Author: angela

The Foodservice Cateys 2022 are open for nominations, with this year’s awards set to celebrate and recognise the people working tirelessly to make sure their business delivers an exceptional service, day in, day out.

Winning a Foodservice Catey is significant because recipients are nominated, selected and rewarded by their peers and, this week, nominations open for those you feel deserve recognition. So if you know of an individual, business or organisation worthy of this prestigious award, we want to hear from you.

The Caterer editor James Stagg said: “With so much innovation being demonstrated by contract caterers as they adjust to new ways of working, we’re excited to once again be celebrating excellence in the foodservice sector.

“The Foodservice Cateys 2022 will be a celebration of the businesses and individuals who have excelled in the past year as the sector continues its recovery.”

The Foodservice Cateys will take place on 21 October at the Royal Lancaster London, where the industry will once again have the opportunity to celebrate together.

The categories

• Business and Industry Caterer of the Year
• Education Caterer of the Year
• Healthcare Caterer of the Year
• Retail and Leisure Caterer of the Year
• Boutique Caterer of the Year
• Event Caterer of the Year
• General Manager of the Year
• Regional Manager of the Year
• Chef of the Year
• Trainee Chef of the Year
• Chef Manager of the Year
• Front of House Team of the Year
• Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSER) Award
• Healthy Eating Champion
• Innovation Award
• Rising Star Award
• Salesperson of the Year
• People and Training Award
• Best Use of Technology Award
• Supplier Excellence Award
• Extra Mile Award
• Outstanding Contribution Award

Entries are now open and must be submitted before 20 July. To find out more, go to www.foodservicecateys.com

Source: thecaterer.com

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has received Cabinet approval to extend the operation of outdoor seating areas for pubs and restaurants as the hospitality industry enters the summer season.

The Government agreed to a six-month extension to the legislation which permits the sale and consumption of alcohol in outdoor seating areas.

The law was due to lapse on 31 May, but it has now been extended until the end of November. It follows the waiving of fees for on-street furniture last week.

The legislation was first introduced to assist the hospitality sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minister McEntee said the legislation has been hugely helpful to the hospitality sector and she hoped it will again be used by many businesses during the summer months.

The legislation applies where outdoor seating areas have been permitted by the relevant local authority on public land, such as a path.

The Minister plans to bring forward a longer term solution as part of wider reforms of licencing law.

The Restaurant Association of Ireland has welcomed the extension, saying it has been lobbying the Government on the matter for weeks.

RAI chief executive Adrian Cummins said Irish people are moving towards a European-style hospitality model.

The Pig and Whistle has been bustling since it reopened after the successive lockdowns of the past two years, but doesn’t have the staff to keep up with demand

Posting online last week, chef owner of the Beverley bistro James Allcock laid out some of the changes he is making in the coming weeks to adapt to the staffing issues they are facing: they now only taking bookings every hour on certain days, and when the front of house is really lacking, they run a single-sitting set dinner and close the outdoor eating areas.

“It was less about a call to action for recruitment,” he said in an interview with The Staff Canteen, “and more about a proper honest hands in the air about the next six weeks – because pretty much for the next six weekends, there’s something that’s going to be different about The Pig and Whistle.”

Why?

Ever since the last restrictions on hospitality were lifted, James’ bistro has been bustling, but he can’t find enough staff to keep up with demand.

Not only that, but “if we find someone we can’t keep them. It’s just an absolute nightmare,” he explained.

Having an attentive audience on social media has meant that the chef has recruited some new chefs, but all have been new starters in the industry – young part-timers, who, having missed out on fun for the past two years, aren’t willing to sacrifice their weekends.

“I can’t blame them,” he said, “but it’s no use to me – I take 70 percent of my business on a Saturday night.”

James has been advertising for a full-time front of house position since they reopened post-pandemic, but they just haven’t been able to find anyone.

“It’s filling that key role that we’re finding really challenging and just the general challenge of an 18-month recruitment cycle, or less,” exacerbated by successive lockdowns, during which his part-timers have upped and left.

Front of house not kitchen

Luckily, James’ kitchen doesn’t take much staffing, meaning he has avoided some of the hiring issues faced by many of his peers in the industry.

