Tag Archives: Restaurant
24 Apr |
Celebrating the Coronation? |
Back in January when we scheduled our blogs for the first half of 2023, we thought it would be timely to help those preparing events to celebrate the Coronation of Charles III. But with just over a week to go, it all seems a little flat.
Or is it the traditional British reserve that means we leave to the last-minute, preparations for celebrations? And what can catering trades do about it?
A Changing Monarchy
Perhaps we are taking our cue from the King himself. He has requested a more low-cost approach overall. This includes inviting 2000 guests down, from his mother’s 8,000. And something like a quarter of those guests are people recognised as being worthy in their communities; not simply the traditional great and good.
Certainly, the way we celebrate has changed since 1953. With 4 monarchs in the first 50 years of the twentieth century and Elizabeth as the fifth, more people knew what to expect and perhaps their role! One of the often-stated big pluses from the Big Lunch to celebrate the Queen’s 70th Jubilee; was the simple chatting to neighbours, something we have lost in our busy digital lives.
Changing Cuisine
The last coronation gave the nation poulet reine Elizabeth. More commonly known as Coronation Chicken. It was designed for versality for a salad or sandwich. So, all could enjoy at their garden or street party.
More interestingly it included an Indian-inspired curry sauce. This somehow seems to look backwards to the former empire and forwards to the opening up of cuisine to the masses. That opening gathered pace in the 70’s and 80’s to lead to a £4B Indian restaurant market in the UK today.
Coronation Quiche will have to go some to match that. But it does reflect our current times worried about the costs of living and reducing risks rather than celebrating.
Last-Minute Prep
It’s not too late to join in and share the positives provided by the Coronation to celebrate our communities and nation. The official timetable:
- Saturday May 6th, the Coronation itself. The procession starts at 11am to Westminster Abbey; the service might last up to 3 hours and then back. For those wanting to view the procession in person queuing starts at 6am and not before.
- Sunday May 7th, the Big Lunch. Over 7,000 street parties have signed up to be part of the Big Lunch with over 1M participants
- Monday May 8th the bank holiday. This celebrates volunteering and public service but not just on the one day as explained on the website
If you’ve prepared an event, AC Services knows it will be a success and you have everything in hand including anything to do with your oven maintenance/cleaning. If you haven’t got an event and:
- it seems quiet in your community; think what you might do and promote to create some buzz for those who will want to join in at the last minute.
- there’s something planned by others; consider how you could link in to promote their event or add to it.
After all coronations don’t happen very often and it will be 25 years to the next jubilee; so a shame not to take the chance to put out the flags and celebrate!
Published Date: 24th April 2023
Category: Blog, Catering Business, Events, Local food, News
Tags: Catering business, Events, farm shop, Hotel, Pubs, Restaurant
01 Feb |
5 Catering Trends 2023 |
We’re already a month into 2023, but it’s never too late to plan for the year ahead. Which is why this month, AC Services is looking at five emerging trends in UK catering businesses.
Menu Size Reduction
With the cost-of-living crisis, the message seems to be getting through that less is more when it comes to items on the menu. One of the consistent messages from Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant rescue programmes has always been reducing the size of the menu. Why, because a shorter menu is far easier for the kitchen to cope with. The consumer can have too much choice!
Shorter menus have significant benefits. They reduce waste as a smaller range of items need to be purchased. This also enables an increased focus on the freshness and availability of ingredients. In turn this allows better control of costs.
A 2023 trend is the 9 course a la carte menu, with only 3 choices each of starter, main and dessert.
Premium Side Dishes
Here the aim is to keep the mains to as low a cost as possible. Why, because consumers will calculate value based upon the advertised price of the main course. They then feel they are in control of deciding whether they want a side dish.
The side dish could be justified as a treat, sounds attractive or because they have decided it’s a necessary part of their meal. The last one is key. What is not happening here is cutting back the mains to say just the protein and charging extra for everything else.
This trend allows chefs to keep costs down for the core menu, but also show their creativity in this week’s side dishes with greater margins.
