The Editor's Hospitality Blog

Marcus Wareing and Sat Bains will be leading the line-up of eminent chefs demoing recipes at next week's Northern Restaurant & Bar. Northern England's largest pub, bar and restaurant show runs on 7 and 8 April at Manchester Central (formerly GMEX).

Here's five more reasons why you should swing by the show:

* this year's show has attracted a record 210 exhibitors.
* Cocktail demonstrations from some of the North’s most talented bartenders.
* Marcus Wareing will be signing copies of his new book ‘One Perfect Ingredient’.
* The seminar programme includes speakers from the Considerate Hoteliers Association, the British Hospitality Association and Ego Restaurants - who'll be speaking about how to overcome staffing problems.
* On the evening of Monday 7th April the winners of the Northern Hospitality Awards will be announced at a gala dinner hosted at The Lowry Hotel.

Ever wondered how some operators are able to drive more profit from their wine lists than you are? This week's Caterer and Hotelkeeper features the latest in our quarterly series, Uncorking Profits, in which we explore the art of boosting wine margins.

As a taster, here is a list of ten ways to create a winning wine list:

* make your wine list easy to navigate, especially if it's long
* Create a balance of wine styles and prices
* keep the margins down on higher-priced wines
* make sure vintages are correct
* ensure staff are trained in the art of selling your wines
* have a balance of classic and esoteric wines
* tailor your list to target your customers
* involve staff in choosing your wines
* suggest a wine for each dish you serve
* offer a separate wines-by-the-glass list.

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.

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.

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.