Diary: Costa; Punch Taverns; Welcome Break and EAT
In this week’s Diary we ask why Costa Coffee’s MD seems to be cashing his chips; explore how restaurants can tackle no shows and find out why leaving the EU would apparently be good for the UK curry circuit:
The language of lunch
Some interesting research into what a restaurant’s menu can tell you about its price point. Academic Dan Jurafsky has produced a book entitled The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu, in which he carries out a statistical survey on how menus are written, based on an examination of 650,000 dishes. According to Jurafsky it pays to dig out the thesaurus because his research shows every increase of one letter in the average description of a dish is associated with a rise in price of 18 cents in that dish. Before everyone rushes to get a traditional Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Pasty on the menu, that’s not the only sign of a high end venue. Jurafsky found expensive joints were 15 times more likely to mention provenance than cheap eateries but far less likely to include ‘filler words’ such as ‘ripe’, ‘real’, ‘rich’, ‘crispy’ or ‘crunchy’. The idea that foreign names for dishes indicates…. well, haute cuisine…. is also disproved by Jurafsky who found that mid-range chain restaurants were much more likely to litter their menus with foreign names than their costly independent cousins. Jurafsky concludes that if you’re really high-end you should dispense with a menu entirely with many choosing to have waiters explain a limited menu of chef specials for that day.
Coaching inn operator secures a star of Michelin restaurants
Leslie Country Inns has appointed Lawrence Yates, former head chef at the Michelin-starred Box Tree restaurant in Ilkely, to its board as it eyes growth. The company currently operates the Woodman Inn, in Kirkburton near Huddersfield but M&C understands it intends to expand to four to five pubs over the next few years. Yates has previously worked at Daniel Clifford’s two-star Midsummer House in Cambridge and Mark Poynton’s Alimentum, also in Cambridge. He will initially work with The Woodman’s general manager Chris McHugh, who told M&C: “Lawrence has come on board at a very exciting time. The Woodman has been the big project for the last three years, and there is still work to do here, but the plan is to grow and maybe get another three or four sites.”
Is Costa boss heading for exit?
Speculation is mounting the Costa managing director Chris Rogers may be set to leave the company after he sold £1.25m worth of shares in Whitbread last week and this morning sold another £1.2m. Rogers was considered a strong candidate for the top job at Whitbread when Andy Harrison announced he was stepping down as chief executive. But with Alison Brittain now on board, is Rogers looking at opportunities elsewhere?
If your name’s on the list, you’d better come in
Shoreditch hotspot The Clove Club has been running a ticketed system since April in an attempt to combat no-shows and the system is paying off according to its co-owner Daniel Willis. Speaking at Restaurant magazine’s Digital Innovation Forum, Willis told BigHospitality that the system is a form of encouragement. “Now it’s a much clearer agreement – people have to show up for their reservation and if they don’t they lose the money for their ticket, which really helps when you’re trying to encourage people to remember a date,” Willis said. The Michelin-starred restaurant has witnessed a change in its diner’s spend since implementing the system. Willis said: “We’ve seen a change in spending patterns with people. There’s definitely an increase in sales and people opting to spend money. They’ve paid a deposit, they’ve already paid something; it’s gone, it was the month before so now they’ve got a fresh budget for that month so you do see people spending more.”
‘Tis the season to be toasty and tasty
As autumn begins to bite and thoughts turn to digging out the woolens, Diary’s extensive scarf collection and comfort food cravings kick in. EAT’s customers are clearly sharing the same thought as its autumnal range is flying off the shelves. Sarah Doyle, brand and marketing director told Diary: “The Sourdough toasties have exceeded all expectations, with our total toastie sales last week being up 20%. We knew we were onto something when we developed the range, but it’s great to see that customers agree.”
