News

P&G Professional launches campaign to find the best hospitality experience

12-Dec-2012 By Lesley Foottit

P&G Professional (P&G) is looking for the Best of British Hospitality in a newly-launched campaign.

Special awards finalists in Top 50 Gastropub Awards revealed

12-Dec-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Nine finalists in the Publican’s Morning Advertiser Top 50 Gastropub Awards have been announced.

Whitbread brands drive healthy results

11-Dec-2012 By M&C Report

Whitbread has reported a 3.3% increase in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to 29 November, driven by a strong performance from Costa.

BFFF predicts strong 2013 for frozen food

10-Dec-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Attitudes to frozen food among consumers, retailers and foodservice operators are changing to be more positive.

Booker extends locked down prices until 4 January

10-Dec-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Food and drink wholesaler Booker has extended its locked down prices until 4 January.

Brakes Foodservice appoints new marketing director

10-Dec-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Brakes has appointed a new UK marketing director.

Opinion: Pubs at the cutting edge of dining out

10-Dec-2012 By Elizabeth Carter

A journalist from Singapore contacted me recently wanting to know what I thought of the “global proliferation of gastropubs, particularly in a place like Singapore”. For someone who has always avoided anything British themed when abroad, “horrified” seemed...

Pub customer service drops during December and festive period

06-Dec-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Customer service is at its lowest in December, according to research commissioned by customer insight agency SMG.

The Mason's Arms wins Fuller's pub food competition

05-Dec-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Battersea’s Mason’s Arms has won the Fuller’s City Signature Dish 2012.

Turkey based winter warmer wins Bernard Matthews competition

05-Dec-2012 By Lesley Foottit

A Somerset chef has won a British turkey winter recipe challenge in a seasonal competition run by Bernard Matthews Foodservice.

Countdown to National Pub Food Challenge entry deadline

05-Dec-2012 By Jo Bruce

Does your pub serve sensational sandwiches, superb Scotch eggs or divine desserts?

Heston Blumenthal TV show puts fun into pub grub

30-Nov-2012

Heston Blumenthal will be working his magic on pub grub as part of his new Channel 4 TV series Fantastical Food.

The importance of drawing in the young crowd

26-Nov-2012 By Lesley Foottit

It seems that young people are where the money is, but too many pubs are not catering to the young crowd.

Young people drive pub food and drink trade across all day parts

23-Nov-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Younger pub-goers are driving pub visits across all dayparts, according to research by food market consultancy firm Technomic.

McDonald's serves up a lesson for pub trade in dispelling stereotypes

22-Nov-2012 By Mike Berry

Any organisation or industry is only as good as the people it employs. So for ours to continue to compete with the multitude of alternative leisure options open to today’s consumers, it needs to arm its people with the range of skills required to run...

Tyrrells crisps founder creates a potato gin

21-Nov-2012 By Robyn Black

Chase Distillery, the business set up by Tyrrells Crisps founder William Chase, has added a second gin to its portfolio in a bid to tap into the resurgence in premium gins.

Third pub for Kalton and Barlow

12-Nov-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Food-led pub operator Kalton & Barlow has acquired its third site and recruited an executive chef.

Stonegate Pub Company launches staff training centre in Birmingham

12-Nov-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Stonegate Pub Company, the 550-strong pub operator, has opened a training centre to aid the development of staff for front and back of house.

Greene King launches kitchen training programme for tenants

08-Nov-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Greene King has introduced a kitchen management training course for its tenants.

Stonegate launches autumn/winter menus focusing on value and nostalgia

05-Nov-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Stonegate Pub Company has launched autumn winter menus across five of seven brands.

Hardys backs BBC Good Food Shows

02-Nov-2012 By Jessica Harvey

Australian wine brand Hardys will be sponsoring the BBC Good Food Shows this autumn for the third year running.

Marco Pierre White pub chain Horatio Inns loses employment tribunal case

01-Nov-2012 By John Harrington

A pub company run by high-profile chef Marco Pierre White has lost a case against a former assistant manager at an employment tribunal for breaching working time regulations.

Shepherd Neame to target food operation of 60 tenanted pubs a year

31-Oct-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Kent brewer and pub operator Shepherd Neame plans to improve the food offer of 60 tenanted pubs a year.

Food-led pub operators take on 70 apprentices

31-Oct-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Whiting & Hammond and Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) are taking on 70 apprentices between them.

Search is on to find best British pub food with new awards

25-Oct-2012 By Jo Bruce

If your fish and chips helps fill your pub, your steak night makes sales sizzle or your curry offer has helped trade hot up then don't miss your chance to get the recognition your offer deserves.

Orchid Group heading for 50:50 food:drink split

25-Oct-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Orchid Group anticipates achieving a 50:50 wet:dry sales mix in the next two years as its Pizza Kitchen & Bar (PKB) and Dragon sites continue to expand.

More coffee sold in pubs than competitor outlets

22-Oct-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Pubs are the number one seller of coffee, according to the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR).

