Caterer & Hotelkeeper articles from June 2004

Caterer & Hotelkeeper archives from June 2004

Competition Round-up.
June 3, 2004... Craft Guild of Chefs Awards Winteringham Fields' recently appointed head chef Robert Thompson (Caterer, 22 January, page 33) is among the 30 professional cooks shortlisted for honours at this year's Craft Guild of Chefs Awards. The...

Balancing acts.
June 3, 2004... Flexible working is not just a trendy phrase, it's the law. The good news is that it can be a huge retention tool for staff. But how can you put it into practice? At Castle House hotel in Kendal, Cumbria, staff turnover is reducing each...

how i got here.
June 3, 2004... Thierry Tellier, head baker at the Capital hotel, London, and co-owner of the London Bakery Thierry Tellier, 29, first got involved in the hospitality industry back in his native France due to a sweet tooth. "I have always loved bread,...

on the mo ve.
June 3, 2004... Kirsten Falk, the new general manager of the Roof Gardens in London's Kensington, has promoted Ozan Dagli to restaurant manager at the property's Babylon restaurant. He was deputy restaurant manager at the Virgin Hotels-owned London site. ...

how I got started.
June 3, 2004... Greg Nicholl Greg Nicholl was set to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and become a baker before his father persuaded him to train as a chef. Now with business partner Paul Cox he owns the Nicholl's brasserie and gastropub chain, and...

Your shout.
June 3, 2004... by Angus Marshall, founder of Disabled Hotel Access ARE YOU READY FOR 1 OCTOBER? Until 1 October the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) states that where a "physical feature", such as a change in floor level, makes it impossible or...

Property Advice zone.
June 3, 2004... Rent reviews Rent is a significant business overhead for buyers of commercial leasehold properties and rent reviews can be a major headache. The amount a tenant pays is reviewed periodically, usually every three to five years. Rent...

Talking the Zork.
June 3, 2004... There was much to talk about at the recent London International Wine & Spirits Fair - including Zork. Move over screwcap - and cork, your days are so over I didn't think it would be long before there was a serious challenge to the...

TV dinners.
June 3, 2004... The standard of food served at the BBC has received its share of negative press over the years - but has it all changed now that the Beeb's staff have a swanky new restaurant? No one can say it's been a quiet time at the BBC. There's been...

regional spotlight.
June 3, 2004... IPSWICH Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk, has roots going back to Saxon times. In the last few years the town has seen a mass of development, the bulk of which has been centred on the former commercial docks which have been turned...

property of the week.
June 3, 2004... This week we've upped the budget a bit to include this historic country house hotel in the Lake District. Dale Head Hall is set in 2.5 acres of grounds beside Lake Thirlmere, about halfway between Keswick and Grasmere, with Helvellyn mountain...

Last supper.
June 3, 2004... Clutching Birmingham City's first FACup and riding on the team bus, GLYNNPURNELL arrives at the club's home ground for a last supper with lashings of lager What's the grub, then? I want a menu surprise, because everybody loves...

United we'll stand.
June 3, 2004... Common standards for rating accommodation throughout the UK are on the horizon. But as Karl Cushing reports, there's a long way to go before an agreement is reached The Quality Review Group (QRG) has reached an "agreement in principle" to...

in-house fraud.
June 3, 2004... Andrew Durant, of BDO Stoy Hayward, and Andrew Witts, of Lawrence Graham, examine what to do if you discover or suspect fraud in your company The common scams involve an employee acting either alone or, more likely, in collusion with a...

English tourism needs better co-ordination, say industry leaders.
June 3, 2004... English tourism is in a muddle, underfunded and confused, with no co-ordinated strategy for the English tourism product, say industry leaders. "English tourism is a real dog's dinner at the moment," said Adrian Clark, director of the...

The Catering Forum.
June 3, 2004... In two weeks' time the Catering Forum sets sail from Southampton on board the Oriana ready to discuss the industry's burning issues The Catering Forum was developed to provide operators in the industry with opportunities to network and...

Fyne dining.
June 3, 2004... Rated the fastest-growing restaurant group in Britain, Loch Fyne is now setting Le Petit Blanc brasseries back on track. We went to meet its founder, Mark Derry A Loch Fyne restaurant hit the headlines in nearly every national newspaper...

