missed call reports are beneficial in situations like these.

By monitoring calls, organisations have access to the caller’s telephone number, time of the call and the pages on the company’s website they visited the missed call. Businesses then have the opportunity to ring the caller back whilst their interest is still hot.

Moreover, this is a great tool to help create rotas and manage staffing levels. Hospitality businesses have intel into which times of the time, month or year require more staff availability to answer the phone. This ensures that employees can provide the upmost customer service with ease.

RECOGNISE YOUR GUESTS’ KEY VALUES Overall, call intelligence is key to truly understanding your customer base and providing them with a fantastic Christmas experience.

Businesses can analyse phone calls to generate revenue and ensure sleek customer service. The hospitality industry can align its Christmas marketing tactics with customer values, making campaigns more compelling.

Calls can then be met with helpful service, which heightens the customer experience.

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Issue 137

Festive Ordering

Bolsius Professional Launches Guide To Help Operators Drive Footfall And Boost Customer Dwell Time Over The Winter Period As temperatures drop and nights draw in, Bolsius Professional is releasing a new guide aimed at helping operators drive footfall and boost customer dwell time during the busy winter period.

Combining inspirational interiors and seasonal style tips, ‘Tempting Autumn Winter Months: Creating a warm welcome for customers’ provides cost effective ideas and guidance on creating a compelling experience for customers.

The guide provides easy to implement tips on boosting atmosphere; the effective use of mood lighting, driving footfall through welcoming window displays, embracing seasonal décor, and maximising architectural features such as fireplaces, to enhance a venue’s environment.

Alongside, the guide highlights interior design trends from the casual dining space; from traditional to modern, minimalist to maximalist, with an array of ideas to suit any venue’s aesthetic.

The premium candle specialist has launched the report as operators ramp up for the busy festive period. With many dining and drinking destinations facing fierce competition and a challenging climate, the look book is designed to demonstrate how elevating the environment can support revenue through creating a space where customers want to stay, and revisit time after time.

Paul Christodoulou, National Account Manager UK & Ireland Out of Home and Hospitality at Bolsius

It’s Beginning To Taste A Lot Like Christmas- We Can Smell It In The Air For Christmas recipes see our new selection developed for us by master chef Peter Gorton littlepod.co.uk/our-recipes/.

Professional and Member of the Institute of Hospitality says,

For that extra sparkle we are putting our chopped Vanilla pods into ice cubes adding a dash of luxury to our cocktails.

“The winter months can be the toughest time of the year to lure customers out of their homes.

Days are short, darkness descends, and sofas beckon.

“Post-pandemic, the environment has changed. Customers became skilled at creating lavish ‘nights out’ at home. As a result, experts predict that customer experience will come into sharp focus: creating unique memorable environments that premiumise offerings, lengthen dwell time, and spotlight venues to existing and potential customers.

We’ve gathered a few of our favourite winter interiors in this look book, showing how a few simple touches can go a long way. Lighting is a key element, helping to create a welcoming and intimate environment for any venue.

We’ve shown how operators can use this to maximum effect, showing their venue in the best possible light for customers.”

Bolsius Professional is a leading global candle manufacturer, with an extensive range of indoor and outdoor candles designed specifically for restaurants, bars and hotels. Free from palm oil and animal fats, they are clean burning and odour free, creating a warm welcome and premium atmosphere that encourages guests to linger.

To find out more about the Bolsius Professional candle range, and download a copy of the guide go to www.bolsius.com/en/professional/inspiration

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

At LittlePod the decorations are going up early as we prepare for our Christmas party and to say goodbye to a well-loved team member, Olly.

We are decorating our tree with lots of 10 ml miniature tubes of paste which make suitable ‘secret Santa’s’.

Do phone us for details if you want some (01395 232022 -sales).

Of course, the Perfect Gift for the Passionate Cook is our store- cupboard essential, LittlePod tube of Vanilla Paste. Try rubbing it into your turkey. Put a squeeze into your morning porridge, smoothies, Coffee. Vanilla is perfect for savoury dishes as well as the Christmas cake!

Fancy a vegan Christmas? Our products are suitable for vegans. We are also kosher certified and this year we are proud to say that we are a ‘Made in Devon’ Trading standards Approved company.

Cheers to Olly and cheers to you All. Look forward to catching up in 2023!

Vinicola Tombacco Achieves Equalitas Sustainable Winery Certification Padua’s Vinicola Tombacco has been awarded Equalitas Certification, a globally recognised sustainability standard set for the wine sector which guarantees the winery’s commitment to sustainability.

Tombacco, who’s wines are available in the UK through Lanchester Wines, has announced the achievement following a series of both ongoing and new projects to address key sustainability issues. The third-generation family business, which recently celebrated its centenary year, has implemented various practices across its wineries to minimise its impact on the environment.

Solar panels are installed on Tombacco’s buildings, which optimises the cost of electricity covering 10% of the company’s energy needs and is the first step towards complete energy autonomy. An innovative Israeli-type drip irrigation system has been installed, that delivers just enough water and nutrients to the vines while minimising wastage. And, Valoritalia, the Italian certification body, has rewarded 47 Anno Domini's efforts with organic certification which in itself is a guarantee of attention and care to the highest standards.

Furthermore, Tombacco has introduced an employee welfare programme which, in the long term, will see them as recipients of annual awards for their good work and team building activities.

Brothers Cristian and Andrea Tombacco are joint

owners of Vinicola Tombacco.

Cristian said: "Improvement is a path taken one step at a time, and each step must follow a precise direction made up of short-term objectives that lead to more ambitious and prestigious long-term successes. Every year we'll prepare a Sustainability Report setting out the improvement policies that we intend to put into practice, measuring the overall situation. An independent body performs an audit to certify progress: this guarantees greater transparency, but also encourages businesses to show constant commitment and efficiency.”

"We know the path we have decided to take is a difficult one, but we do it with the awareness that this is the right one in order to stay faithful to our principles and guarantee future generations a thriving business like the one we are experiencing today,” concludes Cristian.

The Equalitas standard focuses on the social, environmental and economic pillars of sustainability. It’s a voluntary certification procedure regarding wine sustainability with the aim of bringing together companies in the wine sector to promote one, shared approach to sustainability. For more information, please visit www.equalitas.it/en For more information on Tombacco’s commitment to sustainability, please visit www.rinomatatombacco.it

Indulge Your Customers with Mozart Chocolate Liqueur Mozart Chocolate Liqueur is the world-renowned Austrian chocolate liqueur that combines two favorites from the world of indulgence: chocolate & spirits. Exclusively natural ingredients, a sugar beet distillate and the exquisite craftsmanship of the master distiller & chocolatier, from the Mozart Distillery in Salzburg, combine unique quality ingredients and flavors in a Chocolate Symphony that proudly boasts the “made in Austria” quality seal.

Mozart is the number one chocolate liqueur in the on-trade (CGA, P6 2022) and it’s clear to see why.

Featuring classic flavours such as cream, white and dark (Vegan), as well as trending flavours Strawberry, Coffee and Pumpkin Spiced, the full portfolio is award winning.

Most recently, the brand has been awarded with medals across the range in 2022’s IWSC Awards and the Bartender’s Brands Awards, to name a few. Mozart has been named “Liqueur Producer of the Year 2020” for the second time, after being awarded this title back in 2017 for it’s premium range of chocolate flavours.

This year, Mozart Chocolate Liqueur invested over

£100,000 into building brand awareness amongst consumers and the trade, including an influencer and PR campaign as well as partnerships with the likes of German Gymnasium (part of the D&D group), The Whiskey Exchange and Amazon, plus many more.

Mozart Chocolate Liqueur can be enjoyed in many different ways – in its pure and natural state, slightly chilled on ice, over ice cream, in a hot drink or as a ‘choctail’. The most popular way to use Mozart is in an Espresso Martini, a popular cocktail with consumers over the winter months.

MOZART CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO MARTINI 40ml Mozart Cream Chocolate Liqueur 35ml Espresso (cold) 25ml Vanilla Vodka Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass.

For more information and Choctail inspiration please visit www.mozartchocolateliqueur.com

Sip Champagnes Recently voted ‘Champagne & Sparkling Specialist Retailer of the Year’ in the 2022 Decanter Retailer Awards & ‘Specialist Online Retailer of the Year’

by The Drinks Business, Sip Champagnes is the UK’s leading Grower Champagne specialist, with a focus on newly discovered and fully independent producers that can’t be found anywhere else.

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With over 50 fresh and exciting growers – many of them brand new to the UK market – and a collection of over 200 cuvées, there are Champagnes to suit all styles and budgets. So, if you’re looking to reinvigorate your wine list ahead of the festive season, planning a corporate gifting surprise or just fancy a bottle or two for a memorable meal, get in touch.

With tailor-made packages and competitive trade pricing, Sip Champagnes offers options for local wine shops, Michelin-starred restaurants and everything in between.

For further details contact: trade@sipchampagnes.com For more information on Sip Champagnes and its latest UK releases in time for Christmas, visit https://sipchampagnes.com

Order Your Award-Winning, Artisan Cheese For Christmas Now

White Lake are cheesemakers who make over 25 cheeses on their farm in Somerset. Their range includes many top internationalaward-winning cheeses made of goat’s milk from their own herd, local Guernsey cow’s milk and British ewe’s milk.

The variety of tastes, textures, sizes and styles make them a popular choice with top chefs and caterers. Their newest products have been designed specifically for use in professional kitchens. The Glaston Brick and Glaston Tile are two sizes of pressed goat’s curd without the bloomy rind. They deliver the traditional taste of that style of cheese but can be easily cut and shaped to size.

Roger Longman, owner and 3rd generation cheesemaker, says “We’ve become known for our constant aim to make the best cheeses we can using traditional artisanal methods, while exploring unconventional ideas and innovating in exciting new ways.

We love to see how experts in catering work with our range. Chefs often share their creative, new dishes on social media. Our English Goat Curd seems to

be particularly popular at the moment.”

White Lake supply small cheesemakers, pubs and delis but are versatile enough to fulfil greater requirements such as for the caterers at Wimbledon. “As a small company we can be nimble enough to accommodate specific requirements when given notice. Cheese needs enough time to develop complex flavours, particularly the hard varieties. For example, Alpinestyle Rachael Reserva final weight is 12 kg so is matured for a minimum of twelve months. It’s in constant demand for its rounded richness in taste and larger size,” Roger explains.

The cheesemakers, affineurs and packers who handmake White Lake’s cheeses get into top gear from September until the end of December. Roger advises “We hate to disappoint people so strongly advise our customers to place their Christmas orders now.”

Contact Justin Carter, National Sales Manager, White Lake Cheese Limited justin@whitelake.co.uk | www.whitelake.co.uk Mobile: 07903 313812 | Office: 01749 831527

Order yOur aWard-Winning, artisan Cheese fOr Christmas nOW With a range of over 25 different cheeses, we can meet all your catering needs. Choose from soft cheeses made in Brie-style, lactic and ash-coated or wrapped in vine leaves. Our hard cheeses include Rachel, known as ‘the goat’s cheese for people who don’t like goat’s cheese’ that has won multiple gold awards. Chefs love our goat and sheep curd.

White Lake cheese is made on Bagborough Farm in Somerset using goat’s milk from our own herd, local Guernsey cow’s milk and British sheep’s milk. We hand-make and hand-wrap every single cheese. Order for Christmas now so we can fulfil your festive requirements.

White Lake Cheese Limited justin@whitelake.co.uk www.whitelake.co.uk 01749 831527

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

“Newcomer Sip Champagnes has a laser-like focus on cutting-edge wines from the region and, in the words of one judge, ‘is changing the game for Champagne’."

Decanter

trade@sipchampagnes.com www.sipchampagnes.com

www.instagram.com/sip_champagnes www.facebook.com/sipchampagnes www.twitter.com/ChampagnesSip

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Festive Ordering

Get Ready for Christmas with Alliance’s Festive Ranges Ensuring your establishment is appropriately decorated and furnished during the festive period is a necessity for the hospitality industry. In turn, restaurants, bars and pubs will all want to capitalise on the seasonal influx of business which is available. The best way to do so is make your establishment as appealing as possible during this period.

DECORATING THE ROOM When looking to decorate an eating or drinking area for Christmas you should first consider where your fire exits are and that all customers will still have a clear route to an exit. Once you have done this, check you can begin to decide how you want your festive design to look. We would always recommend a tree, go for a larger one if you can as this can be quite a statement piece, attracting party photos in front of it which can act as great free publicity across social media if your venue gets tagged.

In addition to Christmas trees, garlands and wreaths give you the option to add a subtle hint to areas such as toilet doors, mantles, shelves and other places. Equally, fairy lights, tinsel, baubles and balloons are also all great ways of adding some festive cheer to your hospitality business this year.

DRESSING THE TABLES There are many ways to dress your table to add a hint of Yuletide style. Firstly, if you have a colour scheme or a set theme for Christmas which features one particular colour, replicate that in your table setting. You could do this by incorporating the colour into your tablecloth, or if you want a white tablecloth then possibly a coloured table runner with matching napkins.

For tableware you could opt for classic whiteware or go for something more modern which can be a way of introducing colour to your table. Glassware we’d suggest sticking with classical looks to add a sophistication to the drinks you’re serving.

