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.
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Nov- 2021 -9 November
Can catering SMEs weather the supply storm?
Using the words of Nando’s, restaurants have had “a bit of a mare” recently amid an increase in supply chain shortages. Earlier this year, the chain had to temporarily shut around 50 UK outlets, with its signature peri peri chicken stripped from the menu. As well as chicken being unattainable,…
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8 November
Q&A with Alan Morgan, CEO of The Big Table Group
What is the history of the business? The Big Table Group was formed last summer to acquire and operate the Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas restaurant brands. In a process handled by AlixPartners, parts of the business formerly known as Casual Dining Group were acquired from administration, preserving…
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Sep- 2021 -29 September
Harrogate welcomes back the Ice Cream and Artisan Food Show
The Ice Cream and Artisan Food Show will be held 8–10 February 2022 at the Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate. In addition to everything that the makers and sellers of ice cream need to run their businesses, the show will also include exhibitors selling coffee and other beverages, cakes, confectionary and…
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22 September
How hospitality’s ongoing battle with staff shortages could transform the sector
Desperate to make up for months of lost trading, Freedom Day was seen as hospitality’s road to recovery. However, it soon became apparent that restaurants, pubs and bars face a persistent existential threat: staff shortages. The number of job postings in the UK hospitality sector shot up by 46% since…
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21 September
Driving sustainable change
Juliane Caillouette-Noble is the managing director of The Sustainable Restaurant Association, which aims to drive change towards an environmentally restorative and socially progressive hospitality sector. The SRA works with businesses across the hospitality sector to create a unified definition of sustainability within the industry through it’s food made good programme,…
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1 September
Foraging for beginners – and chefs of luxury hotels!
When we think about foraging food, more often than not, it conjures up images of searching for food that is in short supply in the wild . We certainly don’t associate it with luxury. But foraging can be an invaluable tactic in the playbook of hospitality businesses catering to large,…
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Jul- 2021 -21 July
Fixing the staffing shortage goes beyond changing self-isolation rules
It’s not new news, the hospitality sector is facing a staffing shortage crisis. A study conducted by CGA and Fourth last month found nine in 10 hospitality business owners expect employee shortages this coming year. Yet, the problem persists without showing any signs of letting up. With the 19 July…
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16 July
Halfords teams up with the Ice Cream Alliance
Halfords’ expert teams at its 750 outlets are providing 5-point vehicle checks and maintenance follow-ups to make sure ice cream vans are in tip-top shape ahead of what promises to be a bumper year for British getaways. The free vehicle check is available to all ice cream van operators in…
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16 July
New dispute resolution service offers fresh hope to solve bank complaints
The Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS) launched earlier this year – what does it offer businesses in the hospitality sector? The BBRS helps medium sized businesses find solutions to unresolved complaints against their bank, providing personalised support from highly skilled and experienced dispute resolution specialists. There are around 40,000 current…
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14 July
Becoming a scalable business through successful crowdfunding
It’s one thing to identify a growing market, establish an innovative route into the sector, and reach a point of scalability, but to continually grow a startup is another ballgame completely. Crowdfunding can provide the path needed to beat that game, but also the opportunity to score an unfortunate own…
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