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26th February 2016

Introducing Boyds Grill & Wine Bar

Foodservice Marketing Agency - Boyds Grill and Wine Bar It has to be said that as the leading foodservice agency we don’t do badly for eating out. Our social calendar is often peppered with nights out on Park Lane and alike, so it takes something that bit special to make an impression. This Wednesday saw such an event, as Boyds Brasserie relaunched as Boyds Grill & Wine Bar with a spectacular launch party at their central London location on Northumberland Avenue.

The new restaurant concept puts local artisanal ingredients at the heart of everything they do – there’s cheese from Brockley, Wagyu beef from Sussex, gin from Peckham and even beer from Norwood!

Having designed and built their shiny new website in time for the relaunch we were lucky enough to be invited for a fantastic meal as part of their soft launch the week prior, so we were expecting the grandeur and the impeccable service, not to mention the fabulous food and wine. However, the glittering launch night surpassed even our high expectations, as we were treated like royalty from start to finish and had a truly fabulous evening.

Some of the highlights included…
· Our Digital Director Andy achieving an ambition of a lifetime with a cocktail (including his tipple Bourbon) named after him – try it – you won’t be disappointed! Ask for ‘The Andy’ at the bar.
· Meeting some of the amazing suppliers of British and locally sourced produce which features on Boyds’ menu, as well as nibbling the odd sample – well it would be rude not to.
· Trying ‘Dragon’s Breath’ – a palette cleanser like no other you will have tried (think Puff the Magic Dragon but tastier and more refreshing).
· Sampling the most amazing ice creams from Head Chef Nate who talked us through each one in turn. Would you believe sweetcorn, Parmesan and bacon were amongst those we encountered, not to mention pea and mint. Heston eat your heart out!

With an impressive turn out for the evening, including the great and the good of the restaurant industry, we were in fabulous company and it was sad to see the evening come to a close. But we were seen off in style with a delicious goodie bag full of treats so we could continue the Boyds experience in not so sunny Surrey, which softened the blow somewhat.

Congratulations of course must go to Charles Boyd and his team on a wonderful launch and what is sure to be a hugely successful venture. My advice? Book now while you still can.

Susan Wickes

Industry News, Jellybean News

26th February 2016

The Casual Dining Show 2016

Foodservice Marketing - The Casual Dining Show 2016 The Casual Dining market has been the success story of the past few years with the sector thriving and branded concepts attracting the all-important millennial market. Little wonder therefore that the Islington Design Centre was buzzing with visitors at the Casual Dining Show this week. Buyers, owners, managers and chefs all descended on North London to see what was new and network with colleagues and contacts. With four of our clients exhibiting it was a busy time for us as well, with journalists to host, press releases to draft and of course, the stand design and management to top it all off. But as we took to the aisles to take-in the show it was clear that all the hard work was well worth it. From sampling delicious smoothies and fat free frozen yogurt at the Coolicious* stand, to treating ourselves to a sweet potato fry (or two) at Aviko’s diner themed stand, not to mention trying the delicious new Chicken Ballotine from Moy Park’s new casual dining range on their street food inspired stand and of course catching up with the guys at Essential Cuisine – frankly there was hardly time to draw breath, let alone take in the rest of the stands and catch-up with the familiar faces that seemed to be around every corner. But as the leading foodservice agency we did of course scout the show for some interesting new products and brands. So what did we find? Top of my list was Twinings Super Fruity infusion which was very refreshing indeed, the new LOVO low cal Vodka RTD concept with coconut water (yum) and last, but far from least, the Sechuan Button which has to be tasted to be believed, as this seemingly innocuous looking little yellow flower can do things to your mouth you cannot imagine – I dare you to try one from Koppert Cress – it’s quite a taste sensation!

As well as sampling the myriad products on offer at the show there was also the inaugural Casual Dining Restaurant & Pub Awards and the National Burger Awards. Driven by our love of the dirty burger we headed to the Islington Metal Works for possibly the most edgy awards night of the year as this industrial venue hosted a burger grill corner and a street food van open bar, both of which were very well received. The show and the awards were both winners for us, but of course congratulations must go to the real winners of the evening – the results for both of which you can find here:

Casual Dining Restaurant and Pub Award Winners
National Burger Award Winners

Well done to Diversify on the show and the first year of their Casual Dining Awards and to H2O’s Casual Dining Magazine on the second successful National Burger Awards – I for one will be beating a path back to both next year. But that’s enough about Casual Dining, as this week draws to a close the biennial goliath of a show that is Hotelympia is soon to be upon us and I must rest my weary feet in preparation, as our PR team gird their loins to run the press office and social media at the show for what is sure to be a fun if hectic four days!

*Finalists in the Casual Dining Show Innovation Awards

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice web design, pr, food service marketing, foodservice digital marketing and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

19th February 2016

Zest Quest Asia 2016

Foodservice Marketing Agency - Mark Lyddy and Cyrus Todiwala - Zest Quest Asia 2016 Now in its third year, Zest Quest Asia is always a popular awards ‘do’ with Jellybeans and with Cyrus Todiwala at the helm preparing the menu, it is easy to understand why.

With Chinese and Asian-style food valued at almost a £3bn market in the UK and 70-80%* of people who eat Asian food, eating it out of home, Zest Quest Asia does a great job of encouraging young chefs to create pan-Asian dishes good enough to bag a place in this competition. During the day of the awards, six colleges from across the UK were tasked with preparing and cooking a 4-course pan-Asian menu in just 2½ hours for a team of esteemed judges, including Andrew Bennett MBE, Director of Food & Beverage at The Park Lane Hilton; Steve Munkley, Executive Chef at The Royal Garden Hotel and Cyrus Todiwala OBE, to study, taste and mark. The judges and teams then had just enough time to get dressed for the drinks reception and gala dinner, which is when we arrived!