Curryconomics
The economic benefits for remaining in or exiting the EU are giving analysts, critics and economists - not to mention that loud opinionated bloke in your local - hours of debating fodder but possibly the most bizarre argument for quitting Europe is to better curries. Paul Scully MP for Sutton & Cheam must have skipped breakfast before the Commons debate on immigration because his train of thought that a Brexit would help restaurants attract more skilled chefs seems tenuous. In fairness Scully has what sounds like one of the best seats in Parliament as the chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on the curry catering industry. He said leaving the EU would give Britain control of its own borders again thus allowing more Asian chefs to move here. He blamed the skills shortage on immigration policy, he told a Commons debate on immigration: “Leaving the EU would give us more flexibility to control our borders and tackle some of the unintended consequences of immigration from outside the EU. Things such as the curry industry — bringing curry chefs over — might benefit.” Labour MP Steve McCabe rebuked Scully’s claims suggesting sixth-form training could address the skills shortage: “If we cannot train people as balti chefs and curry chefs in this day and age, there is something badly wrong with our skills training in this country.”
Punch scheme to drive footfall proves super, smashing, great
The ‘biggest darts team competition in the world’ concluded this weekend with Durham pub The Ash Tree claiming the title. The 2015 Punch Darts Festival saw the Spennymoor pub win £2,500 as well as a darts exhibition to be organised at the pub. They’ll also have the chance to play on-stage at a PDC event in 2016. The darts festival was run exclusively for the Punch Taverns’ licensees, aiming to increase footfall in the venues. The champions were one of 32 regional winning pub teams competing for the 2015 Punch Darts Classic Champions title. The pubco claims it’s the biggest tournament of its kind in the world. Categories included men’s and women’s singles, team competitions and a licensees challenge. The Landlord’s Challenge saw 14 licensees compete. Winning pub The Brickmakers in Quarry Bank will have a PDC Darts Pro visit the pub to put on an exhibition for customers. Preliminary stages took place in pubs, with regional winners qualifying for a chance at the £7,300 prize money provided by Punch. Punch chief executive Duncan Garrood said: “Darts is the most popular sport to be played in pubs and our event is proven to increase food and drink sales in pubs. To further demonstrate how popular this festival is, recruitment for the 2016 competition has already begun, with a large number of partners already signed up to take part.”
McKie’s charity service station crawl
Welcome Break chief executive, Rod McKie, is taking on a 24-hour endurance challenge for Children in Need, involving a whistlestop tour of all 27 Welcome Break service stations. Welcome Break is an official partner of BBC Children in Need and this year is planning to raise £600,000 for the charity. McKie is hoping to generate £20,000 through sponsorship of his challenge, with well-wishers able to support him by clicking here. At 10pm on Monday 2 November, McKie will begin his journey across the country, starting from Abington service station, on J13 of the M74 in Lanarkshire. He will be driving a specially branded BBC Children in Need Tesla electric car, which will be re-charged at newly installed Tesla Supercharge points at Welcome Breaks along the route. McKie will be accompanied by Welcome Break staff dressed as superheroes and will be given individual challenges to complete along the way. He will finish at 10pm on Tuesday 3 November at Hartshead Moor, located on J25/26 of the M62 in Yorkshire. Mckie said: “Our partnership with BBC Children in Need is hugely important to us and this year we were determined to hit our £600,000 target. We’ve all been taking part in fundraising activities but I really wanted to do something special and work with every site personally to raise money, which is why I’ve agreed to undertake this 24hour challenge. I’m very excited about getting on the road and meeting everybody, and hopefully beating my £20,000 target.”
Pie one, get one tree
PieMinister is sprouting up a forest thanks to a summer campaign to plant trees in Temwa, Malawi for every special edition pie sold. Sales of its cider pies have raised enough to plant 57,176 trees, which is equivalent to 30 full-sized football pitches. The trees are part of an agriculture and forestry project that helps people living in northern Malawi who have been affected by flooding and deforestation in their villages. Residents have the chance to learn sustainable farming techniques and the importance of trees in increasing soil fertility and providing food, shelter and protection. The trees will the soil so crops will grow and the trees will even provide fruit when they are mature.
