Catering news

• Brakspear benefits from managed house investment

  18-08-2017 12:16
  JT Davies & Sons, the parent firm of Henley-based pub firm Brakspear, has seen a double-digit increase in turnover thanks to strong sales from its growing managed house division.
  
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• Prue Leith backs universal free school meals in interview

  18-11-2019 11:04
  She told interviewer Sian Griffiths: “If the government was brave enough to say this is a free lunch, everyone has to sit down and have a healthy, two-course meal, and no one will be allowed to bring a packed lunch into school, it would work wonders.”
  Prue was recently appointed by the Department of Health to work alongside the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) as an ambassador for the hospital food review, which is currently being carried out by former HCA chair Phil Shelley.
  She
  
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• Last chance to register for Public Sector Catering Expo

  18-11-2019 10:41
  The aim of the two-day event is to bring together buyers, influencers and decision makers across the entire industry. You can register in advance for the PSC Expo to gain fast track entry but you can also turn up on the day.
  The PSC Expo is FREE to attend and includes live demonstrations, over 100 suppliers and the opportunity to network with industry colleagues. There are several keynote speakers including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Prue Leith, Alexia Robinson, Amy Fetzer and Charlie Huson.
  W
  
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• New school kitchen opens during NSMW

  18-11-2019 10:01
  Wolsey House celebrated the official opening of its new kitchen, which means schools meals can now be prepared on the premises. 
  On 13 November staff served up roast chicken with roasted potatoes, sage and onion stuffing, as well as a vegetarian alternative. This was part of Roast Dinner Day, which aimed to bring people of different generations together for a roast dinner.
  Roast Dinner Day falls during National School Meals Week and it is an opportunity to showcase nutritious scho
  
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• Chesterfield College student crowned Chesterfield’s Young Chef of the Year

  18-11-2019 09:52
  He beat off competition from two fellow catering students to take the title at the glittering awards ceremony. As part of the competition he designed a menu earlier this year which he cooked and presented to a panel of judges, which included this year’s Chesterfield Food Hero, Chris Mapp, Owner of The Tickled Trout.
  Accepting the award, Parkin said: “When I heard my name get called out, I was absolutely thrilled. I was confident I’d done well in the cooking element of the
  
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• Facebook beats Instagram as restaurant owners’ preferred social media marketing platform

  15-11-2019 11:07
  Givex, a cloud-based operations management solution, spoke to 202 people in a senior management position in a restaurant to understand their business priorities. A third said they would invest in sales and marketing activities on Facebook and Instagram.
  Also one third of those surveyed stated they were planning to develop loyalty programmes. The most popular suggestion was discounts (48%), followed by a free meal or drink (40%) and 21% said exclusive invites to events. Over one quarter of those
  
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• Christmas carol service to raise money for Hospitality Action and The Clink Charity

  15-11-2019 09:59
  The carol service features a main address from Reverend Jonathan Aitken, readings and poems by ‘key’ hospitality figures.
  Hospitality Action is a charity that supports the UK’s Hospitality industry workers when they find themselves in a crisis. A £10 donation covers the cost of a trip to Santa’s Grotto for a hospitality family facing financial hardship this Christmas.
  The Clink Charity offers prisoners the chance to learn new skills of how to cook and prepare food.
  
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• Fun Friday Food Facts 2019 Vol. 40

  15-11-2019 09:22
  The Bible’s forbidden fruit was never explicitly stated as an apple.
  Hákarl is the national dish of Iceland. It is shark meat that has been fermented and left to dry for several months.
  Humans have hunted and eaten animals to extinction including the mammoth, moa and the passenger pigeon.
  You can eat banana peels (it makes up 35% of the fruit but it is mostly thrown away). A banana peel contains potassium, dietary fiber and amino acids.
  Calcium, found in milk, cheese and soya beans,
  
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• Aramark Northern Europe launches Plant Market at client sites

  15-11-2019 06:00
  Plant-based eating is growing as research shows 79% of Generation Z are ‘eager to go meatless’ and vegan dishes saw a growth of 237% in 2018.  
  Aramark is aiming to promote this offering at all of its client sites throughout the UK and Ireland, including in the public sector.
  Plant Market places a strong emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes while still offering a small quantity of animal protein to maximise both flavour and nutritional value.
  Gayler, said: &l
  
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• Aramark Northern Europe launches Plant Market

