Caterer & Hotelkeeper articles from July 2002

Caterer & Hotelkeeper archives from July 2002

Take training to next level.(Sector Skills Council)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... The new SSCs give the industry the chance to really make a mark and have its say on training, says Angie Risley "People are our greatest asset." While it's one thing to come out with that cliche, what have we as an industry actually done...

Table talk.(multiple topics)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Eye up? You'll be down blinking quick EVER wondered what would happen if someone had a heart attack or needed urgent medical treatment on the great ferris wheel of the London Eye? Well, we have news for you. If necessary, the operators can...

Hoteliers count cost as insurance premiums soar.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Nobody likes to pay more for insurance premiums, particularly when they quadruple in one year. But that is what some hoteliers have had to suffer in 2002. Ben Walker reports HOSPITALITY is not the only industry to be hit by soaring...

Six Continents' boss calls for EU action on red tape.(European Union)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Red tape is making European business less competitive, the chairman of Six Continents told industry leaders at a dinner hosted by the Confederation of British Industries in Brussels last week. Sir Ian Prosser told delegates that, since the...

UK's first licensed beach deck opens.(Bournemouth, England)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... More than 200 people, including dignitaries and local restaurateurs, came together in Bournemouth last month to celebrate the opening of what is believed to be the UK's first licensed beach decking. The Continental-style beach deck boosts...

Cheznico closes as lease expires.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... London's Michelin-starred restaurant Cheznico at Ninety Park Lane closed this week, a month before its lease at Le Meridien Grosvenor House hotel expires. The restaurant, which has been there for 10 years, held three Michelin stars until...

Bidvest admits 3663 and Brake merger is dead.(Brake Bros PLC)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Bidvest, the owner of food supplier 3663 (formerly Booker Foodservice), made it clear last week that it would not be pursuing its proposed merger with Brake Bros. The statement came hot on the heels of the announcement last Thursday (27...

Five section winners named in apprentices' competition.(Hospitality Modern Apprentice of the Year Competition )(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Five section winners have been announced in the Hospitality Modern Apprentice of the Year Competition 2002, which was held at the De Vere Village Hotel and Leisure Club in Coventry. The two-day national final involved 19 competitors. The...

Compass to sell Little Chef and Travelodge.(Compass Group)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Compass is to sell its Travelodge chain of budget hotels and its Little Chef roadside and motorway restaurants because they do not fit into its core contract-catering business. They will be sold through investment bank Schroder Salomon...

Summer break sparks sale rumours at La Gousse d'Ail.(an Oxford, England restaurant)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Jonathan Wright, joint owner with his wife, Jayne, of La Gousse d'Ail, has vigorously denied persistent rumours that the fine-dining restaurant in Oxford has closed permanently. "Absolutely not," said Wright. "This industry is renowned for...

Letters.
July 4, 2002... Gambling will be big business - bet on it The report on the Catering Forum (Caterer, 20 June, page 24) was interesting but missed one important debate - on the UK gambling market, which is about to expand and become a lot more competitive...

Tall storeys.(tallest modern hotel in Europe: Gran Hotel Bali)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... The recently opened Gran Hotel Bali (above) in the Spanish coastal resort of Benidorm is the tallest modern hotel in Europe. The 52-storey, 438-bedroom hotel is owned by Bali Hotels. It is 186m high and took 15 years to build. Only...

Chez Gerard cutting costs to customers.(Groupe Chez Gerard PLC)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 4, 2002... Groupe Chez Gerard is cutting the cost of dining at its restaurants as it tries to recover from the 81% fall in pre-tax profits it suffered in the second half of last year. Executive chairman Neville Abraham said last week that the detailed...

Shadow of WTC holds back UK recovery.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 4, 2002... The UK hotel industry is still finding it hard to shake off the effects of 11 September, according to the latest figures from consultant TRI Hospitality. TRI's HotStats survey also reveals that the UK's provincial hotels, which until...

World events hit hotel occupancy across Europe.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 4, 2002... The economic and political turbulence of last year meant that average hotel occupancy in Europe fell below 70% for the first time in more than a decade, according to the latest City Survey from consultant PKF. The survey, due to be...

Conflict ruins trade for Israeli operators.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Pity the Israeli hotelier. Occupancies in Jerusalem in 2001 (down 60%) and Tel Aviv (down 40%) are eloquent evidence of just how hard the country's political turmoil has affected business. In Jerusalem, in particular, there are few places...

