Articles by Date : January 01 2009 - January 31 2009

Revpar slumps by 27.7% at London hotels
London hotels saw revenue per available room (revpar) plunge by 27.7% in the week ending 10 January 2009, according to figures from hospitality.... more
(30 January 2009 18:39)

Tom Aikens ‘humiliated’ by suppliers’ £1m losses
Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens has admitted his business collapsing into administration and putting his suppliers almost £1m out of pocket was “a.... more
(30 January 2009 17:12)

Tomahawk Hotels fined over health and safety breach
Tomahawk Hotels has been fined a total of more than £20,000, after workers were sent to take down a flag pole from a fourth-storey roof without the.... more
(30 January 2009 16:37)

Friday Wrap: A round-up of the week's hospitality news
They may have coined the charming ditty Bring Your Daughter...To The Slaughter but heavy metal outfit Iron Maiden are, despite media reports to the.... more
(30 January 2009 15:26)

Subway plans to open 600 new UK stores by 2011
Sandwich chain Subway has unveiled plans to invest more than £60m opening 600 new stores in the UK and Ireland by the end of next year. more
(30 January 2009 14:49)

Cromwell Crown named by TripAdvisor’s as UK’s dirtiest hotel
The Cromwell Crown hotel has been granted the dubious honour of the UK’s Dirtiest Hotel in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice awards. more
(30 January 2009 14:34)

Côte to open sixth London brasserie
Côte, the French brasserie concept launched by Andy Bassadone and Chris Benians, the former management team of Strada, is to open its sixth site. more
(30 January 2009 12:22)

Caterers urged to know origins of pork dishes following Jamie Oliver campaign
Restaurants and caterers have been urged to be clear about the country of origin of their pork dishes in the wake of Jamie Oliver’s programme Jamie.... more
(30 January 2009 11:59)

IHG moves to slash £140m off energy costs
InterContinental Hotels Group hopes to save as much as $200m (£140m) on its energy costs by implementing an online system across its 3,000 hotels. more
(30 January 2009 09:00)

Accent adds wins another trio of school contract
Accent Catering has launched catering services at three schools in and around London, adding £250,000 in annual turnover to its books. more
(30 January 2009 08:00)

US tycoon plans UK’s first six-star hotel
A US property magnate has unveiled plans to turn a grade-II listed office building in the City of London into the UK’s first “six-star” hotel. more
(30 January 2009 07:00)

Punch Taverns to overhaul leased pubs business
Punch Taverns is overhauling its leased business and central support teams as part of ongoing moves to cut running costs. more
(29 January 2009 17:38)

Bocca di Lupo is ‘food-lovers’ restaurant of the moment’, says critic
Guy Dimond at Time Out believes Italian restaurant Bocca di Lupo is worthy of a place in the publication’s Top 50 London Restaurants list, describing.... more
(29 January 2009 17:28)

What’s on the Menu? - A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews
A round-up of the latest London restaurant reviews including: Albion and Boundary; Kai Mayfair; and Bocca di Lupo. more
(29 January 2009 16:56)

Gleneagles hotel seeking ways to cut jobs and hours
Gleneagles hotel in Scotland has asked every member of staff to consider redundancy, early retirement or cutting their working hours, it emerged.... more
(29 January 2009 16:12)

Exchange rates hit sales at Park Plaza Hotels
The slide in value of Sterling against the Euro hit Park Plaza Hotels hard in 2008, with group turnover falling 6.3% year-on-year, the hotel company.... more
(29 January 2009 14:24)

Norway’s Gier Skeie wins Bocuse d’Or competition
Norwegian chef Gier Skeie has won the prestigious Bocuse d’Or competition in Lyons, with UK representative Simon Hulstone finishing 10th out of the.... more
(29 January 2009 14:07)

Greater London Authority:Provision of catering services
The GLA invites expressions of interest from suitably qualified contractors to provide a catering service for visitors, staff and other stakeholders.... more
(29 January 2009 14:00)

Recession fails to dent Fuller’s acquisition plans
London pub company Fuller, Smith & Turner has revealed plans to add to its estate in the coming months despite the UK recession. more
(29 January 2009 12:23)

Burgh Castle Marina seeks an ambitious young couple
seeks an ambitious young couple with chef / front of house training & experience for 3 year pub & cottage tenancy to build high quality.... more
(29 January 2009 12:21)

Essential Cuisine Vegetable Stock Mix
Essential Cuisine Vegetable Stock Mix, is part of a comprehensive range of stocks just launched through 3663... more
(29 January 2009 12:09)

Last Folio hotel is sold by administrators
The last hotel in the Folio Hotel Group has been sold, completing the administration process that began in December. more
(29 January 2009 11:51)

Punch makes three directors redundant in cost purge
Three senior directors at Punch Taverns have been made redundant as part of the pub giant’s focus on reducing its costs, it was announced today. more
(29 January 2009 11:23)

Foremost Products: Open toe slippers
100 pairs of slippers per box - Minimum order 2 boxes ... more
(29 January 2009 11:00)

Food offers keep sales buoyant at M&B
Value-led food offers helped All Bar One and Harvester operator Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) perform strongly over Christmas and make a resilient start.... more
(29 January 2009 10:23)

