The Editor's Hospitality Blog

The first day of the new year was an exciting one for Trunkwell Mansion House proprietor, Bob Walton. As well as formally taking over as the new chairman of the Restaurant Association, Bob was also made an MBE in the Queen's New Year honours list.

Bob described the award as "a wonderful feeling, it's made my Christmas wonderful." But according to the Reading Evening Post, Bob's local MP was not so thrilled. Frustrated that his ongoing campaign to secure a knighthood for Reading Football Club Chairman John Madejski was again unsuccessful, Martin Salter, the member for Reading West, said:

“It’s a weird and wonderful system when you can acquire an honour for running a restaurant and yet other people who have done many good things are still waiting in the queue.”

Mr Salter is clearly unaware of Walton's four-year vice-chairmanship of the Restaurant Association, and his strong track record in promoting Hospitality to youngsters as a career of choice.

There were also MBEs for John Williams, Executive Head Chef at the Ritz and Chairman of the Academy of Culinary Arts; and Lesley Gardner, secretary to the chief executive of industry charity, Hospitality Action. Gardner has worked for HA for 37 years, during which she has been actively involved in all aspects of the charity.

HA chief executive Penny Moore was thrilled for Lesley, saying:

"Whilst Lesley isn't employed in a welfare or beneficiary support role, she has continually taken it upon herself to become actively involved in the beneficiaries' welfare in her own time. This is way over and above what she is required to do. She is a truly remarkable individual and I am absolutely delighted, in this, our 170th year, that she has achieved public recognition through this great honour.”

Congratulations to Bob, John and Lesley from all at Caterersearch.

There's a quiet revolution going on in the world of baked beans, in case you didn't know. Heinz, the market leader in tinned baked beans, have introduced Bloke's beans, Hidden Veg beans and even snap-pots - single portions of beans in yogurt-style disposable plastic containers.

I owe my expanded knowledge of baked-bean R&D to an enlightening interview with Heinz UK & Ireland President, Dave Woodward, in the latest edition of Management Today.

The article illustrates the importance of understanding your customers' concerns and requirements when trying to innovate. Take the Snap Pot, a pack of four microwaveable single portions of beans aimed at the consumer market. Woodward explains that the idea came from market feedback that at-home bean-eaters couldn't be bothered washing up a pan after heating up beans, and that they were tired of finding half-full cans of mouldy beans in their fridges.

As a baked-bean fan myself, I'm particularly interested in the beans-with-cohones Bloke's Beans range, which offers beans with bangers or spicy meatballs in tins with suitably ribald branding. Schools caterers will be more interested in the Hidden Veg range, which boosts kids' vegetable intake by adding pureed veggies to the tomato sauce in tins of beans.

As far as I can tell from their website, neither the Bloke's Beans nor the Hidden Veg range are available through Hotel Cateys sponsors, Heinz Foodservice. Shame - they sound like really good ideas.

Oh dear. Judging by the radio phone-ins I caught on the way into work this morning, pub chain JD Wetherspoon seems to have shot itself in the foot over its decision to prohibit adults accompanied by children in its pubs from having more than two alcoholic drinks.

A Wetherspoon spokesman said the move is intended to limit the length of time adults with children stay on the group's premises after they have eaten, and so avoid having bored kids running around and making a nuisance of themselves. He admitted that parents might even be refused soft drinks or coffee to shorten their stay.

It strikes me that the chain is taking an overly moralising stance. Wetherspoon pubs are happy enough to take money off dining families - as previosuly reported on Caterersearch, they have taken steps to woo families wishing to eat out of home - but once the last mouthful of cheesecake has been eaten, they make it painfully clear that it's time to go. If kids are misbehaving, staff should speak to parents, but this should be the case regardless of how many pints have been sunk, or fish fingers munched. You can't help thinking JD Wetherspoon have a problem with kids in pubs - but can't resist charging them for cheesy pasta and peas before showing them the door.