Finally, if you’re finding you’re being booked up with groups looking to celebrate a Christmas works party, you could offer party accessories to go with the meal. Whether it be party poppers, a festive mask kit, artificial snow spray, all are great for adding a party vibe for customers.

With winter on the immediate horizon, restaurants, pubs and other such businesses should look to start ordering Christmas decorations and planning for the festive period now. Alliance Online offers a wide range of Christmas options which will be perfect for your establishment this year.

View the Christmas selection at https://tinyurl.com/56zd8dr9

Superior Wicker Hampers for Christmas Celebrations

When you’re looking for Wicker Hampers to fill with gifts, then these really are a great choice.

Traditionally, picnic baskets were filled with luxurious food and drink, and today the familiar lidded wicker hamper is still the most popular choice when presenting an exquisite gift, offering a delicious selection of hand-selected artisan and speciality treats for the recipient to enjoy.

We can’t supply the award-winning food or the huge array of deluxe beverages - that’s down to you! What we can offer are top-quality wicker hamper baskets. Every basket we commission is made individually by hand and woven using the best whole-reed autumn willow, keeping the integrity of the structure strong and straight. We’ve recently upgraded our Premium range to enhance the baskets further and created our new Superior range. Now ALL our wicker hampers, as standard, have gold-coloured buckles, rivets and lid chains to prevent the lids from falling back when open. The wicker handles have been replaced with quality faux leather handles, matching

Scrocchiarella - New from Fleming Howden Fleming Howden are long renowned for sourcing, manufacturing and distributing a wide range of bakery ingredients and yeast products. Our focus is on delivering the latest bakery technology and product innovation, and providing excellence to the bakery industry.

We have an extensive range of high quality food ingredients, bakery ingredients and bakery supplies. We continuously review our range to ensure we provide you with the newest and most exciting products available on the market.

Fleming Howden are thrilled to be launching a new frozen product into the UK food service market. Scrocchiarella is the perfect answer to the global consumer demand for healthy, high quality snacking and on-the-go food.

the closures and hinge covers.

Along with the increased spec, we’ve added some extra sizes to the range. We stock 12”, 14”, 18”, 21” and 25” widths and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find the overall dimensions are generally larger than that of our competitors for the same inch widths. By far the Natural Wicker is selected most often, however, we also supply a wonderful dark Vintage Brown Wicker, which looks stunning and gives an aesthetically pleasing alternative to the lighter more traditional colour. Both colours are available in all 5 sizes. www.candigifts.co.uk salesdesk@candigifts.co.uk 01502 501681 Scrocchiarella derives from the Italian word scrocchiare – used to describe something very crispy – and is a unique combination of selected traditional flours, sourdough and natural ingredients, ideal for easy and quick consumption.

Sourdough is the key ingredient for Scrocchiarella , ensuring a superior flavour and a memorable aroma to the final product, with a crunchy crust and an open crumb structure. Every piece is hand made, so you will not find two that are exactly the same.

We spend more than 30 hours preparing a single Scrocchiarella, so it takes less than 10 minutes from frozen to prefect service at the table.

Scrocchiarella Frozen maintains the same features of the traditional artisan process: long maturation, spreading by hand, a constant result of texture, flavour and crunchiness.

The final result is a light, crunchy and easily digestible product that delivers total consumer satisfaction, time and time again.

See the advert on this page for further details.

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Chef's Buyer's Guide

Plant-Based Bottomless Brunch With Oggs

®

With plant-based diets a growing trend, it’s more important than ever to ensure that menus are as inclusive as possible. This Veganuary, over 600,000 people signed up to go vegan for a month. Eggs were the second most missed product over this time (14% of participants), with options when eating out being the major barrier to sticking to the pledge (26% of participants).

Enter OGGS®, creators of OGGS® Aquafaba and Scrambled OGGS®. On a mission to remove unnecessary eggs from the food chain, OGGS® products are perfectly designed to provide your customers with delicious alternatives that are better for the planet and the animals.

Scrambled OGGS® is an egg alternative for breakfast and brunch menus made from chickpea protein. Simply shake, pour and cook in minutes for a breakfast scramble to take centre stage on vegetarian or vegan brunch. You can also create omelettes, quiches and so much more with Scrambled OGGS®. Producing 60% less CO2e than eggs, it’s not just kinder to animals, but the environment too.

Restaurants including Bill’s and Shepherd

Neame are already using Scrambled OGGS® to innovate across breakfast and brunch menus, from indulgent vegan full English breakfasts to plant-based carbonara.

OGGS® Aquafaba is an egg white alternative made from chickpeas, an innovative solution to removing egg whites from cocktails. With six months shelf life and a neutral flavour profile, OGGS® Aquafaba functions exactly the same as egg whites in cocktails, while removing an allergen from your menu. With 72% less CO2e than eggs, you can create the same delicious drinks without the egg using OGGS® Aquafaba for a more inclusive and environmentally friendly cocktail menu.

Will at 31k in Nottingham said: “Every other drink we sell is a cocktail, and 1 in 4 for those calls for a foam. That’s 100 cocktails a night which would call for 100 eggs. Thanks to OGGS® , we’ve saved 100 discarded yolks and 100 broken eggs shells each shift - and the hassle of rinsing spilled egg whites! OGGS® is hassle-free in use, taste-free in cocktails, and guilt-free as it helps us lower our environmental footprint.”

For more information contact trade@loveoggs.com

Northern Ireland - Bringing WorldClass Food and Drink to Your Table Food and drink is a vital and growing industry in Northern Ireland. In terms of turnover, employment and cultural significance, this £5.8bn sector continues to extend its reach in GB and in international markets.

Whilst 50% of turnover comes from our top 10 companies, family-owned businesses remain prominent, resulting in an industry that is flexible, authentic and forwardthinking.

Northern Ireland’s produce has proven award-winning status, the result of many years of success in schemes such as Great Taste, the Quality Food Awards and the Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards. Key to this success is our unique blend of tradition and innovation, exemplified by the recent rapid growth in whiskey distilling in Northern Ireland. The Irish whiskey category is expected to increase by nearly £1bn over the next 5 years. Until recently the Old Bushmills Distillery – the world’s oldest licensed distillery – was the only distillery in Northern Ireland but now the region boasts 7 distilleries, with an eighth in progress as The Belfast Distillery Company progresses with its £22.3mn distillery and visitor experience located at Crumlin Road Gaol.

As well as creating award-winning whiskeys and gins, these

distilleries are playing an increasingly important role in attracting and entertaining tourists. Distilleries on the Island of Ireland attract over 1 million visitors per year and the likes of Bushmills, Echlinville, Rademon, Boatyard, Hinch and Belfast Distillery are playing a key role in this growth.

Invest NI’s dedicated food business development team supports local companies to develop their business with customers in GB and beyond. Visit buynifood.com or contact us directly to learn how our world-class food and drink can help grow your business.

British Public Want British Eggs On Menu When Eating Out The British public want and expect British eggs to be on the menu when eating out and are surprised that isn’t always the case, according to a survey from British Lion eggs.

British Lion eggs asked the British public where they thought the eggs come from when they’re eating out of home; the responses were resoundingly in favour of British, with many saying that if they knew an operator was using British Lion eggs

they would be more likely to eat there.

Specifying British Lion eggs can help to keep your customers happy and ensure the highest standards of food safety.

See the advert on page 12. The video is available to watch at www.egginfo.co.uk/tv/british-lion-eggs-journey-consumers-eating-out-home

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

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Products and Services

Your Perfect Print Partner Bournemouth-based Aspenprint is the leading provider of design and print to hotels across the UK. The talented team are competent at working with big name brands and adhering to brand guidelines, as well as creating bespoke designs for smaller boutique hotels. In addition to providing a graphic design service they also have a large 20,000 square foot print facility filled with digital and litho machines as well as large format and finishing department to cater for all manner of print projects.

Aspenprint’s wide range of hotel products includes Christmas brochures, Wedding brochures, key card holders, door hangers, branded chocolates, menus, menu covers, branded pens, outdoor banners, giant

deckchairs, gift vouchers, branded merchandise and everything else a hotel might need to maximise its marketing and boost bookings.

Managing Director Ian Shenton commented; “We’ve been in the print business for over 50 years and have a strong team of staff who all know the hospitality industry inside out. We truly understand how to market a hotel through effective use of design and print, and can turn projects around within a matter of days. We pride ourselves on building a solid working relationship with our loyal clientbase. Our ever-expanding product range keeps customers coming back to us month after month, and our excellent customer service and high quality design and print keeps them more than happy to use Aspenprint."

For more information please visit their website at www.aspenprint.com or request a free sample box of hotel related design and print by emailing hello@aspenprint.com See the advert on page 13 for more details.

Gas - An Important Role to Play In Achieving Net Zero Operations Despite the call to embrace a net zero approach the majority of existing restaurants, pubs and hotels will depend on gas for their heating and service critical hot water supplies. For this reason, unlocking the potential of hydrogen represents a familiar, easier and more cost-effective way to transition to more sustainable heating practices in buildings with a connection to the gas grid.

20% blend ready. This instantly delivers an opportunity to embrace more sustainable gas supplies once available without the need for any change in specification, or post-installation upgrades to the appliances.

With advanced burner technology and rugged titanium stainless steel construction of the heat exchangers Adveco’s ADplus, AD and MD will continue to operate well into the 2030s, providing a practical, future-proof choice today to decarbonise operations in the most cost-effective manner as hydrogen blending becomes commonplace. Organisations also gain a clear path to the adoption of future generations of proven 100% hydrogen appliances as the gas network matures and greens.

For those wishing to adopt the hydrogen approach, there remains a question mark over how quickly, where and in what proportion hydrogen will be introduced into the gas grid. The ultimate aim of introducing 100% green hydrogen nationally via the gas network is unlikely to be fully realised until the 2040s. As an interim, the UK is assessing the potential for introducing hydrogen into the existing gas network as early as the end of this decade as a blend at 20% volume to deliver a safer, greener gas alternative that reduces carbon emissions.

Those currently working on commercial water heating projects with Adveco can continue to commit to gas-fired applications with the knowledge that Adveco’s instantaneous ADplus and semi-instantaneous AD water heaters, and MD boiler ranges are all hydrogen

For those wishing to commit to immediately decarbonising their hot water systems, Adveco can support hybrid applications that use solar thermal, as well as heat pumps, to pre-heat water and offset gas-energy usage without removing the gas connection necessary for future infrastructure developments. www.adveco.co

Proper Tasty Snacks Handmade in Britain Are You Still Hand Polishing Cutlery?

Great Tasting Pork Crackling, Delectable Nuts and Fabulous Fudge

All Robert’s Dorset products are made to order on site in Dorset, providing customers with only the freshest produce and bespoke selections.

Robert Parkin, founder of Robert’s Dorset comments: “We’re a passionate team here at Robert’s Dorset and we’re experts at creating tasty snacks in a wide range of moreish flavours. We’re a proud family-run brand and have come far when we think back to when we were creating our hand-made snacks from our modest kitchen back in 2011. As a brand, we are led by quality and flavour. We’re for everybody, whether you like classic tastes or are a bit more daring, have allergies or are vegan, Robert’s Dorset is for all”.

The Robert’s Dorset products are suitable for a wide range of dietary needs, such as gluten free, sugar-free, vegan, 100% keto friendly and allergen free. All with the same great taste.

Robert’s Dorset can supply you with: • Proper Pork Crackling - triple cooked with incredible crunch and available in 11 flavours. No MSG or Artificial flavours.

• Proper Pork Crackling Natural Triple Zero - the first non-HFSS Pork Crackling.

Containing no sugar, no salt, and no carbs, while still providing ‘full-on pork flavour’ and the Robert Dorset’s trademark crunch.

• Yummy Peanuts - grade AA nuts, ethically and sustainably sourced and available in 13 flavours.

• Delicious Cashews - grade AA nuts, ethically and sustainably sourced and available in 12 flavours.

• Fabulous Fudge - 100% British and available in 15 flavours. Cream based and Gluten-free. Two vegan varieties also available.

Robert’s Dorset products come in a range of different pack sizes and packaging options to suit all retailers.

Choices include small and large re-usable pots and jars, as well as recyclable bags and pouches, offering environmentally friendly solutions for traders across Europe.

Robert’s Dorset are proud to supply many stockists throughout the UK. These range from a modest solo operator shop to pubs, bars, restaurants, butchers, farm shops and more.

Contact Robert to find out more: 01202 875280, info@sct-sct.com, www.robertsdorset.com See the advert on page 3.

The difficulty in finding and keeping good employees in our industry has seen an unusually high interest in our products. A cutlery polisher used to be seen as a luxury item for those requiring a higher quality finish to their cutlery than hand polishing, now it's seen as a must-have as most restaurants are operating with reduced labour which is costly.

are more about health and safety. Some thin glasses are impossible to hand polish safely with good results, our Glass Polisher can safely polish with impressive results. 5 spinning brushes polish both the inside and outside of the glass, hot air is continuously blown so the brushes remain dry allowing the same brushes to be used all day long. The quality of polishing makes a great difference when glasses are on display.

