Friday Five: the week's top news
- Twenty restaurants have been awarded a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide for Great Britain & Ireland 2023. Coming ahead of the presentation of the Michelin Guide 2023 next week, restaurants including Luke Farrell’s Plaza Khao Gaeng in London (pictured), The Flint House in Brighton, and the recently launched Root Wells in Somerset are among those to receive a Bib this year, which is awarded to restaurants 'offering particularly good quality, good value cooking'. Among the new entries, five were already recommended in the Guide while 15 are brand new additions for 2022.
- Industry leaders have criticised the decision not to add hospitality roles to the UK's shortage occupation list, with one trade body describing the situation as 'disappointing'. A report by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) did not recommend any hospitality occupations be included on the list, which would make it easier for businesses to recruit from overseas. In its report, the committee said overall employment in hospitality had recovered since a large fall during the pandemic and 'now comfortably' exceeded pre-pandemic levels. The committee said it did not recommend any of the hospitality occupations for the shortlist - including chefs, restaurant or bar managers - because 'the Government was clear that such a recommendation should be exceptional and based on particularly strong evidence'.
- Acclaimed Edinburgh restaurant with rooms 21212 will close following the recent death of its chef-patron Paul Kitching. Making the announcement on social media, Kitching’s partner Katie O’Brien says that the restaurant will run its last service on 1 April. “It is with great sadness that we have unfortunately taken the decision to close the restaurant at 21212. Out last day of service will be Saturday 1 April 2023," she wrote. “The passing of Paul has devastated all the team, and the passion that runs through every fibre of the restaurant is not as evident as when it was when he was alive - to us that is unacceptable to his memory.”
- Restaurant and bar operator Experimental Group is to launch its first UK project outside of London. Cowley Manor Experimental is a 17th-century manor house set in 55 acres of countryside that will be home to 36 rooms, alongside a garden room, bar and lounge as well as Experimental Cocktail Club Cotswolds and a 50-cover restaurant that will have space for a further 50 covers on its outdoor terrace. It will also house a library, spa and two swimming pools. Brunswick House and Orasay chef Jackson Boxer has been appointed chef consultant and will oversee the food offering at the entire property including the main restaurant, room service, Experimental Cocktail Club Cotswolds and the spa. The menus will reflect the property’s locality with a nod to the brand’s French heritage.
- The rate of inflation jumped unexpectedly in February, driven primarily by rising alcohol prices in pubs and restaurants following discounting in January. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 10.4% in the 12 months to February 2023, up from 10.1% in January. It follows three consecutive months of falling inflation prior to February, cooling from a peak of 11.1% in October.
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