Caterer & Hotelkeeper articles from March 2004

Caterer & Hotelkeeper archives from March 2004

Global report.
March 4, 2004... Americas Mandarin Oriental to manage Mexican resort Hotel group Mandarin Oriental has signed an agreement to manage a 128-villa resort in Mexico. The property is being developed on a secluded part of the Riviera Maya coastline, 30...

Dabbling in dhals.
March 4, 2004... This week, Caterer takes the pulse of Indian cuisine and looks at the many uses of dhals. Michael Raffael reports Since it opened in 2001, Iqbal Wahhab's Cinnamon Club has helped push back the boundaries of Indo-European crossover cooking....

Along for the ride.
March 4, 2004... Opening a hotel next to a theme park means you have access to a ready-made customer base, but you need to take care not to rely on it exclusively. Karl Cushing reports The number of hotels in theme parks has mushroomed in recent years. In...

Marketing exercise.
March 4, 2004... Gyms have become an essential feature for any hotel above budget standard - 60% of guests check to see if a hotel has one before booking. Samantha McClary reports There was a time when a hotel could put a treadmill, a bike and some free...

Red-letter days.
March 4, 2004... Effective marketing for independent hoteliers is about advance planning to maximise revenue streams and avoid peaks and troughs. And there are plenty of events on the calendar that allow you to do just that Do you ever get the feeling that...

OVER; TO YOU.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Should chefs stick to their native cuisine? Chefs just need to make an effort to understand what makes a dish authentic and understand the ingredients. Provided they do this, it doesn't matter who cooks it. Dagmar Muhle, general...

The full wax.
March 4, 2004... London's Madame Tussauds is arguably the world's most famous wax museum, and as a venue for entertaining it has obvious advantages - not least the guaranteed attendance of a host of "celebrities". But even with such a unique offer, Tussauds has...

Morgan M.
March 4, 2004... A "very intense" opening period has failed to dampen Morgan Meunier's enthusiasm for finally having his own restaurant on London's Liverpool Street It has been seven years since the young Morgan Meunier arrived from France to cook at...

table talk.
March 4, 2004... Pressing the flesh was never this much fun For all the flurry of activity around Hotelympia last week, the show's technology wing, Hostec, remained rather quieter than its organisers would have wished. It's universally acknowledged in...

Time off for dependants.
March 4, 2004... Stephanie Slanickova, an employment lawyer with City law firm Tarlo Lyons, examines the rights of employees to take time off to look after the needs of dependants Under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended by the Employment Relations...

Whites heat.
March 4, 2004... What's it like to compete at the highest level in La Parade des Chefs? To find out, Ben Walker joined the Avenance team The idea was dreamt up on a December afternoon in a haze of seasonal good cheer and laughter. Why didn't I help out...

Best in show.
March 4, 2004... Some new products create barely a ripple of interest, while others are so innovative, so useful and so timely that they can change the way you do business. The four New Product Awards winners fall very definitely into the latter category, as...

Hilton holds on to Scandic despite poor figures.
March 4, 2004... Hilton Group boss David Michels has insisted that he will not sell the company's Scandic hotels despite another poor performance from the chain. Speaking at the presentation of Hilton's full-year results last week, Michels said: "There is...

Last call for Chef Eats Out in Edinburgh.
March 4, 2004... You don't need a kilt, but you do need to get back to us fast to secure a place at Michelin-starred Jeff Bland's Chef Eats Out at the Balmoral hotel, Edinburgh, on Monday 15 March. Bland's four-course menu will showcase Scotland's superb...

Jurys Doyle group 'optimistic' about return to profit growth.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Irish hotel group Jurys Doyle said it was "cautiously optimistic" of a return to profit growth this year, despite continued declines in 2003. In the 12 months to 31 December 2003, pre-tax profit fell by 13.4% to g45.8m ([pounds...

Pizza dividends.
March 4, 2004... Despite our obsession with obesity, health and the Atkins diet, pizza is still the giant of the home-delivery market, with franchising as its primary force. So, if you are looking for a slice of the action, read on The news that pizza...

Cash boost for Tulipexpansion.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Hotel franchisor Golden Tulip has received a multimillion-pound boost from Morley Fund Management to help it open a further 15 to 20 hotels in the UK. The first hotel to open under the deal will be a 108-bedroom Tulip Inn at the North...

