Hotel and Restaurant Times April/May 2016

APRIL/MAY ‘16

€3.65

T H E B U S I N E S S P U B L I C AT I O N F O R T H E H OT E L A N D R E S TAU R A N T I N D U S T R Y

BREXIT

Concern for Irish Tourism

POP UP RESTAURANTS

Time to level the playing field

IHF CONFERENCE

Upbeat conference in Killarney

IASI

More than just accommodation

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Contents

Editorial 4 News 5 Tour Ireland 12 Bookassist 14 Profit Management 16 Tallaght IT 18 P.52 World of Coffee 20 Irish Barista Champion 21 IFSA 22 RAI 25 Chef Network 29 Fáilte News 30 Urban Kitchen 32 Fáilte General 34 GMIT 36 P.44 Brexit 38 Kingswood Hotel 40 Prestige Couture 43 ODOS Design 44 Open letter to Minister 46 Pop up restaurants 47 Capital Expenditure 48 GN Asset Management 50 IHF conference 52 From 54 Wireless Waiter 56 P.32 DIT celebrates 75 years 58 Hotel & Restaurant Times is circulated on subscription to Chief Executives, Directors and Proprietors of Hotels and Restaurants in Ireland along with Architects, Interior Designers and Suppliers to the Hotel and Restaurant Industry.

Managing Editor: Cyril McAree (01-6285447, cyril@hotelandrestauranttimes.ie) Contributors: Pavel Barter, Caroline Leddy, Conor Power, Dr Des O’Mahony, Susan Clarke, Holly Lenny, Colm Ryan, Frank Corr, Aisling Wynne, Fáilte Ireland, IFSA, Tourism Ireland, Restaurants Association of Ireland, GMIT Graphic Design: Tara Mccormack Printing: Turners of Longford

ALL CONTENTS OF THE MAGAZINE ARE COPYRIGHT OF HOTEL & RESTAURANT TIMES. H&R HOUSE, CARTON COURT, MAYNOOTH, CO.KILDARE TEL/FAX: 01 6285447 EMAIL: editorial@hotelandrestauranttimes.ie WEB: www.hotelandrestauranttimes.ie

All paper used in the production of this magazine comes from certifiably sustainable forestry.

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editorial

news

NEWS

Let’s not make a mess As we go to press, we are still without a government. Hotel & Restaurant Times has drafted an open letter, courtesy of Frank Corr, to the incoming Minister for Tourism, whoever that may be. Tourism has proven its value to the exchequer time and time again, but the government still doesn’t give it the sufficient attention it deserves, despite attempts by the sector to position it front and centre.

editorial

Sadly, experience has shown that irrespective of tourism’s recent spectacular performance it lags behind other portfolios. Recent funding, as per the government’s capital programme, highlights this gulf. Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) challenged this position in a recent statement. “The level of funding in the government’s Capital Programme 20162021, allocated for tourism development, currently proposed at €106 million over 5 years, is disappointing and inadequate for an industry generating over €7 billion per annum into the economy,” it read. “Prioritisation of the Capital Programme 2016-2021 will be critical to shaping the future of tourism.”

Dalata to add 206 rooms in Belfast Dalata Hotel Group has signed a development contract with McAleer & Rushe to deliver a 206 room Maldron Hotel on Brunswick Street in central Belfast. Planning permission for a new 14 storey hotel, designed by Belfast architect Consarc, was granted in November 2015. The hotel represents a £21m investment, delivering in excess of 100 new employee positions for the local economy. The hotel is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018.

So Minister, whoever you may be, it may not be all caviar and champagne as you may have been led to believe. Now is the time to work for the industry’s sustainable support.

On a more upbeat note, the 1916 commemorations delivered in spades. The key event in Dublin was a credit to all involved. Given the anniversary’s complexity and sensitivity, it was important to ensure it both honoured and respected all concerned. We witnessed Ireland coming of age. It could easily have been hijacked by those who wanted a triumphalist celebration, but instead we were treated to a pageantry and an exhibition of all that’s great about this country.

Responsible behaviour The 2016 Irish Responsible Tourism Awards are now open for entries. The awards include: Best Destination; Best for Accessible/Inclusive tourism; Best for Natural Heritage Tourism.

Last year saw the first all-Ireland Responsible Tourism Awards. There were 8 categories, which attracted 450 entries from every county in Ireland. Winners included: Connemara Wild Escapes (Best Tour Operator), Hotel Doolin (Best Hotel/Small Accommodation), An Taisce Green Schools Travel and Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark Partnership (Best Transport Initiative), Dolphin Watch (Best in a Marine/Coastal Environment), Loop Head Peninsula (Best Destination), Cnoc Suain (Best Cultural Heritage Attraction), Archways B&B (Best Local Food Initiative), Atlantic Sea Kayaking and Wild Atlantic Way Walks (Best Adventure Activity Provider & Overall Winner).

The 2016 awards will be presented during the 2016 Irish Responsible Tourism Conference on the Thursday 6 October at the Radisson Blu Golden Lane, Dublin.

Enter the awards at http://svy.mk/1VsOuds Registration for the conference on Eventbrite at http://bit.ly/1qtHdyJ Contact:James Chilton, www.icrt.ie/conferences www.icrt.ie/awards

The industry need to be aware of the decisive vote taking place in the UK about whether to stay in the EU. This has the potential to cause a lot of upset to our tourism business along with other trading scenarios. The importance of UK tourism cannot be ignored or overlooked. Last year alone over 40% of visitors to these shores were from the United Kingdom. While the pro and anti Brexit factions steam ahead we need to put plans in place. If the UK votes to leave the EU, there will be less than two years to respond to a changed market. The worry is that a lot of good work regarding access to Ireland may be changed to such an extent that we may lose significant tourist numbers. If travel here is seen to be more cumbersome by borders and visa requirements, etc, tourists might take Ireland off their itinerary.

Year of Food

Tourism Ireland launched Northern Ireland’s Year of Food to travel professionals in Dubai. At the event, Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons highlighted Northern Ireland and our special Year of Food to 50 influential tour operators, travel agents and journalists based in the UAE. Pictured in Dubai is food artist Zhora Qureshi with Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland.

Whatever government is formed, a lot of work regarding tourism will have to take place. I hope the man or woman given the portfolio is fit for purpose.

There’s also a concern about the rising prices in Dublin. I know the industry is coming from a low base rate, but it still needs to be careful. I recently paid a whopping €10.80 for two cappuccinos in a Dublin hotel!

Have we learnt nothing yet?

Cyril McAree editor

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Oriental express Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland; HE Paul Kavanagh, Irish Ambassador to China; and James Kenny, Tourism Ireland’s newly appointed Country Manager for China.

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news

news

The wheel deal

Spotlight on Cork HE Daniel Mulhall, Irish Ambassador to Great Britain (front, second left), with his wife Greta; David Boyce, Tourism Ireland (second row, left); the delegation from Cork; and the British business tourism and leisure travel professionals, attending the event in the Irish Embassy in London to promote Cork.

Come fly with me Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport has received 4 star accreditation from Fáilte Ireland. The hotel, formerly Bewley’s Hotel Dublin Airport, is part of Dalata, Ireland’s largest hotel group, and has 469 rooms. The hotel is currently under refurbishment with a new executive bedroom floor and refurbished superior rooms. The ground floor refurbishment was completed in 2014.

Kings of the hill Silverhill Foods have re-qualified for the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Gold standard for the 6th year in a row.

David Boyce, Tourism Ireland; Diane Poole, Stena Line; Ann Pye, Irish Ferries; Mike Brewer, presenter of Wheeler Dealers on Discovery Channel; Marie McCarthy, Irish Ferries; Colin Turkington, double British Tourism Car Champion; Jim Maher, Select Hotels of Ireland; Tom Barclay, Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club, at the inaugural National Car Club Awards.

World of Coffee

Bewley’s Barista crowned Irish Aeropress Champion

Learn the value that coffee can bring to your menu at SCAE’s World of Coffee 2016 23-25 June 2016 Thousands of coffee enthusiasts, chefs, restauranteurs and hoteliers from more than 100 countries will converge on Dublin this coming June 23-25 for World of Coffee, Europe’s greatest coffee gathering which will be sponsored by BWT water+more. World of Coffee brings together experts and professionals from throughout the speciality coffee industry to share their knowledge and experience of how great coffee makes great business.

Restaurant Lease Available

Modern, purpose built restaurant available for lease in South Donegal. Restaurant extends to 307 sq. metres and seats 115 comfortably. Design, finishing and decoration is top class. It is air-conditioned throughout and has a full restaurant drinks licence. The kitchen area is generous and includes all necessary equipment in full working order.

See the latest in product trends and innovation and find out from the experts how speciality coffee can transform your business.

Big win at small awards Pictured (l-r): AJ Noonan Chairman, Small Firms Association (SFA); Jeffrey Long and Grace O’Shaughnessy, Java Republic who were announced winners in Food and Drink category with Una Fitzgibbon, Marketing Director, Bord Bia, sponsor of the Food and Drink Award.

This was the twelfth year of the SFA National Small Business Awards,

Grape expectations Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) has announced a short list of projects in the wine and beverage sector that will receive funding under its President’s Research Awards Scheme. The award will allow the successful applicant to undertake post graduate research into Ireland’s relationship with beverages. The project will be supervised by Dr. Brian Murphy of ITT and will lead to the award of Master’s Degree by research.

Candidates appointed under the Presidents Research Award Scheme 2016 will qualify for a Scholarship providing a stipend for the student, full EU college fees for 2 years, and a contribution towards materials costs to support the research project. Further information can be found at http://www.it-tallaght.ie/research_opportunities 6

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There will be educational workshops which will hugely benefit food and beverage managers and give them an opportunity to learn more about what their customers really want when it comes to the standard of coffee served, inspiring seminars, networking events along with all the latest trends, innovations for the hotel sector, equipments and services, key industry issues, technology and much, much more.

The area is a traditional tourist destination and is now benefiting from the Wild Atlantic Way. Bewley’s Barista Gary Hollywood has been crowned the Irish Aeropress Champion, beating off tough competition from 24 other top baristas from across the country at the Irish Aeropress Championships. Gary will now go on to represent Ireland at the World Aeropress Championships which will also be held in Dublin this June. Pictured at the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight 2016, was Gary Hollywood with fellow Bewley’s barista Eileen Maher. Photography by Shane O’Neill Photography.

According to Ross Lewis of Chapter One Restaurant; “I was unhappy with the standard of coffee at Chapter One some years ago and really felt it wasn’t in line with the general standard of food. We set on a long journey to bring up the standard as after all it’s the so called peripheral products that let standards down. Good coffee is an essential part of that standard.”

And there’s more…

• Two hundred exhibitors – Major exhibitors signed up for 2016 include La Marzocco, Java Republic, Marco Beverage Systems, Ahlstrom.

• A popular feature of the event is the New Product of the Show Awards.

The standard for these awards has always been extremely high and it is very prestigious to win.

• Re:co the European Coffee Symposium designed for high-level discussion, leading innovation and strategy development for those passionate and influential in the world of specialty coffee.

• Championships - Natalia Piotrowska will represent Ireland for the second year running in the World Barista Championship, SCAE Excellence Awards and Photography Awards.

There are five big busy hotels in the immediate catchment area and together with guest house and B&B’s provide a total of 629 bedrooms which provide a large pool of available customers.

Phone 087 435 1582

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news

Fiona collects major award for Morrison hotel

Fiona Burns, Director of Sales & Marketing at The Morrison a DoubleTree by Hilton, has won a major award at Hilton’s annual awards ceremony held in Prague. The Morrison, on Dublin’s Ormond Quay, underwent a €7 million renovation in 2013. Patrick Joyce, the hotel’s General Manager, said: “Fiona has been the driving force behind our Sales & Marketing team working in conjunction with operations to deliver and exceed our expectations for 2015.”

Best in show

news

Blooming great Michelle Maguire, Ireland’s Blue Book; Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland; and Jenny De Saulles, Fáilte Ireland, on the Tourism Ireland stand at the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Gleneagle has landed

Applause greeted the winners at The Gleneagle Group’s annual staff awards.

Speaking at the awards, Managing Director Patrick O’Donoghue said, “I congratulate all of today’s winners and I also extend my sincere thanks to the entire team for your hard work throughout 2015.” Employee of the Year went to Saifur Rahman for The Gleneagle Hotel, Janusz Faligowski for The Brehon, Ciaran Lynch for The Travel Inn and Terence McCarthy for The Gleneagle Group.

Wild Atlantic Way –

virtually impossible to miss

Fáilte Ireland has captured experiences along the Wild Atlantic Way for virtual reality (VR) viewing, giving people the chance to remotely experience 3D tours of the coastal route. Piloted at the international tourism fair ITB in Berlin, VR gives Fáilte Ireland the chance to show buyers and potential visitors just what they are missing. The experiences will be shared on the Oculus store where millions of people with VR headsets can download them.

The Virtual Reality (VR) experiences created by Fáilte Ireland include: Beach horse-riding with Ursula Schweiger O’Connor from Island View Riding Stables; Climbing in the northern headlands of Donegal, with Iain Miller from Unique Ascent; and surfing the crest of a wave directly below the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare, with champion surfer Ollie O Flaherty.

New chapter for Irish cuisine

Dublin Institute of Technology has won the 31st Irish Hospitality Institute National Hospitality Business Management Game 2016.

Front (l-r): Caroline McDevitt; Conor Bartley, Team Captain and Katie Scanlon of DIT winning team.

Back Row (l-r): Clem Ryan, Tutor, DIT; Philippe Ray, Deputy Head of Mission, French Embassy; Paul Fitzsimons, DIT; Martin Mangan, President IHI; Shane Browne, DIT; Hugh Murray, Director, Classic Drinks; John Ryan, Tutor, DIT and Dominic Dillane, Head of School, Tourism and Hospitality Management, DIT.

Power to the people Irish employers are reporting positive hiring plans for the second quarter of 2016, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Restaurant and hotels employers are forecasting the strongest year on year growth out all of the 11 sectors evaluated, up 28% on the same period last year, to register an Employment Outlook of +12%.

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Out on the range

Paganini, the Irish dairy and bakery, has launched the new Coolhull Farm range. Tomas Murphy began making ice-cream on his family dairy farm in Wexford in 1990. The new range showcases Coolhull’s grass-fed milk. “Coolhull Farm Apple pie cheesecake brings together Armagh Bramley Apples (which have achieved protected status) and Coolhull Farm cream cheese, with spectacular results,” said Barry Murphy, Managing Director, Paganini.

“Bramley apples are baked and caramelised in a shortcrust pastry base and topped with a layer of Coolhull vanilla cheesecake. This is a completely new take on the traditional favourite of apple pie with ice-cream or cream.”

For more details on the range see www.paganini.ie

Catherine Fulvio on nursing duty

Sancta Maria Nursing Home in Kinnegad, Co Meath, recently received an exclusive baking demonstration with Catherine Fulvio, TV chef and author, after winning the Unilever Food Solutions festive Gingerbread Challenge.

Bunny business TV3’s Colette Fitzpartick and Aisling O’Loughlin, and their families, supported The Malton’s Easter-themed Bunny Hop Tea Party in March in aid of Down Syndrome Kerry.

Pallas Foods has launched their 20th annual Foodbook, the key ingredient in all Irish hotel, café, bar and restaurant kitchens. This item for chefs, restaurant and café owners, buyers and operations managers, features a portfolio of over 4,000 products sourced locally and beyond.

Airport revamp takes off Dublin Airport is investing €10 million to transform the Arrivals Hall and façade of Terminal 1. Renovations include new flooring, a replacement ceiling, the removal of desks currently situated in some window areas to allow natural light in and a new look to the front of Terminal 1. Dublin Airport’s Managing Director, Vincent Harrison said the Arrivals Hall will look very different. “We are upgrading Terminal 1 on a phased basis and we have already enhanced the Departures Floor. We are now turning our attention to the Arrivals Hall. Our goal is to greatly improve the overall look and feel for our customers,” he said.

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news

Well for some

Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel hosted a special event to celebrate International Wellness Day. Pictured taking part in the group run / walk up Killiney Hill is Eithne Fitzpatrick Scott Lennon, Owner, Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Keith Judge, Manager at The Club @ Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel and participants from the local area.

APPOINTMENTS PLUS

Flogas in the saddle Paul Ruegg, Flogas marketing executive, with Shane Smith of YesChef Ireland at the announcement of Flogas as one of the headline sponsors for the Inaugural YesChef charity cycle.

On the Move

Green party

Keelin Fagan has been appointed Head of Dublin with Fáilte Ireland, where she will be responsible for implementing the agency’s tourism development strategy for Dublin city and county, and for leading the tourism authority’s drive to grow tourism in Dublin under the new Dublin – A Breath of Fresh Air brand.

Amaris Hospitality has announced the appointment of Joe Green as Head of Development for the Group. Green will be responsible for identifying and pursuing new development and acquisition opportunities for Amaris Hospitality across all its key markets, with a particular focus on growing the Jurys Inn hotel property portfolio in key strategic locations. Green will also oversee the development of a comprehensive strategy to optimise the Amaris Hospitality property portfolio, which currently includes 74 hotels trading under leading brands.

Prior to joining Amaris Hospitality, he held a senior position with Lloyds Banking Group where he managed numerous real estate loan portfolio transactions. He also held positions with private equity funds JER Partners and Avestus Capital, both of which had a strong focus on investments in the real estate and the hospitality sector.

Green began his career within the M&A department at JP Morgan.

Keelin has worked with Conference Partners, a global professional conference organiser, for the last three years where she was Sales & Marketing Director. Prior to that, she was Business Tourism Manager with Fáilte Ireland. She also has experience in sales and marketing roles in the pharmaceutical industry with Novatis and Merck Sharpe & Dohme.

SENSORY RAIN

Virtuoso experience

The Doyle Collection’s Dublin flagship, The Westbury, has been awarded membership at Virtuoso, the travel industry’s luxury network. It becomes only the third hotel in Dublin, and the thirteenth in Ireland to be granted membership into the network.

Derry gets his oar in TV Chef Derry Clarke and David Conroy of Flogas Ireland at launch of Vartry Rowing Clubs’ 2016 Celtic Challenge in aid of Console.

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Just like being in the open air. SENSORY SKY ATT turns showering into a unique experience that awakens all your senses. Different types of rain, mist, light and fragrances complement each other in complex choreographies which are inspired by weather phenomena and the moods of nature. Control is simple and convenient thanks to the digital SMART TOOLS from Dornbracht. No self respecting hotel spa should be without this amazing range of spa products.

SENSORY SKY ATT provides a selection of three pre-programmed choreographies: READJUST sharpens the senses – with mist, warm rain and a pleasantly soft dry forest floor fragrance. RELEASE is as cleansing and liberating as intensive summer rain – accompanied by a fresh tropical-like fragrance.

REJOICE protects, envelops and stabilises. Water drops sparkle in all the colours of the rainbow.

In the air is a poetic, stimulating fragrance.

Versatile Bathrooms and Interiors, Ireland’s leading luxurious bathroom showroom centrally located in Navan, Co. Meath are pleased to announce Dornbracht Sensory Sky ATT is now available at their award winning showroom. It can also be seen as a working model in the showroom. www.versatilebathrooms.ie tiles by versatile.ie Contact the sales team ctreacy@versatile.ie

Glass action

Riedel has launched Veritas, a range of pulled stemmed glassware .Their Irish distributors have recently delivered over 3,000 stems of this range to customers such as Conrad Hilton and Thornton’s Restaurant. For further information please contact; Mitchel & Son, Matthew Long, (086)603 1733. Or Hospitality Products, John O Byrne, (086) 823 4822.

news

High command for Irish chef Chef Graham Neville, of Restaurant FortyOne, has been appointed Commissioner General of Euro-Toques Ireland. The role was previously held

by Ross Lewis, Derry Clarke, Gearoid Lynch and Wade Murphy. Neville takes the reins of the chefs organisation as it reaches its 30th anniversary. It was established in Ireland by Myrtle Allen in 1986.

