Want - Hospitality

Mark Greenaway introduces booking fee after "450 no shows or cancellations in one month"

23-Feb-2018 By Stefan Chomka

Restaurant Mark Greenaway in Edinburgh is the latest to resort to charging diners for not turning up after revealing that it had 450 no shows or cancellations in just one month last year.

The Weekender Interview: Paulo de Tarso

16-Feb-2018 By Joe Lutrario

The front of house maestro and Margot co-founder shares his pearls of wisdom and pays homage to two of New York's most prominent restaurateurs.

How can restaurants drive loyalty in an era of mass competition?

24-Jan-2018 By Restaurant magazine

The eating out sector is booming, and it's become more difficult for restaurants to cut through the noise and promote loyalty.

"I don't want my staff to suffer the way I did" - Francesco Mazzei on Fiume, sustainability and Brexit

17-Nov-2017 By Sophie Witts

Chef Francesco Mazzei moved from Italy to work at The Dorchester in Mayfair in the early 1990's, and ran L'Anima in the City for six years until 2015. He opens his third Italian restaurant with D&D London, Fiume, at Battersea Power Station...

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6 steps to successfully rebranding your restaurant

18-Jun-2017 By Mike Hardman

Mike Hardman, from catering wholesaler Alliance Online, shares his top tips for rebranding a restaurant business

SMALL TALK

Steve Drake on why Sorrel will be his most ambitious restaurant yet

03-Mar-2017 By Sophie Witts

Chef Steve Drake left Drake’s, in Ripley, Surrey, in 2016 after 12 years at the helm. Now he’s back with the launch of his highly ambitious fine-dining restaurant Sorrel, in Dorking, due to open this spring

Leon introduces 'parent-shifts' to promote flexible working

11-Nov-2016 By Sophie Witts

Restaurant chain Leon has launched a flexible working scheme to allow staff to fit their hours around family life.

SMALL TALK

Rudding Park’s Peter Banks on thriving in today’s tough times

10-Nov-2016 By Hannah Thompson

Peter Banks is managing director at independent hotel Rudding Park, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. He talks Brexit, the independent regional market, F&B, Airbnb, Millennials, and changing times

London hotels struggle to attract Chinese tourists

13-Oct-2016 By Sophie Witts

London’s luxury hotels are falling behind the rest of Europe by failing to attract high-spending Chinese tourists, according to a report by the British Hospitality Association (BHA).

SMALL TALK

Social Pantry founder Alex Head on growing an ethical food business

16-Sep-2016 By Emma Eversham

Alex Head formed London-based catering company Social Pantry six years ago. The business has expanded considerably since, adding Social Pantry Café in 2013 and a host of new clients, but even with growth, her strong principles remain an essential part...

Hospitality industry urged to be 'decent' over tipping report

03-May-2016 By Sophie Witts

Trade Union Unite has urged the hospitality industry to ‘do the decent thing’ and accept that staff should take home 100 per cent of their tips.

VIEWPOINT

Harry Cragoe of The Gallivant on why banning tips is good for business

22-Apr-2016 By Sophie Witts

Harry Cragoe, owner of The Gallivant restaurant with rooms in Camber, pays all his staff a minimum of £9 per hour and has launched the #toohiptotip campaign to ban service charges in restaurants. He believes more hospitality businesses need to use a similar...

SMALL TALK

Greg Marchand on opening the London outpost of Frenchie

08-Apr-2016 By Stefan Chomka

The owner of newly opened Frenchie in Covent Garden on the differences between London and Paris, the challenges of finding staff and enjoying the honeymoon period.

BIRD considers regional expansion for 2017

23-Mar-2016 By James Wallin

BIRD, the freerange fried chicken concept, will target expansion into the rest of the UK in 2017 with Leeds and Manchester identified as targets.

SPOTLIGHT ON SERVICE

Paul Ainsworth at Number 6: Good service is about 'care, communication and balance'

03-Dec-2015 By Emma Eversham

Alex Tozer, restaurant manager at Paul Ainsworth at Number 6 in Padstow, winner of the National Restaurant Awards 2015 Service Award, talks through the restaurant’s relaxed and informal approach to service as part of our Spotlight on Service series.