Taking washed, still wet cutlery, handfuls at a time are placed into the polisher where the cutlery is immersed in a bed of crushed corn. This corn absorbs water and polishes the cutlery for 30 seconds before exiting under a UV lamp (which kills bacteria and viruses including Covid19) ready to place on the table. It will polish a basket of washed cutlery in 2 minutes (up to 3500 per hour for our mid-sized polisher). With a rental cost of just £3.57 per day, it's less than 20 minutes of staff time so it’s worth looking at your costs and seeing if we can be of service to you.

Our all-inclusive, noncontract rental plan is riskfree and will save on costs during the unprecedented times our industry is currently facing. If a rental scheme isn't for you, you can purchase with a 2-year no-quibble full parts and labour warranty.

You can see a video of the polisher working on our website at www.thecutlerypolisher.co.uk Our Glass Polisher is the same process and although it’s quicker than hand polishing, the benefits

We have been doing this since 1999, some customers have had the same machine since we first started, serviced regularly the Nicem cutlery polisher will last pretty much indefinitely. We still offer a free trial if the above is of interest, just contact us; at info@thecutlerypolisher.co.uk or 01474 873 892 For those reading who have a Nicem Cutlery polisher, our grain and service deal runs until the end of October 2022, contact us for more information.

See the advert on page 23 for details.

The Original Smartphone Quiz That’s Driving Footfall and Sales In Thousands of Pubs In theory, Thursday night at the Black Bull in York should be one of the pub’s quieter nights of the week, falling as it does just before the weekend. But the reality couldn’t be more different.

“We run a Thursday evening quiz using SpeedQuizzing and it’s now one of our busiest nights, with revenues up by about 80% and more than 35 four-person teams competing each week,” says manager Jill Clarke.

She’s not alone. The Black Bull is just one of over a thousand hospitality venues hosting weekly quizzes using SpeedQuizzing, an interactive app-based quiz platform that’s revolutionising the pub quiz and driving footfall, sales and fun in pubs and bars all over the UK. It has been described as offering all the excitement of a quiz and game show rolled into one, and, when you speak with SpeedQuizzing co-founder Alan Leach, it’s easy to understand why.

“We created Speedquizzing to be fast-paced, entertaining and hassle-free, both for pub hosts and players alike.

“Games are hosted in each venue via our platform using a laptop, and instead of using a pen and paper, players answer the questions in real-time

through our app, which they download for free. There’s no need to keep score as that’s done automatically and our customers love the fact that our quizzes are cheat-free, with our software making it easy to set time limits on how long teams have to answer each question.

“In keeping with the game show style of our quiz games, individual buzzer sounds can also be allocated to each team, while hosts can also use a variety of sound effects to add to the upbeat atmosphere.”

Its digital question packs, which come free with every SpeedQuizzing activation, are another key point of difference, with every pack being completely unique – ensuring no host will ever receive the same question pack as another host.

“They can be tailored by topic, age range or level of difficulty, meaning quiz hosts can perfectly cater to the needs and requirements of different audiences,” says Alan, “and with the World Cup just around the corner we’re already starting to see increasing demand for our football themed quiz packs.”

For more information, visit www.SpeedQuizzing.com or see the advert on page 2.

Wines, Spirits and Cocktails Coravin Trade Exclusive Promotion As we head into the festive season, maximising profitability while delivering an excellent guest experience becomes ever more critical across the trade.

To help the trade deliver against this objective, Coravin, global leaders in wine preservation, are running a trade exclusive promotion during October offering 30% off their latest innovation - Coravin Sparkling™.

Coravin Sparkling™ is the first preservation system to perfectly preserve the crisp flavour and effervescence of sparkling wines for up to 4 weeks. The portable format is highly convenient and easy to use, while the unique universal Coravin Sparkling™ Stoppers fit all half, standard, and magnum bottles.

Anne Roque, Coravin UK Sales Manager comments, “Coravin Sparkling™ offers a unique opportunity for bars and restaurants to increase their sparkling wine by the glass menu, while eliminating the risk of wastage. The Sparkling wine category is typically one of the most challenging for the trade, due to the high stock cost and short

Authentic Spanish Sangria – Now In A Can!

Solsueño sangria in a can, introduced to the UK in spring 2022 in partnership with Proof Drinks Ltd, has brought a premium, innovative addition to the premix beverage sector and a ray of liquid Spanish sunshine to UK consumers!

Packaged in a modern 330ml slimline can at 5% abv, Solsueño is an authentic sangria, crafted in the Denominacion de Origen region of Jumilla, Murcia.

Using local and natural ingredients, the great tasting liquid is vegan and gluten free, instantly giving consumers the ‘sun, sea and sangria’ holiday feeling.

Ideal for all indoor and outdoor settings, with no preparation or wastage, the can offers single-serve convenience but can also be used in shared occasions adding ice and fruit in a jug.

The eco credentials of cans mean lower transport costs due to the lightness of the packaging and the cans are infinitely recyclable.

Awarded Bronze in the 2022 IWSC Alternative Drinks category competition, the professional wine-tasting

panel offered the following tasting notes: ‘’juicy cherry and plum palate, with clove and cinnamon spice giving a refreshing and drinkable palate’’.

Following a first year of attending many national trade fairs, regional outdoor events, Foodie Festivals and local food & drink fairs, the overwhelming reaction to the liquid is really positive and has driven early successes with on and off-trade distribution, as well as Amazon. Supported by an active social media and extensive sampling campaign, Solsueño has established a firm foothold and the brand is very much looking forward to continued successes into 2023.

With pre-mix drinks growing to be a hugely popular category, particularly during the summer, sangria is a natural fit given the high levels of consumer awareness due to Spain being a major holiday destination for the UK consumer.

Solsueño sangria, Bringing Spain to the UK! Contact us at: info@sangria-solsueno.com www.sangria-solsueno.com

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shelf live after opening a bottle. We have a wide range of customers using Coravin Sparkling™, from fine dining restaurants offering super premium Champagnes by the glass, to traditional pubs who rely on the system to reduce wastage”.

Katie Warren, Coravin Marketing Manager adds, “Recent case studies across the UK have shown us that consumers really engage with an extensive menu of sparkling wines by the glass. We fully expect this trend to intensify as we head into the festive season.”

The promotion ends on October 31st, please visit trade.coravin.com/en-GB or contact sales_eu@coravin.com for more details.

Bottleproof Launch Selected Cocktails In Sustainable Paper Bottles

With over 25 cocktails in their range, Cambridge based Bottleproof Cocktails are one of the leaders in their field, supplying premium cocktails exclusively to the On-Trade since 2016. Customers include hotels, theatres, restaurants, pubs and events venues across the UK and beyond.

All Bottleproof cocktails are full ABV professional bar serves using branded spirits, juices and their own syrups. Each cocktail still has to be shaken, stirred or built so the theatre of a cocktail serve is not lost but they are considerably quicker to make and provide consistency without the need for extensive training.

Initially Bottleprtoof have launched two of their best sellers in the eco-friendly paper bottles, the multi award winning* Pornstar Martini and Espresso Martini which are now available to ship in 70cl bottles, each bottle serving 7 cocktails.

As Charlie Anderson, co-owner of Bottleproof Cocktails who heads up production and R&D comments: “In our drive to become more sustainable and to help venues reduce their carbon emissions, we have released the first of our cocktails in 70cl paper bottles. This

has followed extensive testing throughout last year to ensure they are fit for purpose. Not only are the bottles more environmentally friendly but they should also reduce the high costs venues have to pay for refuse collection” Compared to glass bottles, the paper bottles are: 5 x lighter than glass bottles 6 X less carbon footprint 94% recyclable paperboard outer As Mark Thompson, co-owner of Bottleproof Cocktails who heads up sales, says “Interest in the paper bottles from our existing customers as well as new customers has been phenomenal. Our cocktails are high quality with a proven track record in the on-trade; the packaging looks great and we are offering an initial stocking price that makes them cheaper than our glass bottles. Plus we are all helping the environment – what’s not to like!”

For more information, visit www.bottleproof.co.uk. Tel 01223 462211.

Email info@bottleproof.co.uk

Education and Training We are the National Hospitality Academy, Proud Creators of Expert LMS, Our World Leading Learning Management System

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Customise and brand your very own online staff training platform, to deliver an engaging training experience for your Hospitality team on any desktop, tablet or mobile device anywhere in the world. Fully equipped with over 70 interactive, accredited & certificated e-learning courses, our training is open access and covers a wide range of subjects including Food Hygiene and Hospitality, HR, Compliance, Vocational, Wellbeing and more – the perfect fit for your business. Visit www.nha.training Our powerful course building tools will allow you to produce an unlimited amount of your own bespoke training. You can upload video and documents, and even build your own interactive modules from onboarding to an interactive video’s using our stateof-the-art course editor! In-depth reporting and notification control allows for detailed analysis of all your training to help improve efficiency and effectiveness. Furthermore, Expert LMS with the Hospitality Academy comes with an open API, allowing you to seamlessly integrate your LMS

with another piece of software such as HR or rota systems.

Our dedicated team are on hand 7 days a week to offer technical support and you’re provided full and ongoing training in how to use our system so you can get the maximum amount of benefit.

We also provide over 3000 Personal Licences online every year with exams on Zoom every 30min. If you want to set up corporate account, call us 02035442211 and the course and exam will only be £70 per person.

The very fabric of a business lies within the skills of its workforce and the challenge to find the best technology to successfully induct, train and develop its talent. Your workforce is worthy of the very best, so get started today and join the thousands of other users online with our world leading learning platform, www.nha.training and www.expertlms.com

Boost Your Bottom Line and Gain New Customers with the Vegetarian Society Chef’s Diploma How enticing are your restaurant’s vegetarian and vegan options? The growing trend of meat reduction and flexitarianism has led to a rise in people expecting high-quality, exciting plantbased dishes when they eat out. It makes great business sense to keep these customers happy and coming back for more.

That’s where the Vegetarian Society Chef’s Diploma comes in – it’s a three-day course that will teach you how to make incredible on-trend veggie and vegan dishes, giving you the edge over your competitors.

Chefs will develop skills and build their confidence in everything veggie and vegan. The course costs just £750 and covers recipe creation, menu planning, vegetarian and vegan definitions and attitudes, plant-based ingredients, building flavour, alternatives to meat and dairy... And much more!

Here’s what course attendees are saying: “I can’t recommend this course strongly enough to any of you who are in this industry… With the modern trend in less

meat in the diet and people having meat-free days, I see this as a step forward to surviving in our harsh economic environment.”

Murray “It really does exceed expectations. Right mix of theory, business info and practical cooking.”

Ian “100% recommend this course… I had the best schooling days of my life in this cookery school!”

Darshana “Endless ideas and new techniques. More than met my expectations of improving veggie options at work.”

Matt Book your place now with a £75 deposit: www.vegsoc.org/diploma

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Cleaning and Hygiene

Ozone Clean

Ozone Clean is the leading manufacturer and supplier of Ozone generating equipment to the hospitality sector as well as many other industries for Odour and Infection control. We supply a range of generators suitable for all applications both industrial and domestic that can effectively treat small to very large areas.

Our company is multi internationally award winning and has rapidly built a strong reputation within Hospitality and other industries since our inception in 2005. Our goal is centred on supplying products that are efficient, safe and cost effective, backed up by an excellent service ethic and after sales operation.

Due to the efficiency and reliability of our flagship products the OC1500 and OC700, at a cost from 28p per day, we have empirical evidence, that by using Ozone Cleans range of products you will be able to enjoy an ROI within 12 months, often sooner. Genuine and provable results. This is achieved by the permanent removal of Odours, Bacteria, Mould and Viruses in as little as 5 minutes.

Peace of mind, efficiency and reliability go hand in hand with Ozone Clean and don’t forget by using our OC range you will be having a positive impact on the environment as opposed to the traditional methods which have a high energy or chemical consumption.

We have over 850 clients and 11 million rooms per

Should you decide to buy either our OC1500 or OC700 we will offer you a 15% discount exclusive to this article. Just quote OZO15.

Web: www.ozoneclean.co.uk Call : 020 8883 2756 Emails: sales@ozoneclean.co.uk

Tork - Think Ahead

brand Tork, which found that hospitality businesses are under increasing amounts of pressure to showcase or invest in their own sustainability credentials as consumer expectations evolve.

To meet the demand of hospitality businesses right now and for the years ahead, Tork has announced the launch of a sustainability guide for restaurants. The guide shares accumulated knowledge from Tork’s 50 years of experience within the food service industry, alongside brand-new knowledge on relevant topics for the industry.

The need for hospitality businesses to transform their sustainability performance has never been as critical, as new research reveals that Brits buy over 3.2 billion drinks in paper cups every year – just under two billion of which won’t make their way into an appropriate recycling bin.

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

year being treated with our equipment. In manufacturing we only use the highest quality parts which enables us to say that we still have machines that are still in use after 15 years. Therefore, our range of products are the most efficient and reliable on the market.

These alarming statistics are further emphasised by additional research from Essity’s professional hygiene

Tork’s PaperCircle service is the world’s first paper hand towel recycling scheme. Hospitality businesses can go circular by working directly with Tork to collect and recycle used paper hand towels into new tissue products. Tork PaperCircle reduces waste by up to 20% and cuts carbon emissions for paper hand towels by at least 40%.

Sustainability is core to the Essity business, with its credentials including featuring in the 2022 FTSE4Good global sustainability index and receiving a “Platinum Medal” award in the 2022 Ecovadis CSR Rating. This places Essity in the top one per cent of all companies to be assessed by Ecovadis.

