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.
-
Feb- 2024 -21 February
How hospitality businesses can survive in 2024
2024 has only just begun, and we’ve already witnessed a spate of small business closures across the hospitality sector. With the winding up of independent businesses across England, Wales and Scotland, questions have again been raised about the amount of governmental support available to one of the UK’s most beloved…
Read More » -
Jan- 2024 -30 January
The forgotten effect of insolvencies on a premises licence
Can you explain how an insolvency event can cause a premises licence to lapse, and at what point in the process does this typically occur? Before there’s any sign of going into insolvency, I think it’s important for operators to consider not just their wider business, but specifically their licences…
Read More » -
29 January
Franchises in and mid-market out: The year ahead for the restaurant industry
The last year has been a difficult one for the restaurant industry. While the pandemic was tough for a lot of businesses, many managed to hold on to dear life only to go out of business in the years after. This has meant that the market for buying restaurants and…
Read More » -
18 January
‘It’s everyone’s responsibility’: are 50% plant-based menus the future for restaurants?
This year is the 10th anniversary of Veganuary, I’m curious to know your opinion on it. How has the trend evolved in 10 years? I think plant based food has developed enormously in the last 10 years, and I think the rise of vegan restaurants has helped enormously with that.…
Read More » -
17 January
In conversation with Eco Pizza founder Sami Wasif
Can you tell us about your hospitality experience leading up to starting Eco Pizza in 1993? My love of food dates back to my childhood in Egypt, where I learned the secrets of dough making from my grandfather, Gerges, who during the Spring Equinox festival would produce and distribute the…
Read More » -
15 January
Why are insolvencies more likely to affect the hospitality sector?
According to PwC’s outlook for 2024, there will be a significant rise in corporate insolvencies in 2024, just shy of 30,000 with smaller businesses accounting for the lion’s share. However, it further added that industries most impacted are likely to be hotels and catering, along with manufacturing, and transport and…
Read More » -
Dec- 2023 -20 December
Five AI predictions for the industry in 2024
This time last year, I said that the adoption of AI would accelerate massively in the hospitality sector. Look where we are today – only 12 months on – and ChatGPT, which was then unknown, has now become omnipresent. The news is filled with headlines like ‘AI will end work’.…
Read More » -
13 December
How digitisation across the restaurant sector is set to evolve in 2024
As we reflect on the last year, it’s fair to say that the restaurant industry has continued to go through unprecedented digital transformation, as innovation in the sector accelerates. While these changes have presented disruptions and challenges, they have also provided restaurants with the opportunity to get creative and find…
Read More » -
13 December
New immigration rules will make it “next to impossible” for hospitality to recruit overseas workers
The most important change announced by the Government concerns the skilled worker visa because from spring 2024, the earning threshold for overseas workers will increase by nearly 50% from its current position of £26,200 to £38,700. How will this change affect the hospitality industry? It’s just not good for hospitality.…
Read More » -
4 December
How to manage food waste and charitable giving
One-third of all food produced globally goes to waste; if food waste was a country, then it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. In the UK, 70% of food waste occurs in the home, but the hospitality and retail sector still contribute a sizable…
Read More »