VIEWPOINT

Grace Wood of Barton Grange on why hotels should be adding events into their offering

21-Aug-2015 By Emma Eversham

Grace Wood, event manager at the 51-bedroom independently-owned Barton Grange Hotel in Preston, Lancashire, believes events can be big money-spinners for hotels and gives her top tips to running them.

Majority of diners won’t return to a pub or restaurant with slow service

12-Aug-2015 By Liam Garrahan

A study by HospitalityGEM has shown that 87 per cent of diners would not return to a pub or restaurant if they have experienced slow service from staff.

SMALL TALK

Amandine Chaignot on London's restaurant scene, working in a happy kitchen and building repeat custom

20-Feb-2015 By Emma Eversham

Rosewood London's new executive chef Amandine Chaignot, talks about why it's important to have some fun in the kitchen and why she'll be chasing repeat custom over accolades.

SMALL TALK

Jean-Christophe Novelli on his return to restaurants

06-Feb-2015 By Joe Lutrario

After a six-year break from the restaurant industry, the UK’s most Gallic celebrity chef is back with plans to open a large brasserie at the new DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Liverpool.

James Knappett and Sandia Chang: ‘It’s all down to our staff’

09-Oct-2014 By Melodie Michel

In another BigHospitality interview at the Restaurant Show 2014, James Knappett and Sandia Chang, the duo behind Bubbledogs and recently Michelin-starred Kitchen Table, talked about the importance of nurturing staff.

Free booking platform Bidroom crowdfunding for expansion

18-Jun-2014 By Melodie Michel

Bidroom, a no-fee website that allows hotels to bid for customers’ business without going through an online travel agent (OTA), has launched a crowdfunding campaign to take its concept to the next level.

Change your mindset to attract Generation Y, urges futurist

09-Jun-2014 By Carina Perkins

Attracting and retaining Generation Y as staff and customers will require a fundamental shift in the way hospitality businesses think and operate, according to futurist Dr Graeme Codrington.

Michelin-starred chef takes over Berkshire pub

03-Jun-2014 By Melodie Michel

Chef Dominic Chapman, who earned a Michelin star during his time as head chef at The Royal Oak, has signed a lease to take over The Beehive, an Enterprise Inns pub in White Waltham, Berkshire.

Ask the Experts

How to use social media and review sites to build an online presence

19-May-2014 By Elliot Adams

Not every business has the resources to create its own website, but by maximising social media and review sites, you can give yourself and your customer a voice. Here Elliot Adams, communications manager at Yelp, shares his tips on building an online...

VIDEO: Jason Atherton cooks up ‘Food for Good’ at Farm Africa Ball

26-Mar-2014 By Luke Nicholls

Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton says he wants to ‘give something back’ and send out a strong philanthropic message to the next generation of chefs when he prepares a three-course dinner for Farm Africa tomorrow night (27 March).

Brasserie Bar Co begins pub expansion, plans ‘more relaxed’ restaurants

06-Mar-2014 By Luke Nicholls

Fresh from securing £13.5m of new funding for expansion, Raymond Blanc's Brasserie Bar Co is expecting to open its third White Brasserie Company pub in Orpington later this year and is currently in talks on another four units.

Small Talk

Antonio Mellino on Quattro Passi London and the importance of good ingredients

14-Feb-2014 By Carina Perkins

Two Michelin-starred chef Antonio Mellino graduated from Naples Hotel School in 1974 and began his career in hospitality working as a waiter on cruise liners. After working in kitchens around the world, he opened his award-winning restaurant, Quattro...

Autumn Statement 2013: What it means for hospitality

05-Dec-2013 By Luke Nicholls

"Britain's economic plan is working," proclaimed George Osborne in his Autumn Statement earlier today as the Chancellor pledged to support 'the hard-working values' of the nation's high street restaurants, cafés and pubs.

