Food Drink Magazine Issue 6 January 2021

FOOD DRINK &

MAGAZINE

EFFECTS OF PANDEMIC ON RESTAURANT INDUSTRY

WILL 2020 BE THE YEAR THAT SEES THE END TO THE TRADITIONAL RESTAURANT? MYANMAR RESTAURANT INDUSTRY: INNOVATION FOR SURVIVAL FOOD DELIVERY APPS COVID PASSPORT TO EAT OUT ACE BISCUIT AND BBQ COVID CHAOS CONTINUES RESTAURANT NO-SHOWS

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Effects of Pandemic on Restaurant Industry. A Short Review of 2020

Will 2020 be the year that sees the end to the traditional restaurant?

EDITOR AND PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Hakan KESKIN admin@fooddrinkmagazine.com ADVERTISING AND MARKETING COORDINATOR Gizem gizem@fooddrinkmagazine.com

AUTHORS Noyon ISLAM Carlo C. CRUZ

19 Myanmar Restaurant Industry: Innovation for Survival

Dave WINTERIDGE Daphne REZNIK

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28 Food Delivery Apps

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ACE Biscuit and BBQ

CONTENTS 45 Covid Chaos Continues

54 Restaurant No-Shows

58 Vintage 2020

65 English Wine

72 2021 Editorial Calendar

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Noyon ISLAM

Effects of Pandemic on Restaurant Industry. A Short Review of 2020

The monetary and social expenses of a pandemic depend on the impacts of past pandemics. In any case, this time, past pandemics don’t generally apply or help direct us, as this is the main cutting edge pandemic and our economy is globalized. Like each industry, the cafÊ business is profoundly hit and saw an abrupt breakdown. CafÊs are an industry where Americans spend the greater part of their yearly food financial plan, and they are down and out of the present moment.

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Since conditions are changing continuously, nobody can know where the COVID-19 pandemic is going and it is hard to extend the span of the pandemic. Thus, the whole cafĂŠ industry and gracefully chain are staggering.

With the expansion in the quantity of COVID-19 cases toward the beginning of March, 78% of foodservice administrators overviewed detailed lower same-store deals between March 1, 2020, and March 15, 2020, contrasted with a similar period in 2019.

In the last fourteen days of March, 96% of respondents detailed lower samestore deals contrasted with a similar period in 2019. Because of those that gave information, normal same-store deals done by 72% contrasted with similar fourteen days in March 2019.

Toward the finish of March, lower incomes and social separating measures forced by governments brought about 53% of respondents shutting down their whole activity incidentally. While a few cafĂŠs stay open for conveyance and takeout, many have laid-off laborers or slice back staff hours to zero.

Subsequently, an expected 800,000 foodservice representatives are either laid off or not right now working.

The overview likewise found that if current conditions endure throughout the following 30 days, 18% of respondents said their business would shut down for all time in under a month.

This is on top of the almost 10% of respondents that said they have just shut down forever. The 2020 Covid pandemic affected the US food industry through government terminations, bringing about cutbacks of laborers and loss of pay for eateries and proprietors.

It affected retail staple goods with alarm purchasing noted as right on time as 2 March in certain territories. The terminations affected the appropriation for food and drinks. Toward the beginning of April, while markets were encountering deficiencies of dairy items, ranchers whose principal clients were in the food administration gracefully chain were unloading their milk due to the absence of interest.

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As per Cornell dairy industry financial specialist Christopher Wolf, “If you have a production line that was set up to deliver acrid cream to sell at Mexican cafés, you can’t simply conclude that tomorrow you’re going to create frozen yogurt and send it to the staple store.”[ Meat processor Tyson Foods incidentally stopped tasks in April because a considerable lot of its laborers had contracted Covid, and it was normal that ranchers would just butcher numerous animals without having anyplace to sell them as meat.

Just about each eatery cross country has been hit hard immediately, making this catastrophe interesting.” Industry specialists cautioned that numerous independent companies would not have the option to recoup from terminations without assistance from the legislature.

Effect on the more noteworthy economy was as of March 17 expected to be huge as Americans have as of late spent more at eateries than at markets Lester Jones, boss financial specialist of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, said “This is a huge and awful accident for the cafés, bars, bars and the business all in all. considered the terminations a “wonderful tempest” for the business, saying the three essential difficulties for restaurateurs are transient admittance to money, medium and long haul admittance to credit, and duty help when the terminations are finished. The US eatery industry was extended at $899 billion in deals for 2020 by the National Restaurant Association, the principle exchange relationship for the business in the United States. An expected 99% of organizations in the business are family-claimed independent ventures with less than 50 representatives.

The business in general as of February 2020 utilized more than 15 million individuals, speaking to 10% of the labor force legitimately. It is the country’s second-biggest private boss and the third biggest boss in general. It by implication utilized near another 10% when subordinate organizations, for example, food makers, shipping, and conveyance administrations were figured in, as indicated by Ohio restaurateur Britney Ruby Miller. In Delaware and Massachusetts, one out of ten laborers is utilized in the café business.

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Changing following the “new ordinary” requires an accentuation on wellbeing.

Avoiding potential risk not just mitigates the spread of the COVID-19, however it likewise shows that a foundation is not kidding about protecting clients and staff. These measures will keep on being a significant accentuation in 2021.

Physical removal is a key factor with regards to wellbeing.

The Center for Disease Control’s socialseparating rules expects individuals to be at any rate 6 feet separated from one another, which is around 2 a manageable distance’s. So how would you keep individuals protected and dispersed likewise? The following are quantifies drive-through eateries can take to guarantee a protected encounter heading into one year from now: • Protective gear for staff – Make sure your staff is wearing veils, gloves, and other defensive hardware while working.

• Signage and markers for physical separating – Post signage or markers all through the café reminding supporters to stay away in any event 6 feet separated.

