Articles by Date : March 01 2009 - March 31 2009

Brakes' new bakery business
Brakes has launched a new bread and patisserie division, La Boulangerie, to offer customers a comprehensive selection of bread, patisserie,.... more
(31 March 2009 16:51)

Charlton House wins Haymarket Media Group deal
Charlton House has been awarded a close-to-£1m catering deal at publishing firm Haymarket Media Group. more
(31 March 2009 16:28)

Barista winner re-sparks interest in mobile coffee
The surprise of the UK barista championship being won by an operator of a coffee-cart rather than a traditional bricks-and-mortar café has sparked.... more
(31 March 2009 16:05)

Marco and barista champion launch the UberBoiler
A prototype of a new kind of water boiler for hot beverages has been seen at an Irish trade exhibition. more
(31 March 2009 15:57)

Enterprise Inns spends £1.4m a month to support publicans
Enterprise Inns continues to provide financial support of £1.4m a month to licensees, the pub giant said in a trading statement today. more
(31 March 2009 15:44)

Hospitality centre launched to skill up workers ahead of London Olympics
A hospitality and catering centre in London, which offers students the chance to work in a new restaurant while studying for a qualification, has.... more
(31 March 2009 15:28)

Costa leads coffee sector into ‘knocking’ campaigns
We can expect more ‘knocking’ campaigns in the retail coffee industry, a marketing magazine has said following Costa’s new advertising campaign,.... more
(31 March 2009 14:53)

Rombouts becomes a C&G training centre
Rombouts, the coffee company which made its name through single-serve filter coffee, has now become an approved City & Guilds training centre. more
(31 March 2009 14:44)

Weekly hotel revpar drops by nearly 22% in London
Hotel revenue per available room (revpar) dropped by 21.8% in London and by 14.3% in the provinces in the week ending 14 March 2009, according to.... more
(31 March 2009 14:23)

Clapham House to open more Gourmet Burger Kitchens
Clapham House Group plans to take advantage of the weakening property market over the next 12 months by growing its Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK).... more
(31 March 2009 11:13)

Compass Group puts in solid performance
Compass UK is performing well in a difficult environment, the caterer said today in a trading statement. more
(31 March 2009 10:58)

Caine’s Manchester restaurant a ‘bargain’, says critic
Michael Caines’s restaurant at Abode Manchester has won praise from a critic that hated the group’s Canterbury offering. more
(31 March 2009 10:10)

Water Efficiency Awards deadline extended
The Environment Agency has extended the deadline for entries for the 2009 Water Efficiency Awards by a month. more
(31 March 2009 08:00)

Marco Pierre White-branded Criterion restaurant sold
Iconic London restaurant the Criterion has been taken over by Vasily Sopromadze, a Georgian entrepreneur, as the first of a number of planned.... more
(31 March 2009 07:30)

Compass signs £125m deal at Coventry City FC’s Ricoh Arena
Compass Group has signed a £125m deal extension at Coventry City FC’s Ricoh Arena to provide catering and facilities management services at the.... more
(31 March 2009 07:00)

Jurys Inns flooded by job seekers from recession-hit sectors
Hotel group Jurys Inns has revealed it is receiving as many as 100 job applications for some vacancies as candidates from a variety of sectors such.... more
(30 March 2009 13:24)

March Update: The Stephan Langton
This pub is privately owned by a local family, which gives leaseholders Chris and Rosie Robinson the freedom to operate it as a free house and decide.... more
(30 March 2009 12:53)

March Update: Wildwood
"You cock up on some things and you get lucky on others. If I do it all again on another site I'll have all the lessons from this time round but new.... more
(30 March 2009 12:30)

March Update: The Mulberry Tree
This new-build property is a freehold, and owner Karen Williams has no problems with planning permission or other building-related issues. However,.... more
(30 March 2009 12:21)

Wozza’s former pub the Lamb reopens under new owners
Antony Worrall Thompson’s former pub the Lamb at Satwell in Oxfordshire has reopened under new ownership. more
(30 March 2009 12:13)

March Update: The Royal Sportsman
Louis Naudi owns the freehold of this property: "I have a mortgage for 45% of its value so I'm not really in debt," he explains. more
(30 March 2009 12:06)

What’s on the Menu? - A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews
A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews including: The Granary Restaurant, Sissinghurst; Equilibrium, Fawsley; Trishna, London; and Michael.... more
(30 March 2009 12:03)

March Update: The Taverners
Lisa Choi and Roger Serjent, who took on a lease from pub owner Punch Taverns in May 2008, have been asking themselves just how much more money they.... more
(30 March 2009 11:00)

March Update: Tudor Farmhouse Hotel
The building is Grade II listed so owners Hari and Colin Fell are limited as to what they can do internally. However, when they took over they spent.... more
(30 March 2009 11:00)

Harry’s Bar to grow to five sites
Harry’s Bar, the iconic City bar and restaurant, is to launch its second branch in the square mile with plans to expand to five sites within the next.... more
(30 March 2009 10:55)