For whom the Belmond tolls

Deep ripples across the water market

JP Kavanagh has been appointed General Manager of Belmond Grand Hibernian in Dublin. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, Kavanagh began his hospitality career at The Connaught, London and has built up 23 years experience in luxury hotels. Kavanagh returns to his hometown of Dublin in preparation of the launch of Belmond Grand Hibernian. He joins Belmond from the Doyle Collection’s Kensington Hotel in London.

The son of a hotelier, Kavanagh brings a lifelong passion for hospitality and service that has been passed through the generations. Married with three children, he is a keen golfer and enjoys time out on the golf course with his sons.

Deep RiverRock has launched a new pack design across its 500ml range, introducing a ripple effect across the front of the bottle and enhancing the impact of the logo with a higher placement of the label. The new, sleeker, bottle shape reflects the modernised Deep RiverRock logo, which was refreshed in 2015.

The 500ml Deep RiverRock Still bottle, which accounts for 90% of the total Deep RiverRock 500ml volume, now uses 16% less PET. The Still bottle will see a reduction in plastic from 22g to 18.5g, resulting in an estimated 135 tonnes of plastic removed from the manufacturing process annually. The introduction of a light-weighted bottle is the latest in a series of sustainability achievements by the Ireland/Northern Ireland business and the new bottle will be in circulation in time for Earth Day, 22 April 2016.

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tourism ireland

tourism ireland

Skellig Michael is “just indescribably beautiful” – says Luke Skywalker

International tour operators give Ireland the thumbs up!

More than 300 top international buyers from 40 different countries, including Australia, China, India, Japan, Brazil and Russia, heard all about Ireland recently, at ExploreGB 2016. As part of its ongoing partnership with VisitBritain, Tourism Ireland – together with 18 Irish tourism companies – took part in ExploreGB, VisitBritain’s flagship international event which took place in Liverpool. The two-day workshop involved a series of pre-scheduled, one-to-one appointments – showcasing Britain and Ireland to an influential audience of international buyers and helping to deliver additional itineraries and brochure pages featuring both destinations.

Actor Richard E Grant lends a hand to promote Ireland Tourism Ireland has teamed up with actor Richard E Grant and Smooth Radio, the third largest radio brand in Britain, in a new promotion to showcase the island of Ireland to British holidaymakers this year. A series of five short online films will see Richard E Grant immerse himself in our culture and meet the locals, showcasing Belfast, the Causeway Coast, the Wild Atlantic Way, Dublin and Ireland’s Ancient East. Richard E Grant is a great fit for the campaign and Tourism Ireland’s key audience of ‘culturally curious’ holidaymakers.

The campaign – which will be rolled out in two phases – will reach about 5.5 million people across Britain. The films will be promoted on the Smooth Radio website and through on-air mentions. They will also be shared via social media – targeting Tourism Ireland’s audience on Facebook (430,000 fans in Britain alone) and Twitter (67,000+ followers).

Skellig Michael.

Tourism Ireland has launched phase three of its special Star Wars campaign, targeting fans of the science fiction franchise around the world. It involves another superb, specially-commissioned ‘behind-the-scenes’ film, created during the filming of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Skellig Michael in 2014.

Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the Nordic region, Australia, New Zealand, India, the GCC and South Africa. It is also being shared via social media – including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – targeting Tourism Ireland’s digital audience of 600+ million around the world.

Tourism Ireland commissioned Lucasfilm to create the short film in which Star Wars cast and crew describe filming on Skellig Michael, including Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), who says “it’s just indescribably beautiful”. Tourism Ireland has been sharing the film in 14 different markets – including Britain, the United States,

The fact that the next episode, Star Wars: Episode VIII, is also being shot on location along the Wild Atlantic Way, is another fantastic coup for Irish tourism. Candice Campos, Vice President, Physical Production, said: “Ireland has become an important part of Star Wars history”.

Tourism Ireland leads sales mission to China Tourism Ireland, together with 14 Irish tourism companies, is preparing to blitz four major cities in China, as part of its 2016 sales mission to grow tourism from China. The organisation held a briefing in Dublin, for the Irish tourism operators who will participate in the sales mission, which takes place 15-20 May. The sales mission will target top Chinese travel agents and tour operators in the key cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. And, for the first time ever, this year’s sales mission will include Hong Kong, to begin exploring the potential of the market there.

Walter Pan, Embassy of China in Ireland (left); Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland; and James Kenny, Tourism Ireland’s Manager China (centre), with the tourism companies taking part in Tourism Ireland’s 2016 China sales mission.

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1.4 million Canadians tune in to Ireland A crew from Canada’s favourite breakfast television show, Canada AM, was in Ireland recently, to capture footage in Dublin and Cork – which then aired to an audience of about 1.4 million viewers. Their visit was organised by Tourism Ireland, in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland. Dana Welch, Tourism Ireland’s Manager Canada, said: “We were absolutely delighted that Canada AM agreed to film in Ireland. It was a tremendous opportunity to showcase some of the very best of what we have to offer to a huge Canadian audience. Canada AM is the most popular morning TV show here in Canada and the footage filmed in Ireland was seen by an estimated 1.4 million viewers.”

Cameraman Alfredo Colangelo (left); presenter Jennifer Valentyne (right); and the Canada AM crew, filming at Blarney Castle, Co Cork.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland (left), with Christopher Rodrigues, Chairman of VisitBritain, at ExploreGB 2016 in Liverpool.

Julie Wakely, Tourism Ireland, and actor Richard E Grant, during filming at Sawers in Belfast.

Promoting Ireland to the travel trade in Britain Seventeen (17) tourism companies from around the island of Ireland joined Tourism Ireland at the British Tourism and Travel Show, at the NEC in Birmingham. The British Tourism and Travel Show is an annual event for the travel trade in Britain – attracting more than 3,000 coach tour operators and group travel organisers, including leading travel companies like Albatross Travel Group, Expedia.com, First Choice Holidays and JacTravel. The two-day show provided a valuable opportunity for the participating companies from Ireland to meet, and do business with, key players in the British travel trade – encouraging them to introduce Ireland into their programmes for 2016 and beyond, or to extend the programmes in which Ireland already features.

Jim Maher, Select Hotels of Ireland; Judith Cassidy, Tourism Ireland; and Neil Grant, Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery, at the British Tourism and Travel Show.

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revenue

revenue

You Need Smarter Rate/Profit Management

By Des O’Mahony In revenue management we have seen significant changes in approach in the last decade, from a relatively rigid set of yield management rules to a much more dynamic approach to rate and distribution in the longer tail. In parallel we have seen the development of systems and technology that can help with the management of rate strategy.

It’s rapid-upskill time for hoteliers. But unfortunately, many hotels have not really made the key transition from a shorter-term tactical approach to this longer-term more strategic view of their rates that is necessary today. In our experience in Bookassist, hotels are still not focusing on the essence of the problem – how to sell the right-priced product to the right person on the right channel at exactly the right time. If they are doing so, then they are typically focused on one or at most two months ahead. Discuss what’s happening to rate or yielding with many hotels for 6 months’ time and it is often a relative unknown. Just keep the rate high and worry about it later is often the tactical approach.

OTAs And The Long Tail

What is clear is that online travel agents (OTA) are now shifting their battle for business to the long tail, and therein lies very real danger for unprepared hotels. With the short booking window already dominated online by the OTAs, there is little room for their growth on a per hotel basis unless OTAs push their effective booking window out even further. But when they do, there are rich pickings because many hotels are relatively blind to the long tail of their own business.

With hotels largely concerned with the red herrings of “rate parity” and “last available room” in the short term, their long term bookings are increasingly being swallowed up before they even see it happening.

OTAs are now actively encouraging hotels to give them more availability for the future months. At the Irish Hotels’ Federation AGM in February of this year, I shared the stage for a discussion panel with a Booking.com representative whose parting advice for hotels was to load more and more availability for 6 to 12 months out so that Booking.com could “help hotels to sell more”. (My advice was exactly the opposite – don’t load onto OTAs unless you have to!). While hotels will of course get more bookings because of this strategy, the hotels’ opportunity to maximise profit and reduce dependence on OTA will be rapidly eroded just as it was in the short tail.

The ability to maximise rate and simultaneously yield appropriately to distribution channels is the new challenge. This can be quite a difficult to get right, but it pays very real dividends.

In working out a plan, the primary factors that should strongly influence your rate strategy on any given date are • Occupancy

• Length of stay

• Lead time

• Day of the week • Season

• Sales channel Most of us would be familiar with the above, but in typical RM approaches the Sales channel would not have been considered a primary influencer. But it’s important to realise that revenue management is not just about getting the highest price on the day. The price elasticity curve is more complex than that these days since the customer has access to multiple sales channels for the same product (or more accurately, the hotel through its distribution policy has given the customer access to multiple sales channels for the same product).

As we all know, there is nothing glorious about discovering you are fully booked for 6 months out. That’s just a wasted opportunity to yield appropriately and generate higher profit per room. But this is precisely what OTAs are now manoeuvring to achieve to their advantage. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Drivers For Revenue Planning

Hotels have to move from tactical short term views to an overall strategic approach. The real strategic view is to look at rate in the context of cost of acquisition so that you are really in a position to develop more of a long-term profit strategy than just a rate strategy for your hotel. In the ideal case, an optimum rate should be determined for every channel for every day of the year.

In the drive towards maximising profit, which is the ultimate aim, there is often much more to be gained by reducing your effective cost of sale than by raising your rate.

Redirecting your business away from costly online travel agencies and towards direct sale on your website can net you more profit even when accompanied by a rate reduction.

Which is why, at Bookassist, we consider the sales channel as a primary factor in rate strategy. Concurrently, the direct sale gives you the best customer data of course, which you can leverage for pre-stay monetisation and post-stay marketing.

What’s interesting about these primary factors is that it is quite practical to automate a rate strategy around these parameters as most can be measured or assessed in software on a continual basis. Making decisions based on facts and figures is the aim here, as intuition is not always reliable in the long tail. We’ve seen a number of tools in the market in recent years which aim to help the hotel get a handle on this data that already sits in their PMS and is updated daily.

Secondary factors that can moderate a rate strategy include (among others) • Events

• Hotel historical performance • Cancelations

• Competitive set

• Pickup pace • Weather

• Political issues

• Segment specifics 14

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In the case of these factors, they are much more hotel-specific and location-specific, and are not always entirely practical to automate. Their relative influence also can change very rapidly.

Clear data on these should be used to influence the overall strategy that is determined by the primary factors in the first place, and the local knowledge of staff is a big advantage here.

Think of these as manual tweaks to the overall plan which present more opportunities to maximise profit.

Putting A Plan In Place

Here are some steps you can take to ensure you are moving to strategic management of your profit.

• Accept that rate and profit planning should be a scientific data-led discipline and is not best served by intuition.

• Ensure you have the right person to lead rate strategy, trained in the discipline, up to date with the fast-moving distribution space, focused on improving direct business and capable of communicating the strategy to your organisation.

• Adopt technology interfaced to your PMS to help you plan rate adjustments systematically based on the Primary factors, but retain manual override so that local knowledge can use Secondary factors to optimise your outcome on key dates. Systems that spit out rates without telling you the why and how are ultimately not going to help you understand and develop your strategy.

• The focus should more strictly be on profit planning rather than rate planning alone, so rate per distribution channel must be considered.

• Work to identify total cost of acquisition on a channel basis. Without real cost of acquisition knowledge, you cannot determine if a rate you set per channel is ultimately profit-optimised or not.

• Remember that redirecting when possible your business away from costly online travel agencies and towards direct sale on your website can net you more profit even when accompanied by a rate reduction. Proper profit planning should push for redistribution towards direct where possible.

• Aim to know what your ideal rate should be for every day of the coming year on each distribution channel, and why.

Build a combination of short and long term strategies into your plan and review on an ongoing basis to ensure you always have a well-planned year-long window ahead of you.

Most of all, ensure you communicate the entire rate strategy to everyone in the organisation so that the reasons behind channel choice and rate are well known and are supported. If your plan requires changes in distribution strategy, such as shifting more towards direct, it is critical that everyone in the organisation is aligned with that aim and knows that the strategy will ultimately benefit the entire organisation through higher profit and more working capital. This is particularly important if other individuals in your organisation are responsible for distribution channels that your new strategy intends to reduce – rather than seeing such moves as a threat to “their area”, clear communication of the overall strategy picture should help justify the changes and get people on board with the change. Indeed, incentivising those managing other distribution areas so that they can work with you to find ways to reduce their business and switch it to direct should be a stated (and incentivised) aim of your organisation.

Dr Des O’Mahony is CEO and Founder at Bookassist (www.bookassist.com), the multi-award-winning technology and digital strategy partner for hotels worldwide, and is a HSMAI “Top 20 Extraordinary Minds” recipient.

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IASI

IASI “It is difficult to find people who want to work in accommodation services and make a career in this sector, it is a demanding role that does not currently have a desirable profile. There are many vacancies and opportunities available however the difficulty is how do we get people to apply for these jobs? The course is all about looking at if we are following the right process for recruitment, how it should be from when we post a job to when we offer the job and what we can do differently to engage with people.”

More than just accommodation Ines Guerra gives an insight into the workings of the IASI The Irish Accommodation Services Institute is a national body representing the professional interests of the accommodation industry in Ireland. The committee is made up of sixteen representatives from across Ireland. Committee membership is on a voluntary basis and each of the representatives are also in full time employment. “It’s hard work but it’s a passion.” Says IASI President Ines Guerra.

The IASI is a highly active organisation with a range of events taking place throughout the year giving members the opportunity to network with industry peers and attend training on the latest trends in the industry. Upcoming training includes: A Finance course for non-financial managers in April, the course is two days and will cover financial forecasting, revenue, budgets, etc. In May, members can avail of a four-day supervisor training course which aims to provide new supervisors with key skills such as setting high standards, training new recruits, leadership/mentoring and dealing with conflict.

According to Ines, There are three categories of winners: gold, silver and bronze. There are also crystal supreme winners in each category the training is extremely popular and committee members strive to identify new problematic areas while also tackling some archaic issues within the industry. In May for example there will be a workshop on recruitment and how to retain staff more successfully.

Other training in May will cover Pest Control and in July there is a workshop on Conflict Management; extremely popular amongst members and has been running for four years.

Aside from the training and workshops the IASI hosts a range of social events throughout the year. The first and main event is the Trade Show and Accommodation Awards which are held the last weekend in January. The annual event is a full day which commences with the IASI AGM in the morning followed by a trade show of industry suppliers and culminates with the IASI Accommodation awards ceremony which takes place during a black-tie gala dinner.

The IASI Accommodation Awards opens in May with an entrance fee of €100 for members. Inspection begins over the Summer with common areas, reception, bedrooms, toilets and corridors being checked. “Fresh eyes to check your property can make a big difference.” Says Ines. “Sometimes we miss things and having someone external come in can help to improve standards.”

Standards are extremely high with winners obtaining over 80% for bronze and over 94% for gold. .

The suppliers that take part in the event are IASI corporate members and they get involved as participants, speakers or sponsors. This year there were twenty-four stands at the trade showwith suppliers on hand to discuss products and services. The advantage of this, according to Ines, is that you can see a huge range of products and meet with suppliers in the one room.

Trending at the moment are the laundry equipment suppliers due to a surge in building in-house laundry/linen services. The most popular and quirky are the toiletries suppliers with vast ranges of products and options. “The sky is the limit when it comes to toiletries. You can find something unique to give your guest a personal touch.” Says Ines.

On the day lunch is followed by a conference. This year the topic was Team Building, which the IASI say is a very topical subject at the moment due to some concerns over recruitment within the industry. Key note speakers included: Anne Trebett, Group Human Resources Manager of Ampleforth Ltd and Philip Barrett, co-founder of Edition Book Arts and Blackshapes Books.

There were 120 participants in the awards this year, including a range of schools, nursing homes,

The Committee: Front row: Mary Flannery – Vice President, Ines Guerra, Josepine Ryan – Secretary and Joan Walsh – treasure.

Back row: Jackie Wade, Alina Enujiofor, Ann Marie Mee, Moira Gibson, Tina Purcell, Bernie Fitzgerald, Bianca Muscalu, Ingrid Brett, Marian Murnane and Hannah Duignan.

There are 2 council members missing, who were in maternity leave: Anna Gaweda and Charmaine Wilson. hospitals, and hotels. 270 people in total attended the event, the highest turn out to date. Networking is a big part of this event and every year the tables are carefully coordinated by the IASI to ensure that members get the opportunity to meet with relevant and local peers.

In June the IASI hosts their annual BBQ event. This year it will take place in Bunratty Castle Hotel. The event will kick off with a workshop on Changes in Legislation that can Affect Managers in the Industry.

A key event that the IASI believe is extremely important and beneficial are the Accommodation Olympics. This event is aimed at accommodation staff and not management. It is a one-day event that takes place in Dublin and the focus is team building and networking.

Three members of staff from each property form a team and take part in a range of ‘games’, tasks which are similar to their day to day activities but with a comical twist. Judges are external and there are a range of awards and €1000 prize money up for grabs. Staff from across Ireland come together to take part. It’s a great opportunity to meet peers from across the nation.

The current goal is to focus on one of the biggest problems facing the industry at the moment, recruitment. Ines believes that engaging more with students and developing a stronger career network is key in creating more interest in accommodation services as a career path.

“There are so many opportunities in accommodation services to develop a career.

The IASI would also like to work towards developing a recognised qualification for Accommodation services management to ensure knowledgeable and trained people are continuing to develop the sector. In most properties the Accommodation manager may manage the largest team, the highest budget, be responsible for Health and safety throughout the hotel, be responsible for hotel maintenance, and ensuring all areas are kept at the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene.

The IASI has in excess of 200 members nationwide and 40 suppliers. If you are interested in joining, please visit www.iasi.ie Caroline Gleeson

Along with networking at events and workshops the IASI have also created a community. When you join the IASI you receive a shared contacts list.

This gives you names, work emails and contact numbers for other members. A valuable asset because it allows you to lift up the phone and ask for help, advice on local contractors or a solution to a problem. This list is also available to suppliers so that they can easily identify who they need to contact in relation to new products or sales.

Philip Barrett, co-founder of Edition Book Arts and Blackshapes Books

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Anne Trebett, Ampleforth Ltd.

The IASI is constantly looking forward and finding new ways to improve. Goals for 2017 include increasing members and participants in the awards.

2016 Award winners with IASI President

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17

IT Tallaght

Spanish

Wine Tasting Event

On Wednesday 6th April ITT Dublin enjoyed some very welcome Spanish sunshine when it played host to renowned winemaker Antonio Diez Martín from “Martín Berdugo Wines”.

His winery is based in the heart of the Ribera del Duero region of Northern Spain. Students from the International Hospitality and Tourism Management Degree participated in a tutored wine tasting led by the chief winemaker himself who had travelled from the popular family- owned vineyard.