“Because I’m the chef, I’m the owner, and I work with someone else who gives me a hand. It’s not something I’m saying doesn’t exist in Beverley because it does. But it’s something that I’ve swerved.”

Before the pandemic, The Pig and Whistle had been open for just over two years and in that time, “employed 21 people for eight jobs.” However, currently, he is on “employee number 65 and we only employ eight. It’s absolutely ridiculous; we’ve literally got a new team every 10 minutes.”

Adapting to survive

Because of all the hiring difficulties, James has had to change the way he runs The Pig and Whistle just to keep the doors open.

“I’m having to adapt but I’m also having to turn stuff down and not push my business forward. We’re busy, we’ve got loads of demand for what we’re doing,” but he is unable to capitalise on it, because he can’t be sure he’ll have the staff to stay on top of things.

For example, some evenings are now single sitting, set dinner, “because I don’t actually have enough staff to do a normal service.” On other nights, he is only taking bookings on the hour, “because I can’t deal with people coming into the business every half an hour.”

“There are weekends where I’ve closed the outside terrace even though it’s going to be the middle of spring and a heatwave because I can’t deal with taking bookings in another area to manage.”

While having less staff means he has fewer outgoings, the restrictions he is having to place on his business don’t make up for the lost income. To James, it feels like he’s being forced to scale back at a time when they should be driving forwards.

This is where the irony lies, he said. “We’ve got a miles better business than when we closed in March 2020.”

Source: thestaffcanteen.com

The founder of Hospitality Rising has urged hospitality chief executives to invest in the UK’s biggest hospitality recruitment advertising campaign, which aims to raise up to £5m by 12 May.

Mark McCulloch, former marketer for Pret A Manger and YO!, wrote in his open letter: “We are asking every hospitality business and supplier to invest £10 per employee to help us hit at least a £1m target.

“These funds will be used to create the biggest hospitality recruitment campaign that the UK has ever seen. The aim is to showcase what we all know – that hospitality is a great industry to work in.”

Hospitality Rising is supported by Hospitality & Tourism Skills Board (HTSB), UKHospitality, BBPA, BII, Scottish Hospitality Group and other major operators and suppliers across the industry.

The endorsement from HTSB made the campaign the official industry response to the recruitment crisis this February.

However, it stressed that it now needs the backing of hospitality CEOs to lift the fundraising scheme off the ground.

Hospitality Rising revealed that a generous sum from one large restaurant group or large brewer could cover half of what is needed to hit the target, but most have not yet invested.

The campaign, which will be led by the Army’s lead brand strategist and Google’s lead creative agency, will require investment from hospitality businesses to “stop the recruitment crisis once and for all”.

The letter revealed that there are 400,000 hospitality staff vacancies and that 42% of the existing workforce have expressed desires to leave the industry.

It also stated that staff shortages are costing British hospitality businesses £22b a year, which is compounded by the fact that only one in five people nationally would consider working in hospitality, according to findings from KAM Media.

The Caterer also reported that staff shortages are contributing to incidents of poaching and managers having to think of creative – and often costly – staff perks.

Source: Thecaterer.com

The Good Food Guide publisher Adam Hyman has announced an overhaul of the guide’s scoring system as it is relaunched as an app this year.

Previously, restaurants received a cooking score from 1-10, where one represented capable cooking with ‘some inconsistencies’ and 10 meant a ‘show of faultless technique at every service’ and was the highest accolade the guide could give.

In a post on the guide’s website, Hyman, who is the founder of Code, said the old system was confusing and added that a detailed review of the food, ambiance and overall hospitality, along with the pricing, was “far more relevant and useful”.

Entries will now be rated ‘good’, ‘very good’, ‘exceptional’, or ‘world class’. To determine this overall rating, inspectors will judge against four metrics: uniqueness, deliciousness, warmth and strength of recommendation. If somewhere does not rank at least ‘good’ in all four categories, it will not be included in the guide.

An overall rating can only be as high as its lowest score in any category. For example, somewhere might achieve ‘very good’ in terms of uniqueness, deliciousness and strength of recommendation, but if its warmth is ‘good’, its overall rating will be ‘good’.