Guests of long-standing clients Tilda (and one of the main sponsors, who has been behind the event since its inception), we were greeted by espresso martinis and some of the tastiest (and substantial) canapes we’d come across, these were made courtesy of 2015 Zest Quest Winners, Farnborough College and we have one of the delicious recipes (Aromatic Hoi Sin Duck & Jasmine Rice Spring Roll), if you want to try your hand at some pan-Asian cooking.

Dinner was called and we didn’t have to wait very long to find out the 2016 champions, for the second year running, a local college took the crown, this time Milton Keynes College. It’s always great to see the smiling faces of the winners, but it was also nice to see the other colleges who had narrowly missed out, congratulating them on stage. The winning grins broadened further when it was announced the prize was an educational trip to Bangkok, Thailand – the ‘land of smiles’ itself!

Dish after delightful dish was served alongside Tilda’s infamous ‘Grains of Truth’ game and generous helpings of prize draws and raffles. The evening was rounded-up with a stunning dessert, which looked (almost) too good to eat and a standing ovation for the team of chefs at T5’s Hilton.

We’re already looking forward to 2017’s Zest Quest Asia event!
*Source: Wing Yip Oriental Food Report 2016

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice web design, pr, food service marketing, foodservice digital marketing and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

16th February 2016

An Ode to Homemade Bread

Foodservice Digital Marketing - An Ode to Homemade Bread I started baking bread about 3 or 4 years ago. I already loved baking, and at first it fed my need to bake and create without consuming my own weight in sugar, but it soon became an obsession on its own, overtaking my love of baking sweet treats.

Due to living in a shared house, bread making took a pause for the last year or so – a kitchen covered in flour all the time doesn’t make you a popular housemate. However, having jumped on the property ladder last December, now it’s just my boyfriend who is bribed with fresh bread in turn for ignoring the heavy dusting of flour that covers the counter tops. Over January alone I baked; multiple batches of Fougasse, currently par-baked and filling up my freezer ready to grab and warm up; naan breads; pizza dough for some stonkingly good homemade pizzas; Foccaccia ; Bagels (always a tricky beast – did you know they are boiled before baking?); and a weekly white loaf from James Morton’s ‘Brilliant Bread’ (recipe below).Yes, I am obsessed. There is something fascinating about the process of yeast coming alive and feeding on the flour, and its temperamental nature – the fact that a heat or pressure change can be the difference between a lovely loaf or one as flat as a pancake.

Whatever the reason for my obsession, there’s little doubt that homemade bread is superior to any store bought sliced white. Four things go into a homemade loaf – Flour, Salt, Yeast and Water. A manufactured loaf from a supermarket could have any number of additions to those, including flour proteins, vinegar, dextrose, fructose, soya flour, re-hydrogenated vegetable fat, preservatives, E472e emulsifier, E300 flour treatment agents… none of that sounds particularly appetising, plus it ups the calories, sugar and fat in your sandwich. An additional benefit is the crust on homemade loaves. All that chewing through the thick tasty crust builds saliva which helps the bread digests in the stomach. As for the consistency of store bought bread, one of the key signifiers of an under baked loaf is when you squeeze it it turns back to dough (you may have seen Paul Hollywood wrench the middle of a loaf out in search of such a cardinal sin on The Great British Bake Off). Most manufactured loaves do just that and all that under baked dough is enough to make anyone feel bloated.

Ok, so I may be getting a bit preachy, and I know not everyone is like me, reading bread cookbooks like study books with my highlighter pen and a note pad, but it sure is enough reason to go buy proper bread from a baker rather than heading to the usual sliced store-bought manufactured loaf.

If making a homemade loaf does appeal, this recipe for a ‘No-Knead’ white loaf from former Great British Bake Off Finalist James Morton is a great way to start. Even alongside trying all those fancy breads, I still return to this simple no fuss recipe for my regular loaf as I can spend a total of about 20 minutes in the kitchen and still come out with something delicious.

Basic White Bread

500g Flour

10g salt

7g yeast

350g water (I weigh my water rather than use ml as you get more exact measurements that way)

Put the flour in a bowl, adding the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other (the two touching can stop the yeast working).
Add the water and mix together with your hands. When everything has come together into dough, cover the bowl with a tea towel of cling film and leave in a warm place for 30 – 40 minutes. It should noticeably increase in size in that time.
Wet the fingertips of one hand and slide between the bowl and the dough, and then fold the dough in half. Turn the bowl and fold again. Keep doing this until you have knocked the air out of it and the dough is smoother (although I have left it looking not so smooth and it still comes out great). Cover again and rest for an hour where it will rise again.
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and shape into a ball (there are tons of YouTube guides for how to do this – this one shows you how from 3:25 – 3:48 – ).
Place onto a heavily floured surface like upside down baking tray or chopping board and loosely cover (I usually use an oiled piece of cling film) and leave for another hour to rise again. Preheat the oven to 220°C, at least 20 minutes before you want to bake (with a pizza stone in the oven if you have one).
Give the loaf some shallow slashes on top with a serrated knife (I usually do four lines on the top in a noughts and crosses pattern). Slide off the floured surface onto pizza stone, or bake on a lightly oiled baking tray for 30-40 minutes until deep golden brown.

The way to know if you bread is done is by turning the loaf upside down and knocking on the bottom of it. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. This is because if it’s all light and fluffy and baked inside, the sound can travel from your knock, to the other side of the crust and back creating the noise. If it’s still stodgy and under baked, the sound can’t travel so you won’t get that lovely hollow sound!

Not everyone will share my bread obsession, but I can assure you that a homemade loaf is well worth the time. Next for me – it’s time to return to potentially the most temperamental of breads, but absolutely my favourite, Sourdough. To be continued.

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice web design, pr, food service marketing, foodservice digital marketing and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

12th February 2016

Food on the Go Conference 2016 – Top Ten Take-outs

Foodservice Marketing Agency - Food on the Go Conference 2016 - Top Ten Take-outs With a jam-packed agenda for the day it’s quite a challenge to cram all the key take-outs from M&C Allegra’s Food on the Go conference into one blog, but as the leading foodservice agency we’ll do our best!

