Scottish catering and hospitality news in Scotland

The British Hospitality Association will discuss the proposal by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to prevent hospitality businesses using the service charge to contribute to the minimum wage.

Because of the tax and National Insurance implications, staff on the minimum wage could, in fact, be many pounds a week worse off. The change would also have a significant impact on business costs.

'Allowing the discretionary service charge to be used in this way was specifically allowed in the legislation by the Labour government that introduced the National Minimum Wage in 1999,' says BHA Chief Executive, Bob Cotton.

'I have yet to see proposals on this subject that have been thoroughly thought through.' At present, they have a potentially highly unfavourable impact on pay for staff. The only person to gain will be the tax man.

'If the government wants to make these changes, they should be considered over a longer period than is being proposed so that adjustments can be made to wages and selling prices,' added Mr Cotton.

The Academy of Food & Wine has claimed that although that sales of beer have dropped by over 10% in the past few months, wine sales appear to be holding out through the on-trade and off-trade.

The association believes that rather than an example of the economic slowdown, falling beer sales demonstrate how consumer tastes are changing: 'Consumer preferences have altered over the past 10 years and are becoming ever more sophisticated,' says the association's Chief Executive, Nick Scade. 'According to recent Nielsen figures, 37p in every £1 spent on alcoholic drink is spent on wine. While I believe premium beers and specialist beers will always be popular with certain drinkers, the standard British pint is losing its attraction. A lot more people prefer drinking wine, and are becoming more knowledgeable about it.

Evidence from the US shows that while their economy becomes increasingly fragile, wine sales are strong, with particular growth at the high end: 'Feedback we have had from UK restaurateurs shows that customers are still treating themselves to a good bottle of wine when they do eat out, but they are being more careful about choosing something appropriate,' adds Scade. 'Sommeliers, restaurant managers and publicans need to be knowledgeable about the wine they stock and offer customers good advice when they seek it.'

The price foodservice operators are having to pay for food supplies rose by nearly 10% in June, with further price hikes still to come, according to the latest figures from Horizons, the hospitality analyst.

'The latest figures show that food costs rose by 9.3% in June with increases experienced across all sectors,' says Horizons? market analyst, Peter Backman.
'Restaurants were particularly hard hit last month, with prices rising 11%, largely due to their dependence on fresh food.'

Foods showing the biggest price rise include eggs (up 37% over the past year), butter (32%), and oils and fats (24%).
'Because consumers are also feeling the pinch in the current climate, food operators are having to take a hit on their margins rather than raising prices to mitigate costs,' continued Peter. 'Already we have seen operators, particularly pub companies, announcing a slowdown in like-for-like sales. Consumers are reining in their spending, often opting for a takeaway rather than a meal out, or choosing a cheaper restaurant than they otherwise would. We are unlikely to see any uplift in trading for the rest of 2008.

'Food commodity prices have grown by 40% over the past year. This takes several months to be reflected in the prices paid by foodservice operators, so there are still months of prices rises in the pipeline. The good news is that food commodity prices have stabilised over the last few months, so some relief is in sight for operators in the longer term.'

Beanscene, the once successful chain of coffee and music houses has gone into administration four months after the departure of its founder, Gordon Richardson.

'At the time of my departure in March, I had just overseen the completion of a £1.5m investment strengthened the company's balance sheet and opened up six new stores,' says Richardson. 'It is not yet clear what happened to that £1.5 m investment and I shall be taking up concerns I have about that with the administrators at the earliest opportunity.'

An Aberdour woman has launched a website aimed at sharing dietary advice with fellow sufferers of Multiple Sclerosis.
Jo Stewart (34), hopes the eating regime she has followed since being diagnosed with MS in 2006 can help others with the neurological condition to transform their lives.
The diet is a refined version of the Swank Diet, devised by Dr Roy Swank, which promotes a very low intake of saturated fat, and has been followed by many MS sufferers who have reported improvements in their wellbeing as a result.
'After following this restrictive diet for a month, the benefits slowly began to show. First came more energy, I was sleeping better and started losing excess weight. Then I realised I had my co-ordination back and was more alert,' she says.

