Casual Dining

1000 pubs signed up for Camra's cider pub accreditation scheme

30-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has announced that over 1,000 pubs have now signed up to its cider pub accreditation scheme, ahead of National Cider and Perry Month which begins tomorrow.

Time Out Eating and Drinking Awards 2011 winners revealed

30-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Having drawn up the shortlists and anonymously revisiting all the finalists, Time Out has announced London’s best new restaurants, bars and cafés of 2011.

IDEAS FROM YOUR PEERS

Chocolate week at Terre à Terre and newlywed package at The Chester Grosvenor

30-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Restaurants, pubs and hotels including Terre à Terre and The Chester Grosvenor tell us about special events and promotions they are running to attract more customers.

Government to scrap or simplify 60 regulations affecting hospitality

29-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Tourism minister John Penrose has announced plans set to scrap or simplify 60 regulations governing the food and hospitality industry.

New York's Flute Champagne bar and lounge heads for London

29-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Flûte, the Champagne bar and lounge concept which started out in New York, is set to open its first UK site in London this autumn.

Greene King to release 2.8% ale

28-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Cask ale brewer Greene King is set to unveil Tolly English Ale, a new lower strength ale at 2.8 per cent ABV.

Food dubbed 'lifeline' for pubs despite higher operating costs

27-Sep-2011 By Emma Eversham

Food is being dubbed a 'lifeline' for many pubs, despite the operating costs involved in serving food being 7 per cent higher than they are in wet-led pubs, the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) reports.

Galvin brothers voted Chefs' Chefs 2011 at AA Hospitality Awards

27-Sep-2011 By Emma Eversham

Galvin brothers Chris and Jeff picked up the prestigious Chefs' Chef award at the AA Hospitality Awards last night.

Cask ale ‘helping pubs to survive’

26-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Cask ale drinkers are twice as likely to visit the pub as non-cask drinkers, spend more when they’re there and, most importantly, can’t switch to the supermarket to purchase their favourite drink.

ASK THE EXPERTS

What do I need to include in a health and safety policy?

26-Sep-2011

Mark Harrington of Check Safety First advises a reader on the best way to create a health and safety policy for their hotel.

Christmas products: Desserts

26-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

BigHospitality takes a look at some festive-themed deserts including mulled wine and Champagne-flavoured sorbet, frozen tårta, and sherry trifle, which are all sure to make your business stand out from the crowd during the busy Christmas period.

Liverpool hospitality industry expects £15m Labour conference boost

23-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Hotels, restaurants and bars across Liverpool are expecting huge revenue over the coming days with the Labour Party Annual Conference about to take place in the city for the first time.

Holdsworth secures £3.5m contract to supply McMullen brewery group

23-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Food service distributor Holdsworth has secured a deal to supply the retail estate of 84 pubs and bars in the McMullen & sons brewery group.

British beer drinkers pay 40% of European Beer Tax bill

23-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Britain’s beer drinkers are paying a staggering 40 per cent of the entire European Beer Tax bill, according to a new report from global accountancy firm Ernst & Young, commissioned by the European brewing industry.

Boris Johnson urges businesses to 'get online' for London Olympics

23-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Boris Johnson has called on London’s small and medium-sized businesses to take advantage of the latest wireless technology during next year’s Olympic Games.

Winners of Chambord Rendezvous 2011 revealed

23-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

The winners of the second annual Chambord Rendezvous competition were announced at an awards ceremony last week at One Mayfair, London.

Young Chef Young Waiter 2011 finalists revealed

22-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Sixteen young chefs and waiters have been selected to compete in the national final of the annual Young Chef Young Waiter competition next month.

Find great hospitality jobs with BigHospitality

22-Sep-2011

Looking for a job in the hospitality industry? BigHospitality would like to help you find your perfect role…

Plan and innovate to make Christmas profitable, hospitality industry told

21-Sep-2011 By Emma Eversham

Hospitality operators should make a proper Christmas plan, mix innovative ideas with tradition and market their offering as early as possible to make this festive season profitable, according to Kerry Foods.

BBPA ‘deeply disappointed’ with statutory code

21-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has revealed it is ‘deeply disappointed’ with a recent report from the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee.

Novus Leisure starts £2m Balls Brothers refurb

21-Sep-2011 By Emma Eversham

Novus Leisure has kicked off a re-brand of the city bar chain Balls Brothers it bought out of administration earlier this year with a £300k refurbishment of the Lime Street branch.

Robert Cook elected first HOSPA president

20-Sep-2011 By Emma Eversham

Malmaison and Hotel du Vin chief executive Robert Cook has been elected the first president of the Hospitality Professionals Association for Finance, Revenue Management and IT (HOSPA), the organisation which replaces the British Association of Hospitality...

Cavendish to launch live music pub The Junction

20-Sep-2011 By Emma Eversham

Cavendish Bars will launch a new pub brand in Oxford this week with plans to 'fill the void' of live music venues in the area.

Academy of Food and Wine launches Food and Beverage Challenge

19-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

The Academy of Food and Wine Service (AFWS) has re-launched its chef and front-of-house team menu competition as the AFWS Food & Beverage (FaB) Challenge 2011.

New figures reveal two UK pubs close every day

16-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

New figures from the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) show that pubs are closing at a startling rate of two every day across Britain.

Service staff lack professionalism of the kitchen, Zagat founder claims

16-Sep-2011 By Becky Paskin

Britain’s front of house staff lack the professionalism and respect found in the kitchen because ‘there are little to no service training schools’, Tim Zagat, co-founder of the eponymous restaurant guide has said.

