Caterer & Hotelkeeper articles from June 2005

Caterer & Hotelkeeper archives from June 2005

London's games?(Olympic bids for 2012)
June 2, 2005... As the International Olympic Committee's evaluation group prepares to present its technical report on the five candidate cities next week, we find the bullish organisers of London's Olympic bid preparing to enter the final straight It's...

Esperante.(restaurants)
June 2, 2005... Last September Esperante became the fifth restaurant to open within the five-star St Andrews Bay hotel, Fife. It aims to attract both hotel guests and non-residents. Jane Cartwright talked to head chef Scott Dougall about what he is serving up...

Wedding sells.
June 2, 2005... Getting married is back in fashion, and UK couples are spending an average of [pounds sterling]16,000 on their special day. We look at the best ways of attracting your share of this competitive market It might not sound very romantic, but...

Cleansing oil.(fried foods)
June 2, 2005... Immersion in hot oil or fat cooks popular foods such as chips rapidly and also contributes to taste and digestibility. But less-welcome particles of burnt matter created by the frying process are raising concerns about safety - both of...

Make a big noise for the London Olympics.
June 2, 2005... Liverpool won the Champions League last week, in case you've been on Mars. While scouse fans basked in the joy of winning the trophy for a fifth time, the club's bean counters were celebrating the fact that the victory took earnings from their...

BOOKREVIEW.(Book Review)
June 2, 2005... Cocina Dulce Edited by Francisco Marfull Piquer Montagud Editores, [pounds sterling]40 ISBN 84-7212-102-X It's a funny thing, but when I bought Cocina Dulce I had gone out on a mission to source and purchase a new French cookery book. Yet I...

property of the week.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... This week's property is a busy community pub in the picturesque Devon village of Plymtree, Cullompton. The Blacksmiths Arms, parts of which date back to the 15th century, stocks cask-conditioned beers, including locally brewed ales, as well as...

Advice zone.
June 2, 2005... Management contracts: the unforeseen dangers Sale and manage-back deals, where an owner sells a hotel but continues to operate it under a management contract, receiving a management fee for its trouble, have become increasingly common in recent...

A minute on the clock.(interview)(Interview)
June 2, 2005... Renowned chef Raymond Blanc won a silver award last week for his first Chelsea Flower Show entry, "Exotic Edibles", with Newington Nurseries. Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire is also famed for its organic gardens. Blanc talked to...

Team Toques.(cookery competition)
June 2, 2005... In just four weeks' time the last four teams will enter the final furlong in the 2005 Nestle Toque d'Or Challenge. We check out the runners and riders There were about a hundred starters in the race to become the 2005 Nestle Toque d'Or...

How to...(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... ... network H Find a suitable networking event or group to join, use your contacts and take note of any events coming up. Use recommendations from colleagues to get you started. H Work out what you want to achieve from the people you wish...

Sake star on the rice.
June 2, 2005... The restaurant world is always on the lookout for a trend. Here's one: sake. Fiona Sims investigates Sayaka Watanabe started it. But then, when Rainer Becker, chef-proprietor of Knightsbridge restaurant Zuma, hired the country's first...

Loch Fyne considers ; sale for up to [pounds sterling]40m.(Loch Fyne Restaurants)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Expanding seafood chain Loch Fyne Restaurants has launched a strategic review that could result in a sale of the business for between [pounds sterling]30m and [pounds sterling]40m. The group has instructed City advisers Noble & Company "to...

Hospitality firms reach list of fastest-growing.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... There was more good news for the hospitality industry this week as a host of businesses made it into a list of the UK's fastest-growing companies. Eight hospitality businesses - including Living Ventures and Italian chain Carluccio's - featured...

Gloucestershire council agrees to reshape its licensing policy.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... A second local authority has backed down in the debate over new licensing laws by agreeing to amend its policy rather than face a grilling in the High Court. Both Gloucestershire and Canterbury councils were due to face a judicial review of...

Compass shareholders demand reassurance.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Compass shareholders have begun fresh talks this week in an attempt to help ease fears over the contract catering giant's future. In the aftermath of last week's poor interim results and two profit warnings in seven months, investors want...

Whitbread shares rise on buyout rumour.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Whitbread shares closed at a four-year high last week as speculation mounted over a [pounds sterling]3.5b buyout and break-up. Several venture capital firms, including CVC, Apax, Permira and an unnamed US group, are thought to be sniffing...