To keep up with the latest Tork news and innovations, please visit: www.tork.co.uk

46

CLH DIGITAL

Issue 137

Laundry and Linens

Sustainability - An Expensive Luxury? gy of the PowerPress and PowerSpin provides low residual moistures permitting high savings in the subsequent evaporation process. Thanks to the process control Eco2Power for the transfer dryer PowerDry, the energy is kept in the system and needs not to be recovered via heat exchangers. In the finishing process, Kannegiesser is a pioneer for low-temperature drying during the process of ironing, finishing or full drying - with impressive results for both, in maintaining textile value and energy consumption. Ultimately, the energy contained in the ironing and finisher exhaust air is used to heat fresh water for the washing process - the circle is completed.

Invest today, profit tomorrow: Why sustainability is for laundries a plus for their budget and for the climate?

Several tons of laundry are processed in a laundry every day. Textile service providers stand for reliability, quality and hygiene. Today, a responsible and integral circular economy means much more: Consistently clean and sustainable processed textiles.

Kannegiesser is the global partner for the future of the laundry industry. For us, sustainability is an elementary component and more than just a trend. In addition to savings in resources and textile care in the laundry technology, Kannegiesser stands for the integral sustainable corporate culture. This includes securing longterm economic stability, comprehensive education and training of the own employees and security for the future through innovation.

The modern technology of Kannegiesser reduces the use of fresh water and fossil fuels. Our solutions drive growth for our customers and create attractive, future-oriented and ergonomic jobs for us and in the entire industry. This is how we help people to live clean, healthy and safe lives.

In the washhouse, the washing line PowerTrans sets new standards for washing efficiency, hygiene, water and energy consumption. The water-extraction technolo-

Visit www.kannegiesser.com/uk/en/ for further information.

Vision Linens Launches New Loyalty Program Additional points can be earned when you initially register for an account as well as reviewing products, referring friends and for social media interactions.

In turn, Reward Points can be redeemed against any products listed on the website, with no minimum order value. It’s as easy as that.

Vision Linens, leading textile supplier and distributer, has launched a new loyalty program across its ecommerce site, visionlinens.com. Vision is best known for supplying textiles to some of the biggest names in hospitality and retail, including Accor, IHG, Hilton and John Lewis & Partners. What many may not realise, is that Vision’s ecommerce site enables accommodation providers, as well as everyday consumers to buy the same ethically sourced, high-quality products, direct from Vision and delivered straight to their door.

The benefits continue to flow, you’ll be the first to know about Vision’s sales, promotions and new products, as well as handy industry tips. As a member you can view your full order history and quickly reorder the same products without having to find them and add them to your basket.

The Visionaires Members Club is completely free to join and rewards its members for every interaction they have on the online shop. The more its members spend and the more they share online, the more points Vision will offer to redeem against its products.

So, what are you waiting for? Click here to sign up and create an account with us.

Visionaires can earn one Reward Point for every £10 they spend online.

*Terms and conditions apply.

Double Accolade For Southern Contracts

Mark Rogers, Regional Business Manager for Electrolux Professional, added: “Electrolux Professional have dealt with Southern Contracts for over 30 years and during that time they have established themselves as always being one of our leading distributors. We have always found them to be a first class and professional partner.

SOUTHERN Contracts is thrilled to receive not one, but two awards for their performance over the past year.

Electrolux Professional have announced Southern Contracts as their Laundry Partner of the Year 2021 which is awarded to the top selling Partner of commercial laundry appliances across last year.

Southern Contracts have also been awarded Electrolux Professional’s Special Achievement Award for 2021. This is bestowed upon the company with the highest national sales of their food and laundry professional products.

To have been given these two awards is quite amazing when the whole of the country was in lockdown during this period, with hospitality, care homes, schools, cruise ships and holiday venues all closed to the outside world.

Adam Elphinstone, MD of Southern Contracts, said: “We have a very long and special relationship with Electrolux Professional and are proud to work with their products for both provision, installation and servicing. As we continue to emerge from the last couple of years we look forward to an optimistic future and all our clients being able to fully open up their businesses in this bright new world ahead.”

“I have worked with them personally for over 4 years and can always rely on them to provide the right solution and fantastic after-care for any customer, from a wide variety of sectors, across the Marine environment through to Care Homes, Hotels and Schools.

“Due to their many years of experience, they have a wide breadth of knowledge covering both the laundry and catering environments and although they are a company that can deal in a global marketplace, they still give the first-class friendly care of a family run business for both their remote and local customers.”

For more information about products and services on offer, contact Southern Contract’s expert team of technical staff to provide guidance and advice through every aspect of your purchase and ongoing commitment to service, please telephone 01202 422100 or visit www.southerncontracts.co.uk See the advert on the previous

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

Increase Customer Spend by 18% (or more)!

Download the Paytronix Loyalty Report 2022 to find out more: https://alohaepos.co.uk/ annual-loyalty-report/

0800 731 8451 info@alohaepos.co.uk www.alohaepos.co.uk

50

CLH DIGITAL

Hospitality Technology

Issue 137

4 Biggest Payment Trends in Hospitality Top Hospitality Partnership Takes for 2022 to 2023 Customer Experience To New Levels

Those in the hospitality industry who weathered the pandemic and Brexit and lived to tell the tale find themselves in a different landscape. Customers’ expectations have grown as the world opens up to travel and tourism with renewed enthusiasm.

Truevo is an industry partner to UK’s hotels, selfcatering, bed and breakfasts, hostels, camping and caravanning. Along with other businesses like restaurants, bars and takeaways. We created payment tools and solutions to help owners meet customers' demands.

Here are the most prominent payment trends we’re helping you meet.

Online is offline, and vice versa.

In 2020, 65% of worldwide tourism and travel sales were online, which is expected to reach 72% by 2025.

Customers expect a seamless experience booking online and in person. Top hotels allow customers to self-service and pay for additional services from their mobile devices.

Cash is dead. The card is king.

This trend has been slow-moving, but after the pandemic, debit and credit cards have dominated as the preferred payment method.

Convenience is a must.

For hotel guests, convenience includes quickly paying online or in person with their preferred payment method.

Aloha integrated with Paytronix, benefits the customer experience in key ways:

Restaurant owners now have access to frictionless client engagement thanks to an exclusive partnership between a leading provider of restaurant epos and the most advanced digital guest experience platform.

Chargeback fraud is on the rise.

With the rise of new payment methods, the hospitality sector has experienced increased chargeback fraud.

Truevo’s system and the team help resolve chargebacks quickly, prevent fraud and keep payment data secure.

With us, you receive chargeback notifications in realtime.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT TRUEVO’S • Competitive fees tailored to your business • Unrivalled support via phone, email and Live Chat • Next-day settlement to improve operational efficiency • Acceptance and processing optimisation to maximise successful transactions • Accept over 150 currencies globally and get settled in GBP or EUR Bump your payments up to first-class with Truevo Simply Better Payments at https://truevo.com/card-machines/

SumUp POS Our mission is to empower small merchants across the globe

HOW WE CAN HELP We give access to financial services to the millions of businesses that

NFS Technology, provider of Aloha restaurant management software, have announced the selection of Paytronix Systems Inc as their UK and Ireland partner in a move predicted to be hugely popular in the industry.

Chris Cartmell, Chief Commercial Officer for NFS restaurant technology, said the development is a response to the dramatic change in the way customers want to engage with their favourite restaurants.

“Many of our clients ask us how they can take a more integrated approach to client engagement, loyalty and feedback,” he said.

“The Paytronix platform seamlessly integrates with Aloha, to be able to offer our clients a tool to improve client engagement, grow revenue and be able to get a much better picture on both client spend and preferences,” said Chris.

are considered too small for most providers. They’re as much as 10 times smaller than the smallest businesses that would be targeted by banks and traditional providers. What started out as one card reader has now turned into a range of readers, multiple remote payment solutions such as Invoices, Gift Cards, Payment Links and so much more.

INCLUSIVE We want to make technology that anyone can use and everyone has access to. Whether you’re a one-person show or a team, we’re there for the smallest of businesses.

PERSONAL SUPPORT

1. It enables restaurants to provide a customised one-to-one journey for clients, combining data and marketing automation in one dashboard.

2. Digital marketing is highly personalised to customer behaviour and connected to actual guest spend.

3. Restaurateurs can create and deploy omnichannel marketing campaigns in minutes, using core design options that suit guest needs.

4. Order frequency is increased by offering combined services – for example, online ordering and loyalty programmes together have been shown to increase order frequency by 18%.

5. Customer loyalty is grown. The integrated system enables more ways to enrol and more promotion types – many users see guest participation of 50 to 70%.

Discover more about epos technology and customer experience: https://alohaepos.co.uk/ See the advert on the previous page for details.

Do you have questions about the usage of SumUp? We have a dedicated customer support team in the language that works for you.

SECURE PAYMENTS SumUp card readers are the most secure methods of card payments and have received full certification from a range of regulatory bodies.

RELIABLE TECHNOLOGY SumUp is authorised as a Payment Institution by the Financial Conduct Authority (license no. 900700) and is EMV (Europay, Mastercard, and Visa) and PCI-DSS certified.

See the advert opposite for details.

52

CLH DIGITAL

Issue 137

Hospitality Technology

How to Harvest Intelligent Data

By Scott Muncaster, Owner and Managing Director of Adactus (www.adactus.co.uk) By definition, intelligent customer data is any data collected by your company which offers insight into the behaviour and mindset of your customers. This data will help you gain a better understanding of what drives and excites your customers.

Intelligent data is invaluable when it comes to marketing outreach, new customer procurement, and customer retention, as it allows you to provide a targeted and bespoke approach for all your guests.

However, so often brands are guilty of taking a blanket approach when it comes to communicating with customers.

Not only are they missing an opportunity to build a strong rapport with those who walk through their doors, but equally they risk losing existing clientele with irritating, irrelevant marketing.

Capturing intelligent data that creates a single customer view has never been more important. No one needs to dine out, especially with a cost-of-living crisis, so knowing who you’re speaking to and tailoring your messages appropriately is crucial to capturing people’s attention, enticing them in, and then nurturing those relationships further.

For example, you might want to reach young couples who have the flexibility, but not as much disposable income, with mid-week meal deals, or retirees living in a specific area with a lunchtime offer. Maybe you want to get early bird discounts in front of families who are slightly more cash strapped but still relish those one-off family outings – intelligent data allows you to do this.

MCR Systems

MCR Systems has over 40 years of experience in providing hospitality, catering and leisure organisations with enterprise management solutions that directly improve the efficiency of their business operations.

We do this by combining high-quality

software and cutting-edge EPOS technology.

Then there’s using this data to track customers’ behaviours and to tailor to suit. For example, having a highchair ready for the family with a baby or tracking a customer’s usual drink choice so the waiter is informed on arrival.

This insight can also be used to shape the company’s future product or service plans. For example, is it time to introduce ‘order and pay’ options at the table for those on a tight schedule or who want to be more in control of their experience if you’re seeing more customers that fit that profile? Or perhaps offering the option of takeaway could boost weekday sales?

It's about doing a deep dive into data to help shape and grow your business, while delivering a more personalised experience that makes you stand out. Harvesting intelligent customer data means you’re able to interrogate data, to understand where, when and how a guest engages with your brand.

Collecting intelligent customer data is easier than you might think. Using the right tools means as you gather, cleanse and segment your data, the more assertive you can be with your selling.

However, the more data you harvest, the more analysis is needed to make this data work harder for you, all of which can be automated via CRM systems.

This involves categorising your data so you can make inferences at a glance. The analysis process is where you begin to truly understand the trends of your customers. Once this stage of the customer intelligence process is complete, you’ll have a comprehensive single view of all your customers.

We find that consistency is key in the hospitality sector, and using technology can add speed and accuracy to your approach, as well as clearing a more visible path to maximising your data’s potential.

The hospitality industry is one of the most competitive, and as the sector continues to be hit by the costof-living crisis, businesses simply cannot afford to provide a so-so service. Intelligent data will help improve every facet of your offering, and make it easier to navigate the challenges of the current climate.

Employers Must Adapt To Employee Expectations, says Bizimply “The recruitment crisis is already stretching wage budgets, so employers don’t always have the option to increase pay significantly for entry-level staff working front-of-house and kitchen shifts. However, it’s important to understand employee motivation at this level.

MCR Systems T: 0116 299 7000 E: enquiries@mcr-systems.co.uk www.mcr-systems.co.uk See the advert on page 40.

The monthly ONS vacancy figures have seen a decline in the number of hospitality vacancies, with 158,000 vacancies recorded in the quarter from July to September 2022, a decline of 8.8% compared with the 173,000 vacancies in the from April to June 2022.

Conor Shaw, CEO of workforce management specialist Bizimply, said: “While vacancies still represent a huge challenge for the sector, the drop reflects our experience that some operators are using technology to manage their workforce a little better, and maximise the benefits to the business of the workforce available.

“An employer trying to run their businesses with 10% vacancy rates needs their existing staff to be 10% more efficient, and every employee willing to work an extra shift helps to relieve the immediate challenge for employers, while employees need to know that they can fit work around other commitments.

