The Caterer Blog

Pubs and clubs across England have been busy preparing for the July 1 smoking ban, with "solutions" (how the hell has this horrible management speak entered the hospitality market?) ranging from broadening the food offer to implementing scented air conditioning (the smoke smell masks a lot of other wafts you see).

But one Surrey pub has taken a different route, designed largely to appeal to the male demographic.

Yesterday I was heartened to see that former Colgate-Palmolive employee Mark Angela bagged a £300,000 pay-off leaving Greene King, on top of his £442,000 salary and bonuses, after leaving the pub company earlier this year.

The former head of its managed pub division, whose whereabouts remain a mystery to this day, still has use of his company car until next April under the terms of his contract which should come in handy for his current search for work.

The revelations in this year's annual report also include chief executive Rooney Anand bagging £891,000, including a £422,000 bonus, while tenanted division boss David Elliott earned £488,000, including a £213,000 bonus.

Angela joined Greene King in January 2003 from consumer goods company Colgate-Palmolive, where he was general manager of its Hills Pet Nutrition. Given the perks he's raked in at Greene King it is a wonder he doesn't try his hand at one of Colgate's more famed products - toothpaste - I'm sure his pearly whites will keep shining as he counts his severance pay with a smile on his face.

Pitty the poor zebu - a breed of cow we knew little of until ITV's Undercover Mum 'exposed' last night that zebu steaks were on the menu in great British pubs.

The programme accused pub operators JD Wetherspoon and Greene King of serving steaks they found to contain zebu DNA. Both Wetherspoon's and Greene King's Hungry Horse chain have subsequently argued that zebu is a breed of beef, albeit one native to warmer climes than Britain, and they have not been putting "sub-standard steaks" on their menus.

While the zebu may be a less attractive animal than its cow cousins, the Hereford and the Angus, there is an argueent that beef is beef and the UK has been dependent on imported food since the end of World War Two.

But the main argument is from the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX) which excluded zebu meat from its quality standard beef scheme in July.

Today The Sun told the story of former landlord Andy Banwell who spent the last seven years leasing a total of four pubs on a deck of credit cards.

Banwell racked up debts totaling £250,000 after taking out leases on four pubs in the south-west. The story of his mounting costs on leasing the Monkton Inn near Taunton, The Kellaway Arms near Bristol, The King’s Head in nearby Whitehall and the Bunch of Grapes in Bristol city centre will be told on Channel Four documentary on Friday.

But just how did he manage it in today's cost sensitive environment for pub operators needs to be questioned because if Banwell can get away with it then I am sure there are many more willing to try their hands as publicans to do so too.

Fans of the humble pint can drink easy now - the imperial measure has been saved from abolition. This means British pub-goers can order a pint in peace and not have to worry about going all 'Continental' and drink a half litre or, Heaven forbid, a quarter litre of beer while they stand outside and smoke their fags.

Apparently the pint measure, much like miles, yards, feet, inches, pounds and ounces is one of the "traditions that make Britain unique" , according to Günter Verheugen, EU Commission Vice President responsible for enterprise and industry.

Gunter's quote on the subject, which has so alienated the EU from sections of British society, is worth presenting in its entirety: “Our proposal is designed to honour the culture and traditions of Great Britain which are important to the European Commission.

"People in the UK and indeed throughout the EU love the traditions that make Britain unique. There is no good reason why these imperial measures should not continue to be used and we've decided to enshrine this fact in EU law. We can all drink to that!"

Of course we can Gunter, particularly as this amendment to the Metric Weights and Measures Act has been done in true EU style - with a fudge. Both Britain and Ireland can retain their imperial weights and measures not because the law has been revoked because they don't have to fix a date in law for ending them - or in English: the pint is here to stay forever! Cheers!

We all know pubs are desperate to get more women and families through the door - research last week showed that just 42% of pub-goers were women - but Peach Pub Company hit upon a rather novel idea last week.

Some of you may remember the scene in the film Trainspotting where a group of girls ask the blokes what they are talking about - to which they reply as one: "Football. what are you talking about?" The girls reply in unison is "Shopping." Well canny Peach has applied the same philosophy to getting punters through the door. Blokes will go the pub under the excuse of football, why not get girls in the boozer shopping?