Topland plans ‘£1bn hotel business’ after Menzies purchase

03-Dec-2013 By Luke Nicholls

The Topland Group’s acquisition of the parent company of Menzies Hotels from administration for close to £85m is part of the investment firm’s strategy to build a £1bn hotel business, with the creation of at least one new brand over the next year.

Carl Clarke plans to turn Disco Bistro into permanent, multi-site restaurant brand

10-Oct-2013 By Emma Eversham

Itinerant chef and pop-up restaurant 'veteran' Carl Clarke is planning to make Disco Bistro a permanent fixture in East London before turning it into a multi-site restaurant brand.

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How to cut time spent on administration

10-Jul-2013 By Jerry Brand

Jerry Brand of integrated technology provider Caternet suggests ways hospitality managers can cut the hours they spend dealing with paperwork after research it commissioned showed that 86 per cent of food and beverage managers were spending too much time...

Restaurant magazine: Bruno Loubet going against the grain

02-Jul-2013 By Emma Eversham

Chef Bruno Loubet's new restaurant Grain Store, which unusually places vegetables, instead of meat or fish at the heart of its dishes, is put under scrutiny in the July issue of Restaurant magazine.

Daniel Clifford: Pearls of Wisdom

08-Feb-2013 By William Drew

The Kent-born chef-patron has held two Michelin stars at Midsummer House in Cambridge for the past eight years. He was also one of the winners of last year’s Great British Menu.

Tweeting Hospitality: Top 5 Twitter Do's and Don't's

29-Nov-2012 By Peter Ruddick

When Michelin-starred chef Claude Bosi took to Twitter to vent his understandable frustration at a negative review of his restaurant from a blogger he can't have known how big the story would become - so how can hospitality professionals make sure...

National Waiters' Day: Fred Sirieix urges hospitality industry to celebrate waiting staff

28-Nov-2012 By Peter Ruddick

Fred Sirieix, restaurant service expert and general manager of Galvin at Windows, is calling on the entire hospitality industry to back his latest initiative - National Waiters' Day - to celebrate hard-working waiting staff.

Daniel Clifford on Midsummer House, The Cube and why he's going back to Great British Menu

25-Oct-2012 By Emma Eversham

Daniel Clifford, chef-patron of the two Michelin-starred Midsummer House is to return to our TV screens next year for the next series of Great British Menu.

Daniel Clifford: "I still have a love affair with Midsummer House"

24-Oct-2012 By Emma Eversham

Michelin-starred chef Daniel Clifford says he would prefer to support his chefs in opening their own restaurants rather than launch another business under his name because he would not want his two Michelin-starred restaurant Midsummer House to suffer.

The Restaurant Experience: The world’s first interactive restaurant

23-Feb-2012 By Luke Nicholls

TV chefs John Burton-Race and Jonathon Davies have partnered to create The Restaurant Experience – an innovative interactive restaurant, chosen by the people for the people.

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How to open a restaurant in a hotel: run it yourself or contract out?

09-Jan-2012

Gordon Cartwright, managing director of Visionary Dining, advises hoteliers on what to consider if they want to open a restaurant within their property and looks at the best option for one reader trying to decide between running it in-house or contracting...

Juna fruit drinks offer UK foodservice sector ‘something totally new’

09-Dec-2011 By Luke Nicholls

Euro-Colombian start-up company Juna has launched a new range of fruit drinks with high vitamin, protein and fibre content aimed at the foodservice sector.

How to write the perfect job advert

10-Nov-2011

Kyle Rawles, sales executive at BigHospitality Jobs, gives his top tips on how to write a successful job advert to ensure hospitality business owners and HR managers attract the right candidates to their companies.

National media blamed for 'talking down' jobs in hospitality

13-Oct-2011 By Emma Eversham

The national media should stop 'talking down' jobs in hospitality and start promoting the industry as a worthwhile career choice for job seekers to enable restaurants, hotels and pubs to fill vacant positions and retain staff.

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