February 2008 Archives

News of my demise is greatly exaggerated. Well in the case of VisitScotland.com it is.

The website is relaunching with a new lick of paint this April and the Scotsman duly ran an opinion piece on this announcement last week.

It highlights some major grumbles the hospitality industry north of the border has had with the service to date but generally gives the revisions the benefit of the doubt.

However, it appears something has got lost in translation if a slightly desperate phone call received yesterday from the VisitScotland.com executive office is anything to go by.

Hotelmarketing.com has picked up a feed from the the Scotsman and run a fragment of the story.

However, the headline of the article reads “VisitScotland.com to close shop”, which has resulted in a barrage of calls to the VisitScotland.com team and increasingly desperate attempts by them to contact the owners of the aforementioned website and get it changed.

So do VisitScotland.com, it’s very much still there.

Scotsman article in full>>

VisitScotland.com launches on-line booking service for operators>>

VisitScotland could be doing better>>

They really are dancing for joy at contract caterer Bartlett Mitchell (BM).

Having won Caterer’s Best Places to Work in Hospitality title in their sector last week, the team at BM have also landed the Royal Thames Yacht Club in salubrious Knightsbridge as a client.

Reputed to be the oldest club of its type in the UK, the London base has two bars, reading rooms, a restaurant called the Coffee Room and “cabins” for those needing a place to weather any storm (or simply sleep).

This recent tide of success has had such a profound effect on BM creative director David James – a past UK champion Irish dancer no less – that he hasn’t been able to still his dancing feet since.

Kitchen Rat hears that the “King of the Step” even took part in an Irish Cahlie at a recent BM bash, showing his talents lie not just within catering but in Michael Flattery’s arena.

No confirmation as yet whether the routine will become part of all future tenders by the caterer, although it certainly sounds more fun then sitting through yet another PowerPoint presentation.

Malmaison and Hotel du Vin scoops two Best Places to Work awards>>

Wendy Bartlett, director, Bartlett Mitchell: My life in hospitality>>

Bartlett Mitchell scoops £2.5m City contract>>

Bartlett Mitchell website>>

Kitchen Rat has learnt that contract caterer Aramark has won a deal to cater for business information publisher Bloomberg at its Finsbury Square offices in London from next month.

The multi-million pound contract, previously run by Elior's Avenance, is operated with a heavy subsidy from the employer with staff able to help themselves to free refreshments and food.

It's a huge boon for the caterer, which last July won a mammoth £15m a year deal to cater for the BBC in London.

Aramark to cater at all HBOS sites>>

It seems that Bono “I’m King of the World” has failed to impress his opponents for his plans to expand the Clarence Hotel in Dublin.

Michael Smith, a former chairman at An Taisce, an independent planning watchdog, attended the U2 frontman's wine and dine woo-fest last September. He described the Irish singer’s plans as “an old fashioned money-driven, anti-environmental exploit".

What, Bono? Anti-AIDS, anti-war, peace-and-love-loving Bono? Surely not.

We’ve seen it all before, chaotic kitchens, abusive managers and incompetent waiting staff and there’s not much else Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares could show to shock us when it comes to bad service.

But an Italian restaurant in Staffordshire seems to have done the trick and has taken things further than even the worst scenario we’ve watched on TV. For after a group of diners complained about poor service, the staff at Joe Delucci’s restaurant in Lichfield left an unbelievably abusive and sexually-explicit message on their bill.

The Fat Duck’s Heston Blumenthal is thought to be turning his back on the BBC to join fellow celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall over at Channel 4.

The three-Michelin-starred chef, who most recently presented the BBC’s In Search of Perfection, is understood to be in talks to sign a two-year deal with Channel 4 that could be worth up to £1m.

It’s said the BBC was keen to keep Heston, offering him a two-year deal for around £500,000 but Channel 4 is understood to have trumped the contract, offering him around £300,000 a year for a recipe development deal alone, with extra cash for presenting duties on top of that.

Needless to say, the move would make Channel 4’s line up of celebrity chefs rather impressive, leaving the Beeb with a brigade of somewhat less prominent TV chefs. But I guess there are always domestic queens Delia Smith and Nigella Lawson to keep the BBC's viewers on the edge of their seats.

Fat Duck website

Delia slams celebrity chefs

Kitchen Rat can reveal another sordid, and one suspects final, chapter in the curious tale of Ortega’s five-legged donkey.