The visit was organised in conjunction with Dr Brónach Gollogly and the popular “Cultural X Change Initiative” based at ITT Dublin. Antonio was warmly greeted by both students and staff and he treated the group to a unique insight into Spanish wine culture and the wine making process. It is quite Wine Tasting rare that students would have the opportunity to meet the actual winemaker and they took good advantage of the chance to ask questions and enhance their own subject Antonio’s visit is just one in a series of IHTM college/industry knowledge. For his part, Antonio Diez Martín was keen to engagements this semester which included guest lectures recognise the obvious enthusiasm of the students. He offered

by Rhone Valley Wine Ambassador Linda Field and renowned them an informative and entertaining insight into the Spanish sommelier Lorraine Harmon. These visits play a very important wine world. Course lecturer Dr.Brian Murphy pointed out the role in helping shape the international industry-focused education importance of educational experiences such as this in providing that ITT’s International Hospitality and Tourism Management students with a real understanding of wine culture.

Degree provides.

BIG BUTTERY FLAVOUR

Careers Workshop On Wednesday 17th February, ITT Dublin hosted a Careers Workshop for students studying for a BA (Hons) International Hospitality and Tourism Management.

There are almost 200 students enrolled on this programme and many of them are seeking a variety of employment opportunities from summer positions to internships to graduate management programmes. Every year, we place students in work experience programmes at home and abroad including the United States, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Thailand.

Topics covered at the workshop included CV preparation, job application process, interview preparation, grooming, personal communications, company overview, employer expectations, potential opportunities, positions available and next steps.

Participating companies included Red D Recruitment, Dalata Hotel Group, Lalco (Inter-Continental, Westin, Hilton), Tetrarch (Citywest, The Marker, Powerscourt), Dublin CitySightseeing and Strandwood Hotels.

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Up to 30% cheaper than butter.* Get your free sample at ufs.com/meadowland** *For more details on the research and average price vs butter, see ufs.com/meadowland250price **Open to UK&ROI bona fide caterers and chefs aged 18+. One sample per establishment and per IP address. Limited to 5000 samples. To apply submit your details. Closing date for receipt of applications is 23.59GMT on 31 December 2016 or when samples run out. See www.ufs.com/meadowland250 for full terms and conditions

world of coffee

coffee universe

A new Sustainability Forum at

World of Coffee Dublin

Aims to secure the future of the industry Surrounding the main stage area, several of the world’s leading associations and charities in sustainability will be on hand to discuss ground breaking trends from other industries and market sectors and share some of the lessons they have learned.

Sustainability Awards

Europe’s No. 1 Coffee Event, which will see thousands of people from more than 100 countries converge on Dublin, will also feature SCAE’s latest awards programme, the Sustainability Awards where hard work and creativity will be recognised along with acknowledging the difference that SCAE members have already made towards ensuring the coffee industry and its impact on the world are more sustainable than before.

Details of the Sustainability Awards, including how to nominate and vote will shortly be released by SCAE - scae.com

About World of Coffee

World of Coffee Dublin, owned and organised by SCAE, will be an excellent venue for the first ever Sustainability Forum, an important new feature which will bring added value to what is already Europe’s premier speciality coffee event.

The new Sustainability Forum is to become the hub for discussion at World of Coffee, with key talks on the economic, environmental and social challenges that the industry faces with regard to sustainability, as well as debate, innovation and knowledge sharing throughout the event.

The coffee community has a responsibility to the industry and a large number of SCAE members have already made enormous strides in protecting the industry for generations to come so that they too can enjoy this wonderful commodity.

Whether you are eager to learn about emerging trends, key industry issues or the latest in equipment or services, explore and sample the latest products or discover exciting new innovations in the coffee market, this is the place to be.

Owned and organised by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE), World of Coffee is the flagship event in the European coffee calendar now in its 16th year. The event brings thousands of coffee professionals and those from beyond the core coffee community from across the globe together for a three-day celebration of coffee each June.

Find out more about SCAE’s plans for World of Coffee Dublin 2016 on: www. worldofcoffee-dublin.com

About BWT water+more

The aim of BWT water+more is to provide top quality water for all kinds of coffee, regardless of the local situation. Founded in 2005, the water filter specialist is a 100% subsidiary of the internationally active Best Water Technology AG (BWT). The BWT Group was founded in Austria in 1990 and is Europe’s leading water purification company, with over 2,800 staff in its 70 subsidiaries and holdings. As well as a wide range of products and an international presence, the added extras offered by BWT water+more include local service and loyalty to specialist dealers. For more information please visit www.bwt-wam. com.

According to Alberto Polojac, Chair of the International Development Committee; ‘The creation of a Sustainability Policy is just the beginning of an exciting road ahead for us working towards new initiatives, each designed to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, research and innovation for the general benefit of everyone working in the industry. We are very excited to be leading this initiative and making this idea a reality and the hope is that we all will be inspired to implement change within our own organisation.

Our community is a very proactive one and we all have a desire to help and educate and doing this at World of Coffee is the perfect environment.’

Ireland is home to one of the world’s most sustainable food industries and visitors to World of Coffee Dublin, which is sponsored by BWTwater+more, will be able to learn from some of the pioneering food businesses who are at the forefront of sustainability on our island. The Speciality Food Hall, supported by the Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance (IFSA), will be located next to the Sustainability Forum, providing visitors with easy access to a wealth of knowledge and experience.

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Book Your Tickets

You can avoid the queues at World of Coffee by registering for tickets now on www.worldofcoffee-dublin.com To learn more about SCAE, please visit www.scae.com

Dublin -The Centre of the Coffee Universe For the first time ever World of Coffee and the World Barista Championships are coming to Dublin’s RDS from 23rd-25th June. This is a fantastic honour for the city of Dublin – it is only every second year that the Championships coincide with the World of Coffee event which moves to a different city each year - and it’s happening here in Dublin.

World of Coffee Owned and organised by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE), World of Coffee is the flagship event in the European coffee calendar which moves to a different city each year. Thousands of coffee enthusiasts from more than 100 countries will converge on Dublin - this event is all about innovation and trend setting and nowhere else will you witness the best of the best competing under one roof!

World Barista Championship The World Barista Championship (WBC) is the preeminent international coffee competition produced annually by World Coffee Events (WCE). The competition focuses on promoting excellence in coffee, advancing the barista profession and engaging a worldwide audience with an annual championship event that serves as the culmination of national events around the globe.

This year, champions representing 60 Nations will each prepare four espressos, four cappuccinos, and four original signature drinks in a 15-minute performance for the chance to win the coveted title of World Barista Champion.

Ireland’s Champion – Natalia Piotrowska The Irish National Barista Championships were held at Food & Bev Live 2016 in February and the overall winner was announced as Natalia Piotrowska who has the great honour of representing Ireland at the World Barista Championships.

Natalia’s been competing for the last five years and was crowned Irish Barista Champion in 2015 and 2016. She also owns and runs Coffee Consultancy Events which offers coffee training, consulting services for coffee establishments, cafes, hotels and restaurants and provides coffee bars for individual events.

Baristas and the Coffee Industry on Home Turf For Natalia; “There are a lot of places in Ireland where there are very good baristas with amazing techniques and coffee knowledge but baristas should also have great customer service skills.

All these factors could and should be improved on a daily basis if baristas want to keep serving excellent coffee”.

Consistency in delivery can sometimes be a problem, however, most coffee outlets are trying to maintain consistency in coffee by investing in better and more consistent equipment - Coffee making and delivery is getting better all the time.

Trends and opportunities in the coffee market The coffee business is developing and there are plenty of opportunities. For Natalia, the hope is to see a continuous growth in the level of care and attention when it comes to rare and new varieties of bean. Some coffee professionals are stepping into the role of producer by purchasing coffee farms.

“This is a very exciting development as some of these new varieties have huge potential in them and this is not only on the tasting experience side. They are more resistant to leaf rust and other diseases and with the problem of climate change, exploring them is essential for the future of the coffee industry”, Natalia said.

In terms of innovation in the industry, Natalia notes the innovations at coffee farm levels – the growing, maintaining and processing of the coffee conveyed from wine industry – as a very promising innovation for the industry.

In the European market, Natalia believes the trend of independent coffee shops opening is going to continue. She believes we will also see the bigger coffee chains reinventing themselves as specialty coffee roasters and speciality coffee shops. According to research, the amount of branded coffee shops in Ireland is going to increase also.

According to Natalia, “For hotels and restaurants, their coffee offering must match what is being served in speciality coffee outlets.

Consumers are better educated and demanding a higher quality of coffee and a consistency in delivery”.

What’s Happening @ World of Coffee!

• SCAE Ireland created a new World of Coffee Ambassadors’ Club which will feature up to 35 top cafés, restaurants, hotels and bars serving quality coffee in the Irish capital and support them through a range of training and marketing initiatives.

• The new Sustainability Forum is to become the hub for discussion at World of Coffee, with key talks on the economic, environmental and social challenges the industry faces.

• Re:co (Regarding: coffee) is a unique European Coffee Summit designed for high-level discussion, leading innovation and strategy development for those passionate and influential in the world of specialty coffee.

• Another popular feature of the event is the New Product of the Show Awards. The Awards are only open to exhibitors at World of Coffee Dublin who have introduced a new product or service to the market since June 2015 or will launch a new product at this year’s show in Dublin. The standard for these awards has always been extremely high and it is very prestigious to win.

According to Natalia; “World of Coffee is one of the greatest coffee gatherings which allows you to explore the world of specialty coffee and allows you to spend time in the amazing atmosphere with coffee enthusiasts from around the world.

Also, Dublin is host to the World Barista Championships event and I would love for all you baristas out there to cheer me on while representing Ireland and hopefully taking home the trophy – we’ve got the home advantage!”

Don’t miss out – get your tickets, come along and show your support for Natalia!

You can avoid the queues at World of Coffee by registering for tickets now on

www.worldofcoffee-dublin.com Aisling Wynne, PR Director, Crimson Communications

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IFSA news

IFSA news “Clonarn Clover is

A new sustainability forum at

World of Coffee Dublin

aims to secure the future of the industry

SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF CATEX 2017 CATEX, Ireland’s largest and most influential foodservice event, CATEX, is taking place again on the 21st – 23rd February 2017 at the RDS, Dublin. There has been a strong response to the launch of the event from IFSA members with many looking to expand their presence for 2017. The show will go on general release from mid- April. Running for more than half a century CATEX is Ireland’s definitive foodservice event gathering hundreds of suppliers, stakeholders and competitors at the RDS Simmonscourt to meet, inspire, entertain and most importantly, do business with over 10,000 top hospitality operators and food service buyers. Over 10,000 visitors attended CATEX 2015, with 96% finding it very worthwhile and, 91% of visitors saying they will visit again in 2017. This show is a must for all in the foodservice and catering sector and preferential booking rates are available to IFSA members.

Contact margaret@eventhaus.ie today for more information.

World of Coffee Dublin, owned and organised by SCAE, will be an excellent venue for the first ever Sustainability Forum, an important new feature which will bring added value to what is already Europe’s premier speciality coffee event.

The new Sustainability Forum is to become the hub for discussion at World of Coffee, with key talks on the economic, environmental and social challenges that the industry faces with regard to sustainability, as well as debate, innovation and knowledge sharing throughout the event.

The coffee community has a responsibility to the industry and a large number of SCAE members have already made enormous strides in protecting the industry for generations to come so that they too can enjoy this wonderful commodity.

Ireland is home to one of the world’s most sustainable food industries and visitors to World of Coffee Dublin, which is sponsored by BWTwater+more, will be able to learn from some of the pioneering food businesses who are at the forefront of sustainability on our island. The Speciality Food Hall, supported by the Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance (IFSA), will be located next to the Sustainability Forum, providing visitors with easy access to a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Surrounding the main stage area, several of the world’s leading associations and charities in sustainability will be on hand to discuss ground breaking trends from other industries and market sectors and share some of the lessons they have learned.

The World of Coffee Dublin is supported by IFSA.

Henderson Foodservice

Henderson Foodservice are fast becoming a key player in the hospitality industry, supplying food, beverage and non-food solutions to some of the top establishments on the island.

Customers of the company can benefit from a personalised level of service from a growing sales team.

Henderson Foodservice own the Country Range brand in Ireland, a unique value proposition, offering Irish chefs an extensive product range without the need to compromise on taste or quality. They are also dedicated to supporting our local farmers, supplying Irish beef, pork, lamb & poultry, including Blas na hEirnann winners as much as possible. A recent partnership with the UK’s second largest roaster of coffee beans, UCC, has positioned Henderson Foodservice as a leading player in the coffee market – suppling award winning beans and machinery across 5 exclusive brands.

With an in-house coffee expert, customers can find a solution that will add enhance their hot beverage offering, adding value to their business.

They have recently been awarded two prestigious awards; qualifying for the Deloitte Best Managed Companies programme for the third consecutive year, and achieving Silver standard in the Investors in People accreditation, demonstrating their commitment to high performance through good people management.

A company committed to building long lasting relationships, Henderson Foodservice put customers Pictured: Damien Barrett (Managing Director) and Kiera at the heart of their business.

Campbell (Sales Director) with recent award wins from You can find them tweeting Investors in People & Deloitte Best Managed Companies. about the latest food trends and product launches at @HendersonFoods or call them at 1800 805593 to set up a visit with one of their sales team.

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Milano Coffee Systems

Milano Coffee Systems have just launched the new Faema X30 TOUCHSCREEN self service coffee machine. This machine will make all coffee drinks at the touch of a button to a café standard using all the very latest Faema innovations. It has the ability to upload special offers, music, advertisements or whatever you want on to the large touchscreen. You can also show the latest headlines at the bottom of the screen and the machine can be linked through Bluetooth to the customer service base in Baldonnell. Anyone in the market for an automatic machine in 2016 needs to visit the exclusive Faema showroom and training centre to see which Faema model would suit them.

Milano have been the exclusive Faema agents since 2007 and have nationwide service engineers dedicated to servicing only Faema equipment. At the launch of the Faema X30 Touchscreen at Hospitality 2016 in the RDS last month, Milano won the Best equipment award.

CHEF NETWORK ACTIVE & GROWING

Chef Network, the new inclusive professional network for Ireland’s chefs, initiated and supported by IFSA, officially launched at Food&Bev Live in February. The network is focussed on Education & Training, Business, Personal & Professional development for chefs and provides a platform for chefs all across Ireland to connect, communicate and collaborate. In the first 6 weeks, over 200 chefs joined the network and it continues to grow steadily.

Chef Network is working with partners and sponsors interested in supporting the initiative and providing content of educational benefit or interest to chefs. Bord Bia, for example, have come on board to support the production of a Chef Skills video series on Pig Butchery, in association with the Bord Bia Quality Mark, which were recently filmed and will be available to Chef Network members by May. A Jobs Board is now up and running on www.chefnetwork. ie where it is free of charge for Chef Network members to post job vacancies or search for positions. Non-members or companies may also advertise chef job vacancies on the site, where they will be notified directly to the network’s chef members.

Chef Network also lists events, courses, workshops and training opportunities, as well as bringing together resources and information, relevant to chefs.

Chefs, from all sectors and at all levels, can sign-up at www.chefnetwork.ie Find & follow Chef Network on Facebook & Twitter @chefnetworkirl

Ireland’s leading producer of Bord Bia approved free range eggs and Ireland’s only producer of pasteurised eggs for the retail market. Using traditional farming methods and always ensuring exclusive free range egg production, Margaret and Leo have been paving the way for innovation within the egg industry, always producing the highest standard of free range eggs.

Their brand O’Egg can be found nationwide in Supervalu, Tesco, Dunnes Stores and many more and showcase a wide array of products. Products include medium and large eggs, white eggs, Omega 3 enriched eggs and pasteurised whole egg, egg whites and egg yolks. Every product is certified free range and custom container sizes are available on large orders.

Margaret and her company are the recent winner of The FBD women & Agriculture award for On-Farm Innovation, the Love Irish Food, Master’s of their Art Award and also are a Provincial winner of The Ulster Bank Business Achievers Food and Drink Award.”

Your Washroom in your Image

Hugh Jordan Catering Supplies

strive to create and source products that break the boundaries of innovation.

Their ideas and concepts have been at the forefront of the hospitality industry since 1947. The product development team constantly work towards new and original ideas, products and trends and can be seen in their vast portfolio of products.

Hand crafted by a local artisan wood craftsman, our Widhu range of wooden presentation boards offer an exceptional solution to breakfast and buffet platters whilst still keeping the wood’s original integrity and quality. Hugh Jordan also offers a bespoke consultation in which they can create and design the perfect solution for you.

Colour has also been making a comeback over the last number of years, most notably in the heart of Dublin, Cork and Belfast.

Hugh Jordan’s Reactive and Flow range of individually styled buffet bowls are all hand crafted to suit the fashionable colour trend. Their unique spiral design will create the perfect complement for the food on display.

If you’re more interested in the extravagant, the Revol Arborescence crockery range is perfectly suited for you. The subtle black and white tones along with handcrafted lines inspired from the growth of trees, it strikes the perfect balance between style and functionality.

Plain is no longer an option in this fast moving market. If you want to find the latest ideas and concepts, Hugh Jordan Catering Supplies is there to help. Contact them on 01 862 7200 or visit their brand new website at www.hughjordan.com

Tork®, the leading global brand in hospitality hygiene, has launched an innovative, new range of stylish, high-end, stainless steel washroom dispensers for hospitality operators. Tork Image Design™ is a complete line of stylish washroom dispensers across 10 pieces, each with an elegant, gently brushed stainless steel body, fine lines and subtle curves.

The range has been manufactured to showcase exemplary design however, not at the expense of function. It has been created to blend seamlessly into its environment without taking over, being discreet, yet bold, sophisticated, yet simple - all underpinned by remarkable durability, versatility and ease of use. All dispensers come with anti-fingerprint protection to help maintain an operator’s first class impression.

The touch-free, fully automatic dispensers are ideal for hospitality washrooms that demand optimal hygiene or a more sophisticated touch. To accompany the range, operators can also choose from an easy to use manual soap dispenser, stylish countertop dispensers, together with facial tissue and hand towel dispensers to add further to the experience for customers.

The extra-slim designs of the Multifold Hand Towel Dispenser, Mini Jumbo Toilet Roll Dispenser and Tork Bin have been thoughtfully fashioned to be space saving to ensure the unobtrusive, discreet nature of the range. The brand has shown extra consideration by introducing the Tork Coat Hook, ensuring that an operator’s washroom image stays sharp throughout the guest’s experience.

For more information, please go to www.tork.ie or contact: Jamie Wright, SCA Hygiene Products UK Tel: 01582 677400 Jamie.wright@sca.com H&RT APRIL/MAY 2016

23

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MONTHLY OFFERS DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY @ 11 Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin 8 - Registered Company No. 56224

Restaurants Association of Ireland

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FOOD

forTHOUGHT Irish Restaurant Awards The eighth annual Irish Restaurant Awards are underway! Last month, the awards team visited all corners of Ireland hosting ceremonies in Dublin, Kerry, Derry and Sligo, to reveal the 2016 county winners in 14 different award categories. Across four regional events, over 300 restaurants, cafes and gastro pubs were recognised as outstanding establishments in their fields. These county award winners, along with a shortlist of Dublin nominees, are now through to the final round of judging which includes the judging of menus, a mystery guest inspection and a judging panel review. All regional and category award winners will be announced at the All-Ireland final which is taking place on Monday, 16th May in the DoubleTree by Hilton, Dublin. This event will also act as a fundraiser for the Irish Restaurant Awards official 2016 charity partner, The Simon Community.

Award finalists can book tickets for the event by calling the Restaurants Association office on 01 6779901.