Flatbread Sharing
This trend is not for everyone perhaps, but flatbreads are increasingly appearing on menus usually as starters. They are a low cost option which are easy to make to order for most kitchens. With a range of toppings, dips and sauces they become an easy sharing course for groups or couples, who perhaps didn’t intend to have a starter.
It’s the warm flatbread, which is the trend. It harks back to the old tradition of offering a bread basket before a meal so the guest finishes the meal happily full!
2 Specialised Catering Trends for 2023 and 1 Certainty
An interesting trend to watch in 2023 is going to be the apparent upsurge in roadside dining. This had seemed to have died with the end of Little Chefs and Happy Eaters. The space in the market seems to be consistent menus with easily accessible dining rooms that aren’t fast food. The wider economic situation is of course similar to what fuelled the original trend in the 80’s.
A more localised trend is catering businesses asking their clients to help fund their development through crowd-funding. This comes in part from the various campaigns to save the local pub, which often use crowd-funding to raise necessary capital. The big plus of course is that it also builds the community clientele for longer term survival. And it taps into the support of those who dine infrequently, but want to do it locally.
Whatever the trends for 2023, the certainty you can rely on is that AC Services will be here to assist catering businesses in South West England and South Wales with servicing their Rational ovens.
Published Date: 1st February 2023
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News
Tags: Catering business, Hotel, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant, schools
26 Oct |
Saving Catering Business Energy |
With the clocks changing and peak autumn colours reached, now is the time to review hotel and catering business energy costs. Doing it now will maximise profits of the coming festive season and be ready for the winter of 2023.
Many of the changes required on catering business energy will cost some money to implement. Given some sources estimate that catering overspent more than £100Mpa on energy before the cost acceleration of 2022 and is responsible for 8M tonnes of carbon; acting now is good for your future business profit.
Measured start
With any business change, it’s always good to start with measurement. Aside from the regular bill, how do you monitor use? Do you use and does your supplier offer a Smart meter? This gives ongoing readings of your total use. Plug appliance monitors costing £25-30 allow you to check on individual items which use mains plugs. Both enable positive action to reduce waste.
Another conversation with your supplier is whether they are part of the National Grid Off-peak scheme starting in November. Here smart meters enable consumers and businesses to switch some of their use to off-peak hours (typically 1.30-4pm and 11pm to 7am) and receive a substantial reduction on their cost per unit. It also balances the load more effectively to reduce the potential for national and local blackouts.
All caterers could also consider their menu choices based upon the energy required. This is both in the cooking, preparation and storage. Analysis by the Carbon Trust showed that preparation accounts for a quarter of energy use.
Heating balances
40% of total catering business energy use is typically heat. This is skewed upwards by the inclusion of larger hotels, but is key for all in the winter months. A 1°C reduction in temperature can reduce the bill by 8%. Ideal room temperatures are:
- Bars/lounges 20-22°C
- Restaurants 22-24°C
- Kitchens 16-18°C
- Corridors 19-21°C
Key savers are ensuring the boiler is serviced regularly and that thermostats are not badly placed so they’re affected by radiators or draughts. Another one often overlooked is ensuring there is a 5°C deadband between heating and air-conditioning; so that one does not work against the other.
Lighting and water savings
The simple fix is LED and energy efficient bulbs, which can halve the energy used in lighting and will last long enough for the future price increases.
The longer fix is the installation of occupancy sensors to ensure that the lights are only on when needed as there is someone there. The word of caution is to be sensible in areas like corridors and stairwells for safety reasons. These again typically save 30-50%.
Low flow aerators on taps use fewer gallons of water per minute of both hot and cold supplies saving energy and money. Forced air hand driers use 80% less energy due to their efficiency than traditional heated driers. And the simplest saving tip is to remove the scale build-up wherever water is boiled.
Equipment reviews
Refrigeration is a necessary cost for all catering businesses. Regular cleaning and defrosting of fridges and freezers should be a given. But how many of us remember to carefully clean and remove the dust from the coils/panel at the back? Clean panels allow the heat to clear quicker meaning less energy used.