“Many of the businesses we work with rely on parttime staff, including team members who combine work with their studies, or who have childcare or other commitments. For these employees, there is the potential to take home a little more from every shift they work, through the increases in the minimum wage and the National Insurance threshold introduced earlier this year.

“Businesses that have robust workforce management systems in place can input changes such as new rates of pay, tax and NI, give employees the maximum notice of shifts, and process any changes in employees’ shift patterns quickly. Employees can use the same technology to it to let their employer know what hours they can work regularly, and if these change due to school holidays or other circumstances.

“Bizimply’s software helps businesses reduce the amount of time spent creating staff rotas and sorting out payroll. It means that GMs and supervisors can spend more time front of house, where they can have the most positive impact, making operational decisions, managing team members and interacting with customers.”

See the advert on this page for details.

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Outdoor Spaces

Issue 137

CLH DIGITAL

53

Putting Safety On The Menu For Al Fresco Dining Deborah Ainscough, founder and director of Crowdguard, specialists in safety installations for events and pedestrianised locations, discusses the safety considerations for al fresco dining areas to protect staff and customers.

No so long ago, al fresco dining was a lifestyle we associated with summer holidays abroad; a European pavement café culture that we’d never quite mastered over here, with our narrow roads and limited pavements. Indeed, al fresco dining was so foreign to us Brits that we’ve never even coined our own name for it!

But COVID was a catalyst for change. Forced to provide the option for customers to eat and drink outside when indoor spaces were too risky at the height of the virus, many hospitality businesses have made that temporary provision into a permanent change, and are now benefitting from their investment in outdoor dining with increased capacity and appeal to a wider demographic.

Extended outdoor seating licensing introduced as a temporary measure June 2020 was extended until September of this year and has now been extended again until 2023, pending permanent legislation to allow bars and restaurants to provide furniture on pavements and pedestrianised roads adjacent to their premises. It’s great news for a sector still recovering from the pandemic and offers customers greater choice, along with the continental vibe they may have enjoyed while en vacances. But there is an elephant in the outdoor space: safety.

UNDERSTANDING THE POTENTIAL RISKS

While vehicle as a weapon attacks are rare, they have become the tactic of choice for terrorists and any location where people gather outside close to vehicular access is vulnerable to this type of attack.

Terrorism is not the only safety consideration either. While drink driving statistics have been falling over the past few years, drug driving offences continue to rise, putting pedestrians at risk of incidents involving errant vehicles. Add to this a spate of ram raid attacks on high street stores, and it’s easy to see how quickly a relaxed lunch could become a serious incident if the risks involved have not been identified and mitigated.

Following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, campaigning led by Figen Murray, mother of one of the victims, has led to proposed legislation called UK Protect Duty (Martyn’s Law), which will involve mandatory risk assessment and the implementation of safety plans for businesses responsible for gatherings of people. The consultation element of the legislative process has already been completed, and a draft bill is expected soon.

Regardless of the parameters of any future legislation, however, many businesses are already preparing and embracing the need to consider safety as part of their duty of care for al fresco diners.

THREAT, VULNERABILITY AND RISK An outdoor hospitality environment ought to be a place where people can relax and enjoy good food and good company, so mitigating risk should definitely not involve creating a Fort Knox enclosure that makes customers feel in constant jeopardy. Any measures put in place to protect people should be proportionate to the risk, and the level of risk will depend on numerous factors, including the proximity of roads, the direction of traffic, ease of vehicular access, etc.

A risk assessment process that considers the potential threats and specific vulnerabilities of individual al fresco dining environments to understand

"Can We Sit Outside Please?"

Over 79% of UK diners have attested that they would spend more time and money in a restaurant if they incorporated outdoor dining.

Integrating outdoor dining into your establishment is a no brainer decision especially when you consider the al fresco movement across the UK and return on investment opportunities. For example, when discussing predictions for the rise in al fresco dining in 2022, Janice H. Dobson, Business Development Director at Archatrak, said: “Restaurant owners can look at it mathematically, they know the value of every seat they offer and I encourage my clients to ask themselves, ‘what could 8 extra seats, 12 extra seats, 20 extra seats, mean for your business?’

Often, they’ll find that, in a relatively short period of time, these outdoor areas can pay for themselves and continue generating revenue years afterward.”

The maths is simple; seating 16 people under a 4m x 4m parasol, at an average spend of £12.50 per head

the level of risk involved enables hospitality owners and operators to make informed choices about the measures they put in place to protect people. There is a balance to be struck between risk mitigation and practicality/affordability. It will never be possible to eradicate risk, but it is possible to ensure safety measures are targeted and proportionate.

BLENDING IN OR STANDING OUT? There is a varied array of hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) systems available, and selecting the right solution for a specific environment depends on a variety of risk factors, along with practical, operational needs and aesthetics. For al fresco dining environments, it is entirely possible to select HVM protection that not only blends into the surroundings but actually enhances them.

A correctly specified IWA-14-1 rated HVM system can be concealed within a variety of streetscape casings, including planters, benches, bike racks and barriers, providing a decorative touch for outdoor spaces that keeps people safer. Bars and restaurants can even choose to combine HVM protection with branded banners, enabling them to combine safety with customisation too.

RELAXED DINING Al fresco dining is an opportunity for customers to relax and enjoy. By ensuring they understand and mitigate risk, hospitality operators can relax too.

equals £200. If you were to turn these 3 times a day that would equal £600. If we multiply that by a realistic 4 days of the week, you’re looking at £2400 or £9,600 a month! Multiply that by 12 and your revenue would increase by £115k per annum. Assuming 50% gross margin, the investment of 1 parasol could provide a profit contribution of £57.6k per annum, which is a welcome statistic in these economically trying times.

What’s more, our zero deposit leasing options allow for payments to be spread over 2-5 years.

So taking a 4mt X 4mt parasol with a moveable base, import, delivery and fitting, the monthly payment over 36 months would be £184.09 or the weekly equivalent of £42.98. As such, your potential R.O.I. massively outweighs this no deposit figure.

What are you waiting for?!

01352 740164 www.indigoawnings.co.uk enquiries@indigoawnings.co.uk

54

CLH DIGITAL

Issue 137

Outdoor Spaces The Sausage Man Launches the Optimum Grab and Go Sausage Solution with Sausage2Go Launched at this year’s Casual Dining Show, The Sausage Man’s Sausage2Go unit, presents the perfect hot-hold solution for caterers across all sectors wishing to offer hot dogs as a quick serve or grab and go option.

Specialists in authentic, premium quality German sausages, The Sausage Man, offers five bestselling sausages from its extensive range to kick off the Sausage2Go launch; choose from delicious Bratwurst, Bacon Krakauer, Cheese Frankfurters, Chilli Beef or Vegan Hot Dogs to entice custom.

All sausages are fully cooked, ready to eat and reheat, and are supplied chilled or frozen, benefiting from a long shelf life. The sausages are offered for sale accompanied by high quality brioche baguettes from bakery brand St Pierre.

The Sausage2Go unit, made by Flexeserve, the specialists in hot-holding, flexible merchandising solutions, facilitates the latest ground-breaking, patented

air recirculation technology, retaining heat without over-cooking for perfect food condition, superior flavour and texture, and no moisture loss throughout the day.

Sausage2Go couldn’t be easier to use; no catering experience is required, and user-friendly control panels set over individual zones can be independently used to allow greater energy efficiency.

Unit sizes range from countertop to freestanding with front and rear loading options, tailored to individual needs.

Branding and packaging featuring The Sausage Man’s eye-catching visuals will also be available to further enhance the offer.

For operators, the unit couldn’t be simpler to use and is especially useful for quick serve situations.

For product information, inspirational recipes and to find your foodservice distributor call 01322 867060, go to www.wholesale.sausageman.co.uk, or email info@sausageman.co.uk

Café Culture - Pavement Profit

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

We are an independent supplier serving the outdoor restaurant trade with supplies for outdoor seating areas. We have some large clients including Gondola group along with many smaller cafe bars, restaurants and public houses.

We design and manufacturer our own windbreaks and use the best materials available. For anyone looking long term that saves you money as you won’t be replacing cheap internet imports next season. It’s one area where it doesn’t pay to buy budget as the continual bumps and scrapes

outdoor goods receive combined with the harsh British climate really needs something tough enough for the job.

We also supply Markilux awning which are some of the best made in the industry and Uhlmann parasols another top rated German brand.

Bespoke goods are also a speciality with custom made menu holders, waiter stations and planters all to you requirement. If we can help you do drop a line to sales@cafeculture.biz

Outdoor Spaces

Issue 137

CLH DIGITAL

White Pavilion Gazebos

‘Outdoor space that cannot be used because of the weather has no value.’

selves many, many times over.

Since the Pandemic, customers prefer to be outside, and I dread to think of the business we would have missed out on if we had not made the investment.”

Susie, Proprietor, Grantham Arms, Boroughbridge : The Bay Tree, Swillington, York : The Black Horse, Kirby Fleetham Premium quality Hospitality gazebos that last, 4 sizes from £1,666 ex vat

Your solution is an investment that gives your customers comfort.

Your solution is an investment that gives you a speedy R.O.I.* Another solution? Parasols & umbrellas? but no real weather Another solution? Perhaps buying cheap? But as our pubs tell us a cheap gazebo looks cheap. And their customers don’t like cheap [and it won’t last]. *According to our pub customers, each gazebo typically pays for itself in about 6 weeks Straight from the horses mouth, must read: “Nearly 2 years on, it was the best decision we ever made to buy 3 White Pavilion Gazebos. They have paid for them-

[ low cost leasing available ] White Pavilion Gazebos, carefully made in Yorkshire www.whitepaviliongazebos.co.uk info@whitepaviliongazebos.co.uk 01653 695 285

Keeping Food Hot? We Have All The Answers First of all, you will want one of our world beating Kanga boxes and a Carbon Heater. You can then keep food hot indefinitely and fully comply with HACCP regulations.

Sounds too good to be true?

Well we only supply premium German manufactured products from stock at incredibly low prices. The insulated box manufactured from top quality expanded polypropylene is a dense closed cell insulation material but incredibly light to handle when empty for example the GN insulted box with a 117 mm internal depth only weighs just over a kilo and yet holds a massive 21 lts capacity. Now combine the Kanga box with a Carbon Heater and the magic begins, hot food all the time!

Our range of Carbon heaters offers two voltage options 12 volts for car operation using the cigarette lighter socket or 230 volt mains voltage for internal or external mains use. The big advantage of the Carbon Heaters they are absolutely fool proof just insert them in the bottom of the box turn on and forget, there are no consumer controls the temperature is pre-set at the factory at 75 deg C. The Carbon Heater is very light at only 700 grammes and does not take up much room only being 10mm thick. Dishes can be place on the Carbon Heater straight out of the oven up to 120deg C. Finally quick and easy to clean just wipe over with a damp cloth.

Contact Catering Equipment Limited on Tel: 0121 773 2228 or visit www.clickonstore.net or www.kangaboxuk.com

Please mention the Caterer, Licensee & Hotelier News when replying to advertising

55

ComPaCK - THe sTaNdard THaT maKes THe dIFFereNCe

ProFessIoNal WareWasHING sYsTems relIaBIlITY HIGH PerFormaNCe GUaraNTeed assIsTaNCe at prices you will be overjoyed with Purchase/rental/Interest free 0% finance available ComPaCK GlassWasHers

The Compack glasswashers have simplicity and robust performance in mind.

Where the need for just washing glasses is the main aim this is the machine for the job.

• Electronic control with push buttons for high efficiency and easy to use • 350, 400 and 500 basket machines available • 120 seconds washing cycle • Ecoclean control system for partial clean water refill at every wash cycle • Built in drain pump included • Complete with built in adjustable detergent & rinse aid dispensers • Guarantees hot rinse thermostop • Thermal protection for wash tank and boiler • Light function button with self diagnostic

(subject to status)

ComPaCK FroNT loadING dIsHWasHers

• Electronic control DIGIT with temperature display • 4 washing cycles • Ecoclean control System for partial clean water refill at every wash cycle • Built in drain pump included • Complete with built in adjustable detergent & rinse aid dispensers • Guarantees hot rinse thermostop • Thermal protection for wash tank and boiler • Built in softener (only on D50S and D55S) • Colour coded function button with self diagnostic • Evolute Electronic control with lCd display

ComPaCK Pass THroUGH dIsHWasHers

d100

For all models

• Self-diagnosis with errors solution, precise setting of the detergent dispenser, different temperature setting for each cycle • Ecoclean control system for partial clean water refill at every wash cycle (only with built in drain pump).

• Thermal acoustic double door • New inclined and deep-drawn welded tank • Door reinforcement brackets • Adjustable rinsing arm rotation speed • Fully stainless steel made wash and rinse arms for low maintenance, heavy duty, all corrosion resistant • Removable double filtering system for wash and drainage cycle

Web www.compack.uk email info@compack.uk Tel 0333 456 4500

BT100/BT100s

• Electronic control with LCD display • 4 individual programmable cycles • Ecoclean control System for partial clean water refill at every wash cycle • Built in drain pump included • Complete with built in adjustable detergent & rinse aid dispensers • Break tank – AA air gap – Wras approved • Guarantee rinse temperature 85⁰C at constant pressure • Self cleaning cycle on drain down • Thermal protection for wash tank and boiler • Built in softener (only on BT55S) • Self diagnostic

BT100TC/BT100TCs

Commercial Kitchen Fit-Out

Issue 137

CLH DIGITAL

Quality, Flexibility and Efficiency: Decarb It is the Decarboniser Supplier That Delivers

By Kate Wearden, Marketing Ninja, Decarb It Ltd

There are many benefits to considering short-term decarboniser hire for your commercial kitchen.