Earnings outside the kitchen put celebrity chefs on the Rich List.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Delia, Jamie and Gordon have proved that brand power is the key to success, following their inclusion in a list of the UK's richest chefs in the Mail on Sunday's annual Rich Report, published this Sunday (7 March). Books, television shows,...

Caterers attack consultants who don't stick to the code.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Contract caterers have condemned some consultants for failing to operate under a code of practice. Speaking at an open debate organised by the European Catering Association and the Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) at...

LHM gets ready for Alias expansion.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Hotel group LHM has unveiled ambitious expansion plans to triple the size of its Alias hotels chain. The group has teamed up with accountants BDO Stoy Hayward to raise about [pounds sterling]40m to expand the hotel brand across the UK from...

Letters Caterer.(Letter to the Editor)
March 4, 2004... Service is still the hook on which success hangs I agree it's not easy to guess the future (Comment, Caterer, 19 February, page 5), but Forbes Mutch is spot-on in regard to the importance of customer service in future business survival. ...

Review OFTHEREVIEWS.
March 4, 2004... 29 February AA Gill adds to the rave reviews bestowed on London's most talked-about gastropub, the Anchor and Hope I started with a dish that made the whole room go quiet. The lights went down and a single spot illuminated the bowl in...

Chefs to debate fine dining's future.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... The controversial question of whether or not fine dining in its present shape has a future in the UK will be a pivotal issue for discussion at the 2004 Caterer & Hotelkeeper Chef Conference. Among those recruited to debate the thorny...

Viner adopts casual food in new venture.(Viners bar and restaurant)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Former National Chef of the Year Kevin Viner is turning his back on fine dining to open a restaurant in Cornwall that will offer a casual eating experience. Viners Bar and Restaurant is set to open in the village of Summercourt, six miles...

Whitbread drivers go green to save cash.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Whitbread, owner of Travel Inn, Pizza Hut restaurants and Costa Coffee, is offering an incentive to its 950 vehicle fleet users to go green. By choosing a more fuel-efficient model of car, employees can save money, become exempt from the London...

Restaurants consider court action over Revenue tronc guide.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Restaurants under tronc investigation by the Inland Revenue (IR) could fight its decisions in court after sections of E24, the IR's latest tronc guide, were found to be potentially unlawful. British Hospitality Association (BHA) chief...

Birthday boy Slade wins National Chef of Wales cook-off.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Swansea chef Dermott Slade has been crowned 2004 National Chef of Wales at the Welsh International Salon Culinaire. The consultant chef with Swansea College at Sketty Hall beat off competition from three other finalists last week at the...

Former QCrestaurant will reopen as Pearl.(at the Renaissance Chancery Court hotel)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... An opulent new look is the aim of a major refurbishment of the restaurant and bar at the Renaissance Chancery Court hotel in Holborn, London. The QC restaurant will close on 23 March and reopen under a new name, Pearl, in mid-May following...

Claridge's sell-off goes ahead despite rumours of bid for Savoy Group.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... The sale of London's Claridge's hotel is continuing despite rumours of a sale of the whole Savoy Group. The auction of the hotel, which is expected to fetch about [pounds sterling]300m, ended on Friday, and owners US private equity firms...

Rhodes to take over Admiralty.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Chef Gary Rhodes and Restaurant Associates are set to open a second London restaurant this summer. The new venue will be the Admiralty restaurant at Somerset House. A spokeswoman for Rhodes said: "We're hoping to be operational in June or...

Ritz cleared of slur of racial discrimination.(restaurant manager Edip Adanir's lawsuit against Ritz Carlton Hotel Company L.L.C.;)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... The Ritz hotel in London has been cleared of race discrimination by an employment tribunal. The Ritz said it was pleased with the finding, as its workforce consists of 25 nationalities and it operates an equal opportunities policy. ...

Transparency is the key to gaining trust.
March 4, 2004... The debate about the use of food service consultants in the tendering process for new catering contracts was given fresh impetus last week at a mini conference held at Hotelympia (see page 7). A panel of consultants lined up against a phalanx...

Madisons finds right Guy for acquisitions.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Madisons, the former UK coffee bar operator now concentrating on its Richoux restaurants arm, has appointed Andrew Guy, former group chief executive of City Centre Restaurants, to lead its hunt for acquisitions. The company announced in...

