Hotel & Catering Review June 2016

JUNE 2016

BREXIT BLUES IRISH TOURISM PREPARES FOR THE FALLOUT

SERVICED APARTMENT GROWTH

BOON OR BURDEN? CHEF TRAINING

THE NEXT GENERATION

#TRENDING KEELINGSGOLDMEDAL | GREEN HOTELS | FOOD HEROES OFC_H&C_JUNE 2016_Cover.indd 1

06/07/2016 11:28

CALLING ALL SPONSORS NOW WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR?

For the first time in their 28-year history, the Keelings Farm Fresh Gold Medal Awards are being hosted outside Dublin at the 5 Star Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny on Tuesday, September 27, 2016. Held in association with Hotel & Catering Review, the 2016 event is expected to attract an audience of 600.

WHY GET INVOLVED? INCREASE

your corporate presence by supporting and encouraging best in class, excellence and innovation in your sponsored category.

REWARD

staff, suppliers, and valued customers by bringing them with you to celebrate at the only hospitality and catering awards that are both independently adjudicated and site inspected.

NETWORK

with influential decision makers at this prestigious black tie event that includes a gala dinner and presentation ceremony.

For further information: Contact: Hilary O’Shaughnessy, Sales, Marketing & Sponsorship Manager Email: hilary.oshaughnessy@ashvillemediagroup.com Mobile: +353 (0)86 3808 177

1C_GMA_JM_Hotel & Catering.indd 1

07/07/2016 14:45

JUNE 2016

BREXIT BLUES IRISH TOURISM PREPARES FOR THE FALLOUT

Go to issuu.com/ ashvillemedia for the online edition

JUNE 2016

SERVICED APARTMENT GROWTH

BOON OR BURDEN?

CHEF TRAINING

THE NEXT GENERATION

#TRENDING KEELINGSGOLDMEDAL | GREEN HOTELS | FOOD HEROES OFC_H&C_JUNE 2016_Cover.indd 1

06/07/2016 11:28

Cover: - see Page 10 for cover story.

CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE

Conference Find Out What Makes a World Class Restaurant.

Tourism Trends Should Hoteliers Feel Threatened by Serviced Apartment Sector Growth?

Business Matters Recruiters Recommend Minimum Wage Increase.

COVER STORY

Green Hotels Retrofits Yield Major Savings for Top Properties.

THE BREXIT WAKE-UP CALL REGULARS

03

NEWS

20

KEY TO THE DOOR

In order to thrive in this new reality, companies and countries need to be able to adapt quickly but also to behave responsibly in the interests of their shareholders, ie, their employees and citizens.”

Food Heroes #INGREDIENT

Tea

Party Sipping on a traditional Assam breakfast tea of a morning is a staple for many of us, but by using teas to liven up recipes you have a whole new way to enjoy its fragrance and flavours.

J

ust like wine, tea is a wonderful ingredient whose distinctive flavours add layers of interest. Treat it as a herb and infuse tea into liquid bases, including milk, cream or stock to form fragrant savoury or sweet sauces and to flavour the broth for Asian soup dishes.

Sample the scent of tea when crushed and match it with complementary seasonings to create a delicate rub for meat or poultry. Tea also adds a heady aroma when used as a smoking agent for fish or duck. From Matcha green tea ice cream to tea-smoked duck, this ingredient will add something really unique and special to your meals. Here are some innovative ideas for taking tea to your table.

David Collins Great National Hotels & Resorts.

For enquiries contact: Solaris Tea Tel: 091- 750 020 Trade Enquiries: Caitriona Scully or Joerg Mueller info@solarisbotanicals.com or see www.solarisbotanicals. com for more information.

SMOKING Black tea, such as Lapsang Souchong, is ideal for smoking fish and meat. It imparts a delicate, sweet smokiness. Place 2tbs of Lapsang Souchong, or other black tea, on a sheet of foil in the base of a cast iron wok, cover and heat until it begins to smoke. You can vary the flavour with the addition of whole fragrant spice such as star anise, cloves or cinnamon. Place the duck, chicken or fish on a rack over the tea. Cover, reduce the heat, and smoke for 10 to 15 minutes, then transfer to the oven or pan to finish cooking.