Karachi hotels gain from War on Terror.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 4, 2002... Karachi is not the most likely place to have enjoyed an increase in occupancy last year. As a major city in troubled Pakistan, the reverse might have been expected. But the PKF survey revealed a 4.3% increase in occupancy, putting it, at nearly...

Worldwide; briefing.(Statistical Data Included)
July 4, 2002... NH lifts turnover Spanish hotel group NH Hoteles said turnover in the first five months of 2002 increased by 15% to i325m ([pound]210m) compared with the same period last year. Occupancy was 66%, with revenue per available room at almost...

stockwatch.(Pizza Express PLC)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 4, 2002... SHARES in high street restaurant chain PizzaExpress fell sharply after the company warned of a deterioration in sales. Its share price slumped by 24.2% from 614p to end the week at 465p - the steepest fall this year for the company, whose...

Charity tackles alcohol and drug abuse.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Alcohol awareness charity the Ark Foundation has launched a programme of one-off 90-minute lectures for catering colleges. The idea is to advise staff and students about behavioural characteristics and problems associated with alcohol and drug...

Bar owner charged with possession of cocaine.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... One of North-east England's best-known hotel and bar owners has been arrested and accused of possessing cocaine. Keith Gibbon, 59, owner of Lazi Leisure, has been charged with possession of a class A drug, along with a CS gas spray. Gibbon...

Together we are stronger than our component parts.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... THERE'S a commonly held belief in the hospitality industry that when it comes to innovation and progress, the USA is ahead of the field. High service standards, enough zany ideas to make George Washington turn in his grave and their execution...

Managed pubs keep S&N profits growing.(Scottish and Newcastle)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Profits and turnover at Scottish & Newcastle's (S&N) managed pub estate both increased in the 12 months to 28 April, the company announced this week. Turnover within the managed estate, which includes the Chef & Brewer pubs and Premier...

Diet supplements could benefit prisoners.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Improving the diet of prisoners in order to reduce reoffending would be both "practical and achievable", says the catering adviser to the Scottish Prison Service. John Spencer's comments follow the release this week of an Oxford University...

Faces & places.(briefs)(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Chris and craig do the Double Chris and Craig Bieszke have become the first twins at a Le Meridien hotel to win a joint employee of the month award for their outstanding service to guests. The identical 19-year-olds are both waiters at...

Events.
July 11, 2002... July 17-18 July LEISURE & ENTERTAINMENT ASIA 2002 Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre. E-mail: suzanne.voo@ terrapinn.com 18 July HCPTAAwards for excellence Savoy hotel, London. ...

Caterer personals.
July 11, 2002... H I am looking to locate Barbara (Canadian) and Marco Varani from Italy who were part of the opening team at the Bath Spa Forte Grand. Please contact John Ward 01993 844767 (Marco last seen in Washington, DC). H Le Talbooth Restaurant,...

Island life.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... In the penultimate part of their culinary circumnavigation, former Claridge's general manager Ron Jones and his wife, Eve, revisit some of their favourite islands AboarD the QE2; St Helena, Madeira, Tenerife. We return to St Helena, "the...

Knightsbridge revisited.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... After a decade away from the restaurant world, Hugh O'Neill has been lured back to his old stomping ground at the Brasserie St Quentin, in London's Knightsbridge, to do it all again. Tessa Fox went to find out why A self-confessed weakness...

Trust in Ickworth.
July 11, 2002... A new hotel on National Trust land will be an entirely different prospect to forerunner Cliveden, claim its founders. Jenny Webster went to visit WHEN Nicholas Dickinson and Nigel Chapman bought Fowey Hall in Cornwall four years ago, it...

Roots to glory.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Bidding to make an impact on the London restaurant scene are partners Henry Harris and Eric Garnier. Ben McCormack went to find out how they were doing AS RESTAURANT double acts go, the names of partners Henry Harris and Eric Garnier don't...

Green with energy.
July 11, 2002... The introduction in April 2001 of the Climate Change Levy, the Government's tax on fuels, has made energy conservation an essential business strategy. Amanda Marcus looks at how hospitality operators can reduce their consumption and save money...

Don't thank us - just join up.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... There's no point being wise after the event, so join a trade association before disaster strikes, says Ian McKerracher IMAGINE you are opening your post one morning and you find a stern brown envelope from the Inland Revenue. You open it,...

