Outback changes tack
Outback Steakhouse is to focus its future expansion on the burgeoning leisure park market. The restaurant chain signalled its new direction last week with the opening of its sixth outlet at a leisure park in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The move comes after managing director Phil Broad moved to Starbucks as managing director in March.

Food Policy Forum
The British Hospitality Association is calling on representatives from across the catering industry to form a Food Policy Forum. Hotel groups Whitbread and Hilton, food service operators Compass, Sodexho and Aramark and suppliers Brakes and 3663 are among the companies that have already been invited to join.

Caterer energy questionnaire

Spiralling energy costs are a major worry for almost three-quarters (72%) of hoteliers and caterers who have responded to a new questionnaire devised by Caterer and the Carbon Trust. However, The Carbon Trust has calculated that a 20% reduction in energy use (which it says is easily achievable) is equivalent to a 5% increase in sales. If that sounds like music to your ears, let us know what energy-efficient measures you have adopted and you could win an iPod.

Roux Scholar to split stage
Pravin Sharma, the 2006 Roux Scholar, will split his three-month winner's stage between two of Europe's three-Michelin-starred restaurants. His first month of training will be with the UK's Heston Blumenthal at the Fat Duck in Bray, and his next two will be under the tutelage of Olivier Roellinger at Maisons de Bricourt in Cancale, Brittany. Sharma, 28, won the Roux Scholarship in March and is sous chef at Silk restaurant in the Courthouse Kempinski hotel, London.