Miscellaneous

🍷 On 21 November 2025, Lough Erne Resort hosts a Château Penin Evening in Ireland, celebrating French wines and Irish cuisine. Antoine Carteyron of Château Penin, Bordeaux, guides attendees through a seven-course menu paired with their award-winning wines, like the 2022 Bordeaux Supérieur. The event costs £85 per person, or £169.50 with an overnight stay. Book at www.lougherneresort.com or call 028 6632 3230.

💡 In 2025, Tojiro Knife Gallery, Osaka's flagship store, opened in Doguyasuji Alley arcade. Designed by L/O, it showcases knives with overlapping wooden panels inspired by traditional yoroi-bari cladding. The space includes a gallery with LED-lit wood-panelled walls and a maintenance room for observing knife sharpening. The design highlights a blend of Japanese craftsmanship and modern innovation, and the gallery is shortlisted for a 2025 Dezeen Award for small retail interiors.

📖 Joanna Fantozzi, Senior Editor at Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality, has over seven years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. She has worked at Informa since 2018, holding roles such as Associate and Assistant Editor. Joanna has a bachelor's degree in English and a master's in journalism. Her expertise includes restaurant industry news and innovations. She has written for The New York Times, Forbes, and facilitated events like MUFSO and Restaurants Rise.

🍷 Renais Gin launches a limited Harvest Edition in collaboration with artist Frankie Penwill. Who? Renais Gin and Frankie Penwill. When? November 2025. Where? UK. What? A limited release of 600 bottles at £65 each, includes a fine art print worth £60. How? Available exclusively via the Renais online shop. Why? Celebrate the harvest season and festive gifting. CEO Alex Watson praises Penwill's botanical-inspired designs, reflecting Renais' ethos of using fine grapes and botanicals.

🍴 Bret Thorn is the senior food & beverage editor at Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999 and Restaurant Hospitality since 2016. He studied at Tufts University (BA in history, 1990) and Le Cordon Bleu (1986). Thorn worked in Thailand from 1992 to 1997 and covered Tiananmen Square protests for ABC News in 1989. He served as president of IFEC in 2005 and won a Neal Award in 2006. Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. and is a published author in food literature.

🍴 Food, Drink & Hospitality Week 2026, at Excel London from 30 March to 01 April, features a diverse ambassador line-up from food, drink, hospitality, and tech sectors. Notable figures include Nick Powell, Portfolio Director, and Steve Alton, CEO, British Institute of Innkeeping, with 13,000 BII members participating. Events include IFE Manufacturing, IFE, HRC, International Salon Culinaire, The Pub Show, and Hospitality Tech360, offering insights and innovation to UK’s industry operators and suppliers.

📖 Hospitality ON offers weekly expert insights into the hospitality industry. Members gain access to exclusive content, job opportunities, and a complete ecosystem. Consider joining to stay updated with the latest trends and information in the hospitality sector. Explore membership options for enhanced resources and networking.

✈️ Qatar Airways deployed SITA's SD-WAN technology across 350+ international sites and data centers, enhancing network efficiency, speed, and security. The project addresses latency and bandwidth issues, ensuring critical systems function seamlessly. The upgrade supports over 172 destinations and 250 aircraft, improving passenger experiences with faster digital access and reduced wait times. Enhanced cybersecurity features include secure channels and a "zero-trust" policy. This initiative future-proofs operations and sets a new industry standard.

✈ Airfare prices are projected to stay stable through 2026, according to the Air Monitor 2026 by Amex GBT. Despite geopolitical and economic challenges, demand for business travel remains strong, stabilizing fares in the high-cost environment. Airlines are focusing on premium offerings and sophisticated revenue management strategies like continuous pricing. These actions maintain base fares while diversifying service options. Businesses must adapt to these changes to unlock value.

🍴 Bret Thorn, Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News since 1999, resides in Brooklyn. His expertise spans food trends, French and Asian cuisine, and restaurant operations. Thorn studied at Tufts University, Le Cordon Bleu, and Peking University. In 2006, he won the Jesse H. Neal Award. His work includes writing for New York Sun and Asia Times, and contributions to the Oxford Encyclopedia. Thorn was IFEC president in 2005 and a Disciples d'Escoffier inductee in 2014.