• Drive-through and ledge shields – Consider putting resources into clerk shields and drive-through parcels. These assistance watch clients and staff from germs and other airborne particles when physical separating isn’t possible.

• Pick-up zone for takeout and conveyance – Have a devoted territory and passage point where supporters and conveyance drivers can get orders.

• Spaced lines – To guarantee lines don’t become busy, add “remain here” decals on the floor so every individual is at an appropriate separation.

• Spaced tables – Space each table, so they’re in any event 6 feet separated on all sides. Consider little tables simply ready to situate parties between 2-6 individuals.

• Sanitizing stations – Place hand sanitizer remains in various zones all through the eatery, so staff and supporters can clean their hands. These are best positioned close to entryways or get counters.

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• Routine upkeep on air filtration frameworks – Air filtration is significant for safe indoor eating. Much of the time clean and supplant air channels to guarantee sheltered and appropriate wind stream.

• Reduced indoor feasting limit – Please follow CDC and state rules intently concerning limit. Appropriately dividing tables will probably eliminate some current seating in the indoor eating zone, normally lessening the number of tables.

• While there has been a move to conveyance in the inexpensive food space for a couple of years, stay-at-home requests and feast in limitations made numerous foundations rotate to conveyance practically expedite. Indeed, even as things return to ordinary, conveyance should remain an essential core interest. As you wrap up the year, begin founding more limited answers for the plan for 2021.

• For drive-thru eateries that additional conveyance because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s essential to assess current POS frameworks or requesting programming. Where do your present arrangements miss the mark as far as conveyance? Your POS framework does not just need to cover fundamentals like faceto-face installments, requests, and stock, however, it likewise should handle conveyance of the executive’s assignments like dispatching, steering conveyances, and assessing appearance times.

• Some foundations likewise may need to gauge the utilization of outsider versus inhouse conveyance, regardless of whether they presently utilize one or both. While outsider administrations like GrubHub, UberEats, and DoorDash deferred or decreased commission expenses during the episode, no assurance will last during this time and into 2021. Picking completely for in-house conveyance drivers cuts high outsider commission expenses.

Nonetheless, you’re needed to repay drivers for gas notwithstanding time-based compensations.

The advantage of outsider conveyance is that it dispenses with the expenses and stress of working an in-house conveyance program and makes more presentations for your foundation.

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Dave Winteridge

Will 2020 be the year that sees the end to the traditional restaurant?

There appears to be one word on the lips of most people at present, even if those lips are hidden behind the ubiquitous face mask. Covid! Our normal lives have been thrown into chaos during the past 8 months. Shops closed, bars and restaurants closed, working from home and pictures of deserted streets. One of the most striking pictures for me was the Champs Elysséé, normally one of the busiest thoroughfares in France, completely deserted. Without exception we have all had to adapt to the “new normal” in our daily lives, but what of us poor restaurateurs?

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It was a Saturday night, March 14th, when the news came in. Our last two customers of the evening were just paying their bill. It had been a perfectly normal service, quite steady for the time of year and I was planning the menu for Sunday lunch. I turned to my phone because it alerted me to an email.

An email that was to change our lives. As of midnight that same night we were to be closed with no re-opening date in sight. There had been an announcement made at 7pm by the French government ordering all bars and restaurants to close their doors that evening. An announcement that was made whilst most of us were busy doing what we do best.

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For us running a small restaurant, it was heartbreaking to think that we may never open again, may never afford to re-open. It soon became apparent that this decision was going to have a devastating effect on the restaurant industry here in France. An industry that is synonymous with France. President Macron boldly declared that restaurants are so important to France that he would not let any fail. But will he be proved wrong?

The initial reaction of most restaurateurs to the closure order was absolute horror. There were reports of many calling the president of the local restaurateurs’ association in tears. There were televised news reports showing restaurants throwing all their stock in the bin. All those front of house staff, chefs and kitchen porters suddenly without work, without an income and with rent to pay.

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But within 48 hours we started to adapt. It was decreed that a takeaway service was permitted. Easy you say.

Maybe for pizza or kebab but all of a sudden there were 5 star restaurants starting to box up their food for take away.

Remember this is March in Europe, generally it is pretty cold. Nobody is allowed inside your premises, we’ve been instructed that the other person has to remain at least a metre and half from us and we are trying to offer a service and take payments.

Many restaurants set up tables across their front doors, erected parasols to keep the rain off and even set up patio heaters for clients while they waited.

Hand gel and disinfectant sprays became the norm. People were scared. I have had customers say to me since that they did not use our take away service because they did not know how safe the take out cartons were. They trusted my kitchen but did not trust that the cartons would be sterile!

This drama now seems a long way in the past and we have become used to living with this virus, perhaps almost to the point of complacency, We have since been allowed to open our restaurants to the public but with new protocols in place. In France we love to sit outside, there is a real pavement culture. Did you know that in Paris the price of a coffee increases the closer you get to the front edge of the outdoor seating?

The French love to sit and just watch and be seen. But since the re-opening, restaurants have had to put at least one metre between tables which has cut the capacity of terrasses and indoor dining areas dramatically. À friend of mine had 100 covers on his terrace. He now has only 60. He relies on having a full terrace lunch and evening during the summer months in order to cope with the leaner winter months. As a result of his reduced seating capacity he has not hired as many seasonal staff this year and has had to work longer himself. We will see what happens this winter.

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Here in France all restaurant staff are obliged to wear a face mask, even in the kitchen if there is more than one employee.

Customers are obliged to wear à face mask when they enter a restaurant and keep it on until they are sitting at a table. We have quickly become used to seeing our servers wearing masks, in fact the face mask is rapidly becoming a fashion accessory.