Green Tea

COCKTAIL Try a peach iced green tea. Make the green tea as usual, pour over ripe sliced peaches and allow it to cool. Add a fresh peach slice, a few mint leaves and ice cubes to tall glasses, and pour over the strained tea. Add a shot of peach schnapps or mint liqueur.

Matcha Powder

DESERTS Teas add a sophisticated edge to deserts.

Their herbal qualities come into play in blackberry and black tea sorbet. Try infusing the custard base of your ice cream with Matcha tea powder for a gorgeous flavour and fabulous colour. Rooibos’ red tea has a fruity flavour that makes a wonderful sugar syrup for vanilla scented deserts and puddings.

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

ON THE MOVE

#Ingredients

ASIAN BROTH Take a chicken or beef broth flavoured with ginger, garlic and chilli. Add 1tbs of green tea (in muslin) per litre of broth and let it infuse for 5 minutes. Serve in an oriental teapot to pour over bowls of noodles with stir-fried vegetables and meat.

Yellow Mountain Green Tea

Golden Monkey: Black Tea

22

Edgy Line Up Announced at Fade Street.

CATERING REVIEW

Enhance Tea’s Flavours and Fragrance by Adding it to Your Recipes.

33

35

INTERIOR TRENDS JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

001_H&C_JUNE 2016_Contents.indd 1

36

A Quick Chat With

Celebrity Chef Clodagh McKenna CATERING REVIEW

1

06/07/2016 11:37

Editorial & Production Manager: Mary Connaughton Editorial Assistant: Orla Connolly Art Director: Alan McArthur Layout & Design: Jennifer Reid Creative Director: Jane Matthews Stock Photography: Thinkstock.com Infographics: www.flaticon.com Production: Nicole Ennis Sales Director: Paul Clemenson Managing Director: Gerry Tynan Chairman: Diarmaid Lennon

Published by: Ashville Media, Old Stone Building, Blackhall Green, Dublin 7.

Tel: (01) 432 2200 ISSN: 0332-4400 All rights reserved. Every care has been taken to ensure that the information contained in this magazine is accurate. The publishers cannot, however, accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Reproduction by any means in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. © Ashville Media Group 2016. All discounts, promotions and competitions contained in this magazine are run independently of Hotel & Catering Review. The promoter/advertiser is responsible for honouring the prize.

Editor’s

VIEW B

etween 2010 and 2015, tourist arrivals to Dublin grew by 33%, yet the stock of available accommodation actually fell by six per cent. This stark statistic, coupled with the anticipation of further visitor growth, means that Dublin’s shortage of tourism accommodation could be the biggest challenge facing the continuing growth of Irish tourism.

One part of the solution to what we hope will be a temporary problem could be the global trend towards two-in-one hotels. According to a new report from global hotel consultancy HVS, customers booking a stay with a particular hotel group are increasingly likely to be offered a choice of two brands on one site.

Two-in-one hotels, where two brands run by the same operator are located either next door to each other or within the same building, retain their identity by having dedicated entrances, front desks and lifts. In Europe Marriott opened a Courtyard/Residence Inn in Munich in 2011. Other combinations include Ibis/Novotel in Paris, IHG’s Holiday Inn/Staybridge Suites in London, Crowne Plaza/Holiday Inn Express in Aberdeen, and a Hilton/Hampton by Hilton in Bournemouth.

With the two-in-one hotel, operators can appeal to a broader share of the market by offering something for everyone. The most notable benefits to the hotelier are the operational efficiences and cost savings gained by combining certain areas of the hotel such as laundry, storage, and employee facilities, as well as combining the roles of various team members. But the most important advantage from the Irish industry’s perspective is that dual branded hotels are designed to maximise resources while minimising costs for owners and hotel developers. Not only does the hotel developer save on construction costs, they can also save money on the land costs, since the model has a smaller footprint.