Hyman said: “Our aim is to keep the guide going for another 70 years so looking at how restaurants are judged is of the utmost importance. Earlier this year we met with our expert inspectors and agreed it was time for an overhaul. The result was a simplified and modernised scoring system.

“Our changes mark a departure from heralding fine dining as the pinnacle of achievement and promote a more democratic and egalitarian assessment of ‘good food’ in Great Britain. There’s no reason a beach hut, fish and chip shop or a local café can’t qualify, so long as they meet the criteria.” Further details on the scoring system are provided here.

The Good Food Guide was founded in 1951 by journalist Raymond Postgate, who was so appalled at the state of food in Britain that he launched the Good Food Club, which he initially called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Food.

Formerly a print publication, Waitrose bought the guide from Which? in 2013, but then announced last year that it had no plans to publish future editions. Waitrose sold the guide to hospitality membership network Code Hospitality later that year.

Source: thecaterer.com

They’re where we propose marriages, celebrate birthdays and clinch business deals, but restaurants are also where we simply go to relax, improve our wellbeing and bond with friends, family and colleagues. It’s no wonder diners are dashing back to eat out. But as they do, and executive chefs and general managers step up their search for talent, there has never been a better time to pursue a hospitality career.

Despite bearing the economic brunt of pandemic restrictions, and still having around 200,000 unfilled (permanent) jobs, more than two thirds (70%) of the UK now feel optimistic about visiting pubs, bars and restaurants – over double that of those showing similar optimism at the beginning of 2021, according to a recent CGA study.

And the industry is serious about offering its talent great career prospects, workplace training and mental health support as it bounces back. I should know; as someone who worked in front of house hospitality positions for more than 20 years, I now specialise in sourcing talent for premium and luxury restaurants. It’s an incredibly exciting time with amazing prospects for people in one of the best sectors in the world. Here are my top four reasons why now is the best time to work in hospitality.

Luxury hospitality is an expanding sector

Hospitality doesn’t just feed guests, it nourishes the economy. Dynamic, exciting, and fast-growing, it contributes about £7.8 trillion to the global economy. Premium and luxury brands are among the fastest growing.

Chefs have been busy opening new restaurants after lockdown, seizing opportunities to move into empty buildings across the UK. Remember the last global recession, which saw an explosion of incredible luxury street food that continues to this day? Who knows what incredible new concepts we’ll see in the year ahead, but the creativity of British chefs and restaurateurs will ensure we see some amazing new ventures offering brilliant career opportunities.

Fast progression is more possible than ever

The closure in recent years of key cooking schools has hampered many from starting a career in hospitality, but the industry is responding. When delivering good training, the sector has always been known for exceptional opportunities, rapid horizontal movement and the ability to climb the ladder quickly. Post-successive lockdowns, the opportunity to move quicker than ever is possible, as restaurants look to develop talent faster.

But in the luxury sector, beware of cutting corners. Brooklyn Beckham recently came under fire for his bid to become a TV chef. A New York newspaper reported that “Apparently the guy has to be shown really super basic things and has a ‘cheat sheet’ of expressions from whisk to parboil, several illustrated with pictures,” and that the eight-minute episode needed so many support staff, including chefs, that it cost “$100,000 and involved a team of 62 people” just to make a simple sandwich.

To be successful, you must have a zeal for truly exceptional food and service. Premium and luxury venues have mastery, high standards and an eye for detail. They also boast creativity, vision and sheer love for the services they offer. To help others get to that standard, hospitality benefits from a clear set of industry specific qualifications that are accepted across the industry.

And there are places up and down the country where you can train to achieve those qualifications. Thankfully, many bodies such as the Manchester Hoteliers’ Association (MHA), the Hospitality Apprenticeship North East and many more have recently launched schemes to encourage young people into the hospitality industry. The MHA scheme is supported by high end venues such as Ginger Recruitment client, The Dakota Hotel.

Work anywhere

Though legendary hospitality figure, Anthony Bourdain, wasn’t able to succeed in the kitchen, he firmly believed that communing over food “may not be the answer to world peace, but it’s a start.” He felt that anyone in the world, regardless of cultural background, likes food and can talk about food. And anyone with hospitality skills will not only likely find good work, but they’ll be able to do so almost anywhere in the world.