But we are getting less and less interaction with those people around us. Surely one of the reasons for eating out is to experience some interaction and service, after all we àll critique the service wherever we go. Now the lovely server has their gorgeous smile hidden and is spending less time with us, even to the point of delivering our order to a nearby table for us to collect ourselves. I am not sure how viable this will be for restaurants in the long term.

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Would you still eat out if you had to wear a mask, disinfect your hands, give contact details and have your temperature checked before being seated? Every restaurant that you walk into here will also have an alcohol gel “station” so that you can cleanse your hands. Some still have a bottle on a table with a pump while others have a foot operated system with the gel dispensed at the top of a “tower”.

You now have to leave a name and either a contact phone number or email address so that someone can contact you in the event of a case of Covid being traced back to that restaurant. You will be surprised how many times we have served James Bond and Mickey Mouse! Temperature checking is just round the corner!

Imagine if we had this pandemic in the 1980’s before email, Zoom meetings and school classes streamed over the internet. Restaurants have also taken advantage of available technology and will continue to do so as that technology advances. We are used to seeing our food order inputted by a server into a hand-held tablet with the order printed out in the kitchen. But what about the customer using their own smartphone to place the order for their So to the future. Depending on how long we have to live with this whole table? It is already starting to happen. deadly virus will dictate how far we have to adapt, not only our Being given a menu by a server is no longer viable – paper personal lives, but our businesses. The restaurant industry is already fiercely competitive and will only become more so. During menus have to be single use, menu folders have to be disinfected after each use. So on every table we have a QR times of crisis, or war, technology generally advances at a faster Code to scan with our phone giving access to the menu, pace than in peacetime. including wine and drinks choices. We use our smartphone to place our orders, there is no human contact, and For many people the current level of technology has enabled someone will appear with our food and beverages. Could them to continue working, albeit from home. that someone be a robot in the very near future?

As I write this France is experiencing the second round of confinement; bars, restaurants and non-essential shops are closed. Restaurants that want to, can go back to offering takeaway only, but there appears to be less restaurants doing this at the moment. Are we all resigned to the fact that the restaurant industry is going to change beyond recognition or is the government aid too attractive?

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Carlo C. Cruz

Myanmar Restaurant Industry: Innovation for Survival

Looking back 3 years ago, I never expected to work overseas more so in Myanmar. Despite knowing very little to nothing about the country, I packed my bags when I got the job offer to work in Yangon, Myanmar. For the first time, I bravely faced living and working away from my family and friends, only knowing that I will be in for an adventure.

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I landed in Yangon, the country’s largest city. At first sight, Yangon brought back childhood memories. I thought of Manila in the 1980’s while traversing the highway from the airport to my apartment. After a tiring 8-hour travel, my mind wandered to where my next food destination would be. I started browsing the internet for recommendations and food reviews in Yangon and that was where my gastronomic adventure began. Maybe it was brought about by the foodie in me or I was simply exhausted and hungry that time.

As a hospitality industry professional, I could not help but fixate on restaurant and hotel developments in Yangon. Friends and other industry mavens spoke positively of how the industry has evolved from past years, although it is clear the country still has a long way to go compared to its Asian neighbors.

The potential for growth is obviously huge. For a country that just opened its doors globally, there were decent options – restaurants offer local and international cuisine, a number of international fast food chains, coffee shops and food concepts here and there.

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Evidently, the country is progressing after half century under military dictatorship. Despite these developments, Myanmar people’s passion for their own flavors remained strong. This is supported by the prominence of local tea shops – these eateries with traditional low table and chairs offering typical Myanmar breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner or even barbecue at times, line almost every thoroughfare in the city. I tried a couple of popular tea shops and the food was so affordable and tasty. Some were amazingly good that I would frequent them for my Myanmar food fix.

Myanmar food culture is diverse. Highly influenced by its neighboring countries, popular establishments usually offer Chinese, Indian or Thai flavors. Local business owners into local cuisine started to introduce European and American options to cater to the growing expatriate population. In a tough market like Yangon, many restaurants have succeeded but the short-lived ones were as many as those that succeeded.

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Year 2020 started strong for the hospitality industry in Myanmar. There was a month-on-month increase in international tourist arrivals particularly from China. The once struggling industry was resuscitated by the Chinese neighbors wanting to explore a more exotic destination. This tourism boom, however, was cut short by the looming chaos brought about by COVID-19.

This unprecedented event was just too much to handle for this developing country. By the end of the first quarter, the country experienced the so-called first wave (April 2020) followed shortly by the second wave in the third quarter (September 2020). Stay-at-home orders, lockdowns for others, were imposed by the national government and establishments were forced to find ways to survive. These attempts to address the pandemic left most businesses fighting for survival. With uncertainty and financial damages growing exponentially, several enterprises eventually closed. fooddrinkmagazine.com I 23

I had a chat with Nikki Barltrop, Chief Operating Officer of Edge Hospitality Co., Ltd., the company managing Yangon’s hottest dining spots – Parami Pizza, Union Bar & Grill & Gekko, to gather insights on the current state of the restaurant industry during this global pandemic.

When asked about the pandemic’s financial impact on their business, Nikki said, “Financially, it had a huge impact with the loss of dine-in revenue and much of beverage sales, not to mention wiping out catering sales completely due to restrictions. Most businesses have been doing very well with deliveries but with delivery service companies taking a significant commission (15-30%) from sales, it was definitely not the quick fix businesses would hope for.

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Innovation continued by coming up with new products and special events like their weekly zoom tastings in order to drive as much sales as possible.� Unfortunately, most businesses struggled in finding ways to drive sales while physical shops remained closed. With her vast F&B experience, Nikki’s team quickly adapted to the necessary changes the situation called for.

