News

Sportsman tops National Restaurant Awards

27-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Michelin-starred Kent pub the Sportsman has been named the best restaurant in the country at the prestigious National Restaurant Awards. 

Woman dies of suspected food poisoning after family meal at pub carvery

27-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

A grandmother has died of suspected food poisoning that she is believed to have contracted after eating at a pub carvery.

BREXIT

'Intense uncertainty' on the cards? Eating-out sector responds to Brexit vote

24-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Pubs and restaurants could be facing reduced sales, increased costs and lower demand now that Britain has voted to leave the European Union, a leading analyst has warned.

Celeb chef Nutter launches gastropub with helicopter stunt

23-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

A TV chef marked the opening of his new gastropub by arriving at its star-studded launch party by helicopter. 

Menus

Fuller’s pubs open for breakfast

22-Jun-2016 By James Evison

Fuller's has announced that its 16 Ale and Pie pubs will be serving a freshly prepared breakfast offer from its 'Only at Fuller's' range of dishes.

Distributors

JJ Foodservice pumps £15m into three new depots

21-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

JJ Foodservice has pumped £15m into the opening of three new distribution centres in Dagenham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Leicester.

Top 50 Gastropubs

Michelin-starred Yorkshire pub celebrates 20th anniversary

21-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

One of the top food pub operators in the country celebrated 20 years of trading yesterday by holding an exclusive bash complete with a specially created tasting menu.

Neurogastronomy

Which colours will arouse your customers?

21-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Brainwave technology has been used to determine how colour affects diners’ moods and eating experiences in the leisure sector, revealing eight colours pubs should consider when dressing their businesses.

Brighton chef to collaborate with craft brewery for nose-to-tail tasting menu

16-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

The chef behind popular Brighton pub pop-up residency Flank has announced a one-off, nose-to-tail tasting menu with craft beer pairings.

Harry Ramsden’s to open third pub with Punch

16-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Fish and chips chain Harry Ramsden's has revealed plans to open a third pub following two already-profitable forays into the sector.

Food safety failures: don't make the headlines

15-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Recent events have driven home the point that slip-ups — when it comes to food safety, allergens and cleaning — have the potential to devastate businesses and lethally tarnish reputations. Daniel Woolfson looks at how operators can safeguard themselves...

Giant portrait of astronaut Tim Peake made with Sunday roast ingredients

15-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Greene King chain Hungry Horse plans to welcome Tim Peake back from space with a massive image of the astronaut made solely from Sunday roast components.

Fuller’s launches new food and chef-focused campaign

15-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

London-based pubco Fuller's has launched a new marketing campaign promoting the company's food offer.

Pub goes asparagus-mad with four-course seasonal feast

13-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

A Cotswolds pub celebrated a bountiful asparagus harvest by hosting a massive feast where every dish featured the seasonal veg.

Street food a 'no-brainer' for traditional wet-led pubs

10-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Wet-led pubs with no resources to invest in a traditional food offer can up their game by working with street food traders, a leading London operator has urged.

Tom Kerridge to host one-off lunch with world-famous French chef

09-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Tom Kerridge is set to host a lunch with one of the world’s most acclaimed chefs at his Marlow pub, the Hand & Flowers, on Sunday 3 July.

CGA/AlixPartners data

Analysis: The food-led pub juggernaut rolls on

09-Jun-2016 By Mike Berry

While UK pub numbers generally are in decline — with wet-led outlets losing out to food-led sites — vibrant city centres across the country are bucking the trend. Mike Berry reports.

Food

BrewDog trials £9 pizzas at four bars

09-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

BrewDog is trialing a pizza offer at four of its sites for the summer for £9 each – and will offer them at a two-for-one rate for a limited time.

Technology

Revealed: Chefs’ social media habits

08-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Chefs are social media savvy and take to platforms like Twitter and Facebook to look for suppliers, jobs and staff, new research from William Murray Communications claims.

Boost in spend on premium food and drink good for pubs

08-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Brits are continuing to buy less, but better quality, which is driving spend in gourmet dining establishments and boosting volume sales of Champagne and craft beer, research from Mintel has shown.

Ex-Café Royal chef takes head role at high-profile pub

06-Jun-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

A chef who worked at several prestigious eateries has been appointed head chef at South Kensington pub the Hour Glass. 

Food

Sargeant sets out food mission plans with Brakes

06-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Ex-Restaurant Gordon Ramsay chef Mark Sargeant has revealed plans with foodservice supplier Brakes to help lower-skilled pub chefs develop high-quality menus they can deliver easily and consistently.

Chefs

Michelin-starred pub Pipe & Glass snags top award at ‘Chef Oscars’

05-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

One Michelin-starred chef-patron James Mackenzie, of the second-best UK gastropub the Pipe & Glass Inn, in South Dalton, Beverley, East Yorkshire, snagged the Pub Restaurant Chef of the Year Award at the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards last week.

Food standards

Rat droppings and mouldy liver pate lands pub zero hygiene rating

03-Jun-2016 By Oli Gross

A pub has been slapped with a zero food hygiene score after rat dropping and mouldy liver pate were discovered by inspectors.

Chefs

Fuller's announces Chef of the Year 2016

01-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Fuller's has announced its Chef of the Year and Young Chef of the Year 2016 award winners, following months of judging and a little help from the Publican's Morning Advertiser (PMA).