Deep cleaning kitchen-ware that is heavily greased and carbonated maintains the hygiene of your kitchen and is recommended by EHO’s. Decarbonisers enable time previously spent scrubbing and cleaning, to be used on more important tasks. They increase the longevity of your kitchen-ware, and, unlike long-term hire or purchasing, they don’t require permanent space in your kitchen. All of these have a direct impact on your kitchen’s bottom line. High hygiene ratings increase covers, more efficient use of staff reduces your wage-bill, longer-lasting kitchen-ware means less money spent on replacements, and efficiently utilizing the space in your kitchen increases productivity.

Most reputable decarbonisers deliver all these costsaving benefits, but with energy prices skyrocketing, we at Decarb It think it’s important to go further to support your long-term profitability. Our decarbonisers deliver all the benefits above but are also the most energy-efficient decarbonisers currently on the market.

We invest in high-grade steel, premium insulation, and advanced electronics, resulting in an average of approximately 40% less power used vs. a leading competitor.

We also appreciate the challenges of the changing environment in which we now live, which is why we recognise the importance of flexibility.

Committing to long-term contracts with vendors isn’t always possible when the economic environments are so fragile, which is why we not only offer a range of decarbonisers to suit all budgets, but also flexibility when it comes to the length of hire. Whether it’s two weeks, a month, or longer, we can provide a solution that is bespoke to your needs.

Our flexibility, commitment to efficiency, and customer-focused approach ensures that every aspect of our service, from our product to our customer relationships, are the highest quality possible.

To find out how Decarb It can make your kitchen shine, for less, visit www.decarbit.co.uk or call 0161 871 7393

Fry More For Less with OilChef How can the food service and hospitality industry protect against risings costs? One way is to make the cooking oil last longer. In fact, the award-winning accessory for deep fryers, is doing just that. The OiLChef device is a catalytic convertor for deep fryers!

It keeps the cooking oil in a fresher condition, by slowing down oxidation, stopping polymerizations of the oil molecules and by retarding the buildup of free fatty acids, peroxides, total polar materials and most importantly of all the carcinogenic acrylamides in frying oil.

The OiLChef device is not a filter, it is not a chemi-

cal, it adds nothing to the oil, it takes nothing out of the oil, it is an inorganic device that helps you keep your oil alive for longer.

A simple 3 second self-installation which is virtually maintenance free, and only needs replacing every 3 years. OiLChef is a dream come true for professional kitchens that operate deep fryers. OiLChef is in thousands of deep fryers around the World and comes with a full 3-year warranty and saves you up to 50% on oil purchases every month. Check them out at www.OiLChef.com Contact their CEO direct: sean.farry@oilchef.com

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Issue 137

Commercial Kitchen Fit-Out

Kitchen Extract Hygiene – A Burning Issue One of the biggest challenges in keeping a commercial kitchen spotlessly clean is the regular cleaning of the canopy, fan and extract ductwork. This must be tackled, not only for the sake of hygiene, but also for fire prevention and compliance.

Airborne fat, oil and grease is a natural by-product of even the healthiest diet.

Carried in the steam that rises from cooking, grease and oil particles are drawn into the kitchen extract system to be vented away to the outside. As the exhaust stream cools, grease is deposited on the metal surfaces of the hood, canopy, filters, canopy plenum, fan and ductwork.

Should a kitchen fire reach the extract ductwork, or a flash fire occur in the extract system, then the accumulated grease deposits can act as fuel, helping to spread the fire. The ductwork itself can also help to spread the

fire, acting as a chimney through which smoke and flames can travel, spreading the danger to the other parts of the building.

To counter this potential fire risk, operators of commercial kitchens are required to comply with a new standard for the fire safety management of grease accumulation in kitchen extract systems, TR19® Grease.

Compliance is also essential to ensure that you don’t compromise your buildings insurance. If a fire should break out and the ductwork can be shown not to have been cleaned in accordance with TR19® Grease, many insurers will now refuse to pay out on a claim.

Ensuring legal compliance, a reduced risk of fire and greater hygiene in your kitchen are items which should always be on every maintenance menu. www.swiftclean.co.uk or see advert on page 47

Temporary Catering Facilities For Events & Kitchen Refurbishments Mobile Kitchens Ltd specialises in the hire or sale of temporary catering facilities and foodservice equipment.

Ideal for events or to provide temporary catering facilities during your kitchen refurbishment, our versatile units and equipment offer an efficient and economic solution to the caterers’ needs.

Production Kitchens, Preparation Kitchens, Ware-washing Units, Dry Store Units, Cold Rooms and Restaurant Units are available as individual units in their own right or they can be linked together on site to form a complete complex.

Alternatively, we can offer modular, open-plan facilities, usually for larger, longer-term hires.

We offer a free design service, and project management from concept through to delivery and installation on site, plus full technical support throughout the hire period.

The standard specification of our smallest Production Kitchen unit includes a six burner oven range, salamander grill, twin basket fryer, upright fridge, hot cupboard, single bowl sink unit with integral hand wash basin, plus ample power points to plug in Microwaves, Food Processors, Toasters etc. Internal equipment can be interchanged and clients can effectively specify their preferred layout.

We have many tried and tested design layouts and would be pleased to put forward our recommendations for your project.

So if you’re planning a refurbishment or need to cater for an event then why not give us a call and we’ll be happy to provide advice and put forward a competitive proposal.

For further information or to arrange a site visit, email: sales@mk-hire.co.uk or call us on 0345 812 0800, or visit our website: www.mk-hire.co.uk

New DrainMinor C (Combi Oven Pump) Creates Considerable Interest The New DrainMajor C (Combi Oven Pump) manufactured by Pump Technology Ltd. There are significant advantages that this combi oven drainage pump offers The pump features a tank with its clear side window was the large, triangular, low-level float attached to the pump by a rigid arm, external to the pump casing. Because of the design of this float system the unit can cope with an exceptional quantity of grease, fat and food particles before the reliable start/stop operation of the pump is affected.

The triangular low-level float also means that inlet heights can be just 70mm from base to centreline, giving the appropriate inlet requirement for wall or central island Combi Ovens.

The build quality of the submersible wastewater pump was also a discussion point, with the mechanical shaft seal arrangement between pump impeller and motor winding generally agreed as an advantage over a common lip seal/diaphragm arrangement, especially considering the hot wastewater temperatures and potential grease which these units have to handle.

It can be connected to multiple ovens or oven and sink combinations. Also, multiple inlet connections can be cut onsite directly into the rigid Polyethylene tank without the need to manifold inlets outside of the tank and then feed into it via a single inlet. This means that the installation footprint is just the size of the compact tank and potential leaks from knocked manifold piping and joints are eliminated.

It looks like the New DrainMinor C is a winner and will soon be featuring in combi oven installations everywhere.

Caterquip Ventilation – For All Your Commercial Catering Ventilation Needs

Caterquip Ventilation Ltd is proud to be celebrating their 22nd Anniversary this year.

This Warwick based company offers nationwide coverage for all your commercial catering needs: free site surveys, quotations and designs (CAD), quality bespoke and standard fabrications, specialist knowledge of catering ventilation systems including input air, odour reduction (carbon filtration and ESP) and sound attenuation. Affiliated members of Constructionline, CHAS and B&ES, Caterquip Ventilation have a strong hold in the marketplace often advising industry professionals on ventilation systems to a DW172 specification & BSEN:6173.

They have strong relationships with all leading kitchen equipment suppliers, and they offer a kitchen design

service to help you build your ideal kitchen.

Projects undertaken have included Olympic Villages, Basildon Hospital, The Mitre Hotel at Hampton Court, The Truck Stop at Anglesey, The Lodge at Old Hunstanton, Colleges, Schools, Hotels, Restaurants and Public Houses.

They ensure their systems are compliant with the current guidelines whilst maintaining an efficient and dynamic facility.

With extensive knowledge of manufacturing and installing ventilation systems, they can help you design the best kitchen within the space available.

Call: 01926 887167, visit: www.caterquipventilation.co.uk, email: info@caterquipventilation.co.uk

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A Special Treat from KEMPLEX and NOWAH KEMPLEX and NOWAH are offering a special treat for customers with a sales offer that includes a two-day pastry masterclass in Milan - Italy, with the current Pastry World Cup champion Massimo Pica.

Anybody that purchases a Belt movement model from the KEMPLEX dough sheeter range, via an approved NOWAH dealer, will automatically qualify for the masterclass with Pastry World Cup champion, Massimo Pica, at his renowned pastry school in Milan.

The package includes return flights and accommodation, with sessions taking place between November 2022 and June 2023. Purchases

must be made before 31 March 2023 to be eligible.

NOWAH’s Michael George said the offer would give end-user customers a unique opportunity to enhance their pastry skills, while also spending a few days in Milan.

“We know that any customer who purchases one of these dough sheeters is going to have a real passion for pastry, so in order to ensure that they are able to indulge that passion – and get the very best from their Kemplex dough sheeter – what could be better than spending two days learning from the current world champion?

Kemplex has been manufacturing a wide range of pastry equipment since 1986.

Dough sheeters remain its flagship product.

For details of NOWAH approved dealers, please contact NOWAH Catering Equipment by visiting https://nowah.co.uk/kemplex-products

Commercial Kitchen Fit-Out with Williams

By Malcolm Harling, sales and marketing director, Williams Refrigeration

These days kitchen space is getting squeezed, as foodservice operators look to increase their restaurant areas to get in more customers. The logical result of which is that, despite being smaller, the kitchen has to produce more meals. A new commercial kitchen fit out often has to comply with what the Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA) calls 20:20 vision: 20% more productivity from 20% less space.

All of which means there’s a big demand for equipment that can help maximise the available space – such as the Chef’s Drawer from Williams Refrigeration. The latest version of these individual refrigerated drawers is the VSWCD1, a variable temperature unit that can be switched from chilled to frozen storage, keeping pace with a business’s changing needs.

The combination of modular, compact drawers with variable temperature controls and a front venting refrigeration system makes the VSWCD1 an extremely flexible option that can be fitted in to the tightest spaces, providing easy access to fresh or frozen ingredi-

ents right where the kitchen brigade need it.

Depending on the selection of castors or legs, the height of the individual drawer can be adjusted by over 70mmm, between 456mm and 530mm.

Each VSWCD1 measures 1100mm wide by 670mm deep.

Despite its compact size each drawer can hold 2/1GN pans up to an impressive 150mm in depth, compared to 100mm for some competitor models, giving it a capacity of 105 litres.

Another advantage is the ability to stack two units beneath a standard worktop, creating an even more flexible storage solution.

The body and removable drawers are constructed from robust, foodsafe stainless steel. The Chefs Drawer uses natural refrigerant and eco-friendly high performance, high density polyurethane insulation, meaning it can operate in ambient temperatures as high as 43°C. To learn more about Williams extensive product range visit www.williams-refrigeration.co.uk

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UK agents & distributors of top catering equipment manufacturers We sell heavy-duty, long-lasting, no-frills equipment at sensible prices.

“...we select our products based on Quality, Reliability, Durability and Value-for-Money”

Visit our website: www.nowah.co.uk View our catalogue:

www.nowah.co.uk/catalogues Or call our office: 01772 305161

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Design and Refit Combine Style with Sustainability with Long-Lasting Furniture 60

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As every pub, café and restaurant owner knows, the number one requirement for furniture is contract-grade durability that can withstand everything a busy catering environment can throw at it. Now it’s possible to combine these qualities with eco-friendly credentials, with Trent Furniture’s cost-effective new range.

Trent’s new furniture made from robust polypropylene is environmentally manufactured and fully recyclable when it eventually needs to be replaced. The Windsor Spindleback Chair combines contemporary good looks with great value and those all-important eco credentials. Equally, the Madrid Stacking Chair offers modern style in black polypropylene and is a great solution where space is tight.

Archetypely

Archetypely is a boutique design and construction project management consultancy that was founded in 2019, specialising in commercial fit-outs & refurbishments. Since then, we have been working on many interesting projects, successfully delivering to the satisfaction of our clients.

We can deliver the projects via the traditional procurement as ‘Main Contractor’ or via the ‘Design and Build’ route, but our biggest strength sits in the ability to also deliver the fit-out projects via ‘Construction Management,’ providing our clients with great control over time/cost and quality of the final product by directly controlling the trade contractors on client’s behalf.

In doing this we provide full support to the client and our team fully manages the entire process. We manage all of the client’s direct packages during the fit-out, from tender selection and interviews through negotiations, appointments and construction, while coordinating all trade contractors

and managing the site and main building works.

Here at Archetypely, we have a holistic and processoriented approach to project management consultancy. We are known for an unparalleled commitment to customer satisfaction; we bring together the best architects, engineers and designers within one team.

Every project is unique and comes with new challenges.

That's why at Archetypely we customise our approach and resources to suit the individual client’s requirements.