Apart from revenue concerns, businesses had to address manpower issues. While layoffs became a go-to solution to curb costs, some companies tried to control costs without leaving anyone jobless during this difficult time. Nikki shared that Edge Hospitality tried their best to keep everyone on board but put everyone on part-time employment temporarily during the first wave. fooddrinkmagazine.com I 25

IHowever, with a heavy heart, they had to make the difficult decision of letting go 10% of their team during the second wave hoping it would be enough to keep their business afloat. Despite the challenges and being on reduced salaries and service charge, Nikki has been very proud of how her team handles the uncertainty and the challenges of not being able to re-open their restaurants. Their team’s hope and fighting spirit remained strong.

With majority of people staying at home, all sales and marketing activities had to shift to the digital world. From word of mouth being the best marketing tool, the power shifted to sharing experiences on the various social media platforms.

This paved the way for people to make and try the latest food trends online inspired by the pandemic.

It became more obvious on social media how the pandemic pushed people and businesses to be constantly creative.

The longer people stayed in isolation, the search for something new, different and worth sharing online never stopped. These changes in customer behavior, however, did not help mitigate the challenges the restaurant industry was facing. In response, Nikki and her team felt the need to launch DIY sushi and pizza kits to stimulate the interest of the market. The strategy was able to increase sales and gain new supporters particularly from the local market after that huge loss in expatdriven revenue. All these initiatives would have not worked without restructuring their prices.

Hygiene and sanitation are, and will be, the top priorities. For Edge Hospitality’s restaurants, staff and guests picking up food orders must go through a standard temperature check. Aside from physical distancing, hand soaps and hand sanitizers have become essentials of their day-to-day operations.

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Everyone was regularly provided with reusable masks and face shields to educate them on how to stay safe and be responsible for themselves and the people around them. This, as in most countries, is expected to be the new normal until everyone gets vaccinated.

Despite all the challenges, the pandemic saw the emergence of small businesses that include chefs and hobbyists with no capacity to start their own restaurants but able to offer equally, if not better, food products to the public. Although this could mean tougher competition, for Nikki, the growth is a step forward and a glimmer of hope for the entire F&B industry.

With 2021 just a few weeks away, there’s really nothing much that can be done but to survive at the very least. The so-called new normal is here to stay for a while but not for good. There is hope and at the rate things are going, new ideas and innovations will give birth to new businesses in place of those that sadly will not survive the impact of this global pandemic.

Nikki shared Edge Hospitality’s plan to expand the Parami brand as well as reopen Union Bar & Grill in downtown Yangon. In support of the ailing restaurant industry, she actively promotes other establishments and encourages people to commit to ordering from their favorite restaurants a few times in a week to avoid more closures due to lockdown extension. There’s more hope with the development of vaccines but while Myanmar and the rest of the world wait, we can only do whatever we can to fight and stay alive not alone, but together.

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Dave WINTERIDGE

Food Delivery Apps

You might argue that food delivery

apps are more and more relevant in

today’s global economy. Countries are ordering the closing of restaurants, bars and non-essential shops, but

allowing restaurants to continue with

take away service. Those restaurants

now need to adapt and find new clients.

How better, when all you can offer is

take away, than a food delivery app?

Food delivery companies such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat have cornered the market. In reality it is a very simple business model. They create a website and app, market their services to restaurants, do their marketing to the general public and wait for the orders to roll in! For a customer it is ideal.

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Sit at home, alone or with friends, decide

A few simple calculations. The restaurant sells their

what you fancy to eat, sometimes from

meal for $50 – the food cost is 30% – $15, and the

different restaurants, place your order and

delivery company takes 35% – $17,50. That leaves

eventually someone will arrive with food. All

$17,50 for the restaurateur! Out of which they have to

at the same price as they would pay in the

pay the staff, the rent,the electric, the gas, VAT and

restaurant but with a small delivery charge.

income tax. Restaurant margins are so tight to begin

For example, Uber Eats charges 1,99€ in

with that surely it is impossible to offer a quality

Paris. Nobody has to drive, if one wants pizza

product for delivery at a price that the customer will

and the other wants Thai; simple.

pay. Do not forget this is a competitive market and the customer is very price sensitive. Deliveroo is

But what about us, the humble

currently valued at $2 billion! But as yet has not made

restaurateur? How much are we paying?

a profit. Now I understand why those London

Back in the spring of 2020 when most

restaurants have complained.

European countries were in a state of lockdown as a result of Covid, the delivery

What does the restaurateur get in return? Well

app companies were starting to rub their

obviously enormous publicity. Just Eat in France

hands together. The only service on offer

boasts 1 million hits to their website every month and

from your favourite restaurant was take

4 million clients have ordered – pretty impressive.

away and they needed to get their message out there.

Restaurants in London have since complained that although they managed to get their food to their clients they were not given any relief from the big delivery app companies. How much does it cost the restaurateur? Well that depends. Whilst researching this article I have been in contact with the big 3 but without signing up for their service I cannot get an accurate figure. But I can tell you that they are charging restaurants as high as 35% of the value of the meal.

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It appears that most of the delivery app companies also supply the restaurateur with a tablet to receive their orders and mange their account, promotional kit and access to take-away packaging at a “great price” covered in the company logo. Simply upload your menu to their site and you are in business. Start cooking, get delivered and get reviewed. A few five star reviews and you will start appearing in listings with your rating.

At the risk of sounding like a dinosaur, but really I am playing devil’s advocate, I am going to give you one more thought. My restaurant has its own website, Facebook page, Google my business page and Tripadvisor page.

It is listed with the local tourism office and appears in guidebooks Le Routard, Le Petit Futé and The Hungry Gourmet. Each time I make a change to the opening hours or the menu I have to change the website, Facebook, Google and Tripadvisor. I have to respond to reviews through Tripadvisor, Facebook and Google. If I now sign up to Uber or Deliveroo that is twice more for menu alterations and review responses.