1) Currently the on the go market is possibly the most innovative, dynamic and competitive sector of the out of home market. Growing an impressive 5.4%, it’s outstripping the rest of the market by some way, as food bought to eat off premise (the definition of on the go) accounts for 1 in 4 of every pound spent out of home! With lunch hours now around 27 minutes (dropping from 36 minutes in 2000) the pressure is on for operators to deliver great food, fast!

2) Highly fragmented, the top ten players account for only 33% of the market with large retailers dominating at the top due to their proliferation of sites. C-stores are gaining share but suffer from a lack of innovation and often limited offer due to the independent family run nature of the business.

3) Street food is still on the increase and millennials are driving the market with their demand for high quality, good value food on the go. As for the recipe for success? Well, according to M&C Allegra it’s simple – fresher, faster & hotter!

4) What does the on the go consumer look like (versus the general outing out consumer)? Research findings from M&C Allegra indicates the following: 53% Male (vs. 49% of total Eating Out participants), 66% Under 50 (vs. 51%), 17% London (vs. 13%), 67% Full-time workers (vs. 56%), 36% Earn £40k+ (vs. 31%). What consumers want when it comes to food on the go is pretty simple – fast service, close to work, product freshness and healthier options. Queuing, unsurprisingly, is the biggest frustration, joined by lack of choice and over pricing. Whilst promotions definitely drive sales with 65% of consumers using promotions and 1 in 6 consumers stating they would choose to go elsewhere if a promotion was removed. As for what people are buying on the go, sandwiches and cola are key purchases, as is bottled water, but the popularity of sandwiches is in decline as the rise of other bread carriers and salad options increases.

5) The rising trends in on the go food include: Pan-Asian, gluten-free, vegetarian, healthier, hot product, Americana, premiumisation and hotter sauces. And if you’re looking to be inspired by some new and different food to go concepts it’s worth visiting: Wolf Street Italian, The Bowler, Hai Street Kitchen, HOP (exciting Vietnamese concept), ŰGOT (too cool for school, clean eating concept set up by an unfeasibly precocious (in a good way!) gluten avoider instead of a frozen yogurt bar), Friska (with a real vision to ‘refine expectations within our industry from the inside out’), Coco di Mama (owned by Azzuri who also own ZiZi and Ask), Crussh Juice Bars (so much more than just food!), Hackney Eat 17 (a Spar convenience store!) and Vital Ingredient (defining healthy on the go).

6) Transport hubs are of course a key focus of food on the go and Tom Dobson from Network Rail is responsible for the 18 largest stations in the UK and their F&B offering. In 2020 he predicts 1 billion people will visit these stations and this will generate 1 billion in F&B revenue – impressive stuff. In 2015 alone they experienced 900 million visits to these top 18 stations, an increase of 7%, with like for like sales growing at 6% last year, so food to go concepts looking for a sure bet could do worse than consider key stations for their next opening it would seem.

7) McDonald’s is the goliath in the food to go market and also boasts some impressive stats….90% of people visit McDonald’s, they have seen 39 consecutive quarters of sales growth, from their research with 5,000 consumers they know that 17-24 year olds want more spice on the menu and don’t feel that McDonald’s is contemporary enough. This is something the company is addressing with its roll-out of new concept stores, which include: a signature range of more thicker, more premium burgers, customisation, a new look including a new style uniform and convenient touch screen ordering points. Keep an eye out for these new and improved stores coming soon! The bad news, unlike the US they won’t be doing all day breakfast (sad times).

8) The challenges and opportunities common to operators big and small consist of – the crazy London property market with exorbitant rents and unreasonable contracts, minimising queue times, getting and keeping good people, competition, standing out in the market, creating an emotional engagement to their brand which keeps customers loyal and delivering consistently high quality food to a highly discerning and increasingly impatient customer base. Whilst opportunities include: focusing on what they do well rather than becoming a jack of all trades, the use of technology around payment and pre-ordering both in store and pre-store visit, social media engagement and use as a real time customer relations and service tool, expansion into other locations and even countries, partnering up with other operators (e.g. Starbucks and Pod / Costa and Chop’d), understanding consumer behaviour around food on the go, the rise of Pan Asian, Middle Eastern and free from.

9) In at nine and more of an observation than a take-out, it would seem that the majority of food on the go start-ups are run by ex-bankers who obsess about their lunch for years from the confines of the city before taking the plunge and leaving the trading floors, boardrooms and city bonuses behind to make lunchtimes more enjoyable for the rest of us!

10) Finally and possibly the key take-out for the day – if you stack two keep cups from Friska they are the same height as a groundhog! Good to know.

Thankfully having been to the 2015 Food on the Go conference, I can say without a doubt that this year’s was far from a groundhog day (see what I did there!) as it brought together all players in the food to go market from the big boys like McDonald’s, Starbucks, Leon, Wild Bean Café and Pret to new innovative start-ups like Friska, Hop and ŰGOT offering up the latest market data and insights to keep everything aptly fresh. Well done to the team at M&C Allegra on another great event. To find out more about M&C Allegra visit http://www.mcallegra-fs.com/

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency. We help top brands with foodservice web design, pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

4th February 2016

Ferrero launches Nutella® Breakfast Club

nutella-breakfast-club As the leading foodservice agency we love to help brands succeed in the out of home market by applying our sweet spot model and it doesn’t get much sweeter than working with Ferrero to firmly establishing Nutella® as part of the breakfast offering OOH.

This year to celebrate Breakfast Week (24^th– 30^th January 2016) Ferrero has launched the Nutella® Breakfast Club, created to support caterers looking to target the 21% of consumers who eat breakfast out-of-home (Allegra) and sweeten their profits using the UK’s number one spread brand*.

With independent research carried out by Jellybean revealing that 73% of 26-35 year olds expect to see Nutella® on menus and 81% would pay more for a branded spread (Toluna), the Italian family-owned confectionery company is encouraging caterers to visit www.NutellaBreakfastClub.co.uk and sign up to the club to get their FREE pack as part of the week-long celebration.

