News
The latest industry news from the business journalists at Catering Today. We bring you the latest on what’s happening in the restaurants, bars and catering industry, with exclusive stories, analysis, best practice and industry comment.
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Oct- 2021 -14 October
D&D to roll out chef training programme permanently
D&D London has announced it will be permanently rolling out its chef training programme. In partnership with Electric Mayonnaise, D&D has been working on a long-term commitment to “secure employment for people with little or no previous experience looking to enter kitchens, while giving a much-needed boost to staffing numbers…
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14 October
UK GDP grows 0.4% in August amid hospitality boost
Gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have grown by 0.4% in August 2021, and was boosted by the hospitality sector, according to the latest Office of National Statistics data. Services output grew by 0.3% in August 2021 with output in consumer-facing services increasing by 1.2%, while all other services…
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13 October
CrepeAffaire to open 10 UK sites
CrepeAffaire, the European fast casual crepe café group, has announced its plans to open 10 UK sites amongst the development of 50 new stores over the coming 24-36 months. It revealed the company is also on track to expand its international portfolio by 10 additional units by the end of…
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13 October
Hospitality sales boosted by 43.5%
Barclaycard has revealed that pubs, bars and clubs benefited from a 43.5% boost as colleagues reunited at post-work gatherings. The data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, found that consumer card spending grew 13.3% in September compared to the same period in…
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13 October
Marston’s FY21 sales return to pre-pandemic level
Marston’s has revealed that for the full-year ending 2 October 2021, trading has been at 94% of pre-Covid levels and benefited from the temporary VAT reduction on food and non-alcoholic drink sales. Total pub sales were at £402m, representing 78% of last year, and reflected the “significant” disruption to trading…
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13 October
Almost 1,000 hospitality venues have closed since July, report finds
Britain’s number of licensed premises fell by 980 between July, when the market fully reopened, and September 2021, according to the new market recovery monitor from CGA and Alix Partners. The monitor indicates that small businesses have borne the brunt of closures, with independently run pubs, restaurants, bars and other…
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12 October
Bob Bob Cité to relaunch with new head chef
Bob Bob Cité is set to reopen as Bob Bob Ricard City on 26 October with a French menu from its new head chef, Ben Hobson. The owner, Leonid Shutov, plans to make Bob Bob Ricard City similar to the Soho original which is “warmer, cosier, and richer in palate”.…
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12 October
Hospitality coalition calls on PM to keep VAT at 12.5%
A coalition of the country’s hospitality and tourism trade and membership bodies has called on the prime minister to keep VAT low for businesses in their sectors. Co-ordinated by UK Hospitality, the letter argues that keeping VAT at its current rate of 12.5% for these sectors will help to “accelerate…
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12 October
Sustainability-focused restaurant Kindle opens in Cardiff
Kindle has announced the opening of a sustainability-focused independent restaurant in Cardiff city centre, following a two-year process of fundraising, planning and renovation. In an effort to make the restaurant entirely sustainable, the owners revealed they worked closely with Object Space Place (OSP), an interior architecture and design company with…
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12 October
Star Pubs and Bars to help tenants capitalise on cocktail sales
Star Pubs and Bars has launched a free cocktail menu builder to help its leased and tenanted licensees capitalise on a post lockdown boom in cocktail sales and aid their pandemic recovery. Data from the group’s Just Add Talent (JAT) managed operator pubs revealed that cocktail sales have doubled since…
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