At Puttshack Watford the new mini golf course uses techinfused ideas to bring a unique twist to the traditional game of golf.

ANAMO Design Studio was employed as the Interior Designer for the project, whilst Archetypely was the Main Contractor. Renata Zywicka, Director at Archetypely, has undertaken all portfolio development-related duties for Puttshack and has acted as the primary representative on their construction projects.

Archetypely has fully managed the entire project from its initial feasibility studies, through the design development, procurement and on-site management of the construction phase of the fit out.

For more information visit: https://www.archetypely.com/

Trent’s new ‘Indoor-Outdoor’ range is also made from recyclable materials and has the added benefit of being as home in a café interior as it is in a pub beer garden in the summer months. Available in a stylish grey, the Nantes Stacking Chair is the perfect companion for a huge range of indoor and outdoor tables including our ever-popular aluminium Alma Table.

For more information on Trent Furniture’s large and varied range of sustainable, versatile and budget-friendly furniture, please fill in our contact form or call us on 0116 2989 661.

Top Engraver Supports Hospitality Sector with Swift Service for Etched & Printed Table Numbers & QR Discs One of the UK’s most professional and technically advanced engraving and etching supplier, Brunel Engraving, is providing a rapid response to the growing demand for etched table numbers and QR code discs in the pub and catering industry.

The company has made a substantial investment in additional state of the art equipment and related software in order to produce a wide range of individually engraved and printed table numbers and discs.

The numbers and discs enable customers to link to apps or menus, eliminating the requirement for hard copies of menus and making it quicker and more convenient for customers to order.

“Our investment in additional equipment and soft-

ware has ensured that our customers in the hospitality sector can benefit from high quality products with excellent swift service at a fair price. Our ISO9001 accreditation means that every job, no matter how large or small goes through the workshops with this expectation level, and the continuous amount of 5 stars we receive on Trust pilot, highlights this commitment” said Tom Pycock, Sales Director of Brunel Engraving.

In addition to rotary engraving, Brunel offers laser engraving, chemical etching, anodic print, dye sublimation print, flatbed UV print and wide format UV print.

T: 01275 871 720 E: info@brunelengraving.co.uk W: www.brunelengraving.co.uk

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Design and Refit

Issue 137

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Sparkle Interiors, Interior Design, Professional and Online

and our clients. For example, briefing meetings can take place via video call, with plans, mood boards, etc discussed and edited live through screen sharing. All types of drawings can now be completed within a matter of days, rather than weeks with how easy it is now to share information. Gone are the days of visiting the site every week, holding long face to face meetings with all the contractors and any unnecessary steps that traditionally are there for the sake of it.

Sparkle interiors has been set up to help our clients create fantastic interiors while saving on expensive designer fees.

The interior design industry has been evolving in recent years, companies have had to adapt along with many other professions. One of the main affects is on designers having to work remotely. For us its meant that we’ve been working on projects where actual site visits have not been a possibility, but this actually has had many positive effects on our process for both us

Solutions to on site issues can also be addressed with our new online focused process, as the site foreman can receive all the information and updates they need, any changes immediately handled and issued back by e mail to all that are concerned. All the above changes mean the costs for the client, designer, QS and contractor have been reduced significantly or completely eliminated in some cases. This is why Sparkle Interiors is able to save the client so much on fees. Visit our website today to enquire, or contact us directly to find out more.

Contact Email: andy@sparkleinteriors@gmail.com Tel: 07957762280 Web: www.sparkleinteriors.co.uk

Additional Ranges as ILF Continue to Expand www.ilfchairs.com email;terry.kirk@ilfchairs.com

With the continued success of the ILF Chairs comprehensive website, ILF have now added to the 2 chairs already stocked in 7 colours, a stock armchair in 7 different Faux colours, matching the chairs, plus a 6 colour range stock of Egger laminated table tops in a selection of sizes. A full range of table bases are also kept in stock.

Their new online website offers both indoor and outdoor seating and table solutions.

Divided into Contemporary seating, Barstools, Lounge Seating, Period Seating, Outdoor seating and tables plus Indoor Dining & Coffee height tables, offering a great selection of products to view at your leisure. Also included now an extensive range of stock seating, barstools, table bases and table tops.

Most made to order indoor seating and indoor wooden table bases and tops can be finished to any customer specification. Outdoor items offer a variety of colours within the same product style.

Also included is a link to priced chairs and table bases plus a selection of priced made to order seating in a selection of Faux Leather upholstery colours and wood frame colours. These products can also be supplied to customer specification, just ask for details.

Enquiries can be sent to them directly from the website and they will reply within 24 hours. They hope you will enjoy the experience of viewing their easy to navigate website and they look forward to helping clients get the best products for their hospitality site.

We are a boutique design & construction project management consultancy focusing on commercial fit-outs & refurbishments.

Over the years, our founder Renata Zywicka had the opportunity to work on a number of incredible projects that have allowed her to grow and establish Archetypely as a client-focused consultancy.

www.archetypely.com hello@archetypely.com +44 (0) 730 61 61 002

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Design and Refit

Saniflo Provides a New CPD Offering ing for Public Health Engineers, Mechanical Consultants, Architects, Mechanical Installers and Specialist Resellers.

The hour-long talk, which can be supplemented with a two-hour session of pump curve training if required, is designed to discuss and offer technical training on macerators and lifting stations for commercial and domestic buildings. This CPD is part of wastewater and drainage in the public health sector/mechanical engineering.

Saniflo UK – part of the SFA Group and a leading designer and manufacturer of pumps, macerators and lifting stations – has a new CIBSE-approved CPD offer-

By the end of the presentation, attendees will understand the challenges of gravity-fed drainage systems, be able to identify where and when to use a macerator or lifting station, be able to navigate critical installation requirements and considerations, understand some of the key differences between the lifting station technologies, and be able to use pump curves to help specify the correct pump.

To book a CPD for your organisation, call 020 8842 0033 or email marketing@saniflo.co.uk

No More Time Wasted Cleaning Up Candle Wax One of the issues many restaurants are currently facing at the moment is a shortage of staff. So anything that can reduce workload has to be of interest.

We firmly believe that candles are an essential part of the dining experience, but what comes with them is all the mess, which uses valuable time cleaning up. Time and money that could be better spent elsewhere.

So how do you square that circle? The answer is with oil candles.

There are two types. Glass bodied, refillable ones, and plastic prefilled, disposable ones.

Both do the job fantastically well, while making no mess, having no waste and minimal maintenance.

The refillable ones are very economical while the disposable ones have all the convenience of a tealight.

On top of that, they look absolutely great and will enhance the look and feel of your restaurant or bar.

If you’ve never used, seen or heard of oil candles before, or even if you have, the best place to go to find out more is www.clearcraft-catering.co.uk.

There is an extensive amount of information there, FAQ section, guides to help you decide which candle is best for you and a full e-commerce site.

You can also request a free sample oil candle, with some oil by e-mailing sales@clearcraftltd.co.uk Please state what design you wish to see and include your delivery details Clearcraft Ltd Tel: 01279 731621 www.clearcraft-catering.co.uk

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Design and Refit

Issue 137

CLH DIGITAL

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Navigating Permitted Development Rights for Temporary Structures

By Simon Atha, Associate Director – Boyer (part of Leaders Romans Group) (www.boyerplanning.co.uk) The requirements for social distancing during the pandemic opened up the opportunity to utilise wide-ranging outdoor sites for hospitality, and in a rare ‘Covid positive’, that legislation is here to stay.

Under Class G of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Order 2021, the operators of pubs, bars, hotels and restaurants can significantly increase footfall, and thereby profits, by erecting a marquee or gazebo on their premises, running a pop-up bar in a beer garden or any other moveable structure. As a result, popular sports matches, large wedding parties and a wide variety of events can attract greater numbers of patrons for hospitality venues.

The legislation surrounding Planning Permitted Development Rights (PDR) is much misunderstood. Best known for home extensions and the controversy over change of use within the built environment (such as from commercial or agricultural buildings to residential use), it also applies to ‘temporary’ structures such as marquees.

There are some limitations on what is allowed. The first is that the structure must be moveable – easily dismantled or on wheels. It must be less than three metres in height with

a maximum footprint of 50 sq m, or 50% of the footprint of the building with which it is associated, whichever is smaller. In residential areas, the structure must be at least two metres away from nearby homes. There is also a limit of one structure per site and does not apply to the curtilage of a listed building or scheduled monument.

Despite social distancing being relaxed and the summer coming to an end, this announcement is good news.

Even for those venues which don’t have outdoor spaces of their own, the ability for high streets to hold markets and food festivals may assist in attracting footfall. Additionally, commercial spaces such as the landscaped grounds of office blocks can bring life to a site which may be underutilised as a result of changes in working patterns. And outdoor visitor attractions will have additional flexibility to introduce temporary structures on their grounds.

Another opportunity is the likely change to the marriage regulations in England and Wales, which could allow outdoor venues such as the grounds of a hotel or a beer garden to host wedding ceremonies, in addition to receptions. In July the Law Commission recommended that weddings should be able to take place anywhere, providing the presiding official considers it safe and dignified. The potential for a hotel to host one wedding inside and one (or perhaps more) outside, and for a pub to host everything from pre-wedding drinks through to the final dance will no doubt be well received.

Assuming that these proposed changes to marriage laws go ahead there is one important caveat – planning permission: to use a barn, a community centre or a historic building for a wedding could represent a change of use and as such may require planning permission. Whilst permitted development rights have been extended in some areas, such as temporary structures, there remain planning challenges for hospitality businesses to navigate to ensure their operations comply with the appropriate planning legislation.

CardsSafe - Protecting Assets - Lock in Our Old Prices Today!

Until January 2023, CardsSafe unit rental will remain at just £9.95 per month.

We have been helping restaurants, bars, pubs, golf courses and other venues to securely retain their customer bank cards while they run a tab for almost twenty years.

Since we introduced rental contracts in 2008, we’ve kept our prices as low as possible at just under a tenner a month and this has never increased. However, due to significant increases in both our cost of goods and related costs, we plan an increase in January 2023.

Our existing customers will continue to benefit from our low prices, so if you’re considering CardsSafe for your business, or need additional units, lock in at just £9.95 per month (per unit) for the duration of your contract.

There are many benefits to using CardsSafe in bars, restaurants and pubs: • Managing customer tabs • Helping to increase spending, therefore profits

• It is a significant deterrent for walkouts • Offers protection against credit card fraud – helps to build trust!

• Pays for itself by reducing charge-back and walkouts • No data capture required to use • Customers have peace of mind that their bank cards are kept safely, and they keep the unique key!

“Turnover increased significantly after CardsSafe was installed, and the system easily pays for itself.”

Siobhan, The Prodigal London.

CardsSafe is affordable! Each unit contains ten card drawers that can be hired for just £9.95 per month. Each hire comes with customer service troubleshooting and a number of free replacement keys. Additional units can be added at any time.

For more information, please visit www.cardssafe.com Or contact the sales team on 0845 500 1040

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Issue 137

Why Use a Specialist Hospitality Consultant?

Answer: because we can help your business to succeed.

With over 30 years of industry experience in the Hospitality sector, The Bowden Group’s Managing Consultant David Hunter will work with you to address the following elements: Profitability, Operational Strategy, Staff Management, Marketing and The Future of your business.

David will also be on hand to give you extra (and this can be without any extra charge) support through our Sprowts4Mentoring system, to analyse, every single week, your business performance figures … giving you weekly analysis and concise reports, with appropriate guidance, to optimise your business’s Sales, Profitability and Staff Management.

PROFITABILITY & OPERATIONS Our experts will analyse your entire operation and also its key operating figures if they are available. We then help you to identify strategies to manage costs and overheads associated with the core Profitability of running a Hospitality business.

The largest overhead, even higher than Cost of Sales, is the Labour cost,

so, with detailed analysis of your wages and being able to understand ‘’the way your business actually works’’ we can ensure that you are maximising the labour usage in your business.

And YES … Covid19 changed a lot of things. We need to learn from those things!

Right now we are experiencing massive increases in the cost of the raw materials that we buy … both Food and Drink. We will take that fully into consideration. When was the last time that you fully and meticulously costed out and priced correctly, every dish on your menu … both Food and Drinks?

Budgeting, Forecasting, Menu Management, Stock Controls, Purchasing, and controlling Variable Costs are just a few of the other areas that David Hunter, your Restaurant Consultant, will work on with you, and improve with you.

MANAGING PEOPLE Managing people brings with it a whole set of new skills that are now needed more than ever. From ‘’Managing the Managers’’ through to Service and Kitchen staff, your team needs careful and skilful Management, Motivation, guidance and Development.

We have a very good record in helping Hospitality business owners to implement processes that improve how they manage their people, which in

turn benefits the owners as well as the Team Members themselves.

We can help you to manage ‘difficult’ people situations, to improve your operational planning, to recruit, train and manage your team better, creating a more productive, pleasant and ‘’retaining’’ working environment.

MARKETING We will help you build a workable, planned Marketing Strategy. We don’t do fancy, posh or expensive … we just recommend what our experience says will actually work for your business.

It’s no longer enough to rely on word-of-mouth and repeat business. You need to employ a wealth of skills in a number of areas to ensure that your Marketing is attracting new customers and engaging with existing customers.