When will I get time to cook?

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Dave Winteridge

COVID PASSPORT TO EAT OUT

The Covid-19 pandemic has devastated the World in 2020, causing the closure of shops, restaurants and bars, the grounding of aircraft and general chaos to any event such as concerts and sports events. With the announcement that some countries will start vaccination programs before the end of 2020 with an expansion into 2021 several companies are starting to talk about their clients proving they have had the vaccine before being able to partake in certain activities.

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Notably Qantas Airlines have stated publicly that they will demand evidence of a vaccine before you are able to take an international flight with them and I have received an email from ticket seller Ticketmaster about proving either a negative Covid test or having the vaccine before being allowed into concert venues or sporting events. But there are rumours that you may need to have a Covid “passport” before being allowed into the pub or restaurant.

There is no doubting the way that technology, and its rapid development, have helped us come through this pandemic. Most countries have implemented some form of “Track and Trace” to alert you if you have been in proximity with someone who has later tested positive for Coronavirus.

Restaurants have been able to digitize their menus, eliminating the need for customers to handle a physical copy, by using QR codes which can then be accessed via a smartphone. We have become used to seeing customers using their smartphones in pubs and restaurants over the last few years but now they have a definite use and we have become even more dependent on them.

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A large number of countries, England, France and America included, have already stated that it will not be obligatory to have a Coronavirus vaccine.

But let’s be honest they don’t need to make it compulsory if we are restricted from taking part in some of our favourite activities. Going out for dinner? Make sure your medical information is up to date on your smartphone – fact or fiction?

As ever the English government is currently giving out contradictory information. The minister for Covid Vaccination, Nadhim Zahawi, has stated that his team are looking at the possibility of hospitality outlets demanding an “immunity passport” and that businesses could refuse entry to those people without one. The head of the track and trace system for the NHS has also shown her support for the passport scheme.

On the other hand Cabinet Minister, Michael Gove, has said that there are no plans within the government to introduce Covid passports to allow people into pubs and restaurants. It is important to remember that restaurateurs and licensees have the right to refuse service to anyone as long as they don’t discriminate on the grounds of race, gender or religion.

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There is no denying that we want to return to a life that is as normal as possible. We want our restaurants and bars to be open and we want them to be safe environments. I understand that the airline industry will welcome any documentation that proves an individual is unlikely to infect the rest of the passengers on a flight, but where does that end.

The technology now allows us to discriminate and to be dictated to. In the past when tuberculosis

Will we carry our entire medical history on our ‘phone and then what about criminal history?

There have been many concerns this year over the loss of personal liberties and some fear that we will never again have the freedoms that we knew prior to 2020.

One thing for sure is that the hospitality industry will never quite be the same as it was. As professionals we are going to need to adapt to our customers’ changing requirements. There will be those who will feel safer in an environment where everyone is vaccinated and there will be those who will not go near a vaccination. We live in interesting times!

The wider implication of introducing “passports” to enable people to access their favourite eatery is who becomes responsible for checking the passport information. It is without doubt that the responsibility will fall to the restaurant / bar management and staff. It is highly likely that the technology will develop whereby customers can “sign-in” automatically as they enter the establishment.

Another cost for the hospitality industry! Many of my restaurant customers are of senior age and do not necessarily use technology comfortably and I certainly hope that they will not be excluded from restaurants. It is also worth mentioning that the vaccine is to be rolled out in stages and will be given to certain groups of people before others.

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and polio were running rampant we did not have the luxury of knowing whether the person next to us was infectious or had received one of the new vaccines. My worry is that we could be on the verge of excluding a large proportion of the population and creating a massive divide.

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Daphne REZNIK

ACE BISCUIT AND BBQ

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Pandemic travel, which we did in the form of a road trip from Michigan to the Outer Banks and up to Virginia, was both stressful and relaxing. Truly both. Moments of anxiety ended up being knocked out by the liberation I felt being “away.” By the time we hit Charlottesville Virginia on the back half of our trip, I felt like an expert in all things “dining out during COVID” and cannot tell you how much Ace BBQ epitomized everything that could go right. I imagine that without the need for masks and once the dining room is fully open, the place is just as stellar in service and customer care. fooddrinkmagazine.com I 41

As you head into town off 64, it’s easy to get caught up in the history of where you are. This was once the western reaches of colonization, home to Monticello and the “new” University of Virginia. The red brick buildings have a stillness and a charm to them. And in the midst of the history you literally can feel, off a small side street in the Rose Hill neighborhood, is Ace Biscuit and Barbecue, bringing modern food with scratch-made biscuits filled and covered with quality ingredients, to the old city. The motto on their website’s homepage is “where downtown meets downhome” and I agree.

From the food to the service, Ace hits the motto.

Walking in, the place was sparkling clean and two things were abundantly clear, art is as important as food. Before you get to the huge chalkboard menu, you pass really cool stuff on the walls including a sketch of Bill Murray. Why? I am not sure, and Google didn’t help so if you know the reason, feel free to put it into the comments box!

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The idea of settling on what to order was seriously daunting.

Anyone that knows me, understands how important it is for me to choose the right thing! Especially on the road and with limited access to the restaurant I’m checking out.

We landed on ordering up two appetizers/sides. These were the deep-fried pickles (done to perfection) and an order of pimento cheese (one of the tastiest versions I’ve tried!). I have to note that the pickles are made in-house and they are salty, vinegary deliciousness.

For our scratch-made Ace biscuits, perfect “sandwich” vessels, soft on the inside and crisp on the outside, I got the Brisket Biscuit. This thing was literally one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Tender flavorful brisket and an egg. Of course I added some of the pimento cheese. Sublime. My significant other got a country ham biscuit and was more than happy with the choice. And for sure, we tried each other’s food (we always split or mix and match of course!).