Drinks news.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Ultimate Wedding Beer The Ultimate Wedding Beer was just one of the beers on test in the seventh Beauty of Hops awards, held recently at the White Horse pub on London's Parson's Green. Code-named the "I do" brew, it aims to overturn the...

Table talk.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Press pins a tale on donkey-sausage shop A FRENCH delicatessen owner has been obliged to stop making donkey sausages after newspaper reports claimed animal rights lobbyists were targeting his shop in Sandwich, Kent. Dominique Levet had been...

Take Hartnett.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The opportunity to prove herself in a male bastion by taking over the fine-dining restaurant at London's Connaught hotel was a big enough challenge to lure Angela Hartnett away from sunny Dubai and a post she describes as "the best job of my...

World beaters wanted.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The countdown to the 2003 World Skills Competition has begun. Diane Lane reports IN LESS than 350 days three enthusiastic and talented young hospitality professionals representing the UK will do battle against competitors from around 35...

Campbell's cuvee.(Brief Article)(Interview)
July 11, 2002... Why, oh why, is Riesling not more popular? Here's another top chef whose favourite grape is - you guessed it, Riesling. Fiona Sims talks wine with the Vineyard's John Campbell Should chefs mug up on wine? Absolutely. It should be...

Up and down and up again.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... IS THERE or isn't there, that is the question - is there a recession or isn't there? It's a tricky question, and the answer will depend on who you talk to and what they want you to hear, but the collapse of the Fish! restaurant chain last week...

Faces & places.
July 11, 2002... Faces & places is edited by Louise Bozec E-mail: louise.bozec@rbi.co.uk Thoroughly modern Apprenticeship Hotel staff welcomed a new apprentice when Dr Phil Extance, executive director of the Learning and Skills Council Shropshire,...

it looks as though the silly season has started early this year.
July 11, 2002... JULY already... hasn't it flown by? The first half of 2002 hasn't been too bad, we've kept are heads above water and we're looking forward to the rest of the year. But the strange customers have started. It doesn't usually begin until...

Contract; catering.(catering industry contract news briefs)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Image booster Aramark has won a contract, with annual turnover of more than [pound]150,000, to supply accommodation and catering to the Defence Geographic and Imagery Intelligence Agency at Feltham in Middlesex. The contract will initially...

On the move.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Rocco Forte Hotels has named IVAN ARTOLLI general manager of its Hotel Amigo in Brussels. Artolli's former role as general manager of the Hotel Savoy in Florence has gone to DAVIDE BERTILACCIO, who was director of international sales at...

Tauscher takes over at Mandarin.(Rudolph Tauscher, Mandarin Oriental in New York)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Rudolph Tauscher has taken the role of general manager at the Mandarin Oriental in New York, which will be the group's flagship hotel in North America when it opens in late 2003. Tauscher, who was born in south Germany and started his...

Savoy combines food and beverage with banqueting.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... LONDON'S Savoy hotel has undergone a major shake-up of its food and beverage and its banqueting operations, which have been combined under the management of LIONEL BENJAMIN. Benjamin has taken on the newly created role of director of food...

The pig issue.
July 11, 2002... All over Continental Europe restaurant-goers are gobbling up pork dishes, but in the UK it has struggled to be a popular choice. Is it time for this to change? Janet Harmer puts the question No other animal is as versatile to the chef as...

Todiwala set on new venue.(Cyrus Todiwala opens third restaurant)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Indian chef Cyrus Todiwala is planning to open his third Cafe Spice Namaste restaurant in London. Todiwala is chef-director of the Cafe Spice Namaste restaurants in Prescot Street in the City, and Lavender Hill in Battersea. He was...

Wareing not guilty of job move to QC.(Marcus Wareing staying put)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Chef Marcus Wareing has confirmed rumours that he considered becoming a consultant chef for the QC restaurant at the Renaissance London Chancery Court hotel. Wareing, chef-patron of the one-Michelin-starred Petrus restaurant in the...

Rhodes ends talks over Lygon Arms.(Robert Gleeson hired as head chef)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Gary Rhodes has ended discussions with the Savoy Group about running the restaurant at its Lygon Arms hotel. Rhodes had been holding negotiations with the hotel in Broadway, Worcestershire, for several months (Caterer, 18 April, page 4)....

In-House sparks deal.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... In-House Catering has won the contract to provide the catering at the Institution of Electrical Engineers in Savoy Place, London. The three-year contract, worth about [pound]1m a year, was previously held by Eaton Group.