Administrator to buy out GuestInvest investors
The administrator of GuestInvest has reportedly made an offer to buy out individual investors in order to facilitate the sale of the buy-to-let hotel.... more
(30 March 2009 10:44)

Marco’s ‘Chopping Block’ gets the chop on US TV - For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say
A round-up of the weekend's news affecting the hospitality industry. News includes: Police fear missing chef has come to harm,Scottish caterers urged.... more
(30 March 2009 10:02)

Piccolino owner vows to avoid discounting
Premium casual dining group Individual Restaurant Company (IRC) has vowed not be drawn into the eating out sector’s discounting war. more
(30 March 2009 09:47)

Ellington hotel general manager Gerhard Schaller dies
The former general manager of the Ellington Hotel in Leeds, which recently entered administration, has died. more
(30 March 2009 08:30)

Recession an ‘opportunity’ for domestic tourism
The recession presents a huge opportunity for domestic tourism but only if the industry communicates the benefits of holidaying in the UK. more
(30 March 2009 08:00)

Scotland’s Almond Catering wins first deal in the North of England
Scotland-based contract caterer Almond Catering has won its first deal in the North of England. more
(30 March 2009 07:30)

Von Essen chief operating officer quits after 12 months
Colin Bailey has joined hotel and conference company Principal Hayley as operations director, just 12 months after joining Von Essen as its first.... more
(30 March 2009 07:00)

Best For Business: From the ground up
The second month in our Best for Business programme deals with an issue close to many hearts - the venue. As we follow a year in the life of ... more
(30 March 2009 00:00)

The Salisbury’s tapas menu impresses critic
Fay Maschler finds herself in love with Adrian Jones, head chef at The Salisbury in London. more
(27 March 2009 17:15)

Friday Wrap: A round-up of the week's hospitality news
Working for the cash machine? Campaign group London Citizens reignited the debate about the London Living Wage, which didn't go down at all well with.... more
(27 March 2009 16:16)

What’s on the Menu? - A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews
A round-up of the latest restaurant reviews including: Little Chef, Winchester; The Salisbury Tavern, London; Fino, London; and The Brill, London. more
(27 March 2009 15:54)

Celebrity chef Paul Rankin escapes bankruptcy
Celebrity chef Paul Rankin has escaped bankruptcy after agreement was reached with his creditors over unpaid debts. more
(27 March 2009 15:43)

Yorkshire restaurant obstructed food-poisoning investigation
Two owners of a Yorkshire restaurant tried to obstruct an investigation by health officers into a rare food poisoning outbreak that affected almost.... more
(27 March 2009 15:34)

New catering opportunities at Dublin airport and Nottingham arts centre
Two new catering opportunities have been made available. The first includes retail and food and beverage operations at Dublin airport. more
(27 March 2009 14:58)

Six former Real Hotel Group hotels up for sale
A further six hotels that were formerly managed by the collapsed Real Hotel Company are up for sale. more
(27 March 2009 14:33)

Leon co-founder Allegra McEvedy to leave the business
Allegra McEvedy, co-founder of healthy fast-food chain Leon, is to leave the business, it was announced today. more
(27 March 2009 14:16)

Vacherin appoints head chef for first public restaurant venture
Contract caterer Vacherin has recruited Maria Elia as head chef for its first public restaurant at London’s Whitechapel Gallery. more
(27 March 2009 13:15)

BaxterStorey in ethical team-up with First Choice Coffee
BaxterStorey's ethical and environmentally-friendly coffee offering, which the company is rolling out across 250-300 sites, has been developed in.... more
(27 March 2009 12:51)

UK Barista Champion announced
Gwilym Davies, an independent barista running coffee carts in central London, will represent the UK in the World Barista Championships next month.... more
(27 March 2009 12:44)

Soft drinks sales increase in food service sector
Soft drinks sales increased by 1% to £238m in the food service sector last year, demonstrating the growing importance of soft drinks consumption with.... more
(27 March 2009 12:38)

North Stars - preview of the Northern Restaurant and Bar show 2009
About 200 exhibitors will be showing their wares at this year's Northern Restaurant & Bar in Manchester, Here's a selection of what visitors will.... more
(27 March 2009 12:35)

Cleaners take Beatles-themed hotel to court
The Beatles-themed Hard Days Night hotel in Liverpool is on course for a legal dust up with its cleaners at London’s High Court. more
(27 March 2009 10:26)

Restaurateur launches petition to raise VAT limit
A restaurateur has launched a nationwide, online petition, calling on Gordon Brown to raise the VAT limit. more
(27 March 2009 10:04)

Liberal Democrats take tourism campaign to Downing Street
The Liberal Democrats took their campaign calling on the British government to take tourism seriously to 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, tying in.... more
(27 March 2009 08:10)

Fuller's snaps up Punch pubs in £21.1m deal
Brewer and pub operator Fuller's has paid Punch Taverns £21.1m for six Spirit Group pubs in central London. more
(27 March 2009 07:30)