To see a full list of regional winners and the Dublin shortlist, please visit www.irishrestaurantawards. com. Keep up to date by following us on Twitter @restawards or see all event images on our Instagram @irishrestawards.

Restaurants Association of Ireland 11 Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin 8 - Registered Company No. 56224

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Febvre Wine Promotion

forTHOUGHT THOUGHT for

Conde Valdemar Rosado, Rioja

With the Summer season on the way, we are introducing a great Rosado from family owned Bodegas Valdemar in Rioja. The Rosado is made with 85% Garnacha and 15% Tempranillo. It has a spectacular raspberry colour and is packed with fruit, purple-heart sweets and hints of fresh-cut flowers. Why not offer the Rosado by the glass with a plate of charcuterie such as Connemara air dried lamb, Parma or Serrano Ham or with a plate of delicious grilled prawns. We also have some very smart Conde Valdemar Ice coolers in the shape of a paint pot that are complimentary with your order. Contact your local Febvre representative or call 01-2161400 or email: customerservice@febvre.ie for more information on our Rose Promotion.

THe Foods of Athenry TASTE PROMISE With an all-natural, additive free range, packed full of premium ingredients - we believe that less is more.

It is this marriage of unique recipes, imagination, innovation, high taste profile, care and clean West of Ireland air (!) that make our products some of the best on the market. And you don’t have to take our word for it.. l

l

Restaurant Industry Key Issues There are several items that the Association is working on the moment including; Work Permits A submission has been made to see the Dept. of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to see all Chef grades be put on the critical skills employment permits list. l NERA inspections and Sunday premiums l EHO Inspections l Submission to the Low Pay Commission on the impact of the Minimum wage l National Chef Apprenticeship Programme l The curriculum has now been submitted to QQI for the course to be accredited. We are still hoping that this will commence before the end of the year.

l

39 TASTE AWARDS over the last six years are testament to our dedication to quality.

l

l

l l

Listed in Georgina Campbells ‘ Best of Ireland’ Guide since 2010.

Winner of the Environmental Award from the Irish Food Writers Guild in 2015.

Members of ORIGIN GREEN. Registered with the Irish Coeliac Society and our products carry the crossed grained symbol on each pack, which indicates a safe and reassuring choice.

Voted ‘Producer of the year 2013’ by Good Food Our range of GLUTEN FREE products are available Ireland. from the following; Musgrave Marketplace, BWG Recommended in John & Sally McKenna’s Best in Foodservice and Pallas Foods. For further information please email sales@foodsofathenry.ie or call 091 848 Ireland Guide since 2006.

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Surveys are sent regularly to members on items such as the above. Members feedback is crucial in understanding your day to day experience of these issues. Should you have any items that you would like to discuss in detail, please contact Kim Leonardofin the office on 01-6779901 or e-mail info@rai.ie Restaurants Association ofIreland Ireland Restaurants Association Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin - Registered Company No. 56224 1111 Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin 88 - Registered Company No. 56224

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Business Name

Website

Glenilen Farm

http://www.glenilenfarm.com/

The Foods of Athenry

https://www.foodsofathenry.ie/

Monin

https://www.monin.com/en-gb/select-your-country

Clona Dairy Products Ltd

http://clona.ie/

Le Visual

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Suki Tea

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First National Calling Card

http://www.fntele.ie/

Wet Umbrella Guard

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Nihtfinder Group

http://www.nightfinder.ie/

Umbrella Guard

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Athena College of Ireland

https://athenacollege.ie/

Treanor Security Systems

http://www.treanorsecurity.com/

Bright Contracts

http://www.brightcontracts.ie/

Restaurants Association Ireland Restaurants ofofIreland EuropeanAssociation Watercare Ireland n/a

Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin - Registered Company No. 56224 1111 Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin 88 - Registered Company No. 56224 Aramark

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NEW MEMBERS

chef network

Restaurant Name

County

Restaurant Name

County

Restaurant Name

County

Osta Café & Wine Bar

Co Sligo

The Jolly Monk @ The Abbey Hotel

Dublin 1

The Temple Inn

Co Cork

Mulcahy's Restaurant

Co Kerry

Wilde & Greene Café

Dublin 6

Co Cork

The Castle Inn

Co Wicklow

The Gourmet Store

Co Kilkenny

The Galley Kitchen @ The Sextant Bar

The Queen of Tarts

Dublin 2

Murphy's of Leixslip

Co Kildare

Cappucino Bar

Dublin 2 Dublin 2

Pitt Bros BBQ

Dublin 1

The Lazy Lamb

Co Waterford

Café Vivaldi

Woodbrook Gold Club

Co Wicklow

Gartlan's Pub

Co Cavan

Westhouse Café

Co Longford

Caldwell's Coffee House

Co Meath

The School of Cookery

Dublin 5

4 Vicars

BT61 7ED

Il Ponte Nuovo

Co Kildare

Pimento Wine & Tapas Bar

Co Carlow

The Parade Ring

Co Kildare

Sli Dala Restaurant @ Kinnitty Casle Hotel

Co Offaly

Chez Max

Dublin 2

Nancy's Barn

Co Donegal

Chez Max - Baggot Street

Dublin 2

Pho Viet Vietnamese

Dublin 1

Frends Restaurant

Co Galway

Musashi Noodle & Sushi Bar

Dublin 1

The Bistro @ Citywest Hotel

Co Dublin

Jacks Railway Bar & Restaurant

Co Meath

Musahi - Sandyford

Dublin 18

Walled City Brewery

BT4 76FA

The Harbour Restauran @ The Harbour Hotel

Co Galway

Musahi - IFSC

Dublin 1

Coynes Bar & Bistro - Galway

Co Galway

Co Westmeath

Cistin Eile

Co Wexford

Co Mayo

Days Bazaar Café Mount Druid

Co Westmeath

The Breeders

Co Westmeath

Wildes Restaurant @ The Lodge at Ashford Castle

Co Clare

BeaNice

Co Carlow

The Three Q's

Co Wicklow

Ocean Lodge

Co Mayo

Carleton Restaurant@Corick Country House Hotel & Spa

Co Tyrone

The Dining Room

Co Tipperary

Co Fermanagh

Co Kerry

The Country Kitchen

Molly's Bar & Restaurant

Kirbys Brogue Inn

Belfast

Co Galway

Co Wicklow

The Chopin

Gemelles Restaurant

Tinahely Farm Tea Shop

Co Laois

Co Wicklow

Co Laois

Rafters Café

Rathsallagh House

The Pantry

Co Laois

Dublin 2

Co Dublin

Mayur Tandoori

Bunsen

64 Wine

Dublin 2

Co Cork

Co Limerick

Café Sora

Tony's Bistro

The Bakehouse Restaurant

Co Wicklow

NI - BT486PR

Co Westmeath

Blue Castle Restaurant

The Sandwich Co - Derry

A Slice of Life

The Sandwich Co - Donegal

Co Donegal

Food Capers

Co Cork

JP's Steakhouse

Co Westmeath

Peggy's

Co Galway

Food Capers - Gouldshill

Co Cork

Indian Prince

Co Laois

The Victoria House

Co Waterford

Canteen - Cellbridge

Co Kildare

Duck

Dublin 2

Killumney Inn Restaurant

Co Cork

The Ritz Gastropub & Café

Co Westmeath

The Merry Monk

Co Mayo

Café Cois Cuan

Co Cork

The Hunters Rest Bar & Restaurant

Co Cork

Cinnamon Cottage

Co Cork

The Cosy Café

Co Laois

Kafe U

Co Westmeath

Co Cork

Dublin 7

Co Tipperary

Nibbles Café

Fish Shop Seafood Restaurant

Lava Rock Restaurant

Co Mayo

Co Cork

Co Cork

The Open Door

The Supper Club

Café Velo

Co Tipperary

Co Cork

Co Galway

Hotel Minella

The Ritz House

Fat Freddy's

Co Cork

BT94 1NY

Co Kerry

Farmgate Restaurant

Belleek Restaurant @ Manor

Il Forno - Italian Restaurant & Wood

Co Wexford

Co Down

Co Wicklow

The Cohannon Inn

Brunels Restaurant

Brewery Bistro Restaurant

Belfast

Co Cork

Dublin 8

Greenhouse Café

Miyazaki Restaurant

I Monelli

Co Kerry

Co Kilkenny

Co Roscommon

Yummy Café Market

The Enchanted Kitchen

The Old Stonehouse

Co Kilkenny

Dublin 4

Dublin 2

The Duiske Inn

DoubleTree by Hilton Dublin

The Blind Pig

The Malthouse Bar & Restaurant

Co Louth

Tides Bistro @ Bellbridge House Hotel

Co Clare

Nancy Hand’s

Dublin 8

Connie K's

Co Kerry

The Strawberry Tree Restaurant @

Co Wicklow

Rose Café

Co Kilkenny

Byrnes Restaurant

Co Clare

Younges The Ragg

Co Tipperary

Indie Spice Naas

Co Kildare

The Church Restaurant

Co Cork

The Idle Wall

Co Mayo

Buswells Hotel

Dublin 2

The Sliding Rock

Co Galway

Home

Co Antrim

Hobarts

Dublin 6

The Fiddlers Elbow

Co Roscommon

La Spoon Café & Patisserie

Co Cork

Coffee Delights

Co Wicklow

Blu Apple

Dublin 1

McGettigans Cookhouse @ Kingswood

Dublin 22

Kieran’s Kitchen @ The Roadside

Co Clare

The Jolly Monk @ The Abbey

Dublin 1

Sabor Brazil

Dublin 2

Dukes Coffee Company

Co Cork

Wilde & Greene Café

Dublin 6

Barrtra Seafood Restaurant

Co Clare

he Coha

Co Cork

Restaurants Association of Ireland 11 Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin 8 - Registered Company No. 56224 Official Sponsor of

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Patrons:

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Ruth Hegarty is He ad of Community for Chef Network and owner of egg&chick en food projects.

Previously, she sp ent 11 years at the he lm of Euro-Toques Irelan d.

forTHOUGHT

Connecting Ireland’s Chefs Developed with the goal of fostering greater collaboration in the industry, Chef Network brings chefs across all sectors on the island of Ireland together, writes RUTH HEGARTY. For as long as I have been involved in this industry I have heard chefs lament the loss of skills in the kitchen. It was around 2010 that the issue became critical – chefs regularly complained that they could not find qualified kitchen staff and, as the then Secretary-General of Euro-Toques Ireland, I received calls on an almost daily basis from restaurateurs seeking chefs.

In the intervening years this problem has intensified. The issue is not exclusive to Ireland; in fact it has been heavily discussed in media and industry circles in the UK and US in recent times. Many consider the skills shortage so severe that it threatens the very future of the restaurant industry.

While the chef shortage and loss of skills is not the only reason for establishing Chef Network, it was certainly a key driver behind it. Yet, despite these pressing concerns, Chef Network is an initiative full of optimism and positivity. In contrast to the shortage of people entering and staying in the industry, there is real excitement building around Irish food and culinary talent. This is something that Chef Network can harness, along with the ‘can-do’ attitude of chefs, to help create a vibrant industry into the future. At the heart of the development of Chef Network is the realisation among chefs that they can learn a lot from each other, that they have a huge amount to gain from collaboration and, most importantly, that they are the only ones who will solve the challenges their industry faces.

Who It Is For Chef Network is a network for all chefs, at all stages of their careers, throughout Ireland, North and South. If you cook professionally – or are a student/trainee learning to cook for your career – then Chef Network is for you.

ruth.hegarty@chefn

etwork.ie

For the individual chef, Chef Network provides the opportunity to become part of Ireland’s chef community and to connect, communicate, and collaborate with other chefs. The online platform chefnetwork.ie is the tool for chefs to connect simply and conveniently, where they can discuss, debate, share ideas, knowledge and best practice.

On chefnetwork.ie each chef can set up their own profile, join discussions and communities and keep up-to-date with the latest developments in their industry. As the Network develops, members will also benefit from offline activities, including chef gatherings where topics of interest will be further explored.

As well as being the online meeting point for Ireland’s chefs, the Chef Network website will bring together information and resources that are relevant to chefs. We will add to the peer-learning environment with external input, whether from relevant State sources, the education sector, or supplier-partners.

Chef Network will support the industry in practical ways, such as the Jobs Board that is already up and running; details of training, courses and events; plus content of informational and educational interest to both trainee and experienced chefs, such as skills videos (we have just finished filming our first series, ‘Nose-To-Tail Pig Butchery’ in association with Bord Bia Quality Assurance).

We Need You Following several months of research and consultation, Chef Network officially launched at Food & Bev Live in February and the feedback, across industry and education sectors, has been overwhelmingly positive.

Over 200 chefs signed up within the first few weeks and while this is an excellent pace of growth, it is only fraction of what we are aiming for in order to build a truly inclusive community of Ireland’s chefs. Chef Network’s development will be influenced and led by every member who signs ups and becomes part of it. To join visit www.chefnetwork.ie.

It’s formation has been initiated and financed by IFSA, the Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance, which identified a need for a network to bring the estimated 25,000-30,000 chefs working and studying across the island of Ireland together.

From day one, the concept was to create a network that would be as open and inclusive as possible. This was reinforced in our extensive consultations with chefs, who also supported the idea of a primarily online model with offline activities added over time. From our consultation process, we have gathered a crosssectoral group of chefs throughout Ireland who will act on an on-going basis as an ‘Advisory Council’ for Chef Network.

Focus & Goals The focus areas for Chef Network, emerging from our consultations, are education and training and business, personal and professional development for chefs. The central objectives of the Network are to attract and retain more people to the industry; to raise standards of training, both recognising industry’s role in training and encouraging greater collaboration betweenof industry and education sector; Restaurants Association Ireland to promote and maintain culinary skills; and to expand the 11 Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin 8 - Registered Company No. 56224 knowledge-base of chefs.

Pictured signing up to Chef Network at Food & Bev Live were (l-r) Julianne Forrestal, Executive Craft Chef, Official Sponsor of

FOODforTHOUGHT

Sodexo Ireland; Michael Quinn, Chef Lecturer, WIT; Stephen Holland, Executive Sous Chef, Lough Erne Resort and Niall Hill, Executive Chef, The Butlers Pantry. Image: David O’Shea Patrons: H&RT APRIL/MAY 2016

29

fáilte news

fáilte news

Tourism Enjoys Upbeat Start to 2016 but must Remain Competitive Fáilte Ireland recently published its annual Visitor Attitudes Survey 2015 which shows that overseas holidaymakers to Ireland last year continued to rate the country as good value for money and that the country matched or exceeded their expectations as a holiday destination.

The new Fáilte Ireland research confirms that overseas holidaymakers’ expectations of a friendly welcome, a relaxed pace of life and an unspoilt environment were largely met last year. The survey also shows that overseas holidaymakers continued to rate Ireland as good value for money and believe that Ireland matched or exceeded their expectations as a holiday destination.

What does the survey tell us?

Meeting and exceeding expectations

When asked about their overall opinion of their Irish holiday, 56% of respondents said that their trip met all their expectations while a further 44% of holidaymakers said their holiday actually exceeded all expectations.

In the latter category, North American holidaymakers were the most impressed with 55% saying that their Irish holiday delivered beyond their expectations.

For all holidaymakers whose trip exceeded expectations, the reasons most commonly cited were:

Reason for Exceeding Expectations

%

Irish People 69 Scenery 65 History/Culture 37 Nature and wildlife 29 Weather better than expected 28 Good quality and variety of Food 27

Brings 190 Aspiring New Chefs to the table

Why Ireland?

The survey also illustrates the most important drivers for Irish tourism – the reasons why people choose to come here. Given the current international climate, Ireland is rated highly as a friendly, safe and secure destination. The most-cited reasons for choosing an Irish trip were:

Reason for Choosing Ireland

%

Friendly People

96

Beautiful Scenery

92

Safe and secure destination

92

Plenty to see and do

90

Good range of natural attractions

87

Interesting History and Culture

86

Natural unspoilt environment

86

Meanwhile, the internet continues to lead the way in terms of information sources that influenced travellers to choose Ireland with six in ten (59%) citing it as their preferred medium for research. Other influential sources which directed traveller decision making included family, friends and business associates (43%) as well as Guidebooks (20%) and travel agents (10%). The internet’s central importance rose further when it came to planning the details for a trip to Ireland – cited as an important source by 83%.

Pointing to the survey results, CEO Quinn said:

Almost two thirds (64%) of holidaymakers said that they would definitely return within the next few years – up from 57% last year. A further 39% hoped to return at some time in the future.

When asked to what extent (along a scale of 0-10) they would recommend an Irish holiday to family and friends, almost seven in ten holidaymakers said they would ‘definitely’ (a rating of 9-10/10) recommend an Irish holiday. Again, American holidaymakers were the most enthusiastic with 82% saying that they would definitely recommend Ireland.

Value for money and competitiveness

In terms of value for money, Ireland’s satisfaction levels continue to improve annually with 63% of holidaymakers saying that they found ‘good’ or ‘very good’ value in Ireland – a rise on 2014’s performance and a jump of 12% from two years before.

Value for money

2015 (%)

2014 (%)

2013 (%)

Very Good

18

14

9

Good

45 41 42

Fair

31 38 39

Poor

5 5 7

Very Poor

*

1

New Culinary Programme

2

“

These findings provide us with some useful insights into the performance of the tourism sector last year. It is particularly reassuring that we continued to provide good value for money to those who holidayed here. Ireland’s blend of people, places and pace of life delivers a unique holiday experience for all our guests but a strong level of competitiveness ensures that we attract visitors here in the first instance.

”

Download the full research at www.failteireland.ie

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H&RT APRIL/MAY 2016

Almost 200 aspiring chefs have successfully graduated from Fáilte Ireland’s pilot Commis Chef Programme in March and are now ready to join the tourism sector and start their culinary careers. Initiated last November, the Commis Chef Programme was designed to respond to the growing skills need identified in the hospitality sector. To date presently in excess of 95% of participants have secured jobs as an outcome of this programme.

The practical, hands-on, competency based programme was delivered in 12 locations across the country over an 8-10 week period and provided all the skills a person would need to begin working in a professional hospitality kitchen. The 190 successful participants can now build on their new expertise and progress on to the Culinary Apprenticeship currently in development in conjunction with the IHF and the RAI and others.

Speaking about this first group of graduates, John Mulcahy Head of Hospitality at Fáilte Ireland said: “Fáilte Ireland recently developed this new Commis Chef Programme in response to a growing need within the tourism and hospitality industry.

We are delighted to be able to provide this opportunity to Ireland’s next generation of aspiring chefs and we have received very encouraging feedback from both participating businesses and students.

The cookery schools and instructors involved have also played a key role in transferring skills, and ensuring that the students find good jobs quickly. Congratulations to all involved.”

Fáilte Ireland is currently evaluating the completed pilot programme with a view to informing the development of the Culinary Apprenticeship.

The Wild Atlantic Way Now Virtually Impossible to Miss!

Fáilte Ireland has captured a number of unmissable experiences along the Wild Atlantic Way for virtual reality (VR) viewing, giving people the chance to remotely experience 3D tours of the coastal route. Piloted recently at the international tourism fair ITB in Berlin, VR gives Fáilte Ireland the chance to show buyers and potential visitors just what they are missing. The technology has gone on to be used at Meitheal 2016 and at IBTM Frankfurt.

The new Wild Atlantic way experiences will now be shared on the Oculus store where millions of people with VR headsets can download and enjoy them, further promoting Irish tourism across new and innovative channels globally. The tourism authority are also investigating the possibility of integrating the VR experiences across their Tourist Office network and ultimately offer it to trade and industry partners to use for their own promotional activity.