IDEAS FROM YOUR PEERS

E-Books at bedtime with Jurys Inn and gastronomic evening with Mitch Tonks

16-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Restaurants, pubs and hotels including Jurys Inn and the May Fair Hotel tell us what promotions they're running to attract customers.

84% of hospitality businesses have no special staffing plans for Olympics

15-Sep-2011 By Emma Eversham

A massive 84 per cent of hospitality business owners and managers have said they are not planning to make changes to staffing levels during the Olympics next year despite 15 per cent of workers saying they’d pull a sickie to watch the Games.

Camra reveals Britain's top 16 pubs

15-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has named the 16 best real ale pubs in Britain in its yearly guide released today.

Join BigHospitality on a study tour of Devon

15-Sep-2011 By Becky Paskin

Next week BigHospitality is heading to Devon to investigate the region’s bountiful, seasonal produce with a stellar line-up of chefs and restaurateurs – and you could join us.

Sud de France sommelier competition winner revealed

14-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Austrian-born Stefan Neumann from The Fat Duck restaurant in Bray has won the 2011 Sud de France sommelier competition, held at the Maison de la Region Languedoc-Roussillon in Cavendish Square, London.

Westfield Stratford City opens its doors and offers 70 F&B options for diners

13-Sep-2011 By Restaurant

Westfield Stratford City, the £1.45bn retail and leisure development located next to the Olympic Park in east London, opens its doors to customers today with almost 70 food and drink sites ready for operation.

More ex-Tchenguiz pubs go on sale

13-Sep-2011 By Emma Eversham

Property agent Christie & Co is selling off another 37 pubs that were part of property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz’s former pub estate.

Report signals less reliance on the public sector in a decade

12-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Almost half of businesses in the UK believe the economy will have less reliance on the public sector in the next 10 years.

Government looks to change live music rules for pubs, restaurants and hotels

12-Sep-2011 By Emma Eversham

Pubs, restaurants and hotels may no longer have to apply for a licence if they want to host live bands or other entertainment if proposals to scrap parts of the Licensing Act are accepted.

Anglo-American bar and kitchen to open near Clapham Junction

12-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

The Plough, a new Anglo-American bar and kitchen near Clapham Junction train station, is set to open its doors to the public this week.

Harvester calorie labelling on menus leads to change in diner choice

12-Sep-2011 By Emma Eversham

Including calorie information on menus at 181 Harvester restaurants has resulted in diners making small changes to their choices, the operator has revealed.

Young Chef Young Waiter northern region finalists named

12-Sep-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Four young chefs and four waiters have been selected to compete in the overall final of the Young Chef Young Waiter (YCYW) competition next month.

ASK THE EXPERTS

How to deal with an accident claim from a customer

12-Sep-2011

Roddy Macleod, partner and head of the commercial insurance team at Weightmans outlines where you stand if a customer tries to sue for an accident that happened on your premises, but you don't think your busness is responsible.

IDEAS FROM YOUR PEERS

Michelin-starred sailing with Richard Corrigan and darts legends tour at Orchid

12-Sep-2011 By Becky Paskin

Restaurants, pubs and hotels including Richard Corrigan and Orchid tell us what promotions they’re running to attract customers.

Wetherspoon sales break £1bn barrier but profit dips

09-Sep-2011 By Becky Paskin

JD Wetherspoon has seen total annual sales break the £1bn barrier for the first time, although the managed pub operator blames higher interest charges for a reduced profit before tax and exceptional items of 5.9 per cent.

Northumberland’s Feathers Inn named 2011 Great British Pub of the Year

09-Sep-2011 By Becky Paskin

The Feathers Inn in Hedley-on-the-Hill, Northumberland, has been named the Great British Pub of the Year 2011 after winning the awards’ Best Gastropub category.

Eight chefs chosen for the National Chef of the Year 2011 final

09-Sep-2011 By Becky Paskin

The eight finalists in the 2011 National Chef of the Year competition have been named following four intense semi-final heats held this week.

Reliance on temporary staff costing hospitality sector £33.4 million a year

08-Sep-2011 By Rachel Parkes

Over-reliance on temporary staff is costing the hospitality sector £33.4 million a year in initial training and constant recruitment, new research from the government’s industry sector skills council has found.

Over a third say wi-fi is ‘deal-breaker’ when choosing a hotel

08-Sep-2011 By Rachel Parkes

Over a third of people (39 per cent) say that access to wi-fi internet is a ‘deal breaker’ when choosing a hotel, according to research released by Yorkshire-based broadband provider Plusnet.

First-time restaurateurs to bring Caribbean restaurant concept to Westfield Stratford

08-Sep-2011 By Rachel Parkes

Two first-time restaurateurs who previously worked together as documentary makers are to bring a Caribbean dining concept to the huge Westfield Stratford shopping centre, due to open near tratford’s Olympic Park next week.

Babbo owners open second restaurant

08-Sep-2011 By Rachel Parkes

The owners of Babbo Italian restaurant in Mayfair are to open the doors of a second venture, Fornata, in October.

Sheffield Park Hotel to become DoubleTree by Hilton

07-Sep-2011 By Rachel Parkes

The 95-bedroom Sheffield Park hotel is to become a DoubleTree by Hilton, the ninth UK hotel opened under the DoubleTree brand.

Italian chef congress Identità returns to UK

07-Sep-2011 By Rachel Parkes

Italian gastronomy event Identità is returning to the UK for the third time next month, the show’s organisers have said, in an effort to “explain the fundamentals of today’s Italian cuisine”.

Two thirds of diners leave food on plates because they are ‘too full’

07-Sep-2011 By Rachel Parkes

Six out of ten diners cited being “too full” as the main reason for leaving food on their plates, new research has found, raising questions about whether restaurants are serving overly large portions, contributing to an annual estimated 3 million tonnes...