Caterer & Hotelkeeper articles from August 2006

Caterer & Hotelkeeper archives from August 2006

in the Movies.
August 3, 2006... Film and TV productions regularly use hotels and restaurants for location filming, but how can it benefit your business? Humayun Hussain goes behind the scenes to find out The world of film and TV is, by its very nature, one of illusion...

REITs and hotel investment.
August 3, 2006... Mark Nichols, tax partner at international law firm CMS Cameron McKenna, looks at opportunities for hotels in the coming real estate investment trusts The problem The Government is introducing the real estate investment trust (REIT)...

Byatt to open neighbourhood restaurant.
August 3, 2006... Adam Byatt, head chef and proprietor of Origin Bar & Dining Room in the Hospital retail and arts centre in London, is to start up a new neighbourhood venture in south London, Caterer has learned. Byatt, whose new restaurant is due to open...

Events.
August 3, 2006... Do you care where the food you serve comes from? More importantly, do your customers care where the food you serve them comes from? Increasingly, it seems, the answer is "yes", as the public both becomes more food-aware and is made even more...

El Gato Negro.(Restaurant review)
August 3, 2006... We all love Spanish holidays, but Spanish food has never truly made it in the UK outside of town centres... until now. Dan Bignold reports on one black cat bringing good luck to West Yorkshire Tapas restaurants aren't something you see in...

SOUND BITES.
August 3, 2006... Profit margins in the bar come from wet sales, but offering customers not requiring a full meal some tantalising snacks might just persuade them to stay longer and spend more, as Antony Adshead discovers The bar snack is a great indicator...

London cuisine among the best in world.(brief review of london's restaurant)
August 3, 2006... Restaurateur and writer Simon Wright thinks restaurants in London are just capital When I edited the AA restaurant guide, I ate out at others' expense five or six times a week, often in London. It began as a blast - they even paid me for...

Roof on the up.(Roof Gardens club)
August 3, 2006... With the arrivals of a new general manager and personnel development officer at the Roof Gardens club and Babylon restaurant in London came lowered staff turnover and increased staff satisfaction. They also led to it winning one of Caterer's...

Grooming for greatness.
August 3, 2006... The St Julian's Scholarship allows hotel professionals to take the next step through specialist management training. Dan Bignold reports It's often said that you learn more through practical experience than you do in the classroom....

Globe theatre.
August 3, 2006... Italy has long had a love affair with globe artichokes, as Michael Raffael discovered when he got a lesson in how to use them from Zafferano's Italophile chef Andy Needham How long does it take to eat an artichoke? If you pull the petals...

Apostrophe looks at new sites in Europe.
August 3, 2006... Apostrophe, the upmarket cafe chain co-founded by a former investment banker, is opening three new London branches this year and is looking at Europe for opportunities for further expansion. The group, which opened its first, 35-seat, cafe...

Overton Grange is up for sale.
August 3, 2006... Ludlow, the famous Shropshire foodie haven, could lose yet another of its top-rated properties, as the once Michelin-starred Overton Grange goes on the market. The news follows hot on the heels of the announcement that the...

Topland to sell Thistle hotels.
August 3, 2006... Property investment group Topland is seeking to sell the six hotels it acquired from Thistle Hotels only a year ago, Caterer has learnt. Topland bought the hotels - five in London, at Euston, the Barbican, Piccadilly, Hyde Park and...

Poll reveals where the heat was on.(Survey)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Union warns: protect staff or you could be breaking the law By Emily Manson Temperatures might have cooled a little in the UK this week, but with July being the hottest month on record the heat has been rising in the country's...

Ramsay adds third US opening in LA.(Gordon Ramsay Holdings)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Two restaurants and a bar in West Hollywood to join earlier Ramsay Group openings in New York and Florida By Emily Manson Gordon Ramsay is to continue his global growth plans with a venture in Los Angeles, his third in the USA. ...

Travelodge puts the travel into event lodging.
August 3, 2006... Budget hotel group Travelodge is trialling its new Travelpod - a mobile hotel room - which it believes will revolutionise festival and outdoor event accommodation. Forget struggling with tent pegs in waterlogged and muddy fields at...

Bank to double Zinc's estate.
August 3, 2006... New owner plans to refurbish older restaurants and add five in one year By Chris Druce Bank Restaurant Group plans to double the size of its newest acquisition, Zinc Bar & Grill, within the next year. First in the pipeline is a...

Tragus set to push tapas brand openings.
August 3, 2006... Tragus is to convert the Leadenhall Wine and Tapas Bar in London into its second Spanish tapas restaurant and bar, Ortega. A third site in London is also likely to be a conversion of one of the group's existing high-street eateries. Cafe...

