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- 2020 -24 November
The four post-lockdown personas – and how to cater to each one
If the UK hospitality sector has demonstrated any collective characteristic during this turbulent year, it is resilience. In responding to new restrictions while adapting to ever-changing government guidelines, operators across the country have demonstrated their ability to accommodate guests and create exceptional hospitality experiences, despite the challenges of a pandemic.…
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18 November
Keep your staff motivated and inspired through lockdown 2.0
The hospitality industry has faced some of its toughest challenges amid the pandemic. With a second lockdown in England, operators are once again forced to either close their doors or revert to a takeaway only option at what is typically one of their busiest times of the year. Despite a…
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16 November
Protecting hospitality workers’ mental wellbeing during the pandemic
The implications of the pandemic have completely transformed how hospitality businesses operate; for those working in the industry, this means adapting to significant long-term changes, which not only affect their careers but daily lives as well. With government advice constantly changing as the situation evolves, there is still a lot…
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13 November
How Covid-19 has changed the progression of FoodTech
No industry has escaped the wrath of COVID-19, but the hospitality sector has arguably faced the brunt of the virus’ shockwaves. If we are to focus on the silver lining, however, it is that cafés, bars and restaurants alike have been able to demonstrate their remarkable ingenuity as they…
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10 November
The Coronavirus Diaries: Richard Hills, owner of Tokyo Diner
At Tokyo Diner, being located in the heart of London’s Chinatown, we (alongside most other restaurants in the area) started to feel the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry as early as January when people began avoiding the area. Regardless of what the Government was announcing, customers were voting…
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2 November
Q&A with Jonathan Dockrell
What difficulties were there in opening the shop in Canary Wharf, especially during the pandemic? I suppose that the initial pain was getting people to fit the new kitchen in as you normally would. Usually you go in with relatively large teams and very quickly sort it so we’ve had…
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Oct- 2020 -27 October
Creativity and innovation: Catering large events in a post-Covid world
We don’t yet know when large events will return with people in attendance, but while the finer details remain to be seen we can perhaps rely on a few assumptions. We know that timescales are likely to be cautious, rather than rushed. We know that any return of service will…
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26 October
Pivoting during a Pandemic
You could have once argued that London’s Chinatown was one of the best spots to open a restaurant (prior to Covid of course), placed strategically just minutes away from the city’s theatre district, vendors could attract hungry musical goers and tourists right after they emerged from the latest West-End show. …
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5 October
Unprofitable hotel kitchens cannot be sustained, but food delivery holds the answer
Nationwide lockdown is over, staycations are booming, and yet across the hotel industry, thousands of venues are struggling with low occupancy rates, particularly hotels in city centres, not to mention the considerable costs incurred as owners go to extreme lengths to make patrons feel safe during their stay. In an…
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Sep- 2020 -18 September
Rebooting restaurants: Tech solutions to Covid-19 problems in catering
COVID-19 has been a huge problem for restaurants and catering businesses, with virtually every company in the sector, from bars to cafés, having to re-think their business model. With the industry so strongly dependent on social gatherings and interacting with other people, it has been a sector massively impacted by…
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