Friday Five: the week's top news
- The Sunday Times reported that chef Dan Doherty was found guilty of "misconduct" at his London pub The Royal Oak last year after reportedly sexually harassing female members of staff. Both the pub and catering company Rhubarb, which Doherty was consulting for, cut ties with the chef this week, and he will not be returning to judge series two of the BBC's Britain's Best Home Cook.
- The Sportsman in Kent has been named the best gastropub in the country at the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub awards for the fourth time. Tom Kerridge's The Coach in Marlow came in second place, while the Freemasons at Wiswell in Clitheroe rounded out the top three.
- Caffè Nero has become the majority owner of the 92-site Coffee#1 chain after acquiring a 70% stake from Welsh hospitality company S.A Brain. Coffee#1 will remain its own brand and continue to grow as a standalone business. It comes after Caffè Nero bought the then 43-site Harris & Hoole coffee chain from Tesco in 2016.
- A Cornish hotel which falsely claimed to have an AA four-star rating was found to have misled customers by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The Snooty Fox in Morvel was ordered to remove references to the award from its website following a complaint.
- Restaurateurs Paul and Emma Ainsworth have announced plans to open a cookery school and chef's table in Cornwall this May. The couple have partnered with John Walton, head chef at Michelin-starred Paul Ainsworth at No.6, to launch Mahe' adjacent to the Padstow restaurant.
For more of this week's news, click here.