The Swan at Salford took that very approach when it hosted the 3rd annual SNAP Up A Frock event helping to raise £8000 for SNAP, the local Milton Keynes charity that helps young adults with learning difficulties. Designer outfits and accessories were donated to SNAP and all the profits go to charity.

Well done Peach, not only on flogging a few more G&Ts and Pimms but for showing that boozers aren't all about blokes, pints and football.

Thanks to Simon Murray at www.visualcomms.co.uk for the pic from the day.

It emerged this weekend that Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans splashed out £1.5m to double the size of his Surrey pub empire (to two pubs) as he joined the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Sir Alex Ferguson as a celebrity landlord (although Ramsay's credentials are somewhat better than Fergie's when it comes to serving food).

Evans has picked up the currently closed Red Lion in Milford, and has outlined plans to revive its fortunes by expanding the restaurant and building B&B chalets to add to its eight guest rooms. But Evans is stuck in red-tape limbo in his attempts to create a hospitality hot-spot as he awaits Council approval. Apparently the pub is connected to a 14th century "listed monastic building" by way of a tunnel of 'historic importance'.

Those of you who listen to Evans' Radio 2 show will know he is a self-confessed foodie, so there is every chance that this is less of a place for the once notorious drinker to indulge in his hobby and more of a serious hospitality business. But can celebrities run a pub? I'd like to know your thoughts.

The smoking ban has seen the majority of pub groups reviewing their business strategy to attract a new type of customer.

One pub company, who shall remain nameless for reasons which become apparent later, has a strategy based on the three Fs – families, females and friendly.

It outlines a desire of what it wishes its pubs to be: friendly, open locations attracting female and family customers because, as common wisdom states, these are the customers most likely to increase their spending in pubs post the ban on lighting up.

Staff at the pub group have sought to subvert this strategy though. Being an innovative lot they don’t want to restrict themselves to just three Fs, they want to bring in two more: fogies and fairies. Enterprising? Probably. Politically correct? Not quite.

So if your local boozer introduces weekly games of dominoes and offers on Babycham you will know why.

On top of this morning's news that sales of beer have dropped to their lowest level in the UK since the Great Depression in the 1930's - a warning has come that beer prices face above average inflation next year and we could even see the first £4 pint.

This is not the news that the pub trade needs. Already this morning Britain's second largest pub operator, Enterprise Inns, has predicted a tough year for pubs in 2008. Next year could see a situation where prices are up, sales are down and the market is saturated with identical food offerings cannibalising each other's sales potential. It could turn out to be a bit of a car crash.

When is a story not a story? When it is as old as the hills but hits the headlines for no good reason.

Bemused Wetherspoons has been on the edge of some sharp media interest at the BBC after a couple complained that they could not have more than two alcoholic drinks each because they were with a child in a pub in Merseyside.

This is a policy that exists in all 683 Wetherspoon pubs in the UK which has been part of management guidance "for years" said an exasperated Wetherspoons spokesman adding that the media storm had surrounded a policy that was "nothing new at all".

However over-zealous the policy may first appear it is intended to stop children from becoming bored and disruptive while their parents are boozing, particularly in an environment where there are no entertainment or play facilities for young ones.

The story was generated after the couple in question were told that they could not have more than two alcoholic drinks each because they were with a child, even though the child's mother was only drinking water, took their complaint to the BBC.

Wetherspoons remains astounded at the interest the policy has generated with its spokesman claiming to have taken over 50 calls during the course of the morning. As Caterer editor Mark Lewis rightly points out there is a debate to be had about both responsible drinking and children in pubs. It is a shame the BBC has not put the new in news to start this debate.

As a proud Yorkshire-man I can't help but take a little joy from the story that emerged today where 105 pubs in North Yorkshire banned Prime Minister Gordon Brown from entering their boozers.

For a start it is just so obstinate - a word for which its dictionary definition: "characterized by inflexible persistence or an unyielding attitude" could equally apply to the dictionary definition of a Yorkshire-man.

Secondly it is just so pointless. STAND (Stopping Trouble And Night-Time Disorder), a Pubwatch initiative in Skipton and Craven, have barred the PM because the smoking ban has caused “disruption and discomfort for customers”.