EBLEX trade is now on Twitter and Facebook

21-Oct-2012 By Lesley Foottit

EBLEX trade marketing has launched social media schemes to enable members and stakeholders to interact directly.

Consumers look for assured produce with clear origins out of home

05-Oct-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Over half of consumers look for food that has been produced to assured standards with a sign of origin.

Brakspear pub Orwells is the only Oxford venue to hold three AA rosettes

05-Oct-2012 By Lesley Foottit

A Brakspear pub has become the only establishment in Oxford to hold three AA rosettes.

Provision of nutrition information on pub menus could prove vital for 'survival'

04-Oct-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Providing sufficient nutritional and allergen information on menus could be a case of “business survival”, warned one panellist at last week’s GS1 conference.

The Black Swan in Ravenstonedale, Cumbria is AA Pub of the Year 2012

27-Sep-2012 By Lesley Foottit

The Black Swan in Ravenstonedale, Cumbria has scooped AA Pub of the Year at the prestigious awards ceremony.

Booker teams up with British Roast Dinner Week to help pubs profit

27-Sep-2012 By Lesley Foottit

British Roast Dinner Week (1 to 7 October) has teamed up with wholesaler Booker to celebrate the favourite dish.

Blade Bone Inn pub Berkshire wins Scotch Egg Challenge title

27-Sep-2012 By Lesley Foottit

The Blade Bone Inn of Bucklebury, Berkshire, took first place in the Scotch Egg Challenge 2013.

Get customers involved in your pub's food offering

27-Sep-2012 By Ashley McCarthy

The great British weather has decimated our potato crop, increased food costs and failed to provide us caterers with the correct product for the job! So what do we do?

EBLEX invests £1.35 in consumer campiagn to raise profile of beef and lamb

27-Sep-2012 By Lesley Foottit

EBLEX has launched a consumer advertising campaign to raise awareness of its improved Quality Standard Mark Scheme for beef and lamb.

Countdown to Top 50 Gastropub Awards entry deadline

25-Sep-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Licensees have less than four weeks to enter the Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s Budweiser Budvar Top 50 Gastropub Awards 2013.

The best way for pubs to deal with negative reviews is to respond positively

20-Sep-2012

Brits are famously polite, restrained by that stiff upper lip that is our birth right, until it comes to the internet. For the more reserved customer Trip Advisor offers a listening ear with no chance of an awkward confrontation arising. And so people...

Whitbread trials new look for Beefeater at three sites

20-Sep-2012 By Mark Wingett

Whitbread is trialling a new look for its Beefeater pub-restaurant brand, which includes a new menu and pink cow logo, at three sites across the country.

Consumer austerity is impacting pub menu choices

20-Sep-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Cost and consumer austerity are driving menu choices, according to FCSI (Food-service Consultants Society International) and Allegra Strategies.

Negative online reviews are costing pub and restaurant businesses

19-Sep-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Hospitality businesses are losing out on new customers due to false or unjust online reviews.

Motivation’s the key to kitchen creativity

13-Sep-2012

Having spent half my life in catering I still wake up with great enthusiasm and energy to go into work. I need that drive to push me and the team forward. The day that I wake up, without that feeling, that’s when it’s time to call it a day.

Top 50 Gastropubs 2013: The search begins

10-Sep-2012

The search is now on for the 2013 PMA Top 50 Gastropub Awards winners. Read on to find out more and how to enter.

Food-on-the-go and gourmet pub dining on the up in Horizons survey

10-Sep-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Quality food-on-the-go is a key growth area for the pub sector, foodservice consultancy Horizons’ latest survey has found.

Nobby's Nuts launches fiery Russian Roulette flavour

06-Sep-2012 By Robyn Black

Punters are being asked to play Russian roulette with their nuts, as Nobby’s reveals its first new product variant in five years.

Hellmann's launches search for Britain's best sandwich

06-Sep-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Unilever Food Solution’s Hellmann’s is searching for its Sandwich Champion 2012 in the 250th year of the sandwich.

Whitbread reports 4.2% rise in like-for-like sales in second quarter

06-Sep-2012 By Mark Wingett, M&C Report

Whitbread, the leisure group, has reported a 4.2% rise in like-for-like sales for the 11 weeks to 16 August, driven by a 5.7% rise in sales across its Costa Coffee estate and a 4.9% increase in sales through its 389-strong pub restaurant division.

Frozen food is more environmentally friendly, says new BFFF study

05-Sep-2012 By Lesley Foottit

Frozen food is more energy efficient than fresh, according to a study.

The Beckford Arms in Wiltshire is Dining Pub of the Year in the 2013 Good Pub Guide

04-Sep-2012 By Mike Berry

The Beckford Arms in Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire, has been crowned Dining Pub of the Year in the 2013 Good Pub Guide.

Anchor & Hope in Waterloo named as having best pub food in Harden's London Restaurants 2013 guide

30-Aug-2012

Charles Wells-owned pub the Anchor & Hope, in the Cut, Waterloo, has been nominated as having the best bar/pub food in Harden’s London Restaurants 2013 guide.