According to reports in the industry press, although the hospitality sector has weathered the economic storm relatively well all things considered, there is still need to take into account the unusual and harsh economic factors that are relevant to today’s world.

Reports about the service consultancy called Horizon have addressed this issue specifically. It has been said that certain changes will need to be taken into account in 2012, for a successful year. Of course, one of the problems is that the pockets of consumers are not so deep. Given the question marks over job security and many job losses, customers are becoming wary of splashing out.

Yet it is not a uniformly bleak picture – experts are also suggesting that providing the catering industry can adapt to these changing conditions, then there is still a good business to be made. There are many reports of new eateries opening in these harsh conditions and that, in turn, new jobs are being created. It is impressive when business owners are tenacious in finding new niches and new ways to appeal to customers in this economic climate. Obviously, providing a good quality service is essential – value for money is one of the key issues to bear in mind when marketing new services to the public. The more a customer feels they are getting quality products for a good price, the more chances of the business’s success.

There is good news too – compared to the retail sector, there are reports that the pub and restaurant industries are doing very well.

Posted by Hayley on the 4th January 2012

The Foster Multideck offers high performance as well as total reliability, making it one of the most popular choices in professional refrigeration today. Much like all of Foster’s refrigeration products, the Foster Multideck range so specifically designed to offer caterers an energy efficient, reliable, durable, high performing, quality product. Foster Multidecks incorporate the latest advances in refrigeration technology to offer customers well constructed and stylish products. These fridges are a great investment for any professional catering environment.

The Foster Pro Multidecks are economic to run, involve little maintenance and are stylish too. This Pro range is known for its high performance and reliability, all of which is offered at a very competitive price. The Pro Multidecks have a large storage capacity, cleverly designed so that the fridge itself doesn’t take up too much floor space. With its slim structure, the Pro Multideck is perfect for any restaurants or cafes where space is limited. These fridges come with a capacity of 415 to 975 litres and feature full length panels with glass, allowing maximum visibility. They come in a choice of two finishes; white paint or stainless steel. With their fluorescent bulbs which are long-life, these fridges won’t let your down.

The Foster Slimline Multidecks are just as great as the Pro range and are ideal for smaller catering environments, which need a smaller capacity fridge and more floor space. Energy efficient and stylish, these fridges offer incredible value for money. They have simple, clean designs which will fit in beautifully with virtually any decor and their capacities range from 290 litres, to 520 litres.

Posted by Matt on the 21st December 2011

There has been fury in the British egg industry recently over the issue of battery chickens and their eggs. Many of us are aware that there has been outrage over the living conditions of battery hens in the past and as a result of this outrage, the European Union introduced laws to increase the quality of life of laying hens.

The British egg farmers have been making moves to comply with this legislation. In effect, the conventional ‘battery’ cages are to be jettisoned as of the beginning of 2012. This has been an expensive business for farmers – Farming UK reported that some £400 million has been spent on replacing the cages with new ‘enriched colony cages.’

This is all good news for the British hens – however, it has come to light that not all EU countries have been as diligent as the UK farmers and it is said that Spain, Italy and Poland have not complied with the EU legislation. The British Egg Industry Council is therefore furious that the Agriculture Minister has said that it would be too costly for the government to ban the import of these battery eggs and also it would be too difficult to enforce.

Of course, the worry for the law-abiding British egg farmers is that they have splashed out on the improved cages for their chickens, but may be undercut in the market by the influx of cheaper battery hen eggs from the rest of the EU.

Posted by Matt on the 20th December 2011

Global knives are some of the highest quality knives available to professional caterers today. This brand has become one of the most popular knife suppliers in the industry and with good reason. Handcrafted in Japan, these knifes are made to an incredibly high standard, to produce a finished product of an excellent quality.

This brand has won awards for its knives. These knives are used by some of the world’s most prestigious chefs. These knives are manufactured using a special type of stainless steel known as Cromova 18, which is made specifically for this brand. This stainless steel material is of just the right density, so it has the correct balance between softness and hardness; it is soft enough to easily sharpen, but hard enough to maintain the finely sharpened edge for a long period, even when used frequently. These knives use a combination of vanadium and molybdenum to create their razor sharp edges.

