Caterer & Hotelkeeper articles from July 2005

Caterer & Hotelkeeper archives from July 2005

External relations.(Foremost Services)
July 14, 2005... Bringing in outside contractors for certain roles and services can reduce overheads and free permanent staff to concentrate on priority, customer-facing aspects of the business. Ross Bentley reports Contemporary hotel chain City Inn last...

blumenthal ; in barbados.(Heston Blumenthal's management style)
July 14, 2005... Former chef Peter Kay, consultant at the Ark Foundation and chief executive at the Sporting Chance Clinic, joined Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck team in Barbados, where they cooked for a charity dinner. Here he explains why he returned full of...

Life in; the farm lane.(Jody Scheckter plans for a hospitality company)(Interview)
July 14, 2005... Former Formula One world champion Jody Scheckter is launching a hospitality and events company at his biodynamic farm in Hampshire and is gearing up to take the business into the fast lane. Janet Harmer caught up with him As a racing...

Troubleshooting.(tips to use espresso machines)
July 14, 2005... There are a number of problems that could affect the standard of the coffee you serve. Barista Paul Meikle-Janney tackles some of the most common ones My espresso tastes weak, looks thin and has little crema Your coffee may be ground...

ROAST ; IN THE MACHINE.(a range of machines for espresso-based coffees)
July 14, 2005... Espresso-based coffees are currently flavour of the month and, as Ian Boughton discovers, there's an array of machines for the smaller operator which can make them efficiently and profitably The coffee-bar operators have led the British...

Summer sell.(Breweries)
July 14, 2005... Summer has at last arrived, and with it the first glimmer of the inevitable glass of rose. Craig Bancroft offers a guide to promoting it on your wine list Roses are notoriously difficult to sell throughout the year, but summer gives us the...

Made in Wales.
July 14, 2005... A new business has been set up by John Sullivan, managing director of Vin Sullivan Foods, to help Wales win a greater share of the global coffee market. Cafe Cymru's arabica beans will be shipped in from Brazil and roasted in Pembrokeshire....

The spa's; the; star.
July 14, 2005... Thinking of opening a spa? Congratulations - it's what everyone wants these days. But don't expect guests to beat a path to your door straightaway - you've got to work hard to get the spa right. Emma Allen reports The hotel spa industry...

Bean-to-cup round-up.(Coffee vending machines)
July 14, 2005... With so much competition on the high street, the ability to serve espresso-based coffees has become a necessity. But not everybody has the skill to operate a traditional espresso machine, which is where bean-to-cup machines come in. Carl May...

Glass distinction.
July 14, 2005... Everyone wants their glassware to sparkle. But if you're in a hard-water area, glasses can come out of the washer badly spotted or streaked. Softeners can often solve the problem, says Bruce Whitehall Guest expectations don't get much...

Home and dry.(opened a pub)
July 14, 2005... Fine-dining chef Mark Dodson and his wife, Sarah, managed a successful opening of their pub in rural Devon despite the water supply being cut off intermittently throughout the first week. Joanna Wood reports It's barely three weeks since...

THE BATH PRIORY.(Chris Horridge the famous chef)
July 14, 2005... Chris Horridge has shaped the menu at the Bath Priory into a combination of classic and experimental, as Dan Bignold discovers There's enthusiastic chefs and there's Chris Horridge. He's the new head chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant...

Little Chef sites to be sold in [pounds sterling]55m deal.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... By tom bill Little Chef is in exclusive negotiations to sell its roadside restaurant business to Lawrence Wosskow and Simon Heath, the previous owners of the Out of Town restaurant group. The deal, for all 233 Little Chef sites and brand name,...

Shares bounce back after one-day dip.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... City analysts have played down fears that the hospitality industry will be rocked by last week's bomb attacks in London. Stock watchers are heartened by the global economic recovery that followed the 9/11 attacks in New York and point to the...

keep your cool.(I Piaceri del Caff)(recipes of coffee)
July 14, 2005... When the heat's on, maintain your coffee sales by offering your customers chilled drinks like coffee-based cocktails and frappes. We look at coffee drinks for all seasons In Italy, coffee is drunk in similar quantities throughout the year,...

Big operators vie for slice of games action.(bid to provide food services for Olympics)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Opportunities in food service and facilities management by Tom Bill London's successful Olympic bid has been wholeheartedly welcomed by the food service sector, with large operators already vying for a piece of the action. "It's brilliant...

