Caterer & Hotelkeeper articles from February 2002

Caterer & Hotelkeeper archives from February 2002

Crown of thorns.(Crown at Iverley restaurant)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... The chef has walked out and the manager is to resign at the end of the month, which leaves managing director Robert Banks with the day-to-day running of the Crown at Iverley. He tells Helen Adkins what happened Towards the end of 2001...

Independent Hotel of the Year.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Sponsored by Aga Foodservice Equipment Aga Foodservice Equipment, parent company to Falcon, Mono and Williams, providing quality solutions to the hospitality industry's equipment requirements, is delighted to become the Catey sponsor for...

Sex discrimination.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Matthew Tom, employment law specialist at solicitors Tarlo Lyons, examines sex discrimination in the workplace The problem When considering someone for promotion to your vacant head chef position, you decide that a particular male...

Drinks news.
February 7, 2002... Mug up on down under Want to get clued up on Australia and New Zealand? The 2002 edition of James Halliday's Australia and New Zealand Wine Companion, published by Grub Street, at ?14.99, profiles 1,500 wineries and provides tasting notes...

101 temptations.(Walt Disney World)
February 7, 2002... The Disney empire remains a legend not only because of its distinctive nature, but because it continues to thrive. Jessica Gunn spoke to Dieter Hannig, vice-president of Walt Disney World's food and beverage division, to find out why food is...

Overworking our staff isn't working.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Seek quality of life, not quantity of work, for a happy workforce, says David Ford WHEN in January Danny O'Neill resigned as chief executive of Britannic, one of the UK's biggest insurance companies, the business world scoffed. ...

LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER BUSY YEAR AHEAD.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Another year gone and a new one beginning. If 2002 is anything like last year, we are in for an exciting 12 months. As district manager for Sodexho, I have to travel around two of the biggest counties in England, Devon and Cornwall....

Table talk.
February 7, 2002... Taking their clients for a ride IT HAS emerged that the London offices of hospitality recruitment company Berkeley Scott hold a dark and seedy secret. The building at 64 Charlotte Street was a 19th-century sado-masochistic brothel run by a...

Back to the floor.(Scottish and Newcastle Breweries PLC and Punch Pub Company Ltd.)
February 7, 2002... The only way to serve customers better is to know them better. Samantha McClary takes a look at how two pub companies think they have the edge on their competitors In the pub game, the higher up the career ladder you climb, the further you...

Palatial resident.(Palace of the Royal Mirage, Dubai, United Arab Emirates)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Frenchman Olivier Louis enjoys being general manager at the Palace of the Royal Mirage in Dubai because he can be both an ambassador and a hotelier BECAUSE of the guaranteed year-round sunshine here, it's easy to get up early and feel...

Great leap forward.(Shangri-La International)
February 7, 2002... Hong Kong-based hotel group Shangri-La is keen to tap in to the potential of the Chinese market, as Jenny Webster reports This week is Chinese New Year, a reminder of the ever-growing importance of the Chinese nation. For China these are...

Best Bib and tucker.(Swan restaurant, Kent, England)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Newly awarded a Bib Gourmand, the Swan in West Malling offers a rustic ambience. Janet Harmer reports Best quality ingredients, prepared simply and served in a rustic fashion - that's the thinking behind David Marsaud's cooking at the Swan...

Blanc to represent UK in Paris final.(Raymond Blanc)(World Master of Culinary Arts)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... RAYMOND Blanc has been selected to represent the UK in the grand final of the first World Master of Culinary Arts, to be held in Paris in May (Caterer, 31 January, page 22). The announcement that Blanc had been selected from a shortlist of...

Swallow man on the move to Stockton.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Ken Ellington has been appointed general manager of the 125-bedroom Swallow hotel in Stockton, Teesside. This is his second position as general manger. He was previously at the Swallow George hotel in Chollerford, Hexham, which he ran for two...

Sudden closure of Neat restaurant surprises landlord.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Neat, the London restaurant of Michelin-starred chef Richard Neat, closed its doors last week, less than eight months after it opened in the Oxo Tower Wharf in May 2001. The 100-seat restaurant, 150-seat brasserie and 65-seat bar which...

A brighter trade in Wales.(Michelin five-star restaurants in Wales)(includes directory)(Directory)
February 7, 2002... No longer an international culinary joke, Wales is revelling in having five Michelin stars - at least, as Janet Harmer learns, some people are HAVING endured derogatory articles slating their country as "a gastronomic wilderness", the...