There is a great selection of knives in the Global knives range, so that you can easily find the perfect knife for the food that needs to be prepared. Their knife sets have everything from carving knifes for meat, to knives specifically designed to easily slice through vegetables in a second. These knives are resistant to corrosion, stains and rust, so they last year upon year. They also come with weighted handles which are hollow and have a slip resistant grip, for quick and safe chopping, slicing and carving. With a seamless construction with no unnecessary ridges, these knives are also very easy to clean.

Posted by Hayley on the 19th December 2011

A warning has been issued by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Trading Standard Service: be careful of Christmas decorations which are designed to look like a food product. Apparently other councils around the country are issuing similar warnings.

According to online reports, there are many items on the market which are designed to look like food and which could potentially be dangerous. There is an argument that they could cause suffocation, poisoning, perforation or blocking of the digestive system. Of course, youngsters are most at risk for misunderstanding the nature of some of the festive decorations and trying to consume them.

It has recently been publicised online that one London company, O Widmann and Company, has had to remove sweet-imitations from the market.
You may have noticed that there is a current fashion for creating imitation baked goods such as cupcakes and sweets. They are often designed to be used as Christmas decorations. In East Riding in Yorkshire, the Trading Standards Service has made various inspections of shops offering Christmas decorations for sale – and on a couple of occasions, the reports are that some items had to be removed from sale and sent off for testing, which subsequently revealed that they could present a safety risk.

Products causing concern include items such as a lollipop tree garland and also a tree topper. If in doubt, the trading standards team can help to advise whether items for sale in the UK are legal or whether they breach the safety standards.

Posted by Hayley on the 16th December 2011

There is general concern at this time of year, that amidst the excesses of the festive period, things go to waste. We become temporary gluttons over the Christmas and New Year period, our eyes are bigger than our bellies and we buy too much as we are caught up in the excesses of the moment.
However, this year the general climate surrounding our Christmas is a little more cautious than in other more economically-healthy times. We are also becoming a little more careful and cutting our cloth accordingly, as the saying goes. With all this in mind, it seems that the collaboration between the North Herts District Council and the celebrity chef, Jean-Christophe Novelli, to encourage people to think about minimising their food wastage – or to put it another way, to ‘Love your Leftovers!’ as the campaign phrases it – hits the mood of the festive season head on.
The campaign started on 2 December and the purpose is to remind people how they can cut down on the wastage of holiday food. There are many options for using leftovers to create perfectly delicious menus.

Jean-Christophe has started the ball rolling by creating some recipes to use leftovers – and the Council is asking others to submit their recipe ideas too. The winner will be awarded a day’s cookery course at the celebrity chef’s Novelli Academy Cookery School.
In addition to these recipe ideas, the Waste Team will make themselves available to answer queries and give advice about how to cut waste.
Food for thought, no?

Posted by Matt on the 15th December 2011

Chafing dishes are ideal for any number of catering environments, including catered parties, buffet restaurants and standard restaurants. These chafing dishes come in a huge range of styles, sizes and shapes. These dishes will ensure that any heated food, from stews to potatoes, are kept warm and delicious until they are ready to be served.

Olympia chafing dishes are considered to be some of the best available in the catering industry. The Milan chafing dish from this brand is a great choice for many. Made from stainless steel, it’s durable and very easy to clean. This dish comes with two fuel holders, a cover and water pan, so it offers great value for money. It has a generous capacity of 9 litres and a very stylish look, due to the highly polished, mirror-like shine that the stainless steel has.

The Vienna chafing dish, also from Olympia, is the perfect size for smaller catering environments, with its capacity of 7.5 litres. It comes with a single can holder, a food pan and a water pan, so you have everything you need to keep food warm. It has an attractive high shine finish to the stainless steel surface and is incredibly easy to clean too.