Fáilte Ireland’s Director of Marketing, Noel-John McLoughlin said: “Virtual Reality is proving to be a game changer in how experiences are consumed and this technology is set to be the most exciting innovation in travel and tourism marketing during 2016. I am delighted to say that Ireland is leading the virtual charge and is at the forefront of this new wave of innovation.”

“This is brand new technology and Fáilte Ireland wants to exploit ‘early mover advantage’ to ensure that Ireland stands out and that we can grab attention for new experience brands such as the Wild Atlantic Way.

€3m Festival Funding Announced for 2016 A total of almost €3million is to be allocated to 218 national and regional festivals and events under Fáilte Ireland’s 2016 Festivals and Events Programme.

As well as attracting visitors, festivals are important in terms of generating employment and community engagement. The objective of Fáilte Ireland’s 2016 National Festivals Programme is to drive growth from key overseas markets through compelling experiences that are attractive to our target audiences and to generate additional overseas visitors across the country and across the calendar year.

Caeman Wall, Head of Research for Fáilte Ireland, stressed the importance of festivals for Ireland and the tourism sector: “While recent tourism performance from overseas markets has been encouraging, we are determined to build on this momentum to drive and sustain economic growth. Ensuring that Ireland is offering compelling reasons for overseas visitors to choose Ireland, our festivals calendar plays an important role in ensuring that we have a varied and attractive menu of things to see and do for tourists.”

H&RT APRIL/MAY 2016

31

A product that can truly be labelled as unique

Cocolat by Urban Kitchen ...it all began with a few experiments at home Describing the concept behind Cocolat, Leanne de Cerbo, proprietor of Urban Kitchen says, “we were tired of denying ourselves treats that, although look delicious, are full of fat, sugar and artificial nasties that make us feel bloated, tired, even unwell”.

hotel tasted the chocolates, loved them, and wanted to know who made them, as they were looking for a chocolatier”.

Astonished by the reaction to her unique product, the encouragment spurred Leanne on to create nine flavours by the end of the week.

With a broad range of media and communications experience across print, digital content creation and management as a journalist and editor, dedicating endless hours in the kitchen to create Cocolat is a real departure from Leanne’s normal working environment.

By last summer, Leanne was test-marketing at The SuperNatural Food Market in Dublin. She expresses her appreciation to the founders, Beibhinn Byrne and Niall Duignan, and all the stall holders for being so supportive. “The interest and following from customers has grown exponentially since then”, explains Leanne.

“I have always played around with ideas to re-create classic foods and dishes to make them healthier – low fat, low sugar, etc. – but I found chocolate to be a hurdle”, explains Leanne.

Combining the chemistry of just a few natural ingredients, Leanne says Cocolat began with the creation of delicious and nutritious treats that do not compromise the taste and texture of familiar and traditional foods.

Leanne began the experiment to create a healthy chocolate just a year ago, and she says the success of Cocolat is largely down to luck when “quite by accident, a marketing manager in a Dublin

28

seasonal flavours and counting

Cocolat is made from 100% all natural plant-derived ingredients, and is free from dairy, gluten, soy, artificial additives and preservatives, and low in natural sugar. The original plain Cocolat is made from just three natural ingredients – cocoa/ cacao blend, cocunut oil and maple syrup.

The enrichment of Cocolat with natural spices, herbs, essential oils, fruits and nuts, has resulted in the creation of a distinctive range of flavours including Orange and Tarragon, Vanilla Praline and Mint.

As well as tasting amazing, Cocolat is a superfood that has real health benefits. “Cocolat’s global flavours have been chosen not just for taste, but for their aromatic and therapeutic benefits. 100% natural herbs and spices, fruits and nuts, and cold-pressed essential oils are extremely high in antidioxidants, and bursting with intense and complex flavours”, explains Leanne.

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H&RT APRIL/MAY 2016

Cocolat contains a powerful combination of superfoods that provide profound health benefits. As Leanne says, “you’re basically eating fruit and vegetables”. Cocolat is a fresh product, which means there is no alteration of the ingredients. Common methods of producing traditional chocolate can degrade nutrients and enzymes. Leanne’s simple production process ensures Cocolat retains its natural goodness.

Leanne has been nurturing her interest in creating artisan treats over the years, so she is delighted that her patience and perseverance is finally being rewarded. “Over the years, I made truffles, but I was turned off by the amount of butter, cream and sugar required, and the sheer volume of ingredients to make regular chocolate.”

Leanne’s sheer determination to create Cocolat is evident as she says, “I prefer the pure approach to creating foods with just a few ingredients. I don’t want to eat empty calories. I want to eat foods with a purpose, that not only taste good, but are good for you”.

Cocolat is going down a treat “I recently tried some of Urban Kitchen’s chocolates and pastries, and they were really delicious. I was sceptical when I heard about a non-traditional confectionery company, but these treats banished all doubts upon the first bite”, says William Barry, Food Critic and Writer for John and Sally McKenna’s Food Guides.

Beibhinn Byrne from The SuperNatural Food Market acclaims the handcrafted chocolates Leanne continues to improve on with endless hours of dedication.

“The combination of nutritional and therapeutic pure, raw, natural ingredients creates a velvet, silky texture that showcases a range of stunning flavours.

I’ve honestly never tasted a food so good.”

Cocolat is a fresh and wholly natural product, and as Beibhinn Byrne says, “Cocolat puts chocolate firmly back where it belongs in our everyday diet.

The health benefits and luxurious taste and flavours are a real deal for me and our customers at The SuperNatural Food Market. I simply don’t buy any other fresh chocolates now”.

Cocolat customer, Jenny O’Byrne, praises the variety of handcrafted chocolates created by Leanne, saying, “these chocolates are absolutely amazing – truly exquisite, decadent.

I love the Aztec. The Maple Cinnamon Cream is delicious, and the Peppermint Cream is gorgeous. The Espresso is amazing, and has a great punch. Each time I buy a box of Cocolat, I do everything in my power to resist eating more”.

Jenny O’Byrne also commends other sweet creations produced by Leanne in Urban Kitchen. “Of the cakes that I have tried, the Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart is to die for – it must be tried.”

Future for Urban Kitchen

Considering Cocolat is going down a storm with food critics and customers alike, the future looks bright for Urban Kitchen.

With her dedication to creating healthy artisan sweet treats evident, Leanne is optimistic for the future of Urban Kitchen.

“At the moment, it’s just me, and my wonderful husband who helps me oversee all the ingredients and logistics in between his own work. I can currently make up to 200 chocolates a day, handmade in individual batches. If the opportunity comes up for expansion, I will be able to really grow the business.”

Meanwhile, Leanne continues to experiment in the kitchen, and is now developing a patisserie range, preserves, and a 3-in-1 product that can be eaten as a dessert, spread or softserve frozen treat.

More and more people are asking where this healthy chocolate, Cocolat, is available to purchase. At the moment, it is on sale every Saturday at The SuperNatural Food Market, Pearse Street, Dublin.

Cocolat is really a treat for anyone and everyone. It’s simply real food, good food, which will hopefully be available to everyone with a sweet tooth soon.

Discover the taste of Cocolat

- purchase a delicious selection box by phoning, emailing or calling in.

The SuperNatural Food Market, St. Andrew’s Resource Centre, Pearse Street, Dublin 2.

Email: info@urbankitchenfoods.com www.urbankitchenfoods.com H&RT APRIL/MAY 2016

33

fáilte general

fáilte general

Meitheal 2016

Mizen Head, Co. Cork

Teeling Whiskey Distillery sells “Dublin - A breath of fresh air”

– Selling Ireland for 2017 and Beyond Fanad Lighthouse, Donegal

Clare Tourism businesses pitching for 2017 business

Hurling along the Kilkenny Way

310 Overseas Buyers, 455 Irish Tourism Businesses and 12,000 meetings Ireland’s largest travel trade workshop facilitated. Up to 12,000 face to face meetings between overseas buyers and Irish tourism businesses took place in the RDS recently as Meitheal, Ireland’s largest global travel trade workshop, took place on the 11th and 12th April 2016.

Bantry House & Gardens, Cork

Meitheal 2016, which is organised by Fáilte Ireland, in conjunction with its sister agency Tourism Ireland, is a significant annual business event for the tourism industry and allows Irish tourism operators to actively grow business in countries from all around the world – including Ireland’s top four markets the US, UK, Germany and France.

This year the event brought together over 310 Overseas Buyers and 455 Irish tourism businesses for two days of pitching and deal making which enables international and Irish operators to meet and agree business for the 2017 season.

Powerscourt House & Gardens, Wicklow

The overseas operators also enjoyed a number of fact-finding tours all around Ireland ahead of this years event, providing them with a direct experience of what an Irish holiday can offer their customers.

Speaking ahead of Meitheal, Fáilte Ireland CEO, Shaun Quinn emphasised: “While visitor numbers and sentiment for 2016 is very encouraging we still have to work hard to get people here in the first instance and that is what Meitheal is all about. By bringing both overseas and Irish operators together eyeball to eyeball, we hope to generate deals and contracts which will ensure significant additional tourism activity next year.

“Whether in the RDS or through our tailored trips around the country for the overseas attendees, we have energetically promoted our best attractions to some of the world’s leading tour operators and agents. From the primitive landscapes of the Wild Atlantic Way, to the unique history and culture of Ireland’s Ancient East and the lively and varied destination that is Dublin, we pulled out all the stops to ensure Ireland is now on everybody’s map and itinerary for 2017.”

Ireland’s Ancient East get ready to sell

Selling Ireland at Meitheal

For more information on Fáilte Irelands trade promotions go to www.promotionsireland.ie

Clonmacnoise Visit Viking Triangle, Waterford

Dublin Literary Tour

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Busy day of sales Meitheal 2016 at the RDS

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GMIT news

GMIT news

FROM THE GROUND UP – FEEDING OUR FUTURE

Pursue the BA in Culinary Arts at GMIT and get your Culinary career cooking!

With Galway winning a bid to become Region of Gastronomy in 2018, there has never been a better time to pursue a culinary degree at GMIT. The BA in Culinary Arts is a part-time degree (one-day per week) taken over a three-year duration. This practical-work based degree is ideally suited to industry professionals who are looking to advance their culinary skills.

Chefs who enter into this degree course gather knowledge about the most up-to-date culinary topics, which include challenges and solutions that the culinary industry has to face on a daily basis.

In short, the course is the best way forward for people working in the industry who are looking to further their advancement opportunities in the culinary trade.

Ulrich Hoeche, Culinary Arts Lecturer at GMIT, explains how this course has given him new opportunities with his culinary career.

“After many years of practical work in restaurants and hotels in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Ireland, I was looking for new opportunities that would challenge me both in the kitchen and academically. However, leaving the industry would not have made financial sense for me at the time, so the perfect solution was to enroll in the BA in Culinary Arts at GMIT. Because the course ran over three years, and only one-day per week, I was able to continue working as a chef while I studied. After I graduated in 2011, and after completing additional studies, I am now working as a lecturer on the BA in Culinary Arts course at GMIT.” Students currently enrolled in the BA in Culinary Arts at GMIT were asked to share their experience: David Hurley (Head Chef Gregan’s Castle, Clare; Winner, Best Chef in Munster, RAI Awards 2015) “Whilst working in senior positions the past few years I’ve tended to be very focused on that role alone so I felt it could be of great benefit personally to resume studies in culinary arts, having graduating from a professional cookery course in 1999 (WIT). Having that base knowledge of the industry has both helped maximise the understanding of the modules and also allowed me to directly utilise them to the benefit of the business where necessary.

Having just emerged from a very tough period for the industry and with the well-publicised chef shortage showing no signs of abating, I also felt it was my responsibility to gain a greater understanding of the economic side of things and to become better equipped in staff training/development, and what better way than learning from college lecturers that devote their time to these subjects.

Many other students who have successfully completed the BA in Culinary Arts at GMIT are easily finding jobs offered by a wide range of employers, or have taken an entrepreneurial leap and opened their own business.

One of those entrepreneur is Brendan Keane, currently still enrolled as a student on the BA in Culinary Arts course at GMIT. He in the process of setting up his own company which is currently based in the GMIT Innovation Hub (iHub) at the Galway campus. Although his is only a fledgling company, Brendan has developed a software application to simplify the implementation for HACCP. He has just placed 2nd in the 2016 GMIT Student Enterprise Awards, and has also been shortlisted for the 2016 National Student Enterprise Awards. His future is looking very bright and he hasn’t even graduated yet!

Other past Graduates of the BA in Culinary Arts include the following: • Jose Antonio Mansilla Yanguas, Chef and Entrepreneur, who was selected Munster Champion at RTE’s 2015 Taste of Success with his innovative potato fondant product • Creagh Moore, Chef and Entrepreneur, first runner up at RTE’s 2014 Taste of Success with his nutritious low-fat Chicken Broth • Paula Stakelum, Executive Head Pastry Chef at Ashford Castle (voted the World’s Best Hotel by Virtuoso in 2015) • Michelle Kavanagh, Entrepreneur, Chef and Owner of The Kitchen, Café and Restaurant in Galway • Michael O’Meara, Entrepreneur, Chef and Owner of Oscars Seafood Bistro in Galway, Professional Food Photographer, and Author of the award winning cookery book Sea Gastronomy • Caroline Gardiner, Entrepreneur, Pastry chef and Owner of Carrie’s Cakes Bakery in Ennis, Co Clare Sign up for the BA in Culinary Arts at GMIT and enjoy working alongside likeminded professionals, while you enhance and advance your culinary knowledge to include (but is not limited to) the following skills: • Pastry • Contemporary Cuisine • Food Product Development • Core Management Expertise

For more information or to apply please visit our website http://www.gmit.ie/ or email: ulrich.hoeche@gmit.ie

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Caitriona Morgan, Galway County Council, Cait Noone, GMIT, Jacinta Dalton GMIT Wearing “Made in Galway” aprons!

“A Taste of Galway” served to International Jury of Gastronomy Experts

Diarmuid Kelly, Kelly’s Oysters, Jacinta Dalton GMIT, Prof. Cathal O’Donoghue, Teagasc, Dr. Diane Dodd, IGCAT, Alan Farrell, Galway Co. Council, Liam Heneghan, Tribal Foods, Caitriona Morgan, Galway Co. Council, Cait Noone, GMIT. Following presentation of Galway Food and announcement of award for Galway.

La Rochelle-Bordeaux experience 30 March-03 April 2016 – by Anne Brindley, Department of Languages and Humanities.

Kieran Cooney (Executive Head Chef in Medtronic, Galway, catering for over 3000 covers daily) “Culinary Trends, innovations, modern technologies, and techniques change quickly within the industry and the BA in culinary arts program offers the opportunity to keep up with the Culinary Arts world, improving skills along the journey. I have found the Course has helped me reinforce my passion for cooking, learning the latest techniques, and greatly improving my skills within the different kitchens.

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For many years now, the food community in Galway has actively been working towards its rightful title of “Food Capital of Ireland” as coined by renowned food writer and journalist John McKenna and now the title of European Region of Gastronomy for 2018 which was awarded by an International Jury of gastronomy experts on St. Patrick’s Day in The Netherlands.

This success can largely be credited to the hard working market traders, the food producers and the pioneering chefs in the region who champion local produce and also, the collaborative, collegial nature of festival volunteers, community groups, councils and educational institutions. With this strong stakeholder base at the heart of Galway food, it was natural that the approach for Galway’s bid for the European Region of Gastronomy title would ensure that stakeholder engagement be the essential ingredient to its success.

Following a stakeholder briefing workshop in September, 2015 a bid book entitled “From the ground up – Feeding our Future” was developed by the steering platform, which consists of representatives from Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, Galway’s County and City Councils, Teagasc and the private sector.

The bid book reflects on our past but looks to our future and through the development of an exciting, programme of activities there is a commitment by all stakeholders to creating a tangible, sustainable legacy beyond 2018, Galway’s award year, thus “feeding our future”.

The European Region of Gastronomy Award recognises innovation and integration in gastronomy, culture and tourism, each of which is intrinsically linked. Food, tourism and hospitality are increasingly important sources of growth to the economy and regions awarded the title must demonstrate their uniqueness by offering a creative, interactive visitor experience.

The proposed European Region of Gastronomy programme for Galway, will facilitate the enhancement of our food culture but of equal importance raise awareness of food issues at a time where there is growing concern around food provenance. Food and health education emerged as priorities from stakeholder consultation and a key legacy of the programme will be the development of a sustainable food education project for primary school children and parents.

A major goal will be to erase the elitist tag often associated with the word Gastronomy in an effort to ensure that locally produced, quality food be available for all and not just a privilege for some, which is often taken for granted.

Anyone interested in getting involved in the European Region of Gastronomy project can e-mail regionofgastronomy@galwaycoco. ie or interact with us via our twitter feed @gastronomy2018 website: http://www.galwaygastronomy.ie/

The biggest challenge for me has been the transition of my usual kitchen to the training kitchens of GMIT, although, I have also found being out of my comfort zone has helped me in becoming more flexible and adaptable.”

I re-joined the program in GMIT after deferring for a period of time due to family reasons, and the emphasis of the skills aspect of the course was a driving force to continue my studies. The biggest challenge faced is finding enough time to give the course the amount of attention it deserves and reaching the standards, we as students set for ourselves testing our limits to becoming better Professionals. It can be difficult to overcome these difficulties but support and assistance from lecturer’s, and the opportunity to benchmark yourself off other professionals on the course help motivate and allocate the time required.”

European Region of Gastronomy Award for Galway

Siobhan Flaherty

Mariam, Brian, Mike, Isabela, Padraig, Joey, Daniel, Ashleigh, Joseph, Tommy, Caroline, Lorcan, Sarah, Frank, Sorcha, Jennifer, Michael, from Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Hotel /Event Management with Anne, Colin and Martin just spent an amazing 5 days in France, tasting, savouring, meeting their peers, soaking up sunshine and atmosphere.

We picnicked beside Notre Dame in Paris, and had a photo op under the Eiffel Tower before taking the train to La Rochelle. There we dined in the Lycée Hôtelier, spent Thursday with them tasting and eating in the Château of Grand Marnier, in the Musée du Cognac in Cognac. Friday, a full morning in Practicals in the Lycée, a visit of La Rochelle and its amazing Aquarium. On Saturday, a 2 hour train ride to sunny Bordeaux, a guided tour of the city, and a professional wine-tasting experience in the École du Vin, followed by free time and an exceptional meal experience on the foodie street of St Remi.

Sunday we visited Le Marché des Capucins, feasting our eyes on and tasting the freshest of produce before heading back from Bordeaux to Dublin late Sunday afternoon. A great time was had by all!

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brexit

brexit

Deadline looms for Brexit Referendum With the deadline looming for Britain to decide on its future relationship with Europe current opinion polls show uncertainty, with that feeling shared amongst the Irish tourism and hospitality industry on the potential effect here of a British ‘out’ vote.

The long held position of the United Kingdom as our leading trade partner will see a variety of industries in this country look towards the June 23rd Brexit referendum with a certain apprehension. Recent figures suggest that over 200,000 jobs across Ireland are dependent on Britain’s continued membership of the European Union. For the tourism industry, this is perhaps best illustrated by the approximately €995 million turnover that was generated by such travel to Ireland last year. While speculation continues on both sides of the debate as to the true outcome a victory for the ‘out’ campaign would have, it is undeniable that any changes to present trade arrangements could spell a major downturn for the sector, and indeed wider economy here.

