James McAllister - 10 Minutes News for Hoteliers - Page 20

3 min

Flash-grilled: Olly Oakley

🍴 Olly Oakley, Head Chef at The Harcourt Arms and The Plough Inn in Oxfordshire, favors à la carte dining over tasting menus for repeat customer appeal. Starting as a commis chef and waiter at Ascot Racecourse, he admires Joan Roca of El Celler de Can Roca, Spain. His cooking style is relaxed with a focus on flavor, influenced by English and Spanish barbecues. Oakley values hard, smart work, questioning, and learning in the industry. His essential kitchen item is a coal or wood-fired grill.

3 min

Could America be a Land of Opportunity for expanding UK restaurant groups?

📈 Dishoom, a UK restaurant group, is set to debut in the US in August through a collaboration at Pastis in New York City. JKS, another London-based group, is eyeing New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas for expansion. San Carlo Group plans a Miami launch as a testbed for further US growth. Sexy Fish launched in Miami in 2022, while Chotto Matte established a Miami presence in 2018, expanding to San Francisco with more cities planned. Hawksmoor opened in NYC in 2021, followed by Chicago, signaling more North American openings. UK brands face a competitive US market, with Carluccio’s, Pizza Express, and YO! having struggled previously. Despite challenges, the US market presents significant opportunities for successful UK restaurant brands.

2 min

Turtle Bay looks to improve work-life balance for staff through ‘4 days at the Bay’ initiative

🍹 Turtle Bay, a Caribbean-inspired restaurant group, reported 90% of staff feeling their well-being had improved or stayed the same with its ‘4 days at the Bay’ initiative. The scheme led to a recommendation rate of 83%, a refreshed feeling in 77% of employees, and a team turnover decrease from 131.5% to 84.1%. Record turnover reached £93.7m by 31 March 2024, with a slight EBITDA decrease to £9m. Profit before tax was £1.9m, down from £9.9m the previous year. The group invested £8.4m in new and existing sites, including openings in Glasgow, Camden, Blackpool, and Lincoln.

2 min

Thomas Straker to double up in Notting Hill

🍴 Chef Thomas Straker, known for his high-profile restaurant stints and social media presence, is set to open a new café-style concept at 60 Golborne Road, Notting Hill, following his first restaurant's launch at 91 Golborne Road in 2022. This upcoming deli will feature breakfast items like acai bowls and granola. Straker's debut restaurant garnered critical acclaim and secured a spot on the National Restaurant Awards Top 100 list in 2022. Despite success, Straker faced criticism for lacking diversity in his kitchen last year but has since pledged to improve. He also runs a flatbread outlet in Arcade Battersea and his retail range All Things Butter is available in Sainsbury's and Ocado.

2 min

Price fluctuations remain a challenge for foodservice sector as month-on-month inflation rises again

💸 In June 2024, inflation stood at 3.6% with a significant month-on-month rise of 1.3%, the largest increase in 12 months. The foodservice sector sees this as a return to levels seen five months prior. Shaun Allen of Prestige Purchasing and Reuben Pullan of CGA by NIQ acknowledge the volatility of the market, urging vigilance. Vegetables, particularly potatoes due to poor weather conditions impacting 2023 crops, face double-digit inflation, while two other categories show year-on-year deflation, bringing some relief amidst ongoing cost challenges.

2 min

Government plans ‘further measures’ on tipping

This article was written by Restaurant Online Magazine. Click here to read the original article Statutory instruments (Sis) for the new tipping law, which is designed to ensure hospitality staff…

6 min

“No one’s doing what she’s doing” – the unstoppable rise of Adejoké Bakare

🏠 Chef Adejoké ‘Joké’ Bakare of Chishuru in London won a Michelin star in the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2024. Since then, Chishuru experienced a 60% increase in trade and relocated to Fitzrovia last September. Joké was named Chef of the Year at the National Restaurant Awards and ranked at number 31 in the UK's Top 100 Restaurants. Earlier, she was titled Woman of the Year by Code Hospitality. Chishuru's set menu increased from £75 to £95 post-Michelin star, and the kitchen brigade grew from two to eight, many with Michelin experience.

1 min

MasterChef: The Professionals winner Nikita Pathakji takes over the stoves at The Princess of Shoreditch

🍝 Nikita Pathakji, the winner of "MasterChef: The Professionals" in 2022, is now the head chef at The Princess of Shoreditch gastropub, owned by Noble Inns Group. She replaces Thomas Lemercier, who left to lead La Bibliothèque. Pathakji, with past experience at two Michelin-starred Bibendum and one Michelin-starred Kitchen W8, brings a menu merging classical cooking with global flavors, featuring dishes like gazpacho with smoked anchovy and spanakopita with whipped feta.

1 min

Bunsik takes Chinatown site for next London opening

🍝 Korean corn dog brand Bunsik, under Maguro Group, expands with its sixth London site and seventh UK location in Chinatown, next to Korean BBQ Pochawa Grill. Launching its first site in Charing Cross Road in 2021, Bunsik became a social media hit and now offers Korean street food like K-Dogs, fried chicken, ddukbokki, and kimbap. Director Jae Cho takes pride in integrating Bunsik into UK's cultural hubs, alongside Maguro Group's other ventures Bullgogi and Gogi.

3 min

Friday five: the week’s top restaurant stories

🍴 Hospitality insolvencies climbed 20% year-on-year to 3,752 cases by May 2024, with the sector facing the third highest business failures. Dishoom, an Indian restaurant group, will launch its first overseas collaboration with New York's Pastis for breakfast dishes from August 19-30, 2024. Nick Beardshaw is set to open Starling, a 40-seater in Esher, Surrey, at August's end, featuring British seasonal dishes. Leeds' Bavette was named Britain’s Best Local Restaurant by The Good Food Guide. Liz Cottam's Leeds restaurant Home will close in September 2024 after seven years, due to economic pressures.

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