Match practice.
June 3, 2004... Even your local supermarket's in-house magazine is going on about it. Yep, we're talking beer and food matching - it's so hot, it hurts, says Fiona Sims It seems everybody's at it - beer and food matching, that is. Multiples, which stock...

Sauces of inspiration.
June 3, 2004... Cooking sauces can provide a base for chefs to create inspired, individual dishes with a variety of flavours, while saving them a lot of time and effort Be they Oriental, Indian or Mediterranean, cooking sauces needn't just be about...

Playing for time.
June 3, 2004... Thinking about what beers to stock for Euro 2004? Caterer tastes some alternatives from each qualifying country. Fiona Sims keeps score I had more than a few men volunteering for this particular Caterer tasting panel. Come taste Euro 2004...

Table talk.
June 3, 2004... Pizzas must be flat. Sorry, it's the law... Do the Americans dictate federal burger specifications? Is sushi protected by Japanese law? No, but that hasn't stopped pizza-makers in Napoli from pressuring the Italian agriculture ministry into...

BOOKREVIEW.
June 3, 2004... My first impressions of this book were of its sheer enormity. It's a monster. The biggest and heaviest book I've seen in years. Coffee tables need to be sound to cope with this beast, and those coffee tables will be in the homes of the...

Glasgow's Arthouse hotel is on the market at [pounds sterling]6.5m.
June 3, 2004... Glasgow's Arthouse has been put up for sale with a price tag of [pounds sterling]6.5m, just over two months after corporate recovery firm KPMG was sent in to try to rescue the four-star hotel. The hotel, which was once famously booked out...

London hotels face huge rise in liability for losses by guests.
June 3, 2004... London hoteliers will have to pay up to 15 times more for lost, stolen or damaged guests' property from 13 July onwards. Changes to the London Local Authorities Act, which was given royal assent late last month, will mean that hoteliers in...

Bright Spark.
June 3, 2004... What: Concierge assistant Why: Where traditionally concierges have relied on a bookshelf of guidebooks and their own knowledge, now a computer system has been tailor-made for the Landmark hotel in London, allowing access to more than 900...

How to...
June 3, 2004... ... make a blackberry Caiprovska Ingredients (makes 40ml) H 10ml Chambord H Fresh lime H Fresh blackberries H 15ml syrup de gomme Method Muddle three wedges of fresh lime and five fresh blackberries with the syrup de...

reader; soapbox.
June 3, 2004... Les Routiers service means a commitment to good food Nicholas Stanley, director of Les Routiers, hits back at chef Jonathan Coombs' criticisms Jonathan Coombs (Caterer 27 May) is wrong to assume that the inclusion of national companies...

QMH sells its Sloane Square hotel.
June 3, 2004... Troubled hotel group Queens Moat Houses (QMH) has signed a deal to sell its 105-bedroom hotel in London's Sloane Square. The hotel is being bought by Sloane Square Hotel, a consortium of private investors, for [pounds sterling]12.35m. The...

IHG sees first-quarter pre-tax profit double.
June 3, 2004... A doubling of pre-tax profit in the first three months of 2004 has left hotel giant InterContinental feeling positive about the future of the industry. The group, which saw its profit soar from [pounds sterling]25m last year to [pounds...

Ramsay's TVtirades 'would land him in court'.
June 3, 2004... Lawyers have hit out at Gordon Ramsay's behaviour and language on reality TV programme Hell's Kitchen, saying if he treated his employees like that he'd be in court. Ramsay's much publicised swearing and verbal abuse has been graphically...

Swan quits HTF after 11 years.
June 3, 2004... Declan Swan, director of the Hospitality Training Foundation (HTF), has resigned from the Government-funded training organisation to join the private sector, as chief executive of recruitment consultant Welcome Skills. Swann joined the HTF from...

Herbert to sell Gravetye Manor.
June 3, 2004... Gravetye Manor, one of the UK's first country house hotels, has been sold to its general manager and head chef for an undisclosed sum. General manager Andrew Russell and head chef Mark Raffan have bought the 18-bedroom hotel in East...

Kids' law to be simplified.
June 3, 2004... The Government has announced plans to streamline employment law for children to make life easier for operators. Margaret Hodge, minister of state for children, last week accepted the recommendations of the Better Regulation Task Force. ...