London and Liverpool ban bids are revived.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Bids by Liverpool and London to introduce city-wide smoking bans received a huge boost last week with news that the bills will now receive second readings. The bills, issued under a local act of Parliament, have been in parliamentary limbo...

Love just isn't reward enough.(Value-added tax)(restaurant industry)
July 14, 2005... Operators need more incentive to deliver high quality, says restaurateur and consultant Simon Wright The French, it seems, have failed in their attempt to get a reduction in the rate of VAT charged on restaurants. Well, all credit to them...

Welsh call time on smoking; Minister backs assembly's call.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... BY CHRIS DRUCE England looks set to become the only part of the UK to allow smoking in enclosed public places after the Welsh Assembly last week announced its support for a ban. Welsh health minister Brian Gibbons said he fully endorsed an...

Olympic Games could boost revenue by [pounds sterling]2b.
July 14, 2005... Tourism chiefs predict influx of visitors over 10-year period by Angela Frewin Hospitality, catering and tourism firms across the UK are expecting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to boost revenue by [pounds sterling]2b. The...

Skilled staff will be key to games success.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Hospitality and tourism firms face their "greatest-ever challenge" in ensuring they have the staff to make the most of the Olympics in 2012. Sector Skills Council People 1st believes the industry will need to recruit an extra one million...

Welsh councils fear many businesses will miss licence deadline.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Councils in Wales are worried that a large number of pubs face closure after the start of the new licensing regime on 24 November, because application rates remain too low. The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) said it was now looking...

Wolverhampton & Dudley refinances debts of [pounds sterling]805m.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries (W&D) is refinancing up to [pounds sterling]805m of existing debt to simplify its balance sheet and free up cash for future purchases. Acquisition-hungry W&D, which bought Jennings for [pounds sterling]46m in...

IHG to turn five former Hiltons into Holiday Inns.(InterContinental Hotels Group)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... By Angela Frewin InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is to convert five ex-Hilton hotels into Holiday Inns under a franchise agreement with investment vehicle Stardon. Stardon, a joint venture between Starwood Capital Europe and...

Marriott to take Courtyard up to 40.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Marriott International Hotels plans to expand its Courtyard brand to 40 properties in the UK within the next 12 months. At a briefing in London on Monday (11 July), Marriott president Ed Fuller said Gatwick, Cambridge, Manchester and London...

BHA honours Oliver and the Olympic team.(British Hospitality Association)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Jamie Oliver, the London 2012 Olympic bid team and the Savoy Educational Trust were all rewarded for their services to the hospitality and tourism industry at the British Hospitality Association's annual lunch last week. The event went ahead...

Hoteliers gear up for growth.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Hoteliers expect to profit from the Olympic Games and have dismissed fears that a flurry of new hotels would create an oversupply of bedrooms in London. Bid sponsors Radisson Edwardian and Hilton International said they were thrilled with the...

Olympic games timeline.
July 14, 2005... 2005 6 July*****London wins the bid*********for Olympics 2012. 2006*****Wembley Stadium*********completed. Work starts on upgrading Wimbledon's All England Club. ****Jubilee line upgrade*********completed. 2007****All land purchases...

Ergens buys a third property.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Turkish restaurant group Ergens is expanding with a third property on Barnet High Street in north-west London. The 2,000sq ft property, formerly a Pizza Hut, will take 75-80 covers when it opens in mid-September. Rent is about [pounds...

French protest at Cummings family's latest purchase.(Amberley Castle, L'Abbaye de la Bussire )(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... A 900-year-old Burgundian abbey in France has been bought by the owners of Amberley Castle, despite stiff opposition from the locals. The Cummings family intend to spend [pounds sterling]3m developing L'Abbaye de la Bussire, refurbishing the...

Exhibit B sold after a year ; in business.(market)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Exhibit B bar in Clapham's Old Town, south London, has shut after only a year in business. Operations director Karen McLeod said the company had made the decision for "financial reasons". The company, owned by Tim and Drew Weatherhead, is now...

London bomb outrage has little impact on business.
July 14, 2005... The World Travel & Tourism Council predicts losses and hotels report a few cancellations, but early signs are that business will soon return to normal by Angela Frewin Hospitality and tourism businesses remain optimistic that last...

Birmingham city centre evacuated.(hospitality businesses suffered)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Bomb threats and suspect packages also caused disruption to hospitality businesses in Britain's second city at the weekend. Hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs in Birmingham suffered major disruption on Saturday night when police evacuated...

