Miscellaneous

🍴 Bret Thorn is the Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality since 1999. He studied at Tufts University and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and worked for ABC News in Beijing during Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. He was president of IFEC in 2005 and inducted into Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Thorn's columns won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award. He lives in Brooklyn but is originally from Denver.

📈 November 2025, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, the highest since 2021. The economy added 64,000 jobs, despite a 43-day government shutdown. Eating and drinking places added 5,600 jobs in November, marking five consecutive months of growth. The industry gained 120,000 jobs in the last five months, surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 196,000 jobs (1.6%). Idaho, Utah, South Dakota, and Nevada saw the highest employment gains, while 17 states remain below pre-pandemic levels.

✈️ TUI Airline, a major European leisure airline group, partners with Navitaire Stratos, a next-gen retailing portfolio for low-cost carriers. Navitaire, an Amadeus company, provides new features like a modern shopping cart, e-commerce convenience, and personalized travel recommendations. Powered by AI and cloud-native technology, the solution follows IATA standards. TUI aims to enhance customer value and experience, while TUI InfoTec, its IT subsidiary, leads the collaboration.

🍳 Historic chef competition International Salon Culinaire will occur from March 30 to April 1, 2026, featuring over 90 competitions. New challenges include the Oriental Duck competition and Global Eggcellence Challenge. Key figures include Steve Munkley, Nick Vadis, and judges like Simon Barton and Szilard Szentesi. The deadline for entries is February 20, 2026. Notable competitions: Tilda Chef Team of the Year 2026 and Pub Chef of the Year 2026. Pastry competitions include APC’s Dessert of the Year and Valrhona Live Tea Pastry Challenge.

🛩 KlasJet, a VIP charter and ACMI provider, emphasizes enhancing pilot training beyond mandatory requirements. European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) mandates recurrent training every three years, organized at KlasJet in 6-month phases. Evidence-based training (EBT), endorsed by ICAO in 2013 and EASA in 2015, is advocated. Diako Rad and Sandra Diaso stress the importance of multinational team dynamics, ongoing support, and psychological aid post-stressful flights to ensure pilot wellbeing and performance.

🗺 Ian Brooks and Alexis Coles Barrasso launched a unique agency, Inspiring Travel Speakers, in the UK as of today's date. This agency fills a niche by providing travel-focused speakers for events and conferences. Unlike generic agencies, it specializes in travel, featuring vetted speakers like industry pioneers and adventurers. The founders leverage their extensive travel industry expertise to ensure authentic storytelling that captivates audiences and addresses universal business themes.

✈️ Vueling, part of IAG, partners with Hearlo, an app by Spanish start-up Asteroid Technologies, to enhance inclusive travel for those with hearing or verbal communication difficulties. The app integrates features like text-to-speech, visual pictograms, and pre-set travel phrases in over ten languages, including Spanish, Hindi, and Arabic. It works offline, offering an interactive, accessible journey experience. The Hearlo app is free to download from Google Play and the App Store.

🍴 Bret Thorn, a Colorado native living in Brooklyn, NY, is the Senior Food & Beverage Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. He joined NRN in 1999 and became part of Restaurant Hospitality in 2016. Thorn, a Tufts University graduate, has been recognized with the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award. He served as president of IFEC in 2005 and joined the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014. Thorn has authored entries in food encyclopedias published in 2012 and 2015.

🌍 Thomas Cook achieved a record-breaking Black Friday since shifting online in September 2020, with revenue soaring 274% year-on-year. Spain, Egypt, and the USA were the most-booked destinations, with 44% of bookings being all-inclusive. Longer stays prevailed, with 72% exceeding five days, and nearly 20% of customers planned trips within 8-12 weeks. Thomas Cook's affordable deposits start at £39, appealing to value-focused travelers during peak promotional events.

💰 Global travel subscription company eDreams ODIGEO has redeemed 9 million shares within five months, representing 7.57% of its share capital. This aligns with shareholder-approved capital reductions initiated in July 2025. The company's capital now stands at EUR 11,862,505.9, divided into 118,625,059 shares. Aiming for 13 million subscribers by 2030, eDreams plans a €100 million share repurchase over two years, leveraging its robust cash flow and 7.7 million member base.