Those savings could act as an incentive to Irish developers to move into what is often perceived as the risky hotel development space, and the maximum utilisation of available space would no doubt appeal to the city’s planners.

www.hotelandcateringreview.ie @HC_Review

@

info@hotelandcateringreview.ie

www.facebook.com/hotelandcateringreview

Editor: Maev Martin Email: maev.martin@ ashvillemediagroup.com Telephone: 01 432 2271

To sign up to our online newsletter please go to www.hotelandcateringreview.ie

27TH SEPTEMBER 2016

LYRATH ESTATE, CO. KILKENNY #KEELINGSGOLDMEDAL 2

HOTEL

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

002_H&C_JUNE 2016_Editor.indd 2

06/07/2016 11:39

NEWS PALLAS

REWARDS LOYALTY

DALATA JOINS MAIN SECURITIES MARKET Dalata Hotel Group has transferred its listing to a primary listing on the Main Securities Market (MSM) of the Irish Stock Exchange. Dalata floated on the Enterprise Securities Market (ESM) in March 2014 and raised 265m on its initial public offering (IPO) in 2014. Following its IPO, Dalata raised a further 210m and acquired 18 hotels across Ireland and the UK. With a current portfolio of 41 hotels and over 7,000 rooms, Dalata reported revenues of 225m in 2015 and opened on the MSM on June 30th with a market capitalisation of 712m. “Through this move to the official list we look forward to improving our profile and broadening our investor base further,” says Dalata Chief Executive Pat McCann.

Aileen O’Donoghue, ISE, with Dalata Chairman John Hennessy and CEO Pat McCann on Dalata’s admission to the ISE,

Las Vegas showgirls Foxy P. Cox and Azaria Starfire with Pallas Foods’ Development Chef, Patrick Clement celebrating the launch of the customer loyalty scheme.

Pallas Foods launched Relish Rewards (www.relishrewards.ie), a new online customer loyalty programme, on May 31st. The loyalty programme rewards selected Pallas Foods customers such as pubs, restaurants, coffee shops and hotels with points that can be redeemed for a range of reward items such as sports equipment, computers, cameras, holidays and cars. To register, visit www.relishrewards.ie, enter your trade details, verify that you are the bill payer, and you will begin to receive points on your next Pallas Foods order.

ONCE UPON A TIME ON AN ISLAND NOT SO FAR AWAY…

Following the ‘Star Wars’ exposure that Skellig Michael has received, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland recently brought a group of high profile international journalists on a trip to the island to see for themselves how the force was awakened. These influential journalists write for some of the world’s leading magazines and newspapers, including the National Geographic Traveller India, the Toronto Star and Het Laatste Niews newspapers in Belgium, and have a combined readership of over 15 million. The group also includes Katie Plick from MatadorNetwork.com in the US, one of the world’s largest online travel magazines - followed by more than 110 million people per month.

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

003_H&C_JUNE 2016_News.indd 3

CATERING REVIEW

3

06/07/2016 11:40

EXPORTERS PREDICT SALES DECLINE

POST BREXIT

Four out of ten food and drink exporters expect their sales to decline, three out of ten expect them to remain unchanged and a third doesn’t know how the Brexit vote will impact them. That is according to Bord Bia’s recent Irish Food and Drink Exporter Survey carried out in the wake of the UK vote to leave the European Union. The survey revealed that exchange rate volatility is the over-riding concern, cited by almost six out of ten firms, followed by the prospect of tariffs and border controls, which is of concern to 20% of businesses. While one in three companies say they will search out new markets, the remaining two thirds will opt for alternative solutions, generally focusing on a reduction in costs and recovering losses from higher prices.

The overwhelming need articulated by Bord Bia’s clients was for information and regular updates on the market and on the negotiations and implications as they unfold. Bord Bia held a Brexit briefing event for food and drink exporters on July 6th where it outlined its strategy for consolidating Ireland’s position in the UK market and looked to equip exporters in managing short and medium term challenges that follow the UK referendum result.

Myrtle Allen and Executive Chef of the Imperial, Nicky Foley at the 200 year anniversary celebrations.

BIG BASH MARKS IMPERIAL’S 200TH BIRTHDAY The Imperial Hotel in Cork city celebrated it’s 200 year anniversary on June 9th with a glamourous gala dinner for over 70 guests from the worlds of business, the media and entertainment. The evening was hosted by John Flynn whose family own the hotel. The celebrations included a special dinner prepared by the Imperial’s new chef, Nicky Foley, which featured dishes such as Ballycotton crab, wild turbot, Angus beef and Butter Merchants brown bread ice cream. Designed by Thomas Deane in 1813, the hotel was initially used as commercial rooms for city merchants. In 1816 the building was extended to serve as a hotel and coach yard.

