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Thanks to London being set to host the 2012 Olympic Games, it has been predicted that thousands of jobs will be created in the capital’s hospitality sector.

The major of Hackney, Jules Pipe, commented that there had not been as many construction jobs created as was anticipated, but that the expected boom in the catering industry – as a result of longer-term hopes for the media and broadcasting facilities in the Olympic Park – would go some way to compensate.

With reference to a potential media centre, Pipe explained that this might become a new hub for many Hackney-based small firms in the creative industries, such as Hollywood post-production studios, advertisers and printers, which will have a knock-on effect in terms of the demand on local bars, coffee shops and restaurants.

Whether related to the 2010 Games or otherwise, London has seen a surge in the amount of recent visitors to the capital, with May alone seeing a 1.2% rise in tourists, according to statistics published by Visit London and the hospitality sector is already starting to experience a boom in trade.

Meanwhile in other hospitality industry news, the 1.1% growth of the UK economy during the second quarter of the year, which was well above expectations, is already proving encouraging for employment levels, particularly within the hospitality trade, as the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has claimed.

And having stalled during the financial crisis, construction work on the multi-million pound shopping development in Leeds is now back in momentum and set to include numerous restaurants.

Posted in News by Matt on the 30th July 2010

In an introductory briefing to members, the new British Hospitality Association (BHA) chief, Ufi Ibrahim, said that the new government and present financial situation represented a fresh page for new thinking within the country’s hospitality industry.

Forming a pivotal element of the economy, hotels, catering equipment,  restaurants, food and food service-related firms are the pillars of the tourism sector. As demand for travel and leisure continues to rise, the industry’s potential is increasingly significant. However, Britain is “acting upon a highly competitive international tourism stage,” which is throwing up more and more challenges every year, according to Ibrahim.

How the British hospitality industry rises to such challenges – and how much governmental support it has in doing so – will strongly influence its performance over the next ten years and beyond, as Ibrahim continued to comment.

She then elaborated on BHA’s mission within the industry, which is to work closely alongside companies within the sector, the government and all of its partner operations to “strengthen and consolidate the hospitality industry’s role in driving the forward-thinking policies that will enable the industry to meet its future challenges.”

It is only with BHA’s dedicated involvement that sustaining the sector’s future profitable growth will be possible, Ibrahim added.

Meanwhile in other British hospitality industry news, The Institute of Hospitality has announced that its latest 2010 programme of hotel management briefing events were yet again successful. Held just recently in collaboration with BHA and Springboard UK, the series of events gave industry operators the opportunity to share insider updates on government and industry initiatives, including lobbying and legislation.

Posted in News by Hayley on the 29th July 2010

Following reports of government preparations to abolish the UK’s public health and consumer interest body, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), confusion remains as to whether the non-ministerial function will continue in any sort of capacity.

Currently with 2,000 employees and a yearly budget of £135 million, the watchdog protects the public’s interests where all food-related matters are concerned, from investigating claims on functional foods, to looking at food hygiene rating through its Scores on the Doors scheme, in addition to menu labelling in terms of calorific content and the potential exclusion of trans fats.

Health secretary, Andrew Lansley, is believed to be considering the FSA’s cessation as part of a National Health Service reform and a move to limit the number of quasi non-government organisations, with the food body’s current responsibilities to be transitioned across to the Department for Health and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Defra, however, has said that no decision has been reached, leaving the industry in a state of limbo and of mixed opinion. A major setback in terms of food safety and consumer protection, according to chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), Graham Jukes, others are questioning the motives of the current health secretary and whether he is buckling under pressure from the food industry.

The British Hospitality Association (BHA), which supported the FSA “when it was concerned mainly with the probity of food”, has aired its cautionary standpoint, “As there has been no official announcement, or any detail, it’s difficult to forecast the impact of the move on the hospitality industry.”

Posted in News by Matt on the 28th July 2010

Lec Commercial is a long-established catering equipment manufacturer with a history of designing and manufacturing high quality appliances. Founded in the 1950s, Lec began as a family owned business, later becoming part of the Glen Dimplex Group. The firm has retained its core values and commitment to high-quality production.

Since its recent split from Lec Medical (which produces pharmacy, ward and ultra low temperature refrigeration appliances amongst others) the Lec Commercial brand has focused further on producing commercial refrigeration products for use in bars, industrial kitchens, restaurants and small retail outlets. Lec refrigerators can maintain working temperatures of 1 to 5 degrees C with freezers offering temperatures between -18C to -25C.