Specific to the area of tourism and hospitality the importance of the United Kingdom cannot be understated, as last year alone almost 40% of visitors to Irish shores came from Britain. While geographic proximity may play a large role in such trends, the potential change to existing integrated free movement or the introduction of any tariffs on trade would have obvious implications for the leisure industry on a nationwide basis.

Furthermore, a downturn in the British economy would naturally result in decreased spending power for anyone arriving here from the United Kingdom andwould be a retrograde step when one takes into consideration the strength of the present British economy and the buying power of sterling.

Should the ‘out’ campaign emerge successful, Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, points to the necessity of the new ruling coalition in the Dáil prioritising a strategy to deal with any such fallout for the tourism and hospitality sector here.

An out vote sees the commencement of a two year exit period during which a new relationship has to be formed between the UK and the remaining European Union members, “with any such new trading relationship needing to be as positive as possible” for Irish tourism. In addition, Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, Chief Executive of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, is quick to emphasise concerns over the potential economic fallout facing both states in the longer term should such a situation come to fruition, with it being “difficult to think of Brexit having neutral let alone positive effects on trade”.

While the main benefits of Britain’s membership of the European Union as regards the tourism and hospitality sector in Ireland may primarily be seen through free travel between both nations, CEO of the Irish Hotels Federation, Tim Fenn, states that there are a variety of other influencing factors that benefit the industry here. According to him, not only would a potential downward trend within the British economy would have an adverse effect on the numbers travelling here, it would be a serious setback to the growth in the numbers of British tourists coming here in recent years. “Any development that would put this at risk would therefore be a concern for Irish tourism”, with him signifying the competitiveness of Ireland as a tourist destination as a key driving force of this. With so many jobs in this country directly and indirectly reliant on a strong British economy, there could be further negative implications for internal tourism, as “risks for the domestic economy and in turn Irish consumer sentiment” would be adversely effected according to Fenn.

With obvious benefits for the sector through such close relations with one of the world’s largest economies, Eoghan O’Mara

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Walsh also notesspecific advantages for Northern Ireland if the present system is maintained. While the lack of any physical divide does greatly aid trade for companies located in the border region, he notes the: “very favourable conditions for the North from a funding perspective but also crucially from a peace perspective.

In terms of North-South trade there would be some form of border restrictions, particularly customs”. The potential of economic instability is also alluded to by Tim Fenn who points to the current uncertainty and fall in the value of sterling as a precursor to future issues, with a further fall in the pound bringing about “implications in terms of our international competitiveness and make visiting and holidaying in Ireland more expensive for visitors from Britain”.Apart from the border area, it is hard to specifically quantify a particular aspect of trade that would be hardest hit, but both see the problem as being a downturn across the board that would become a more acute problem in the future should there be a lack of traction in the British economy.

“not only doing nothing to decrease regulations but is actively looking to increase them across the board.”

While there is strong evidence to suggest that a British exit vote from the European Union will have a negative effect on Irish tourism, over three million visitors arrive here from Britain per annum irrespective of European Union membership. For such a large proportion of the industry’s overall turnover to be based on a single trade partner does pose significant questions about any future issues in the British economy. Even with Britain remaining as part of the single market, any sizeable downturn and resulting currency devaluation would see much of the same fears posed by the Brexit brought to the fore once again, as any future deterioration in buying power would be a serious threat to turnover within the tourism sector here.

Although the continued presence of Britain as part of the wider European community is argued for by many leading economists and industry bodies, Adrian Cummins did point to ongoing concerns within the business community on both sides of the Irish Sea with respect to amount of ‘red tape’ emanating from Brussels.

In his view, despite the generally favourable economic trade benefits that exist there needs to be a discussion surrounding the growing influence of centralised regulation with the European Union currently “dictating a large amount of policy for member countries”.

Furthermore, he believes that there is a growing feeling in the business community that the European Union is

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Kingswood Hotel

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS LTD. Commercial - Domestic - Industrial Electrical Contractors

Ciara McGettigan is a woman with many talents under her belt. Her background includes 12 years working with Accenture as a Change Management Consultant implementing organisation and structural changes in a corporate environment. When it comes to the creativity and interior design of the McGettigan’s Cookhouse, Ciara embraced the idea and worked alongside her husband Brian to implement the brand.

Brian McGettigan purchased the North Star hotel 11 years ago and was determined to transform it into a 4 Star, boutique hotel, which is right around the time when Ciara had the itch to get involved. “I was just doing up some bedrooms, a little bit of refurbishment and then it grew from there. In the last seven or eight years, we’ve progressed to directly managing every part of all the projects ourselves. We don’t contract out our projects to one main contractor.” Ciara reveals.

Large scale projects, timelines, attention to detail, budgets, targets and deadlines are all familiar areas to Ciara. Research is a fundamental aspect when attempting to gain an insight into a target market. As for Ciara, research includes city breaks and holidays abroad to sample what’s hot and fresh on the market, attempting to emulate and recreate a certain vibe. McGettigan’s Cookhouse& Bar in Kingswood, Co. Dublin

offers a light and airy atmosphere, yet at the same time a perfect amount of warmth and an intimate setting, a mixture of elements that is difficult to achieve but ultimately works. “We’re catering for one market during the day time, we’ve a huge corporate market in the Citywest Business Campus and it’s very much a case that those people expect to enjoy excellent food but in a quick turnaround time of 30 minutes in an airy, bright and inviting atmosphere at lunchtime. However, at night guests will experience a cozy and intimate setting.” Ciara explains.

When designing the McGettigan’s Cookhouse in Kingswood, the key objective was to keep it inline with the country house theme, especially since a huge extension was added on to the existing building of the renowned Kingswood House. “It was important to restore the building and protect what was currently there. We wanted to capture the old and in doing so we restored the beautiful, wooden floors windows, caste iron radiators, etc. and thereby retaining its authentic character. In the next few months we will complete the remainder of the Kingswood House. We want to restore the original country house to include a bridal suite and a further three bespoke bedrooms, and two spacious reception rooms. When completed Kingswood House will establish itself as a saught after and popular wedding desination complemented with the 120 bedroom hotel next door.” Ciara explains.

McGettigan’s Cookhouse caters for two target audiences, the corporate market at Citywest, an ideal bright and airy location for a quick bite with a high standard of food. Alternatively at night the objective is to attract customers who desire a cozy and intimate setting. The outside heated terrace is another bonus that gives McGettigan’s Cookhouse a unique selling point, with its fluid porcelain tiles that run inside and outside, giving a sense of consistency. Al fresco dining during the summer will no doubt be an ideal advantage;over looking the beautiful gardens on offer and in close proximity to the City Centre.

Rustic interior is the theme described by Ciara McGettigan, that best suits her taste, along with her husband Brian. “I think instinctively, myself and Brian like very natural materials. We like a high-end finish but nothing too contrived, it’s just using the best natural materials and when you do that you can use a great range of materials.” Ciara lets us in on a little secret revealing that the herringbone wooden floors and wooden joist in the ceiling of the Cookhouse are actually 200 year-old pieces from the North Star Hotel. “If you read about modern restaurants now, they say that we dine with all our senses. From the minute you walk into a place you have an anticipation of your expectations. We wanted people when they came into our place to feel relaxed, at home, to know they’re going to get excellent food, high quality produce, and I think the interior design reflects all that; it’s very naturally, beautifully done and very simple. I want it to last the test of time and not just be ‘in the moment’. The look of the place is based on the style of a New York loft space, it’s bright, airy, using natural materials but it’s more luxurious than that.”

SPECIALISTS IN ALL TYPES OF ELECTRICAL PROJECTS 4 Moat Lane, Knocksedan, Swords, Co. Dublin. email stephen@lsselectrical.ie Mobile/s + 353 86 601 8607 + 353 01 813 1343

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All major credit cards accepted.

Kingswood Hotel

uniforms

QUESTIONS Prestige Couture Uniforms With their own design studio at Dame Street and Dublin based manufacturing unit Prestige Couture Uniforms can offer an exclusive service which includes designing and manufacturing uniforms for the Hospitality and Corporate Sector.

Keeping things local when it comes to food and drinks produce is important to McGettigan’s and that is no different with the interior design. “We used a lot of Irish suppliers for the past ten years to source materials because we think it’s very important to support our own. For example we’ve worked with Dave and John O’Connell from O’Connell Furniture for the past 12 years and they’re fantastic. They produce a lot of bespoke furniture; it’s made for us not mass-produced, very high-end and lasts a long time.” Ciara acknowledges. The space at McGettigan’s Cookhouse & Bar is vast meaning breaking it up into clusters of intimate areas was paramount. Ciara explains, “For example, on a Monday night when it can be a little quieter it doesn’t feel like you’re sitting in a restaurant that can seat 160 people.” Lighting is another huge part of setting the mood in any environment. Ciara decided on big, copper, concrete and black metal pendants sitting above the leather seats, creating a pool of light and intimate vibe. Other lights are simply there to highlight the renewed, exposed brickwork to give a sense of warmth and relaxation. “I was more interested in what the customers would see, which was the customers from the outside looking in.” Ciara admits. Staff is another key aspect of running a happy and healthy business, their appearance is just as important to that of the hotel and Cookhouse. The staff sport a trendy Ted Baker uniform, which Ciara believes gives a little personality as aesthetical aspect reinforces the experience throughout.

The importance of good food is a factor that is continuously reiterated when it comes to McGettigan’s Cookhouse and Pa Brophy is the man in charge of this department. Pa Brophy owned the popular Storehouse Restaurant in Naas for eight years, however with the downturn of the Celtic Tiger, the premise is now operating as Trax Brasserie. With a vast amount of knowledge of food to offer, Pa grabbed with both hands the opportunity to work with Ciara and Brian McGettigan to open up the third McGettigan’s Cookhouse and Bar. “We’ve got a huge palate and the nature of the places lends itself to many people. Our audience is very broad and we want people to know that we’re catering for everyone. The breakfast is served in the Kingswood Hotel next door and lunch and dinner in the Cookhouse. The most important thing for people getting out of town is commuting and being able to park their car, which they can do here.” Pa explains.

The menu at the Cookhouse ranges from a 100% Irish beef burger to pan seared scallops with basil mash and fish cream. “You have to provide a

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wide range because we’re not in a town or a village, we’re dealing with every palette going by. The emphasis is even though it’s a simple thing, it has to be good.” Pa reveals. The burger meat recipe is given to the local butcher to make up, meaning nothing is frozen or processed. Along with that the best quality bread bun is sourced and hand cut chips to accompany, allowing the finished product to be of the highest quality.

When you look at food, it doesn’t really change. It might change in presentation or if chefs decide to deconstruct it or reconstruct it but the same things you will see all the time. Potatoes, fish, burgers, a good steak, and a good sauce will always be in our diet and timeless.”

According to Pa sauce and the freshness of food is paramount in the history of food. Pa is still conscious of trends, for example superfood salads are very popular at the moment with people desiring a healthy protein and for this reason there are three core salad options that act as main courses on the menu. “ We’re always aware of what people want, it’s not over-complicated but it must be fresh.”

As for pricing, Pa believes you have to be price sensitive with ‘fads’ being short lived and transparent to customers. “We try to stay local, in season meaning the menu changes every quarter with a big change every half year. We want to buy our produce in season because they’re coming out at their best and at their best value.” The kitchen consists of a Sous chef, two Junior Sous chefs, and two Commis chefs. “ It took a good while to find kitchen staff. Chefs are hard to find these todays because they’re emigrating or moving into the city, so it took us a few months. Chefs are very clever, they find out what’s happening and if it’s any good. Finally a few appeared recently with very strong backgrounds and I’m very happy to have them.” Pa confesses.

Denise Assas, a renouned French Fasioner Designer and Grainne Kenny, Owner and Managing Director of PCU have worked closely with the design team and manufacturers on a new and exciting range “Couture For Business”. The designs from this business range have the advantage of allowing the customer to mix and match pieces which will bring a unique concept to any hospitality and corporate group. This new range consists of 10 pieces which are manufactured using a new innovative high quality Italian fabric weave. This fabric is classic, durable and hardwearing with the added advantage of stretch within the fabric and lining which makes for ease of movement. The garments come in a selection of colours which are guaranteed to blend seemlessly in with your company’s theme or branding.

PCU have two specialised Design and Style Consultants on their team and are aware of the importance of presenting a smart professional image which will impact on your business. They will provide staff members with advice and direction on good grooming, smart dressing and presenting a professional image through every department of your company. In addition to solving your uniform solution a full styling package and an excellent aftercare service are offered too.

High Quality Off the Peg Ladies and Gents Clothing.

These high quality off the peg garments are sourced in France, UK and Italy. In their experience PCU have found this to be an efficient way of creating good quality uniforms with a quick turn around time for delivery. Although this service has a quicker turnaround time the quality of the uniforms is not compromised. PCU maintain the highest quality and design which will set you apart from your competitors. Off the Peg PCU garments will be delivered on time and within budget with an excellent follow up service.

PCU has been in business for over a decade and during that time have supplied their products to many hospitality and corporate establishments with great reviews. Style and quality are paramount and they are passionate about delivering the best service to their clientele. With a positive ‘can do’ approach Prestige Couture Uniforms promise complete customer satisfaction and great attention to detail.

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ANSWERS

Q. We are looking for male and female waistcoats for our hospitality team. Can PCU provide an exclusive image to set our team apart from competitors ?

A. Yes. We have templates for both male and female waistcoats at our manufacturing unit and we can source and supply unique durable fabrics exclusive to your team depending on your requests.

Q. We have a group of restaurants and require male and female tops, waistcoats, skirts and trousers to include our corporate colours & logo branding. We are under a time constraint so can this be achieved quickly ​?

A. Depending on how quickly you need the garments we would suggest providing you with our off the peg range. These garments come in a variety of colour choices and include embroidery branding with full company logo. This range has the advantage of having a quick turn around time and is a perfect solution if new uniforms are needed quickly and efficiently. Then if required we can proceed with organising your final uniform requirements.

Q. We really like a particular design in the ‘Couture for Business’ range and would like this concept for our Front of House team. Can this style be manufactured in our company colours and can one of your team call to our premises to discuss?

A. Yes. Our Couture for Business range is available in a variety of colours and PCU will be happy to organise a consultant to showcase our designs and colour choices and to discuss any further enquiries on the range.

Q. Our hospitality group are looking for specific shirts, blouses and aprons. We have a certain image in mind. Can this be produced in our corporate colours to any design of our choice ?

A. Yes. PCU are experienced in dealing with this type of enquiry and can arrange for a consultant to show you examples of previous work that we have undertaken. For example we have supplied the hospitality department of Google Ireland who requested an individual and exclusive uniform style. They approached us with some ideas and wanted alternative choices. Our office organised sketches and prototypes and working together with their dictate the Google hospitality uniforms were created.

Q. We are a 5 star hotel and want a new vibrant yet classic image for our Front of House. We would like this theme be carried throughout each department can this be achieved ?

A. Yes. We have worked with numerous 5 star hotels and can carry the uniform concept throughout each department including Front of House, Office Staff, Housekeeping, Spa Therapist, Bar & Restaurant staff. In conclusion we are determined to meet all of your company’s uniform requirements and will do our best to meet your demands.

For further information or speak to one of our team: Prestige Couture Uniforms.

Merrion Hall, 50/56, Merrion Road, Dublin 4.

01 6392945 www.prestigecoutureuniforms.com

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design

design

Odos Architects – New Designs for the Hotel Market

Irelands project lighting supplier

Dave O’Shea and Darrell O’Donoghue established Odos in 2002.

Since then work has grown from residential award winning projects, which kept the company afloat through the recession, to commercial projects and now into the hotel market. The company always had a commercial arm in the hospitality sector, working with bars, restaurants and unique, one off properties. However, now the company is concentrating its innovative designs in the hotel sector. Dave says, “hotels seem to be the order of the day. We have been growing from a young practice and we’ve grown by offering good quality work that adds value. That’s how we survived through the recession”.

worked on the Lyons Estate in Kildare and we have just pitched for and won the contract on a project with the O’Callaghan Hotel group. We are also in talks with a developer at the moment who is planning a new build hotel on Northwall Quay”, says Dave.

Odos consider themselves to be a global practice that can work in any part of the world. Dave explains, “we have 13 staff in Dublin, three staff in London and a part-time staff in New York. Architects traditionally don’t do business development but we do and we are now an international, world practice with international clients”.

With the amount of commercial experience Odos now has the company has developed excellent working relationships with suppliers and make it their business to regularly meet up with suppliers and keep up to date with new offerings to the market. So where would Dave and Darrell like to see Odos in the future. Darrell says, “I would like to continue to be proud of what we do. We see clients coming back to us with new projects and that’s how I know we are doing something right”. Dave says, “I think is Odos has foresight, ingenuity and also a sense of responsibility and I would like us to continue to offer really good quality design to our clients”.

So how did it all start? “We qualified in 1998 from DIT and I worked in London and Liverpool. We then worked together on two commercial outfits for Douglas Wallace, after that we decided it was time to go out on our own”, says Dave. Darrell elaborates, “there is a limited number of people doing what we do.

There is a lot of ‘sameness’ in hotel design here and we come at projects slightly differently. Our work isn’t stereotyped, there’s freshness to what we do”.

By way of an example of the type of work they do and how it benefits their clients, Dave discusses the project they did in Percy Place in Dublin. “It was a mixed, commercial and residential project. The client was very strongly of the view that design sells, that was his logic, not a lot of people think like that. Some people think engineers could do what architects do just for a lesser fee and some see us as a financial hindrance. But on the Percy Place project, we broke the 1,000 per square foot rate and people bought into the place because of the design.

That is the see-change we need, people seeing the value of design”.

But how do the guys view current design in the Irish hospitality sector. “We continue not to get bedrooms right in this country. In 5-star properties for example, the service might be there but the architecture is not”, says Dave. Darrell continues, “the criteria to achieve 5-star ratings are benign. Architecture may be a very small box that needs to be ticked in a hotel budget, but what we offer is a quality design that adds value so a hotel can get a better rate per room. They get the reviews and write up’s and people want to go back. That’s what a design experience can create”.

Dave says, “in design, what’s born in 2014, gets made in 2016 and what’s hot in 2014 is not by 2016. Designing timeless spaces takes investment and that’s what we do”. “We are always looking for quality and it doesn’t have to be huge money, just good, hard –wearing natural materials. We are pragmatists. The days of doing complete fit-outs every 2-3 years are gone and why not do something that will last. We don’t jump on the back of latest trends, we do something that is fresh, interesting and of it’s time, but really well designed”.

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a hotel may have? “That’s the first conversation you’re going to have with a client”, says Dave, “and we are very good with budgets. We always treat our projects as if they were our own businesses”. Darrell talks about the refurbishment of Tower Records in Dublin they did a few years ago. “We had grand plans and the clients had a budget. We got 80% of what we had envisioned, but the client got 100% of what they wanted. The project is not about us, it’s about the client.

With the food offering becoming such an integral part of the hospitality industry at the moment, the guys at Odos believe that the restaurant sector has already begun to change it’s thinking around design but they believe hotels need to follow. Dave explains, “it’s the mediocrity that we’re talking about. If we look at the hotel sector in Berlin, they are challenging pre-conceptions about hotel design, without breaking budgets. In New York also there’s a different attitude”.

Having completed a lot of projects in bars in Dublin for the Thomas Reid group as well as restaurants like Super Miss Sue and others on Baggott St in Dublin, what hotel projects have the company been involved in? “We

For further information contact us at Unit 2A Ballyhimmon Business Park Castlecomer Co. Kilkenny

Tel: +353 (0) 56 440 0861 www.nirvanalighting.com

open letter to minister

restaurants

Time to Be Brave Frank Corr writes an Open Letter to the new Minister for Tourism

Dear Minister (whoever you may be), Congratulations.