Event catering won’t pay for all restaurants, warn experts
Branching out into the event catering market can raise a restaurant's profile, but it doesn't guarantee a rise in profit, industry figures have.... more
(29 January 2009 09:00)

Terror police brief top hotels after Mumbai massacre
High-profile London hotels are being given specialist police training to combat the threat of terrorism, following the Mumbai terror attacks in.... more
(29 January 2009 08:00)

Government ‘terribly ineffective’ in tackling underpaying hotel bosses
The Government's crackdown on rogue hotel operators that fail to pay staff minimum wage has been labelled as "terribly ineffective". more
(29 January 2009 07:00)

Fernando Trocca - A Minute on the Clock
Argentina-born Fernando Trocca is the executive chef of steak restaurant chain Gaucho. He has spent the past two weeks visiting the group's 12 sites.... more
(29 January 2009 00:00)

Fish & Grill, Croydon
Le Vacherin and Le Cassoulet owner Malcolm John has launched his third restaurant, a British brasserie in south Croydon. The menu is focused on.... more
(29 January 2009 00:00)

Martin Burge talks about Whatley Manor's Michelin win
At first glance you might think the French had a monopoly on two stars from Michelin for 2009. But there's a new British promotion this year, a man.... more
(29 January 2009 00:00)

Barny's Place, London
Located in the City of London, this is playwright Tom Stoppard's son Barny's first restaurant and specialises in healthy fast food inspired by the.... more
(29 January 2009 00:00)

Holiday Inn, Kingston South
This is Sun Hotel Group's first UK property, located next to the River Thames. It includes the Riverview restaurant, offering Continental and.... more
(29 January 2009 00:00)

The Old Bear, Cobham
This pub in Surrey has been taken over by the team behind the Albion in London's Islington and has undergone a complete refurbishment. It comprises a.... more
(29 January 2009 00:00)

Hotels / Guest Houses Wanted
Long established hotel/property company with a proven track record in hotel operating require hotel or guest house premises to ... more
(29 January 2009 00:00)

Hotels For Sale
11 mid market Quality hotels totalling 1,405 bedrooms, many with leisure facilities. Locations throughout England, Scotland & Wales including.... more
(29 January 2009 00:00)

Christophe Perney becomes head chef for Peach Pub Company's Embankment hotel
The Peach Pub Company-owned Embankment hotel in Bedford has taken on Christophe Perney as its new head chef. more
(29 January 2009 00:00)

Menu labelling is too costly
Last week, Food Standards Agency chief executive Tim Smith urged the industry to back nutritional labelling on menus. But Bob Cotton, British.... more
(29 January 2009 00:00)

Credit crunch forces Antony Worrall Thompson to close the Greyhound
Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson has become the latest victim of the recession, closing the doors on one of his pubs, The Greyhound in.... more
(28 January 2009 17:01)

Greene King results bring New Year cheer
Greene King today provided some much needed cheer for the pub industry revealing strong Christmas sales and no sign yet of the feared post-New Year.... more
(28 January 2009 14:45)

No extra funding to market Olympic Games
The Government’s decision not to allocate additional funding to promote the 2012 Olympic Games has been labelled as “short-sighted and damaging”. more
(28 January 2009 13:22)

Makeney Hall the latest Folio Hotel to be saved
The Makeney Hall hotel in Derbyshire is the latest property to be saved after the collapse of Folio Hotels into administration last year. more
(28 January 2009 09:00)

Parents cheesed off with school packed-lunch guidelines
The majority of parents believe the Government shouldn’t dictate what goes into their children’s school lunchboxes, research revealed today. more
(28 January 2009 09:00)

Compass wins deal at historic Cambridgeshire leisure site
Compass Group has picked up the deal to run catering, conferencing and banqueting at the historic Maltings in Ely, Cambridgeshire, when it re-opens.... more
(28 January 2009 08:30)

Beacon unveils winners of Beacon Supplier Awards 2009
Purchasing consortium Beacon this week hosted its first Beacon Supplier Awards during the 2009 Best Western Members' Conference at the Celtic Manor.... more
(27 January 2009 15:44)

Compass Group wins contract at Ireland’s Lansdowne Road stadium
Compass Group has won a multi-million pound 21-year deal to cater at Ireland’s New Stadium, Lansdowne Road. more
(27 January 2009 15:34)

Jean-Christophe Novelli hosts Bel UK food service website
Bel UK Foodservice has launched a new website specifically designed for food service operators and incorporating the Bel Cheese Academy, hosted by.... more
(27 January 2009 15:14)

Britain is biggest consumer of imported wine
Britain has become the world's biggest consumer of imported wine, and wine drinking is expected to grow over the next four years despite the economic.... more
(27 January 2009 15:02)

Catermasters picks up In House Catering to boost London presence
Midlands-based caterer Catermasters has boosted its presence in London with the purchase of a controlling stake in the In House Catering Company. more
(27 January 2009 14:54)

McCain launches Signature Dish Competition 2009
McCain is partnering with the Craft Guild of Chefs to launch the McCain Signature Dish Competition 2009. more
(27 January 2009 14:33)