Indeed, every country in the world has a hospitality industry. Skills you acquire here are transferable, so your hospitality career can transport you to new countries, cultures and people. Having worked from my doorstep on the one hand to the Olympics on the other, my front of house career led me to enviable roles with people who I call lifelong friends.

From Michelin starred kitchens in a sleepy English village to superyachts cruising the Caribbean, from trendy up and coming restaurants to luxury second homes in The Hamptons, a career in luxury hospitality can take you around the world.

A career for life

Though the industry has gotten used to only having people in a venue for a certain period of time, one thing’s for sure: anyone can have a varied career in the sector for life. Hospitality offers a job that evolves and changes all the time. Fast-paced, it’s an environment where you are doing varied tasks each day, to strict timings and high standards. It’s a career that shifts with you as you move up the ladder, and with the world as tastes, trends and opportunities change constantly.

In some cases, people like me are able to stay with the same company for many years, even as it adapts and evolves to stay in front, as I did with the amazing Northcote Group. Others change roles and brands with the seasons.

Either way, the retention that I experienced has become more important than ever. Restaurants want to find the best talent they can, which is why they work with experienced specialists like Ginger Recruitment.

To retain the talent we find – in a world awake to the risks of burnout and the desire to care for employees’ mental health – the hospitality sector is working harder than ever to offer staff a nice place to work.

We find that companies are encouraging leaders to listen to people, paying them better than ever and giving them good training. Not that the best leaders didn’t do this already, indeed you can’t have a successful business without nurturing your employees, but more than before restaurants are keen to help them have a long and fulfilling career with their business as it expands.

Author: Craig Jackson, Head of Permanent Recruitment

Published by Hospitality and Catering News

In a recent survey, 84% of hospitality professionals questioned had experienced some kind of mental health issue within their career and 46% would not feel comfortable talking about their health concerns with their colleagues.

There is still a stigma attached to mental health issues in our industry.

The Burnt Chef Project was launched in May 2019 with the sole intention of eradicating mental health stigma within hospitality. Join your host, Lancelot Narayan, as he is joined by Kris Hall, founder of The Burnt Chef Project.

They discuss factors negatively affecting mental health in the hospitality workplace, methods of improvement in recruitment and retention for employers, services offered by The Burnt Chef project and how you can get involved.

Source: Caterer.com

Your route to the peak of hospitality success

Career progression in hospitality has been brought to the forefront recently with the industry being spotlighted for its difficulties during the pandemic. At the onset of the pandemic many staff were furloughed or laid off leading to many leaving the industry often for better conditions and pay. On re-opening businesses have experienced a shortage of staff leading to significant  increased need to recruit new staff. In order to encourage this there has been a significant improvement in terms and conditions offered with often  enhanced benefits for employees, clearer pathways for career progression opportunities alongside flexibility, increased pay and a better work-life-balance.

To satisfy this increased demand for staff across the industry, it has become clear that there needs to be more support for young talent and that an increased ability to identify new and existing talent within the industry is key. Ginger Hospitality works with education providers and young talent to support those leaving education and looking for their first roles within the industry. We offer support from the ground up and are dedicated to mapping out clear career pathways for our candidates enabling them to discover and achieve their long-term career goals.

“I thought it would be impossible to find a place that could match the amount of love and pride I have in food and hospitality. I can happily say I now have a career in a very highly regarded restaurant, where the food and service are beyond expectations! Thank you so much Craig.”

Working with a recruiter to support your career progression is somewhat unheard of for hospitality professionals. At Ginger we have built our team of consultants around their hospitality knowledge and experience. This provides us with the understanding of what it takes to have a successful career in the industry and what is needed when building robust and talented brigades.

For those aiming towards the peak of hospitality success, Ginger Hospitality partners with a number of prestigious hospitality establishments, including Michelin Starred properties across the UK and are guiding our growing brigade with their route to get there. Through building long-term relationships with our clients and candidates we’re able to take the time to deeply understand the recruitment needs of our clients and help our candidates explore their desired career plans. We provide career long support, not just a job placement. We have made it our mission to invest our time into future talent in order to supply our clients with trusted and experienced hospitality professionals, whether addressing a permanent or temporary assignment.

