This week's Recipe of the Week is Prawn Cocktail by Chris Horridge and courtesy of Great British Chefs For Christmas, here's the classic "retro" dish of a prawn cocktail starter, given a gourmet makeover by Chris Horridge. The recipe comes with a video for making the perfect mayonnaise which is essential to for the Marie Rose or Prawn Cocktail sauce. There are more … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2012
The beer gets through with Head of Steam
The Head Of Steam group of pubs have been waiting patiently since September for the micro-brewers of Northern Ireland to have enough beer available to send over to north east England, such is the demand for their beers locally. The beers finally arrived on 13 December – a date that was clearly ‘lucky for some’ – on pallets of 18 casks delivered to the Cluny in Newcastle, the … [Read more...]
‘Taste of Wisley’ for RHS and Company of Cooks
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has awarded a major catering contract to Company of Cooks at the RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey, and also announced major development of all restaurants and cafés. New culinary delights – including a food hall, elegant outdoor dining, a restaurant offering the best of Wisley-grown produce, and cookery workshops – will be created at RHS Garden … [Read more...]
Punch Taverns: making good progress
Punch Taverns has reported performance for Q1 (16 weeks to 8 December), with profit in line with management expectations and stable profit per pub, despite the continuing challenging market conditions. Roger Whiteside, Chief Executive Officer of Punch Taverns plc, commented: “Our performance in the first sixteen weeks of the financial year has been in line with … [Read more...]
Marou Chocolate – too good to eat!
H&C News was recently introduced to the delights of Marou, a new brand of high quality chocolate that has just arrived in the UK – from Vietnam. Vietnam is not a country that we (and perhaps you) would have associated with artisan chocolate - until now. We were however impressed by the background to the development of Marou (see below), and so we undertook to sample … [Read more...]
Relentless wine price increases lead to falling sales
H & C News recently published an article (see below) on the call by Accolade Wines, the UK’s number one wine company, for unity across the drinks trade in a bid to encourage the government to re-think the alcohol duty escalator. Accolade’s WineNation 2012 Report had revealed the level to which tax is having a crippling effect across the industry. At the same time, … [Read more...]
Want to grow your business? Then buy another.
As optimism of economic recovery increases, many business owners will look to grow through acquisition. But, when considering buying another business, how do you identify a good prospect? And is a done deal the end of the story? Key considerations Corporate Finance Director Mark Selby highlights key considerations: “Firstly, why are you considering an acquisition? Are … [Read more...]
Driving growth in licensed hospitality: the ALMR Ops Award Winners
The ALMR Operations Managers Awards are amongst the most coveted in the on-trade, and have just been awarded to Donny McIntyre of Spirit Pub Company and Heike Funke of Punch Taverns - named Area Manager and Business Development Manager of the Year respectively. Rob Summers of Punch Taverns was awarded a Highly Commended prize, and the Rising Star Award was made to Benjamin … [Read more...]
New categories for 2012/13 Considerate Hoteliers Awards
The Considerate Hoteliers (CH) is introducing two new categories for its Awards for 2012/13: ‘The International Considerate Hotel of the Year’ to embrace CH’s new international outlook and encourage hotels from all around the world to participate. ‘The Considerate Accessibility Award’ which aims to encourage hotels to highlight and market the facilities available for … [Read more...]
World-class facilities for Culinary Arts open at Westminster Kingsway
Westminster Kingsway College in central London has opened three new innovative teaching kitchens at the Victoria Centre. The new facilities: The Baroness Burdett-Coutts Kitchen The Culinary Science and Kitchen Innovation Laboratory The Chocolate Laboratory and The Cacao Barry Patisserie Commitment to providing what the industry needs Andy Wilson, Principal at … [Read more...]
The Wellesley opens in Knightsbridge
Located in prestigious Knightsbridge, new townhouse hotel The Wellesley is scheduled to open 14 December, offering contemporary luxury, traditional glamour and uncompromising service. The building has been beautifully restored with a combination of its 1920s history and contemporary style with interiors created by award-winning design experts Fox Linton. As well as its 36 … [Read more...]
Chardon founder adds to honours
MAURICE Taylor, founder and chief executive of the UK’s leading independent hotel management company Chardon Management, has won the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award at the Glasgow Restaurant Awards 2012 in recognition of his innovation and strategic vision. Commenting on this latest award, which follows just a fortnight after he was awarded a certificate of recognition for his … [Read more...]
De Vere plans Village Resort, Aberdeen
Drum Property’s Prime Four business park, Aberdeen has announced that it has signed De Vere up for Phase 2 of the development, to assume its tenancy by mid-2014 (subject to planning). The four star Village Urban Resort for De Vere, will be the hotel group’s first Village Resort in Scotland and will cover an area of approximately 101,000 sq ft. De Vere has leased the site … [Read more...]
SSP Group profits from resilience of airport and railway travel
SSP Group, the leading dedicated operator of food and beverage brands in some 400 travel locations worldwide, has announced strong financial results for the year ended 30 September 2012, and benefitting from its broad geographic presence, attractive portfolio of brands, and the on-going resilience of the core airport and railway travel markets in which it operates. Financial … [Read more...]
Curvaceous Pastry Chiller
Williams’ new merchandiser is practical, safe and sustainable Pastries, pies and cakes are hugely popular take away snacks but require special storage conditions to keep in top condition. Now Williams has expanded its Gem range for the Grab & Go sector with a new Pastry Chiller. The eye-catching merchandiser, model number PC900, provides a practical, safe solution that … [Read more...]
