The first quarter of 2015 is now consigned to the books. Initially, we saw that the catering and hospitality trades had a strong start to the year with positive January and February results being posted, but did that trend continue through the month of March and how does the calendar year so far it compare to the same period last year?
Well, according to Barclaycard’s latest consumer report, those at the top, along with Julius Caesar, should beware the Ides of March.
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Chefs look away now. The future is coming and we’re all about to move into a world where smartphone operated robots cook downloadable recipes to perfection. The human race is doomed.
“Whether you love food and want to explore different cuisines, or fancy saving a favourite family recipe for everyone to enjoy for years to come, the Automated Kitchen can do this,” said its inventor, Mark Oleynik.
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Across the pond our American friends are trialling a restaurant ticketing scheme known as Tock.
Tock’s premise is simple: It’s an advance booking system Customers pay for their table reservation in advance, much in the same way that people pay the full amount for entry to sporting events, musical concerts and theatrical performances.
The restaurateur Nick Kokonas, the co-owner of Chicago’s Alinea – who are describe themselves as being a ‘fun, emotional and proactive’ place – is the man behind this idea. And it has now been transported to our shores, with the first instance of the Tock system appearing in London.
Rather predictably, this has split opinion in the dining world.
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Every so often, when pondering the big things in life – such as one sugar or two, that kind of thing – we’re known to stroke our chin in a contemplative manner. This got us thinking; why do we (as in humans) have chins when they’re conspicuous by their absence on other animals?
The answer appears to be down to something we all love: Cooking.
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The catering and hospitality sectors of the United Kingdom enjoyed a very positive January as consumers shook off the prospect of a New Year’s hangover and continued to spend their money on meals out and short trips away from home.
According to reports that we chronicled last month, the two industries saw year-on-year spending rise nearly ten percent whilst sales of food and beverages also rose during the same time period.
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Superfoods come and superfoods go. Some are heralded by food bloggers, others are championed by celebrities and others are seen as the trendiest thing in existence. Most though tend to have a short and fleeting life in the public conscience before they gradually fade away, only to be replaced by something else. And so their cyclic lifestyle continues.
However it turns out that could be some scientific value to super foods.
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Pulled pork has taken the nation by storm. A few short years ago the slow-cooked method of cooking pork wasn’t commonplace in commercial kitchens, but now the dish is thriving and given a prominent place on many menu boards of fine-dining restaurants, fast food outlets and gastro-pubs. Whether you want it as a main, as an accompaniment or part of your sandwich filling, we’ve gone crazy for tender pulled pork.
But despite its rise to prominence in commercial establishments and being a favourite amongst diners, it seems that pork isn’t as popular as you might think…
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Prices for popular meats such as beef and lamb are rising, despite the fact that inflation has, relatively speaking, kept the overall cost of food low. Unfortunately, it’s a case of supply and demand.
For example, there has been a noticeable drop in in the number of cattle coming to market in Great Britain and this can be correlated with the price of beef gradually climbing upwards.
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Kevin Jenkins, the UK and Ireland Managing Director for Visa Europe, uttered the words that put a smile on the faces of a large proportion of the hospitality and catering sectors where he announced that there was “no evidence of a New Year hangover on overall consumer spending.”
And in further good news, Jenkins also noted that there was a “solid increase in year-on-year spending.”
Data from a number of industries were monitored and once all the information and collated, processed and compared to previous figures, it was the hospitality and catering sectors which reported the strongest increase in spending volumes.
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If you were listening to or watching the news this morning, you may be aware of a story that did the round on the major broadcasters.
Britain is flooded in potatoes.
Normally we’d say this is a good thing: It is National Chip Week after all and therefore we need a healthy supply of spuds. Plus it’s nearly the weekend and there is nothing better than a handful of roasties to go with a Sunday Roast.
The average yield across the main European producers topped fifty tonnes per hectare for the first time recently. In Britain some farmers estimated their harvest to be in excess of 5.5 million tonnes, a three year high.
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Author
Damien Wilde