RAC hotel inspection scheme is scrapped; End of the line for accreditation business after 101 years.(series of guidebooks)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... BY CHARLOTTE WALSH The RAC hotel inspection and accreditation business is to close after 101 years, bringing an end to the motoring group's series of guidebooks. Its accreditation scheme will finish at the end of the year, and the last guide...

Hotels cut prices while staff help the injured.(hospitality )
July 14, 2005... Some operators are accused of profiteering from tragedy by Jessica Gunn Hospitality businesses rallied to support those in need following the bomb attacks in London last week. However, some hotels were accused of profiteering, according to...

Franklin and Egerton House hotels go on the market.(sale)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Two independent London hotels, the Franklin and the Egerton House in Knightsbridge, are up for sale, Caterer has learnt. A third property, the Dukes hotel, also owned by the Franklin Hotel Investment Group, is also rumoured to be on the market....

stars to open; vegas hotel.(Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon have bought a Las Vegas hotel)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Hollywood heart-throbs Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon have bought a Las Vegas hotel, which is set to open in 2007. Mirroring their crime capers in the Ocean's Eleven and Twelve films, the Hollywood celebs have entered into partnership...

Scott's bought for under [pounds sterling]1m.(Richard Caring)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... London's Scott's restaurant has been sold for less than [pounds sterling]1m nearly a year after closing. The landmark eaterie was bought last week by fashion retailer Richard Caring, who recently bought Caprice Holdings for [pounds...

Sawyards closes but denies cash problems.(restaurants)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... One Michelin-starred restaurant Sawyards in Storrington, West Sussex, has closed after one year in business. The 50-seat venue, on the site of the former French Fleur de Sel restaurant, shut in May amid rumours of financial difficulties....

Sodexho races to feed Tube rescue workers.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Staff at contract caterer Sodexho worked through the night last week to provide food and drink to London Underground staff in the aftermath of the terrorist bombings. Sodexho, which caters at London Underground's headquarters and several...

A minute on the clock.(Interview)
July 14, 2005... Lizzy Kelk Lizzy Kelk was recently named Scottish Hotel Manager of the Year at the 2005 Hotel Review Scotland Awards. She took time out from her manic schedule at Edinburgh's Malmaison to talk to Emily Manson about the accolade. ...

Book Review.
July 14, 2005... Guides to meat and fish A Chef's Guide to Scotch Beef & Lamb Quality Meat Scotland Copies through info@amscotland.co.uk Fish and Shellfish Chris Leftwich, Libby Woodhatch, Fred A'Court Quantum Business Media, [pounds sterling]35 (mail...

Cafe Bar's Pelican brief.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Cafe Bar (UK), part of the Autobar Group, has merged its business with sister company Pelican Rouge to enhance the service and choice it offers to customers. The company strategy is to offer a complete beverage solution for food service...

Caterer loves.
July 14, 2005... The London Olympics Three cheers for London and the 2012 Olympic Games! (And boo hoo for Chirac.) There is nothing the hospitality industry loves more than a guarantee that seats will be filled and rooms will be booked. And with the...

Changing tastes in coffee consumption.
July 14, 2005... Ian Boughton of Boughton's Coffee House explains why it's worth spending time on your coffee offer All the statistics say that the market for well-made coffee is now taking over and returning better margins. It is reckoned that 20 billion...

Eye on fair trade.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... More than 2,000 people attended an event held on 21 June on the London Eye by Fairtrade hot drinks company Cafedirect to raise awareness of global trade issues in Africa. Flight 5065, as the event was called, after Cafedirect's premium instant...

Gala offers Spanish favourite.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... The first premium Spanish coffee to hit the food service market has been launched by Gala Coffee and Tea to capitalise on the popularity of freshly ground Continental coffee in the UK. The Templo Cafes range is blended and roasted at Gala's...

Going places.(appointments)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... The London Hilton hotel on Park Lane has selected Philip Morris as revenue manager. He performed the same role previously at the Heathrow Hilton. Belinda Pote has become senior vice-president international marketing at Marriott...

How I got here.(Chris George)(TGI Friday's restaurant)
July 14, 2005... Chris George General manager, TGI Friday's, Fulham, London Opening a new TGI Friday's restaurant in Fulham is a far cry from Chris George's first job with the company, as a bartender in 1992. Having progressed through the ranks, George, 31,...

how ; to.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Plan the perfect summer event * Never over-clutter a table - simple layout and floristry is key to a fresh-looking summer display. * Dinner plates should be about 2in from the table's edge; a salad plate should be to the left, a bread plate to...