Bank results hit by war.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Bank Restaurant Group blamed the war in Iraq and the consequent impact on tourism in London for a mediocre set of final results, released last week. While the three-strong restaurant group has clawed back its pre-tax losses from [pounds...

stockwatch.
March 4, 2004... Late-night bar operator Urbium was the biggest gainer among quoted hospitality businesses this week. The group, which operates the Tiger Tiger chain of bars, saw its share price increase by almost 16% last week to 590p. The hike came after the...

Operators fight back against Italian ambassador's comments on cuisine.(Italian ambassador Luigi Amaduzzi critical of Italian restaurants in London)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Italian restaurateurs in London have responded with mixed feelings to the Italian ambassador's criticism of the quality of his native cuisine produced in Britain. Luigi Amaduzzi last week hit out against poor-quality UK restaurants...

A Ferry good idea.
March 4, 2004... San Francisco's most influential wine retailer has a new outlet at the redeveloped ferry terminal - and it's a jumping-off spot for some new wine adventures Every time I visit San Francisco (about once a year), I always stop by to see...

Contents.
March 4, 2004... 68 News... London hotels are expected to lead the recovery this year. And Newcastle gets ready to host the Tall Ships Race, part of the SeaBritain initiative to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar 70 Theme parks all over...

Tourism slump softens Hard Rock Cafe results.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... The Hard Rock Cafe brand experienced a 16% fall in operating profit during 2003, as tourists shied away from city locations and currency fluctuations devalued earnings. Despite a 2.4% increase in like-for-like food and beverage sales at...

New call for capital-grade New Year.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... John Conlan, chairman of bar and nightclub operator Urbium, has called on London Mayor Ken Livingstone to produce a New Year's celebration worthy of the capital's status. Speaking at the publication of the company's full-year results last...

in brief.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Whitbread to run V&A Leisure company Whitbread has taken over the former Le Meridien Victoria and Albert hotel in Manchester. The group has signed a lease with owners the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to operate the 158-bedroom hotel. The...

in brief.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Rick Stein's Newquay hotel gets go-ahead Celebrity chef Rick Stein has had his plans approved for a [pounds sterling]3m hotel in Newquay, Cornwall. The 42-bedroom hotel will be built on a clifftop overlooking the beach on the site of...

Energy efficiency programme extends to contract caterers.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Hospitable Climates, the HCIMA's Government-backed energy efficiency programme, has been extended to contract caterers and restaurants. The scheme, which aims to reduce energy consumption in the hospitality industry by 20-40%, is being...

Industry leaders blast 'clueless'Wanless over smoking report.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Hospitality leaders have branded Derek Wanless, author of the Wanless Report, "clueless" and "ill-informed" after he accused the industry of being too slow in introducing voluntary smoke-free policies. The report, published last week,...

Carluccio's sets sights on ambitious growth.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Italian cafe and food shop operator Antonio Carluccio has announced an ambitious expansion programme for his eponymous chain of outlets, with six to eight new sites planned to open this year. First will be a property in Fulham, London, on...

in brief.
March 4, 2004... BHA wants Government lead on salt reduction The British Hospitality Association (BHA) has pledged its support in reducing the nation's consumption of salt, but says the Government must take the lead in any action. In a joint letter...

Basic cookery a must in schools, says Watts.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Cookery lessons should be an essential part of the national curriculum, according to Steven Watts, managing director of Scolarest. Speaking in London last week, at a conference called Tackling Obesity in Young People, he said: "If we don't...

Little shop of horrors.(Shola Thompson, head of catering for London Dungeon museum)(Interview)
March 4, 2004... Not everyone would volunteer to spend their time behind bars in a torture chamber amid the cries of the damned and disembowelled. But it's just another day for Shola Thompson in the London Dungeon It was never going to be easy to feed the...

Property Watch.(in United Kingdom)
March 4, 2004... regional spotlight DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY Dumfries & Galloway in the South-west of Scotland boasts an array of unspoilt areas and historic landmarks, with regional centres including Dumfries, Stranraer, Lockerbie and weddings capital...

career clinic.
March 4, 2004... Each week our panel of recruitment experts provide answers to an employment question posed by a Caterer reader The expert panel Our expert panel includes representatives from the Hotel and Catering Training Company (HCTC), Accor Hotels...