“I have known Jodie for almost 6 years, during this time she has always put what’s important to me first. Ensured I have been in ongoing work where possible and is always on the end of the phone day/night. During the pandemic Jodie checked on my wellbeing and that of my family going above and beyond to check on my financial status and mental health throughout. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Jodie and the team at Ginger if you’re looking for a knowledgeable and professional agency to find you work.”

Are you looking for some guidance in your route to the top? For a confidential chat and to speak to one of our hospitality professionals about the career support available to you, get in touch.

01200 890 890

hospitality@ginger-recruitment.co.uk

Author: Craig Jackson, Head of Permanent Recruitment

On Tuesday, Sally Abé and the team at The Pem Restaurant hosted an event to celebrate International Women’s Day.

A panel discussion saw chef, TV presenter and radio broadcaster Andi Oliver take to the stage, joined by celebrated sommelier Sandia Chang; GM of Soho’s The Coach & Horses, Ali Ross; business development executive at Pol Roger, Fikayo Ifaturoti and Hilton’s VP of F&B strategy and development across EMEA, Emma Banks.

Among the topics of conversation, the question of whether women should be identified as female chefs – rather than just chefs – was raised.

Celebrating female talent is not the same as celebrating someone’s talent ‘considering they are a woman’

Andi Oliver was categorical. “Absolutely not,” she said. “It drives me crazy. A great chef is a great chef, regardless of gender.”

On programmes like Great British Menu,  she continued, “we’re really careful about that kind of language. I think it’s really important, because there’s no difference.”

“If you’re in the kitchen and it’s hot and sweaty and you’re hitting the pass, you’re hitting the pass.”

“Your biology, your physiology has nothing to do with that. It’s nothing to do with excellence. I think separating men and women out as a ‘great female chef’ is slightly patronising.”

“I don’t agree with that kind of marginalisation,” she said.

Representation is everyone’s responsibility

Whilst it is important to hold organisations accountable for how they represent women, Andi and Sally – like the celebrated Asma Khan – stand their ground when it comes to where they appear and how they are construed in the public eye.

Speaking of times when, appearing on TV, she was pulled up by producers for allegedly speaking loudly, speaking too much or speaking over men, Andi said, “I think it’s up to people like me who have a prominent position or are very visible to make sure that we don’t pander to that stuff.”

“It’s easy to find yourself falling down that road where you can become a cartoon version of yourself, ‘a nicely nicely’ version of yourself, because you want to work and you want to keep doing the things that you’re doing and you need to get paid.”

Even if it means missing out on some opportunities, she added, “turning things down, saying no is important. Feeling safe enough to say no to things that don’t have parameters you can trust is really important.”

Sally agreed, and said that whenever she is asked to cook at charity functions or to speak on a panel, she always asks who else is involved.

“I’m not going to name names,” she said, “but there are certain chefs that I know don’t treat their staff well and I will not work with them – and I don’t care.”

“It’s about standing your ground in those situations. Because otherwise you dilute yourself. If you stand for something and you believe in it, you’ve got to do that 100 percent of the time, not just when it suits you or when the money’s right.”

We asked our audience on social media whether they believe separating women into the ‘female chef’ category is not necessary –  a majority of respondents concluded that no, they Don’t.

Laura Kimber, head chef at Michelin-starred Salt in Stratford-Upon-Avon, said that being a female in hospitality is “challenging and bloody difficult at times,” but that in no way did this warrant a separate denomination.

The chef said that she was proud to be the only female head chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant in the Midlands, but that she would not let this fact define her.

“I have worked very hard in hospitality for the past 12 years. Never have I let my gender get in the way of what I want to achieve, and why should I?”

And while she sees it as important to bring more women into the industry, the focus should be on bringing in more people, no matter their gender – and creating separate categories is counterproductive.

“We need to encourage more men and women from all backgrounds into the industry,” she said, adding that “if we start creating female categories or female-led teams, then surely we are just making the division in the industry worse.”

Source: thestaffcanteen.com