Recently in marketing Category

The Savoy has confirmed the news we've all known about for some time - it has delayed its re-opening until 2010.

On the phone to the hotel's general manager to get a quote on the story, one of Kitchen Rat's colleagues was rather taken aback to hear the choice of hold music.

Thriller by Michael Jackson. Yes, the Michael Jackson who sadly passed away just a few hours ago in LA.

Was it deliberate we wondered?

Probably not if the reaction was anything to go by. "You're joking? We'll have to look at that..."

Perhaps they should look at the Man in the Mirror and Beat It before making such Bad and Dangerous musical choices. There will be Blood on the Dancefloor.

We may be in recessionary times but people are still keen to sniff out a good business opportunity - even those that aren't really there.

On April Fool's Day, property agent Davis Coffer Lyons (DCL) "announced" that it had been instructed to roll out 1,000 new sites for a new edible insect group called 'Love Bug' that had been very successful in the States.

If alarm bells were not ringing about the name (or the number of sites), then the quote should really have given things away.

Brandon Elmon, head of agency acquisitions, said: "We definitely think this concept has legs and will fly. In five years' time, there will be swarms of them."

While a number of clients contacted DCL to commend the joke, a "substantial" number fell for it and were e-mailing for further details, such as size requirements and locations.

One property developer even suggested that the concept would be a perfect fit for a new complex it was building. A DCL agent quietly pointed out there was no such concept after all.

And, Kitchen Rat''s mole at DCL tells us, people are still ringing up and asking about it, despite this announcement on the company website.

Which begs the question - should someone actually create the concept?

Well you know you have arrived when the nation's best selling daily newspaper gives you a mention (and underneath a picture of Dolly Parton's best assets as well).

The Sun picked up on Caterer's interview with tourism minister Barbara Follett, in which she said cathedral cities were her favourite UK holiday.

The paper's The Whip column points out that the minister - who is married to top selling novelist Ken Follett - also owns a villa on Jumby Bay, near Antigua, a private, 300-acre island and millionaire's resort where house prices start at £20m and a Pina Colada at the beach bar sets you back £15.  

And nice of The Sun to get the name right as well. Not Hotel & Caterer or Catering & Hotelkeeping.

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 >>

Michael Vaughan, the former England cricket captain, is believed to be at the centre of a power struggle between current captain Kevin Pietersen and team coach Peter Moores but he is not letting that get in the way of business.

Vaughan, who plays for Yorkshire, has been appointed as head of corporate leisure for local property developer the Skelwith Group, which is currently overseeing more £130m worth of hotel development.

The cricketer is already an investor in the £100m buy-to-let Flaxby Country Club resort near Harrogate and has now become a more formal part of the business. He promised to use his "contacts and experience" to help the company grow.

But Vaughan - whose proudest moment was lifting the Ashes in 2005 - insisted that he was still focused on getting back in the England side.

"I'm still committed to get back into the England team and have another crack at Australia next year but this is a fantastic opportunity for the future," he said.

"I've been involved with the Skelwith Group for over six months and am very excited to formalise my relationship with them." 

Let's hope he will knock them for six and not get caught up on a sticky wicket.

It seems that Heston Blumenthal, everyone's favourite three Michelin-starred chef/scientist, isn't off our television screens at the moment.

After an appearance on BBC2's irreverant music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks earlier this month which left Heston shuffling nervously in his seat, our Heston turned up on Sky Sports' Saturday morning show Soccer AM over the weekend.

Heston - a huge fan of nouveau riche Islington side Arsenal - turned up on Saturday and proved he's perhaps better off in the kitchen when he missed the target in Soccer AM's 'Road to Rome' segment (but then, to be fair, so did everyone else).

Kitchen Rat got to thinking about what other TV shows Heston could make guest appearances on.

A stint on Location, Location, Location perhaps? "I'm looking for another large house in Bray, with a massive kitchen and fireproof walls"...

How about Cash in the Attic? I have found this old bunsen burner - how much could I flog it for on eBay?"...

Perhaps we could come up with a new format- Challenge Heston - where contestants have to come up with even more palate-challenging food concepts than bacon and egg ice-cream. Or How to Cook Good Naked, with regular guests Gok Wan and Jamie Oliver. 

Kitchen Rat considered a concept that would see Heston being filmed as he attempted to save Little Chef but decided it was too far fetched...

The news that the Melton Mowbray pork pie is to receive EU protection against imitators from outside the region is welcome, but we've got a long way to go to match other countries in Europe when it comes to regional produce.

There are 170 regionally recognised products in Italy, compared to 37 in Britain, and cumberland sausages or Cornish pasties have yet to make an impact on the EU regulators, let alone Bath chap and Morecambe Bay shrimps.

As from early next year the new legal status will put the Melton Mowbray pork pie alongside Italy's Parma ham, and gorgonzola cheese.

"It is one of the few products where the balance of power lies with producers rather than supermarkets," said Matthew O'Callaghan, chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association.

But Britain has lots of catching up to do, and some would even question the complexity of flavour of a pork pie versus the time and effort that goes into making Parma ham, or stilton versus gorgonzola. Are we really up to the same standard?

Northern Food to fight on in Melton Mowbray pie name battle >>

Pork pie makers to get decision by Christmas >>

We all love a white Christmas and one hotelier in Scotland is so convinced that it'll snow next week, he's promised to give guests a £50 refund if it doesn't.

Andrew Cox, owner of the Loch Kinord Hotel in Dinnet, Aberdeenshire, is offering guests a three-night festive deal that includes bed and breakfast, Christmas lunch and a white winter wonderland on 25 December.

He is offering the package for the third year, reports the Daily Record, having been left nearly £3000 out of pocket due to no-snow refunds over the past two years.

But Andrew and wife Jenny hope their luck will change this year. "We started it because we hadn't had snow for a couple of years and thought we must be due a white Christmas," Andrew said.

"We just thought the odds were going to be in our favour. But it hasn't worked like that, so it would be good if it comes this year. It's always quite nice to have a bit of snow for Christmas."

With the credit crunch and falling hotel rates making things tough for Scottish hoteliers, let's hope Andrew's wish comes true this Christmas.

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. 

The occupancy tax on hotels in the state of California isn't the sexiest of subjects.

It's hard to explain you've got a great deal for guests that wipes that the additional payment, even when there's a deal that makes sense as it shows you're on the side of the customer. Who wants to pay more in order that the government benefits?

So JDV Hotels has come up with an offer that wipes out the additional amount until April 15 at all of their 30 properties.

Plus they've come up with a natty new video to promote it, bringing in names such as Al Capone, Richard Pryor and Buster Keaton for extra heft, and amusement value.

Take a peek to see what they're going on about.

Langham opens first hotel in California >>