The policy is clearly unworkable. Apart from anything else, bar staff are going to have some very difficult conversations to negotiate, as they attempt to refuse grown men and women a glass of coke, never mind a beer or a glass of wine, in a public house. And what happens if a swift-drinking father brings in his slow-eating children for a spot of lunch? According to the group's spokesman, he'll be refused any form of drink - alcoholic or not - after he has downed his first two pints. What right does a public house have to stipulate that he can't even sip a coffee while his children polish off their meals?

What do you think about the pub chain's decision? let us know.

Time is running out for colleges wishing to enter the Nestlé Toque d’Or 2008, whose 2007 winners, the team from Blackpool and the Fylde College, are pictured. The deadline for entries to the UK’s most prestigious college catering competition is 14th January.

Colleges and students have much to gain from entering the competition, now in its twentieth year, as Nestlé FoodServices' Marketing Director, Martin Lines points out:

“The Nestlé Toque d’Or is the only event of its kind offering support, mentoring and guidance as entrants begin the transition from the theory of the college classroom to the reality of a competitive commercial kitchen. This is a real opportunity for students to win an accolade which will impress prospective employers, out in industry."

To enter, colleges must select a team of four chefs and two front of house team members, create an original dining concept and design a three-course lunchtime menu using stipulated Nestlé Foodservices product ranges. From this paper entry stage, sixteen teams will be invited to create their restaurant concepts and cook in front of thousands at Hotelympia 2008.

After that, five teams will go forward to the final at an international event (yet to be confirmed), where they will be asked to serve 100 diners under the watchful eyes of a highly experienced judging panel that will be looking for high-quality food, great atmosphere and warm, efficient service.

For more information, or to download an entry form, go to www.nestlefoodservices.co.uk or contact the Nestlé Toque d’Or team on Tel: 0208 667 5530.

Those nice people at Walkers are giving fans of their crisps the chance to suggest new flavour combinations for their development kitchens to experiment with. Pigeon and garlic nibbles, anyone?

At the Guardian's blog, Word of Mouth, the lobbying has begun for a Great British Breakfast flavour. personally, I'd welcome the arrival of a snack with the crunch and bite of a kettle chip, the heady perfume of a freshly-opened bag of cheesy Doritos and the lip-smacking mule-kick of a Flamin' Hot Monster Munch.

As I write, the top five most suggested flavours on the Walkers website are bacon and egg, blue cheese, escargot, pigeon and garlic and tea and buiscuits. All these sound well and good, but I'm sure the massed ranks of visitors to Caterersearch can do far better.

So, what flavour combination would you like to see Walkers introduce? And can you suggest signature crisp flavours for the like of Heston and Gordon?

We've had ice hotels, treehouse hotels and underwater hotels. There are even plans afoot for hotels in space. And now Travelodge have unveiled the container hotel.

The budget hotel chain's new hotel in Uxbridge, West London, is being constructed entirely of shipping container crates which are stacked and then bolted together. According to a company spokesman, this Womble-like reuse of the everyday things merchant seamen leave behind could cut 10% from the cost of each build. With the average build cost of a 100-bed hotel around £5m, this could translate into a £500k saving per new-build.

This set me searching the web for other weird and wonderful ideas for hotel designs. My quest took me to the niftily-named blog, Construction Projects World, which presents some of the more remarkable buildings - some of them hotels - currently being thrown up around the world.

The link above shows how a new wind-powered, rotating hotel planned for Dubai (where else?) will appear, once completed. As the blog says, the building will bring a new meaning to the phrase, "panoramic views".

Michelin are set to release this year's restaurant star ratings later this month and bloggers across the UK are already trying to second-guess them. On the Guardian's blog, food critic Jay Rayner has made a few predictions of his own.

Foodies will find his crystal ball-gazing interesting; but just as entertaining are the comments his post has provoked. I've listed a few of them below - clearly, not all visitors to the Guardian's website share Jay's fascination with the UK restaurant scene.

