Latest

Oakman Inns & Restaurants launches Christmas portfolio

14-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Oakman Inns & Restaurants has launched its Christmas party portfolio, featuring menus devised by ex-British Larder chef owner Ross Pike.

£35k challenge to replace food with powder

14-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

A meal-replacement firm has challenged consumers to replace their traditional diets for a year with its powdered food range for £35,000 to discover its impact lifestyles.

Five-second rule is false: scientists

14-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Scientists have debunked the myth that food dropped on the floor for five-seconds or less is still safe to eat.

JD Wetherspoon’s food sales slow

11-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

JD Wetherspoon’s food sales have slowed compared with last year, as the pub giant’s chairman criticises excessive food taxes on pubs and a leading City analyst blames a rise in casual dining.

Chef Shortage

Emily Watkins: standard of training for chefs "no good"

10-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

The standard of professional training for chefs has dropped, contributing to the industry-wide skills gap, according to Emily Watkins, chef patron of award-winning Oxfordshire pub the Kingham Plough.

Rare burger rule change ‘costly’ for pub chefs

10-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Serving rare burgers in UK food businesses could be expensive and remain potentially dangerous, even with new Food Standards Agency (FSA) controls in place, a leading food safety consultant has warned.

Brunning and Price to create 90 chef roles

10-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

More than 90 chef roles could be created by the Brunning and Price (B&P) group, after it announced plans to open three new pubs this year and buy up to six more in 2016.

Newcastle’s pub scene has ‘transformed’ – MA300 to discover

10-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Newcastle’s pub and bar sector has switched from venues offering cheap and plentiful drink, to one filled with “quirky” and “stylish” pubs serving great food and upmarket drinks, commentators have said ahead of the latest MA300 event.

Fuller's hosts Chef's Guild graduation for rising kitchen stars

09-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Fuller’s has marked the achievements of chefs across its 189-site managed estate with the first graduation ceremony for Chef’s Guild scholars.

Vegetarian food in pubs set to rise

07-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Vegetarian and vegan food will become more mainstream, a new report has claimed, following statistics showing meat-free food accounted for 31% of new dishes on UK menus.

Chef Shortage

Great British Menu star Dom Chapman: "I want a civilised bunch of chefs in the kitchen"

07-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Training from the grass roots up and nurturing talent is fundamental to combatting the chef shortage, according to BBC2 Great British Menu star Dominic Chapman, chef patron of the Beehive, White Waltham.

M&B brand Toby Carvery to attempt roast dinner world record

07-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Mitchells & Butlers brand Toby Carvery is attempting a Guinness World Record for the largest photo album of roast dinners.

DIGITAL FEATURE

Hail to the chef

03-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Whether you’re an established restaurateur looking for the next step or a dedicated upstart wanting to make a name for yourself, taking on a pub is no minor feat. In this exclusive feature, Daniel Woolfson looks at the particular challenges faced by chef-patrons...

Menu trends

Number of new vegetarian menu items rises whilst number of beef dishes drop

02-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Vegetarian dishes now account for 31% of new menu items across the eating-out sector, up from 18% last year, according to M&C Allegra Foodservice’s New Menu Item Analysis report.

VAT campaign

VAT Club proposes staggered tax reduction

02-Sep-2015 By Mark Wingett, M&C Allegra Foodservice

The hospitality VAT cut campaign has put forward a plan to the Government for a staggered reduction in the level of the tax for hospitality businesses.

Consumer trends

London diners want more healthy options when eating out, claims new survey

26-Aug-2015 By M&C Allegra Foodservice

Customers in London are twice as likely to be motivated to eat out by the desire for a light or healthy meal than those in the rest of the UK.

Chef recruitment crisis

Could training prison inmates help solve the chef shortage?

26-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Training convicts in chef skills could help solve combat the critical shortage of skilled chefs affecting the hospitality industry.

We Want Plates founder: bad presentation in pubs is "epidemic"

21-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Pubs are by far the worst culprits when it comes to bad presentation of food, according to We Want Plates founder Ross McGinnes.

Chef recruitment crisis

“Fancy chefs don’t want to drop down to our level” - top London pub chef talks chef shortage

21-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

The current shortage of skilled chefs and the problems caused by it are “never ending”, according to Jesse Dunford-Wood, chef patron of Parlour, in Kensal Green, London.

SMALL TALK

Daniel Clifford on new pub The Flitch of Bacon and Great British Menu

14-Aug-2015 By Emma Eversham

Daniel Clifford, chef-patron of the two Michelin-starred Midsummer House, speaks exclusively to Big Hospitality about returning to Great British Menu and opening his own pub, the Flitch of Bacon, in Essex.

Careers

Greene King reaches apprenticeship milestone

13-Aug-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Allegra Foodservice

Greene King has recruited its 1,000th apprentice this year, putting the company ahead of schedule in its pledge to recruit 2,000 apprentices in the year to March 2016.

Pub sales flat as public 'benefit from greater choice'

13-Aug-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Allegra Foodservice

Restaurants recorded like-for-like growth of 4.3% in July but pubs remained essentially flat, according to the latest Coffer Peach Business Tracker.

GBM

Great British Menu 2015: Kingham Plough chef makes surprise appearance

11-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Emily Watkins, chef patron of the Kingham Plough, Oxfordshire, made a surprise appearance on this week’s episode of BBC2’s Great British Menu as a veteran judge.

Operator Profile

VIDEO: Dylan Murray, Drake & Morgan

10-Aug-2015 By PubFood

The group's operations director talks pushing breakfast and the benefits of an all-day menu.