Whitbread's sale puts bite into war chest.(Whitbread PLC)(Pizza Hut (U.K.) Ltd.)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Sale of Pizza Hut UK holding could lead to bid for rival Travelodge By Tom Bill Whitbread could use the [pounds sterling]112m proceeds from the sale of its 50% stake in Pizza Hut UK to mount a bid for Travelodge, according to City...

Energy bills likely to carry on rising.(restaurant industry )
August 3, 2006... BHA chief urges operators to shop around for better deals By Angela Frewin Hotel and restaurant energy bills have spiralled by 65% in the past three years and are likely to carry on rising in 2007. But the recent price hikes...

Macdonald bears [pounds sterling]30m loss in move upmarket.
August 3, 2006... Private operator Macdonald Hotels made a [pounds sterling]30m loss last year as it shelled out on its estate to reposition the brand at the luxury end of the market. Despite turnover increasing 4% and hotel operating profit up 9% on last...

NHS caterers fear Novation deal.
August 3, 2006... Hospital food will suffer as a result of the plan to outsource purchasing to US group Novation, according to NHS caterers. They fear that the [pounds sterling]3.7b deal, which is expected to be announced some time in the next three months,...

Williams to head kitchen at Odette's.(Bryn Williams)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Welsh chef Bryn Williams is to become head chef of Odette's in north London when it reopens after refurbishment next month. The 70-seater restaurant, part of the Vince Power Music Group, will feature modern European cuisine with a strong...

spa opening should boost bath's tourist trade.
August 3, 2006... At least five years late and reportedly [pounds sterling]33m over its [pounds sterling]12.2m budget, the Thermae Bath Spa will finally be launched in the Georgian city of Bath next Monday (7 August). The site in the heart of the tourist haunt...

Working for you in all this heat.(Editorial)
August 3, 2006... August has arrived, and the holiday season is upon us again. The rest of the country may have packed its trunks and lotion and headed for the sun, but at the Caterer and Hotelkeeper offices there's no time for slacking. Our editorial...

A minute on the clock Ruth Badger.
August 3, 2006... Ruth Badger - runner-up in TV reality show The Apprentice - is now a consultant. She's also fronting the awareness campaign for the imminent age-discrimination legislation, which will take effect from 1 October. She talks to Alix Young ...

Book Review.(The Best of Modern British Cookery )(Book review)
August 3, 2006... A celebration of British food The Best of Modern British Cookery Sarah Freeman Grub Street, [pounds sterling]16.99 ISBN 1-904010-74-1 With its series of short introductory chapters covering, among other things, equipment and basic...

Caterer loves.
August 3, 2006... Festivals Festival season is here again and, if you can't bear pounding dance tracks or booming rock festivals, there's now an abundance of more intimate gatherings designed to massage, rather than mutilate, your eardrums. But it's...

Comfort Hotel Donatella Firenze, Florence, Italy.
August 3, 2006... Only minutes away from the world-famous Uffizi gallery, the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio, this hotel is perfectly situated for tourists keen to drink in every last drop of Florence's culture. The internal garden features an open-air lounge where...

Do you want chips with that?(Novotel)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Size is clearly important for the chefs at the Novotel Tower Bridge hotel in London. We pictured the brigade recently with a 9ft-long mako shark, and now they are at it again. This time it's a slightly less terrifying, but equally large, 250lb,...

Foodfile ingredients in season.
August 3, 2006... Fish Cornish sardines are being landed daily and are excellent quality. The day boats are also bringing lots of mackerel, red mullet, squid and inshore pollack, and there's some exceptional diver-caught plaice from Weymouth. We're...

Hotel Don Carlos Beach and Golf Resort, Marbella, Spain.
August 3, 2006... Reopening after a 25m ([pounds sterling]17m) revamp, the hotel's retro-chic design maximises the potential of its 1960s architecture. The neutral colours are lifted by a red chaise-longue in each room alongside Andalucian bullfighting and...

Hotel Indigo, Houston, Texas, USA.
August 3, 2006... InterContinental Hotels Group's fourth Indigo property in the USA, this boutique hotel in the heart of uptown Houston offers state-of-the-art meeting space and a bistro-style restaurant. Guests can enjoy seasonal food and Starbucks coffee in...

How I got here.
August 3, 2006... Leigh Myers Executive chef, Grosvenor Pulford hotel, Chester Leigh Myers started cooking at the age of seven but it was when he was offered an apprenticeship at Paul Heathcote's School of Excellence, now in Manchester, at the age of 15...

Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa, Texas, USA.
August 3, 2006... This resort, adjoining the 1,100-acre McKinney Roughs nature park, offers a host of natural and man-made activities from fly-fishing on the Colorado river, hiking and horse-riding to kayaking and hot-air ballooning. A spa and an 18-hole...

Jessica Byron, sales manager, Golden Tulip Manchester.
August 3, 2006... Jessica Byron has been appointed sales manager by Golden Tulip Manchester. She has 11 years of hotel experience and was sales development manager at the De Vere St David's Park hotel near Chester.

Kelvingrove reopening is just picture-perfect.(art museums)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Glasgow's Kelvingrove Galleries, which reopened in July after three years and a [pounds sterling]27m revamp, is set to overtake Edinburgh Castle as Scotland's most popular visitor attraction. In its first fortnight after reopening, 293,000...

Kenneth Syer, manager, Duck's at Le Marche Noir, Edinburgh.(Jennie Nilsson appointed)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Kenneth Syer is the new manager of Duck's at Le Marche Noir restaurant in Edinburgh. He was formerly the manager at Bar Epernay and Brasserie at the Mailbox shopping arcade in Birmingham. And Jennie Nilsson has been appointed marketing manager...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
August 3, 2006... Relief chefs are treated unfairly I'm a freelance chef and nearly every job I take means entering a difficult situation: short-staffed, with poor working conditions, poor wages and poor organisation - the list goes on. But time and...

Next move for getting into events.
August 3, 2006... Each week our panel of recruitment experts provide answers to an employment question posed by a Caterer reader The question I'm studying for a BTEC national diploma in hospitality supervision. I want to work in events, but what would...

Over to you.
August 3, 2006... Has London the best restaurant scene in Europe? Anthony Flinn, executive chef, Anthony's, Leeds "No, because I don't think London even has the best restaurant scene in the country. You only have to look at how many Michelin-starred...

Review of Reviews.(rating of restaurants)
August 3, 2006... The Independent 29 July John Walsh ignores the pink umbrellas and upside-down boat and finds a gem of a fish restaurant on the south coast - the Crab House Cafe at Weymouth It's all fantastically twee. But, even as you try to...

Strategy clinic.(Human resource management in Domino's Pizza Inc.)
August 3, 2006... When I'm with my staff, they perform really well, but as soon as I'm away, standards slip. I own more than one outlet, so how can I maintain standards at all times even when I am not present? Patricia Thomas, Domino's Pizza A...

Table Talk.(London Ask)
August 3, 2006... Buy one, gobble one free (next time, just bog off) Try this one next time you're out at a midmarket pizza outlet. A Caterer journalist recently visited a central London Ask restaurant and overheard the waitress asking a fellow diner if he'd...

Thirst things first.(Juice industry)
August 3, 2006... A long, cooling drink is just the thing on a hot summer's day. Diane Lane looks at the latest offerings on the market 1. superberries in juice range With no sign of the demand for healthy drinks abating, superberries are something of a...

Victoria Lochhead, marketing executive, Brakspear pub company.
August 3, 2006... Victoria Lochhead has rejoined the Brakspear pub company of Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire as marketing executive, following maternity leave. Lochhead was previously a business development manager with the company, the same position now taken...

good week/bad week.
August 3, 2006... People 1st UK National Skills Academy bid shortlisted by Government. Real ale lovers Camra simplifies tasting notes to boost flagging sales. Marco Pierre White Fiery chef boasts of reducing Ramsay to tears and seducing a diner in his office...

how to.(watermelon juice)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Beat the heat with a fresh fruit smoothie Fruits grown in hot regions are great for their cooling effects - and there's nothing simpler than blending a few of them together with ice for a real thirst-quencher. Watermelon Crussh cooler Cut a...

the week in brief.(David Turner quits Regent Inns PLC)(Tony Potter joins Millennium and Copthorne Hotels PLC)(Stephen Alden joins Maybourne Hotel Group)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Turner to quit Regent Inns David Turner is to quit his role as board operations director at late-night bar operator Regent Inns on 1 November. Turner, who plans to pursue other business interests, has played a key role in the development...

Covering all goals.
August 10, 2006... Sodexho's Prestige Scotland division took over the catering at Hampden Park stadium in 1999. As Tom Bill discovers, it's an odd mix of meat pies, rock'n'roll and corporate seminars Not many caterers serve Bovril to football fans and Jack...