Instant answers.(Interview)
July 14, 2005... Commercial director Quentin Knowlson answers some questions about the recently launched Nescafe Coffee Company Q Nescafe has always been associated with instant coffee. Why the move into roast-and-ground? A Recent research has shown that...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
July 14, 2005... Motivate your staff and reap the rewards I couldn't agree more with the comments from Mike Audis (Letters, Caterer, 30 June, page 22). Happy, motivated people lead to happy customers, which in turn lead to repeat business, or as we put it at...

Next move for someone in events.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Each week our panel of recruitment experts provides answers to an employment question posed by a Caterer reader The question For the past seven years I have worked in planning and booking events, training and organising travel. I am looking for...

Over to you.(Red Tape)(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Is red tape on small businesses at crisis point? Rick Holroyd, joint managing director of Holroyd Howe, Buckinghamshire "You just have to take it on the chin and get on with it. There's no question that it demands a great proportion of...

Police 'sting' operations.(restaurant industry)
July 14, 2005... David Elphick, of law firm Poppleston Allen, shows operators how to avoid falling foul of the law on serving alcohol to underage or drunken customers THE PROBLEM You are the manager and sole licensee of a busy city centre restaurant and...

Review of Reviews.(Restaurant Review)
July 14, 2005... The Guardian 9 July Shaun Hill looks in on Wales's Michelin-star standard bearer, Plas Bodegroes in Pwllheli. My starter of smoked haddock and courgette tart with fennel and parsley salad was a reminder why quiches were once so popular. The...

Spa treatments.(customer relations)
July 14, 2005... Here's a selection of innovative products to help you meet the needs of your spa customers 1. Bathing Beautifully This individual oxygen-enriched steam therapy bath, developed by OxygenPower Products, would be particularly attractive to...

Table Talk.
July 14, 2005... Who's the king of the jungle in your kitchen? How do you visualise your work colleagues? Are they a right bunch of animals? Now you can find out for sure thanks to an online quiz by equipment supplier Lockhart, which says being in the kitchen...

The joy in a week of emotional extremes.
July 14, 2005... In the days since Caterer went to press with last week's edition, Britain has experienced both agony and ecstasy. Few can have failed to feel exhilarated by the news that London had won the right to host the 2012 Olympics. The Caterer team was...

good week/bad week.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2005... Tom Cruise Spent [pounds sterling]10,000 flying Roman chefs to South America for his 43rd birthday. Pub crawl extraordinaire Stuart Ashby nears the end of crawl around all 5,044 pubs listed in the Good Beer Guide. Karaoke Trendy new karaoke bar...

infozone Strategy clinic.
July 14, 2005... The question My wife and I have recently taken over a country pub and we're looking to build up the food side of the business, which currently accounts for only about 20% of revenue. We'd like to ban smoking in our pub but we're a bit...

service with style.
July 14, 2005... If you're offering your customers quality coffee, you need a suitably stylish cup in which to serve it. We've rounded up some of the more eye-catching designs 1. a bit on the side Giotto is a new collection of coffee cups from Italian...

Teutonic plates.(food services management )
July 21, 2005... How do you feed 30,000 workers a day and still keep quality high? Is white asparagus better than green? Why is the Black Forest home to three Michelin-starred restaurants? To find answers, four Elior chefs visited the largest country in Europe...

Building Benjys.(management tactics)
July 21, 2005... In five years, Benjys CEO Ian Rickwood has turned a 32-outlet basket case into a 70-strong sandwich shop empire supported by a fleet of delivery vans, a booming vending machine business and a growing wholesale business. Karl Cushing found...

Tobia.(Restaurant Review)
July 21, 2005... Hilton-trained Sophie Sirak-Kebede is now serving authentic Ethiopian food at her London restaurant. Dan Bignold reports There are probably only about 25 Ethiopian restaurants in the capital, which means they don't figure very prominently...

Going places.(Manchester Conference Centre and Hotel appoints Stephen Parfitt as head chef)(Weston Park appoints Guy Day)(London townhouse hotel appoints Natascia Vivaldi)(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Manchester Conference Centre and Hotel has appointed Stephen Parfitt head chef. He was senior sous chef at the Holiday Inn hotel, Haydock, Lancashire. Manchester Conference Centre and Hotel has appointed Stephen Parfitt head chef. He was...

subtracting additives.(processed meat and poultry products additives standards)
July 21, 2005... Some processed meat and poultry products have come under fire lately for having a high fat and salt content. Bob Gledhill looks at how manufacturers have been trying to meet the Food Standards Agency's reduction targets Protein is a...