Soapysouter has vision enough to look beyond the fashionable addresses of London, Manchester and Birmingham, to a stretch of road in Hampshire for his tip for Michelin success:

I hope the Little Chef on the A303 between Andover and Basingstoke gets its first Michelin Star. Its all day breakfast is truly gutsy cooking.

Meanwhile, Rayner's assertion that "Michelin never goes in at more than one, unless it's a relocated restaurant (pace Hibiscus) or the new restaurant of an established big name (pace Ducasse)", causes Sloggers to rein in his hopes for his local Indian restaurant:

Personally I think the Shiplu Tandoori in Bexhill-on-Sea should be up for a Michelin star. I'd say more than one but since it's not a relocated restaurant or an established big name I guess we'll just have to go one-at-a-time.

As for Falconwood, he predicts a clean sweep for his local caff:

Franks Cafe, New Eltham, London, SE9 should get three stars. His Large Set breakfast is to die for although he's put it up 50p to £4.50 (Thank you, Gordon Brown). The room is suitably decorated with pictures of the 1998 Charlton Athletic Squad (signed). 'Chef' is a German Muslim fella, who cooks a perfect Bubble. I predict Three Stars are winging its way to Frank's Cafe as I type. Maybe he should rename it L'Manoir de Frank?

Come the end of the month, gourmands in andover, Bexhill and New Eltham will doubtless have fingers and toes crossed ...

Have you ever wanted to know the secret to attracting the very best hospitality workers to your company? Or wondered what other companies do to be selected as one of Caterer's Best Places to Work in Hospitality? Look no further.

Hospitality recruitment specialists, HR on Tap have sent me a list of reasons why some companies fail to find good staff. There's some good stuff here, I think:

Are you looking in the right place? An advert in trade press will hit people in the right industry, but most readers will statistically be outside your region and most will probably not be looking for a new job. Local papers have similar problems – you get the location right, but not the industry or job seekers. Spread your net wider and it’ll be easier to catch the right people.

Are you offering the right package? Too much money is just as bad as not enough! You need to be competitive but without either making applicants suspicious or imagining the job is more senior than it really is.

Are you looking for Mr / Ms Perfect? Be realistic – it’s really rare to find the absolute perfect match of experience, skills and qualities that you imagine the role needs. How much of it is essential and how much can you train? The more open-minded you are, the more candidates you’ll have to choose from.

Are you flexible enough? If you offer flexible working, flaunt it! It’s a major plus for many people to know that they’ll get a decent work/life balance or be able to work around the school run. Be explicit about this in your adverts

Do you have to advertise? You might find that your perfect candidate isn’t actively looking for a job. Do your homework and you might just find that gem hiding away somewhere, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to coax them away.

Are you prepared to train someone? It might not be as painful as you think. How about someone from a completely different industry? Just because they’ve never worked in your industry before, doesn’t mean they can’t. And if they have transferable skills from another industry, you’ll probably find training doesn’t take nearly as long as you’d think.

Are you well known as a good employer? If not, why not? It’s not all about the money. For some people, switching employers is a big deal and they need to know they’re doing the right thing. You don’t have to be a huge corporate to have a strong employer brand! Get known as a great place to work and you’ll soon reach a point where great people approach you, rather than you having to hunt them down.

Think like a marketing expert! If you can get your head around how to attract customers, then attracting staff isn’t so different. Understand your audience, know where to find them, give them what they’re looking for.

Don’t try to change people. If you want to find real star performers, put talent first (the behaviours and actions that come naturally and are hard to teach) and skills, experience and qualifications last. It might take a couple of days longer to train the person in the skills you need, but it’ll be worth it in the long run. Trying to change behaviours might succeed to a degree, but rarely to any great extent.

Yesterday's Mail on Sunday quoted the British Hospitality Association's chief executive, Bob Cotton as saying that his industry considered British applicants "unemployable".

