A regular feature now on the Alliance Online blog, here are some of the latest happenings in the catering industry.
Peter is Top Restaurant Manager
Peter Avis - 2009 Restaurant Manager of the Year
The winner of the 2009 UK Restaurant Manager of the Year is Peter Avis of the Babylon at the Roof Gardens in London. The runner up was Mark Bevan of the Chester Grosvenor, Cheshire.
The competition set out to find the person with the strongest financial acumen, good management skills as well as market and product knowledge and a thorough understanding of the hospitality industry and current trends in catering.
The six finalists were asked to submit and present a business plan for a restaurant concept including a profit and loss account, method of marketing and promoting the restaurant and plans for staff recruitment and training.
Flying the BBQ Flag
The Best of British BBQ team is preparing to ‘fly the flag’ at three key catering contests in America and Canada this year.
First is the I Love Barbecue Festival in July held at Lake Placid, New York from where the members drive northwards across the border for the Annual Canadian BBQ Championship in Barrie.
The team comprises captain Mathew Shropshall, full time lecturer at Birmingham College of Food, Ben Bartlett, food development manager for Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises and Viv Harvey, Master Butcher and meat industry consultant.
Matthew says “The team is now into its fifth year and I am eager to see how our newly-developed sauces, rubs and recipes will fair this year”.
Mixed Feedback from Recession
The brunt of the economic slowdown is being felt by half the top companies in the catering industry but, surprisingly, more than a quarter have been largely unaffected, maintaining their financial strength, margins and some even managing to increase sales.
These findings were the result of a snapshot of how the market is changing as a result of the recession in a survey of the UK’s top 1000 restaurants.
Web Enhanced
Industry group Scotland Food & Drink has enhanced its online information hub (www.scotlandfoodanddrink.org) to create more information about the organisation, its priorities and member benefits packages.
Since it’s launch in 2003, the web has provided access to key resources to support company growth in areas such as sales, marketing, logistics, skills development and hygiene.