“The members of STAND feel that the damage being done to trade and our businesses is unacceptable and the smoking ban goes against the spirit of free enterprise,” chairman John Garton said.

I'm sure the genius' behind groups like Freedom2Choose will be puffing on their ciggies with even greater joy at this two fingers up to the PM. One can't help but feel that instead of putting so much effort into moaning about something that has already gone and actually putting in some effort to make pubs a better place for staff and customers alike then the pub industry might not be facing such a bleak winter.

Still I wouldn't fancy sipping a pint with our PM in the same pub - it is a place to relax rather than get angry - so maybe there is some sense in this ban after all.

... or how hedging matters to 42,000 hospitality employees. While it is not Caterer's role to explain complex financial instruments it is often inescapable that money makes the world go round as executives at M&B discovered today.

Anyone who has been through the doors of a casino has done it: bet the house on black and its comes up red. If you're lucky you've lost £20. If your name is Karim Naffah, and you were chief financial officer at Britain's largest pub company by turnover, you've lost £274m and your job.

It all goes back to that pesky Robert Tchenguiz, the investor who attempted to buy M&B back in 2006 and still holds a 22% share. He approached M&B in June when he held a 14% stake about a sale and lease back deal for a large chunk of the 2,000 properties the pub operator owns.

The deal all went wrong when the phrase "credit crunch" entered the national vocabulary and made it harder for businesses to raise cash. In what must be the biggest mistake of the combined careers of the M&B board the company took out a hedge: an investment that is taken out specifically to reduce or cancel out the risk in another investment (in this case the aborted property deal).

The folks at CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) are gearing up for Community Pubs week, which starts on 16th February. To promote the event they have provided drinkers with the kind of trivia guaranteed to win any pub quiz. Take it away boys...

The three most common pub names are:
Red Lion
Crown
Royal Oak

The highest pub in Britain is:
Tan Hill Inn, North Yorkshire at 1,732 feet above sea level

The smallest pub in Britain is claimed by three pubs:
The Nutshell, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
The Lakeside Inn, Southport Merseyside
The Smiths Arms, Godmanstone, Dorset

The largest pub in Britain is:
The Regal, Cambridge

It had to happen at some point. Britain's most famous pub - the Rovers Return in Coronation Street - is being touted as the latest brand by ITV to pub operators. Now we can all eat Betty's hotpot, drink pints of Newton & Ridley's and watch fights between the locals during our lunch breaks.

The Rovers Return will follow in the footsteps of fellow TV bar Cheers. The US sitcom has spawned a global empire of Cheers bars, including sites in Piccadilly Circus and its native Boston, sadly none of which contain such entertaining locals as Cliff, Norm or Woody. It has been a rather lucrative business for production company Paramount and Host Hotels & Resorts who installed 46 bars modelled on Cheers in their hotel and airport lounges.

While Coronation Street isn't that much of a global brand I'm sure that Betty's hotpot has a place in the UK pub market, even if the Rovers Return theme might wear a little thin, and an enterprising pub-co would be rather stupid to ignore the appeal of such a brand (particularly the integrated brewers who could get their beers on the most watched programme in the UK).

The funniest thing about this story? It was in the Sunday Times over the weekend, as a novelty and nothing more, but splashed all over the front page of today's Daily Star with a big, red, exclusive banner next to it. I know being the next Bet Lynch has its appeal, I just didn't think it was something worth fighting over.

Yesterday we reported that Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie had bought the Punch Bowl in Mayfair, London, for an estimated £2.5m. Now the Material Girl has denied splashing out on a posh London boozer.

So what exactly is going on with the Punch Bowl? Who has Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises sold the site to? As the mystery unravels we will bring you all the latest details.

Update 06/03/08: Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises has now denied that the Punch Bowl is up for sale but there are rumours that the site may end up with a new landlord yet. Should more news break we will keep you informed.

I can't help it. I'm Northern. I like a pint of bitter and a bag of pork scratchings (pictured here in a swanky gastro pub served with guacamole!!??) when I'm whiling away the hours in the boozer.