From Digital Marketing, such as Social Media marketing, Websites, eMail Marketing and online advertising, to print design, Promotions and offline advertising, your Hospitality business should be constantly working on ‘’ all things Marketing’’.

If your business is actually struggling, or if you just feel that it could be doing some things better, give David Hunter a quick call on 07831 407984 to arrange a ‘’Free of Charge’’ initial consultation (please quote CLH Offer), when David will discuss with you what could be achieved if you ask us to work with you.

Christie & Co’s Hotel Snapshot Shows Resilience of the UK Market

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has today launched a new report, The UK Hotel Market: New challenges on the road to recovery, providing a snapshot of the UK hotel market in 2022, as it emerges from the pandemic and faces a new wave of economic and operational challenges. The report also shares a market outlook from major industry players, Accor and Pygmalion.

The snapshot suggests that the UK hotel market proved resilient throughout the pandemic and has recov-

ered at a faster rate than first anticipated since January 2022, with overall performance nearing or surpassing 2019 levels since May 2022. However, the coming months may prove more challenging for the sector’s different stakeholders due to the cost-of-living crisis, weakened GDP, and increasing inflation rates.

The snapshot analyses the performance and outlook for the UK’s top ten cities, which includes London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Cardiff, Bristol and Newcastle.

E N IC IO PR UCT D RE

PRICE: £125,000

• Well Established & Successful Restaurant in the Heart of Dartmouth • Dining Area with Spectacular Panoramic Window with Harbour & Estuary Views • 3/4 Bedroom Apartment – Could be Used for Holiday Letting/Staff/Owners • Highly Profitable Business, Ideal for ‘Owner Operator’ Couple • Must be Seen to be Appreciated – Retirement Sale

DARTMOUTH, DEVON

LEASEHOLD

REF: 4008

• Impressive Detached Tudor Style Property in Fabulous Location • Long Established, Well Appointed Licenced Restaurant with Outside Seating • Commercial kitchen with Prep Area and Wash Up Room • Exceptional Self-Contained 4 Double Bed Accommodation • Private Parking for 4 Cars and Outbuildings

MINEHEAD, SOMERSET

PRICE: £600,000

W! NE

PRICE: £175,000 + VAT

FREEHOLD

REF: 4265

• Light, Spacious & Modern, Award-Winning Bar/Cafe/Restaurant • Adjacent to Exmouth Marina & The Exe Estuary Providing Stunning Views • Main Trade Area with Seating for circa 70 & Alfresco Seating for circa 64 • Well Equipped Commercial Kitchen & Allocated Parking Space • Extremely Profitable Licensed Business Currently Run Under Management

• Elegant Restaurant Premises Offering Fine Dining • Located Close to Town, Major Hotels & Marina • Well Established with Potential for 40+ Covers • Trading 5 Evenings Only Providing Further Potential • Large 2 Bedroom Residential Accommodation

PRICE: £99,955

W! NE

PRICE: £120,000

LEASEHOLD

REF: 4412

• A Stunning Historic 4 Star Inn on the Beautiful Stourhead National Trust Estate • 5 Beautifully Presented En-Suite Letting Rooms & Two Bedroom Owners Flat • Extensive Outside Courtyard Seating & BBQ Station • A Very Rare Opportunity to Buy a National Trust Pub Lease • Projected Sales for 2022 in Excess of £1million with Very Strong Net Profit

LEASEHOLD

REF: 4168

LEASEHOLD

REF: 4344

• Premium Cocktail & Wine Bar Located Within South Hams • Voguish Interior Decor Creating Laid Back Sophistication • Internal Capacity for Circa 80 Guests • Dedicated Outside Seating Area on Promenade for 26 • Potential to Expand on this Already Successful Business

DARTMOUTH, DEVON

LEASEHOLD

REF: 4269

• A Stunning 9 Bedroom, Grade II Listed Hotel, Exuding Character & Class • Situated in the Village of Dunster at the Gateway to Exmoor National Park • Main Bar & Restaurant, Tea Room & Period Ballroom/Function Room • 9 Beautifully and Individually Appointed En-Suite Letting Rooms • A Rare Opportunity to Buy a Substantial & Successful Freehold Business

Regional UK markets such as Edinburgh, Birmingham and Liverpool saw the highest increase in RevPAR in H1 2022, surpassing 2019 levels by 6.9%, 8.5% and 7.5% respectively. In comparison, London has been slower to recover as the capital relies on international source markets and business travellers.

Since January, operators have maintained high ADRs in order to balance some of the increasing cost pressures as well as partly protecting their profit conversions. The success of this strategy has been made possible by a change in consumer behaviour in the face of rising costs, with holiday spending being prioritised.

Transactional volumes have remained strong and a total of £1.9 billion was spent on UK hotel transactions in H1 2022, an increase of 32% compared to H1 2021. Interestingly, domestic buyers are far more active in the market compared to last year. In 2021, cross border investors represented 52% of the buyers yet this number dropped to 23% in H1 2022, likely due to international travel restrictions imposed over the past few years due to the pandemic, although this is unlikely to be a long-lasting trend.

KEY FACTORS IMPACTING THE MARKET The report provides insight into the positive and negative factors that are impacting the hotel market.

Following the pandemic, hotels that were considered popular ‘staycation’ destinations have seen increased performance, particularly in more rural areas such as Belfast, Cardiff, and Newcastle. Hybrid hotels have also continued to perform well since the pandemic, as guests seek more flexibility in these spaces.

DUNSTER, SOMERSET

EXMOUTH, DEVON

STOURTON, WILTSHIRE

PRICE: £195,000

TORQUAY, DEVON

PRICE: £1,300,000

W! NE

PRICE: £695,000

FREEHOLD

REF: 4302

• Substantial Hotel & Inn Situated in the Heart of Ivybridge • 14 Well Presented En-Suite Letting Rooms & 1 Bed Owner's/Manager's Flat • Fully Equipped Catering Kitchen, Open Plan Lounge & Dining Area • Back Bar/Games Room, Office & Outside Trading Area & Car Park • A Very Well Established Business & a Genuine Retirement Sale After 30 Years

IVYBRIDGE, DEVON

FREEHOLD

REF: 4282

The impact of the Ukrainian war on the rising cost of gas and electricity bills has already affected hoteliers’ financial decisions in 2022, with many maintaining high ADRs to balance increasing cost pressures. Rising interest rates are predicted to directly impact financing options for hoteliers next year.

EMERGING TRENDS AND OUTLOOK Since 2020 with the rising popularity of “staycation” destinations, the UK market has seen an increase in domestic buyers. At present 77% of the UK volume is credited to domestic investors, a number which may continue to rise.

Inflation rates and GDP are expected to have a direct impact to the hotel market, with the BOE base rate expected to rise by 3% by the end of 2023. The market is full of active buyers, which may continue as a trend throughout 2022 as the rising inflation rates will encourage more hoteliers to buy rather than develop greenfield projects. Lenders may also grow more cautious in the next half of 2022 despite the upwards trend in the market over the last 12 months.

Diane Loubeyre, Senior Consultant – Hotels at Christie & Co, comments, “Despite having to navigate a new wave of challenges in 2022, the UK hotel market has remained resilient, and we are pleased to report the encouraging performance levels witnessed across the country so far this year. Inbound international travel is also picking up and might grow further into 2023, and with the pound at an all-time low compared to USD or Euros, the UK is now more affordable to visit. This will only act to further support the sector’s recovery next year.

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Carine Bonnejean, Managing Director - Hotels at Christie & Co, adds, “This publication clearly shows the

“Off the back of this, market sentiment amongst hotel investors remains positive albeit more cautious due to the challenging economic backdrop, and many investors continue to seek out a range of opportunities in the market.

“Christie & Co’s Consultancy team has experienced a busy year so far, and much of our work has focused on feasibility studies, development advice and buyer due diligence. However, we are starting to see more demand for operational and strategic reviews from lenders trying to support their clients facing increased interest rates and costs pressures.”

Laceys Solicitors Whether your business involves supplying alcohol, providing music, or late night refreshment to the public, every hospitality establishment (from restaurants, to hotels and bars, from off-licences to fast-food restaurants) needs to be properly licensed before it can start operating.

However, with the hospitality industry being so highly regulated, if you are looking to buy, sell, change or apply for a new licence in relation to the services your establishment provides, it can be confusing to know which you may need. This is where we can help.

Laceys can assist with all types of premises licence applications in England and Wales, be it to obtain a new licence for a previously unlicensed premises, to transfer, or to vary an existing licence (should you wish, for example, to amend any conditions, approve a new layout plan, or appoint a new designated premises supervisor). We will prepare each application, engage with the responsible authorities, deal with any notice require-

opposite forces currently shaping the UK hotel market, as hotel performance is positive and improving yet significant economic and operational challenges pose a serious threat to the sector’s recovery. The next few months will be another litmus test for the various stakeholders. We are starting to see the first signs of distress but to date there is still a functioning yet cautious transactional market.”

To read The UK Hotel Market: New challenges on the road to recovery, click here: https://www.christie.com/news-resources/publications/uk-hotel-market-snapshot-2022/ ments and help ensure that your business is properly licensed.

Should it be necessary, we have many years’ experience appearing before licensing committees, as well as at licensing appeal hearings at the Magistrates’ Court. We also have a strong success rate of representing clients whose licence has been subject to a review by the local authority and mediating on their behalf.

With our connections, networks and in-depth industry knowledge, our team of licensing solicitors have a national reputation to provide you with reliable, responsive and relevant legal advice, whatever your licensing needs.

If you need any further information, or would like to discuss a particular licensing matter you have, please either visit us at www.laceyssolicitors.co.uk or contact Philip Day directly on p.day@laceyssolicitors.co.uk or 01202 377800 and he will be happy to help.

Capify - We're Here to Support Your Hospitality Business For almost 15 years, Capify has worked closely with the hospitality sector, providing business owners with much-needed funding. We’ve been there through some difficult times – like the 2008 recession and Covid-19, and have continued to lend even when the banks have said no.

We’ve recently conducted a Business Confidence Survey and found that cash flow and cash reserves are key concerns for business owners across the UK. Over half of those who responded also said they lack confidence in their existing banking partners to meet any future borrowing needs.

We’re proud to have created an accessible business loan which is both quick and easy to apply for, and, once approved, the funds can be paid out in as little as 24 hours.

T H E W E S T C O U N T RY S P E C I A L I S T S

DEVON COUNTRY TOWN

EXETER CITY CENTRE

SOMERSET VILLAGE

Manageable Character Café & Tearoom

Stunning Restaurant & Bar Premises

Country Village Destination Inn

Tearoom (16), Catering Kitchen

88+ Covers, High Specification Fit Out

Character Bar & Dining Areas (80+)

2 Bedroom Owner’s Apartment

Fully Furnished & Equipped

3 E/S Letting Rooms, 2 Bed Owners

Easy Daytime Hours, 4 Days A Week

Impressive Turnkey Opportunity

Car Parking, Outside Seating Areas

Tremendous Potential

Viewing Essential

LH £37,500

2150

LH £79,950

New Free Of Tie Lease Available

2145

LH £25,000

4826

SOMERSET TOWN

DORSET VILLAGE

TAVISTOCK, DEVON

Impressive 120 Cover Café/Takeway

Detached Country Inn & Restaurant Award Winning Business Bar/Restaurant (60+), Al Fresco Seating (50+) 3 Ensuite Letting Beds & Owners Apartment Commercial Kitchen, Car Park & Garage

High Quality Licensed 78 Cover Café

Impressive 6 Figure Net Profits Trading Day Time Only Outstanding Catering Business Well Presented & Equipped

FH £625,000

2147

DARTMOOR NATIONAL PARK

FH £625,000

4822

Substantial Trade Levels & Net Profits Run Under Full Management Spacious Owner’s/Manager’s Apartment Outstanding Business Opportunity

LH £265,000

DARTMOUTH, DEVON

CHAGFORD, DEVON

2144

Detached B&B Set In 6 Acres

Two Businesses In One!

Superb Character Country Inn

5 Letting Rooms, Owners Accom

Successful French Bakery Business

Sought After Trading Location

2 Lounges, Dining Room, Sun Room

Retail Shop/Cafe & Bakery Unit

Bar Areas (62+), Garden (40+)

Gardens, Paddock, Meadows, Stables

Profitable Business With Potential

4 E/S Letting Rooms, 2 Bed Owners

Idyllic Home & Income. Low Overheads

Full Handover & Training Available

Impressive Levels Of Trade

DUCHY LH £395,000

6012

LH £90,000

THINKING OF SELLING? CALL FOR A FREE VALUATION

2151

FH £475,000

4827

01392 201262 www.stonesmith.co.uk

The finance can be used for any business purpose, whether that’s: • Managing short-term cash flow issues • Purchasing extra food and drink • Hiring additional staff • Purchasing new catering equipment Our flexibility means we will try and look beyond your credit history when assessing your application and instead, we will consider whether your business has the potential to deliver solid and sustained growth.

If you’d like to find out how much finance you qualify for, visit www.capify.co.uk/hospitality-fund You’ll be taken to Capify’s website, where you can get a no-obligation quote within minutes. You’ll also be able to find out more information about the business loan and the unique and straightforward repayments.

To find out more visit www.capify.co.uk/hospitality-fund or call us on 0800 151 0980 to speak to one of our specialist finance sale team.