The Editor's Hospitality Blog

The wait is almost over! The shortlist for the Hotel Cateys will be announced on Friday (7 August).

The judges which included Harry Murray, Peter Lederer, and 2009 Catey manager of the year winner Carrie Wickshead congregated at the Dorchester and the Royal Lancaster hotels in London to finalise the shortlist of the 16 categories.

The winners will be annouced at a black-tie event at the Royal Lancaster, London on 6 November.

And don't forget there is still time to enter the Hotelier of the Year. The deadline is 14 August and you can enter at the Hotel Cateys website

The wait is over. The shortlist for the 2009 Hotel Cateys has been unveiled.

The awards, organised by Caterer and Hotelkeeper, were launched in 2007 to complement the Cateys and are designed to allow hoteliers to celebrate the achievements of their staff and give them the recognition they deserve.

As with the Cateys, contenders for the Hotel Cateys have been nominated, selected and recognised by judging panels consisting of their industry peers.

This year's categories include, Front of House Manager, Housekeeper of the Year, Spa Professional and Hotel Chef award.

FULL SHORTLIST

Front of House Manager
Jane Butler, Woolley Grange Hotel, Wiltshire
Charlene Hamilton, Hotel du Vin, Cheltenham
Roland Hoffman, The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
Ben Malpass, The Cavendish Hotel, London

Front of House Team
ABode Hotel, Glasgow
Brown's Hotel, London
Malmaison Hotel, Leeds
Strattons Hotel, Norfolk

Conference and Banqueting Award
Donnington Valley Hotel & Spa, Berkshire
Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel, London
The Berkeley, London

Food and Beverage Manager
Andrew Bennett, The Park Lane Hotel, London
Stefan Engl, Cunard Lines, Queen Mary 2
Erick Kervaon, South Lodge Hotel, West Sussex

Housekeeper of the Year
Rachael Park, Rudding Park, Harrogate
Emma Lucking, Kettering Park Hotel & Spa, Northamptonshire
Barbara Sheridan, Thistle Marble Arch, London

Green Award
One Aldwych, London
Strattons Hotel, Norfolk
Best Western Moor Hall Hotel & Spa, West Midlands
Tamworth Premier Inn South, Whitbread plc

Hotel Restaurant Manager
Mark Bevan, Simon Radley at The Chester Grosvenor, Cheshire
Cedric Chirossel, The Castle at Taunton, Somerset
Lisa Edwards, Village Hotel & Leisure Club, Walsall
Marc Whitley, The River Bar and Restaurant at The Lowry Hotel, Manchester

Hotel Restaurant Team
Malmaison Hotel, Aberdeen
Michael Caines at ABode Manchester
The Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh
The Ritz, London
Village Wirral Restaurant Team, Village Hotel & Leisure Club, Walsall

Spa Professional
Maria Haggo, The Spa at Chancery Court/ Renaissance Chancery Court, London
Kerry Hole, SPA SPC, Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire
Mandy Meth, Cunard Lines, Canyon Ranch Spa - Queen Mary 2
Maxine Turnock, Cliveden, Berkshire

Hotel Chef Less than 250 Covers
Kenny Atkinson, Seaham Hall Hotel and Serenity Spa, County Durham
Stephen Crane, Ockenden Manor, West Sussex
Lee Streeton, Brown's Hotel, London

Hotel Chef More than 250 covers
Nigel Boschetti, The Royal Lancaster Hotel, London
Steve Munkley, Royal Garden Hotel, London
Simon Young, Jumeirah Carlton Tower, London

Human Resources Manager
Sam Hayter, Starwood Hotels, The Park Lane Hotel
Liz McGivern, Red Carnation Hotels
Nick Wyatt, von Essen hotels

Human Resources Team
Royal Garden Hotel, London
Starwood Central London Hotels, Sheraton Park Tower Hotel, London
The Berkeley, London

The winners will be annouced at a black-tie event will be held on 6 November at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. Good luck to all our shortlisted entrants! 

And there is still time to book your place at the event by logging onto www.hotelcateys.com.

I received an e-mail this week from a chef in County Durham who is holding a charity event in aid of Cancer Research on 30 August.

Paul O'Hara, chef at The Bridge Pub & Restaurant in Whorlton Village, who lost a friend and his mother to cancer within months of each other, hopes to raise money for this great cause.

What's different about this event, is that he is not just holding a dinner, but some of his regulars will be donning on the chefs whites to spend the day in the kitchen and do a service.

The dinner will be a six-course meal with petite fours and canapes - all done by the kitchen apprentices - for up to 80 guests.

And there will be no let up for the punters walking into that kitchen! Paul, who was head chef for one of the Northeast's top chefs Terry Laybourne - won't be letting his standards drop. He will be insisting on the highest standards throughout the day. A tough day ahead...

The Bridge restaurant is in its third year and is already pick of the pubs for County Durham in the AA guide, and is one of only three pubs in County Durham to be in the Michelin Guide.

If you would like more information on this event contact Paul at The Bridge Inn or you can sponsor the event here.

Recent research by VisitEngland revealed that holidays at home are on the increase, with holiday trips taken by UK residents in England in the first four months of 2009 up 13% on the same period last year.

