The Editor's Hospitality Blog

The eight hundred or so hospitality professionals who attended last month's British Hospitality Association annual lunch at London's Grosvenor House Hotel were left in no doubt that a faltering economy and rising energy and food prices mean the industry is in for a rocky ride this year and next.

CBI Director General, Richard Lambert warned guests that there would be tough times ahead for hospitality. And BHA supremo, Bob Cotton said that food inflation was driving up prices and squeezing margins "more than ever before".

And yet, when Lambert conducted a straw poll of the audience to find out how many of them had noticed a discernible decline in trade, there can have been no more than five hands up in the whole room.

"They're feeling it but they're all too scared to admit it", said one of those hands after the event, adding that he had seen a noticeable trend in diners downgrading to house wine rather than splashing out on something pricier.

Last week, I blogged about the Isle of Eriska hotel's experience of a guest cancelling a trip up to Scotland on the basis that the fuel bill would be too costly. Is trade flourishing in your hotel or restaurant? Or do you have any similar stories of lessening spend - and if so, are you prepared to admit to them?  

The latest post on the Isle of Eriska Hotel's blog tracks a worrying trend. A guest living in the south of England has cancelled their trip to the Scottish island hotel this summer on the basis that the resulting petrol bill will be too hefty.

Cleverly, the hotel has turned lost custom into marketing opportunity by introducing a summer accommodation offer that swallows the cost of guests' petrol for the last 100 miles of their journey up to Eriska.

Are you beginning to see tangible signs of a downturn? And have you hatched any clever ideas to maintain customer numbers? Let us know.

Just a quick post to say well done to the deserved winners of the British Hospitality Association's (BHA) awards, which were announced at the industry trade body's annual luncheon yesterday.

Catey winning Baxterstorey won the training award for its Chef Academy, and fellow contract caterer Sodexo won the environment award (group) for "green" best practice throughout its organisation.

Pub company Orchid won the large business food category and Lakeside hotel in Cumbria the small business food catergory.

Well done Milsom Hotels for picking up the tourism award and also Acorn House, a former Caterer Green Month star, for nabbing the environment award (independent).

The CBI's Richard Lambert was certainly straight-talking in his views of what the Government should and shouldn't be doing to aid the hospitality industry as we move into potentially tougher economic times. BHA chief executive Bob Cotton's comments on food inflation are well worth reading also.

Don't forget our dedicated food inflation page on the website. Its chock-full of the latest news, features and reports on rising food costs, including tips on how to mitigate the punishing price rises caterers have seen recently.

Three cheers for Michael Quinn, the man behind the Ark Foundation and joint winner, with his Ark colleague Peter Kaye, of the 2007 Cateys Special Award. Not content with raising awareness around the UK hospitality industry of the dangers of alcohol dependency and other drug misuse, Quinn has now taken his message global.

Michael is currently in Australia, touring colleges and spreading the Ark message. Check out this radio interview he recently conducted with Australia's ABC Radio.

I'm off to the Taste of London event in Regent's Park this evening. the event organisers are promising Michelin stars aplenty, and this set me thinking about what kind of a person it takes to achieve Michelin success like Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White, Heston Blumenthal or Marcus Wareing. A little sleuthing revealed that Caterer conducted some research into this very subject, a few years back, which makes enlightening reading.

According to this research, the typical Michelin starred chef:  

• is 39 years old
• is an Aries or Taurus (either they love a challenge, and are hugely charismatic; or you are a control freak, practical and methodical) 
• is married with children
• loves eating out and cooking (no surprise!), as well as wine and golf
• entered the industry at the age of sixteen
• have received formal training as a chef, most likely at Westminster Kingsway College, followed by building experience at either Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons or the Dorchester Hotel
Supplier Directory
• Ranges
• Ranges, Bespoke
• Induction Equipment
• Steam Cooking Equipment
• Wine, Cooking
Supplier Directory
• Training
• Courses
• Coffee Barista Training
• Training, Food Safety
• Disability Discrimination Awareness (DDA) Training

Of course, there is also the small matter of being able to cook like an angel ...

Do you fit the profile of a Michelin-starred chef? Or have you won Michelin stars without conforming to any of these details? let us know.

I visited Gerard Basset's New Forest hotel, Hotel Terravina, last month. It's a lovely place, the decor all pastoral greens and moody shots of the countryside. Over lunch on the hotel's sun-kissed terrace, our conversation turned to wine - a subject Gerard knows a thing or two about, having co-founded the Hotel du Vin group and being a Master Sommelier, Master of Wine and wine MBA.

I asked Gerard what he would choose for his last glass of wine before dying. Quick as a flash, he opted for a Burgundy wine called Romanée-Conti - a Grand Cru from the village of Vosne-Romanée.

What would you choose for your final tipple before you shuffle off this mortal coil?

And what meal would you drink it with? let me know.

Her Majesty the Queen hosted a lavish reception at Buckingham Palace last night in honour of the UK hospitality industry - and I was privileged to be among the guests.