Animal rights group protest at BallArena.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... A scuffle between animal welfare activists and security guards disrupted the start of BallArena at Hotelympia last week. The activists were protesting against caterer Aramark's contract with Huntingdon Life Sciences, an animal testing...

PizzaExpress chain faces recycling fine.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... PizzaExpress has been taken to court for failing to meet the requirements of recycling regulations set down by the Environment Agency (EA). The high-street pizza chain was called to Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Tuesday to account for its...

New group AJLeisure aims for quick expansion.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2004... Entrepreneur Alastair McEwen launched a new hotel, restaurant and pub group last week and has ambitious plans for the company. AJ Leisure started trading on Ofex, the off-exchange stock market, last Thursday after buying its first hotel,...

In Brief.
March 11, 2004... Blaze closes Keller's New York restaurant Thomas Keller's New York restaurant will be closed until the end of the month, following an electrical fire in a kitchen partition wall. Per Se, which opened in the city's Time Warner Center...

Italian lessons.
March 11, 2004... The menu at London's Isola restaurant has never been so Italian. Sybil Kapoor finds out what inspired head chef Mark Broadbent Never having visited Italy, Mark Broadbent, 36, could have been called foolhardy for setting out to radically...

BOOKREVIEW.(Book Review)
March 11, 2004... Dale DeGroff is a legend. He has pretty much ruled the roost in Manhattan bars for the past three decades and is credited by some for the global resurgence in cocktail culture. DeGroff is also the guy who brought back the Cosmopolitan (with a...

The renovation game.(new look to Prestonfield House hotel )
March 11, 2004... Bringing new life to old properties is a process that, like many others, can be fraught with difficulties. But it can also reveal beauty that has been masked for years, even centuries Renovating an old building is certainly never dull....

OVER; TO YOU.
March 11, 2004... What are you hoping for from next week's Budget? I wouldn't want to see the duty go up on wines, because we have to pass that on to our customers. And this talk of a tourism tax is madness. We seem to get bugger-all help from Local...

Contract wins.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Autograph signs up to three contracts Autograph, the business and industry division of Initial Catering Services, has announced three new contracts. It will run coffee shops at two PC World London stores, with an annual turnover of...

THE BRIDGE.(reopened)
March 11, 2004... No-nonsense, regional fare served in a comfortable environment is on offer at chef-proprietor Robert Owen Brown's gastropub in Manchester The menu at the Bridge on Manchester's Deansgate reads like a dream. It's dripping with tasty phrases...

Last supper.(Interview)
March 11, 2004... Rest and Be Thankful seems the perfect place for a final fling, as Tony Borthwick tucks in to his mum's bacon and eggs washed down with Salon Blanc de Blancs OK, what's the grub? Real bacon and free-range bantam eggs cooked in half...

Starchy and husk.
March 11, 2004... Rice and pasta dishes seem like part of our staple diet these days. Most British chefs have still got a long way to go to get the best out of them, though Rice and pasta have been familiar sights on UK restaurant menus for many years now,...

Sodexho switches to direct supplier buying.
March 11, 2004... The Government wants more of the food served in the public sector to be locally sourced, but logistical problems can stop small suppliers doing business with large caterers. Ben Walker reports from a Heart of England Fine Foods conference ...

Global report.
March 11, 2004... Americas Bollenbach named co-chairman of Hilton Corp Hilton Hotels Corporation has appointed Stephen Bollenbach co-chairman of the company. Bollenbach, who is currently president and chief executive of the hotel giant, will hand over...

table talk.
March 11, 2004... Just don't leave a mint sauce on the pillow Talk about getting fleeced by a luxury hotel. Australia's Wooldorf Astoria offers luxury, climate-controlled accommodation, excellent food and classy entertainment - but the catch is that only...

Report reveals education shortfall among staff.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... About 15,000 hospitality professionals in the North-west of England suffer from literacy, numeracy or linguistic difficulties, according to new research released by the local Tourism Skills Network. The figure represents half of the...

Smoking still a burning issue.
March 11, 2004... Many in the hospitality industry were delighted at last week's announcement that a public smoking ban wasn't on the Government's agenda. But now the industry is facing its biggest challenge Much of the hospitality industry breathed a sigh...

Blind student wins [pounds sterling]1,000 after hotel refuses guide dog.
March 11, 2004... A Somerset hotelier has been ordered to pay [pounds sterling]1,000 plus costs to a blind woman after refusing to sell her a room. Lionel Whitefield, who runs the Acorn Lodge hotel in Taunton, was ordered by a judge at Taunton County Court...