The limited edition packs⁺ include a 3Kg tub of Nutella® for back-of-house, a Nutella® breakfast booklet with recipes such as waffles and breakfast pizzas, plus high impact point-of-sale materials to promote Nutella®’s superbrand status to consumers.

With the breakfast ‘bar’ firmly raised, as consumers look for wow-factor dishes with a difference, Ferrero is giving caterers the tools they need to boost profits and set themselves apart from the competition. So what are you waiting for, join the Nutella® Breakfast Club today!

* Source: Nielsen – MAT w/e 10/10 ^ Toluna November 2014, consumer panel 300. ⁺ There are 20 packs available to claim

www.NutellaBreakfastClub.co.uk

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice web design, pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Gemma Felstead

2nd February 2016

The Grumpy Mole

The Grumpy Mole - The Jellybean Blog - Foodservice PR Agency Finding any reason to return to the Grumpy Mole in Tadworth, my family and I decided that another birthday was the perfect excuse. Deciding to head there on a Sunday, we made sure we booked in advance and I’d even Googled their menu to prepare myself for the dish I was going for!

Having been before on various occasions including popping for a drink and sharing a ploughmans lunch outside in the summer, an evening meal and even their afternoon tea…I can confirm it’s all simply delicious! However it was a Sunday and this meant one thing…roast dinners all round! With most of us opting for lamb and a couple for beef, I felt it was only right to order my favourite ‘Piri-Piri Chicken Stir-Fry’ and help the younger ones finish their roast dinners (tactical!).

Once our main courses had been devoured, we decided it was only fair to enjoy a pudding to round off our weekends. I ordered the ‘Homemade Squidgy Meringue with Red Berries, Fruit Coulis and Clotted Cream’ whilst my boyfriend ordered the ‘Warm Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream’, they were both sensational!

I would highly advise anybody in Surrey to take a trip to their nearest Grumpy Mole (Tadworth, Brockham or Cheam) as it really is a true delight for any occasion but be sure to book in advance!

For more information visit their website here.

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

29th January 2016

Jellybean Christmas Party 2015

Foodservice PR Agency - Jellybean Christmas Party 2015 Never satisfied by doing anything that might be conventional or obvious, our 2015 Christmas party took place in 2016. January 2016 to be precise.

We eschewed the typical party hats, turkey and crackers and instead decided that as die-hard foodies we ought to make our evening one of culinary adventure and discovery. With that in mind, we boarded the train and headed for Covent Garden and the little corner that after dark offers hungry Londoners a slice of Catalonia.

Barrafina on Adelaide Street ushered us downstairs to their private dining room which is lined on all sides with dusty bottles of Spanish wine, sherry and ports. To help us thaw out we were poured a schooner of Manzanilla upon arrival, and this dangerous precedent continued for an hour or so as the kitchen staff peered through the door at the worrying numbers of hungrey people they were soon required to feed.

As the sherry worked its magic we lined up the first playlist of the evenining, a mix of ‘Hispanic, Funk, Soul and Dub’, possibily the only people on planet earth to be pairing those styles at that time. As the soundscapes of Barcelona and Kingston Town blended, we were then presented with a blur of starters – from chilli scallops, roasted peppers, soft shell crab, roasted artichokes and many many more – all of which were picked clean within minutes of reaching the table.

And if the free-flowing alcohol wasn’t enough to encourage embarrassment amongst us all, then the party games were sure to do that. If it wasn’t a dance off competition, it was picking up Maltesers through a straw – I think there was a drawing competition also, but to be honest the evening is something of a blur to me at this point. I know there was laughter, excellent tunes (can you tell it was me that did the playlist?) and a lot of very fine food.

So, some knowledge. Where do we get ‘tapas’ from? Well I’m glad you asked. Because I’ve literally just looked it up on Wikipedia. Tapas comes from the Spanish word ‘tapa’ meaning ‘cover’ or ‘lid’ – this was because in times gone by, customers in Spanish ‘bodegas’ would ‘cover’ their glasses of sherry with chorizo or bread to prevent those pesky fruit flies from getting at the good stuff.

So now you know. Thank you Barrafina for some very fine lids.

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Andy Wickes

28th January 2016

Hotelympia Hype

Food Service Marketing - Hotelympia Hype It was only in September that as a very nervous bean in my first week of work, I got the chance to go along to the filming of the Hotelympia launch video to (try) to help in any way possible. Little did I know that by the end of the day I would have ‘helped’ by featuring in it myself!

Fast-forward four months, and not only have I seen my acting skills come to life, but I have also been able to experience how such a renowned and large-scale exhibition like Hotelympia, comes together. It is now just over a month until the ExCeL opens its doors to some of the largest and well-respected names in the world of hospitality as well as almost 1,000 exhibitors. As a first time visitor, I cannot wait to experience all that it has to offer and, not wanting to miss any of its highlights, here are my top five ‘not to be missed’:

The Staff Canteen Live
Featuring an incredible line-up of chefs, including Clare Smyth and Tom Kerridge, Staff Canteen Live is an opportunity for visitors to experience cooking with some of the best in the business. Interactive cooking displays galore, this is the place to be for a glimpse of the pros at work.
Walk-In Immersive Experience
Designed by digital developers Soluis, a ‘virtual’ visit to some of the newest openings in the capital is in store for everyone who goes along to the walk-in immersive experience. Explore some of the most exciting design projects in London (and marvel at the technology that allows you to while you’re at it).
Salon Display
As a (very) amateur baker, I am particularly excited to see some of the sugarcraft creations that come out of Salon Display. Anyone wanting to be wowed or maybe even looking for inspiration should head to the display by the Auditorium entrance, which showcases some of the amazing skills within the industry. The expo also includes works hand-crafted out of chocolate, pastillage and fat.
Innovation Awards
Revealing the best in Design, Technology and Equipment, head to this year’s Innovation Awards if you’re looking for the very best in modern products. Solutions and suggestions set to revolutionise the way the industry works have been entered – prepare to be amazed by temperature changing plates, a chef specific job search app and more.
The Stage
Over the course of the exhibition, a whole host of high-profile speakers will take to The Stage to give advice and share experiences of the hospitality industry. Want to hear the latest recommendations about crowdfunding? Need some advice to improve service? Whatever your question, someone on The Stage will have the answer.