Rentokil puts out surprise profit warning.(Rentokil Initial PLC)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Contract catering to pest control company Rentokil Initial issued a surprise profit warning last week and cautioned it was not out of the woods yet. The business services group reported a 16.5% fall in pre-tax profit over the first four months...

MPW and Dettori open second Frankie's.(Marco Pierre White)(Frankie Dettori)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Chef-restaurateur Marco Pierre White and jockey Frankie Dettori have bought a new London site to kick off the roll-out of their Frankie's Italian Bar and Grill concept in London and the Middle East. The first Frankie's, which opened in London's...

Parent power wins ; [pounds sterling]1m extra for school meals in Camden...(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Parent pressure in the London borough of Camden has persuaded the council to stump up [pounds sterling]1m of additional cash to improve school meals. From next April, the amount spent on ingredients will rise from 45p to between 60p and 70p per...

The buying game.(Industry Overview)
June 2, 2005... To own or not to own, that was the question. Now everybody wants to sell off their hotel property and stick to management. Andrew Sangster examines why It seems no hotel operator wants to own property at the moment. After completing the...

Avenance takes first steps in healthcare.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Elior-owned contract caterer Avenance has revealed it is planning to enter the NHS market. Simon Pollard, managing director of the group's education and healthcare division, said he believed the time was right for a new player in the sector....

Chefs puncture bid to ban long knives.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Top chefs have rubbished doctors' claims that long, pointed kitchen knives are unnecessary in the kitchen. The doctors, from West Middlesex University Hospital, want the Government to ban the public sale of long knives because they are involved...

...as Merton agrees to make changes.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... A campaign for better school meals in the London borough of Merton has also succeeded in convincing local council leaders and caterers that quality must improve. Following intense pressure from local residents, council leader Andrew Judge has...

Signature restaurants sold to Richard Caring.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Retail entrepreneur Richard Caring is understood to have won the race to buy the Signature restaurant group this week. As Caterer went to press, news was emerging that Caring had exchanged contracts for the group of London properties, which...

FishWorks to float on AIM.(FishWorks)(Alternative Investment Market)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Restaurant group FishWorks has announced plans to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) to help fuel an aggressive expansion programme. Company directors said they believed admission to AIM would raise its profile with prospective...

Catering Update is going digital.(Catering Update )(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Monthly catering products bible Catering Update is getting a sharp new look on 6 June. A digital version of the magazine will also now be available. Caterer's sister magazine will be printed in A4-size format to make it even more accessible to...

OVER; TO YOU.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Are you backing the bid for the Olympic Games in London 2012? Definitely. It will obviously be very good for the UK economy, and will give London a chance to display how diverse it is and show what a huge range of cuisine it has to offer....

Hill to oversee food at New Forest hotel.(Montague Arms appoints Shaun Hill)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... Michelin-starred chef Shaun Hill has been appointed the new director of cooking at the Montague Arms hotel in Beaulieu, Hampshire. The announcement ends months of speculation over the next move for the multi-award-winning former chef-patron of...

Paramount emerges as leader in race to buy Little Chef chain.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... The Paramount restaurant group has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to buy Little Chef, it was revealed this week. A source close to the deal said the Chez Gerard operator now seemed the most likely contender to sign a deal for the...

Last ; supper.(Huseyin Ozer)(Interview)
June 2, 2005... Faced with the prospect of your last meal on earth, what would you eat and drink, and with whom? We asked restaurateur huseyin Ozer to share his hypothetical moment Right, who's on the guest list? Mr and Mrs Anton Mosimann, Mr and Mrs Nico...

Letters Caterer.(Letter to the Editor)
June 2, 2005... Sensationalist reporting will damage eating out The recent reports in the Guardian (subsequently picked up by other commentators) regarding the state of some of the country's top kitchens smacked of lazy and sensationalist journalism. The truth...

In Brief.
June 2, 2005... Welsh Assembly to seal fate of tourist board The Welsh Assembly has started to draw up regulations which will abolish the Wales Tourist Board (WTB) and absorb it into the civil service. The plans, first announced earlier this year, will replace...

Review of the reviews.
June 2, 2005... 28 May Arabella Weir finds herself seduced by the unpretentious Les Associes in Crouch End, London NW8 Our starters were very good - not sensational, but then tricksy wasn't what we'd ordered, nor what we were after. The snails [in garlic...