Cotton's comments were made at a recent parliamentary inquiry into tourism. Now he has written a response to the Mail on Sunday article, which I'm reproducing in full below. What are your thoughts on the issue? Do many British youngsters lack a decent work ethic? Do workers from overseas provide a long-term solution to staff shortages in hospitality? And what should be done to draw greater numbers of British workers into the sector?

"Last week, in giving evidence to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Tourism, the high incidence of employment of migrant labour in the hospitality industry was raised.

I believe that this is one of the major challenges facing the industry. Hospitality employs so many migrant workers because it is clear that few British youngsters want to make a career in the hospitality industry – at a time when unemployment among British young people is high and rising, and when too many others are on benefit.

Of course there are many British workers, like overseas workers, who are highly motivated, very willing to work and eager to learn new skills. The industry would far prefer to recruit these young people if they were available but many employers have found, too often, that British youngsters lack a work ethic and the motivation to learn. When migrant workers are knocking on their door and asking for a job, then it is little wonder that hospitality employers look to overseas workers to fill the many excellent and worthwhile jobs that are available.

The industry has always been highly cosmopolitan. The current wave of migrant workers is nothing really new. It follows a similar influx of workers from other countries in the past, and the industry – and the general economy - has gained hugely by their presence.

If the education system could produce more young British people who are more motivated to work, want to learn new vocational skills and are keen to make a career in one of the most important of this country’s economic drivers, then employers would snap them up.

I'll be interviewing Marco Pierre White onstage at this year's Chef Conference - but I need your help with writing my questions.

What burning issues would you like to hear Marco address? Or what episodes in his colourful career would you like to hear more about?

To make things more interesting, there's a great prize for the best question we receive. The person who sends in the question that the Caterer team judges to be the most thought-provoking will receive a free ticket to the 200 Chef Conference, plus a place at the conference dinner - a package together worth £250.

Submit your question to Marco by responding to this blog posting. Good luck!

If you are heading to Hotelympia next month with a kitchen equipment purchase in mind, why not take advantage of some free consultancy, courtesy of Caterer and Hotelkeeper and the Catering Equipment Distributors Association (CEDA)?

Whether you need a specific piece of kit or a complete new kitchen, you'll be able to get valuable and impartial advice from the CEDA members manning the advisory clinic being held at the Caterer stand in the main equipment hall. Following a consultation to determine your requirements, an advisor will identify the equipment that best suits your needs, a list of stands to visit, models to look at and questions to ask.

To take advantage of this free service, simply drop by the Caterer stand; or, to book an appointment, e-mail CEDA Director Peter Kay.

Tickets to Hotelympia cost £30 but you can book a free ticket by pre-registering online for the UK's premier hospitality and foodservice event, taking place from Sunday 17- Thursday 21 February 2008 at ExCeL, London.

Gleneagles chairman and Institute of Hospitality president, Peter Lederer conducted an illuminating straw poll at this week's General Manager's Conference, which suggested that hotel managers pay lip service to valuing their staff without actually taking steps to do so.

At the start of the Managing Talent panel debate, Lederer asked for a show of hands from all delegates at the conference who agreed that the hotel business is a people business and that people are its key strategic asset. Predictably, he was greeted with a forest of upstretched arms.

But when he asked how many delegates knew what their training expenditure amounted to, per head, no more than 5% of them raised their hands. A similarly small number were able, hand on heart, to say they were proud of their induction process. And only two people out of an estimated 220 delegates said they would be comfortable to stand up on stage and deliver a one-minute presentation on the 14-19 diploma. (I fear one of these two might have been Hotelier of the Year Michael Gray, who sits on People 1st’s steering group for the introduction of the diplomas!)

The message was clear: managers need to stop talking a good fight and start working harder to promote the hospitality sector and ensure it retains its best employees.

A helicopter crashed in the grounds of Rudding Park Hotel yesterday afternoon, killing its two passengers. Initial reports suggest the crash was caused by gusty winds.The victims' bodies are expected to be moved from the scene today.

The hotel, whose staff won the front of house team award at last year's Hotel Cateys, went ahead with a private function last night.