The cost sector is often seen as the somewhat unglamorous slide of the catering world, but if you were lucky enough to be at the Hilton Metropole on Thursday night it certainly didn’t look that way. The annual Cost Sector Catering awards from Cost Sector Catering Magazine celebrate the amazing work across contract catering, education, healthcare and much more and it has to be said everyone scrubbed up rather well for the night.
Around 2.5 billion people worldwide consume street food on a daily basis* and over the past few years the popularity of street food in the UK has grown enormously. This has been fuelled by the often prohibitive rents and rates of high footfall city-centre sites, the increasingly time poor consumer looking for ‘food on the go’ and an ever growing demand for new and exciting world cuisines.
The annual Arena Savoy Lecture is the jewel in the crown of the Arena foodservice networking calendar, with the great and the good of the industry in attendance. This year the line-up included the traditional key note speech, as well as a panel debate on the hot topic of Brexit, entitled Challenges and Opportunities. With representatives from finance – Bob Silk from Barclays Hospitality and Leisure team, law – Sebastian Calnan from EMW Law and crucially operator side – Jason Myers of Busaba Eathai, chaired by Vernon Hunte of the BHA, there was a good balance of viewpoints to inform the discussion. Each voiced their informed views on Brexit and what is certainly a hugely complex and challenging process.
As a leading food and drink agency we are well aware of the importance of good food hygiene. In fact we even did a trade press campaign for the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health some time ago on the subject. In recent years, however, food hygiene has hit the headlines with the FSA’s ‘Scores on the Doors’ initiative, resulting in high profile legal cases and even restaurant closures following poor ratings. With consumers checking the Scores on the Doors app to see what local eateries are up to scratch it’s very much top of mind for caterers and restaurateurs.
Every year the team at the Recommended Agency’s Register trawl through the thousands of client ratings across a myriad of agencies and services to select the finalists for the annual RAR Awards in association with respected marketing website and magazine THE DRUM.
When it comes to food there is no higher accolade than the approval of the chef. So with this in mind you can understand why William Reed have launched their inaugural Chef’s Choice Awards with the strapline – ‘judged by chefs for chefs’.
It has to be said that to the foodservice outsider it may seem like the Jellybeans lead a charmed life, filled with posh dinners and glamorous venues – and they’d not be far wrong to be honest.
As the leading foodservice marketing agency, we are lucky enough to go to more than our fair share of ‘swanky do’s’. So when the invitation came to attend one of Arena’s new ‘exclusive gatherings’ we jumped at the chance to dine at The Ritz and hear from their renowned Executive Chef, John Williams MBE. The evening began with prosecco and canapés, as guests mingled with friends and contacts in the foodservice world. The stunning interiors gave the evening a real sense of occasion and the meal itself lived up to the classical ornate surroundings of the Music Room.
It’s fair to say, that as the leading foodservice agency, eating out is pretty much always top of mind for us, so it was fitting that last Thursday morning saw us heading along to the MCA’s Eating Out ‘Top of Mind’ briefing, where they showcased their decision makers’ survey along with consumer insight, 2017 forecasts and concepts to watch out for. As ever the morning managed to cram in a huge amount of information and insight, but here are my top five take-outs.
For some months now, The Great Hospitality Show has very much part of our day-to-day here at Jellybean Towers – as we are very honoured to do the PR for the show. This week saw all our preparation and planning come to fruition as the show hit the NEC from Monday to Wednesday, attracting hospitality professionals from across the industry. As the Great Hospitality Show PR team manned the press office and social media and my other colleagues hosted press stand visits, caught up with clients and contacts, and even sampled the amazing food at the La Parade, I was seated in my own little booth on mentor duty.
At Jellybean, not only do we have a passion for food and drink, we also have a bit of a soft spot for cute dogs. Of course our beloved Coco lives on in our hearts, but with a dog-sized gap in our lives, our newest bean ‘Whisky’ has bounced into Jellybean Towers and won us over with his puppy dog eyes.
Last Monday it seemed was the official start of Christmas in the world of foodservice and hospitality. Not only was it the Arena Christmas Event, it was also the Hospitality Action ‘Star Filled Night’ gala Christmas dinner. Of course as the leading foodservice pr agency we were at both (Oh you poor things I hear you cry!). Lunch at the Jumeriah Carlton Tower, followed by dinner prepared by chefs including none other than Raymond Blanc OBE, at Brassie Joel at the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel – not too shabby a start to the week by anyone’s standards.
The world of contract catering is often the unseen side of the industry, working across all sectors from education to hotels, leisure to event catering and of course in the workplace. The average man in the street will generally have no idea that the likes of Compass or Elior or ISS is serving him, but never the less the sector is huge and in recent years it has upped its game to compete with the high street and the rise of food to go, including the street food revolution.
On a cold and frosty Thursday morning myself and fellow ‘bean’ Gemma made our way to the M by Montcalm hotel in Shoreditch to hear the latest insight on the UK hotel market from MCA. As the leading foodservice agency, representing a number of clients for whom the hotel sector is a key market focus, we were there ready to take it all in. Simon Stenning and his team took it in turns to run us through every aspect of the report including quantitative market data, consumer insight and even decision maker opinion, but here are our top ten take-outs…
School caterers are often the unsung heroes of our industry, but this was certainly not the case on Monday evening as The Royal Garden Hotel played host to the annual EDUCatering Awards. The evening saw the great and the good of the school meals industry gather to see who would walk away with these coveted awards.
School caterers are often the unsung heroes of our industry, but this was certainly not the case on Monday evening as The Royal Garden Hotel played host to the annual EDUCatering Awards. The evening saw the great and the good of the school meals industry gather to see who would walk away with these coveted awards. With contract caterers – big and small, local authorities, individual schools, food and drink brands, and of course the leading foodservice agency represented, the night honoured every aspect of the sector, from primary to secondary, innovation to marketing, CSR to newcomers, and everything in between. The awards were judged by a panel of 21 industry professionals from the world of school catering with one notable exception – the Innovation Award, which was judged on the night by the audience via their key pads. But this wasn’t the only technological touch to the evening. At each end of the room was a Twitter wall screening tweets using the hashtag #EDUAwards and included a leader board of most influential accounts tweeting, helping to drive the social media amplification of the event (nice one!).
When it comes to fundraising events, blending good food, good wine and good company with a generous smattering of sporting celebs is a clear recipe for success. The annual Hospitality Action Sporting Legends Luncheon took place on Friday 7th of October at the Lancaster London and as a loyal supporter of the charity and the leading foodservice marketing agency we were of course there. Joined by some of our lovely clients we gathered at the drinks reception where the beans could be found propping up the bar whilst scoping out the gathering sporting celebrities.
It has to be said that Michelin starred cuisine and zoos are not likely bedfellows, but when it comes to fundraising for Hospitality Action anything is possible! So last week we hot-footed it down to ZSL London Zoo to be greeted by llamas (would you believe?) to enjoy a fabulous menu devised and cooked by Michelin stared chef Ollie Dabbous of Dabbous London. We arrived and made our way through the zoo to mingle with other diners surrounded by the zoo’s enclosures and their resident wildlife within. As the leading foodservice agency we are lucky enough to go to all sorts of fabulous events and meals, but never before had we been entertained in a zoo, so this was a first for us!
As the leading foodservice agency we make sure we get along to as many Arena networking events as possible and certainly never miss the annual Face 2 Face with Alistair Stewart. This year it was held at the stunning Landmark London Hotel with a line-up including the headline interview with Dennis Hogan MD of Compass Group UK & Ireland, as well as a panel discussion on the impact of Brexit on the hospitality industry.
