Opening soon...

Mezzo, one of Terence Conran's highest-profile eateries, is to be redeveloped this summer with three new restaurant, bar and caf‚ concepts. It will become Meza, Floridita and La Casa del Habano, designed by Conran & Partners to be a Mediterranean restaurant, Cuban bar and cigar shop and café.

Meanwhile, Yatra, the London bar and restaurant group, has launched its new bar and restaurant concept in Manchester, offering food and cocktails, Eastern decor and business lunches. Dishes will include bakes oysters with bacon and chilli, Cajun salmon with pesto dressing, and hot cinnamon puff balls.

Wagamama continues its impressive roll-out plan, with openings in Dubai at the Crown Plaza Hotel, Richmond in London, Amsterdam and Sydney airport. More openings in 2004 include Tunbridge Wells, Putney in London, Reading and Brighton.

Café Med is to expand its Med Kitchen chain from three to 20 sites within the next four years. It currently has 11 restaurants and intends to open Med Kitchens in areas within the M25, such as Richmond, Fulham and Chiswick. The company also runs restaurants under the Caf‚ Flo and Café Med names.

Loch Fyne, last year's fastest-growing restaurant group, has opened another Le Petit Blanc in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and two Loch Fynes, in Bristol and Guildford, Surrey.

Restaurant operator Outback Steakhouse has opened its sixth outlet - in Staines, Middlesex. The company aims to open up to 10 new restaurants a year for the foreseeable future. The company's other five restaurants are in Wandsworth, south-west London, Romford and Basildon in Essex, Birmingham and Enfield, Middlesex.

Restaurateur Marlon Abela is bringing Japanese chef Ichiro Kubota to London in September to open Umu in Bruton Place. The 60-seat restaurant will specialise in Kyoto cuisine, but will also offer sushi and a gourmet tasting menu. Abela's company, MARC, also owns the Michelin-starred Greenhouse and Morton's, a private members club, both in London.



Smoking job losses in New York
Lobby groups working on behalf of restaurants, bars and nightclubs in New York claim that the ban on smoking in their city has resulted in the loss of 2,000 jobs. The New York Nightlife Association and the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association said that, in addition, 650 jobs were lost in affiliated industries.

Meanwhile, Tony Blair last week announced he was considering a smoking ban in public places and the workplace. Government plans for smoking are expected to be outlined in July.


View from a consultant
Caterer asked Ingrid Bewick, account director from recruitment agency Chess Partnership, for her views on the restaurant market

What recruitment opportunities are there in the restaurant world at the moment?
Recruitment companies are more confident that the economy is recovering. The London restaurant market has become more upbeat this year, bringing an increasing number of vacancies. The picture is of a growing sector, rather than a booming one, and mid-spend casual restaurants are thriving - the number of outlets is expected to grow by 6% this year.

One of the biggest changes we have seen in the past three years has been the move towards casual dining, particularly among the younger generation. The fine-dining market is still popular but increasingly it is attracting a corporate audience.

What challenges face the industry?
As always, there are plenty of challenges in recruiting young talent into the restaurant industry - and retaining them. Recent research we have undertaken indicates that the employment market is shrinking. Good-quality job-hunters tend to be aspirational but are looking for a better work-life balance. This creates new challenges for restaurant employers as they manage the expectations of these new recruits and create more attractive work patterns. After all, the industry can't afford to lose good managers.

How is the flow of job candidates across the marketplace?
As the market recovers, the number of applicants will increase. We have certainly seen this in 2004. More and more Europeans are applying to UK roles than ever before.

The internet has had a huge impact on how both staff and employers tackle recruitment issues but although the applications process has, arguably, become quicker, it has tended to make the system impersonal. Applicants seeking work have stated that they feel the process has lost the "human factor" and become automated. Our research indicates that, as a result, this generation of job-seekers has begun to return to more traditional methods of communication in the search for a more personal approach.