Thousands of businesses to miss August deadline.(license renewal survey report)
July 21, 2005... By Chris Druce Applications under the new licensing regime for England and Wales remain dangerously low and threaten to leave thousands of hospitality businesses operating illegally. With only 11 working days to go until the 6 August licence...

Spirit sells King's Arms in Dorchester.(Mark Bowley acquires )(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Spirit Group has sold its King's Arms hotel in Dorchester to independent hotelier Mark Bowley in a [pounds sterling]1.5m deal. Property developer Bowley announced plans to spend a further [pounds sterling]1m refurbishing the 35-bedroom hotel,...

School kitchens matter just ; as much as computer suites.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Schools must put the same level of resources into kitchens as computer facilities if the Government is going to solve the school meals crisis, according to the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA). Neil Porter, the association's outgoing...

Swallow buys 20 hotels for [pounds sterling]75m.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Swallow Hotels continued its aggressive expansion programme last week, spending [pounds sterling]75m on 20 new hotels. Seventeen of the properties were in Scotland, making it the biggest Scottish hotel deal of the year so far. The hotels were...

Caterer Loves.(services of Lucky Voice )(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Karaoke Karaoke is officially cool. Or it will be, if Lucky Voice private karaoke bar in London has its way. Set up by Martha Lane-Fox, founder of lastminute.com, the luxury karaoke venue could be a sign of things to come. The new joint...

G8 at Gleneagles.
July 21, 2005... The G8 Summit was overshadowed by the London bombings earlier this month. But for the staff at Gleneagles, looking after the eight most powerful men in the world was a memorable experience. Andy Moore asked general manager Patrick Elsmie what...

Leela Palaces plans to double in size.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Indian hotel group Leela Palaces and Resorts is to invest [pounds sterling]179m upgrading and expanding its portfolio, with plans to double in size to eight hotels by 2010. The privately owned hotel group opened its fourth property on the...

Government to ring-fence funds for school meals.(conferences of Local Authority Caterers Association)(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... The Government set out its three-year plan for school meals at the Local Authority Caterers Association's (LACA) annual conference in Birmingham last week. Penny Jones, school resources divisional manager at the Department for Education &...

The scientific American.(WD-50 )
July 21, 2005... New Yorkers have every type of cooking you could think of on their doorstep - which means they're hard to impress. So if WD-50 is the restaurant everyone is talking about, there must be a reason. Joanna Wood went to meet chef Wylie Dufresne to...

School meals panel to opt for Caroline Walker standards?(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... By tom bill The Caroline Walker Trust (CWT) standards for school food in England and Wales have been tipped to become the new yardstick for school meals. The revised guidelines, which were announced at the end of June, are just one option on...

Arora buys Gatwick airport Le Meridien.(Arora International)(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Gatwick airport's Le Meridien hotel has been sold by Compass Group to Arora International for [pounds sterling]32m this week. Surinder Arora, the company's chairman, plans to spend [pounds sterling]8m refurbishing the hotel over the next three...

Precinct ups offer for Jurys.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Precinct Investments, owner of Gresham Hotels, has improved its prospective offer for the Jurys Doyle group, having been rejected twice already. The group has pledged j16.50 per share ([pounds sterling]11.33), 25 cents (17p) more than its last...

Jarvis Hotels for sale at [pounds sterling]200m.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Jarvis Hotels confirmed rumours this week that it has been put up for sale by its owner, venture capital firm Lioncourt Capital. The Irish property developer, which bought the 60-strong Jarvis chain only 18 months ago for [pounds sterling]229m,...

Hotels say they welcome gay marriages.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Hoteliers have hit back at allegations of homophobia after a newspaper claimed that hotels were planning to refuse gay weddings. Same-sex marriages become legal from December this year. But a report in the Independent on Sunday last weekend...

Mash puts its faith in flower power.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... West End bar and restaurant Mash reopened on 11 July after a refurbishment, which saw the arrival of an on-site flower shop. Absolute Flowers now takes the space once occupied by Mash's old deli. The venue has had a lick of paint as well...

Oliver cooks at Berkeley Square Ball.(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver teamed up with Caprice Holdings chef-director Mark Hix to cater for this year's Berkeley Square Ball charity dinner on Tuesday (19th July). They catered for 700 guests including celebs Kate Moss (left), Pete Doherty,...

NUT pledges teachers' support for LACA.(National Union of Teachers)(Local Authority Caterers Association)(Brief Article)
July 21, 2005... The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has pledged to work more closely with the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) on improving school meals. Speaking at the LACA conference, NUT general secretary Steve Sinnott said that teachers needed...