The guest list was a who's who of hospitality - Bob Cotton, Ian El-Mokadem, Andrew Main, Penny Moore, Don Davenport and Gordon Ramsay were just a few of the names that lined up to be presented to the Queen. What a great endorsement of our industry - and a measure of how things have changed since the "Upstairs, Downstairs" days when caterers were neither seen nor heard, and certainly not presented to royalty.

It's been a busy week! I breakfasted with Jaume Tapies, chairman of Relais & Chateaux, last Friday, at the group's recently-opened 'maison' in London's Beauchamp Place. the property is effectively a shop window for the hundreds of luxury restaurants and hotels within the collection, offering passers-by a chance to browse marketing material and cookbooks, get a sense of the properties and book a stay.

Tapies tells me that Relais & Chateaux has been prospecting British hotels and has for the first time been "knocking on doors" at those hotels it feels would be worthy additions to the brand. He expects that at least ten or twelve more UK properties will feature in the collection in the next two to three years. He also promises that the 2009 guide will "change completely" from previous years' editions, with the generic page template replaced by a fresher and more design-led approach.

Monday of this week saw the start of three days of intensive Cateys judging at the splendid Dorchester Hotel on London's Park Lane. I now know the identies of the majority of Cateys winners for 2008 - but if I told you I'd then have to kill you, as they say, so I'm keeping shtumm. What I can tell you is that the winners were chosen by a bewildering array of hospitality's great and good. Judges included Brian Wisdom of People 1st, the IOH's Philippe Rossiter, Bob Cotton, Heston Blumenthal, Hotelier of the Year Michael Gray, Robert Cook of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, Travelodge's Grant Hearn, William Baxter, Alaistair Storey, Marcus Wareing and a host of other big names.

Judging is an exacting - and exhausting - process. Luckily, I was able to recharge the batteries with a fortifying dinner at Restaurant Tom Aikens, above the King's Road. the occasion was the restaurant's fifth birthday, and Tom pulled out all the stops to create a stunning tasting menu that was complemented by great wines picked by head sommelier and 2008 UK Sommelier of the Year winner, Gearoid Devaney. Happy birthday, Tom.

One award not yet allocated is the Silver Award - and we need your help with this category. Which individual has, in your opinion, done more to further the cause of UK hospitality in the past 25 years? let us know and you could win yourself a pair of tickets to the industry 's Oscars night in July.

Caterersearch received a big plug in an article on eco-friendly restaurants in last Saturday's Times. The article promoted our Green Zone and quoted our recent exclusive research into the restaurant sector's efforts to go green:

The hospitality bible Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine ran a series of green-focused issues a few months ago in an effort to spur the industry on, and it publishes a Green Zone on its website (www.caterersearch.com) to encourage more eco-friendly practices.

And British restaurants are becoming greener: an online Caterer & Hotelkeeper survey, published last summer, showed that a third of its 500 industry respondents had already set formal sustainability targets. Nearly 85 per cent have recycling measures in place and just under half are sourcing sustainable or ethical products.

The article focuses on Water House, the new eco-restaurant in London from the people that brought us Acorn House. For an in-depth look at how its owners fitted out the kitchen at Water House with a view to safeguarding the planet, check out the latest article in our My New Kitchen series.

Are you keen to do more for the environment at your restaurant or hotel? Here are three more articles from our Green Zone that you would profit from reading:

Acorn House explains the philosophy behind the restaurant that is blazing a trail for environmentally-friendly meal provision.

Apex Hotels offers tips on how to secure staff buy-in for your green initiatives.

Ten ways to make your hotel greener - does what it says on the tin.

Following the recent spate of protests by animal rights activists targeting restaurants serving foie gras, operators are asking themselves if there is a future for this most controversial of ingredients on British menus.

An article on the subject of foie gras in this week's Caterer and Hotelkeeper has sparked a flurry of letters from readers who believe that restaurateurs should stop using it, not just out of self-preservation in the face of attack, but because of a moral imperative. I've attached two below. The first is from Kathleen, Duchess of Hamilton:

"I do believe that your readers would have profited from more information about how exactly foie gras is made. Foie gras involves cramming pipes down birds’ throats, distending them in such a way that the ducks and geese are all made ill. This grotesque process kills 10 to 20 times as many birds as would die without being force-fed. Force-fed birds are in misery and barely able to move. Some birds have their necks torn by the pipes, and sometimes the animals’ internal organs rupture. No wonder diners, restaurateurs and chefs worldwide are turning against a food which earned universal condemnation from every animal protection organisation in the world and comes from a diseased organ. It is, in a word, immoral - as is profiting from its sale."

Another correspndent, Helen Basley, also emphasises the moral aspect of eating - and serving - foie gras.

I can understand your dismay that restaurants are being targetted for providing foies gras on their menus and I certainly do not agree with this kind of activity. Howevere I do firmly feel that it is time that foie gras became a thing of the past bearing in mind the appalling cruelty involved in its production. I cannot imagine why anyone would want to eat a disease masquerading as a delicacy and I hope that eventually lovers of food can appreciate that animal welfare should be a priority when it comes to providing the finest ingredients. I would therefore urge you to read the evidence and advertise the fact that as a restaurateur you would be proud to state that there is a morality attached to what and how we eat and that you no longer want your staff to prepare food on a guilt trip.