Two fine fellows from Norwich.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Two senior lecturers from Norwich City College's Hotel School have been accepted as fellows of the HCIMA. Robin Graves-Morris is the school's section leader for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism, and Steve Thorpe leads the food and...

Ritz-Carlton chain is back in New York after four years.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... The luxury Ritz-Carlton chain has returned to New York after a four-year absence with two management contracts for properties in lower Manhattan and Central Park. Last week it opened the 298-bedroom Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park in...

Scots' ?1.3m bid to attract more visitors.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... VisitScotland, the former Scottish Tourist Board, has kicked off its spring advertising programme with a ?1.3m campaign aimed at attracting tourists from France, Germany and Belgium, a market worth a total of ?113m. The campaign, a joint...

Double blow knocks 25% off air catering.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... The terrorist attacks of 11 September caused a 25% drop in the number of airline meals produced worldwide, according to research by the University of Surrey's Travel Catering Research Centre. Peter Jones, professor of in-flight catering at...

in brief.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... LACA departure The Northern Ireland branch of the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) has left the association. Beverley Baker, chairman of LACA, said the 28 members of the Northern Ireland branch had resigned as they "felt with...

Whitbread removes remaining Swallow hotels from market.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... The Swallow group of 13 hotels has been taken off the market by owners Whitbread because the four potential buyers were not offering enough money. Whitbread has been trying to sell the hotels, which are predominantly in North-east England,...

Granita restaurant sold to Sofra chief.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Granita, the London restaurant where Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are reputed to have sealed their political partnership seven years ago, has been sold. H?seyin ?zer, the owner of the Sofra group, took over the Islington restaurant on...

Who's Who listing for Lawson and Peyton.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... TV cook Nigella Lawson and restaurateur Oliver Peyton are among the new entries in the latest edition of Who's Who. The book, published last week, lists some 30,000 people from around the world. About 1,000 are new entries this year. ...

Team takes shape as Sofitel opening nears.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... JOHN Savage has been appointed executive chef of Albert Roux's restaurant at the Sofitel St James hotel in London The hotel, the first Sofitel in the UK, opens on the corner of London's Waterloo Place and Pall Mall on 1 May, more than a...

On the move.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... DARREN PRIDEAUX, from the Feathers hotel in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, will begin work as head chef at the 52-seat Carved Angel restaurant in Dartmouth, Devon, next month. He replaces David Jones, who has left to join food manufacturer the Kerry...

stockwatch.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... The aftershock from 11 September continues to haunt hospitality stocks. Share prices have bounced back from the lows that followed the terrorist attacks, but fund managers remain unexcited by the sector. Analysts believe hospitality shares...

Turner to advise NEC hotel.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Television chef Brian Turner has signed a deal to act as consultant chef to the Crowne Plaza Birmingham NEC hotel. The 242-bedroom property, which is to open on 22 February, will have a 130-seat restaurant named Brian Turner's. Turner...

Compass in winner's circle for two sporting contracts.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Contract catering giant Compass has won a ?5m-a-year deal to provide catering at Silverstone racetrack. It is one of two contracts won by Letheby & Christopher, the sporting events catering wing of Compass, to provide catering at top...

Worldwide; briefing.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Starwood results New York-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts reported a loss of $2m (?1.4m) in the three months to 31 December 2001, compared with a profit of $130m (?92m) for the same period in 2000. Turnover dipped by 21% to $878m (?622m),...

End of an era as Le Gavroche cuts Park Street link.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Two-Michelin-starred London restaurant Le Gavroche has stopped cooking meals for 47 Park Street, the five-star hotel alongside which it is housed, after 21 years. Le Gavroche is owned by Albert Roux and his son Michel Roux, its executive...

Torrential rain brings flood misery.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... SEVERE weather over the weekend brought flood misery to hotels, pubs and restaurants across the UK, and many were bracing themselves for more severe storms predicted to sweep across the country this week. Wales and the West Midlands were...

NH Hoteles reports huge sales growth.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Spanish hotel operator NH Hoteles boosted its group sales by 38% to i762m (?464m) in 2001. Sales at its Spanish properties increased by 7% to i330m (?201m), while turnover at the Krasnapolsky hotels it incorporated in July 2000 climbed by...

Six Continents has to keep the shareholders satisfied.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Six Continents, the giant hotel owner, operator and franchisor, is being tipped to make a ?1.3b bid for Spanish hotelier NH Hoteles. Although it described such rumours as "pure speculation" the strong balance sheet of Six Continents has...