Food

10 things pubs need to know about fish

01-Jun-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Who knew fish and other seafood dishes in pubs were more popular than the humble Sunday roast? Well, they are and it's a rising trend too – as more customers look to try new and exciting flavours.

TOP 50 GASTROPUBS

Liquid assets: curating a perfect gastropub wine list

27-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Do you know your Chapelle-Chambertin from your Corton-Charlemagne? Daniel Woolfson sits down for a tipple with the gastropub operator whose passion for wine is propelling trade to new heights 

NEW OPENING

TV presenter takes chef role at new Cornwall pub

27-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

TV presenter and 'food entrepreneur' James Strawbridge has taken on the role of executive chef at a new pub.

No receipt, no review? Top gastropub operators weigh in on TripAdvisor debate

25-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Some of the country's top gastropub operators have weighed in on the ongoing debate around whether users of online review site TripAdvisor should have to prove they ate at a venue to post a review.

FOOD SAFETY

Restaurateur peanut manslaughter case 'serious warning' for pubs

25-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

A restaurateur's conviction of manslaughter by gross negligence should be a "serious warning" when it comes to food safety, leading experts have warned.

FOOD SAFETY

New food safety guidelines launched in wake of peanut allergy death

24-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

The British Hospitality Association (BHA), in association with food safety experts, has launched a new industry guide designed to help food businesses avoid potentially dangerous slip-ups.

New Opening

Redcomb Pubs unveils new casual-dining concept Lock House

24-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

London-based group Redcomb Pubs has unveiled its new casual-dining concept, Lock House. 

Young’s opens first stand-alone Burger Shack

23-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

London-based pub group Young's has opened the doors to its first stand-alone Burger Shack venue.

NEW OPENING

Great British Menu winner Emily Watkins working on new gastropub

23-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

One of the top gastropub chefs in the country is working on the opening of a new site in Cornwall later this year.

Recruitment

Chestnut Group hires Dan Grigg as executive chef

20-May-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Pub, inn and restaurant operator the Chestnut Group has hired acclaimed chef Dan Grigg as its new executive chef to bolster the company’s food offer by working with head chefs across the group.

Food

300-year-old Shepherd Neame pub serves food for first time

20-May-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Shepherd Neame pub the Royal Standard in Hastings is serving food for the first time in its 300 year history, after £75,000 was pumped into the refurbishment of its kitchen and décor.

Pub food and drink sales fell in April, while restaurants’ rose

20-May-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Food and drink sales in pub groups declined by 2.7% in April when compared with the same period last year, which is in contrast with an increase in sales of 2.5% in restaurants.

Food and drink sales up in first quarter

20-May-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Food and drink sales in the UK’s foodservice sector hit £10.8m for the first quarter of this year, up 2.3% year-on-year, according to Horizons.

Pubcos

Harry Ramsden's and Punch team up for pub partnership

20-May-2016 By Nikkie Sutton

The pubco and restaurant have joined forces to reopen a pub with the benefits of Harry Ramsden's reputation for fish and chips.

Wholesalers

Booker helps pubs tap into key food trends

19-May-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Wholesaler Booker is using its findings from major casual-dining group customers to help independent businesses – such as food-serving pubs – to better tap into what's on trend.

Wholesalers

Booker’s sales up 5% to £5bn

19-May-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Booker has reported a rise in total sales of 5% to £5bn (including tobacco) for the 52 weeks to 25 March, driven by the continued development of the group.

Woman chokes to death on lobster in Herefordshire pub

17-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

A woman choked to death eating lobster in a pub, an inquest has heard. 

Trade warned to be 'careful' when working with street-food pop ups

17-May-2016 By Emily Sutherland

An angry Hampstead publican has warned fellow operators to be on their guard when organising street-food residencies after he had to remove a burger shack from his pub garden.

Gin

Celebrity chef Valentine Warner talks gin and food pairing

17-May-2016 By Nicholas Robinson

Gin may not be the "easiest drink to pair with food", but celebrity chef Valentine Warner has given it a good crack and revealed his top tips.

"Furry stew" - filthy pub banned from serving food

13-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

A Hull pub has been banned from serving food after environmental health inspectors discovered “unacceptable” conditions in its kitchen.

TOP 50 GASTROPUBS

Top 50 Gastropubs: lessons learned from the world's top restaurant

13-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

What happens when you unleash some of the country’s top gastropub operators on the highest-rated restaurant in the world? The PMA finds out what pubs can learn from the top-end of international dining

'Wake-up call' needed for London pubs with poor food hygiene

12-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

More than 100 City of London food businesses are at risk of losing more than half their customers due to bad food hygiene practices, new research claims.

ALLERGENS

New ‘next generation’ allergen awareness e-learning course launched

12-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

CPL Online has announced the launch of a new allergen awareness e-learning course.

‘Unhygienic’ pub slapped with £6,000 fine for food safety violations

11-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

A Cheshire pub has been slapped with a fine of £6,000 after environmental health inspectors examined its 'greasy and dirty' kitchen.

FOOD SAFETY & HYGIENE

Maintain food safety standards to avoid norovirus outbreaks, warn experts

11-May-2016 By Daniel Woolfson

Maintaining high standards when it comes to food safety and ensuring staff are trained properly is the best way to avoid outbreaks of norovirus, experts have claimed.