With the presence of accurate external temperature displays, it is no longer necessary to open the appliances to check the temperature, thus minimising unnecessary temperature fluctuations. Lec appliances are also fitted with alarms, warning of any temperature variance or malfunction.

The Lec range of products varies enormously but includes bottle coolers, catering fridges and catering freezers, all of which have been designed to be highly effective and efficient. Not only do they surpass industry efficiency standards but they boast excellent environmental credentials.

Lec appliances are designed to reduce energy costs through efficiency and are also HFC free which is important for the environment. In addition, Lec has designed its range to be easy to clean, with removable parts facilitating maintenance and rapid replacement where required.

Posted in Catering Equipment by Phil on the 27th July 2010

In an ongoing wave of warm and ideal cycling weather, so-called cycle cafés are taking London by storm and acting as a catalyst for similarly-inspired developments.

Whilst pedestrians tend to frequent the same old cafés, the increased mobility afforded by the growing abundance of bicycles in the capital is enabling new business opportunities and new discoveries for cyclists.

Look Mum No Hands! is said to be the trendiest new cycle café on Old Street, equipped with bike-lock-friendly plant pots and showing live cycle racing on screen for visitors to enjoy whilst refuelling and having their bikes fixed. The bike-oriented café has a workshop to the rear of the facility, a fully licensed bar and every imaginable type of security fixture. Also within the near vicinity, premium cycle clothing brand Rapha has recently unveiled its pop-up outlet on Clerkenwell Road.

Until recently, London would have apparently been unable to support such a growth in cycle cafés, however far more people are now cycling in the Capital.

On the strength of the precedent set by London’s range of cycle cafés thus far, a juice bar and bike workshop called CycleLab has now opened up on Pitfield Street. In its real infancy after just a few weeks in operation, the juice bar also sells bikes as well as servicing them to add another point of differentiation.

Meanwhile Broadway Market’s Lock 7, one of the city’s first such cafés, hopes to maintain its share of the market amidst the flurry of new competition, with Japanese Tokyobike set to open permanent sites by the end of the year.

Posted in News by Hayley on the 26th July 2010

At the recent 2010 Warrington Business Awards, Kevin Cannon, founding director of the independent contract catering company, Catering Academy, was named ‘Business Person of the Year’.

Commenting on the accolade, Cannon said, “We have come from nothing to nearly £20 million in five years and in December we were named one of the fastest growing companies in the UK by Fast Track.”
As well as the individual recognition for Cannon himself, Catering Academy, which is known for bringing innovative solutions and a broad spectrum of catering and other hospitality services to education, healthcare and various commercial sectors, also reached ‘highly commended’ status in the Business of the Year category.

In other recent company news, Catering Academy has expanded into South Wales with two high profile contract wins. The first contract, a three year long agreement, is with the prestigious Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, which is the National Conservatoire of Wales and provides specialist practical and performance-based training to students. The second significant contract is with Merthyr Tydfil College, which will see the catering company revive its 8am-8pm catering and hospitality services as well as providing for its crèche service, which was introduced for the benefit of the students studying there.

Established in 2004, Catering Academy has gone from strength to strength, returning strong financial performances every year and reaching £20 million in sales just five years from its inception. By providing a tailor made service to businesses across the commercial and public sectors, the catering expert has seen a number of Blue Chip organisations selecting it for its hands-on, bespoke approach.

Posted in News by Matt on the 22nd July 2010

60 per cent of UK adults responding to a YouGov SixthSense beverage sector report regard bottled water as an unnecessary expense, with 71 per cent seeing no superiority in cleanliness over tap water.

The charity WaterAid reportedly also saw similar findings following a study it ran in 2009, which found that over 60 per cent of consumers are choosing tap water over bottled water alternatives when they dine out. Ongoing concerns surrounding the financial climate together with the perceived ecological as well as health risks are said to be the main driving forces behind consumers’ changing habits.

As the YouGov SixthSense report revealed, less than a third of respondents drink bottled mineral water on a daily basis, whereas almost two thirds typically drink water from the tap. Interestingly, the same investigation showed no correlation between mineral water and consumption and wealth, with those on lower salaries actually demonstrating a higher propensity for drinking water of the bottled variety.