Laurel and W&D are on the shortlist to buy Wizard Inns.
June 3, 2004... The Laurel Pub Company and Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries have made the shortlist for the Wizard Inns sale. An industry source confirmed that Laurel had made a [pounds sterling]90m bid for Wizard, which has 64 high-street pubs. "We...

So you want to be mayor of London?
June 3, 2004... With just a week to go until London's mayoral elections, we ask the candidates from the three major parties what's in their manifestos for the hospitality industry. James Garner reports Simon Hughes Congestion charge Reduce...

Commons approves licensing guidance.
June 3, 2004... Licensing reform in England and Wales has taken another step forward, with guidance for the 2003 licensing act receiving approval in the House of Commons last week. The House of Lords will vote on the guidance on 8 June. If approved, a...

ESS signs facilities deal at Leuchars RAF base.
June 3, 2004... ESS, part of Compass Group, has been awarded a five-year, [pounds sterling]5.5m-a-year contract to supply catering, retail, leisure, cleaning and hotel services at RAF Leuchars near St Andrews in Fife. The contract is part of the Ministry...

Britainfaces battle over 48-hour week.
June 3, 2004... Britain's unique opt-out of the 48-hour working week is under threat as a new report proposes that all European countries comply with the working week limit. The European Commission's latest update on the Working Time Directive laid out...

Springboard deadline extended.
June 3, 2004... The deadline for entries to industry charity Springboard UK's Awards for Excellence scheme has been extended to Friday 11 June, with all supporting information to be submitted by 18 June. There are 15 awards under three categories: promoting...

Champagne sales echo UK's strongeconomy.
June 3, 2004... Britain's thirst for Champagne is increasingly voracious and still growing, according to a new report. The UK is now the second-largest consumer of Champagne in Europe after France, with a 24% market share, according to the latest research...

Thompson and Jones open new London eaterie.
June 3, 2004... Chef Andy Thompson, who launched London's Clerkenwell Dining Room just over two years ago with business partner Zak Jones, has confirmed that they are to open a second restaurant in the capital. The new eaterie is to be in the Holborn area...

Support for call to bring back cookery in schools.
June 3, 2004... Caterers have shown widespread support for calls to reintroduce cookery lessons in schools after a damning Government report finally called for a combined approach to the growing problem of obesity. Schools remained on the front line,...

Review OFTHEREVIEWS.
June 3, 2004... 30 May Matthew Norman celebrates Arrigo Cipriani's new London restaurant, Cipriani Exactly how many people were waiting on the tables at any one time was hard to calculate since these occupants of gleaming white dinner jackets seemed...

Cuban restaurant and bar plan for Conran's Mezzo.
June 3, 2004... Conran Holdings' Mezzo-Mezzonine operation in Soho is to be transformed into a new restaurant and Cuban bar concept, the group exclusively revealed to Caterer last week. Chief executive Des Gunewardena confirmed he was about to sign a deal...

New book features hotel chefs' recipes.
June 3, 2004... The publishers of the Distinction World series, titles for hotel and restaurant groups around the world, have produced their first Chefs of Distinction Worldwide cookbook. Following three UK editions of Chefs of Distinction, the book, published...

inside track.
June 3, 2004... Yates Group What business is it in? Yates's is a bar operator. Go to the group website at www.yates-group.com. What brands does it operate? 21st Century Yates's bars (formerly Yates's Wine Lodges) and Ha!Ha! Bar & Canteen....

Food file.
June 3, 2004... Fresh Produce The English asparagus has been excellent to date but the season is drawing to a close over the next week or so. The new crop of Italian berlotti beans, however, are wonderful at present. The English hedgerows are now full of...

career clinic.
June 3, 2004... The expert panel Our expert panel comprises representatives from the Hotel and Catering Training Company (HCTC), Accor Hotels UK & Ireland, Greene King Pub Company, Simply Chefs by Hocaps, Bartlett Mitchell, Learnpurple, Conran Restaurants...

Wild things.
June 3, 2004... The growing interest in locally sourced ingredients, together with the efforts of two legendary Frenchmen, have rekindled chefs' interest in wild herbs. Who did Michael Raffael choose to lead us through a masterclass? It had to be the...

here for the beer.
June 3, 2004... In case you hadn't noticed, there's a beer revolution going on. The country is awash with great beers, and the variety has never been better. OK, so it all got a bit sticky in the last decade of the 20th century, with breweries closing...

