Companies

Brewdog working with Roast chef to develop food offer

23-Oct-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Report

BrewDog is working with Wyatt Shevloff, who has spent the past four years as executive head chef at Roast, to develop its food offer.

Licensed Trade Charity pupil with autism wins National Young Chef Award

23-Oct-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

A former pupil from a Licensed Trade Charity (LTC) run school, LVS Hassocks in West Sussex, has won the Sodexo Young Chef of the Year Award.

City digest: Thwaites, Pierre White and bakeries

22-Oct-2015 By MC Allegra FS

This week's city digest includes two Pierre White pubs being sold, Thwaites acquisitions, bar and bakery concepts and all-day craft beer.

City news

Marston's turn to Generous George

22-Oct-2015 By James Wallin

Pubco looks to add three to four units.

Obesity debate

Mandatory nutrition labelling on pub menus

22-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Government should make nutritional information on pub menus mandatory to help combat the UK’s growing obesity crisis, a senior Soil Association policy advisor has urged.

Children’s menus

Big pub chains reveal top menu tips for kids

22-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Senior head office staff from Wetherspoons, Harvester and the Soil Association (SA) have revealed their top tips for creating a nutritious and cost-effective pub food menu for children.

Car park

Pub defends £100 parking charge for non-customer waiting 11 minutes

21-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

A pub has defended a £100 charge to a customer who stopped in its car park for 11 minutes without paying.

NewRiver set to complete first pub development by December

21-Oct-2015 By MC Allegra FS

NewRiver Retail has now submitted 48 planning applications to develop surplus land across its pub estate.

Healthy options

Pubs serving some of the healthiest children’s food: Soil Association

21-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Pubs offer some of the healthiest children’s meals on the high street, research published by the Soil Association (SA) today (21 October) has shown.

E-cigarette debate

MP: Welsh ban on e-cigarettes indoors ‘makes no sense’

21-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

A long-serving Member of Parliament has slammed the Welsh government’s stance on e-cigarettes, following Swansea Council’s inclusion of them in a consultation on banning smoking in outdoor public spaces, which could impact pub gardens.

Twitter storm over party theme

Pub scraps 'offensive' mental patient Halloween party

20-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

A pub has cancelled a Halloween party after claims its "mental patients" theme was offensive.

Tim Martin criticises Jamie Oliver proposal

Wetherspoon boss: Jamie Oliver's sugary drink tax would 'cost pubs millions'

20-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

Jamie Oliver’s campaign for higher taxes on sugary drinks would ‘cost pubs millions’ and lead to closures if it succeeded, according to JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin.

JDW takes pubs off the market

Two Wetherspoon pubs saved after huge community campaigns

20-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

Two JD Wetherspoon pubs have been saved after dedicated community campaigns forced the pubco to think again about selling.

Hot drinks

Hotting up: winter alternatives to coffee

19-Oct-2015 By Noli Dinkovski

The temperature is dipping, collars are being turned up and customers are looking for something to warm the cockles of the hearts. The answer, says Noli Dinkovski, is a diverse coffee offer that is adaptable to the seasons.

Enterprise tenants to get Royal British Legion beer

19-Oct-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Enterprise Inns has strengthened its ties to The Royal British Legion with the launch of a new beer, Poppy, which will help raise funds for the Armed Forces charity.

Kerridge: how to win a gastropub gong

19-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Two Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, of the Hand & Flowers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, has revealed his top tips for winning at next year’s Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs Awards.

Revealed: Secrets to best steak

19-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

The secrets to making the perfect steak have been revealed to the Publican’s Morning Advertiser by top chefs, suppliers and even Steak (R)evolution film director Franck Ribière.

FOOD AND BEER PAIRING

Beer and vegetables: a match made in heaven?

19-Oct-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Operators should consider creating vegetable-based beer pairings as sourcing, quality and preparation of vegetables become even more of a focus on menus in 2016, Brewers Association executive chef Adam Dulye has claimed.

Marston’s 20 new sites 'must be chosen carefully to avoid eating out growth pinch'

19-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Marston’s will have to choose the sites of its 20 new food pubs carefully to avoid the pinch of the saturation in the eating out sector, which has already forced menu prices down in high street pubs, a City analyst has warned.

Food safety

New food safety qualifications launched

19-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Six new food safety qualifications to help food businesses prepare safe and legal meals have been launched by the British Safety Council.

MA300 Business Club

Nottingham 'up there with Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds' for operators

16-Oct-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Nottingham’s eating and drinking out scene is starting to outshine some of its better-known rivals, building a steady reputation for its vibrant nightlife and diverse range of venues.

City news

M&B integrates 173 pubs; director goes to Enterprise Inns

16-Oct-2015 By MC Allegra FS

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has announced it has completed the integration of the 173-strong Orchid estate it acquired for £266m last June and said that following this Steve de Polo, who was most recently Orchid programme director, has decided to...