The idea of settling on what to order was seriously daunting. Anyone that knows me, understands how important it is for me to choose the right thing!

Especially on the road and with limited access to the restaurant I’m checking out.

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For our scratch-made Ace biscuits, perfect “sandwich” vessels, soft on the inside and crisp on the outside, I got the Brisket Biscuit. This thing was literally one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

Tender flavorful brisket and an egg. Of course I added some of the pimento cheese. Sublime. My significant other got a country ham biscuit and was more than happy with the choice. And for sure, we tried each other’s food (we always split or mix and match of course!).

You can build your own biscuit off the menu board, which lists all your ingredient options, however Ace has done an outstanding job creating unique recipes in addition to their Brisket Biscuit. To name a few possible future meals for us: the Ol’ Dirty which includes fried chicken smothered in sausage gravy and topped with those homemade pickles, the Tommy Pastrami (yes- they make their own pastrami in-house!) and the Ace Dip with pulled pork and caramelized onions.

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Hungry? Make sure if you’re taking in the architecture and history of (or a football game at) UVA, that you put Ace Biscuit and Barbecue into your GPS. Somehow this place has been around since 2012 and we never found it on our trips to Virginia. But I am so glad we did this time. Setting up a picnic on the back of our car, soaking up the Virginia sun in the parking lot on Concord Ave., we were completely content.

600 Concord Ave., Charlottesville Virginia http://acebiscuitandbarbecue.com/ 434-202-1403

Dave WINTGERIDGE

COVID CHAOS CONTINUES

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Anyone who has been connected with the food and drink industry, or indeed anything to do with hospitality, this year will realise that the uncertainty and chaos surrounding Covid continues. In Europe the second wave has rapidly become a third wave and most countries in the European Union have put in place some very strict measures. As we enter 2021 a vaccine has been rolled out and all countries in the EU have now received the first deliveries but I fear that personal restrictions and the closure of hospitality businesses will remain in place.

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FRANCE Here in France my restaurant has been closed since October 28th. I have missed out on the normally lucrative period of Christmas and the New Year, only being allowed to offer a takeaway service. We also have a national curfew between 8pm and 6am meaning nobody can come out to collect a takeaway order between those times. There is a provisional opening date of January 20th but I am not sure that is going to happen. The number of daily Covid infections and, more importantly hospitalisations, continues to rise. Along with restaurants and bars, cinemas, theatres, museums and all the ski stations are also closed. On a recent visit to a ski station I was talking to the cafĂŠ owner (takeaway only!) who does not expect the ski lifts to open until at least February - the bulk of the ski season will have passed by then.

Fortunately, the French government has put in place some financial support for businesses that have been

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ITALY Elsewhere in Europe the situation is very similar. In Italy from October 26th all bars and restaurants have had to close at 6pm. This was further restricted during November so that restaurants in orange and red risk areas were closed completely and only permitted to offer takeaway until the national curfew of 10pm.

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AUSTRIA Austria entered its third national lockdown on December 26th. Bars and restaurants are once again closed to diners with the exception of takeaway. Hotels are closed to tourists and leisure guests with only essential travel permitted. The lockdown is due to stay in place until January 24th.

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GERMANY Germany enforced a strict lockdown again before Christmas. All nonessential businesses were closed including, of course, bars and restaurants. In some areas of Germany bars and restaurants have been closed since November. The lockdown is due to stay in place until January 10th.

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SPAIN Spain has a national curfew, although the times vary in some regions. For example, in Catalonia which is very close to where I live curfew is from 10pm until 6am. There are national restrictions imposed on bars and restaurants such as their maximum capacity and opening hours. Again in Catalonia bars and restaurants can only open from 7.30am to 9.30am and again from 1pm until 3.30pm with indoor capacity limited to 30%. Dinner service is takeaway only from 7pm until 10pm.

Without exception across Europe people are obliged to wear a face mask while out in public and,if restaurants are open, while entering and moving about in a restaurant or bar.

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ENGLAND England is currently operating a Tier system of restrictions and has recently introduced a new Tier at level 4 to cope with the dramatic increase in infections along with a recently discovered new strain of the virus. I have previously written about the Tier system in England and its effects on the hospitality industry.

The overriding factor of the evolving level of restrictions across Europe is the disruption it causes to business. Many hospitality businesses had planned their Christmas and New Year stock levels and booked staff to work before suddenly being forced to close once again. In England this situation is even worse with the Government reviewing its Tier system in the week before Christmas. Bars and restaurants that had been allowed to open to the public, because they were situated in a Tier 1 or Tier 2 area, discovered that their region had changed and they were now in Tier 3 or even Tier 4 and therefore unable to open. This was particularly apparent in London which jumped from Tier 2 to the new Tier 4. Many restaurants had taken bookings and bought food stocks for the Christmas period to then have to contact their customers and get imaginative with the stock.

We can only hope that 2021 is going to be a better year all round and that we can get our restaurants and hospitality venues back open as soon as safely possible.

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Dave Winteridge

RESTAURANT NO-SHOWS

Restaurants and hospitality venues need to take advance reservations in order to be able to plan their business - staffing levels and food stocks being the two most obvious.

However, we have always accepted a certain level of “no-shows�; those people that have reserved a table but, for whatever reason, fail to appear. Unfortunately, recently we seem to have a new epidemic that is costing restaurateurs their livelihood.

The past year has been extremely difficult for anyone connected with the hospitality industry bars, clubs, restaurants, theatres and cinemas have all been closed for extended periods. In order to re-open many owners have spent serious sums of money on making their establishments as Covid secure as possible so that their clientele can feel safe. Restaurants and bars have had to increase the distance between tables and, in some cases, have almost halved their capacity. There has also been a recommendation from the British government, and others, that customers should reserve their table if they want to go out to dine. I appreciate there are many establishments that do not normally accept reservations, instead relying on a steady stream of customers that they can hold in the bar area until a table becomes available.