However I was heartily disappointed when in one trendy London pub I read a chalkboard that promised home-made pork scratchings for £1.50 to add a salty edge to my pint of Doom Bar.

The thought of home-made pork scratchings made me realise how far this Yorkshire lad had come. No longer was I stuck in the back streets of suburban Sheffield drinking Barnsley bitter for £1.28 a pint tucking into a packet of Mr Porky's. I'd made it. I was in the heart of London town buying a pint for £3.00 about to munch on home-made pork scratchings. Wow.

Sadly my high was soon to be eclipsed by a low. 'We don't serve pork scratchings before six,' I was told - which I also took to mean 'You are far too over-weight to eat such a fat-based product and I am doing this for the good of your health Sir'.

It just goes to show the price of progress. Home-made they might be but the chef can't cook them before six leaving this punter hungry. Beware any pub advertising home-cooked crisps. You might not get them until seven. Heaven only knows what might happen if you ask for a bag of scampi fries.

Raising the spectre of the dreaded beer-tie (where the volume of specific beers sold directly impacts on the landlords rent) the average price of a pint of lager in a leased pub in April was £2.63, a price that has risen by 12p since September.

However the average price per pint of lager in your averaged managed pub at the same time was just under £2.50, and this price has risen by 10p in the past seven months.

Finally, giving M&B its plug (this is its research after all), its average pint of lager costs just £2.23 in April and has risen by just 5p during the same period.

The cheapest place to buy booze is, of course, the supermarket where the average price per pint is approximately 70p having risen by just 8p.

With micro-economics like these no wonder the traditional British pub is under threat. How can the individual boozer compete with the managed giants across the country, let alone the supermarkets?

No wonder a group of MP's have asked the Competition Commission to address the dominance of Britain's largest pub companies and make rents sustainable. Now, if only we all had faith that these proposals might result in something more tangible for struggling landlords.

A campaign to break the beer tie - where pub landlords have to buy their beer directly from the pubs owners as a proportion of rent - is vowing to see through its fight against Britain's largest pub companies.

Fair Pint, which launched last month, was formed to highlight the tied lease agreements used by pub owners such as Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns.

Brian Jacobs, founder member of Fair Pint, told Caterer that the campaign's goal was to get the recommendations of a Select Committee for Trade and Industry report in 2004 adhered to.

The report called for more transparency in the way that rents were calculated, as well as recommending a voluntary code governing rent reviews.

But the report also insisted that removing the beer tie would not necessarily make tenants better off.

Does a drink in a JD Wetherspoon pub lead to greatness?

Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin would contest it does, and has in the latest Wetherspoon News, the keenly-priced pub company's staff and customer newsletter.

In his chairman's message Martin points out that Boris Johnson, now London Mayor, popped in for a pint at the Wetherspoon owned Furze Wren in Bexleyheath just before his election success.

Coincidence? Martin doesn't think so.

While Martin's well publicised views on binge drinking being more a cultural failing than something to batter the pub trade with ring true, his assertion that Johnson should have taken a spot writing for Wetherspoon News rather than the Daily Telegraph to "reach a wider and, in my opinion, more discerning audience" is probably open to debate.

JD Wetherspoon introduces gluten-free menu>>
JD Wetherspoon profits go flat>>
Everyone want to laugh at chancellor's expense (Kitchen Rat)>>

London Mayor stops Ramsay chefs' Beijing Olympic trip>>

The owner of pub chain Yates's has renamed its Mansfield outlet after double Olympic gold medal winning swimmer - and local girl - Rebecca Adlington.

The newly renamed Adlington Arms has promised the 19-year-old swimmer a free meal whenever she wants one

Toby Smith, chief executive of Town and City Pub Company, said: "Rebecca Adlington has achieved a phenomenal feat.

"As a nation we're very proud of her and she is a shining example to all young people of what can be achieved with hard work and commitment.

"What better way to honour her than to name her local pub after her.

"We hear she's a fan of burger and chips, so, Rebecca, whenever you come into Adlington Arms your meal is on the house!"

He'll no doubt be glad that Adlington was in Beijing when the BBC's Rogue Restaurants programme exposed the Yates's in Reading for poor hygiene.