Staff washrooms.(Water Industries Act 1991)(Environmental Protection Act )
June 2, 2005... Geoff Young, managing director of washroom services management firm Sanity Group, offers guidance on complying with workplace health and safety regulations the problem The Smiths run a successful two-star, 20-bedroom hotel in the West...

Table talk.
June 2, 2005... the traditional nepalese art of... er, volleyball Cornwall must be a popular spot for Nepalese emigres. When Ram Prasad Sharma, owner of the Gurkha restaurant in Falmouth, celebrated the Nepalese New Year recently, more than 50 Nepalese people...

We love...(Brief Article)
June 2, 2005... ... hospitality merchandise Conran's introduction of the Quaglino ashtray in the early nineties was a stroke of marketing genius. The heavy metal Qs instantly became the hottest property around, and were so regularly "lifted" from the...

Working in restaurants.
June 2, 2005... Restaurants are big business, and restaurateurs increasingly want home-grown talent, so now is a great time to carve out a career in this sector. Janet Harmer and Rosalind Mullen report Everyone's at it - even you, probably. We're talking...

Working in restaurants.
June 2, 2005... Restaurants are big business, and restaurateurs increasingly want home-grown talent, so now is a great time to carve out a career in this sector. Janet Harmer and Rosalind Mullen report Everyone's at it - even you, probably. We're talking...

Rights here, right now.
June 9, 2005... Hear the word "disability" and most of us think of wheelchairs and white sticks. The reality is that one in five British adults has a disability, ranging from arthritis to depression. If you employ such a person now or in the future, do you...

Ritz buys next door and fulfils founder's dream.(Hotels and motels)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... London's Ritz hotel has bought its neighbouring building - the 18th century William Kent House - to expand its operations in time for its centenary celebrations in January 2006. Caterer can exclusively reveal that after years of speculation,...

Make problem venues pay for policing costs.
June 9, 2005... The Government wants to get tough with binge-drinking and problem youths. Ever since it won the General Election there have been endless announcements about improving respect in society and tackling "yob" culture. The latest idea to combat...

Empire building.
June 9, 2005... Only the best was the simple brief behind the Empire Hotel & Country Club in the sultanate of Brunei in North-west Borneo. Max Le Grand looks at the background to its opening and checks out its luxury attractions Most people imagine the...

Chef Eats Out.
June 9, 2005... Fischer's Baslow Hall, 13 July In 1988 Max and Susan Fischer relocated their successful restaurant business in Bakewell to Baslow Hall, on the edge of the Chatsworth Estate. Surrounded by spectacular scenery as well as access to...

The new masters.
June 9, 2005... The exclusive ranks of the Master of Culinary Arts welcomed three new members last month. Janet Harmer reports on what it takes to win the accolade Held only once every four years, the Master of Culinary Arts (MCA) is regarded as the most...

property of the week.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... This week's featured property is a traditional south Shropshire inn with a prominent roadside setting. The Travellers Rest Inn is in Upper Affcot, on the A49 trunk road between Church Stretton and the foodie's haven of Ludlow. The free-of-tie...

How to...
June 9, 2005... ... minimise the risk of fire Train your staff regularly on fire safety issues and ensure you: H Identify potential fire hazards and remove or reduce them. H Practise good housekeeping and eliminate fire hazards from waste and other...

Young Guns going for it.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Hospitality students Kerry Mabbley, 22, and Michelle Roberts, 23, have been named Richmond Events' 2005 Young Guns competition winners. Mabbley, from Sheffield Hallam University, and Roberts, from Bournemouth University, were chosen ahead of...

Hilton on lookout for Irish properties.(hotels and motels)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Hilton announced it is looking for a further three Irish properties after it took over operation of the Mount Wolseley hotel in County Carlow last week. Wolfgang Neumann, head of Hilton in UK and Ireland, said: "Hilton is looking at numerous...

Newcomer Precinct raises its offer for Jurys Doyle group.(hotels and motels)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Irish hotel group Jurys Doyle has received an improved offer from investment consortium Precinct Investments. Its latest approach for Ireland's largest hotel chain values shares in the company at a16.25 ([pounds sterling]10.97), a rise of a1...

ADVICE ZONE.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Thinking of buying a restaurant? Here are some things to consider Restaurants come in many shapes and sizes, from fine-dining establishments and bistros to take-aways and tea shops. And when you've decided on the type of place you want to...

