Recently in hospitality Category

Elior development chef Mark Crowe has admitted to having nightmares after seeing the contestants on The Apprentice attempt last week's catering challenge.

Certainly it turned into a bad dream for boys' team leader and hospitality worker Rocky Andrews owner of Fatso's Filling Station, who was fired as a result of his team's efforts.

Crowe told Kitchen Rat: "As a development chef for Avenance, we have many prestigious City companies as our clients and the challenges facing the The Apprentice contestants in last night's episode were very familiar.

"Our City clients demand and rightly expect the very best standards of food and service when entertaining their guests. Last week's programme highlighted just why this should be left to the professionals. I am still having nightmares about the second-rate canapés the teams served, and I certainly won't be using any of them on my new summer hospitality menus!"

Nor will Sir Alan Sugar, one suspects.

The Apprentice Catering challenge>>

Hospitality hopefulls escape the boardroom in the first Apprentice>>

New tourism minister Barbara Follett is to be interviewed by Caterer, and we are inviting comment from you.

If you have a question for Mrs Follett, then please feel free to enter it in the comment space below.

It could be to do with the amount of money allocated to the tourism industry. Perhaps you feel that it could be better directed, or that insufficient is given over to promoting Britain abroad.

Or maybe you feel there that Mrs Follett will find it hard to improve on the work of her predecessor - how can she keep up the high standards set?

Perhaps you would like to ask Mrs Follett exactly how much time will be devoted to tourism, as opposed to other aspects of her role - culture and the creative industries - for which she is also a minister.

Or you may have reservations about whether the most will be made of the Olympics in 2012.

In summary, we'd like you send us questions, however wide-ranging, sycophantic or critical, and we'll put them to Mrs Follett. This is your chance to have a say - so make the most of it.

Barbara Follett becomes new tourism minister >>

The Government should show industry support, says Good Hotel Guide >>

Take a peek at this new design for a conference centre in Utrecht. Wall-to-wall carpets, fake brass fittings and mock oak panelling it is not.

The look is from architecture and design consultancy 123DV, and is part of the Jaarbeurs complex in Holland, with eight meeting rooms, plus a main congress hall that holds 800 people. The roof there is transparent, so it feels like you're meeting under the wide open sky. Oh, the romance of it all as you scribble notes on management change strategy.

Principal Hotels rebrands after Hayley Conference Centres buy >>

Compass Group retains contract with the Wellcome Trust >>

In November, Kitchen Rat revealed that The Hotel du Vin in Brighton was launching a free drinks Happy Hour promotion for three consecutive Wednesdays, starting 3 December.

House beer, wines and spirits will all be free between 5.30 - 6.30pm for three Wednesdays, but with two caveats:

Punters will have to dress up at Father Christmas (or an Elf) and bring a children's gift with them, worth about a tenner.

The hotel will donate all the gifts to a local children's hospital in time for Christmas Eve.

Phil Lewis, general manager of the Brighton Hotel du Vin, has now got in touch with a progress report.

"The first two Wednesdays have gone quite well. The first week the whole housekeeping team dressed in full Santa costume for the whole day and raised £350 for the local Argus newspaper appeal, before joining six other Santas in the bar at 5pm.

"The second week we had about 15 Santas show up from as far afield as London and Cheltenham all bringing with them gifts for disadvantaged children.

"We have one more week to go (17th), so fingers crossed we will be able to improve on the two weeks gone by."

Good work chaps. 

You'd expect tougher economic times to be hitting all aspects of the economy, but not the classic Eastern European weekend away, apparently.

British people on stag and hen weekends are still choosing Budapest (pictured), Bratislava, Riga, Warsaw and Krakow as their favoured destination - and in numbers.

Stag Republic, a UK-based stag organiser of stays away in these parts is reporting bookings higher this year than at the same time in 2007.

According to its managing director Josey Walker "People may be making cutbacks because of the credit crunch, but they are saving up for their weekends away."

The average group size of stag or hen parties heading abroad has dropped, and more basic hotels are being booked as well. But people are looking for more activity-based trips away, such as quad biking and pistol shooting. That beats whiling away the hours hassling the local talent, at least.

Sophisticated guests opt for independent hotels >>

Budget hotels show resilience to credit crunch >>

Qualification awarding body City & Guilds has some new research out on careers, ahead of today's Queen's Speech.

The headline to the accompanying press release reads: Hospitality industry among most recommended careers in the UK.

Brilliant, it would appear the message that the hospitality industry is a great place to work pushed by the likes of Springboard is finally getting through to people.

But then we read the standfirst on the press release, which said: But study reveals widespread dissatisfaction with overall standard of careers advice.

Bugger.

BaxterStorey's Linda Halliday wins Springboard outstanding contribution award>>

Chefs amongst the happiest workers in the UK>>

City & Guilds>>

Hospitality skills news round-up>>

Who hasn't made the occasional Freudian slip?

The mind wanders, you're pre-occupied and before you know it you've said something rather embarrassing.

Still, Kitchen Rat is slightly worried about the founders of one hospitality company who admitted that the occasional slip of the tongue isn't quite as occasional as they'd like.

For example, at an induction for new staff one of the firm's founders meant to say we don't like short cuts, but instead said something that suggested they don't like vertically challenged people who bear a resemblance to female private parts.

Not the sort of introduction to a company you're likely to forget, but one has to feel for the staff member at the same operator who was told in a letter that their salary would be reviewed anally.

Might we suggest hiring a proof reader ahead of any discussions on the affects of the company's fiscal policy?