SODEXO’S SLATTERY AMONG MOST POWERFUL WOMEN Margot Slattery, Country President of Sodexo Ireland, was among 25 of Ireland’s most influential and powerful women acknowledged for their achievements by the Women’s Executive Network awards on June 16th in Dublin. Margot was presented with an award in the Trailblazer category, alongside Mary Fitzgerald, The Irish Times’ foreign affairs correspondent, and Professor Emeritus Mary McKenna Lawlor, director of Space Technology Ireland. Every year the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) identifies and celebrates the outstanding work of 25 Irish women. The Trailblazer category recognises those who have ignored boundaries and burst through barriers. Each winner is the first or only Irish woman to achieve such a notable accomplishment.

(l-r): Margot Slattery, Country President, Sodexo Ireland, former Tánaiste Mary Harney and Sylvia Metayer, CEO, Corporate Services Worldwide, Sodexo Group at the 2016 WXN Most Powerful Women in Ireland Awards.

4

HOTEL

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

003_H&C_JUNE 2016_News.indd 4

06/07/2016 11:40

HOW TO AVAIL OF CAPITAL GRANTS Fáilte Ireland has been running a series of information sessions across the country about its recently launched Grants Scheme for Large Tourism Projects which will provide a pool of €65m in investment to develop new, or boost existing, tourism experiences and attractions across Ireland. The scheme, which will run from 20162020, is now open to applications from the public, private and voluntary sectors, including community groups and support for commercial projects.

Under the scheme, capital grants in excess of €200k and up to a maximum of €5m will be available. The information sessions inform potential applicants about the application process, including the guidelines, state aid rules and timelines, as well as the background and context behind the scheme. The final session will take place on Monday, July 18th in the Radisson Blu Golden Lane Hotel from 2pm to 4pm.The initial deadline for the Grants Scheme for Large Tourism Projects is August 12th at 12 noon.

The scheme will then open again in January 2017 on a rolling basis and will run until 2020.

BANNER COUNTY’S

TOURISM WEBSITE GOES LIVE A website dedicated to the promotion of tourism in County Clare has gone live as Ireland’s Banner County prepares to welcome more than 400,000 people for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann this August. Clare Tourism’s new website, Clare.ie features details on where to stay, what to do and where to dine, and forms part an overall strategy of strengthening Clare’s reputation as a leading domestic and international tourist destination.

The website is dominated by the ‘Visit Clare’ brand which was launched in early 2016 to showcase the key brand qualities of County Clare, including its landscapes and locations, its people and music.

Pictured outside Durty Nellys of Bunratty at the launch are, from left, Paul Madden, Chairperson of Clare Tourism, Maureen Cleary, Marketing Executive for Clare Tourism, and Maurice Walsh, Durty Nelly’s.

GROWING BUSINESS TOURISM FROM BRITAIN As part of the push to grow conference and business tourism from Great Britain, 15 tourism businesses joined Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland in London recently at The Meetings Show 2016. Last year, The Meetings Show attracted almost 3,000 influential conference and meeting professionals and event planners from Britain and Mainland Europe. The three-day event provides the tourism companies from Ireland with an opportunity to do business face-to-face with the influential decision-makers through a series of pre-scheduled appointments and networking opportunities. Key themes being promoted this year included the Wild Atlantic Way and Northern Ireland’s Year of Food & Drink. (l-r): Joanne Walsh, Lough Erne Resort, Aoife McHale, Visit Derry, Lydia Toal, Wallace Travel Group, Gráinne Murphy, Tourism Ireland, Róisín Gaffney, Fáilte Ireland, Róisin O’Sullivan, The Marker Hotel, Joyce McElroy, Tourism Ireland, Gillian Griffin, Adare Manor, Lorna Hennebry, Citywest Hotel, and Úna Young, Select Hotels of Ireland, at The Meetings Show 2016.

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

003_H&C_JUNE 2016_News.indd 5

CATERING REVIEW

5

06/07/2016 11:41

TOURISM IRELAND WINS MARKETING AWARD

STUDY CONFIRMS CAPITAL FACES

CAPACITY CRUNCH

Mark Henry, Siobhán McManamy and Darragh O’Drisceoil, of Tourism Ireland, with the 2016 All Ireland Marketing award for international marketing.

Tourism Ireland took the top award for international marketing at the All Ireland Marketing awards on May 20th, organised by the Marketing Institute of Ireland, beating off strong competition in the same category from Hanley Energy, Horseware, Ornua and The Taxback Group. The award was presented for Tourism Ireland’s co-operative marketing with key tourism partners, in particular the organisation’s activity to highlight the growth in air access to the island of Ireland and the co-operative campaigns undertaken to create demand around the world for those services, which helped ensure a record-breaking year for Irish tourism in 2015.

