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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Feb- 2021 -8 February
How Britain’s top fast food chains coped during Covid
It has been a rough year for the hospitality industry. According to the CCA’s ‘Market Recovery Monitor’ for 2020, almost 10,000 licensed premises – including pubs, clubs and restaurants – closed permanently as a result of its impact and the continuous wave of lockdowns. This represents a net decline of…
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2 February
Are food delivery apps ethical?
Since the pandemic began the purpose of food delivery apps has changed drastically: what was once a service used mainly by city locals searching for a hangover cure has transformed into a vital service in which people (especially those in self isolation) can access food. And it’s not just consumers…
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Jan- 2021 -18 January
The way forward from the moratorium
The latest lockdown is another devastating blow to the hospitality and leisure industries. Any help which the Government can provide is clearly welcome. But, for many hospitality and leisure operators in major cities, where annual rents can exceed £100,000 per annum, the latest grants amount to less than three weeks rent. For businesses that have been closed, in many cases, for almost…
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18 January
The idea behind: Plant Hustlers
They say when entering the world of business the only thing to expect is the unexpected. Aaron Bryans, the owner of Plant Hustlers, a vegan restaurant in Bournemouth knows this all too well. With just a year of trading under his belt before the pandemic hit the North London native…
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15 January
Q&A with Larkin Cen
Where did your passion for food come from? I grew up like many British-born Chinese kids, in a Chinese takeaway which is where I developed my love for Chinese food. We came from very modest beginnings yet we used to eat like kings, because there was a great passion with…
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11 January
Q&A with Brad Nobbs
How has the business adapted to Covid-19? We actually started off mainly focused on nightlife and late night events. We only really started diversifying into the hospitality industry because of the pandemic. We originally provided a range of different services to clubs, bars and late night events that were essentially…
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Dec- 2020 -22 December
Reflecting on 2020 as a restaurant owner
I am preparing for the new year with a sense of weariness and exhaustion. 2020 has, to say the least, had its moments of worry, pain, emotion, and tears for the country and certainly most of us in hospitality. ‘Unprecedented’ is now a hackneyed phrase and that perhaps that speaks…
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21 December
What lies ahead for independent restaurants?
Life as an independent restaurant operator has never seemed tougher, particularly for those living within the shackles of tier 3 and 4 restrictions. It’s hard not to look back with rose tinted glasses at a time when the biggest threat to independents was the onslaught of new chain concepts. Corporations…
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17 December
Did the EOTHO scheme actually help out?
On the surface, the Eat Out To Help Out scheme looked like a great idea, didn’t it? There’s no question that extra importance was placed on the economy coming out of the first lockdown in late spring. Held during the course of August, Eat Out To Help Out was one…
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8 December
Three steps to getting your business ready for Natasha’s Law
From October 2021, all food businesses in the UK selling pre-packed for direct sale food products (PPDS), will be required to clearly label all ingredients and allergens for the benefit of consumers. Food nutrition and labelling experts, Nutritics, have partnered with experts from Manchester Metropolitan University, EuroFIR and the Quadram…
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