Rhodes to open hotel restaurant.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Television chef Gary Rhodes is opening a restaurant in London's Cumberland hotel. Rhodes, who has a business partnership with contract caterer Sodexho, will design its menus and train its staff. He will, however, be more than a consultant...

[0] in brief.
February 7, 2002... Seiyo say yes Contract catering giant Compass has confirmed the acquisition of Seiyo Food Systems, a Japanese contract caterer. The group now owns 93.4% of the company's shares. Mike Bailey, Compass's chief executive, said that the...

Man killed in shooting.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... A gunman walked into a restaurant in Shepherd's Bush in west London last week and opened fire, wounding a waitress and leaving one man dead. Police were called to Nando's chicken restaurant at 284 Uxbridge Road after 28-year-old waitress...

British must moan more about poor hotel standards.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... The British need to be more vocal in their criticism of poor UK hotels if they want standards to improve, tourism minister Kim Howells said this week as he opened the Hotelympia 2002 exhibition at London's Earls Court. "The British don't...

A chance to spice up your current affairs.(hotels surviving in the wake of September 11)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 7, 2002... There is something particularly gratifying in the news this week that one of the hotels widely expected to be pulled down after the 11 September attacks is not only still standing, but could be accepting guests again by the end of the year. The...

Jurys Doyle seeks cash to back UK expansion.(Irish hotel company)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Ireland-based hotel group Jurys Doyle is hoping to raise almost g26m (?16m) to expand its hotel portfolio in the UK. The group has issued about two million shares in a bid to raise cash to fund expansion plans, particularly in the UK. ...

[0] in brief.
February 7, 2002... TOBIAS STANDS DOWN Richard Tobias is standing down as chief executive of the British Incoming Tour Operators Association at the end of the year. Fleming in frame? Ian Fleming, general manager at Auchterarder House in Perth and...

Events.
February 7, 2002... February 13 February 7TH ANNUAL SAVOY LECTURE Savoy Hotel, London. Disney's Dieter Hannig on "Making every guest feel special" Tel: 020 8395 6065 26-28 February SCOTTISH PUB, CLUB, HOTEL & CATERING SHOW ...

Hulstone lands Midlands Chef of the Year title.(Simon Hulstone)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Simon Hulstone, head chef of Cheltenham's Bacchanalian restaurant at Hotel on the Park, has won the second Midlands Chef of the Year title. The 27-year-old, the UK's first and only chef to win a gold medal at the Youth Skill Olympics back...

The cutting edge.(techniques for butchering meat in the restaurant industry)
February 7, 2002... Traditional butchery skills are going out of fashion in restaurant kitchens but, as Michael Raffael reports, butchery for profit can put you a cut above the competition ON THURSDAY 3 January, David Everitt-Matthias, of Le Champignon...

Letters.
February 7, 2002... Please send letters to: The Editor, Caterer & Hotelkeeper, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS. They may be faxed on 020 8652 8973 or e-mailed to forbes.mutch@rbi.co.uk. The opinions expressed on this page are not necessarily...

Survival course.(caterers and temporary kitchen facilities)
February 7, 2002... While contract caterers may dream of refurbished kitchens, there's the small difficulty of having to cope with using temporary kitchens while the builders are in. Jane Baker talks to some about how they've managed to survive with the minimum of...

Kit costs.(guide to purchasing catering equipment)
February 7, 2002... There's more to buying equipment than the mere matter of price. How much will it cost to run and to maintain? And where do you buy it? Bob Gledhill looks at the range of concerns YOU need to buy a new piece of kitchen equipment. How...

What's new.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2002... Bob Gledhill rounds up the latest food and equipment products for catering professionals Sweet variety Waldrons Patisserie has launched its new Connoisseur range of pre-portioned fresh cream frozen desserts. The five varieties are...

Three-star treatment.(Waterside Inn hosts Chefs event)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... The Waterside Inn, which this year celebrates its 30th birthday, will host the first Chef Eats Out event of 2002. Amanda Afiya reports HE IS Britain's longest-running holder of three Michelin stars and this year his legendary business...

Chef Award.(sponsored by British Meat Foodservice)
February 14, 2002... Sponsored by British Meat British Meat Foodservice is delighted to sponsor the prestigious Chef Award at the Cateys for the sixth consecutive year and urges nominations from chefs for this year's event. The Chef Award was introduced to...