The Paris chafing dish is a compact item, with a roll top and a capacity of 6 litres. It is supplied with a fuel holder, a cover, a food pan and a water pan. Made from stainless steel, it not only looks stylish, but is also very practical, durable and most importantly, reliable.

Posted by Hayley on the 14th December 2011

Recession? What recession? Economic downturn be damned! The catering industry should be heartened to hear that when there are headlines about the public sector strikes splashed all over the newspapers, at the same time, some in the industry feel sufficiently buoyant to open a huge restaurant, which claims to be the biggest in the country.
What is this restaurant and where is it?

Za Za Bazaar is a buffet-style eatery which has just opened in Bristol. According to the press, it can cater for up to 2,100 diners per night. Structured on an ‘all you can eat buffet’ style arrangement, the new restaurant covers some 30,000 square feet at the harbourside of the city and offers a different vibe from the ‘young people’ culture, which prevails in the area generally.
In an interview for the local press, the spokesman for the restaurant said he hoped to attract families and all sorts of parties of people – he argued that there will always be birthdays, always be reasons to celebrate and he wanted Za Za Bazaar to be the venue of choice.

This has been an opportunity to create jobs in the area, of course and there are 36 chefs and some 120 staff who will man the pumps at the new venue. There is a wide range of cuisines, from Chinese, Indian, Tex Mex, together with traditional British fare. This is a chain restaurant, in fact and the first of eight proposed new venues.

Posted by Matt on the 13th December 2011

Samsung microwaves are popular with commercial catering establishments because of their energy efficiency, reliability and robust build. They have both programmable and manual controlled models in the range and a large selection of power outputs to suit each catering business’s need. We stock a range of popular and competitively priced Samsung Microwaves from light to heavy duty models.

For less intensive use, the Samsung CM1079XEU Light Duty Commercial Microwave is an asset to any commercial kitchen. It has a stainless steel exterior and an output of 1.1kW, with manual control features. There is a 0 to 30 min timer and the interior holds 26 litres at capacity. The energy rating is 13A and we offer next working day delivery, with three years parts and labour warranty as standard.

For heavy duty commercial catering use, the Samsung Super Heavy Duty Manual Microwave CM1919 is very popular. It is the most efficient and tough model in the range, designed to meet high volume and demand requirements of a busy kitchen, with all the usual reliability and efficiency found in the Samsung range. It has a manual dial or touch dial depending on the model chosen, along with a power output of 1850 watts, cavity dimensions of 370w x 370d x 190h and a 13a rating.

As well as stocking kitchen appliances and equipment, we also stock a wide range of parts to prolong your kitchen equipment’s lifespan and we have an experienced customer services team and expert engineers on hand to help you find the item you need for your catering business.

Posted by Matt on the 12th December 2011

As consumers become increasingly conscious about the environment and locally sourced food products, farmers’ markets are surely an important outlet for regional produce. Also, with the oncoming festive season, Christmas markets and generally shopping activities are on the increase and so this is an excellent time to showcase wares by local companies and farmers.

Let’s look at a couple of examples.
In North Lincolnshire – the county of Lincolnshire sausages, pork pies and the local plum bread – there has been success at a farmers’ market recently. In order to attract customers, the Pink Pig Farm (now a decade old), celebrated by selling its sausages at 2001 prices at the Brigg Farmers’ Market. There was much local support for the event. Other stalls included those of Tom Wood with his best ale, brewed locally and also Fiona Sciolti. She has recently won awards with her botanical chocolates (created out of local and natural ingredients) and these were also on sale – no doubt a great idea for Christmas presents.

Huntingdon is also going to run two special Christmas markets this month (December 9th and 23rd). As well as traditional entertainment, including a children’s carol singing event and less traditional but helpful events such as the police’s free postcoding of bikes, excellent quality home produce will be available. The market will also offer a limited number of Farmers’ Market cookbooks to those who spend over £10.
There will be all manner of meat products, including poultry and sausages, as well as vegetables and cakes, jams and chutneys.

Posted by Hayley on the 8th December 2011