These are just the tip of the iceberg, and, once I’ve made a beeline for the above, my biggest problem will be where to turn next! Don’t miss out on the best opportunity for everything you need in the hospitality industry. Register now to visit and see you there!

https://www.livebuzzreg.co.uk/2016/hot16/

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Clare Fellowes-Freeman

28th January 2016

Big Birthday Celebrations

Foodservice PR Agency - Big Birthday Celebrations - Simpsons in the Strand A big birthday deserves a special celebration, which is why last weekend I spent the afternoon in London with my family to celebrate my step gran’s 80th.

The afternoon began as every afternoon should – with cocktails. We met in the 125 year old American Bar at The Savoy Hotel, where the cocktails are ranked among London’s finest. The retro-glamour style combined with an extensive list of cocktails, all organised by historical eras, made this a really special experience. I went for the ‘Punk Rock’ – a mix of Rum, grapefruit juice, sugar syrup and Peychaud’s bitters.

After a couple of drinks, we made our way to Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, just a short walk from The Savoy Hotel. The restaurant itself is beautiful and they really create the perfect atmosphere. Simpson’s is known for its Scottish beef which is carved in front of you from beautiful antique trolleys. The food was incredible and I would definitely recommend the restaurant to anyone looking for the perfect venue to celebrate a special occasion.

A snapshot of the dishes I enjoyed below…

Starters – Smooth chicken liver pate with grape chutney and toasted brioche.

Main – Stuffed pork tenderloin with parsley mash and confit garlic sauce.

Dessert – Sticky toffee pudding with Madagascan vanilla custard.

With full bellies, we finished off the day singing along to the hit musical Mamma Mia which was the perfect end to a great afternoon. As well as amazing food and drink, it was a really special day celebrating with family and one we will all remember.

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

26th January 2016

Pub Aid World Record Attempt

Foodservice Marketing - Pub Aid World Record Attempt Free-house establishments are always looking for new ways to entice customers in and The Unicorn pub in my village of Cublington, Bucks, is no exception.

Despite being an award winning establishment with an AA two rosette restaurant, the peaks and troughs in demand mean extra ways are always sought to drum up extra custom. That’s where I come in. Being on the board and as a foodservice marketing expert, I always look for new and different ways to help promote fun themed evenings that appeal to customers. In the past we’ve promoted and I’ve taken part in ‘Come Dine With Us” chef challenges, Call my Bluff wine tastings all served with amazing food and this leap year I have suggested a Leap Year Lunch – with a special fun set menu. Yes you’ve guessed it – frog’s legs to start and kangaroo burgers on the menu. Sure to be another fun event.

Of course there are all the usual themed days. This month there was Burn’s Night, coming soon is Valentine’s Day, St Patricks Day and Mother’s Day on the horizon as well as the annual Six Nations Rugby – Pie and a Pint for £10 is always a magnet for thirsty fans.

So, early next month, on a quiet Sunday night, the Unicorn is joining in with Pub Aid to take part in a unique world record quiz attempt. So far over 1340 pubs have signed up to take part and at 7.30pm on Sunday 7 February 2016, thousands of quizzers will simultaneously answer the first in a series of questions in the World’s Biggest Quiz. I have my team of six organised and will enjoy a special quizzers meal before applying my mind to answering questions and raising money for the pub’s nominated charity, the Florence Nightingale Hospice, in memory of a departed colleague.

Organised by Pubaid, supported by JustGiving, the aim of the evening is to raise money for local causes and charities. Over 550 have already been nominated. The quiz also qualifies as an attempt at the Guinness World Record for the largest multi-venue quiz.

http://worldsbiggestquiz.pubaid.com/

http://www.theunicornpub.co.uk

http://fnhospice.org.uk/

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

26th January 2016

February 1st, the new January 1st

Foodservice Public Relations - February 1st, the new January 1st Has your dry January turned into “I only had a couple of glasses because it was my friend’s 30^th” and “I couldn’t not!”? Or is that shiny gym membership card in your new sports bag you got for Christmas gathering cobwebs? And as for the 5:2 diet, let me guess, it’s more 7:0 now…

Finally, what is perceived as the worst month of the year is coming to a close, and it seems our January health kicks came to an end very rapidly, with most people giving up on the 17^th January (it’s even marked National Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day!). But is it any wonder that the nation only lasts just over two weeks before indulging in the leftover Christmas Thornton’s, and splurging on a glass of red, we had been stuffing ourselves with mince pies and washing those down with prosecco for the past month after all…we deserve more than a lettuce leaf!

So, as it’s time to start dreaming of your summer holiday now that all festivities are FINALLY over, why not kick start your health regime in February?

Here are just a few reasons why February 1^st should be your January 1st:

You aren’t going to be queuing for the treadmill in the gym, let’s face it… nobody is in there anymore!
You’ve finally been paid after what has felt like a lifetime! So do a big food shop and start meal prepping for the weeks ahead and be sure to add any meals out into your diary in advance.
It’s a shorter month… less days to countdown until you break your dry spell and can have that drink on the 1^st of March!
The mornings aren’t as dark so exercising before work may be slightly more appealing than snoozing your alarm three times.

So as February 1^st quickly approaches, it’s time to don those lycra leggings, start that holiday countdown and prep your meals in advance…February is a shorter month after all.

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, foodservice public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

25th January 2016

The Big Event 2016

Foodservice Marketing Agency - Jellybean Creative Solutions - The Big Event 2016 Hotelympia will soon be upon us, and as the great and the good of the industry gather at Excel to see what’s hot for 2016 it’s also a great excuse for a party – or should I say ‘gala dinner’. And what better cause than industry charity Springboard, who’s excellent work helps young and under-privileged people into careers in hospitality, leisure and tourism across the UK. Of course, as the leading foodservice agency we will be there, at the St David’s Day themed, ‘Big Event’ on the 1st March, joined by some of our clients who are exhibiting at Hotelympia.