Letters Caterer.
June 3, 2004... Who is responsible for poor students? I write in response to the letters published in Caterer last week, as well as the 30-plus telephone calls and letters I've personally received from all over the UK since my comments in Caterer (Bains...

done deals.
June 3, 2004... Caldwell's new gaff in MinnigaffCreebridge Lodge, a three-star guesthouse in Minnigaff, Kirkcudbrightshire, has been sold for more than [pounds sterling]289,000. David Caldwell with his wife bought the Victorian property. It has four...

Restaurants and bars Round-up.
June 3, 2004... Fuller's lifts annual profit by 13% Profit at brewer and pub company Fuller, Smith & Turner increased by 13% year-on-year to [pounds sterling]19.2m ([pounds sterling]17m). Turnover at the company, which has both managed and tenanted pubs...

Listing the benefits.
June 3, 2004... You're proud of your wine list? Then why do you offer the beer equivalent of white sliced bread? Offering a variety of beers in your restaurant will get you noticed, says Fiona Sims, who shows you the way You'd think with all the fuss...

Great bottled beers.
June 3, 2004... Caterer asked some of the country's leading beer writers and buyers for the beers they would like to see on a restaurant list Budweiser Budvar There's a town called Budweis - bet you didn't know that. It's in the Czech Republic, where...

Competition Round-up.
June 10, 2004... UK-NZ LINK scholarship The UK-NZ Link Foundation, which promotes educational and vocational exchanges between the UK and New Zealand, is calling for entries to its annual Hospitality Scholarship. The competition is open to trainee...

In Brief.
June 10, 2004... Belhaven boost as profits soar Scottish pub company and brewer Belhaven Group has revealed record pre-tax profit and a jump in turnover. Pre-tax profit for the year ended 28 March 2004 increased 31% to [pounds sterling]14.2m from [pounds...

salary watch.
June 10, 2004... RESTAURANTS/FAST FOOD This sector has continued to operate positively, particularly in the non-branded restaurant sector, with some strong independent restaurants proving extremely successful. The skills shortages at the junior end of...

how i got here.
June 10, 2004... Alessandro Bonuzzi, sommelier at London restaurant One-O-One Italian-born Alessandro Bonuzzi, 23, has little doubt what's required to be a great sommelier. "Without passion you won't go anywhere. You need to love food, wine, the restaurant...

on the mo ve.
June 10, 2004... John Rogers has become marketing director for De Vere Group, covering its three brands, De Vere Hotels, Village Hotels & Leisure Clubs and Greens Health & Fitness. He was director of marketing and strategy at the company. Andrew Coggins is now...

Personnel attraction.
June 10, 2004... Alongside a hotel's location and facilities, the attitude and capability of its staff are what mark it out from the competition, and in an industry suffering from staff shortages, holding on to good employees requires a strategy that goes...

Your shout.
June 10, 2004... by Rod Taylor, hotels team leader at Barclays Bank Why the banks are going back to hotel school I believe the bank that can clearly demonstrate its unique selling point, or "USP", has it in its power to become the lender of choice to...

BOOKREVIEW.
June 10, 2004... The world of cooking is pretty basic - a life of hard work entangled with creativity. I love my work, I spend a great deal of time thinking about food, cooking and restaurants in general. In my experience, it is a subject that is all-consuming...

Blair moves closer to UK smoking ban in public places.
June 10, 2004... Tony Blair gave his clearest indication yet last week that he may be considering a smoking ban in public places and the workplace. The prime minister suggested that local authorities could be given the power to outlaw smoking in enclosed...

Antarctic review... after 58 years.
June 10, 2004... Consultants have made their first ever review of catering in Antarctica. The British Antarctic Survey, which has been at the South Pole since 1946, wanted to tighten up its procedures and commissioned consultant Alexander Jon Richardson &...

Food file.
June 10, 2004... Fresh produce There are very good baby artichokes at the moment, about the size of an egg and ideal for salads or pizzas. From France there are excellent big celeriacs, courgettes and Jerusalem artichokes. There are also good pointed...