The advantages of consuming the recommended daily volume of water are constantly being communicated, the YouGov study highlighting the fact that consumers have generally listened to research, with over two thirds of consumers making positive efforts to increase their intake of water.

James McCoy, research director of YouGov SixthSense said that whilst the UK’s bottled water market has experienced dynamic growth over the years, new reports could now be turning the industry in a new direction. The challenging financial environment and developments in the market for in-home water filtration are cited amongst the reasons for the renewed confidence in tap water.

Posted in News by Phil on the 21st July 2010

In partnership with Northampton College, committed to offering development opportunities, Silverstone has been conducting a unique culinary challenge for young students following hospitality and catering courses.

Hosting the initial, 14 candidate stage of its exciting competition in its circuit-side clubhouse on Friday 25th June, four finalists were selected to move through to the final stage wherein they prepared and served an important lunch to key corporate attendees at one of the circuit’s Grand Prix Challenge days on Monday 28th June.

Although the original plan was to select two overall winners of the final leg, standards were apparently such that deciding between four of the candidates for their food and table presentation, creativity, teamwork ability and level of service was an impossible task, hence the opportunity’s expansion.

Now set to participate in VIP hospitality at the 2010 Formula One Santander British Grand Prix, widely held to be one of the UK’s largest sports industry events, the four budding young chefs – Daniel Whitehouse, Ben Cook-Harrison, Hannah Archer and Toby Wafer – will be grouped into pairs in this order, with the first duo working ‘front of house’ and the other duo supporting the racing establishment’s professional culinary experts.

Richard Phillips of Silverstone Circuits Limited commented on the firm’s commitment to learning, “Education is a fundamental part of what we do for the community, not just from a motor sport point of view, but also from the technology side which is a spin-off from the Formula one British Grand Prix.”

Posted in News by Hayley on the 20th July 2010

As energy in the field of football is at its seasonal high, a Hereford-based catering firm, Ascari Catering, has won a contract to supply Hereford United’s Edgar Street stadium.

Having previously taken control of the stadium’s sponsor and hospitality services, the new agreement will now see Ascari assume the full catering function of the establishment, manning all matchday kiosks on the grounds with immediate effect.

Dating back to its inception in 1953, Ascari Catering has earned itself a reputation for quality and service within the city’s catering sector. The company, known for its support of events across the region such as the Royal Welsh Show and the Hay Festival, is notable for its use of the finest local produce and ingredients.

Supporters of the club will have the opportunity to sample the catering firm’s offerings at the pre-season friendly match against Swansea on 13th July 2010, with the range of products available to increase as seasonal momentum accelerates.

Meanwhile Harrison Catering has named Isaiah from Kingswood Primary School as the winner of its ‘Design a School Lunch’ contest. Each year the competition encourages schoolchildren across the London borough of Lambeth to devise lunches that are healthy and well balanced on a nutritional level. Isaiah’s winning creation won her a variety of prizes, including a smoothie machine, basket of fruit, a children’s cookbook and a certificate, in addition to a ‘food fun day’ for the whole school, involving breakfast, an outdoor BBQ lunch and afternoon tea.

Posted in News by Phil on the 19th July 2010

Produced by Danish white goods specialist Vestfrost refrigeration in Denmark since the company’s inception in 1963, the Vestfrost range of freezers and refrigerators have been used in catering environments across the country for decades thanks to their reliability and longevity.

With 18 models evenly split across either chest and display freezers or upright fridges and freezers, the majority of units are, in line with their ‘white goods’ title, white in colour, although grey or stainless steel finishes can also be purchased.

In terms of the chest freezer models, most are lock and light fitted as standard, equipped with digital thermometers and supplied with either one or two baskets depending on the size of the unit. Of the display freezers, most have white steel exteriors, aluminium interiors, sliding glass lids and are equipped with castors as standard for easy manoeuvrability and repositioning.

Of the upright models, there are three options with glass doors which are ideal for displaying goods. All units within the range have white food safe plastic interiors, either five or six shelves and feature rollers at the rear and feet at the front to facilitate ease of movement.

For those requiring a combination of shelves and drawers rather than shelves only, the CFS344 or stainless steel models may prove interesting options, and where automatic functionality is preferred, the Stable Door Display Cooler might be the ideal choice. In all eventualities, we can advise on what units will best suit requirements.

Posted in Catering Equipment by Matt on the 16th July 2010