Unbooked Irish hotels send staff on holiday.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Business is so poor in Irish hotels this summer that staff are being asked to take their holidays in what is normally peak season. John Power, chief executive of the Irish Hotels Federation, said that "several hotels" have had to ask staff...

Worldwide; briefing.(industry news)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 11, 2002... Seiyo sells shares Seiyo Food Systems, part of contract catering giant Compass, has sold 6.4b yen ([pound]35m) worth of shares in Japanese fast-food chain Yoshinoya. Seiyo now owns just over 20% of the firm. Compass was also looking into a...

Boutique paradise.(Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will open hotel in Putrajaya, Malaysia)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is to open its first boutique hotel in Putrajaya, Malaysia, in October. The 120-bedroom hotel, located 25km south of capital city Kuala Lumpur, will - unusually for Shangri-La - be a pure management contract....

The lunch mob.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Nine months on from the launch of Oxford's Savannah restaurant, thoughts are beginning to turn to a possible second opening. There's still plenty of work to be done, however, as David Jones discovered in his final visit It's hard to see...

Keep food samples as legal safeguard, school cooks urged.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Caterers in schools and colleges should consider keeping samples of all food cooked and served as a safeguard against court cases involving food poisoning, delegates at the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) were told last week. ...

Greene King to focus on improvements to recent acquisitions.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Pub company and brewer Greene King will concentrate over the next year on improving and investing in the pubs it has recently bought, chief executive Tim Bridge said last week as the company reported another year of increased turnover and...

stockwatch.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... MILLENNIUM & Copthorne suffered the biggest fall in share price last week, dropping by 11.5% to 269p. It was the fourth consecutive week that the UK-based international hotel group experienced a decline. The company, which owns or...

Fish! bubble burst by 'growing too quickly'.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Fish!, the specialist midmarket restaurant chain that called in the administrators last week, expanded too quickly and was vulnerable when the market turned after 11 September, according to leisure analysts. The company called in joint...

in brief.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... whitbread plan Whitbread has lodged plans to build a 40-bedroom Travel Inn and a 10,000sq ft Brewsters pub and restaurant just off the M5, north of Bridgwater in Somerset. The twin complex will be the centrepiece of a business park that...

Compass gets approval for purchase of Rail Gourmet.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Compass's purchase of on-train catering company Rail Gourmet has been cleared by the UK Competition Commission. The acquisition was not against the public interest, said the commission. Its report said that the merger meant that the group's...

French Franck takes over Overton Grange.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Overton Grange, the former Michelin-starred hotel in Ludlow, Shropshire, has a new owner. The hotel, a former Caterer Adopted Business, has been sold to Frenchman Franck Choblet. It has 14 bedrooms and a 35-seat restaurant, Les Marches....

Threadneedles hotel open at last.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Threadneedles, Eton Town House Group's fourth and largest hotel, opened this week in London, nearly a year later than originally expected. Managing director Peter Tyrie said building delays had been caused by the restrictions of working in the...

Workers at Dolphin Square set to strike.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 11, 2002... Trade union members working at the Dolphin Square complex of 165 hotel suites and more than 1,000 private flats in London's Pimlico plan a one-day strike tomorrow (12 July) in support of a demand for higher pay. The Transport and General...

Development costs peg Jurys profit.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 11, 2002... The cost of financing new hotels caused pre-tax profit to drop by 8% at Ireland-based hotel group Jurys Doyle during the year to 30 April. Turnover, however, was up by 5.6% to a266.38m ([pound]171m) - 2001, a252.15m ([pound]162m) - while...

Chef seeks support for Bocuse d'Or campaign.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The 2003 UK entrant for the Bocuse d'Or World Culinary Contest in Lyons, France, is seeking sponsorship. Eyck Zimmer, senior sous chef at Claridge's, London, will be representing the UK at the biennial competition, which takes place next...

Search begins for Young Chef Young Waiter 2002.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The Restaurant Association is inviting applications for the 2002 Young Chef Young Waiter competition. Waiters and chefs aged 25 and under on 31 December 2002 should apply now for entry forms (the closing date for entries is 31 July). The...

What's new.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
July 11, 2002... Bob Gledhill rounds up the latest food and equipment products Stocks in a box Pritchitts has added three more flavours to its range of concentrated liquid stocks: ham, lamb and fish. Packaging is in one-litre or 250ml Tetra Pak...

King of all she surveys.(Red Carnation Hotels' Caroline King)
July 11, 2002... The Milestone's Caroline King is one of the few female general managers in London, overseeing the smooth running of Red Carnation Hotels' flagship property. Helen Adkins went to find out what makes her tick STEPPING from smog-choked...

