Friday Five: the week's top news
- Tony Parkin has left his role as head chef at The Brickmakers Arms in Surrey just months after taking on the role. The chef took on the role at the Noble Inns Group-run pub restaurant in August following his departure from The Tudor Room at Great Fosters Hotel at the end of July. However, he has decided to leave to join the Michelin-starred House Restaurant at Cliff House Hotel in Waterford, Ireland. “After several years at the Tudor Room at Great Fosters, and having won and retained a Michelin star, I thought that it would be the ideal time for a change of pace. On reflection, this was not the right move for me, either personally or professionally, so I made the decision fairly quickly to tender my resignation,” said Parkin.
- Larger hospitality businesses in England may no longer be required to display calorie counts on menus after Government ministers ordered an official review of its anti-obesity strategy. The review – which was ordered by the Treasury – could pave the way for Prime Minister Liz Truss to scrap measures designed to deter people from eating junk food, according to reports. A ban on sugary products being displayed at checkouts, 'buy one get one free' multi-buy deals in shops, and restrictions on advertising certain products on TV before the 9pm watershed could also be ditched.
- High street operators McDonald's and Greggs have both announced they will close their UK estates on Monday (19 September) for the Queen’s funeral. McDonald's, which has more than 1,200 outlets in the UK, said all of its sites would be shut from midnight until 5pm on the day; while Greggs has said the majority of its 2,000-strong estate will be closed until. Operators have been preparing plans to mark the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, with some voicing concern about setting the right tone during the period of mourning. Will Beckett, CEO of Hawksmoor, announced on Twitter on Tuesday (13 September) that the steak restaurant group will remain open during its regular trading hours, suggesting that operators can mark the period of mourning in a myriad of ways.
- More than 80% of hospitality operators are facing recruitment and retention challenges, according to a study by workforce management specialist Bizimply. The report, entitled ‘The Six Tenets of Agile Hospitality’ and based on a survey and interviews with senior operators across the UK, Europe and US, found that 84.3% of operators are struggling to build a team with the right capabilities to drive growth now and in the near future. Just 33% of operators, meanwhile, have implemented a clear people strategy in their organisation.
- High-end comfort food' brand Junk has triumphed at the 2022 British Street Food Awards, which took place at Hackney Bridge in London over the weekend (9-11 September). Junk, which hails from Edinburgh and is led by chef Cameron Laidlaw, was crowned Champion at this year's awards and will go on to represent the UK at the 2022 European Street Food Awards, which are set to take place in Munich, Germany, in early October. The competition was judged by a celebrity panel that included musician and cookbook author Sophie Ellis-Bextor and actress and cookbook author Fay Ripley. Bath-based Cajun specialist LJ Hugs picked up the People's Choice Award; while Sri Lankan street food operator Kochchi, which has a site in Edinburgh's Bonnie & Wild Market, received The Spice Award.
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