How I got here.(services of Hugh Maloney)
August 10, 2006... Hugh Maloney Business development manager, Greene King Pub Company Hugh Maloney, 34, is business development manager Leeds for the Greene King Pub Company, which is the managed arm of Greene King, the regional brewer that has transformed...

hotelier of the year.(2005 Hotelier of the Year)
August 10, 2006... The search is on to find the 2006 Hotelier of the Year. To discover what the judges will be looking for, Amanda Afiya spoke to the current holder of the title, Four Seasons Hotels' John Stauss Being named the 2005 Hotelier of the Year was,...

Events.
August 10, 2006... The start of the grouse shooting season is not the only foodie event this weekend. Up in Lancashire's Ribble Valley the second of this year's three North West Food Lovers festivals is taking place at Stonyhurst College. Chef...

A breath of fresh.(Fresh produce )
August 10, 2006... Fresh produce is the prerequisite for most dishes. Diane Lane lines up some of the rarer items from far and near 1. Swiss ear Sometimes known as Pig's Ears, examples of Gomphus clavatus, or Chanterelle Violette mushrooms, are very rare in...

Planning for confusion.
August 10, 2006... You can't go here, you can't go there, you can't go up, and you can't knock it down and start again. David Blackman looks at how the land-use planning regime shapes the UK hotel sector "It takes forever, it's very long-winded and it almost...

Byrne to head Grill Room at Dorchester.
August 10, 2006... Rising star to leave Danesfield House to take up new role BY EMILY MANSON Rising star chef Aiden Byrne is set to be the new head chef at the Dorchester hotel's iconic Grill Room. Byrne, 32, is executive chef at the 86-bedroom...

Sodexho LEA chief quits for schools role.
August 10, 2006... Sodexho's director of local education authority contracts, Colin Garnham-Edge, is to leave the company in September. Garnham-Edge, who has been with Sodexho for eight years, will join Oxfordshire County Council as head of catering...

Cosmo.
August 10, 2006... Former Gordon Ramsay Scholar Alex Thain is making it festival time in Edinburgh all year round with contemporary fine dining The annual Edinburgh Festival, which started last weekend, brings a lot of things to the Scottish capital. Naked...

Let's be more generous on the water front.
August 10, 2006... Restaurants should offer customers free jugs of tap water... and diners shouldn't be made to feel mean or guilty about accepting it, says Bill Knott The next time a waiter asks, "Would you like some water for the table, sir?" I shall...

SchooleD and tooled.(top education centres)
August 10, 2006... Hotel school now covers a wide remit that includes financial strategy, property development and restaurant management. Dan Bignold looks at what tomorrow's managers are being taught at the world's top education centres Next month thousands...

Locatelli pulls out of London restaurant venture.
August 10, 2006... Giorgio Locatelli has pulled out of a deal to run the food and beverage operation at a hotel and restaurant in London. The chef-proprietor of Locanda Locatelli restaurant in London W1 was due to go into the kitchen at the former York and...

Hadcock-Mackay death note shock.
August 10, 2006... Suicide letter cites "abuse that left him unable to carry on" by tom bill Former Distinguished Hotels chairman Tim Hadcock-Mackay claimed "abuses of trust" caused the collapse of the hotel marketing association shortly before his...

Has Ludlow had its day?(Hibiscus)
August 10, 2006... With Hibiscus and Overton Grange on the market and Merchant House closed, will foodies still head for Ludlow? Tom Bill investigates When two-Michelin-starred restaurant Hibiscus announced its exit from Ludlow last month, there were...

Over to you.
August 10, 2006... Is bottled water oversold in restaurants? Douglas Glen, hotel manager, Landmark hotel, London "No. There's a high demand from guests for it, and our Winter Garden water menu has about 14 varieties. There's a health aspect, and some people...

Young's wraps up sale of Ram Brewery.
August 10, 2006... London pub group Young & Co has sold its historic Ram brewery site in Wandsworth (left) to estate agent Minerva for [pounds sterling]69m. Young's said in May that it would be selling up and relocating its brewing business to Charles Wells's...

Gaucho buyout team aims for quality expansion.(Gaucho Grill acquired with Phoenix Equity Partners)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Gaucho Grill has been bought by private equity company Phoenix Equity Partners in a [pounds sterling]55m secondary buyout led by the company's founder. Founder and chief executive Zeev Godik, who led the buyout from Barclays Private...

Macdonald to keep on spending.(Macdonald Hotels plans)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Macdonald Hotels plans to continue its heavy investment in new acquisitions and the refurbishment of its current estate as it repositions itself at the luxury end of the market. The company revealed that it had made [pounds...

