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Aspens wins Soil Association’s Food for Life Gold award at Somerset primary schools
Education caterer Aspens Services has been awarded the Soil Association's Food for Life Gold award at eight north Somerset primary schools. The caterer was recognised for providing freshly prepared, locally sourced, organic, free-range and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) meals.
Posted: 21 May 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Poor service to vegetarians and vegans could be costing the industry £1.8b
Failure to provide good service to vegetarians and vegans could be costing the food service industry £1.8b, according to a new study by the Vegetarian Society. The survey results found that vegetarians accounted for nearly £2.5b-worth of food eaten outside of the home each year.
Posted: 21 May 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Sodexo provides London school with fruit and veg gardens
Sodexo has delivered two of three fruit and vegetable gardens to a London primary school, as part of a wider scheme to get children to learn more about the food they eat. Montem Primary School in Hornsey Road, Islington, received the gardens as part of Sodexo's STOP Hunger campaign.
Posted: 15 May 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Steven Gerrard and Jamie Oliver urge Government to tackle obesity
England footballer Steven Gerrard has teamed up with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to call on the Government to tackle the obesity crisis through cookery education in schools. The school meals champion and the Liverpool midfielder have joined forces with leading figures in health and education as signatories to a letter to the prime minister.
Posted: 08 May 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Brett Graham cooks at Number 10 Downing Street for VisitBritain’s Food is Great
Michelin-starred chef Brett Graham is to cater for more than 150 top British chefs, restaurateurs and food producers at a reception at Number 10 Downing Street today. The event will launch VisitBritain's Food is Great, a key element of its GREAT Britain campaign, in partnership with the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA).
Posted: 30 Apr 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Accor aims for 10% CO2 emissions reduction by 2015
Hotel group Accor has announced plans to reduce its worldwide CO2 emissions by 10% by 2015, even as the company continues with its plans to grow by around 40,000 rooms each year. Those were the proposals laid out in its new sustainability programme, Planet 21, launched this morning.
Posted: 13 Apr 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Gordon Ramsay Holdings raises nearly £50,000 for charity StreetSmart
Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) has raised nearly £50,000 for restaurant charity StreetSmart in its 2011 Christmas campaign. StreetSmart and its sister charity SleepSmart raise money for the homeless by asking diners and hotel guests to add £1 to their bill.
Posted: 12 Apr 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
D&D London’s receives across-the-board star ratings from the Sustainable Restaurant Association
Paternoster Chop House has led restaurant group D&D London's across-the-board success following its recent evaluation from the Sustainable Restaurant Association. As a whole, the group achieved a two-star rating (out of a possible three), with most individual sites being awarded this.
Posted: 12 Apr 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Pabulum wins £500,000 contract at Wiltshire school
Hampshire-based caterer Pabulum continues to grow its presence in the school meals sector, with a new £500,000 contract at a Wiltshire secondary school. The three-year deal is at Hardenhuish School in Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Posted: 10 Apr 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Pret A Manger’s expansion plans mean 550 new UK jobs
Sandwich chain Pret A Manger is to create 550 UK jobs as part of ongoing expansion plans after a year of record sales and store openings. The 286-strong chain, which launched in London in 1986, plans to open 44 stores in 2012, of which 20 will be overseas, including its first in Boston in the USA.
Posted: 03 Apr 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Ascott launches green scheme
Serviced apartments firm Ascott has pledged to achieve 15% savings in water and energy consumption by 2015 as part of its 'Go Green @ Ascott' scheme. Ascott has implemented and will continue to roll out sustainable initiatives across its offices and properties worldwide...
Posted: 29 Mar 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Considerate Hotel of the Year Awards deadline extended
The deadline for the Considerate Hotel of the Year Awards 2011/12 has been extended to 18 April. Accommodation providers at every level - bed and breakfast operations, guesthouses, pubs, inns and restaurants with rooms...
Posted: 28 Mar 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Licensed industry welcomes Government plans to introduce minimum alcohol pricing
Plans to introduce minimum alcohol pricing have been announced by the coalition today, in a bid to tackle the country's problem with binge-drinking. Proposals were revealed in the Government's Alcohol Strategy: Choice, Challenge and Responsibility, after Prime Minister David Cameron said it was no longer acceptable that "beer is cheaper than water".