You have landed the plum job in Government. You are now the Minister for Fun. Ahead lies a life of VIP travel, staying in luxury hotels, dining on gourmet food and glad-handling tour operators and travel agents at drink-fuelled receptions.

At home, it will be even better. You will get to announce a stream of grants for tourism development projects and festivals, spread throughout every constituency in the country, including I imagine, your own.

There is no need to worry about the detail of running your Department or indeed the tourism industry. Your excellent team of public servants and the professionals at Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland have been doing that for decades and will continue to do so after you have retired to the back benches.

You do, however, have one single important task to perform every year, and it is vital to the industry that you achieve excellence in its performance. Indeed you need to do a lot better than your predecessors.

That task is to prise sufficient funding from the Minister for Finance at Budget time, to ensure that tourism can reach its full potential in terms of attracting overseas visitors, convincing Irish people to take breaks in this own country and in creating new jobs. Money is the key to achieving these goals, and to-date Tourism has been very much a Cinderella Department in terms of the share of the Budget cake which it is served.

Take a look, if you will, at the allocations which your fellow Ministers enjoy. Out of the €53bn which the Department of Finance will dispense this year, a whopping €13.2bn goes to our dysfunctional Health Service and we will spend €19.gbn on social services. While it might be difficult to make direct comparisons with these big spending Departments, how about others which are in the economic development arena?.

Agriculture, for instance, gets €1.3bn, much of which goes directly to farmers as a subsidy to their enterprises, while Enterprise and Jobs has an allocation of €792m..Once you sit down to look at your own books, you will discover that the total allocated to ‘Tourism Services’ is a mere €121m. When other funds are added this means that Failte Ireland, the National Tourism Authority ends up with around €133m (2014 figure), of which it passes some €43m to Tourism Ireland. In the context of the national finances, the Department of Tourism is dealing in petty cash. The total allocation is not much more than the cost of the Red Cow Bypass.

Every year, as Minister for Tourism, you must make a case for the funding of your Department to the Minster for Finance. Your key objective must be to secure a significant year-on-year increase. This will involve doing a lot better than 2015, when the increment was a measly 2%. This included €2m for the further development of the Wild Atlantic Way, the creation of the Ireland Ancient East route and lobbying to secure the 2023 Rugby World Cup. You would not hire a few spin doctors for that kind of money.

Ministers for Finance, of course, take some convincing, so you could point out that Tourism adds some €7.8bn. to the Irish economy every year, equal to 5% of GNP. That’s a lot more than new factories or call centres do.

He should also be made aware that his beloved Revenue Commissioners collect €1.8bn in taxes from tourism related enterprises every year- or around ten times what he gives back to the develop the industry. You can tell him that overseas visitors spent €4.1bn here in 2015- €600m or 15% more than in 2014 and that their number rose 14% to more than 8m.

Most important of all, you can point out that tourism employs 224,000 people, or one in every nine workers in the country and that the sector created 6,800 new jobs in 2015.

You may be told of course, that the industry gets all the money that it needs and that nobody is really complaining very loudly about the meagre Budget allocation. So you must be prepared.

You can begin by telling him that the capital allocation for tourism projects over the coming years is inadequate- and you can quote the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC) in support of your case. It said in a recent analysis: ‘The level of funding in the Government’s Capital Programme 2016-2021 allocated for tourism development, currently proposed at €106 million over 5 years, is disappointing and inadequate for an industry generating over €7 billion per annum into the economy. Prioritisation of the Capital Programme 2016-2021 will be critical to shaping the future of tourism’.

You might also point to your predecessors Paschal Donohoe and Michael Ring who, in the course of announcing a ‘Tourism Action Plan 2016-2018’ promised to restore tourism marketing funds to pre-recession levels over the next few years. Say that it is time to make a start here. That Action Plan arose from the ‘People, Place and Policy’ document which makes plans for tourism development up to 2025 and targets revenue of €5bn from 10m visitors and 250,000 jobs by then. Those targets look pretty modest to-day and could well be raised by an enterprising Tourism minister looking for more funds.

There is also the matter of funding which is needed urgently by the industry in the areas of training and infrastructure. As more visitors arrive and more jobs are created, a severe shortage of training facilities has arisen. To-day’s hoteliers and restaurateurs look back with nostalgia at the days when CERT and later Fáilte Ireland, provided a steady stream of job-seekers who had been given basic training as chefs, waiters and house assistants. Those days are gone and the new training body Solas, has yet to fill a yawning gap. Fáilte Ireland has attempted to plug that gap with short term courses for chefs, but it gets wider by the day. Action is urgently needed, beginning with the necessary funding for Solas or Failte Ireland. This situation would not be allowed to happen in other industrial sectors.

A serious shortage of hotel bedrooms also exists in Dublin. Somebody (probably the Minister for Finance) needs to come up with a tax strategy which will encourage immediate hotel development.

Investment is also need for capital development. The Wild Atlantic Way is a superb idea, but it needs more than signposting and pr. Better roads to scenic spots, car parks, toilets and some food offerings are required along the route if it is to be sustainable in the long term. Several reports have also suggested that Ireland needs one or more ‘stand out’ visitor attractions and little progress seems to have been made in this regard.

And before you shake hands with the Minister for Finance on a Budget deal- make sure that the preferential 9% VAT rate on tourism services remains. That’s a red line issue.

You will also be told, Minister, that the tourism recovery has been patchy and that many rural areas have received little or no upturn. You may now a have a Minister for Rural Affairs as a colleague, so maybe you could put your heads together to come up with a sustainable plan for the development of Rural Tourism.

As you walk the Ministerial Corridor you will probably bump into fellow Ministers, so have a word about allowing drink to be sold on Good Friday (a move which is long overdue), and see if you could do something about the high cost of drinking and motoring in Ireland- but maybe that is asking for too much.

I wish you happy days in your new role, at home and abroad, a good relationship with the industry and your Government colleagues and the will to make a real difference as Minister for Tourism.

Be brave.

Frank Corr

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Pop up Pop down Is there a level playing field for the increasing variety of catering establishments in Ireland? The evolution of the traditional restaurant into forms such as the hot food stall and the pop-up restaurant have brought an element of colour and excitement to the consumer, but are they creating unequal opportunity in a heavilyregulated industry?

area getting together, partnering with other people and doing pop-up restaurants as a way of expressing themselves and exploring their culinary skills.”

“The problem is that there has to be a level playing pitch for everyone,” says Restaurant Association of Ireland CEO Adrian Cummins. “So, for example, if you are going through the whole rigmarole of getting all your licenses and regulation up to speed and going through all the difficulties around that, then a business down the road pops up with no planning permission and no regulations in place. That’s a disadvantage there.

“The cost of regulatory burden has got out of hand. We’ve 28 different inspections on licenses that have to be done throughout the year. Some of those are on a monthly or weekly basis and some are on a daily basis...It’s an absolute nightmare at the moment.

“We would advocate that the local authorities should treat everybody equally, there should be a level playing pitch for everybody and the idea that somebody opening up a business and bypassing rules is not on.”

“Take any restaurant on the main street that opens tomorrow for business,” says Derry Clarke of L’Ecrivain, “they’re going to have to go through a lot of red tape before they can open their doors. They need the planning permission for a start. You need a health certificate. Then inspectors have to come and inspect your kitchen, wash up areas, changing rooms for your staff, the loos for you staff, the loos for customers. Then you have to go to the fire officer and get your fire certificate for your premises and inspect it.

Then you need to get your grease traps put in, get your rubbish organised, your collections.

“On top of all that, you have to pay your commercial rates, which are very very high. For me personally, they’re €50,000 a year, so it’s a grand a week for the rates alone. Then you get your staff and get them all signed on, record it, pay the taxes and PRSI. After that, you need your wine license; get that signed up and on board, which means going to court and getting that passed. Then as soon as you get your first money into your till, you have to start paying VAT on that.

“That’s what happens when you have a restaurant on the high street. Or, you can skip that, open a pop-up restaurant for a few weeks and just go for it: just get a cooker and a few tables and away you go!”

“Pop-up food businesses are not exempt from the food hygiene regulations (Regulation 852/2004),” says Jane Ryder, Communications Manager of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. “Anyone thinking of setting up one would need to consult their local environmental health officer in the HSE before opening.” Essentially, this means a Health & Hygiene Certificate, involving a basic exam that would normally take about 45 minutes to complete.

Serving food without it can incur a hefty fine in the region of €10,000.

With regard to Dublin City Council, a pop-up operation has to apply for a permit – a process which normally takes a couple of weeks. If you are going to have chairs outside where you’re serving, you need to get planning permission for that – even for temporary establishments.

“Wherever they are setting up, they have to comply with the same Health & Safety and fire regulations as anybody else,” says food entrepreneur Ross Golden-Bannon. He’s no stranger to the pop-up restaurant concept, having staged a number of them in the past. His Guerilla Gourmet movement is based upon similar lines, bringing together high-profile chefs for a themed pop-up event in unique historical venues.

For him, there is a lot to be positive about such temporary restaurants. It allows for a freedom of expression that would otherwise be stifled, he says: “There are a lot of chef/proprietors in the country and there are a lot of well-trained senior chefs in the country and the ability for younger chefs to make a move up through those ranks is pretty slim. A lot of younger chefs

Even though the essential requirements in terms of health & safety are the same, it seems that difference between the pop-up idea and the established restaurant is in the blood sweat and tears involved in establishing a restaurant compared to the high speed of setting up the short-term version. Perhaps, therefore, it’s time to review the way in which the business is regulated.

“I’m not having a go at the pop-up people,” says Cummins. “It’s the system that’s wrong. If the system was implemented in a correct and proper fashion, you wouldn’t have any issue around this.

“

When Europe says “jump”, the Irish regulators say how high?

”

“I go to meetings in Brussels every 6-8 weeks and my European partners are laughing their heads off at us in Ireland. Some of them go as far as to say that there should be a revolution in this country to disassemble the amount of red tape that’s imposed by organisations and agencies that are government-funded and led... There’s a full industry out there to do with regulatory burden and all they want to see is more regulatory burden to keep themselves in more jobs. What we should be doing is trying to encourage employment, to encourage entrepreneurs and restaurants to develop and open up a second restaurant if they can.

“Derry Clarke says that there is less of the pop-up idea now than there was a few years ago. Something that does affect businesses is the outdoor hot food market, such as the Irish Village Market at the junction of Mespil Road and the Grand Canal: “They do lasagnes and hamburgers for lunch and they’re very busy...It’s a situation where you have a street trader that pops up selling cooked food at a market and he’s in direct competition with restaurants but not paying the same set-up costs or rates.

“If they’re serious about that that kind of thing, they should give the restaurants one day rate-free or something like that.

“Golden-Bannon suggests that the way forward should possible be to unite the clans of Irish food catering: “The regulatory bodies of this country are delighted to see the restaurants and the smaller traders fighting with each other –it’s ideal...

It takes away the attention from what the real enemy is!”

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hotel sector news

hotel sector news

Financing and capital expenditure a key component of future success

The industry has been pointing out for some time that capital expenditure on maintaining and improving stock are critical to the success of the sector and indeed Irelands tourism industry. Prior to the crisis there had been over a decade of significant investment in the industry. However, the 2015 Budget submission from IHF states that “since 2007, due to the crisis, investment in product has been restricted, many hotels have been starved of capital expenditure and a significant portion of future profits will be consumed by this deficit” The need for capital expenditure

Time for action

Clearly without significant and ongoing capex the hotel product deteriorates. Outside of the urban powerhouses, hotels in the hinterland are suffering. Many are burdened with potentially unsustainable debt leaving these predominately family owned and operated businesses suffering.

In recent times the introduction and extension of the hospitality reduced VAT rate coupled with the favourable foreign currency environment internationally has helped to kick start the industry. These elements have brought significant increased international visitors and growth in domestic demand. As a result confidence is on an upward curve in the sector.

It is a combination of factors;

• Financial institutions, the mainstay of funding, in a crisis position and have not been able to support the industry • There has been no significant state support for this key export orientated and employment sector • Cash flows have been diverted into servicing debt, sometimes on an interest only basis • Debt remains unsustainable and little in the way of debt resolution or restructure has taken place • Finance for working capital has been squeezed leaving little flexibility • The product is now suffering from underinvestment and quality and potentially occupancy and room rates are suffering

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Many of our key players in the industry are family businesses with a generational expertise which is irreplaceable. The strategy that had been pursued in this market by financial institutions and hedge funds suggesting hoteliers sell their property, utilise proceeds to pay down some of the debt and bear the burden of any unpaid debt, has not proved to be successful. With personal guarantees often in place this becomes very unpalatable, particularly where families do not have alternative sources of income to service or pay down such debts.

the right proposition and business plan, there is a potential for debt restructure and injection of new capital. To make this happen pillar banks need to recognise these debts as overhangs of over exuberant lending and show a willingness to restructure in a realistic manner. There are signs that this is now becoming a reality.

A family legacy Realism and pragmatism must and should prevail. Families are unlikely to stay in the hotel business if these issues are not resolved and, while principles may work for the rest of their lives in an effort to pay down the debt, the next generation are highly unlikely to step forward now or in the future. This would be a catastrophe for the industry and signal the demise of the family owned hotel.

I believe there is a realistic and pragmatic solution

•

•

•

Realistic debt restructure by financial institutions based on cash flow and a sustainability plan New capital sources entering the market to plug the capital gap Post restructure investment of surplus cash flows as business improves to finance much needed capex in properties

Eamonn Freaney, Director, Corporate Finance, Smith & Williamson.

Eamonn is the Corporate Finance lead for Smith & Williamson’s Hotel Sector Team. Smith & Williamson have over 50 years’ experience in delivering strategic and practical advice to Hotel Sector clients enabling you to solve

The right advisor Having an advisor who knows how to navigate these choppy waters is critical. They will negotiate professionally on your behalf.

They will ensure your numbers are robust, realistic and correctly stress tested. Lastly they can help in the direct negotiations with the institutions as experts ensuring you get the best possible outcome for you and your family business.

It’s too important We are now entering an important phase in the development of the hotel industry. Family hotels represent a key infrastructure, both locally in servicing their communities and to the economy, giving tourist now and in the future places to visit and stay often outside the urban centres. They are part of Ireland’s endowment; now is the time for action, if we don’t fix these problems future opportunities will be lost.

problems, manage and grow your business and manage your family’s assets and wealth.

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A member of Nexia International.

All of us, advisors, financial institutions and state, carry a real responsibility. We all need to work together.

With a backdrop of improving market performance and better macro-economic environment we believe it is now time for action. There are new sources of debt available in the market to complement more traditional financing models and, with

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my role

my role

From the Black Forest to Dublin Ramona Lasch / International staff at The Merrion

Hailing from the south west of Germany near the Black Forest, Ramona Laschcame to The Merrion Hotel to work as a receptionist in 2008.Ramona had just finished her hotel management training at the Brenners Park-Hotel and Spa in BadenBaden when she was offered the position. The Brenners like The Merrion is under the umbrella of the leading hotels of the world.

“I had just finished my hotel management training. This was done by way of working at the hotel for three years, during which time you get the opportunity to work in various departments in the hotel. I was also attending college at that time,” says Ramona.

The Brenners hotel in Baden-Baden has many similarities with The Merrion.

“It is a leading hotel as well, so it has the same exacting standards. It’s a five star hotel and a similar size actually. Privately owned as well by the Oetker family,” she explains.

The training that she received in Germany was tough, and demanding, but she believes it gave her a good grounding for the future.

“I think it was great that the training was as strict and focussed because when you experience an environment where everything has to be 100 %; it shapes you for the future. The formative training I got ; makes all the difference.”

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Shortly after arriving in Ireland, Ramona quickly became aware that unfortunately she was coming at a time when the recession was just taking hold of the country.

“It was challenging for everyone in the country and we could really see the changes.”

“Yielding rates helped us through it, trying to keep standards as high as possible and trying to retain regular guests,” explains Ramona. “From 2011 we could see things improving again.”

While the standards in The Merrion are as high as any in Germany, Ramona believes there is a more relaxed atmosphere in the hotel that contributes greatly to the amount of repeat custom it receives. The true sense of Irish hospitality is evident throughout the hotel. This is directed from the top down and instilled as part of your skill set.

“It’s great to build a rapport. You have a little chat with them when they arrive and it’s nice to build those relationships,” she says.

Ramona’s professional and friendly manner have seen her rise quickly through the hotel’s ranks. Initially a receptionist for two and a half years, she was then promoted to shift leader. While doing extra training because of the high standard in her department she was then promoted to head receptionist. In January 2015, Ramona was promoted to her present position of Assistant Front of House Manager.

Her daily duties include the running of the desk, check ins, check outs, guest relations and daily reports.

“I would be in charge of, reception, concierge and nights but my main focus really is reception because I was at reception before and we have a head concierge and a night manager.

“Part of my role is also assisting my manager. Making sure that we

plan ahead. It’s a lot about looking forward.

Our department is quite reactive to business levels but there is a lot of planning you can do ahead like rostering and budgeting,” she explains.

Ramona believes that the customer is by far the most important thing about her job. She tries to do whatever possible to make their stay as comfortable as possible.

“We had Swiss quests staying the other weekend and they wanted a Swiss newspaper.

Nowhere in Dublin had it and I couldn’t get it online without subscription. My last straw was I sent an email to the newspaper asking was there any way we could get today’s and tomorrow’s edition? They gave me a login and we were able to do it.”

“We try and go above and beyond, it’s very rarely we say no to something,” she says.

The Merrion is privately owned which is something Ramona believes sets it apart from other hotels in Dublin.

“The only standards we adhere to are our own or the leading standards. I think it’s different in a privately owned hotel. It means that we are offering a very unique product which our guests very much appreciate.” she explains.

Ramona has seen the hotel growing from strength to strength since the recession. The rates have risen again and the hotel is full most of the time.

“It’s really nonstop. It’s brilliant to see the hotel so full and to see positive reviews as well.”

Like every other business, the hotel industry has gone increasingly online since Ramona started in The Merrion. The traveller now books and reviews online. It’s all instantaneous which she believes is good for business.

“Any feedback, any reviews, there instantly online for everyone to see. I think it’s great for us, it keeps us on our toes. We’re constantly aware of it.”

The Merrion Hotel’s location is also another great selling point explains Ramona.

“The location is brilliant, we are central but we’re not right in the centre. At night time it’s very peaceful here, there’s not really any noise.”

It’s not just international guests that make up the bulk of The Merrion’s business.

There are also a lot of Irish guests that stay at the hotel.

“We get a lot of Irish guests coming to stay for a night away. A night away from the kids is something we get all the time,” smiles Ramona.

The hotel is only in existence since 1997 but the building’s history is far older than that explains Ramona.

“The Georgian part of it is from the 1760’s. It used to be four separate Georgian Townhouses, number 21 to 24. Twenty four is the birth place of the first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley,” she says.

Ramona loves living in Ireland and has no intention of leaving The Merrion any time soon.

“I really feel like this is home now. I genuinely do. I like working at this level of service and there’s always something new and exciting happening.”

“It’s a great working environment and sometimes the people you work with can be as important as the job. That’s one of the keys for me and why I’m still here. Even the building we’re in, it’s amazing” she says.

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GN Asset Management

GN Asset Management Director of Operations, David O’Connor adds “of course when it comes to Operations, consistency of standards is key. We set high operational standards, customized for each hotel and maintained through strong leadership.