As the PR agency for Hotelympia it’s a busy time for us, but we’re always up for supporting such a good cause and if it means glamming up and enjoying a lovely meal washed down with fine wines, well, so be it – it’s a tough job but someone has to eh. If you haven’t booked your table already make sure you don’t miss out and get booking today.

Equally if you can offer any prizes or would like to get involved with sponsoring do get in contact with Springboard and offer your support. We look forward to seeing you there!

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

7th January 2016

72 hours in Rome

72 hours in Rome - Foodservice PR Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll agree on one thing – when it comes to Italy and all things Italian, I don’t know when to shut up. Whilst at university I was lucky enough to spend a year studying in Genoa, and so in early December it was with great anticipation that I returned to Italy for the first time in three years, this time heading further south to la città eterna: Rome.

Rome is renowned for the amount it has to offer and this was certainly the case, the three days we spent exploring seemed to disappear in a whirlwind of fountains, churches and ruins. But in between pounding the streets of the old city, dodging mopeds and saying a quick prayer at the Vatican, we managed to find some time to do what the Italians do best: eat.

After our first busy day sightseeing, we headed to Trastevere, a district known for its traditional trattorias and Roman specialties, to seek out ‘Dar Poeta’, a pizzeria recommended by our lovely Air BnB host, Rita. After walking round in circles for what felt like hours we eventually found it tucked away down a tiny side street and it was definitely worth the perseverance. Huge Italian pizzas and a large glass of vino bianco were a wonderfully guilt-free reward after the amount of walking we’d done! I had been thinking about gelato ever since we’d arrived and since it is never too cold or too late for an ice-cream in Italy, for dessert we set off to find a gelateria. Faced with an amazing choice of flavours and a difficult decision I went for an old favourite – caffè e nocciola (coffee and hazelnut) which definitely didn’t disappoint.

Pizza and ice-cream was just the beginning of three days’ indulgence and over the course of the weekend I managed to sample spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams), freshly baked focaccia, roasted chestnuts sold by street vendors and at the market at Campo di Fiori, Rome’s speciality, supplì, – deep fried rice balls with mozzarella.

Unfortunately it all came to an end far too quickly, and leaving Rome I promised myself it wouldn’t be another three years before I returned to Italy again.

http://darpoeta.com

Jellybean Creative is a leading food service marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Clare Fellowes-Freeman

22nd December 2015

Get me to the slopes

Get Me to the Slopes - The Lodge Clapham - Foodservice Marketing Agency Ok, so maybe this year I am not able to get to the slopes, but what is the next best thing after that? Delicious mountain themed food, of course! And as a proud representative of the leading foodservice marketing agency, this seemed like my kind of research!

Having lived in the French Alps for two seasons and loving nothing more than to fill my time with friends, food and everything après, I could not wait to get myself to the ever so popular pop up restaurant The Lodge.

Having booked a month and a half in advance, my friends and I were expectant of a really great night. We wanted to feel as though we had just stepped into a typical resort restaurant. That sensational world of skiing – wood inspired interior design. Burning open log fires. Tonnes of mulled wine. And, an atmosphere which bursts with excitement. We can happily say it lived up to everything!

After taking an age to discover the discreet doorway hidden away opposite Clapham North station, we climbed the stairs to be welcomed by an enormous Christmas tree and hit with the smell of delicious cheesy fondues. The bar had a magical buzz with everyone in their best chunky knits sipping Thermos flasks of mulled wine and cider.

Once sat at our comfy table it was time to order. What were the two most popular starters? Pan fried wood pigeon and a classic chicken liver and foie gras parfait. And, for mains? It was a unanimous vote, easy decision – all for a comte and coolea cheese fondue! Served up with bread, meats, potatoes and salad, we were all in cheese dipping heaven!

So, I would hugely recommend sneaking off from reality for an evening. Pretend you have just hit the slopes hard and enjoy this great pop up whilst it is still there!

Find out more on their website.

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Guest Blogger

21st December 2015

Cut-Out Christmas

Food Service Marketing - Cut-Out Christmas Every year Jellybean creates a magically-creative Christmas campaign to support our charity friends, Hospitality Action and Springboard UK. This year, as the leading foodservice agency, we showcased our creative, digital and social media talents with a digital take on the traditional Christmas card with our ‘Cut-Out Christmas’. Take a look here https://www.jellybeancreative.co.uk/christmas/ – for each unique view our campaigns receive, we donate £1 to the two charities.*

We wanted to share 2015’s festive joy with the masses so we took to Twitter to share our campaign. We encouraged Twitter users to follow a link and view our video-card – in turn raising funds for our deserving charities. To return the gesture of goodwill – it’s Christmas after all – we ran a free prize draw for those users who retweeted our campaign tweet, to win one of three luxury chocolate boxes, created by agency friend, UK World Chocolate Master Ruth Hinks!

Receiving 305 engagements including 94 retweets and making 7,797 impressions in just three days, we think it’s fair to say we spread the joy far and wide.

A big thanks to all who took part in the Twitter competition and those who’ve helped support our Christmas campaign to date by viewing our ‘Cut-Out Christmas’ card.

There’s still time to get involved, so if you’d like to help us raise some money, have a watch of Cut-Out Christmas and we’ll do the donating: https://www.jellybeancreative.co.uk/christmas/

Now I suppose all that’s left to say is, we wish you a very Jelly Christmas from all the beans!

*(50p to each, capped at £500)

Jellybean Creative is a leading food service marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Steve Skilton

17th December 2015

Should you be using A/B Testing?

Food Service Design Agency - A/B Testing When designing websites it’s all too easy to get bogged down producing seemingly well-written content, and beautiful design that we feel works best… but is it really working?