Cooking with altitude.(British Airways service strategy)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... British Airways firmly believes that it can win customers from competitors by serving better food, and it's employing some of the country's top chefs to help. Gaby Huddart reports NO DOUBT about it, the airline industry has not been having...

A diamond geezer.(Australian travel review)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... In the third part of their exploration of the Antipodes, former Claridge's general manager Ron Jones and his wife Eve investigate contrasting examples of the Australian hospitality industry, from Parramatta's colourful inns to Sydney's swish 41...

EVERYTHING Has to be done in Cornish time.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... ONE of the things I love about hotels are the idiosyncrasies that contribute immeasurably to the success of the business - those little foibles that guests love about you translate into an ever-growing proportion of return and recommended...

Broadway after dark.(Millennium Broadway Hotel)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... When Per Hellman got the call to bring the Millennium Broadway hotel back to life after 11 September, he didn't hesitate. Stanley Slaughter reports on New York's Lazarus act Per Hellman was going about his duties as general manager of the...

Lucky 13.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 14, 2002... Restaurant chain Blubeckers is opening the doors of its 13th outlet, and owner Ann Street Brewery intends to bankroll three new restaurants a year. Susan Clark learns more BASED in the Channel Islands, Ann Street Brewery paid ?10m for the...

Worth the candle.(celebrating Valentine's Day)(Statistical Data Included)
February 14, 2002... The candles burning every evening at the Appletree Country Inn have made it especially appealing to those looking for a romantic location to celebrate Valentine's Day. And there will be a few other bonuses, too... such as special pink bread...

When a guest becomes a tenant.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Janet Felder, a partner and member of the property disputes team at Fladgate Felder, examines the issue of long-stay guests The law Premises need not necessarily include cooking facilities to be someone's home. If the occupant has...

Growth in tourism grinds to a halt.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 14, 2002... World tourism growth ground to a halt in 2001, with the number of international tourists falling by 1.3% overall and by 11% in the last four months of the year. According to the latest figures from the World Tourism Organisation (WTO),...

Saucy numbers.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Just because they go on the side of the plate doesn't mean they're beside the point. Sauces, relishes and condiments can add good business, says Amanda Marcus A GOOD selection of relishes and condiments is not the most obvious selling...

Fire chiefs call for arsonists alert.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Hoteliers should warn each other about guests and disgruntled employees who might deliberately start fires, as 30% of hotel blazes are caused by arsonists, the London Fire Brigade said last week. Speaking at a fire prevention seminar at the...

On the move.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... MIKE TALL has been appointed UK business development director for the government services division of Compass. He was previously Compass's defence development director and, before that, spent 30 years as an officer in the British Army. He...

Fie, fie! How wayward is this foolish love.(hotels are contracting for low paying positions)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... ALAS, poor Shakespeare, greetings card vendors know thee well. And never is this more apparent than on St Valentine's Day, when some of the Great Bard's best-remembered phrases are distributed on flimsy bits of board for commercial gain. ...

New Brighton opening may signal mini-boom.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 14, 2002... Luxury Hotel Management (LHM) has become the second company in four months to announce that it is opening a hotel in Brighton. The news has sparked talk that the Sussex seaside town is heading for a boom. LHM's 75-bedroom Alias hotel...

Bell rings changes.(Bell Inn)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... The ancient Bell Inn, believed to be the oldest pub in Nottingham, has been sold by the family which has owned it for more than 100 years. The Bell, which dates back to at least 1437, is said to have been built around the refectory of a...

Witchery was right to sack chef, says tribunal.(Witchery by the Castle restaurant)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... A chef was fired from his job at an Edinburgh restaurant for throwing and kicking pans across the kitchen, an employment tribunal has ruled. Euan Clinkscale, sous chef at the city's Witchery by the Castle restaurant, denied that the...

Table talk.(multiple articles included)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Brochure blunder causes anguished Wales SAGA Holidays has caused an upset in Wales by describing Cardiff and Newport as being in England. The error, printed in a Saga holiday brochure, promoted the Hilton hotels in Cardiff and Newport as...

Competing pair's hearts grow fonder.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... There will be little love lost between restaurant managers Sharon and Armando Cioffi on Valentine's Day as the couple will be competing for business on one of their busiest days of the year. It will be the first time the pair, who met as...