An independent report, Analysis of Visitor Accommodation in Dublin 2015-20, by consultants Fitzpatrick Associates on behalf of Fáilte Ireland, indicates that Dublin will face an ongoing shortage of visitor accommodation from 2016-2018. The report estimates that, after almost 10 years of inactivity, a strong pipeline of new accommodation stock is set to come on stream with an additional 5,550 bedrooms projected. However, most of the new stock is not guaranteed and will not be available until 2018 or later. The report suggests a number of corrective short-term initiatives, including the ongoing monitoring of trends, particularly the supply pipeline, to inform decision-making; liaising with the city’s planning officials to bring about more certainty for those seeking to put new tourist accommodation in place, including streamlining or fast-tracking the planning process and adopting a strategic development zone approach for hotels and related developments; formal initiatives to help spread demand across the season and across the city and county; and improving transport links to locations outside the city and suburbs.

The report also recommends an examination of current maximum allowable heights with a view to increasing the number of storeys on a building to create more bedrooms from the same footprint.

Minister Ross recently approved Fáilte Ireland’s revised hotel regulations, which are due to come into force later this year. “The changes should allow hotel operators to provide more rooms and operate at a lower cost base, therefore improving hotel capacity, competitiveness and profitability,” he said.

FERMANAGH FOOD TUBE FILM GOES LIVE A new Jamie Oliver Food Tube video featuring Fermanagh has gone live. The sevenminute film, which has already had over 100,000 views, is Tourism Ireland’s latest promotion to highlight Northern Ireland and the special Year of Food and Drink. In May, Tourism Ireland invited chef and broadcaster John Quilter, aka Food Busker, to come and create his ‘ultimate bacon sandwich’ in Enniskillen, using Pat O’Doherty’s famous Fermanagh black bacon. A second video, featuring Glenarm and the Antrim Coast, went live at the end of June. With 22 million monthly views, Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube is one of the most successful food channels. (l-r): Pat O’Doherty, John Quilter, aka Food Busker, and Emily Dodd, Tourism Ireland, during filming in Enniskillen for Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube.

6

HOTEL

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

003_H&C_JUNE 2016_News.indd 6

06/07/2016 11:41

SABA CHEF WINS BEST DISH AWARD AT TASTE Soder + Ko won the Gold award for Best Dish at the recent Taste of Dublin event with the Silver award going to Saba restaurant and Sika restaurant at the Ritz Carlton Hotel claimed the Bronze award. Nespresso Business Solutions sponsored the ‘Best in Taste’ awards at this year’s Taste of Dublin Festival. Over 30,000 attendees sampled the food from Dublin’s leading restaurants, chefs and producers over the course of the festival. Leading cookbook writer and Irish Independent food writer Sophie White, Taste of Dublin Managing Director Avril Bannerton, and last year’s ‘Best Dish’ winner Chef Gavin McDonagh from Brioche Restaurant joined Nespresso Business Solution’s Commercial Manager Gordon Thompson in judging the entrants for this year’s awards. There were four categories this year and the winners were: Best Feature Franciscan Well Brewery; Best Restaurant Front - F.X. Buckley Steakhouse, and Best Exhibitor - The Shebeen.

KILKENNY HOTELCELEBRATES

RE-LAUNCH WELCOME ABOARD MEET OUR SPONSORS FOR 2016!

The Keelings Farm Fresh Gold Medal Awards team are delighted to welcome on board our category sponsors for the 2016 awards.

The Kilkenny River Court Hotel celebrated it’s relaunch and its joining of the Select Hotels of Ireland Group last month. The hotel marked the occasion during the Cat Laughs festival in Kilkenny by hosting a photocall in glorious sunshine beside Kilkenny Castle and overlooking the River Nore. Two of Kilkenny’s hurlers Martin Comerford (right) holder off six All Ireland senior medals and U21 captain Paddy Duggan serve a hurl to the proprietor Therese Kelly and General manager Emma Jane Eaton, with guest of honour ‘Alfie’.