Property Advice zone.
June 10, 2004... Health and safety issues for hospitality entrepreneurs Owners of hospitality businesses run the risk of unlimited fines if they fail to address health and safety issues effectively. The international hotel group of legal firm CMS Cameron...

how WE got started.
June 10, 2004... Deborah and Gerard Wright People start their own businesses for all sorts of reasons, but for Deborah Wright and her husband Gerard it was her love of dolls' houses that led to their first hospitality venture. Although the...

Table talk.
June 10, 2004... food development Breakthrough Moat House Hotels has dreamt up an exciting new menu innovation. In a press release the hotel group boasts: "Resulting from extensive market research carried out by the company's food and drink development...

Hotel listing lifts English wine sales.
June 10, 2004... The biggest selection of English wines in the country - and probably the world - is on offer at the Careys Manor hotel in the New Forest, and is arousing interest among guests and staff Maybe you'll all be a little more receptive to our own...

property of the week.
June 10, 2004... This week's property is a hotel in the West Highlands resort of Ullapool, just over an hour's drive from Inverness. The Royal hotel has 60 letting bedrooms, 54 of which are en suite, and some have doors leading on to private balconies that...

reader; soapbox.
June 10, 2004... Slow down and think smarter says Jane Sunley, managing director of people-retention specialists Learnpurple Why are we all working so hard and feeling so stressed? In the 1980s, the blue-sky thinkers were predicting we would all be on...

Quick fixes.
June 10, 2004... Menu innovation from contract caterers This week: A chocolate lover's dream for less than [pounds sterling]1.50 Creator: Nick Gabaldon, sous chef for Baxter & Platts at GlaxoSmithKline, Brentford According to Gabaldon, this recipe...

Walls, floors and ceilings.
June 10, 2004... Chefs may focus on the cooking equipment and the food, but there is an equal duty of care on the surroundings. Bob Gledhill looks at floors, walls and ceilings At first glance, the walls, floors and ceilings of a kitchen do not add...

Deep-fat fryers.
June 10, 2004... The choice of which deep-fat fryer will best suit your needs depends on more factors than meet the eye. Inside Kitchens looks at all the points to consider before making a decision Deep-fat fryers are a feature of just about every...

Livingstone gears up for re-election battle.
June 10, 2004... Londoners get the chance to vote for their next mayor today (10 June). Last week Ken Livingstone launched his manifesto on the day Caterer went to press. Since then his team has completed the questionnaire we put to two of the other main...

My new kitchen.
June 10, 2004... Customers can see just about everything that happens in the kitchen at Plateau, Terence Conran's newest restaurant, in London's Canary Wharf. So all the kit has to look the part. Diane Lane reports The first thing you notice when you walk...

Giant steps.
June 10, 2004... David Thomas, chief executive of Whitbread, has spent seven years building the pub and brewing company into a family-friendly restaurant giant. On the eve of his departure from the job, Chris Druce went to meet him David Thomas, chief...

Last supper.
June 10, 2004... Joel Robuchon is in the kitchen and Jesus Christ is at the table as Trevor Brooks contemplates his fate over a margarita and a slice of processed cheese First things first: A cocktail to get the party buzzing? Margarita over ice (not...

Hire education.
June 10, 2004... The capital cost of catering equipment can be daunting, particularly for a new business. Does it make for good kitchen management to turn to leasing instead of capital purchase? Inside Kitchens does the sums Few chefs would deny the...

Global report.
June 10, 2004... ASIA PACIFIC W resort to open in Maldives W, the super-trendy hotel chain owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts, has announced its first resort property. The W Maldives-Fesdhu Resort in the Maldives is scheduled to open in late 2005....

Eastlake two start own business.
June 10, 2004... Two former directors of Express by Holiday Inn franchisee Eastlake Hospitality have left the company to launch their own hotel business. Rod Carden-Lovell and Les Evans have secured more than [pounds sterling]30m of funding to launch...

Sally's choice.
June 10, 2004... They said it would never work, but Sally Clarke's no-choice menu - and her damn-the-cost approach to buying ingredients - has been packing out her Kensington restaurant for 20 years. As she celebrates this anniversary, could there be signs that...

Concerns raised over UK long-hours culture.
June 10, 2004... A survey among 1,400 small businesses in the UK found alarming levels of work addiction in the hospitality industry. Almost half of all publicans, for instance, are putting in more than 70 hours a week. Karl Cushing reports Long hours and...