The ideal fill of a fridge is ¾ as this allows air to circulate and food to absorb the cold. Once a fridge has chilled, it uses the same amount of energy whether full or empty. What massively affects energy usage is the door being open for long periods and the fluctuations. It’s worth reviewing:
- how the fridge and other equipment is used and
- optimising by turning off other equipment when not in use.
For equipment it is always essential to consider the whole lifecycle costs not just the cost to purchase. The cost to run a fridge is way higher than the purchase price. Consider the efficiency of all equipment. Tests have shown the two most efficient cooking technologies for catering businesses were induction hobs and combi-ovens. The Caterer estimated that the latter were 25-50% more efficient than the equivalent back in 2015. AC Services would say wouldn’t we, that for Rational efficient energy use has always been a prime consideration.
Act now
Catering business energy costs are set to stay at high levels for some time. Now is the time to act with a mix of easy changes based on reviews of use; and some investment in those that give a longer payback period for the money that needs to be spent.
Our final thought is about community. If your trade only half fills the restaurant, is there space for those who can’t warm their homes to positively nurse a coffee for a couple of hours? Could this be wrapped up into a pay forward scheme, where both are jointly promoted publicly? After all, Covid taught catering businesses to consider all options to survive and manage goodwill.
Published Date: 26th October 2022
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News
Tags: Catering business, Combi Oven, farm shop, Food producers, Hotel, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant
26 Jul |
Make Hay While the Sun Shines |
Given the heatwave of the last week, using the old saying of making hay while the sun shines might seem dangerous. As we all now know, too much sun is not good. But the saying is really about optimising the best of conditions. This is very appropriate for our catering trade today.
The Worst of Times
For many businesses and individuals this is the worst of times. We’re seeing the impacts of:
- Covid and our recovery from it
- Staffing availability
- Cost of living crisis
Covid hit catering businesses badly with lockdowns and false dawns of eat out to help out. Many went bust as cashflows and savings failed. Effective cash management and seizing opportunities to flex business practices such as becoming takeaway businesses, enabled survival. As then, now is a good time to review your catering finances. This will identify what you might be able to risk as a budget in the next 2 months, to have more reserves for the winter.
Finding and keep the right staff has become a bigger challenge. Team management and motivation are even more important skills as is communication. Good managers are clear about what the current approach means for the business and separately what it means for each employee. This means talking, listening and understanding about motivations. It can be a good time to build the team with students and new casuals looking for summer income.
Cost of Living Challenge
Soaring inflation driven by increased commodity prices such as fuel and food costs, has created a ‘cost of living’ crisis. This will have an increasing impact as the year progresses. But for most catering businesses aside from Christmas specials, it’s easier to make more money while the sun shines; not in the winter months.
For most of the trade there are regulars and occasional/holiday clients. The former might start cutting back by coming less frequently or ordering less. The latter need to be attracted in. They might have looser purse strings, because it’s a treat or they’re on holiday. Both can be encouraged to spend more through ‘events’.
An event does not have to be a big thing. Rather it is something that can be promoted effectively with posters, social media and word of mouth. The event could tie in with things happening nationally such as on our event calendar or locally.
It could tie into the cost of living crisis and reward loyalty. This could include ‘Saving Saturday 6.00’ with a discounted shorter menu; or any other time you’re normally less full. Or what about Come Back Monday with fixed amounts off on their second visit. For regulars or those you want to turn into regulars, then why not the old loyalty discount card such as free main course or dessert on their 10th visit.
Whatever you decide to do, the time to start is now while the sun shines. This will maximise the summer cash or create the loyalty habit.
Published Date: 26th July 2022
Category: Blog, Catering Business, Events, News
Tags: Attractions, Catering business, Events, farm shop, Hotel, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant
26 Apr |
Celebrating 70 Years of Service |
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend is fast approaching to celebrate her 70 years of service to the country and Commonwealth.
She has served longer as the British monarch than Queen Victoria, who managed almost 64 years. And in case it comes up in a quiz, she needs to go beyond 72 years and 110 days to beat Louis XIV of France for the ultimate record as longest serving monarch.
Any way you look at it, it’s an impressive feat of service in the many senses of the word.