Booker interim results: high aspirations for 2016

15-Oct-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Booker expects to see continually strong performance in the pub sector in 2016, it said, after posting its interim results this morning.

NEW OPENING

Top 50 Gastropubs chef lends expertise to London wine bar

14-Oct-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Stephen Harris, the chef patron and Shepherd Neame tenant of Top 50 Gastropubs winner, the Sportsman, is lending his culinary expertise to upcoming London wine bar and restaurant, Noble Rot.

Marston's announces sales growth

14-Oct-2015 By M&C Allegra

Marston’s has reported like-for-like sales in its managed estate up 1.8% for the year ended 3 October with Taverns growing 2% and Leased 4%.

Food success comes from £5m spend on local produce, says Devon pub owner

13-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

A Devon pub owner has claimed part of his business’s success is down to a multimillion pound spend on local produce.

Pubs in the papers: Duck fights dog, Jurgen Klopp and a tragic killing

13-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

The Publican's Morning Advertiser takes a look at pubs hitting the headlines for good, bad, and downright weird.

Top 50 Gastropubs 2016

How to win a Top 50 Gastropubs Award

13-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

The Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs 2016 is fast approaching and so is the opportunity to win one of three awards up for grabs at the event in January. Here are our top tips on how to gain one.

Pubs miss out on free-from food market

13-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Big pub chains are failing to cater for thousands of UK consumers looking for free-from food options on menus, an expert in the field has claimed.

VIDEO: Charity box stolen from bar at York pub

12-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

Regulars at a York pub have rallied together after its charity box was stolen from the bar - to raise more than double the funds lost.

National Curry Week

Wine and curry pairings: the rules

12-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Wine doesn’t have to be overlooked during National Curry Week (NCW), according to International Wine Challenge boss Peter McCombie, who has revealed his top tips for pairing wine with curry.

Shepherd Neame launches new chef training programme

12-Oct-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Shepherd Neame has rolled out a new training programme for chefs at its managed sites.

Top 17 tips to retain pub chefs

12-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Financial rewards, opportunities for promotion and the ability to contribute to the business’s success are three of the 17 ways managers can keep hold of their chefs and kitchen staff, a leading consultant has claimed.

PODCAST

Crimes against pub food? Top chefs reveal all...

12-Oct-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Two top chefs have revealed what they consider to be crimes against pub food.

Mark Sargeant sets sights on 10+ Kent pubs

12-Oct-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Mark Sargeant has set his sights on running a group of new pubs across Kent.

Stonegate places London pubs on market

09-Oct-2015 By MC Allegra FS

Stonegate Pub Company has confirmed it has placed a package of four central London freehold pub from its recently acquired TCG estate on the market - as part of a sale and leaseback process.

Menu prices

High street pub food menu prices decline following increased competition

09-Oct-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

The strain of increased competition in the eating out sector has forced many high street pubs to slash the prices of their dishes, while the amount of side dishes sold increased significantly, according to the latest Horizons’ Menu Trends report.

NEW OPENING

Searcys and Fat Duck chefs enlisted for new Surrey pub

08-Oct-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Matt Edmonds, head chef at restaurant and bar Searcys, at the top of the Gherkin, London, has taken the job of chef patron at Surrey pub the Grantley Arms, Wonersh, as it re-opens under new management this month.

comment

Stop-start drinking is not the answer

08-Oct-2015 By Lee Price

"Since the dawn of time man has been drinking alcohol, and since the day after man has been getting hangovers. Imagine how fantastic 31 days without a hangover would be; all the things you could achieve.”

Pub closure statistics

Suburban pubs hit hardest by closures with 17 lost a week

08-Oct-2015 By Oli Gross

Suburban pubs are being hit hardest by closures, making up more than half of pubs lost, while high streets are less affected.

Star to invest £3.7m in 20 Newcastle refurbishments

08-Oct-2015 By MC Allegra FS

Star Pubs & Bars is to invest £3.7m in 20 major refurbishments in and around Newcastle by the end of 2015.

First Enterprise 'managed expert' pub opens; further sites in pipeline

08-Oct-2015 By Mike Berry

Enterprise Inns and trade veteran Rupert Clevely have opened their first managed pub under the joint-venture Hippo Inns brand.

Authentic Pub Co cashes in on Thai food

07-Oct-2015 By Michelle Perrett and Nicholas Robinson

The Authentic Pub Co is cashing in on Thai food with Thai Tuesdays at one of its seven sites following the acquisition of the Dragon pubs earlier this year.

FLANK brings nose to tail eating to Brighton

07-Oct-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Brighton chef Tom Griffiths has launched Flank, a new residency serving Fergus Henderson-style “nose to tail” dishes at the Royal Sovereign, on the city’s Preston Street.