We also seek to enhance operational excellence even further by encouraging managers to secure appropriate awards for each property.”

One of Ireland’s leading hotel operators and consultants, David has over 20 years’ experience in the industry. A graduate of GMIT in Galway, he has managed some of the largest and most prominent properties in Ireland including D4Hotels in Dublin, and is a former director of Tourism Solutions.

GN Asset Management: Creating Certainty, Adding Value.

“Our goal is to deliver the best returns to investors, provide memorable stays to our guests, and make the management of our clients’ hotels a stress-free experience” so says James Sullivan, CEO, GN Asset Management, one of Ireland’s leading hotel management service providers currently with 11 properties under management.

A graduate of Harvard University and INSEAD Paris, Sullivan is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland, with 25 years of hospitality experience across 13 different countries, working with national tourism authorities, hotels and resorts in a senior management capacity.

Speaking on the launch of the group’s next phase of growth which will see the roll-out of the Great Nite Inn brand throughout Ireland including the continuing development of the Great National Hotels and Resorts brand throughout the UK also, James Sullivan and his colleague David O’Connor, Operations Director, GN Asset Management, both sat down to explain the company’s success to date.

Sullivan started off by outlining the background to GN Asset Management: “we’re a specialist hotel and resort management company formed in 2010 now with €50m worth of assets under management with combined turnover of over €40m. We offer a full portfolio of services including full management, brand affiliation, strategic business reviews and feasibility studies“.

Our services mix includes management contracts, hotel leasing and independent business reviews. For example with management contracts, we take complete responsibility for the financial performance, day-to-day operations, and sales and marketing of the client hotel. Working to best-in-class industry standards with an experienced team, a proven off-line and online sales infrastructure, and a performing business model, we work with our clients to ensure each business fulfils its potential.”

“Ultimately, asset enhancement, financial performance and memorable guest experiences are central to everything we do. Our continually evolving business model drives asset value through our four key integrated asset enhancement strands: financial performance, operations best practice, the development of sales/service culture, and brand enhancement.”

Continuing, O’Connor says “equally, our group purchasing power and economies of scale, together with strong control of key labour and overhead costs through systematic management systems, have a significant impact on bottom-line performance.”

As to GN Asset Management’s portfolio of past and present clients, these include:Waterford Castle Resort, Waterford, the Fitzwilton Hotel, Waterford City, the House Hotel, Galway City, the Great National South Court Hotel, Limerick City, the Great National Central Hotel, Tullamore, the Great National Hotel Ballina and the Commons Inn, Cork City.

In conclusion, Sullivan pointed to GN Asset Management’s ultimate goal for its clients and that is “to deliver the best returns to investors”. Given the company’s unique approach to asset management and its success to date in quietly and discretely turning assets around which has also carried out the purchase of 6 hotels with investors in the past 18 months alone, this is a home-grown Irish company which is in increasing demand both in Ireland and the UK.

Speaking of brand, GN Asset Management operates two brand solutions for hotel owners: Great National and Great Nite Inn. Great National already comprises a unique collection of over 50 4-star and 3-star deluxe hotels and resorts throughout Ireland and the UK, each of which is independently owned and operated.

Great Nite Inn – already earmarked for key locations throughout Ireland including 4 purchased properties and 2 under franchise - is a budget boutique brand solution comprising for example a superior bedroom standard and a unique food experience called ‘Off the Bone’.

Sullivan added “our formidable asset management service gives our clients access to economies of scale, best practice financial management systems, and a proven distribution platform to increase bookings and drive revenue.”

James Sullivan, CEO, GN Asset Management 52

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David O’Connor, Operations Director, GN Asset Management

“Indeed with over 100 years of combined hotel experience, our management team possesses unrivalled industry experience and brings entrepreneurial spirit, strong business acumen and commercial awareness to every property we manage.

For example, we strongly believe that ‘what gets measured gets done’ and with this in mind, our own MIS systems deliver timely, accurate, relevant and reliable information from strategic planning to the daily recording of business activity: up to 26 KPIs for example are monitored on a weekly and monthly basis to ensure every strategic aspect of the business is measured and analysed.”

For further details, see www.gnassetmanagement.com or LoCall 1890 65 65 56.

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IHF conference

IHF Conference The IHF held their 78th Annual Conference in the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney recently. The overall sentiment was one of positivity with most delegates in a confident, but cautious mood. Below are the highlights of some of the key issues dealt with at the event.

Paul Carty, Managing Director at Guinness Storehouse has been announced as the 2016 recipient of the Irish Hotels Federation’s (IHF) President’s Award. The award was presented at a Gala Dinner celebration in the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney following the IHF’s 78th Annual Conference. The award is in recognition of the enormous contribution Paul has made to Irish tourism, including his pivotal role in the outstanding success of the Guinness Storehouse – Ireland’s No.1 international visitor attraction.

Previous recipients of the IHF President’s Award include Martin Naughton, Dr Tom Cavanagh and former President of Ireland Mary McAleese.

Soaring insurance premiums are having a detrimental impact on cost competitiveness within the hotels sector, over 400 delegates at the IHF 78th Annual Conference heard. Research carried out by the IHF in advance of the conference reveals that 71% of hoteliers have seen an increase in premiums over the last year, with premiums having increased on average by over 20%.

The IHF have announced the winners of its national Quality Employers Awards 2016, celebrating standards of excellence in human resource management across Ireland’s hotel and guesthouse sector. The awards, which were presented by Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, TD, recognise hotels and guesthouses that attract, empower and develop employees in line with the overall goals and objectives of the Quality Employer Programme.

Four awards were presented to winners according to the size of the premises: • Small Hotel Category: Blue Haven Hotel, Kinsale, Co. Cork • Medium Hotel Category: Ballygarry House Hotel & Spa, Tralee, Co. Kerry • Intermediate Hotel Category: Fitzwilliam Hotel, Dublin • Large Hotel Category: The Gibson Hotel, Dublin

IHF conference • Germany and France: Results indicate mixed performances so far this year for both Germany and France, Ireland’s two biggest markets in continental Europe. Compared with this time last year, 29% of respondents noting an increase in bed nights from Germany (63% see no change; 8% see a decrease) while 23% are seeing an increase from France (71% see no change; 6% see a decrease).

The IHF announced Joe Dolan as its newly elected President for a two-year term.

A second generation hotelier with over 25 years’ experience in the hotel sector, Joe becomes the 36th President of the IHF, succeeding Stephen McNally.During his presidency, Joe will give priority to addressing ongoing challenges facing the hotel and guesthouse sector.His priority areas include tackling the high cost of doing business in Ireland; the restoration of investment by Government in tourism marketing and product development; and increased support for regional tourism.

Mr. Dolan warned that economic upturns in Ireland’s major overseas markets havemasked a number of worrying challenges facing the industry which must be tackled head-on in order to secure long-term sustainable growth.“Our industry has benefited enormously from positive economic tailwinds from North America and Britain in recent years, contributing to impressive growth in overseas visitor numbers. While this has provided tourism businesses with a much-needed boost, we cannot afford to take recent successes for granted.”

Calling for a new five-year product development plan for Irish tourism, Mr Dolan states that tourism growth is being jeopardised by inadequate levels of investment by the State in tourism product and infrastructure. He called for the provision of a capital budget of €300 million for tourism-specific projects over a five-year period.

The increasing cost of doing business in Ireland poses a serious risk to the viability of tourism businesses, including hundreds of hotels and guesthouses according to an industry survey*. The survey reveals that excessive local authority rates remain one of the most pressing issues facing hoteliers, with many premises being levied rates of up to €3,000 per bedroom and average local authority rates equating to €1,500 per bedroom, regardless of occupancy rates.

The high costs for businesses of utilities such as energy and water are a major concern. While hotels have implemented conservation programmes to reduce consumption levels, efficiencies gained have been countered by substantial increases in Government‐determined utility costs such as PSO levies determined by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER).

During 2015, overseas visitors grew by 798,000 to 7.9 million with increases across all key markets. North America delivered a stellar performance with visitors up by 13% to 1.3 million in 2015. Visitors from mainland Europe were up 14% to 2.84 million while visitors from Britain – Ireland’s main tourism market – were up by 8% to 3.25 million.

Breakdown of Overseas Visitor Numbers* MARKET

Trips from Overseas Britain Mainland Europe North America Other / Longhaul

The vast majority of Irish hoteliers are upbeat about the prospects for the tourism industry in 2016 according to an industry survey* undertaken by the IHF.With overseas visitor numbers to Ireland on track for a record-breaking year, overall confidence levels among hoteliers are at a near all-time high.

IHF President Stephen McNally says the recovery in tourism has been supported by highly effective marketing campaigns targeting key overseas markets and domestic tourism. The recovery has also been boosted by a range of pro-tourism initiatives such as the 9% VAT rate, the zero rate air passenger tax and support for improved air access and connectivity.

Breakdown across Markets

• Island of Ireland: Compared to 2015, business levels are up in the domestic market with 75% of respondents seeing an increase in business from the island of Ireland in the first couple of months of 2016. This contrasts with 17% who are experiencing static business levels and 8% who are seeing a decrease in business from the domestic market.

• Britain and the US: Some 62% of respondents are seeing an increase in bed nights from Britain so far this year while 31% see no change and 7% see a decrease. Respondents are also positive about the US market with 46% seeing an increase in business (45% see no change; 9% see a decrease).

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2015

2014

Year on Year

7.90 million 3.25 million 2.84 million 1.30 million 0.52 million

7.11 million 3.01 million 2.49 million 1.15 million 0.46 million

11% increase 8% increase 14% increase 13% increase 13% increase

(*overseas visitor numbers excluding same-day visits and overseas visitors entering via Northern Ireland)

78th IHF ANNUAL CONFERENCE (29th February – 1st March 2016)

· 7.90 million overseas visitors in 2015, 11% increase on 2014

· Tourism accounts for almost 4% GNP

· Total tourism revenue of €7.27 billion in 2015, up 10.7% compared with 2014

· €5.76 billion foreign exchange earnings in 2015, up 12.9% on 2014

· €1.51 billion in domestic tourism revenue in 2015, up 3% on 2014

· 807 hotels (801 in 2014) with 56,937 bedrooms (56,312 bedrooms in 2014)

· 204 guesthouses (226 in 2014) with 2,598 bedrooms (2,832 in 2014)

· Total of 59,535 hotel and guesthouse bedrooms in Ireland (59,144 in 2014)

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innovation

innovation

If they feel that dessert or extra beverage is going to arrive on time and without interruption to their meeting, customers will comfortably fit in a lot more purchases during their time in your bar, restaurant, meeting room or hotel foyer.

Another efficiency that converts to more turnover comes when the chef can wirelessly and electronically beckon the waiter to indicate that a round of orders is ready to serve

Is your ancillary revenue walking out the door?

How many businesses are losing lunch trade because the local workers have experienced delays when trying to get their bill paid at the end of a meal?

It can be fascinating to sit in a typical hotel foyer, and see money literally leave the premises out the front door. It’s estimated that most businesses lose a minimum of €100 and €300 per week in opportunity cost.It’s not down to theft of items or overnight clients bunking off without paying their bills. It’s lost to potential clients (those who sit and use your foyer as a meeting space)who, despite their best efforts, are ignored or not seen by waiting staff.

This is just one of the issues that Art McGann sought to address when he launched the Wireless Waiter System in Ireland “I experienced it today. I met two businessmen in the lobby of a well-known hotel near the airport and after 45 minutes chatting we went looking for someone to sell us a coffee. There were two guys at the next table, laptops open, with cardboard cups of coffee that they obviously brought with them, hopefully they at least paid for their parking ”.

For many businesses the reality exists that your customers actually want to buy more of your food and beverages but cannot get served within the time they spend in your establishments. In hotels, some people are ignored completely and come and go having used the space and the facilities without even buying anything. “Equally, restaurants lose out when some customers who may have wanted an extra drink, coffee or dessert, give up trying to attract the attention of waiting staff.”

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Waiter calling technology is widely in use throughout the continent and in the Far East but its deployment is relatively unknown here in Ireland and the UK. But an increasing number of restaurants and hotels are turning to technology to increase service efficiencies and the spend of their customers.

The Wireless Waiter is now in use throughout the country by a diverse range of businesses large and small.

Each table has a 3 button system that encourages the customer to call for a waiter, or to be more specific and request the bill or a drink from the bar. Each staff member wears a wristwatch that vibrates and displays the call and sequences the calls. The waiter will therefore know that table 14 has called and table 18 requires the bill, for example. “The customers love it and it has increased our responsiveness significantly. The cost of the system is minimal and increased turnover on snacks and beverages covers the running cost many times over”.

McGann launched the Wireless Waiter having got the idea from its wide scale adoption in Spain. Art was co-founder of Kelsius, who manufacture the food safety system Foodcheck. “Our Sales Manager was on holidays in Spain and was enthralled by the system which he and his wife saw in a number of restaurants.” After working with the owners of the technology the product was tweaked slightly for the Irish market. “We introduced it to some of our clients and it was an immediate hit”. The company plans to launch the product with a view towards gaining more significant market penetration this year. There’s no up-front charge or contract commitment. “We don’t have to tie people in because very few sites fail to see immediate benefits.”

The consumers’ enjoyment of a meal is greatly enhanced when they can call a waiter by pressing a button on the table and continue conversing rather than beckoning and watching for the next available passing staff member. This transfers into increased sales, reduced cost of servicing, and speedier turnaround of table covers. Ancillary Sales increase by 10%20%% and costs can be optimised with the reduction of part time hours.

Ironically, while the Wireless Waiter reduces the need for waiting staff to “hover” at the tables, it actually ensures the waiting staff can be more focussed and therefore spend their time attending to their tables and thus enhancing the dining experience of your customers. They no longer “hover” by the kitchen as the systems allows the chef to communicate remotely and alert staff as to when orders are ready. Art agrees, “The architecture and layout of a building doesn’t always lend itself to good service, especially if the kitchen is far from the tables” And it’s not just busy businesses that can benefit from waiter calling. There are quiet areas of your business like meeting rooms, spas, and remote or unattended bars in pavilions or clubs. Mark Howel is the General Manager of Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort “We use wireless waiter for our Golf Members bar.

This is the perfect solution for the problem I had. A quiet bar with intermittent trade that was too costly to staff full time. The bar person tending to the hotel bar wears the watch and the members know to press the button and we come running. It works perfectly and the signal distance on the watch is perfect too” When a large hotel group in London introduced the Wireless Waiter they were anxious that it would reduce the staff interface that is so important for brand enhancement.

However the opposite was the case because staff were more readily available to the tables, having been freed from the tyranny of waiting for the food at the kitchen.

An additional benefit is the communication space that can be used in the button stand. The front or rear of the stand can be used to inform customers about promotions or events. A range of button holders is available with or without display space.

The system is provided by the Marketing Hub in Santry in Dublin at a weekly cost with no up-front fee. There is no tied in contract so businesses can trial the system with no major cost risk.

For a video demonstration see

www.wireless-solutions.ie H&RT APRIL/MAY 2016

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LPG

DIT

75 years of

DIT Cathal Brugha Street Not only is 2016 the 100th Anniversary of 1916 but 2016 is also the year DIT Cathal Brugha Street celebrates 75 years of education and training in the heart of Dublin city. Central to the year is a public exhibition of artefacts, photographs and other memorabilia in the College to which all are welcome to visit. The exhibition was opened by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohue TD on the 19th of February. Many graduates, former members of staff and friends joined us on that occasion to reminisce about their time in Cathal Brugha Street.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohue meeting graduates from 1946, sisters Margaret and Patricia Horne, after he officially opened the 75th Anniversary Exhibition.

DIT Cathal Brugha Street has existed in its current location, just off O’Connell Street since 1941. There have been many changes in the seventy five years since it was officially opened on the 16th of June 1941.

St. Mary’s College of Domestic Science was established as an integral element of the State’s infrastructure for the education of young females under the auspices of the City of Dublin Vocational Educational Committee (CDVEC). The first principal of the College was Kathleen O’Sullivan (19411950).

Kathleen O’Sullivan, Principal, with Class of Dieticians, 1946 at their annual dance in the Gresham Hotel.

The primary function of the College was to provide a new home for Domestic Science Teacher Training. However other courses offered included Household Management, Institutional Management, Chef Apprentices, Day Junior Domestic Course for Young Girls. Subsequently single-subject courses in Cookery (all stages), Laundry, Needlework, Dressmaking, Household Management, Embroidery and Art Work, Housecraft etc. were introduced.

In 1944 Ireland’s first Diploma in Dietetics course was designed and delivered in the College. Seven students enrolled the first year. The course consisted of 18 months in the College and a further six months in hospitals in the UK. By 1949 it had evolved into a four-year full-time course recognised by the British Dietetic Association.

With the departure of the Domestic Science Teacher Training Course to St Angela’s in Sligo in 1951 the College focused its attention on the education and training required for the growing Irish tourist industry. In 1951 the Department of Hotel and Catering was established and a two-year Diploma in Hotel and Catering Management for “boys and girls” was offered in 1952.

It subsequently developed into a three-year full-time Diploma in Hotel Management in 1961.

Chefs had been trained originally in the Vocational School in Parnell Square

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We look forward to welcoming many more on June the 16th the anniversary of the official opening of the College in 1941. Programme to be announced on www.dit.ie/hmt or for further details email fiona.greagsbey@dit.ie

but moved to Cathal Brugha Street shortly after it opened. In the early 1950’s cooks’ courses were introduced to satisfy the demand from girls.

This was the beginning of the Department of Hotel & Catering Operations.

Around this time St. Mary’s College of Domestic Science was renamed the College of Catering.

In 1973 the Department of Home Sciences emerged [subsequently becoming the School of Home and Social Sciences] offering an array of courses in Child Care and Social Studies in addition to the very popular Home Management Course.

Under a partnership agreement with the Trinity College and Cathal Brugha Street, two degree courses were developed in Hotel & Catering Management and Environmental Health.

The College of Catering was one of six Colleges in Dublin’s city centre and while under the parentage of the CDVEC they were collectively the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) which became autonomous in 1992 and acquired degree awarding powers in 1998.

With the creation of the DIT, the building at Cathal Brugha Street became the centre for the Faculty of Tourism and Food.

In the intervening years courses were added in the areas of culinary arts, tourism, leisure, and pharmaceutical technology. These range from certificate to post-graduate level. Each School has also developed a research programme which has resulted in both significant publications and PhDs to post-doctoral researchers based at Cathal Brugha Street.

Since the start of the millennium many changes have occurred both in terms of the management structure as much as the physical structure.

Currently, in Cathal Brugha Street there are three Schools, the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism and the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology both of which are part of the College of Arts and Tourism.

The third School of Food Science and Environmental Health is a part of the College of Sciences and Health. The range of courses on offer in all Schools have vastly expanded from those offered in 1941. Student numbers have quadrupled and likewise staff numbers. The overall student population has grown from circa 700 students in the early 1980s to circa 3,000 today.

The next stage in Cathal Brugha Street’s history is the impending move to DIT’s new campus at Grangegorman which is scheduled for 2018.

This will be a bitter sweet occasion as many of us will be sad to leave this beautiful, iconic building in the heart of our capital city. However, great memories, life-long friendships, and in some cases marriages, made in the “Three Graces”, sculptor Gabriel Hayes, on the College will be taken to our new home in Grangegorman. corner of Cathal Brugha Street

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21 - 22 June 2016 DUBLIN, IRELAND