Letters.
July 11, 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...

Willcocks comes top in seafood challenge.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... A catering student at Southampton City College has won the Norwegian Seafood Focus - Student Challenge 2002. Beating off entries from seven other students, Alex Willcocks cooked a prize-winning dish of pan-fried Norwegian haddock fillets on...

Radisson calls expert help for perfect coffee.(Radisson Edwardian Hotels)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Radisson Edwardian Hotels has called in experts to train staff to make the "perfect" cup of coffee. About 40 new "coffee champions", based at its 10 hotels across London, have been drilled in an exhaustive list of what to do and what not...

Chapman warning over trademarks.(Kit Chapman, English Brasserie Co.)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... The English Brasserie Company has accepted out-of-court settlements in two new cases of trademark infringement of its Brazz chain of brasseries. The company won an eleventh-hour, out-of-court settlement of [pound]15,000 in a trademark...

Compass to continue operating sell-off brands as franchisee.(Traveldoge hotels, Little Chef restaurants)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Compass will probably continue to operate some Travelodge hotels and Little Chef restaurants as a franchisee even after it sells the groups, according to Compass chairman Mike Bailey. Bailey said the contract caterer could end up as a...

Ambassador goes into receivership.(Ambassador Frozen Foods)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Glasgow-based fresh and frozen food business Ambassador Frozen Foods has gone into receivership. Eighteen staff have been made redundant and 31 remain. Joint receiver Keeny Craig of Tenon Scotland is planning to continue trading the business...

Zulu wing opens at Hoste Arms hotel.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Paul and Jeanne Whittome have opened a new Zulu-furnished wing to their Norfolk hotel, the Hoste Arms in Burnham Market. Paul and his South African-born wife have spent [pound]325,000 on Zulu artefacts and furniture from Kwa Zulu Natal, where...

Restaurant kanga-roof upsets the neighbours.(Royal Essex Cottage)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... The owners of a restaurant in a picture-postcard village on the Isle of Wight have angered neighbours and councillors by putting a kangaroo on their roof. Australian Rick Hilton and his wife, Maggie, have had the kangaroo shaped into the...

Contract; catering.(industry briefs)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... KOREA IN CATERING Contract caterer Halliday flew in a Korean chef for a month to train its chefs and serving staff so it could offer authentic Korean dishes to the 200 employees at the Samsung Electronics Research Institute in Staines,...

Horn of Plenty is up for sale.(hotel, restaurant)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... The Horn of Plenty hotel and restaurant in Tavistock, Devon, is for sale. Owners Paul Roston and executive chef Peter Gorton have decided to sell the 10-bedroom property, with its 60-seat Michelin-starred restaurant, so they can focus on...

in brief.(hotel, pub sales)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Parkside purchase Macdonald Hotels has bought the Parkside hotel in Milton Keynes. The 49-bedroom hotel has a 65-seat restaurant and five acres of land. There is planning permission for another 26 bedrooms. Hamilton House deal The...

Airline theme for Yotel! revealed.(Yo! Sushi to open hotel)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... The owner of restaurant chain Yo! Sushi revealed more details of the group's long awaited London hotel last week, although there is still no firm opening date. Simon Woodroffe said that Yotel!, which has been in development for 18 months,...

Worldwide; briefing.(includes multiple articles)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 18, 2002... Marriott flat out US-based hotel group Marriott International has reported virtually flat profits in the second quarter of 2002. Net profit for the period was $129m ([pound]83m), compared with $130m ([pound]83.6m) a year earlier. Turnover...

Eldridge Pope reports sales dip.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 18, 2002... After a strong first-half performance with like-for-like sales growth of 2.5%, pub company Eldridge Pope said trading in the third quarter (April to June) had been disappointing with like-for-like sales falling by 4% on last year. It added...

McKerracher steps down at Restaurant Association.(Ian McKerracher)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... When Ian McKerracher resigned last week as chief executive of the Restaurant Association (RA), it was not because he was bored with the job. He has not tired of lobbying the Government on behalf of the 3,000 restaurateurs who belong to the...

Chef in court on terror charge.(Suleyman Zainulabidin)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... The trial of a chef arrested last October under the Terrorism Act 2000 began last week at the Old Bailey in London. Greenwich-based Suleyman Zainulabidin, 44, worked at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Regent's Park....