Notting thrills.
June 9, 2005... Chefs dream of opening headline fine-dining restaurants, but very few achieve the critical acclaim that Brett Graham has found in his first head chef role at the Ledbury in London There's something happening in London's Notting Hill. And...

Country house hoteliers concerned at rate rises.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... April's onerous business rate hikes are the biggest concern for country house hotel owners in the UK, according to a new report. More than a third of respondents (38%) said business rate increases were now their biggest worry, pushing staff...

Rentokil 'unravelling' as profits plummet.
June 9, 2005... Concerns have been raised over the future of Rentokil Initial following the company's surprise profit warning last week. Profits at the business services group plummeted 16.5% in the first four months of 2005, while its facilities management...

Authorities disagree over [pounds sterling]220m school meals cash.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) chairman Neil Porter has admitted the new School Meals Trust cannot agree on how to spend the Government's [pounds sterling]220m cash injection. While all sides agree on where funds are needed, they...

Schrager in residential move.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Uber-chic US hotel magnate Ian Schrager launched his first residential project last week as part of plans to redevelop the Gramercy Park hotel in New York. The 23 private residential apartments overlooking Gramercy Park form part of the hotel...

Marriott eyes Asia and Europe for expansion.(Hotels and motels)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Marriott International has announced an aggressive expansion programme which will see it add 75,000 to 90,000 bedrooms to its global portfolio between 2006 and 2008. A fifth of the new rooms are expected to be conversions from the company's...

Eating out in a world of darkness.(Dans le Noir)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Ever been out with someone you couldn't stand the sight of? Don't worry, from next month you can dine at London's first totally dark restaurant. Dans le Noir? makes diners consume their meals in complete darkness so they appreciate not only...

New look and name for Quintessential.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Quintessential Hotels has announced a [pounds sterling]40m refurbishment plan to coincide with a change of name for the group to QHotels. The Leeds-based group owns five properties in England, which it hopes to double by the end of the year....

Jamie Oliver's campaign may hit catering jobs.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Jamie Oliver's school meals campaign may cost some catering staff their jobs, Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) chairman Neil Porter has warned. LACA estimates that school meals uptake has dropped by 20% in some parts of London and...

Gate Gourmet staff vote against pay cut.(airlines)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Bosses at US airline caterer Gate Gourmet are "disappointed" staff have refused to accept pay cuts to aid the struggling company, but are determined to plough ahead to cut labour costs. In a joint US-UK ballot last week (2 June) the company's...

Britain keeps EU Working Time opt-out.(European union)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... European proposals to abolish the UK's right to opt out of the 48-hour working week have been shelved. Ministers from Britain and eight other European countries blocked a vote on changes to the Working Time Directive going ahead at last week's...

Five Tom's hotels to go smoke-free.(Tom's Companies)
June 9, 2005... North-East based restaurant and luxury hotel group Tom's Companies has become the latest hospitality business to go smoke-free to protect the health of staff and customers. From 1 July the owner of the Seaham Hall hotel in Seaham, County Durham...

UK clings on to Working Time opt-out but how long for?
June 9, 2005... The European Union's troubled constitution has grabbed all the headlines over the past week, but we should really be paying more attention to the negotiations over the Working Time Directive. Paul Gander reports The eyes of business...

Fuller to feed the world-famous at Live 8.(Mark Fuller)(catering contracts)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Celebrity restaurateur Mark Fuller is to cater for the Live 8 charity concert in London's Hyde Park on 2 July. The landmark event will be held 20 years after the original Live Aid concert in 1985 and will aim to highlight the ongoing problems...

Merck pulls out of Aramark US deal.
June 9, 2005... Pharmaceutical giant Merck has terminated its catering contract with Aramark across 30 US sites. It's believed that Merck ripped up the deal after complaints about the poor standard of food and low levels of customer satisfaction. An industry...

Starwood aims for 500 with budget brand.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... US hotel giant Starwood, which owns the Sheraton, Westin, W and St Regis brands, is launching a new hotel concept to cater for the increasing demand for budget rooms. The new brand, called Project XYZ, will be based on a less-expensive version...

Businesses in Alcohol Disorder Zones to pay [pounds sterling]100-a-week tax?
June 9, 2005... Hospitality operators have reacted with horror to rumours that the Government plans to introduce a blanket tax on all businesses located within Alcohol Disorder Zones (ADZs). Leaked reports earlier this week suggested that the Government was...

