Friday Five: The week's top news
Neil Rankin hits out at Ramsay's cocaine comments
Gordon Ramsay is back on ITV with his new series tackling drugs, which saw him test the staff and customer toilets in his own restaurants for cocaine - but not everyone is a fan of the show. Temper chef Neil Rankin criticised Ramsay as a 'terrible f--cking ambassador for the industry' and said he should be showing a more positive side to working in kitchens. "The industry took a big hit with the tipping debate, immigration issues, and now we're all 'on drugs' according to Gordon," Rankin told BigHospitality.
Is the UK losing its appetite for gourmet burgers?
The owner of Byron is considering putting the business up for sale in the latest sign that the UK burger boom has passed its peak. Its main high street rival Gourmet Burger Kitchen also confirmed it is scaling back expansion plans following disappointing sales.
Meatcure down to one site after closing four restaurants
In the regional market smaller burger chains aren't faring much better. Meatcure is now left with just its original Market Harborough site open after closing the last of its other four restaurants this month. The news follows the collapse of Handmade Burger Co in July.
Hawksmoor's sister restaurant 'goes vegan' for November
While Hawksmoor might be known for its meat-centric menus, its sister brand Foxlow is launching a vegan lunch and dinner menu from 1 November. Owners Will Beckett and Huw Gott say the new direction is to reflect how its customers actually eat on a regular basis.
Lieveta is the first overseas restaurant to make its UK Deliveroo Editions debut
The Italian-based pizzeria has become the first restaurant to expand outside its country of origin through the online ordering giant. The group is now offering its pizzas in London through Deliveroo's 'dark kitchens'.
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