Articles by Date : August 01 2006 - August 31 2006

The Bench: West Midland hotel performance in July 2006
Hotels in the West Midlands saw revenue per available room (revpar) fall by 4.9% during the month of July. more
(03 August 2006 10:20)

In the movies: Location filming
Film and TV productions regularly use hotels and restaurants for location filming, but how can it benefit your business? Humayun Hussain goes behind.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

REITs and hotel investment
Mark Nichols, tax partner at international law firm CMS Cameron McKenna, looks at opportunities for hotels in the coming real estate investment trusts more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

El Gato Negro, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire
We all love Spanish holidays, but Spanish food has never truly made it in the UK outside of town centres... until now. Dan Bignold reports on one.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Bar food
Profit margins in the bar come from wet sales, but offering customers not requiring a full meal some tantalising snacks might just persuade them to.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

London cuisine among the best in world
Restaurateur and writer Simon Wright thinks restaurants in London are just capital more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Winner's profile: Roof Gardens club and Babylon restaurant in London
With the arrivals of a new general manager and personnel development officer at the Roof Gardens club and Babylon restaurant in London came lowered.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Globe artichokes
Italy has long had a love affair with globe artichokes, as Michael Raffael discovered when he got a lesson in how to use them from Zafferano's.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Apostrophe looks at new sites in Europe
Apostrophe, the upmarket café chain co-founded by a former investment banker, is opening three new London branches this year and is looking at Europe.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Overton Grange is up for sale
Ludlow, the famous Shropshire foodie haven, could lose yet another of its top-rated properties, as the once Michelin-starred Overton Grange goes on.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Topland to sell Thistle hotels
Property investment group Topland is seeking to sell the six hotels it acquired from Thistle Hotels only a year ago, Caterer has learnt. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Bank to double Zinc's estate
Bank Restaurant Group plans to double the size of its newest acquisition, Zinc Bar & Grill, within the next year. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Tragus set to push tapas brand openings
Tragus is to convert the Leadenhall Wine and Tapas Bar in London into its second Spanish tapas restaurant and bar, Ortega. A third site in London is.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Whitbread's sale puts bite into war chest
Whitbread could use the £112m proceeds from the sale of its 50% stake in Pizza Hut UK to mount a bid for Travelodge, according to City sources. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Energy bills likely to carry on rising
Hotel and restaurant energy bills have spiralled by 65% in the past three years and are likely to carry on rising in 2007. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Macdonald Hotels bears £30m loss in move upmarket
Private operator Macdonald Hotels made a £30m loss last year as it shelled out on its estate to reposition the brand at the luxury end of the market. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

NHS caterers fear Novation deal
Hospital food will suffer as a result of the plan to outsource purchasing to US group Novation, according to NHS caterers. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Bryn Williams to head kitchen at Odette's
Welsh chef Bryn Williams is to become head chef of Odette's in north London when it reopens after refurbishment next month. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Working for you in all this heat
August has arrived, and the holiday season is upon us again. The rest of the country may have packed its trunks and lotion and headed for the sun,.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Ruth Badger, runner-up in TV reality show The Apprentice
Ruth Badger - runner-up in TV reality show The Apprentice - is now a consultant. She's also fronting the awareness campaign for the imminent.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Comfort Hotel Donatella Firenze, Florence, Italy
Only minutes away from the world-famous Uffizi gallery, the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio, this hotel is perfectly situated for tourists keen to drink.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Sardines, courgettes, black figs
Ingredients in season... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Francesco Zanchetta, head chef Austini's, Twickenham
Chef Francesco Zanchetta has joined Austini's bar and restaurant in Twickenham, Middlesex, as head chef. He was head chef at the Riva restaurant in.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Hotel Don Carlos Beach and Golf Resort, Marbella, Spain
Reopening after a €25m (£17m) revamp, the hotel's retro-chic design maximises the potential of its 1960s architecture. The neutral colours are lifted.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Hotel Indigo, Houston, Texas, USA
InterContinental Hotels Group's fourth Indigo property in the USA, this boutique hotel in the heart of uptown Houston offers state-of-the-art meeting.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Leigh Myers, executive chef, Grosvenor Pulford hotel, Chester
Leigh Myers started cooking at the age of seven but it was when he was offered an apprenticeship at Paul Heathcote's School of Excellence, now in.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa, Texas, USA
This resort, adjoining the 1,100-acre McKinney Roughs nature park, offers a host of natural and man-made activities from fly-fishing on the Colorado.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Jessica Byron, sales manager, Golden Tulip Manchester
Jessica Byron has been appointed sales manager by Golden Tulip Manchester. She has 11 years of hotel experience and was sales development manager at.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Kelvingrove Galleries reopening is just picture-perfect
Glasgow's Kelvingrove Galleries, which reopened in July after three years and a £27m revamp, is set to overtake Edinburgh Castle as Scotland's most.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Kenneth Syer, manager, Duck's at Le Marché Noir, Edinburgh
Kenneth Syer is the new manager of Duck's at Le Marché Noir restaurant in Edinburgh. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Kurt Fleming, group executive chef, Horseshoe, Mamhilad
Kurt Fleming is the new group executive chef at the Horseshoe pub in Mamhilad, Monmouthshire. He moves to the Artizan Leisure site from the Bell at.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Lann Niziblian, sales and membership manager, Laguna health spa, Cardiff
Lann Niziblian has taken the job of sales and membership manager at the Laguna health spa, Park Plaza hotel, Cardiff. Niziblian was service manager.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

