Friday Five: the week's top news
- The government's proposed overhaul of the immigration system has provoked fierce condemnation from the hospitality industry, with trade body UKHospitailty calling it "disastrous" for the sector. The points-based plan would make it almost impossible to hire migrants for many waiting, barista and kitchen roles.
- Following the announcement Fred Sirieix accused the government of "demonising" the industry and sending a "very negative message" about its perception of people working in hospitality. The maître d' told BigHospitality the policies were "demagogic" and would not solve staff or skills shortages in the sector.
- Some restaurants in London's Chinatown, including the BaoziInn, say they have seen a 40 to 50 per cent drop in trade since the outbreak of Coronavirus last month. Chef Andrew Wong told BigHospitality he has also received offensive prank calls to his restaurants.
- The AA has named 13 new restaurants in the UK and Ireland which have been awarded its higher-level three and four rosette rating.
- Russel Joffe, the co-founder of the Giraffe restaurant group, has died at the age of 62. Joffe founded and built up the world food chain with his wife Juliette and Andrew Jacobs, before selling the group to Tesco for £48.6m in 2013.
For more of this week's news, click here.