Macdonald has buyer for four more hotels.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Hotel and pub company London & Edinburgh Inns is understood to be close to adding a further four Macdonald hotels to the two it bought from the Scottish group late last month. London & Edinburgh is said to have just signed contracts to...

Employers must tackle long work hours culture to attract 'Generation Y'.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... The next generation of hospitality managers will expect their careers to allow a healthier work-life balance and will choose a restaurant career over contract catering, according to research from recruitment consultancy Chess Partnership. ...

Travelodge offers bargain online rate.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Budget hotel chain Travelodge is following in the footsteps of low-cost airlines by launching a time-sensitive booking system for its rooms. The group is shaking up its pricing system and introducing year-round rates starting at [pounds...

Martin ready to step back from running Wetherspoon.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Tim Martin, the charismatic chairman of JD Wetherspoon, has announced that he is to take a back seat in the day-to-day running of the business from now on. Forty-eight-year-old Martin will step down from his position as executive chairman...

Letters Caterer.(Letter to the Editor)
March 11, 2004... Over-strong words leave an over-long impact I read with interest the article about Matthew Norman's review of Shepherd's ("Critical thinking," Caterer, 19 February, page 51). There seems to a fashion throughout the media for strong and...

All change at Greenhouse.(Marlon Abela Restaurant Corporation)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... The Greenhouse will reopen at the end of this month under the direction of Antonin Bonnet, executive chef at London private members' club Morton's. The Mayfair restaurant, which is currently under renovation, split from its head chef, Paul...

Knightsbridge celebrity haunt is fined [pounds sterling]4,250 for food-safety offences.(Montpeliano Restaurant)(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... A Knightsbridge restaurant favoured by celebrities was last week ordered to pay [pounds sterling]4,250 in fines after a customer spotted rats near its kitchen. Westminster City Council prosecuted Montpeliano Restaurant Ltd, the company...

Service sector business levels accelerate to five-year high.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Hotels, restaurants and other consumer services firms have recorded the fastest increase in business volumes in more than five years, a study by the Confederation of British Industry and accountants Grant Thornton has revealed. According...

School meals funding under fire from Elior.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Elior, the French catering company and owner of Avenance, has slammed England's state school meals sector for its poor levels of funding. Gilles Cojan, managing director of international strategy, said Elior wasn't prepared to pitch for...

Review OFTHEREVIEWS.
March 11, 2004... 6 March AA Gill eats vegetable couscous and bean curry at organic supermarket and cafe Fresh & Wild, in Notting Hill, London I put two forkfuls in my mouth and... Well, you know what it was like. It was like eating vegetable acne. But...

Treasury unwavering on VAT cut.
March 11, 2004... The British Hospitality Association (BHA) this week condemned the Government's renewed rejection of a proposed reduction in VAT on tourism services. East Antrim MP Roy Beggs last week urged the Government to reduce VAT from the current...

Madisons starts search for new brand.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Richoux group owner Madisons is to hit the acquisition trail in search of a new brand. The cash-rich company has appointed Andrew Guy, previously chief executive of the Restaurant Group, to take the business forward (Caterer, 4 March, page...

Eaton Group sold off to ISS Facility Services.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Eaton Group, the London-based business and industry caterer, has been bought by ISS Facility Services for [pounds sterling]15m after four months of negotiations. Multi-service provider ISS has a turnover of [pounds sterling]420m and...

Sutton leaves Summer Lodge after first week.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Brett Sutton has left his post as head chef at the three-AA-rosette Summer Lodge hotel in Evershot, Dorset, just a week after taking up the position. Sutton moved to the hotel, which is aiming for a Michelin star, from Holbrook House in...

Bad boy Aikens lifts twin titles at London Restaurant Awards.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Bad boy restaurateur Tom Aikens proved that he is back in the public's good books after scooping awards for Best New Restaurant and Restaurant of the Year for his eponymous Chelsea business at the Tio Pepe London Restaurant Awards this week....

City Chefs Club relaunched by Edelmann.(Brief Article)
March 11, 2004... Anton Edelmann, the principal chef at Sodexho's Directors Table, has relaunched the City Chefs Club. The group, which includes 14 executive chefs and development chefs from across the City, had its first meeting at the end of January. ...