Queen's Birthday Honours and what the weekend papers say

Industry figures in honours list

Among industry figures recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list are: OBE, Stephen Carter, director of De Vere Hotels, Fife, for services to the hospitality industry in Scotland. Sara Jayne Stanes, director of Academy of Culinary Arts, for services to the hospitality industry. MBE. Sanjay Anand, restaurateur and entrepreneur, for services to the hospitality industry. Julia Caroline Hands, chief executive, Hand Picked Hotels, for services to the hospitality industry. Professor Peter Albert Jones, for services to the hospitality industry. Agnes Thompson, school catering unit manager, Thomas Hepburn Community School, Gateshead, for services to education. – Daily Telegraph, 16 June.

Hotel chiefs to meet Treasury over tax break loss

Hotel industry chief executives will hold crunch meetings with Treasury officials this week over a retrospective tax that would cost the industry an estimated £500m a year. Gordon Brown's budget in March included the removal of hotel building allowance, an annual 4% tax concession for hotel owners spanning the first 25 years of every newly built hotel. The tax break was introduced 30 years ago to encourage investment in the sector and help make projects financially viable. – Sunday Telegraph, 17 June.

Wagamama to open at Heathrow T5

Wagamama, the noodle bar operator controlled by Lion Capital, is to open a restaurant at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 next year. – The Times, 16 June.

Beer sales will fall by 4% after smoking ban

English publicans have been served notice that they can expect to see beer sales slump by 4% after the introduction of next month's smoking ban. That means pubs will sell 200 million fewer pints over the next 12 months as smokers shun them to stock up at the off-licence for a session at home, market research firm Nielsen warned. – The Independent, 17 June.

Another fish heading for protected status

Eel looks set to come off restaurant menus at the end of next year after the EU has ruled it is an endangered species. Peter Gordon of The Providores in London which serves smoked eel, said: "Eel is extremely popular, especially with younger clients." Rick Poole, who runs three pie-and-mash shops in south London, said: "We still sell all the eels we can get hold of. – Sunday Telegraph, 17 June.

Restaurant to sell nicotine substitute to beat smoke ban

Chinese restaurant chain Shanghai Blues plans to sell a nictone substitute gel in its five London restaurants when the smoking ban comes in for Wales and England next month. A spokesman said that in the Chinese culture there are a lot of smokers and they were worried that the smoking ban would affect trade. – Mail on Sunday, 17 June.

Gate Gourmet set to lose Heathrow contract

British Airways (BA) is considering replacing its Heathrow inflight meal supplier, Gate Gourmet, two years after industrial disputes at the airline caterer spilled over into a full blown strike amongst BA ground handlers. Although the contract to supply 80,000 meals per day at Heathrow is due to run until 2010, British Airways is understood to have moved early in order to allow a new operator time to set up the necessary infrastructure. – Sunday Telegraph, 17 June.

By Bob Gledhill

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