Under the new post Covid rules the bar scene in these places no longer exists and they have had to change their business model enormously.

Unfortunately, this has led to a massive increase in the number of no-shows and has caused some famous chefs to vent their anger and frustration online.

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Back in the late summer Michelin starred chef, Tom Kerridge, took to Twitter to name and shame the 27 people who had reserved tables with his restaurant for an evening and then failed to show up. You might think that a little bit extreme but it goes to show the level of frustration that is starting to occur. And Tom is not alone. On the same weekend TV chef, Paul Ainsworth, also took to social media to bemoan 27 people who had not turned up at his restaurant. These are two big name chefs and you may not have much sympathy but it is happening all over. The British media, both national and regional, has been full of stories of fully booked restaurants suddenly being empty because of massive no-shows. By the time the restaurateur realises that the customer is not going to show it is too late to resell the table to anyone else. This is not just extremely rude on the behalf of customers, it is putting an already struggling industry in danger of collapse with the loss of livelihoods and countless jobs. A Twitter hashtag has been trending recently - #nomorenoshows.

At what point does a customer become a noshow? My own restaurant has a policy of 15 minutes, after which we reserve the right to resell the table. But in reality this is extremely difficult to enforce. Living here in the South of France we have what is known as “The Catalan quarter hour� whereby you expect people to be 15 minutes late. We have tried to resell tables when customers have been late but it relies on having someone walk in off the street at the right time. And now with bar restrictions those places that might have had a waiting list of customers in the bar, or who had deliberately overbooked the restaurant, can no longer rely on this. For me, being late is almost as rude as not turning up.

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So what is the solution? For some time now many larger and more famous restaurants have controversially asked for customers credit card details at the time of making a reservation. The idea is that if the customer doesn’t turn up, and hasn’t cancelled in advance, the restaurant will charge the card an amount. But legally this is a very grey area and the restaurant can only charge a pre-estimate that would be equal to the amount they have lost - they cannot charge a penalty. However, many restaurants have discovered that the credit card has already been cancelled by the time they come to charge it following a noshow!

Another solution which I have recently discovered and seems to be gaining some ground is a ticketing system. The idea is that when you make your reservation you buy and pay for a “ticket” that would be equal to the average cost of a meal in that restaurant. Any drinks, extras and tips are paid for at the end of the meal. The restaurant industry is one of the few hospitality venues whereby the customer pays after having consumed, and then they are only bound to pay what they feel the meal was worth (Old UK law). Imagine going to the theatre and paying as you leave but not paying the full ticket price because you felt the performance was not up to standard!

Obviously some customers have genuine reasons to cancel, particularly at present when suddenly a member of the party may have been taken ill or had to self-isolate. If they had purchased tickets in advance the restaurant has a decision on whether to refund the value or honour the ticket for a rescheduled booking.

The hospitality industry is all about making good connections with our customers and the most successful businesses tend to have the best customer service.

It is a fact of life that we will continue to have customers that do not respect us or our business but in these harsh times the rudeness of some people could prove fatal to some great hospitality businesses. I will leave you with a number - £16 billion. That is the cost of cancellations and no shows to the UK hospitality sector each year - do not be surprised if Chef is looking irate next time you don’t turn up.

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Dave Winteridge

Vintage 2020

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I don’t think anyone would disagree that 2020 has been an exceptional year.

Almost without exception every person and every industry has, in some way, been affected by the events of this year.

But what about the grapes? Is vintage 2020 going to be any good for wine?

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The wine industry is massive and grapes are grown on virtually every continent (little tricky on Antarctica, I understand) so I am not in a position to comment on the entire industry. I do, however, live in France where wine is practically a way of life for the majority of the population. Every region of this diverse country has a grape variety and, therefore, a wine that is unique to that region. For example, white wines from Burgundy will be chardonnay grapes (think Chablis) but go west towards the Loire Valley and the grapes are much more steely, grown in entirely different soil and will be chenin blanc and sauvignon blanc (think Pouilly FumĂŠ).

The climate across France also varies considerably. The north and all down the west is affected by the Atlantic ocean, the famous wine areas in Bordeaux are pretty much oceanfront.

Move to the southeast of Paris and north of the Alps, Champagne and Burgundy enjoy a very continental climate giving warm summers and cold winters. Keep going south towards the Mediterranean and the climate changes again with very hot dry summers. The south is also protected to the north by either the Alps or the Pyrenees and each mountain range is also famous for a wind that blows down from the high slopes - Mistral from the Alps and La Tramontane in the Pyrenees. Both of these will affect the grape growing season.

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On the third Thursday of November each year there is a tradition of releasing the first wine of the new vintage. The Beaujolais Nouveau was the subject of some great marketing back in the 1980’s and that Thursday in November has become known as Beaujolais Day. I remember as a young bleary eyed trainee in a hotel in England having to serve Beaujolais Nouveau at breakfast - it was a thing! Even now, as restaurateurs we can purchase Beaujolais Nouveau about one week before the release date but are bound not to serve it until the official release. There is an important side to the Beaujolais Nouveau as it gives us the first clue as to the quality of the vintage for the year. This year the wine is described as being light, lively and with good acidity - a good sign. Reds from Beaujolais tend to be quite light.

The overriding factor of vintage 2020 appears to be how early the grapes have been harvested, from mid August in some areas. Almost every wine growing region has reported starting to harvest grapes upto one month earlier than previously. Generally over the past 30 years harvest times have got earlier as the climate has become warmer. In fact climate change is starting to have an impact on the wine industry.