Those with good memories will remember the launch of Ortega back in July 2006, a stab by Café Rouge owner Tragus at a Spanish brand to take on the likes of La Tasca (since snapped up by pub company Laurel).

A lot of work went into the menu and creating an “authentic” look for the restaurant chain, which now numbers seven units.

As part of the décor for the first Ortega in Harlow, Essex, a cute miniature donkey was installed on one of the dining room’s shelves, which caused a few red faces amongst the opening team after they realised the “little fella” really wasn’t, hence the five-legs.

As a footnote to this curious story, we hear that the well endowed donkey obviously found favour with at least one diner in particular as he has now been pinched, almost certainly by a complete ass.

Tragus boss confident consumers will still spend>>

Ortega website>>

Tragus Holdings to pilot a Spanish restaurant brand>>

Kitchen Rat is heartened to hear that the time for direct action in the hospitality industry has not yet passed.

Tom Allchurch, the man behind healthy fast food chain Fresh Italy, made the pages of Caterer a few years back when he launched a campaign calling for the tax system to be used in the style of tobacco and petrol duty to steer punters towards healthy options.

Allchurch trialled at his own shops linking the Food Standards Agency’s traffic light system - green for healthy, red for the stuff that’s nice but bad for you – to tax, with green items attracting a 0% rate and red items attracting the full 17.5% VAT.

So when he was at a London station recently and spied a familiar face – none other then schools minister Ed Balls – he bowled over and asked the politician straight out: “Do you understand the tax system when it comes to VAT on food?”

The startled minister, clutching his purchase from Upper Crust, conceded that he did not.

Sensing an opportunity, Allchurch made his case for VAT on unhealthy food and tax relief on light bites, which Balls said he’d look into.

However, despite his valiant efforts Allchurch is apparently yet to receive the green light from Government.

Caterers hail VAT victory on sarnies>>

Fresh Italy chain to expand in the New Year>>

Fresh Italy says no fat, no VAT>>

Opinion: No fat, no VAT>>

Yes, it’s National Chip Week (11th to 18 February) and although the potato staple may not be as welcome as it once was on school menus, who out there doesn’t have a soft spot for the humble chip?

Well, apparently a fair few of us if the British Potato Council (BPC) is to be believed.

The potato quango is happily shouting about chip-loving celebrity Keith Chegwin joining forces with organisers this week to encourage the nation to ‘Love Chips’! .

The supporting press is being presented with the sort of forced enthusiasm/desperation usually reserved for struggling marketing types trying to sell a crap comedy to a sceptical audience by use of the term “hilarious” in the blurb.

Hey, we might be opting for the occasional lighter bite and checking to see if our fish accompaniment is from sustainable sources, but we’ve hardly forgotten the chip (although Spud U Like we perhaps should).

Mutton renaissance maybe, perfect summer Perry certainly and why does no one have Spotted Dick? But chips? I don’t think we need mourn their passing just yet.

Tristan Mason, head chef at D&D London’s Orrery, has apparently left the restaurant, Kitchen Rat has learnt.

The former Michelin-starred chef only joined the Marylebone-based restaurant last summer from the Hare in Lambourn, Berkshire (after it was sold). D&D London has remained tight-lipped about the rumour and we’re not sure where Tristan is heading to next.

The news is pretty dire for Orrery, which lost its Michelin star this year after having held it since 1999. The restaurant has had a bit of a bad run with retaining its head chefs in recent years – after André Garrett and Allan Pickett both left less than a year after each other to join the Galvin brothers’ restaurants.

Holroyd Howe is dead! Long live Holroyd Howe! Actually despite the December takeover by BaxterStorey Kitchen Rat hears talk in the industry that the demise of the Holroyd Howe name is premature and it's set to live on.

Word is Holroyd Howe is going to become a brand catering exclusively for independent schools leaving the state sector to the group's CaterLink run by Tony McKenna.

Cater Link wins Islington school meals contract>>

No honour amongst thieves?

Pet owners around the world are a strange bunch at the best of times and the British public perhaps more so.

Although Kitchen Rat will concede that for many hard working types a pet can have a calming effect, there are clearly many of the great unwashed (people not pets) that would benefit from more human contact.

Don’t believe us? Well check out this list of holiday enquires pulled together by accommodation booking website iknow-uk, which shows just how barking some people are.

“I am coming up to Halifax to look at a yearling filly and I would like a double bed. I am a celiac so cannot eat anything that the horse can eat.”