Four Day Weekend
The official Platinum Jubilee celebrations take place over the 4-day weekend from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June:
- 2nd June Trooping the Colour from 9-12.30, followed by the official fly past at 1pm
- 2nd June lighting of the beacons across the country at 9.45pm
- 3rd June Service of Thanksgiving at St Pauls
- 4th June Queen to go racing for the Epsom Derby
- 4th June Platinum Party at the Palace broadcast by the BBC
- 5th June Platinum Pageant Procession with a carnival atmosphere at Buckingham Palace
- 5th June official Big Jubilee lunch
In all a good mixture of celebration, fun and traditions, old and new. Trooping the Colour always happens on the Queen’s birthday weekend, but has been moved to a June spot to coincide with the weekend. Beacons have always been lit on the Queen’s Jubilees in what seems to be increasing numbers of sites. While the Queen’s favourite hobby gets a look-in at the Derby, because life cannot always be about work perhaps?
Catering Service
Parties, processions and lunches always provide opportunities for catering businesses of all kinds. So, the question for all is what could you do for this weekend with your catering business? If, for example, it’s hospital catering, how could you mark the key days for staff and patients unable to join the main festivities? If you’re a sports bar is there a link to the Derby to be made? And for all what links could be made to national or local events?
It’s not too late to plan so that food, drink and staff are all available in this opportunity to celebrate and create memories. Start by checking out the many planned events on the official government website. This is a listing of events already planned by geographic area, so there may be an easy link to something already happening. A pre-beacon lighting drinks/meal or watching the beacons in comfort? Even better there is the opportunity to submit your own event to help publicise it more widely as well as telling your local media.
The Big Jubilee Lunch has its own website for more ideas. The key here is that lunches can and will take place on any of the 4 days, not just the Sunday. It’s all about pulling local communities together to celebrate in whatever format that works. This could be a single venue lunch or getting together with others for a multi-stop tasting menu. Or working with local groups to help their fundraising and awareness on one of the days.
Above all the Platinum Jubilee is the opportunity to celebrate service and those who have managed to overcome the challenges that life has thrown at them along the way.
Published Date: 26th April 2022
Category: Blog, Catering Business, Events, News
Tags: Care homes, Catering business, Events, farm shop, Food producers, Hotel, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant
23 Mar |
Covid19 and Catering Businesses |
No one needs telling that we’re living in desperate times when the government orders the closure of catering businesses.
Those who are offering a takeaway or distribution service are currently exempt.
But when the likes of MacDonalds, Costa and Nando’s voluntarily decide to close to protect staff; it’s time to see what has been put in place already for Covid19 and catering businesses.
Government Specific Help for Catering Businesses
Following the Chancellor’s announcements there is some useful information on covid-19 support on the government’s pages . Check this out for the latest info and updates.
The government’s interventions are primarily about continuity so that when the crisis ends pubs, restaurants, hotels, mass catering and leisure facilities are still around to begin trading again.
The first is for staff under the Coranavirus Job Retention Scheme. Here a grant will cover 80% of retained but non-working employees pay. This is capped to a monthly salary of £2,500 equivalent to £30,000 pa. It’s backdated to March 1st and will in the first instance run for 3 months to the end of May. It could be extended. Now is a good time to have an open and honest conversation with staff about balancing pay and a future job. And then getting a grant for the majority of that cost.
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme focuses on the business who turns over under £45M. This provides a government-backed guarantee for 80% of the loan amount. The government will pay the first 12 months interest. The maximum term of the loan is 6 years.
Here the government is enabling catering business to access loans where previous the answer would be no and giving an interest holiday. The full loan amount will need to be repaid. Consider what essential items could benefit from being covered by a loan; and then how you would be able to pay it back from 2021.
Covid-19 Tax and Reclaim Breaks
With immediate effect, all VAT is deferred to the next quarter so the next payment date for any outstanding is the end of June. But treat this carefully as the VAT will need to be paid at that time. And with limited or no income coming in, it will be difficult to replenish that pot.
If you are having tax payment difficulties, the best advice is to call 0800 0159 559 to discuss the Time to Pay scheme. Do this at the earliest opportunity, not at the last minute.