Judging by Janet Street-Porter's article in the Daily Mail Online today, however, not all holidaymakers will have found a UK break a happy and relaxing affair.

The TV presenter and journalist reckons that "having a fun holiday in the UK is so bloody difficult" and that "going to Mars" would be simpler than organising a mini-break.

She lambasts our levels of customer service, saying that "as a nation we've no idea how to be servile, willingly dish up tasty meals or welcome visitors with smiley rather than surly faces".

She brands our transport system as "over-priced and incomprehensible".

And she rails against trendy websites that "take ages to download" and feature a maze of room rates, offers and ticket types.  

The cockerney columnist reached these conclusions while booking two getaways, one in Northumberland and another in Edinburgh. If you operate a hotel in either region, you might want to check your forward bookings and see if there's a J Street Porter on the list. If there is, be afraid, be very afraid.

With the economy in such turmoil, London's hotels, restaurants and bars are relying on custom from inbound tourists more than ever before.

Judging by these brainless questions asked by tourists at the City of London Information Centre, though, it's a wonder our foreign pals have the wit to book a hotel or get through the front door of a restaurant, in the first place:

1. How can I have tea with the Queen?

2. Could you recommend a good plastic surgeon?

3. Are there guided tours of M15?

4. When do the clowns come on at Piccadilly Circus?

5. What number in Oxford Street is Oxford University?

6. Where can I buy paraffin for my lamp?

7. What time does "evil song" start at St Paul's Cathedral?

8. Which side of the river is London Bridge on?

9. Where can I hire a banana boat?

10. Is it a long walk to Times Square?

11. Where abouts is the Eiffel Tower?

12. Which way to the beach?

13. When does Tower Bridge move?

14. Where can I see the buildings destroyed in the Second World War?

15. Where do the Spice Girls live?

Some of the country's chefs are decending into London for next month's Chef Conference and its your chance to ask the questions you've always wanted to ask.

The event takes place on 28 September at the Jumeriah Carlton Tower in London and will see a stellar line up take part in live interviews and masterclasses.

Topping the bill in a one-on-one on-stage interview is Bray's internationally feted supersonic chef, Heston Blumenthal - famous for his multi-sensory cuisine at his three-Michelin-starred Fat Duck restaurant.

Another three-starred chef, and making her Chef Conference debut, is Spain's Elena Arzak who will be demonstrating with this year's Catey Chef winner Angela Hartnett from Murano.

Michael Caines from Gidleigh Park and Abode Hotels and newly-crowned two Michelin-starred chef Martin Burge from Whatley Manor will hit the stage together in what promises to be a great chef demo.

Other chefs taking part include: Simon Hulstone, chef proprietor, Elephant Restaurant; David Cavalier, food director, Charlton House Catering; John Williams, executive chef, The Ritz, London; Shaun Hill, chef, The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny and Brian Turner, president, Academy of Culinary Arts.

The Chef Conference concludes this year with a lunch at one of three Michelin-starred restaurants in London. Delegates will have a choice from dining at Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley; Phil Howard's the Square and Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester.  

All our chefs will be open to questions, and this is where Caterer needs you. If you have a burning question you want to ask any of the chefs, all you need to do is leave your questions on Table Talk and we will field your questions on the day.

If you leave your questions and comments on Table Talk we'll automatically enter your name into a draw to win tickets to the Chef Conference and a lunch of your choice.

So what you are you wating for  - leave your question here!

When TV channel Dave this week awarded a prize for the funniest gag at the Edinburgh Fringe, a swipe at the quality of Starbucks coffee and a comment on the growing trend for hotel spas were in their shortlist.

Funnyman Adam Hills compared going to Starbucks for coffee with "going to prison for sex. You know you're going to get it, but it's going to be rough." And Rhod Gilbert made this observation about spas in hotels: "a spa hotel? It's like a normal hotel, only in reception there's a picture of a pebble."

The award for best gag went to  comic, Dan Antopolski. His winning gag was a one-liner from his show Silent But Deadly: "Hedgehogs. Why can't they just share the hedge?"

The top ten in full:

1. "Hedgehogs - why can't they just share the hedge?"
2. "I was watching the London Marathon and saw one runner dressed as a chicken and another runner dressed as an egg. I thought: 'This could be interesting'."
3. "I had my boobs measured and bought a new bra. Now I call them Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes because they're up where they belong."
4. "I went on a girls' night out recently. The invitation said 'dress to kill'. I went as Rose West."
5. "I'm sure wherever my dad is; he's looking down on us. He's not dead, just very condescending."
6. "Going to Starbucks for coffee is like going to prison for sex. You know you're going to get it, but it's going to be rough."
7. "To the people who've got iPhones: you just bought one, you didn't invent it!"
8. "A spa hotel? It's like a normal hotel, only in reception there's a picture of a pebble."
9. "I've been reading the news about there being a civil war in Madagascar. Well, I've seen it six times and there isn't."
10. "I started so many fights at my school - I had that attention-deficit disorder. So I didn't finish a lot of them."

Boom-boom.