“My pet ferret needs to accompany me, he is house trained and will have all his own bedding.”

Apparently the website received 132,000 pet related booking enquiries last year, which means hotels and B&Bs willing to caterer for the occasional odd request could profit, although pet insurance has got to be a must.

Pet friendly hotels growing in popularity in USA>>

Glass eye, ashes and pet cat left behind at Travelodge>>

Want to look like a prize plonker when asleep? Well now you can courtesy of budget hotel chain Travelodge.

In a nod to Woody Allen’s Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask Travelodge are offering guests the no doubt prized opportunity to dress up like human sperms before getting under the sheets.

Actually – here’s the science part – Travelodge says its hi-tech PJs are therapeutic and made from a revolutionary fabric called Dermasilk, which feels like a second skin.

Apparently the garments, made from silk, have the benefits of controlling body odour, which is no doubt a great relief if you suffer from sweaty night terrors.

From a security point of view Kitchen Rat suspects anyone that breaks into your room will likely run a mile when they see you, and there are obvious contraception control benefits for couples to be had from the hi-tech PJs despite their suggestive look.

We wait, as always, with bated breath for Travelodge’s next innovation.

Slumming it in the city>>

Budget hotel spoiler>>

Motivational sleeping with Travelodge>>

Premier Inn to launch £9m advertising campaign>>

Sometimes it's important to communicate your vision. On other occasions knowing when to keep it to the point is priceless.

Exciting things are happening at Birmingham’s NEC, not least £10m of investment in its catering, and what better way to illustrate this improvement than with food itself.

As part of this it was the turn of the group’s outside event catering arm Amadeus to take its turn in the spotlight last week.

Clients and associates were invited to a swanky dinner at picturesque Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire.

Keen no doubt to tuck in and enjoy the perfectly matched wines courtesy of wine merchant Bibendum, NEC Group executive Paul Thandi cut to the chase in his pre-dinner welcome.

“18 months ago we set ourselves a strategy for the company, which was to be the market leader in catering. As part of this we today relaunch Amadeus. Some will tell you it’s all about sweating group assets but I believe it’s simply about bloody, good food.”

[Which it was].

Tough choice eh? This catchy tagline, used by the Bell, a Hungry Horse pub in Yeovil, has got one Caterer reader hot under the collar.

Our man in Somerset - a hospitality industry veteran - now works in the fitness and leisure sector and reckons the marketing schpiel, used on a banner outside the pub, is an unjustified attack on his new industry.

Hungry Horse owner Greene King insisted the "ditch the gym" tag was "tongue-in-cheek" but the source says this isn't good enough.

"If the fitness industry was to say 'ditch the pub', the pub industry would be up in arms," he told the Rat. "The hospitality is getting abuse from all sides on health issues anyway and this doesn't help."

What do you think? Does our man have a point or is he over reacting? Let us know

Contract caterers are generally an honourable bunch (aside from the occasional bout of well-humoured bitching about each other).

However, it’s also a given that caterers phone each other’s clients to keep in touch and “see how it’s going”.

Still, Kitchen Rat was mightily amused to hear that as one well known foodservice consultancy hammers out a code of conduct for the industry, which has popular support, one cheeky business is, shall we say, up to its old tricks of stretching the truth.

Misinformation may be a useful tactic but it’s not entirely professional.

Unsurprisingly, we hear Bartlett Mitchell (BM) co-founder Wendy Bartlett is on the warpath after it emerged that the contract caterer in question has had its sales team telling potential clients that BM is about to be sold.

Very naughty.

Apparently the very same contract caterer was last year putting a similar rumour out in the marketplace about Midlands based Catermasters.

Although it might be hard to convince the management at pub company Mitchells & Butlers so, the credit crunch isn't bad news for everyone.

City Road Travelodge on the edge of London's financial district is doing a roaring trade as bonus deprived City workers and visiting bankers opt for somewhat less decadent accommodation than normal and check-in at the budget brand.

Of course there's only so far you can push a depressed City type, stripped suit and all, and although the hotel's rates start at a very keen £30 this newly enforced fiscal prudence has not extended to the booze being knocked back to drown sorrows.

Out has gone the Travelodge's middle of the road Cava and in has come, by request, Louis Roederer Cristal at £250 pound a pop. It's apparently flying off the shelves.

So more out to lunch than credit crunch.

Board at Mitchells & Butlers under fire after £274m loss>>

Hedging and Mitchells & Butlers explained>>

Budget hotel spoiler>>