The Public Sector Catering Awards were held last week at the Hilton London Metropole and as a leading foodservice agency we were of course there to celebrate these amazing caterers. These awards are the benchmark for excellence in public sector catering, a sector which, despite its size, can often be overlooked in favour of the more glamourous profit sector. Be it catering in education, hospital catering, care home catering and even catering for the military and the prison service, public sector catering is the oft-unseen force that keeps Britain running.
HRC, (Hotel, Restaurant & Catering) was back at ExCel for 2024 as part of Food, Drink and Hospitality Week which also hosts IFE Manufactoring, IFE, The Pub Show and International Salon Culinaire. And as the leading food and drink agency we were there in force, exploring the exhibition hall and supporting our wonderful clients.
It’s that time of year when you log onto Instagram and your feed is flooded with the latest NPD food and drink the world has to offer… but all is not as it seems.
We’ve collated some of our favourite April Fool’s pranks we saw this year – and honestly, some aren’t too bad!
As a leading food and drink agency, insights and data are at the heart of our marketing campaigns. So, understandably, we make a point of keeping our finger on the pulse by attending Lumina Intelligence’s Food Strategy Forum.
With working life increasingly dominated by virtual meetings, the opportunity to step away from the screen and engage in face-to-face interactions is a refreshing change of pace, so it was an absolute pleasure to attend the Arena event ‘An Audience with Tom Aitkens’ on Friday 15 March, held at the esteemed Rosewood Hotel in London.
As a leading food and drink marketing agency with a passion for foodservice and eating out, we make it our business to keep on top of all the latest trends in the food and drink arena. The world of food to go, or quick service restaurants as it’s sometimes referred to, is a hotbed of innovation and has proved to be one of the most resilient sectors of the eating out market, both during Covid more recently the cost-of-living crisis. So, we hot-footed it along to The Ham Yard Hotel last week to hear from some of the key players in the food to go market at MCA’s Food to Go Conference.
Anti-marketing is seemingly on the up once more, with Oatly, Surreal and Days all leaning into, whilst simultaneously calling out, traditional marketing methods. Although outwardly work-shy in approach, this tactic is entirely well-thought-out and speaks to increasingly savvy consumers in a relatable, funny and memorable way. It seems the subtle art of not giving a f***, actually includes giving many f***s, and could be paving the way for a new type of tongue-in-cheek advertising.
Who doesn’t love a themed cocktail night? Just around the corner on March 24th, is National Cocktail Day, and if the fact that it falls on a Sunday doesn’t dampen your spirits, we’ve got you covered!
A couple of weeks ago, my friends and I got together for a chill night-in which consisted of us each making a round of cocktails inspired by our jobs. What ensued, was a boozy insight into each other’s 9-5.
As a leading food and drink agency, it is fair to say we think about food 365 days a year, but this year we’ll be adding an extra day as it is a leap year. Every four years, February boasts an extra day, a curious anomaly in our calendars known as ‘leap day’. While some see it merely as an additional date on the calendar and possibly the chance for women to propose (more of this later!), others view it as an opportunity to create customs, including those surrounding food and feasting. From Greek feasts to Chinese banquets, we take a look at how leap day is marked across the world…
Burger fanatics, talented chefs and of course, a number of us beans found ourselves travelling to the Big Penny Social in North London for the hotly anticipated 10th National Burger Awards. Hosted by DJ BBQ, and organised by Dine Out Magazine, the event promised talent, passion and camaraderie.
Guests were treated to a range of delicacies, with sides from Urban Foodservice, featuring the delicious PEPPADEW® Bites, a Pepsi Cocktail Bar, wine from Greasy Fingers and of course, burgers – from beef brisket and bacon to plant-based offerings, all gratefully received by us bunch of hungry beans.
In May of last year, I visited the tropical paradise of St Lucia, to explore the breath-taking Caribbean landscapes complete with beaches and rainforest, and also to experience the vibrant and diverse cuisine of the island.
St. Lucia’s cuisine is a delightful blend of African, French, and Caribbean influences. The island’s rich history is reflected in its food, creating a unique combination of flavours that is sure to leave any food enthusiast craving more.
If you are an avid follower of our socials, you may have noticed recent posts featuring an animation of care, expertise & collaboration. These are the values which underpin jellybean as a brand and that we live by and do business by.
Wondering where to take your Valentine’s? Well, being both an avid foodie and a Londoner, I have the insiders track to the top London restaurants for your date. Most options are slightly off the beaten track and dare I say it… better than the typical hot spots in central London that will no doubt be bustling with other lovestruck couples.
Purely by coincidence, November saw four jellybeans trot off to Amsterdam over four consecutive weekends. By the time each of our respective trips were over, we had, as you might expect, compiled an (increasingly long) list of recommendations for one another. Full of our favourite foodie hotspots in the Dutch capital, we’ve whittled it down to our top three each. Here are our favourites:
Packed inside the bustling streets of Borough Market, you’ll find Berenjak, a Persian restaurant, inspired by the home-cooked, family dining occasions often found in the Alborz Mountains. This compact restaurant, complete with dimmed lighting and beautiful décor came highly recommended, and it’s not hard to see why.
If you’ve never heard of the Ninja Creami, it’s a kitchen gadget which allows you to create a multitude of frozen treats – obviously ice cream is a given, but it can also do sorbets, gelatos, milkshakes and smoothie bowls. You simply freeze the ingredients you want in the provided tubs for 24 hours and push a button to work its ‘creamify’ technology, revealing a delicious frozen treat in minutes. Once ‘spun’, you can then add additional treats to mix into the ice cream, such as biscuit chucks, chocolate chips or fruit. It’s not just reserved for indulgent treats either – you can freeze fruits or yogurts to create healthy alternatives too.
We all love a bit of fast food this time of year, whether to take away or eat out when about doing the last-minute Christmas shopping. Tuck into the festivities by grabbing yourself something off these Christmas menus to keep you going at the busiest time of year. We’re going to dive into much-loved fast-food chains as we take a look into their take on festive favourites.
What’s better than reading about the latest out-of-home trends? Eating and drinking them! As you know, we are well-versed in the out-of-home market, but we love keeping up to date with the latest developments through Lumina’s Food Strategy Forum Debrief (which you can read here), swiftly followed by the Lumina Food Concept Study Tour.
This time around, we took a venture out to Hackney for the latest food safari, looking at all the new, exciting operators and concepts that are at the forefront of innovation and trends. Here is a quick whistle-stop tour of the afternoon…
As a leading food and drink agency, we make it our business to keep up to date with the latest eating out trends. The Lumina Foodservice Strategy Forum is always an informative session, packed with a wealth of data on the out-of-home market, upcoming trends and consumer behaviour.
Q4 looked into current mega trend and menu composition, along with a look to the future with key trends for 2024.
As you may have heard, November marked World Vegan Month, and as Veganuary is just around the corner as well, the need for inspirational, and flavourful plant-based meals you can cook at home has never been higher.