  15-11-2019 06:00
  Plant-based eating is growing as research shows 79% of Generation Z are ‘eager to go meatless’ and vegan dishes saw a growth of 237% in 2018.  
  Aramark is aiming to promote this offering at all of its client sites throughout the UK and Ireland, including in the public sector.
  Plant Market places a strong emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes while still offering a small quantity of animal protein to maximise both flavour and nutritional value.
  Gayler, said: &l
  
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• The Soil Association launches manifesto for the 2019 General Election

  14-11-2019 10:50
  The Soil Association priorities include tackling climate change, restoring nature and soil health, along with trying to normalise healthy diets.
  One of the key parts to The Soil Association manifesto is to use government-buying power to make healthy and sustainable diets the norm in the public sector (schools and hospitals). The Soil Association wants to learn from Denmark’s 60% and France’s 50% organic food procurement.
  The Soil Association is calling for children to be given a &lsq
  
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• Soil Association launches manifesto for 2019 General Election

  14-11-2019 10:50
  The Soil Association priorities include tackling climate change, restoring nature and soil health, along with trying to normalise healthy diets.
  One of the key parts to The Soil Association manifesto is to use government-buying power to make healthy and sustainable diets the norm in the public sector (schools and hospitals). The Soil Association wants to learn from Denmark’s 60% and France’s 50% organic food procurement.
  The Soil Association is calling for children to be given a &lsq
  
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• Subway opens store at West Middlesex Hospital with ISS

  14-11-2019 06:00
  The new store is located in the food hall at West Middlesex Hospital giving people access to a menu of freshly prepared Subs, wraps and salads.
  Subway currently has 15 stores at hospital locations throughout the UK and Ireland.
  Colin Hughes, country director for Subway UK and Ireland, said: "We are delighted to see ISS open its second Subway store in the UK, strengthening our partnership further. ISS shares the Subway passion for serving quality, delicious food, along with a key focus on providi
  
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• Hospitality bosses failing to acknowledge employee feedback

  14-11-2019 06:00
  The research found 100% of bosses in the UK hospitality sector claim to act on employee feedback but only 67% of employees agree. Also the research showed a growing sense of disconnection from people under the age of 24 with half believing their feedback does not lead to action.
  Mark Williams, senior vice president product at People First, said: “Trouble is brewing because although employers say they put feedback into action, it doesn’t ring true with workforces.
  &ldqu
  
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• British hospitality workers lack food safety, says research

  14-11-2019 06:00
  This is a concern for customers with allergies and intolerances. There have been several allergy-related deaths in recent years including Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who died after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger baguette.
  The research also found over half of hospitality leaders (53%) think that UK hospitality staff lack the work ethic of their European colleagues.  
  The eight ‘Art of Hospitality’ skills that hospitality managers believed UK workers were behind on
  
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• Next government urged to step in to curb fast food on high streets

  13-11-2019 10:24
  The charity has warned that local planning policies to combat obesity are ‘already under attack’ and that existing policies still don’t go far enough.
  The report, Hot Food Takeaways, recommends that the next government explores options such as restricting sales of unhealthy food to children on the school run.
  It also calls on the next Government to require planning policies to restrict new hot food takeaways near schools, following evidence from some local authorities that even
  
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• First Mile launches recycling service for long-life cartons

  13-11-2019 09:21
  RecycleBox is a low-cost courier service offered to businesses and consumers that can be filled with hard-to-recycle items.
  Long-life food and drink cartons are used to package plant-based milk, chilled soups and fruit juices. The Cartons are made from paper, plastic and aluminium, which are layered together. All three materials can be recycled but the challenge is separating them.
  First Mile’s new RecycleBox service will send these cartons to the UK’s dedicated beverage carton recyc
  
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• Support hospitality to provide half a million more jobs, says industry trade body

  13-11-2019 06:00
  Statistics published by the Office for National Statistics show that hospitality businesses created nearly 46,000 jobs in the last year, nearly 1-in-6 across the UK, and half a million since 2009.
  UKHospitality has called on politicians to provide support as a priority to ensure the continued growth of the industry.
  UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: "Despite some difficult trading conditions, rising costs and struggles on high streets, hospitality has still added half a mill
  
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• NSMW kicks off in style with roadshow

  13-11-2019 06:00
  Running from 11-15 November, the week aims to celebrate all that is good about school food.
  Beginning on Monday at Highfield Community Primary School in Chester, the NSMW van will make its way across the country, ending at Stratford Manor Hotel on Friday at the annual Autumn Seminar.  
  At its visits in each region, it will be encouraging people to #tasteforyourself and showcase the school meals in each area.
  LACA’s national chair Stephen Forster said: "LACA's National School Meals Wee
  
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• Six in ten catering professionals feel isolated in the workplace, research reveals