If staff are unfortunate to catch Covid-19 then with an isolation note from NHS111online, as an employer you can reclaim 2 weeks statutory sick pay.
Local Authority Support for Covid19 and Catering Businesses
Some catering businesses have opted to provide or expand their takeaway meals services. This is a good way to liquidate stock or to maintain limited supply from key suppliers. Some local authorities have been quick with suitable advice such as Monmouthshire .
More significantly there are a number of business rate measures that will be enacted by your local authority. These require no action on your part. Business rates for those in hospitality, retail and leisure have been abolished for the Tax Year 2020-2021. A new statement will be issued by your local council.
Local councils will also administer the Retail and Hospitality Grant Scheme and notify you directly. This is based upon rateable value:
- If your rateable value is up to £15,000 you can get a cash grant of £10,000
- For those between £15,001 and £51,000, the grant is £25,000
- Farm shops and micro businesses are not left out. If you are in receipt of Small Business Rate Relief or Rural Rate Relief; there is a one-off grant of £10,000.
Cashflow is King
For catering businesses cashflow has always been king. Now more than ever, owners and managers need to look very carefully at their budgets and costs. Work out what is necessary, deal with people honestly and respectfully and access what is available to help for covid19 and catering businesses.
At AC Services Southern we look forward to working with you in any way we can; so that your business can revive when this crisis is over.
Published Date: 23rd March 2020
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News
Tags: Catering business, Coronavirus, farm shop, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant
25 Feb |
Is British Beer in Trouble? |
The Office for National Statistics confirmed last year what British beer drinkers have been complaining about for the past decade. Over the last ten years, the price of a pint has risen by more than 30%.
In May 2009, you could buy a pint for £2.81 and as of March 2019, the price was £3.67 on average. However, this varies from city to city: a beer in London was more than double in 2019 (55%) of the price of a beer further north.
A survey by St Austell Brewery’s Proper Job IPA also revealed that the perfect pint should:
- have a head of 9mm,
- be served in a ‘proper’ pint glass preferably at 5.30pm on a Saturday,
- with a partner or best mate in a beer garden accompanied by a bag of crisps and
- a singular lack of mobile phones!
Climate Impacts
However, this may all be academic in light of various issues encircling the brewing industry. The first is climate change: over the past few months globally we have seen severe drought, rising temperatures and epic floods. All have a substantial effect on barley yields worldwide impacting the supply used to make beer. They also affect all the other key ingredients.
Don’t think you’re safe if you drink wine…combining long-term records with global data, researchers have suggested that if temperatures rise by 2°C, the regions suitable for growing wine grapes could shrink by as much as 56%. Stoke that up by a further 2°C and 85% of those regions would no longer be able to produce good wine.
Tax Impacts
In addition, there has been an ongoing constant battle with the tax burdens facing the pub industry. UK Hospitality chief executive, Kate Nicholls spoke about the issue of rising prices overall across the trade. She commented “costs continue to increase for businesses. So it is no wonder that the average price of a pint continues to climb. Even with the scrapping of the beer duty escalator, many businesses have no choice but to pass costs on to customers.”
Rise of Independents Affects Style
Also affecting British beer consumption is consumers shifting from mass-produced, low flavoured lagers from well-known, well-established beer companies to quality independent beers from craft brewers. A recent report points out a considerable growth of the no- and low-abv category. This registered a massive 381% sales increase compared to its market share only two years ago.
Traditional British beer styles such as mild, bitter and golden ale are experiencing challenges with overall production dropping from 14% in 2016 to 5% in 2019 and the percentage of featured producers brewing these styles decreasing accordingly, from 44% in 2016 to 31% in 2019.
Worker Challenge
Finally, the drinks trade has warned that the UK government’s announcement this week to deny visas to low-skilled workers is set to cause a massive challenge to the UK’s pub, bar and restaurant sector.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said the points-based immigration system would present significant challenges for the pub sector. She commented “many pubs rely on workers from overseas. So it is hard to see how they will cope with such fundamental changes coming into effect in just ten months. Pubs will especially struggle with the costs and complexities of becoming a sponsoring employer in order to take on staff from outside the UK.”