Wet springs followed by extremely hot, dry summers are not helping the vines and this year the Tramontane wind from the Pyrenees has not blown as much and not dried the vines as usual, so there has been an issue with mildew on the grapes. Some winegrowers in France are now starting to pick grapes overnight stating that the day time temperatures are either too hot to work in or that the grapes are not at their optimum for picking when it is so hot.

It would be impossible to write an article at present without mentioning the “C� word.

Harvesting has also been affected this year by Covid restrictions. Many winegrowers rely on migrant workers to help pull in the harvest.

These workers normally live in communal dormitories and work side by side in the vineyards but with social distancing rules and travel restrictions this has been difficult to achieve. The French authorities also stated that only workers from within the EU could travel to France this year. Fortunately, back in August most of the European borders were open and most farmers were able to employ their seasonal workers.

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The second factor this year is that yields are significantly increased by around 6-8% compared to 2019. In a normal year this would be good as long as the quality of the grapes could match the increased yield. However, demand has fallen due to lockdown restrictions and the lack of export. Some winegrowers have even picked grapes early whilst they are still “green� and ditched them in order to give more space to the remaining grapes to mature. The Champagne region has agreed to cut yields this year so that supply does not outstrip demand.

Champagne is also predicting that 2020 will be a good vintage.

The fall in demand this year has caused other problems for the winegrowers, many of whom are still holding too much stock from last year.

While many wines will improve with age there are a lot produced to be drunk within 18 months.

Much of this wine is now headed for distillation and is about to be turned into hand sanitiser!

The Spanish government is actually paying around 100m Euros in subsidies for winemakers to ditch their wine! The Spanish harvest has also been much larger than 2019.

All in all vintage 2020 for French wines looks like being a good one, particularly for some of the Bordeaux and Burgundy wines. There may be some bargains to be had if demand continues to stay low unless, of course, you buy Champagne which has deliberately lowered the yield on what looks to be a good year.

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Dave WINTERIDGE

English Wine fooddrinkmagazine.com I 65

You may be forgiven for laughing at the oxymoron of the title but times are changing and English wine is becoming a force to be reckoned with.

The wine business is plagued with old fashioned snobbery, and admittedly England has a long way to go to compete with France in the wine stakes, but watch out, the English are rolling out the barrel!

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The English for decades have been prolific consumers of wine, ranked in the top ten worldwide but have not been known for wine production. There have been vineyards in England for centuries, since the Romans, but it is only in the past 40 years that any of these vineyards have been commercially viable with a product that is actually drinkable. I remember back in the 1990’s we had an English wine on the hotel wine list from the Denbies Estate in Surrey. We held two bottles in stock and would occasionally sell one.

At this point I should point out exactly what is English wine as opposed to British Wine.

English wine by law must be produced in England from grapes grown in England similar rules apply to Welsh wine. But British wine is a cheap, nasty product that for years has given the English wine industry a bad name. British wine is mass produced in a factory from grape concentrate, or juice, that has been imported and bears no resemblance to something that someone has taken time and care to nurture.

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So why now is English wine on the rise? The first reason surely is climate. It is often said that the English are obsessed with the weather and that it constantly rains in England. This is only partly true these days - yes we do talk about the weather and yes it does rain a lot.

But global warming has given an opportunity for some fantastic grapes to be grown at higher latitudes. The south coast of England now enjoys a milder climate, still with plenty of rain but also a good deal of sunshine. The second reason is that the soil is also conducive to the growing of vines which produce the best fruit when they are struggling.

Along the south coast there are plenty of chalk cliffs which just happens to be a favourite for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes.

The English have long had a reputation of being slightly eccentric and it was this eccentricity that most likely propelled the early winemakers in England. After the second world war a number of “pioneers� started planting vines in the south of England. Several amateur growers were producing wine on a very small scale mainly as a hobby. I remember my grandfather having a plot of vines on his south facing slope in Wiltshire and building his own grape press - I think he probably came under the eccentric heading! But one of the more professional pioneers was Major General Sir Guy SalisburyJones who started a vineyard in Hampshire in 1952 and became the first person to commercialise English wine since before the First World War. Today Hambledon is the oldest commercial vineyard in Britain and produces an excellent quality sparkling wine.

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Today English winemakers are getting a worldwide reputation for producing a superior quality sparkling wine. Gone are the amateur growers and hobby vineyards, there is now a generation of professional, well trained winemakers.

The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, along with some German varietals, are flourishing in England, so much so that some of the big Champagne houses have recently bought land in England. In 2015 Taittinger bought a significant plot of land in Kent, stating that land is cheaper there than in the Champagne region in France. Kent has long been called the “Garden of England” and is most famously associated with the growing of hops for beer. In fact the oldest brewery in Britain is Kent’s Shepherd Neame Brewery.

The reputation of English sparkling wine is now growing exponentially and publications such as the New York Times are picking up on its quality. Back in December 2018 the NYT ran an article entitled “Great Bubbly from England, Believe it or Not” which focused on a couple and their journey in the wine business and their purchase of land in Marlow and now the production of their sparkling wine. There is one paragraph from the article which I must quote and for which I will make no further comment, “The notion of English sparkling wine surprises many Americans, who still hold the notion of Britain as a culinary wasteland, with lukewarm ale the only beverage.”

In a recent blind-tasting exercise comparing four English sparkling wines against four French Champagnes the result was slightly surprising. Remember that in a blind-tasting the wines are served without anyone knowing what is being served so there are no preconceptions. That is correct; the top three were all English sparkling wines!

However, English Sparkling Wine will never be known as Champagne despite the subject being raised in Brexit trade talks. Champagne has to be produced in a very specific region in France before it can carry the prestigious name and anything else is, quite frankly, just sparkling wine! fooddrinkmagazine.com I 69

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