Should we be doing more to find out what actually works and what the user likes?

There are many different ways of testing if your users are reacting positively to your design, and in today’s fast moving market we should use what tools are available to us to find out what actually works and delivers results.

One way of doing this is by using a technique called A/B testing.

A/B testing (sometimes called Split Testing) is a method of comparing two versions of a web page (or content within that web page) against each other to work out and determine which version performs better and produces greater results.

How does A/B Testing work?

A/B testing is a way of taking your web page and creating two versions for your audience to see. Once you have worked out what you would like to test, you would have your original version of the webpage (A) and then create an alternative/modified version (B), where you would change a heading, an image, colours, positions of elements, etc. Then half of your traffic to your page would be shown the original version and the other half of your traffic would be shown the modified version of the page.

The user engagement for each version would then be measured and that data is collected into an analytics dashboard, giving you all the results as to how they performed. You can then determine whether changing the experience had a positive, negative, or no effect on the visitor’s behaviour. You don’t even need to stop here, as these results could give you more ideas to run further tests and modifications to how your page performs.

Almost everything on your website or web page that affects a visitor’s behaviour can be tested. Below is a list of the elements it is worth thinking about when deciding what to test:

1. Headings and subheadings
2. Colours
3. Content text
4. Call to actions
5. Buttons
6. Position of content on page
7. Images
8. Form positioning and content
9. Links
10. Promotions

Whatever the outcome of your testing, this should provide you with a lot of useful insight into the user’s engagement with your site or page.

If you would like to find out more about how A/B testing could help your website performance and give you greater results, give us a call.

Jellybean Creative is a leading food service marketing and food service design agency. We help top brands with food service pr, food service marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Steve Skilton

15th December 2015

Branding and the Brain

There are two things that usually happen when I tell people I have a degree in neuroscience:

1) What on earth is that?!

And

2) How on earth did you get into marketing?!

Little do they know neuroscience and marketing have a lot more in common than they might think!

Neuroscience itself is the study of the brain and nervous system; in essence, the processes underlying how and why we do what we do. Using this knowledge and applying it to the world of marketing through the aptly named field of ‘neuromarketing’ can give rise to an abundance of benefits – benefits that many big brands are paying top dollar to explore!

Neuromarketing looks at how the consumer brain responds to various forms of advertising and other brand-related activities. It makes use of various brain imaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), to monitor brain activity while consumers are exposed to different forms of marketing stimuli. One of the most famous studies, commonly known as the ‘Pepsi Paradox’, involved blinding participants and giving them samples of either Pepsi or Coca-Cola, whilst simultaneously being monitored using fMRI. Just over half of the participants were found to prefer Pepsi. However, when the participants were made aware of what they were drinking, these figures changed significantly, and three-quarters were now found to prefer Coca-Cola. Dr Montague, who led the study, found that the association of the Coca-Cola brand with the sample being consumed activated certain ‘reward centres’ in the brain that were not found to be active when the brand was unknown. The study provided some of the first evidence of a correlation between branding and neuroscience.

A brand’s visual identity (such as colour scheme, font style, and logo) is perhaps the most important part of ensuring that the brand is seen by – and has a positive effect on – their target audience. The human brain is able to identify, analyse, and make judgement on this identity in less than a second – clearly illustrating that the correct first-impression is essential!

So what happens in our brains when we see a logo? The image is initially detected by our eyes and relayed to the fusiform gyrus, an area of the brain that plays an essential role in the recognition of objects and words, and distinguishes whether an object is foreign or familiar. The information is then transferred to the primary visual cortex, where shape, outline, and edges come into play. Studies have found that many people are predisposed to prefer certain types of shape or font-style – statistically, more people prefer those with curved edges than sharp.

Colour is then processed in the secondary visual cortex, and, interestingly, it has been found that images shown in colour appear to be more memorable than those in black and white, as well as being more eye-catching. The final stage of image perception is association. Identifying an image with a positive, or ‘rewarding’ experience largely increases the likelihood of using the brand again.

There is clearly more to image perception than just meets the eye, and understanding what goes on in the brain during brand exposure can provide many advantages to a company when it comes to campaigning and visual identification. Many high-profile brands (Google, Microsoft and HP to name a few!) have already enlisted the help of neuromarketing agencies such as NeuroFocus to help them with various aspects of their campaigns (see http://www.fastcompany.com/1769238/neurofocus-uses-neuromarketing-hack-your-brain – a very interesting read!).

Getting to the bottom of why consumers buy what they buy is perhaps the ultimate goal in the advertising and marketing industry, and neuromarketing, while still in its infancy, is sure to play an essential part in the future of marketing.

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice marketing agency and communications agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Jess Clare

10th December 2015

Catering Insight Awards 2015

Foodservice PR Agency - Awards When it comes to awards our industry does pretty well, and as the leading foodservice pr agency we tend to get along to most, if not all of them. But as they say there’s always room for one more and to that end the latest addition to the foodservice awards calendar kicked-off last night at the Hurlingham Club with the inaugural Catering Insight Awards. Brought to us by Catering Insight Magazine, the awards set out to recognise the very best in the catering equipment sector, covering manufacturers, distributors and dealers. With categories voted by over 100 judges (manufacturers for dealers and dealers for manufacturers) the categories covered everything from the national regions to sustainability and light and heavy equipment – to name but a few.

The industry gathered in black tie to quaff champagne under the beautiful Christmas lights and of course to see who would walk away with these coveted awards. The atrium of the venue buzzed with chatter as friends and colleagues caught up and networked. Then it was on to enjoy an excellent meal prepared by the team at The Hurlingham Club and to find out which of the nominees would be celebrating later at Mahiki (the after party). As the wine flowed so did the conversation and I was lucky enough to be in good company on a table with Chris Brazier and the team from Diversity (who are behind the Casual Dining Show, Lunch! and the Commercial Kitchen Show). To add even more excitement to the evening there was a close-up magician to entertain us with tricks and even a bit of mind reading. We were also joined on the night by our clients Hobart and Fresh Montgomery (the team behind Hotelympia and Hospitality, to name but a few of their many shows!) who both sponsored categories and presented awards. The evening culminated with the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Ron Neville of CHR Equipment Ltd. for his contribution to the industry over his long and illustrious career. The night flew by and soon it was time to find our carriages and either head home or party on. Sadly I didn’t make it to celebrity hot spot Mahiki for the after party, but I will wait with baited breath to hear the gossip from later in the night!