By removing red meat and dairy products, keeping chicken breasts as a source of protein, and eating fish for its Omega 6 oils, Jo is able to combat the symptoms she suffered prior to cmmmencing the diet, including fatigue and loss of mental alertness and balance. 'The most important aspect is to avoid all processed foods,' she adds.

Jo has also created many of her own recipes which she plans to share online, with a long-term ambition of perhaps selling a range of 'Eating Well' products.

An NHS spokesman advised anyone under medical supervision to check with their GP or registered dietician before making any changes to their diet.

For more information on Jo's diet, visit her website.

Young Chef Gordon MacGregor from the Murrayshall Hotel in Perth has won the junior chef heat (18-21) at the 11th Annual Skills for Chefs Conference in Sheffield.

Judged by Andrew Bennett, Executive Chef from The Park Lane Hotel in London, and Nigel Crane, Managing Director of Essential Cuisine, the competition required chefs to prepare a duck breast with a product from Essential Cuisine's range of specialist Jus.

'I have big ambitions and would love to have my own Michelin-starred restaurant one day, but for now I aim to work hard, continue to develop and learn new skills and hopefully make a name for myself along the way,' says Gordon.

The largest event for the Scottish foodservice and hospitality industry in 2009 returns from 2-4 March 2009 at Glasgow's SECC.

With an estimated 250 exhibitors and 9,000 visitors over three days, ScotHot is Scotland's first hospitality business-generating event of the year, and is ideal for any type of operator within the Scottish hospitality and catering sector.

Coinciding with Scottish Tourism week, which runs from 2-9 March, ScotHot covers all aspects of the industry, including catering equipment, food, drink, interiors, tableware and technology. With the latest products, culinary competitions and the launch of WINE+ Scotland, the event is set to be the largest and most successful to date.

Another new development is Café Life Scotland, which will host the Scottish Heats of the Barista Championships and the Scottish Sandwich Championships.

Visit www.scothot.co.uk for more information.

Cringletie House Hotel's trainee chef Jonny Millar has come third in the Young Commis Chefs competition. Organised by international gastronomic society, Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, the contest required each candidate to create and cook a full three-course meal using the ingredients from a basket of mystery ingredients. Johnny was the only Scot to make it through to the top five finalists.

Twenty hospitality students at Langside College graduated last week after completing a 10-month hospitality course in partnership with Almond Catering.
Fifteen of these are progressing to further education/training and five are going on to employment.
'The course wasbeen specifically designed to improve the students' skills for employment and their confidence through practical work in the kitchen and theoretical work in the classroo,' says Fiona Weir, Senior Lecturer in food Studies, Langside College. 'As well as providing students with the appropriate skills to gain employability within the hospitality industry, the course also helps meet the demands of this growing sector.'

Almond, which has worked with Langside College for two years, provides catering for the college and works in partnership with the hospitality programme to train students in a real kitchen environment.

www.almondcatering.com

The first of a new generation of regional tourism portals was launched yesterday to promote tourism in the Aviemore and the Cairngorms area. The site, www.visitaviemore.com, uses evolving web2.0 features and provides consumers with a no-frills, no-commission route direct to local businesses.

'This is the first of a new generation of 'sell and tell' area tourism portal websites,' said Alan Rankin, Chief executive of Aviemore and the Cairngorms Destination Management Organisation (ACDM0). 'Businesses will be able to sell their product within a flexible website but we also want to give visitors every opportunity to tell other visitors about their experiences in the area.'

The site offers the possibility for accommodation members to have a direct feed from the Trip Adviser site where feedback is posted by the customer. Visitor videos, photos and blog links to various well-known and popular sites are also featured.

Chief Executive of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Jane Hope said: 'I very much welcome the launch of this new website which promises to deliver a customer- focused service for visitors and local businesses making it easier for everyone to find information and enjoy the Park.'

Log on to www.visitaviemore.com for more information.

Celebrating achievements in the food and drink industry, the Highlands and Islands Food & Drink Awards are open for entries until 21 July.

Eleven award categories recognise high standards and quality across the industry.
Visit www.scotlandfoodanddrink.org for more information.