Second-half rise for Regent.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Regent Inns saw profits rise by 5.6% in the second half of last year. Pre-tax profits for the 26 weeks to 29 December 2001 came in at ?7.7m, compared with ?7.3m the year before, on turnover of ?59.3m, up by 20.1%. Trading in its Bar Risa...

Polish chefs could fill skills shortage gaps.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... A WILTSHIRE hotelier has decided to tackle the skills shortage by setting up a recruitment agency to bring Polish chefs to Britain. James Ingleton, owner of the Red House hotel in Cholderton, hopes to attract at least 300 Polish chefs to...

BTAlaunches postcard campaign.(British Tourist Authority marketing campaign)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Newspaper advertisements running throughout February are calling upon members of the public to send postcards urging their overseas friends and relatives to holiday in Britain - and perhaps to win free flights and holidays for their efforts....

Fall in franchising.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... US corporation Cendant increased sales and profits in its hospitality division last year but saw income from its hotel franchising fall as a result of the 11 September attacks. The reason that overall sales went up was last year's purchase...

End in sight for Bologna rebuilding.(Italian hotel group Starhotels)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Italian hotel group Starhotels is due to finish building work at its 193-bedroom hotel in Bologna at the end of April. The Starhotel Excelsior is next to the Sofitel in front of the railway station. The a13m (?8m) project started in...

Police concern for missing girl.(investigation information)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... POLICE are appealing to hoteliers who may have information concerning a missing Korean student. It is understood the 22-year-old girl, In-Hea Song, may be working as a receptionist at a London hotel. Song, who lived in Poplar, east...

Out on the streets and out of control.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Italian hoteliers are fed up with prostitutes openly touting for business in and around city hotels. But tourist chiefs sometimes take a more philosophical attitude, as Ben Walker found out on a visit to Bologna Bologna's thriving...

Truffelli is new Town House MD.(Marco Truffelli )(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... ITALIAN-born Marco Truffelli (pictured) has been promoted to managing director of Edinburgh's Town House Company. His is one of a number of management moves within the company, which is owned by Peter Taylor and comprises the three town...

Government concern over; Compass rail merger.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... The Government has called for a European investigation into the proposed purchase by Compass of three railway caterers to be extended to the UK. The European Commission has been investigating the proposed merger with Compass of European...

Wok Wok sell-off said to be under way.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... City Centre Restaurants (CCR) has begun the process of selling off its ailing Wok Wok chain, according to trade insiders. CCR said in September that it planned to sell Wok Wok so that it could concentrate on its other restaurant operations...

London hotels accused of 'passing the buck' over low-paid workers.(Transport and General Workers Union)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... A Transport and General Workers' Union official has accused London hotels of passing the buck by contracting out jobs they cannot fill and not looking too closely into the pay and conditions of the agency staff they use. His comments...

in brief.(Gavin Simonds, finance director at Millennium & Copthorne)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Simonds resigns Gavin Simonds, finance director at Millennium & Copthorne (M&C), resigned last week, five months after taking the job. Simonds, who was joint managing director of Inter-Continental hotels before joining M&C, has been...

Former HTFdirector Rutter dies after illness.(Hotel and Catering Industry Training Board's Duncan Rutter)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Duncan Rutter, former director of the Hotel and Catering Industry Training Board (HCITB), has died after a long illness, aged 72. Rutter joined the HCITB in 1976 and retired in 1996, by which time it had become the Hospitality Training...

Countrywide wins Tulip franchise.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Manchester-based hotel management and development firm Countrywide Leisure Management has been awarded the master franchise for the Golden Tulip and Tulip Inn hotels in the UK and Ireland. The contract was announced last week after Spanish...

Neat: why London restaurant failed.(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... Chef Richard Neat spoke for the first time this week about the closure of his London restaurant in the Oxo Tower. Neat restaurant, brasserie and bar, which opened last May on the tower's second floor, closed suddenly on 28 January. ...

Eat in restaurants, it makes you sick.(Food Standards Agency)(Brief Article)
February 14, 2002... ... or so the FSA would have you think. Ian McKerracher just can't believe it THE latest stunt from the Food Standards Agency, no doubt thought up by some marketing genius, is to send a sick bag, such as you get in aircraft seat pockets, to...

Stockwatch.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 14, 2002... Dublin hotel and bar operator Capital Bars was delisted on 5 February, after its management buyout was declared unconditional on 7 January. Its final share price was 26.5p. Owners Liam and Des O'Dwyer, who owned 44% of the stock, made a...