We can all make a difference to the environment
I'm delighted to see the attention being paid to pressing environmental matters, the latest being "The big energy debate" (Caterer, 27 July, page 48). more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Paul Burrows, head chef, Homewood Park hotel
Paul Burrows has become head chef at Von Essen's Homewood Park hotel near Bath. He joins from Moonfleet Manor in Dorset, also a Von Essen property,.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Review of Reviews: 3 August
It's all fantastically twee. But, even as you try to sneer at the fixtures and fittings, you're aware of a curious jolliness about the place, a buzz.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Richard Price, head concierge, Jumeirah Carlton Tower Knightsbridge hotel, London
The Jumeirah Carlton Tower Knightsbridge hotel in London has named Richard Price head concierge. He was previously head concierge at the city's Royal.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

How can I maintain standards at all times even when I am not present?
When I'm with my staff, they perform really well, but as soon as I'm away, standards slip. I own more than one outlet, so how can I maintain.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

The news in brief
Turner to quit Regent Inns; M&C boss Potter on the move; Alden is new Maybourne chief; Myhotels to open in Brighton more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Berry juice from The Berry Company
With no sign of the demand for healthy drinks abating, superberries are something of a growing trend. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Tim van Buchem, head chef, Brownes, Dublin
Tim van Buchem is the new head chef at the recently renovated boutique hotel, Brownes, in Dublin. Beforehand, van Buchem was a senior chef de partie.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Victoria Lochhead, marketing executive, Brakspear pub company
Victoria Lochhead has rejoined the Brakspear pub company of Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire as marketing executive, following maternity leave. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Relief chefs are treated unfairly
I'm a freelance chef and nearly every job I take means entering a difficult situation: short-staffed, with poor working conditions, poor wages and.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Getting away with murder?
Fifty years ago, and subsequently each decade thereafter, the cry has gone up: "Oh, we can't get the staff" - a constant whinge by hoteliers and.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Communicate with suppliers
It always amazes me that for a so-called people industry we seem to lose all our people skills when it comes to dealing with major stakeholders in.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Don't penalise guests further
I was concerned to read the opinion column by Sir Michael Lyons (Caterer, 20 July, page 26) as it seemed to move the bed tax debate no further.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

CocoFina coconut juice from Fruitfina
Containing no artificial additives or sugars, CocoFina is the first Vegetarian Society-approved coconut water. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Frappes and smoothies from The Drury Tea & Coffee Company
The Drury Tea & Coffee Company, London-based speciality tea blenders and coffee roasters, has launched a range of liquid frappé and smoothie mixes.... more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Pomegranate and raspberry smoothie from Innocent
Pomegranates and raspberries is the new guest recipe from smoothie company Innocent. more
(03 August 2006 00:00)

Blackstone sells Marriott Grosvenor Square
Private equity group Blackstone Real Estate Partners has sold the Marriott London Grosvenor Square hotel for £103m to Chicago-based Strategic Hotels.... more
(02 August 2006 15:44)

Russian investment company to launch hotel chain in Ukraine
Russia’s Commercial Company has announced plans to build a 20-strong mid-market hotel chain in the Ukraine. more
(02 August 2006 12:45)