Posted: 23 Mar 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Grace Academy Solihull students supply caterer Aspens Services with fresh produce from the school’s garden
Contract caterer Aspens Services has begun sourcing fresh produce at one of its sites from students who have set up a business selling vegetables grown in their school's own garden. Aspens has enabled the students at Grace Academy Solihull to gain business experience.
Posted: 20 Mar 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Sodexo switches to Fairtrade sugar
Sodexo has further sealed its commitment to ethical sourcing with the announcement that all loose and cubed sugar at its 929 restaurants and cafés in the UK is now Fairtrade. The caterer and facilities management firm has partnered with Tate & Lyle Sugars to make the move...
Posted: 06 Mar 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Northumberland pub supplies local school meals
Battlesteads pub in Northumberland has started providing meals for children at a nearby school after the school was forced to close its kitchen due to funding cuts. Wark First School in Wark near Hexham had to make its part-time cook redundant after budget cuts imposed...
Posted: 22 Feb 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Catermasters and Olympic hopeful Sara McGreavy launch exercise videos
Catermasters has produced a series of exercise videos in conjunction with Team GB hopeful Sara McGreavy as part of its London 2012-themed wellbeing campaign. Aimed at encouraging customers and staff in each of 120 workplace restaurant sites across the UK to improve their...
Posted: 22 Feb 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Bristol coffee firm pays to train Nicaraguan students instead of buying Fairtrade coffee
A Bristol coffee roaster is to pay three Nicaraguan students through college as an alternative to buying Fairtrade coffee. Adrian Wogan, from Brian Wogan Coffee, said the £4,500 a year for the students at La Bastilla Coffee Plantation would benefit families of coffee-growers directly.
Posted: 20 Feb 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
FoodCycle eco café reaches fundraising target
A London community eco café has been thrown a lifeline to continue operating for another year after a successful fundraising effort. A campaign by the FoodCycle Café in Haringey, powered by crowdfunding website Peoplefund.it and supported by celebrities, MPs and Twitter, reached its £5,000 target this week...
Posted: 07 Feb 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Five Croydon schools to take part in food waste pilot scheme
Five Croydon schools have been selected to take part in a 12-week school food collections waste pilot scheme, with a view to possible expansion across the borough. Recycling in Croydon was stepped up last year when a domestic food-waste collection service was introduced.
Posted: 27 Jan 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
SRA announces national awards
Ode in Shaldon, Devon, has been named the UK's most sustainable restaurant by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). The SRA's inaugural national awards, announced at London's Cinnamon Club today, recognised restaurants across seven categories covering all aspects of sustainability.
Posted: 23 Jan 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Compass launches 'whole + sum' healthy eating menu deal
Compass Group has launched a new mix-and-match food offer aimed at customers looking for an easy approach to healthy eating at breakfast or lunchtime. The "whole + sum" concept is made up of three mix-and-match components, and no complete dish adds up to more than 500 calories.
Posted: 19 Jan 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Pressure grows on operators to do more on alcohol units
A report released this week by a committee of MPs recommended that people should have at least two days a week completely clear of alcohol, as the issue of excessive drinking continues to dominate the headlines. The MPs also highlighted problems when it came to understanding how many units of alcohol there were in a drink.
Posted: 13 Jan 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Soil Association awards Pride Catering three silver Food for Life Catering Marks
Pride Catering has scooped a hat trick of silver Food for Life Catering Marks for its school meals work in the South-east. The caterer's contracts at Vineyard, Heathfield and Brookland schools - all in the South-east - were previously bronze. Pride now holds one gold, four silver and seven bronze catering marks.
Posted: 05 Jan 2012 | FULL ARTICLE
Lussmanns restaurants gain two-star rating from the SRA
The Lussmanns Fish & Grill Restaurants group has been awarded a two-star rating by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). The restaurants, in St Albans and Hertford, were assessed across 14 areas and awarded the two-star rating for their excellent credentials in sourcing, environment and society...
Posted: 15 Dec 2011 | FULL ARTICLE