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners, and of course well done to the team at Catering Insight, especially Andrew Seymour and Clare Nicholls who hosted the evening – not forgetting the sponsors and front and back of house teams who made the night possible. To see the full list of winners click here.

Keep reading! Why not read our blog on A guide to food and drink PR in Foodservice

Jellybean Creative is a leading foodservice pr agency. We help top brands with foodservice pr, foodservice marketing, digital and design. If you feel we could help you with your marcomms, strategy, public relations, creative or digital then drop us a line today.

Susan Wickes

10th December 2015

Arena Christmas Event

Foodservice Marketing Agency - Arena Christmas Event The Arena Christmas Event is the official start to the Christmas festivities for the foodservice industry and as the leading foodservice agency we make a point of attending every year. This year there was a double bill, featuring a review of the year from Horizons and a key note speech from Wendy Bartlett of Bartlett Mitchell, not to mention a fabulous meal at the Mandarin Oriental. The day kicked-off with coffee and complimentary porridge, courtesy of our client Ferrero, who’s nutella hazelnut spread added a much needed sweet addition to the hand-held porridge pots, and was especially appreciated by those attendees who had an early start to make it into Knightsbridge for the Horizons briefing.

Then it was time for Peter Backman and his team to take us on a romp through 2015 and a look ahead at what might be in store for 2016. Taking each month at a time we enjoyed a summary of the highs and lows, winners (Costa, Byron, Leon, Wahacca) and losers (soft drinks companies) of the year. From the raft of acquisitions over the year to the somewhat disappointing Rugby World Cup, the review took in everything from ‘ones to watch’ high street brands on the up (Cau, Turtle Bay and WrapChic to name but a few), to examples of casual dining and QSR operators venturing outside their comfort zones in order to attract consumers in an increasingly competitive market place (Subway in a car showroom, McDonald’s table service, alcohol in Burger King and breakfast at Five Guys). With all day dining and ‘what you want when you want’ driving menus, hand-held options seems to be the future with ‘wellbeing’ rather than ‘healthy’ firmly established, along with American and Mexican influenced dishes still going strong. From Jamie’s sugar tax to the rise of technology in all its forms impacting on foodservice, be it payment apps or online ordering hubs like Hungry House and Just Eat, not to mention social media, the face of foodservice is ever changing. The good news though, things are pretty positive and although consumer confidence is fragile the ratio of new opening restaurants to closures hasn’t looked this good in years (although mainly driven by group casual dining operators as independents continue to struggle).

Then it was onto the year ahead and what might be on the Horizon (so to speak!). With the terror threat ever present, a likely referendum in the offing over Europe and continued austerity, as well as the impact of the national living wage, there is a backdrop of uncertainty both with business and consumers. Whilst on the positive side we have Rio 2016 and Euro 2016 to look forward to next summer. The secret to success in the year ahead? Peter Backman would urge operators to innovate and move outside of their comfort zones to stand out from the crowd – sound advice at any time. So after a morning of food for thought it was then on to the actual food of the day, with a stunning lunch prepared by the team at the Mandarin Oriental and having had an elegant sufficiency, it was then time to hear from Wendy Bartlett…

First off she took the opportunity to set the record straight and make clear that Ian Mitchell is her friend, not her husband, a widely held misconception in the industry. As Founder and CEO of Bartlett Mitchell, the hugely successful boutique contract caterer, with 87 locations, 800 staff and over £30 million turnover, Wendy knows a thing or two about contract catering. She, like many other achievers in her field came from a Sutcliff Catering background which spawned so many contract catering companies. She took the brave move fifteen years ago when she and Ian left their stable careers in contract catering to set-up their own business from Wendy’s back bedroom with two phones (after Ian resigned on her behalf, would you believe, after leaving an incriminating document on the photocopier at their current work – oops!). With no salary for two years (but a holiday booked as soon as they set-up oddly enough!) the company started off with a £20,000 budget from each founder and a tight hold on overheads (despite Ian’s allowance for dry cleaning his shirts – a top priority).

Having started out with their first ever contract with a Swedish TV company, now Wendy is one of the top 100 influential people in hospitality, has an MBE and Bartlett Mitchell is counted amongst the ‘Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work for’ and is accredited by the Sustainable Restaurant Association. All in all it’s safe to say things have gone pretty well. Indeed, Wendy never found being a woman in foodservice a barrier, as without the worry of a wife and kids to support she feels she had the freedom to take risks her male counterparts might have shied away from, and loves the business as much as ever, especially the food and the people side. She welcomes the national living wage and to date 50-60% of their clients have taken this on and will always put forward sustainable options to clients, but accepts that they are spending other people’s money so often the decision is out of her hands. Her words of wisdom to the room included – working with friends, not using a lower case font for a logo as it causes a nightmare with autocorrect and to mentor and nurture the next generation of leaders to ensure the industry has the right talent coming through. Her Christmas wishes included…the end of demitasse cups, easier Wi-Fi codes, a simple qualification for chefs – so we’ll have to see what Santa brings.

Then it was time for the charity draw, with Wendy doing the honours, and the great news that the event had raised £1,540 for Hospitality Action. As the day drew to a close and the bar called, there was a little more time to catch-up with contacts old and new and toast the imminent festivities. Well done to Lorraine and the team at Arena, as well as Peter and the team at Horizons and Wendy Bartlett on a great event, as well as the sponsors that make it all possible. Roll on 2016 and what will doubtless be an excellent line-up of events. To find out more about Arena visit their website.

Susan Wickes