City news

Directors exit as Geronimo Inns restructures

28-Jul-2015 By Ruth Williams, MC Allegra FS

Stalwart Ed Turner leaves along with ops director Mark Ashley.

Health

Licensees claim displaying calories on menus 'impossible'

21-Jul-2015 By Emily Sutherland

Calls for pubs to list the calorie content of food on their menus have been branded ‘impossible’ by licensees.

UK diners more flexible than ever about meal times, report finds

20-Jul-2015 By Noli Dinkovski

UK diners are becoming increasingly flexible in the way they approach mealtimes, according to a new study.

North-west pub chef creates YouTube recipe channel

20-Jul-2015 By Noli Dinkovski

A north-west chef has set up his own YouTube channel to showcase some of his pub’s more unusual dishes.

Strawberries and cream tops perfect summer’s day poll

06-Jul-2015 By Noli Dinkovski

The most popular food item on a ‘perfect’ British summer’s day is strawberries and cream, new research by pub operator Chef & Brewer has found.

Star on track to invest £30m in estate and eyes first managed pub

02-Jul-2015 By Ed Bedington

Dutch brewing giant Heineken has announced plans to invest up to £30m into its Star Pubs and Bars estate and is also on course to open its first managed pub site.

Food offer

Sussex licensees open new "steampunk" country pub

18-Jun-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Tony Leonard and Dom McCartan, owners of the Snowdrop Inn, Lewes, have reopened the Roebuck, in Laughton, Sussex with a new food offer after taking on a private lease for the site and giving it a major refurbishment.

Fuller's sales up 6.3% in managed and 5% in tenanted

05-Jun-2015 By M&C Allegra FS

Fuller’s recorded like-for-like sales growth of 6.3% in its managed arm for the year to 28 March with like-for-like profits up 5% in its Tenanted Inns division.

Mitchells & Butlers and Help for Heroes give food discount for Armed Forces

02-Jun-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Mitchells & Butlers chains Crown Carveries, Sizzling Pubs and O’Neills have announced the launch of new charity initiatives for British Armed Forces members.

Survey reveals nation's favourite dishes

18-May-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

A new survey has named the British public’s favourite dishes.

Want to know how to make the most out of a gluten-free food offer?

13-May-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

National Coeliac Awareness Week is in full swing. And, whilst gluten free dishes are often a contentious topic for many chefs, one in every 100 people is reported to suffer from the coeliac disease and a growing number of consumers are adopting the gluten-free...

Openings

Award-winning pubco opens first London site

11-May-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

New World Trading Company is set to open its first London site next month.

money makers

Cornish pub diversifies with craft and food store

01-May-2015 By Helen Gilbert

A 16th century Cornish pub is now serving up freshly baked bread, home-made jam and handmade crafts alongside its beer and spirits.

Young's buys Islington pub

29-Apr-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Young’s Pub Company has acquired Islington pub the Canonbury with an eye to re-opening it as a food-led venue.

Operator news

Young's Spring Grove reopens

22-Apr-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Young’s site the Spring Grove, Kingston-Upon-Thames, has reopened after a period of refurbishment with a new food offer.

Training

Nestle Professional Toque d'Or competition crowns winners

22-Apr-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Westminster Kingsway College’s team of hospitality students were announced as winners of the Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or competition last night, the college’s third win to date.

Operator news

M&B launches Sizzling Pizza, Pub & Carvery

21-Apr-2015 By Mark Wingett, M&C Report

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) is to launch a new concept this week which will be a combined and evolved version of its Crown Carveries and Sizzling Pub formats called Sizzling Pizza, Pub & Carvery, M&C Report has learnt.

Openings

George Orwell 'prole's pub' to reopen...with Cornish touch

20-Apr-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

The Cornwall Project has re-opened Fitzrovia pub the Newman Arms, with the aim of turning it into a “classic West End boozer” with a menu showcasing high quality Cornish produce.

Chefs

Top 50 Gastropubs chefs to create exclusive menu

20-Apr-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Four top pub chefs who ranked in The Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s Top 50 Gastropubs 2015 are set to put on an eight-course fine dining menu at this year’s Eat Drink Bristol Fashion festival.

Strong Easter rescues disappointing March for eating out sector

17-Apr-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Report

Easter weekend like-for-like sales across the eating and drinking out sector were up 5.1% year-on-year, according to the latest Coffer Peach Business Tracker, but followed the first monthly drop in like-for-like sales for two year.

PUB chefs

Nominees for Craft Guild of Chefs Awards announced

16-Apr-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Four pub chefs have been shortlisted as nominees for the 2015 Craft Guild of Chefs Awards.

Chefs

Fuller's chef joins City Pub Companies

14-Apr-2015 By Jo Bruce

Pub companies City Pub Company East & City Pub Company West have appointed a new executive chef.

Pub chefs

Tom Kerridge backs Vote British Food campaign in run up to general election

09-Apr-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Top chef Tom Kerridge has teamed up with the National Farmers Union (NFU) to show his support for British food and agriculture.

Finalists announced for VisitEngland Awards of Excellence 2015

08-Apr-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Six pub operators have been named as finalists in VisitEngland’s 2015 Awards of Excellence.

Operators could be at risk of serving “hidden” gluten to coeliac customers, new research suggests

08-Apr-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Research commissioned by Aviko reported that roughly 60% of consumers did not know that chips are not necessarily gluten-free, meaning they could be unknowingly ordering meals containing the wheat protein which can cause serious health issues in coeliac...