Working in this industry, I’m often embarrassed to admit I’m neither a keen cook nor a baker (as my talents lie more in the realm of eating out). That being said, I certainly wasn’t going to miss out on a fun-filled afternoon with ex-Great British Bake Off contestant, Jane Beedle, and jumped at the chance when invited with a gaggle of girls.
The Arena Savoy Lecture is the jewel in the crown of the foodservice networking calendar, so as the leading foodservice agency, we were of course there in force. We were joined by our lovely clients from McCormick Flavour Solutions, official sponsors of the event, with their French’s Mustard and Frank’s Red Hot Sauces. The evening kicked-off with networking and bubbles (but of course) and the first talk of the evening, as Kate Nicholls, CEO of newly formed UKHospitality took to the stage to share what the merger of BHA and ALMR means for the industry. In a nutshell, the new trade body aims to ensure that the hospitality industry has a united and singular voice, which when you consider that the sector employs £2.9million people, accounts for 10% of UK employment, 6% of business and 5% of GDP, not to mention £130bn contribution to the economy (more than fashion and all the creative industries combined) and £40bn contribution to tax receipts, equal to the entire defence budget or the Brexit divorce bill, is a rather large voice indeed!
Last night Jellybean attended another fabulous evening at the Cost Sector Catering Awards – not only celebrating the many fantastic people in our industry that were nominated for, and won awards, but also raising a glass to the team at Cost Sector Catering for seeing in the 25th anniversary of the CSC Awards.
We all love food, but even more so when it’s served to you with entertainment – and if you enjoy a touch of theatre with your meal, you are going to love this!
This March saw the return of the UK’s largest and most prestigious hospitality event, Hotelympia. Happily, it also marked Jellybean’s fifth chapter as PR partner. As the leading foodservice agency, we were proud to once again spread the word in the lead-up to the show and also to run the dedicated press office throughout the four days. Read More
Proving that food served in the workplace can compete with the great British high street, B&I Catering’s StrEAT Food Awards returned this week with a live cook off and ceremony at Islington Metal Works.
With a focus on street food – the second fastest growing market segment according to MCA’s UK Eating Out Report – the annual awards celebrate innovation within the contract catering sector. This year, 16 finalists went head-to-head, hoping to wow judges with their creativity in the gripping live cook off. Each chef was tasked with creating three different dishes – one signature dish, one incorporating the sponsor’s ingredients in a technical round and one meat-free speciality.Read More
Earlier on in the month, we made our way through the hustle and bustle of the Hotelympia crowd and took a seat at the Hospitality Futures stage, for The Ultimate Dining Experience panel discussion. The panel was led by one of our very own Beans, Susan Bolam, MD, along with Ben McCormack (Editor of SquareMeal) and Dave Rooney (Creative Director and Founding Partner of LXA). Held in the heart of Hotelympia, one of the premier foodservice events in the calendar, we set out to discover what the perfect restaurant would look like and asked ourselves ‘What is The Ultimate Dining Experience?’
The Brexit vote in 2016 hasn’t dampened our demand for global cuisine – quite the opposite in fact, with the booming street food sector encouraging us to be even more adventurous. According to the Nationwide Caterers Association, there are over 2,000 street food businesses in the UK, drawing customers to stalls, trucks and food halls offering a whole host of dishes from around the world. Last weekend, we swapped our traditional sit-down dinner and drinks for a night at Dinerama, the latest in the trend for street food markets in the heart of Shoreditch.
As I am doing work experience at a leading food and drink agency, it has made me reflect on my day-to-day food experiences at school. I currently attend Weald of Kent Grammar School in Tonbridge, and have done for the past five and a half years. You may think that half a decade of eating at the same canteen may get a bit dull, however input from students and discussions with the dinner-ladies ensures that the catering staff are always adjusting their services in order to please everyone at Weald.
We’re tremendously excited to be returning to a revitalised Hotelympia next week where the beans will be out in force, running the dedicated press office throughout the four-day show.
The National Burger Awards is the a world away from the usual formal black-tie award events of the foodservice calendar. Held at The Islington Metal Works it was a smoky, boozy, bustling, celebration of burgers in all their wonder – our kind of food and drink awards. And with burgers topping the charts at lunch according to the MCA’s latest report and increasingly their already strong share of dinner, this is a trend that looks set to stay with burger concepts popping up on high streets all over the country, many of whom were represented at the awards.
The annual MCA Top of Mind Report debrief offers both an overview of the eating out market over the past year, as well as some predictions for the year ahead. Now in its 11th year, the briefing took us through macros trends, 2017 consumer behaviours, predictions for 2018, a state of the nation across casual dining, growth drivers, the results of their decision maker survey and of course concepts to watch for 2018.
On the 12th February 2018 Jellybean was lucky enough to attend the fifth Zest Quest Asia Gala Dinner and Awards night as a guest of our lovely client and sponsor of the event Tilda.
The MCA annual Food To Go conference is a must attend for anyone in this dynamic sector and this year boasted some heavyweight speakers including the godfather of food to go, Julian Metcalfe of Prȇt and Itsu fame and Gerry Ford founder and group CEO of Caffè Nero. Currently the UK food to go market is set to reach a value of £20.7bn in 2018, outperforming the wider eating out market and retail with growth set to be around 2.8% compared to the 1.5% predicted growth for the eating out market, making it a land of opportunity for operators. But why is this? Well quite simply there are more of us, working longer and commuting more, we are ‘time-poor’ and grabbing food ‘on the hoof’ as table meals are replaced by food in the car, on the train, at our desks, etc. Whilst the proliferation of outlets and choice means that picking up food on the go is easy and we have a wide range of cuisines and formats to choose from.
The UK pub market is valued at £22bn* and despite the current economic headwinds it is an exciting and vibrant sector. From the craft beer revolution to the proliferations of gins and outlandish cocktails there is more to today’s pubs than the humble pint.
Either by accident or design (who’s to say?) the inaugural National Breakfast Awards was held on National Croissant Day – how apt I hear you call. The new kid on the awards block sets to recognise the growing importance of the breakfast occasion out of home with their aim to find the ultimate breakfast. Read More
The grocery convenience sector is experiencing seismic changes and trade communications is rapidly evolving too. Neil Brenson discusses the six key trends and take outs that suppliers need to act upon in order to re-focus their trade communications and ensure they win with convenience retailers. Watch the video to learn more about:
Those of you who are familiar with the near-legendary Jellybean Blog will know it to be a regularly updated repository for all the latest news, views and insight on the foodservice, hospitality, out of home and convenience retail sector. But those of you who might be new to the party perhaps don’t. And so it is with great pleasure that we can announce, right here, right now, that we’ve been rewarded for our efforts by the Surrey Digital Awards, as we’re proud to announce that we’ve been shortlisted in the ‘Best Blog’ category. Stick the champagne on ice someone. Read More
The Jellybean Christmas party is the perfect opportunity for us to scrub up and don our finest ‘Glam Chic’ attire. It’s a much anticipated celebration for us beans and one which is firmly-fixed in our diaries. This year we visited Tuttons, a Covent Garden landmark in its own right, it’s a fantastic restaurant offering a menu full of classic English cuisine. With its warm red tones and modern interiors, we were lucky enough to enjoy this timeless establishment in one of their two stunning vault dining rooms, a perfect location for a festive celebration.