  12-11-2019 10:48
  New research from independent jobs board CV-Library also found that a further 62.5% attribute loneliness to having nothing in common with their colleagues. 
  The study, which surveyed 2,000 British professionals, also reveals that 79.2% of catering workers felt that people’s attitudes towards them changed after getting a promotion, with a further 20.9% claiming they lost friends in the process. 
  Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, said: “Humans are naturally sociable
  
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• University of Leeds removes one million pieces of single-use plastic

  12-11-2019 10:38
  Last year the University of Leeds made a pledge to eliminate sing-use plastics by 2023.
  Dr Louise Ellis, director of sustainability at Leeds University, said: “It’s hard to believe it has been a year since we made the #2023plasticfree pledge. This is a fantastic achievement – colleagues across the University have really taken the plastic-free pledge on and accomplished some brilliant things.
  “Some great progress has been made, but we know there are more challenges th
  
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• Public Sector Catering Expo doors open in one week

  12-11-2019 10:02
  The inaugural event is FREE to attend and includes live demonstrations, an opportunity to network with industry colleagues and over 100 suppliers.  
  The aim of the event is to bring together buyers, influencers and decision makers across the entire industry.
  Within the public sector almost three billion meals are served each year to people in schools, hospitals, universities, prisons, care homes and the Armed Forces.
  Fearnley-Whittingstall will present his keynote address on Tuesday 19
  
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• JJ Foodservice wins IGD Supply Chain Excellence Award

  12-11-2019 09:12
  Nearly 500 food and drink consumer goods colleagues attended the IGD Awards to celebrate the industry achievements over the last 12 months.
  Mushtaque Ahmed, chief operating officer at JJ Foodservice, said: "This is an incredible achievement for our team – we would like to thank the judges and everyone involved in developing the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) feature, which has helped to dramatically improve service for our customers." 
  JJ Foodservice received the accolade for it
  
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• New standards introduced for British barn egg producers

  12-11-2019 06:00
  The British Lion Quality Code of Practice prohibits the use of intensive systems such as the combi system, which are deemed too intensive. It includes measures such as maximum stocking density of 16.5 birds per m2, two enrichments per 1,000 birds, a maximum colony size of 6,000 birds and superior nest boxes to encourage nesting.
  Andrew Joret, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, said: “We are delighted to have had such a constructive dialogue with CIWF which has allowed us to
  
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• Crussh announces partnership with The Felix Project

  12-11-2019 06:00
  As part of the Christmas partnership Crussh employees will volunteer to deliver surplus food from Crussh outlets to those in need over the festive period.
  The smoothie will be sold at £4.25 and contains frozen yoghurt, coconut water, blueberries, pineapple, banana and ginger.
  Helen Harrison, brand director for Crussh, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the Felix Project as part of our Christmas campaign this year. We’ve been working with the charity for some time on food
  
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• Crussh announces Christmas partnership with The Felix Project

  12-11-2019 06:00
  As part of the Christmas partnership Crussh employees will volunteer to deliver surplus food from Crussh outlets to those in need over the festive period.
  The smoothie will be sold at £4.25 and contains frozen yoghurt, coconut water, blueberries, pineapple, banana and ginger.
  Helen Harrison, brand director for Crussh, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the Felix Project as part of our Christmas campaign this year. We’ve been working with the charity for some time on food
  
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• #RDA gives Compass the VIP treatment at the O2 arenahttp://dlvr.it/RJ36nf 

  11-11-2019 12:38 via twitter.com
  #RDA gives Compass the VIP treatment at the O2 arenahttp://dlvr.it/RJ36nf 
  
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• What we thought was our Grand Finale vote on Fav Ingredient of all time ended up a draw Who's up for another round and any ingredient suggestions welcomed https://twitter.com/HandCNews/status/1192845956104040450 …

  11-11-2019 12:31 via twitter.com
  What we thought was our Grand Finale vote on Fav Ingredient of all time ended up a drawWho's up for another round and any ingredient suggestions welcomed https://twitter.com/HandCNews/status/1192845956104040450 …
  
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• #Host 2019 attracted more than 200,000 visitorshttp://dlvr.it/RJ34gl 

  11-11-2019 12:23 via twitter.com
  #Host 2019 attracted more than 200,000 visitorshttp://dlvr.it/RJ34gl 
  
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• Ed’s view: Connecting #connectivityhttp://dlvr.it/RJ32Td 

  11-11-2019 12:09 via twitter.com
  Ed’s view: Connecting #connectivityhttp://dlvr.it/RJ32Td 
  
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