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BOOKER HOSTS BEST PUB CHEF AWARDS

Booker is helping to recognise and reward top catering talent by sponsoring and hosting the Best Pub Chef as part of the Great British Pub Awards.

Booker is actively helping to support some of the finest catering talent in the UK by sponsoring the Best Pub Chef award as part of the Great British Pub Awards, run by trade publication The Morning Advertiser.

Hundreds of pubs entered this year’s awards and, in the Best Pub Chef category, a shortlist of just six was invited to prepare a dish live for the judging panel.

The cook-off event was hosted by Booker at its test kitchen in Didcot and the six finalists were given a mystery box of ingredients and invited to prepare a dish in 45 minutes. All the ingredients came from Booker and included some of the new Blackgate Pork products as well as a wide selection of other meats, fruit and vegetables and grocery products. All contestants commented on the variety and quality of the products available to them. They were then given 20 mins to prep and 45 minutes to cook their dish.

Among the contestants was Natalie Coleman, who won Masterchef in 2013, and Dave Wall from the Unruly Pig, who made the Top 50 Gastro Pub list.The winner will be announced at this year’s awards which will be held on Tuesday 4 October in Manchester at Escape to Freight Island.

Mark Johnsen, Catering Development Controller who attended the event, told Catering@Booker: “It’s really important for Booker to be supporting the pub trade and pub chefs in particular so we’re proud to both sponsor and host this competition. The standard of work on the day was exceptional with enormous talent, creativity and style very much in evidence.

“It was also fantastic be able to showcase the Booker range to these top pub chefs. Every single contestant was hugely impressed by the range and quality available.”

For more information, visit

www.greatbritishpubawards.co.uk

What are you doing different to stand out in your local market? Share it with us and your fellow Booker colleagues at catering@booker.co.uk

THEFINALISTS

Natalie Coleman The Oyster Shed, London

Dave Wall The Unruly Pig, Bromeswell, Suffolk

AyeshaKalaji Queen of Cups, Glastonbury, Somerset

SeanJeffers Red Lion, Freshwater, Isle of Wight

RichardCouch The Angel at Watlington, Norfolk

Ian Moss The Coach & Horses, Clitheroe, Lancashire

FARESHARE HAILS BOOKER’S SCHOOL HOLIDAY MEALS EFFORTS

Food waste charity FareShare has hailed the efforts of 13 wholesalers, including Booker, who have provided 570,000 free school holiday meals to families since the end of June.

Booker has donated surplus stock and unsold food from foodservice and hospitality customers.

Overall, FareShare has provided over 800,000 meals to those in need since the start of the school holidays in the UK, equivalent to 3,600 tonnes of food.

SUSTAINABILITY FLAGGED AS TOP CONSUMER CONCERN

The FSA’s annual flagship survey has found that sustainability, high sugar content and animal welfare are the three key concerns of consumers.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) published the results of its annual flagship survey on August 11 highlighting the top three foodrelated concerns amongst consumers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The results reveal that the key concerns for consumers when buying food and drink in hospitality and retail are food waste, the amount of sugar in food, and animal welfare. Over half of the 5,796adult respondents reported that they are concerned about each of these issues. The top concern for consumers was sustainability with 63% citing food waste as their most important concern, highlighting once more for caterers the vital importance of embracing sustainability issues. The amount of sugar in food was a concern or 59% of consumers and animal welfare was cited by 56% of respondents.

NEW TAKEAWAY RULES TO IMPROVE COMMUNITIES

New guidance was introduced on 7 August by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to help make sure takeaway food businesses play their part in cleaning up high streets and communities.

Updated guidance clarifies the powers councils in England have to set stricter litter rules for new hot food takeaways when considering planning applications, including making sure that more bins are installed to reduce rubbish in the surrounding area. Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark said: “We are empowering councils to make sure new takeaway food businesses are doing their bit to stop rubbish littering our communities.

"The guidance gives councils clear and consistent advice on what rules they can enforce when new takeaways open, such as ensuring they install more bins and anti-litter signs around shops or have staff members pick up litter regularly. Failing to adhere to these rules could result in financial penalties.”