Published Date: 25th February 2020
Category: Blog, Food Sourcing, News
Tags: Catering business, Food producers, Hotel, Pubs, Restaurant
04 Feb |
Rational’s VarioCookingCenter |
As an authorised Rational Service and Spares Partner, AC Services Southern repairs and maintains the complete range of Rational units. This includes the VarioCookingCenter previously sold under the Frima brand. So this week we’re focusing on that as one of the units we service for clients across South West England and South Wales.
Rational’s VarioCookingCenter® is the ideal multi-functional appliance for any kitchen because it can do a multitude of cooking tasks at the same time. The beauty of the appliance is the value it offers – savings in time, cost, speed and ultimately, profits.
The VarioCookingCenter® is suitable for any catering requirements, from small caterers to high-end restaurants. With over 95% efficiency, it cooks up to four times faster than conventional appliances. And uses up to 40% less power consumption.
Moreover, it has cooking versatility, letting you cook several different dishes quickly at the same time. The multi-functional cooking technology lets you bake, boil, roast, toast, braise, deep fry and a host of other cooking techniques. So if you are serving a full English breakfast; you can serve up the fried bacon, boiled eggs, sautéed tomatoes and toast all at the same time.
Pressure Cooking
The appliance also offers a pressure-cooking feature, enabling the reduction of cooking times for a range of dishes. Times for soups, stews, casseroles and braised dishes can be cut by 30% without compromising taste or quality. The built-in cooking intelligence VarioCookingControl® ensures the desired cooking level is achieved precisely.
Another major benefit of the VarioCookingCenter is its space-saving value. If you are tight on space, then this system is the perfect solution. It has an integrated water outlet which allows draining without any movement to the pan. This prevents scalding and allows the appliance to be installed without a floor channel drain. Furthermore, because nothing sticks or overcooks, cleaning time is minimised.
Expert Design
The appliance has been designed by experts using intensive R&D, testing and analysis to attain the optimum cooking intelligence. As a result, the VarioCookingCenter works day and night with minimal monitoring or checking required. Because the appliance sensitively regulates the temperature at the touch of a button, you get a perfect cooking result the next morning. This is a major boost for larger cuts of meat that need overnight boiling like ham or cured pork, beef and brisket.
The VarioCookingCenter is a sustainable and holistic approach to everyday cooking designed for resource savings using the very latest technology. Contact us here at AC Services (Southern) for more details if you need it serviced or maintained on 01454 322 222.
If you’d like to buy one, contact Rational UK or attend a local cooklive demonstration to see its suitability for your business.
Published Date: 4th February 2020
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News, Ovens, Rational
Tags: Hotel, Installation, mass catering, Ovens, Pubs, Rational Ovens, Restaurant
14 Jan |
Top Tips for Catering Businesses in 2020 |
This year has started somewhat explosively, with concerns about the environment, bush fires, international political escalations and the future of certain members of the monarchy in jeopardy. But people still have to eat. So putting the news aside, it’s time to consider the next twelve months for catering businesses. Here are our top tips for catering businesses for 2020.
Firstly, there are no guarantees about the impact of Brexit. The best route to take is the one that is already benefiting your business directly. Top of the list is the maintenance of your appliances. Put in place a maintenance programme for your ovens. This will ensure that whatever disasters or decisions may befall us over the next twelve months; a substandard, under-performing oven won’t be one of them.
It’s All About the Planning
Secondly, plan for regular and irregular annual events. There are always catering opportunities linked to traditional dates, such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas, food festivals and so on. Take a look at our sporting calendar for additional opportunities in 2020. It’s an Olympic year as well as Euro 2020 for football fans and the start of the new cricket Hundred game. So if you are catering for sports fans, take advantage or provide an alternative for non-sports fans.
Staff training is essential. Don’t stint on training because if something goes wrong, the consequences can be catastrophic. Make sure that your staff are fully familiar with all relevant health and safety requirements and appliance operation, and make this an ongoing exercise. There is a plethora of H&S legislation and come Brexit, there is bound to be more. Educate your staff so that in your absence, your business will still thrive.
