Comment
The Comment section on Catering Today features expert opinions, editorials, and thought leadership from across the UK hospitality industry. It offers in-depth perspectives from restaurateurs, chefs, trade body leaders, and analysts on the key issues shaping foodservice — from staffing and supply chain challenges to innovation, sustainability, and market recovery. Catering Today’s commentary highlights diverse industry voices, providing critical insights and strategic viewpoints that help hospitality professionals navigate commercial, regulatory, and operational change.
-
Aug- 2023 -29 August
Is competitive socialising replacing the traditional pub?
“The gaming element is a great leveller and way of bringing groups together, whatever the occasion. It’s fast paced, engaging and a great way to create memories together which we hope will last long after our guests have left us,” says Juliette Keyte, marketing director, Red Engine. Research this month…
Read More » -
18 August
In conversation with the founder of the Cornish Bakery
Can you tell us a little bit about your career leading up to the Cornish Bakery? I really didn’t have a big career, because from my early 20s I backpacked all over the world. I funded that travelling by buying and selling pub properties. I would do between two and…
Read More » -
14 August
The decline and bounceback of the night time economy
Recent data from CGA has shown that Britain has lost over 100 independent night time venues in the last year and has seen a 31% decline in the total number of night time venues between June 2020 and June 2023. This paints a bleak picture for an industry that is…
Read More » -
10 August
Greggs’ recipe for success
By May 2023, Greggs’ sales had shot up by nearly a fifth compared with the same time in 2022, as its offering of sausage rolls and pasties remained “compelling” to customers during the cost-of-living crisis. In the spring of this year, the country-wide chain of bakeries also revealed that hot…
Read More » -
7 August
The industry reacts to the new alcohol duty hike
Last Tuesday (1 August), the significant shake-up of alcohol taxation arrived, meaning that tax is now levied based on a drink’s strength. This means that the overall duty on most wines and spirits have increased, while taxes on lower alcohol drinks and most sparkling wines have fallen. The changes, which…
Read More » -
1 August
Reinventing fine-dining: the concept behind eòrna restaurant
Can you tell us briefly about how you entered the industry? Well, I had always in my life worked in hotels, restaurants and bars as part time jobs but never really considered it as a career until after university. I finished my degree in engineering but I wasn’t in love…
Read More » -
Jul- 2023 -24 July
How will the industry be affected by the new allocation of tips?
Do you think the new Employment Allocation of Tips Act will genuinely work in redistributing the fair share of tips? I don’t believe this legislation touches the surface of the subject. I think it addresses principally what you said at the beginning of our discussion, which is where tips and…
Read More » -
19 July
Northwood revamps Whisper brand
Northwood Hygiene Products Ltd – the leading manufacturer and supplier of away-from-home (AfH) professional paper hygiene and wiping products – is rolling out a new brand refresh for its Whisper range of premium toilet tissues and facial tissues. Since its launch over a decade ago, Whisper has grown to become…
Read More » -
19 July
Data and sustainability: Take advantage of growing demand for sustainable eating
“Restaurant owners cannot afford not to address sustainability. It just makes sense. If you’re not looking at your energy use, you’re not tracking your food waste and if you don’t have data on your company, you can’t really be successful, because you don’t know what’s happening at the customer level,”…
Read More » -
17 July
Loans repayment, inflation, staff shortages: what else we can expect from hospitality insolvencies?
What are the potential reasons for the continued increase in the number of hospitality insolvencies we’ve seen recently? Glyn: I think it goes back to the pandemic. Covid was a big thing for the sector and rightly, both the government and HMRC stepped in to help companies with furlough and…
Read More »