OVER; TO YOU.
June 9, 2005... Do you think the proposed tax on road use would harm your business? We already pay several types of tax on our vehicles and also have to contend with parking tickets, which last year cost us [pounds sterling]3,000. The system is merciless....

Gurney leaves Avenance after 18 months.(Timothy Gurney)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... Timothy Gurney, managing director of Elior's business and industry division, Avenance, is stepping down at the end of the month to return to his native France. After 12 years of working for parent company Group Elior in France, Gurney was...

Long working hours still the norm.(hospitality industry)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... People joining the hospitality industry can still expect to work long hours, according to new research by Chess Partnership. A sample of nearly 700 employees, including hotel, restaurant, bar and contract catering sector workers, found 93% did...

A minute on the clock.(Anton Edelmann )(Interview)
June 9, 2005... First he ran the London marathon in April, then completed a 150m abseil in May and is now planning bungee and parachute jumps. Anton Edelmann tells Emily Manson why he likes to live life on the edge. C: How did it feel to abseil? AE:...

Attendance bonus schemes.(Royal Mail)
June 9, 2005... Laura Fleming, a human resources expert at Croner Consulting, cautions hospitality firms on the pitfalls of introducing "Royal Mail-style" attendance bonus schemes the problem Royal Mail has introduced an attendance incentive scheme...

Bovey Castle GM quits after six weeks.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... The general manager of Peter de Savary's luxury Devon retreat Bovey Castle has quit after just six weeks in the job. Philip Newman-Hall started at the hotel on 1 April in a deal worth between [pounds sterling]150,000 and [pounds...

Hand and Flowers.
June 9, 2005... The Thames-side town of Marlow is proving more fertile territory for the cooking of Tom Kerridge, previously head chef at Michelin-starred Adlard's in Norwich. Dan Bignold surveys the menu at the Hand and Flowers The bright lights of...

Letters Caterer.(Letter to the Editor)
June 9, 2005... We must support men with commitment like Terry I write with reference to the opinion piece by Antony Worrall Thompson (Caterer, 19 May, page 22) about Terry Miller, winner of ITV's Hell's Kitchen. Never have I known anyone to be so right. To...

Review of the reviewsw.
June 9, 2005... 4 June Jan Moir is converted by Jason Atherton's cooking at Maze, London W1... The charms of the multi-plate meal or tasting menu have always evaded me because those overwrought titbits are always curiously unsatisfying. Maze has changed all...

Table talk.
June 9, 2005... toilet summit will keep delegates engaged The 2005 World Toilet Summit, which will take place in Belfast from 26-29 September, will be the first major world conference devoted to toilet provision and standards in the Western world. The summit...

We hate...(Hotels and motels)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... ... hybrid fruit and veg Rulettos, broccolini, ugli fruit and zebra tomatoes - supermarket shelves have gone hybrid-crazy. One week Sainsbury's is shouting about its kumatos while the next M&S can't stop talking about strawmatos. What's...

Your shout.(free house pubs disappearing)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2005... By Barney Bettesworth, of licensed property agent Bettesworths Freeholds and free houses attempts to replicate the English pub in other countries usually fail. English pubs remain unique, providing a rich tapestry of trends, tastes and...

career clinic.
June 9, 2005... The expert panel Our expert panel comprises representatives from the Hotel and Catering Training Company (HCTC), MaydayExec, Bartlett Mitchell, Learnpurple, Admiral Group, Conran, Springboard and Portfolio International. The question I worked...

how i got here.(Flavio Bucciarelli)(Sheraton Skyline hotel)
June 9, 2005... Flavio Bucciarelli, general manager, Sheraton Skyline hotel, London Heathrow Flavio Bucciarelli grew up in hotels, as his dad was a successful general manager in Italy. But rather than attempting to emulate his old man, Bucciarelli was...

inside track.(Eldridge Pope)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
June 9, 2005... Eldridge Pope What business is it in? Pub operator with an estate of managed (108) and tenanted (45) pubs. What brands does it operate? Locals, inns and newly launched high-street brand Que Pasa, which means "What's happening?" in...

on the mo ve.(Ashdown Park hotel)(Eclectic Hotel Collection)(Hotel Astoria )
June 9, 2005... David Zitelsberger has joined Ashdown Park hotel at Wych Cross, East Sussex, as reservations manager. He was with InterContinental Hotels Group at its Gatwick and Heathrow hotels. Eclectic Hotel Collection, owner of the Didsbury House and...