Goal Setting
Set goals in terms of time management and profit and loss, and make them realistic. There is nothing more demoralising than not reaching your target within the time frame allotted but be reasonable on yourself. We have endured a turbulent and uncertain few years politically, and it’s not over yet. Continue working to the highest standard professionally and don’t cut corners.
Invest in catastrophe training. As we have seen from the traumatic scenes in Australia, sometimes we are at the mercy of unforeseen and unpredictable forces. These may be natural or man-made but either way, they can cause the loss of business. Be prepared. If you are a mobile catering company, plan for both rain and shine at events. If you live in flood-prone areas, check weather predictions and plan for the safe removal or protection of appliances and staff.
Trend-Spotting
The last of our top tips for catering businesses and perhaps most importantly, keep an eye on current trends. We have seen a momentous rise in vegan and vegetarian demands for restaurants and fast food outlets in the past few years. With culinary trends changing constantly, there is always an opportunity for savvy operators to gain a foothold in a new market.
Don’t be afraid to be bold and always check out the news on AC Services Southern’s blog and like our Facebook page.
Published Date: 14th January 2020
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News, Ovens
Tags: Brexit, Events, Hotel, mass catering, Pubs, Restaurant, schools
13 Jan |
BBC Good Food Show Winter 2019 |
The Birmingham NEC played host to the latest BBC Good Food Show Winter from 28 November to 1 December 2019. Hugely popular and one of the most attended shows at the venue, the show was a triumph for exhibitors and visitors.
As usual, the Good Food Show presented a huge range of activities, from the Big Kitchen and Festive Kitchen to the BBC Good Food Stage and BBC Good Food Workshop. Visitors enjoyed the Travelsphere presents: A Taste of Italy & Croatia; CAMRA’s Great British Beer Experience and La Cuisine de Maille Tasting Theatre. While the new QVC Kitchen, featured host Katy Pullinger demonstrating top tips and hacks for mastering Christmas Day lunch. Real inspiration for perfecting the ultimate seasonal desserts and party food.
Food demonstrations from the country’s favourite chefs took place every day. These featured Rosie Birkett, Tom Kerridge, Rick Stein, Michel Roux Jr, Nadiya Hussain, the Hairy Bikers, Ainsley Harriot and Mary Berry.
Innovations
There were many innovative products showcased at the show, with Symphonia Gin making a big noise. Scientist Dr Ulrich Dyer distils his award winning gin in his County Tyrone distillery. The winner of the Irish Gin of the Year 2019 title, Symphonia No 1 Dry Gin was also awarded a silver medal in the prestigious International Wine and Spirits Competition awards and got two stars in the Great Taste Awards.
Staying with the Emerald Isle, Irish Black Butter has also received a number of awards and went down a treat at the Good Food Show. Irish Black Butter was thought up by Alastair Bell. He comes from Portrush and put together the innovative use of Armagh Bramley apples, cider, brandy and spices. Vegan and vegetarian friendly, the product is also free from dairy and wheat. The new Irish Black Butter Peanut Spread is a brand new product featuring peanuts.
Food Champions
The Pished Fish booze infused smoked salmon selection was chosen as one of the Food Champions at the show. Described as a “fillet of salmon that has been cured with high quality alcohol and botanicals and smoked in small batches over wood” the company offers the most diverse range of flavours. These range from Aquavit cured smoked Scottish salmon with beetroot, star anise and juniper berries to Augustus Gloop smoked salmon cured with blueberries and raspberry vodka. There is also one called the Designated Driver, with no booze, just cherry and juniper wood smoke
For those visitors who like their food spicy, Mr Vikki’s passion for Indian food and culture has over thirty products. While the company has won over 110 awards. From XXX Hot Chilli Jam to garlic pickle and Hell Hot Habanero and King Naga; Mr Vikkis also presents a Scotch Bonnet Fudge, not for the faint-hearted.
The BBC Good Food Show Winter yet again raised interesting ideas. It will return to the same venue in the summer.
Published Date: 13th January 2020
Category: Blog, Food Sourcing, News
Tags: Catering business, Pubs, Restaurant, Show report