Always BlueSkies for redcoats.
August 10, 2006... Redcoat fans can now secure an annual break at Butlins for the next 30 years under a timeshare scheme introduced by the holiday camp operator. BlueSkies by Butlins, its first timeshare offer, launches this month at the resort in Minehead,...

Call for DCMS to back business event sector.
August 10, 2006... Industry leaders seek Creative Economy Programme role By Emily Manson Government must back the business events sector and include it in its development programme for the 2012 Olympic Games, industry leaders have warned. The...

City Inn set to grow overseas.
August 10, 2006... Boutique business hotel operator City Inn has announced a [pounds sterling]330m expansion plan for the next four years, which will see its first properties developed overseas. Chief executive David Orr said that a 550-bedroom hotel in...

Niche hotel sale signals a refocus.
August 10, 2006... Boutique hotel operator Niche Hotels has sold its first hotel for more than [pounds sterling]6m as it moves its portfolio towards larger properties with conference centres. Niche, which was set up four years ago, bought the Queensgate hotel...

Meat firm fined for origin mislabelling.
August 10, 2006... Field Farm Fresh hit with [pounds sterling]55,000 penalty but says sacked rogue employee replaced English beef with Australian By Angela Frewin An Oxfordshire meat company that claims to supply some of the country's top chefs has been...

Potter to head Corinthia hotel management arm.
August 10, 2006... Tony Potter, the outgoing chief executive of Millennium & Copthorne (M&C), is to take up a new position as head of Corinthia Hotels International (CHI). Potter, who announced his resignation from M&C last week, will become the new chief...

Rogano sold to Lynnet for [pounds sterling]6m.(seafood restaurant Rogano acquired with Lynnet Leisure )(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Glasgow's internationally renowned seafood restaurant Rogano has been sold to Scottish bar and restaurant group Lynnet Leisure for more than [pounds sterling]6m. The art deco-styled fine-dining restaurant has attracted many celebrities...

conservatives join fight to beat bed tax.(reports on bed tax)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... The Conservative Party launched a campaign to save the great British holiday last week and joined Caterer's Say No To Bed Tax fight. Hugo Swire (right), shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Malcolm Moss (left), shadow...

Brasserie Chez Gerard roll-out.
August 10, 2006... Paramount Restaurants is to roll out a more casual, all-day version of its core Chez Gerard brand by converting a dozen of the 53 Caffe Uno restaurants it acquired last year to the new format. It has been piloting the Brasserie Chez Gerard...

A minute on the clock Iqbal Wahhab.
August 10, 2006... Iqbal Wahhab, founder of Roast restaurant in London's Borough Market, has been appointed chairman of the Department of Work and Pension's Ethnic Minority Advisory Group. He talked to Alix Young Caterer Why were you chosen as chairman? IW...

Book Review.(A Return to Real Cooking)(Book review)
August 10, 2006... The real thing - from Norfolk A Return to Real Cooking Galton Blackiston Morston Hall Hotel, [pounds sterling]20 ISBN 1-903872-19-7 The clue to this book is in its title, "real cooking", which in Galton Blackiston's view comprises...

Caterer hates.
August 10, 2006... Summer travel We all look forward to our holidays with great excitement and anticipation. Unfortunately, to get to our destination, be it Malaga or Mauritius, we have to brave the nightmare that is the summertime airport. No matter...

Colin Bennett, area manager England, Starwood Hotels.
August 10, 2006... Starwood Hotels has appointed Colin Bennett to the newly created position of area manager England. Bennett will have responsibility for six of the company's hotels. He was general manager central London hotels at the company.

Coping with customers.(wine and dining)
August 10, 2006... Sommeliers need to be able to communicate all things wine-related to diners of all types. So, in the last of his masterclasses, Ronan Sayburn gives some expert tips on interacting with diners and dealing with unexpected situations For...

Foodfile ingredients in season.
August 10, 2006... Fresh produce Greengages (reine-claudes in French) have now started, and are juicy and delicious. Very sweet and aromatic Muscat grapes are also now arriving. Wet almonds and cobnuts are also on the market. Jerusalem artichokes from...

Jirayr Kececian, general manager, Sheraton Skyline, Heathrow.
August 10, 2006... Jirayr Kececian is now general manager of the Sheraton Skyline hotel at London's Heathrow. He was regional director of sales and marketing for Africa and the Middle East, based in Cairo, for Starwood.

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
August 10, 2006... Emigration: is it the only solution left? I've just been reading about the potential bed tax. We go to Cornwall for two weeks every year in the summer and I'm appalled that this Government is considering this tax. I'm ashamed of this...