HOTEL BALLINA JOINS GREAT NATIONAL The four star Hotel Ballina in Co Mayo has re-branded as the latest Great National Hotels and Resorts property. The Great National Hotels and Resorts Group is a collection of independent hotels and resorts throughout Ireland and the UK. In Ireland, properties include the Claregalway Hotel near Galway city, the South Court Hotel in Limerick, the Riverside Park Hotel in Wexford, and Waterford Castle Hotel and Golf Resort.

David Collins, Chief Operating Officer, Great National Hotels and Resorts, is pictured with Roisin Buckley, General Manager, following the re-branding of the four star Hotel Ballina as the latest Great National property.

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

003_H&C_JUNE 2016_News.indd 7

Long-standing sponsor, Noel Recruitment, has joined us once again this year, sponsoring the Ireland’s Five Star Hotel category.

Sodexo are also back on board as sponsors of the Ireland’s Hotel Spa Experience award.

Febvre & Company are sponsoring Ireland’s Wine Experience category and will once again be providing the wine at the awards ceremony. Robert Roberts are sponsoring the coveted award for Ireland’s Guest Experience, and the Food Safety Professionals Association will be sponsoring Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way Restaurant for the second year running.

As the Headline Partner of the awards, Keelings Farm Fresh are kindly sponsoring the Ireland’s Site Contract Caterer, and Service to the Industry awards, as well as the overall Supreme Winner award.

GET IN TOUCH Visit www.hotelandcateringreview.ie /awards/ for more details.

FOR SPONSORSHIP OR EVENT ENQUIRIES: Please contact Tara, Event Manager, on 01 432 2232 or email tara.brady@ ashvillemediagroup.com

CATERING REVIEW

7

06/07/2016 11:41

Commercial

PROFILE

FORAGING

AHEAD

AS FÁILTE IRELAND NAMES ITS NEW FOOD CHAMPIONS TO REPRESENT THE IMPORTANCE OF FOOD TO THE IRISH TOURISM EXPERIENCE, THE ORGANISATION CONTINUES TO FIND INNOVATIVE AND PIONEERING WAYS TO PROMOTE ITS IRELAND’S ANCIENT EAST AND WILD ATLANTIC WAY BRANDS.

GOLF BUYERS EXPERIENCE WILD ATLANTIC WAY

T

hirty international golf tour operators landed on the north west stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way recently where they had the opportunity to do business with over 60 Irish golf providers from across Ireland.

The workshop, which provided one of the best sales platforms for Irish golf suppliers, was organised by Fáilte Ireland in partnership with the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) and Tourism Ireland.

Minister O’Donovan (left) launches the new Capital Scheme for Tourism Projects with Orla Carroll, Fáilte Ireland’s Director of Strategic Development and Fáilte Ireland CEO Shaun Quinn.

65M AVAILABLE FOR CAPITAL IDEAS

A

new Fáilte Ireland Grants Scheme for Large Tourism Projects will provide a pool of 65m in investment to develop new, or boost existing, tourism experiences and attractions across Ireland.

The new scheme has been designed to support large

tourism projects with significant economic potential and the ability to boost overseas visitor growth, create jobs, and promote Fáilte Ireland’s existing destination brands – Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East and Dublin a Breath of Fresh Air. Under the scheme, capital grants in excess of

200k and up to a maximum of 5m will be available and the scheme is open to applications from the public and from private and voluntary sectors, including community groups and support for commercial projects. A full set of guidelines and application forms can be found at www.failteireland.ie

VIRTUAL REALITY ON THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY

V

Roland and Kristin Krohn, Norway, Derek Dolan, Fáilte Ireland and Brendan Keogh and Tommy Pearse of SWING in Tralee at Fáilte Ireland’s Golf Ireland seminar for international golf tour buyers in Rosapenna Golf Club in Donegal.

isitors can now fully immerse themselves in the Wild Atlantic Way as all 15 Signature Discovery Points can be enjoyed in 360° video on www.wildatlanticway.com.

360° video allows viewers to tap, click or drag the imagery to change their viewing angle and see what is happening above, below and around them, providing another level of immersion as they research their next holiday destination. Four virtual reality experiences along the Wild Atlantic Way, which have already been used to sell Ireland at travel trade shows, are also now available publically, giving everyone the chance to enjoy a number of activities such as surfing, mountain biking, sea stack climbing, and horse-riding. They can be enjoyed now on virtual reality apps such as Little Star and Samsung Milk, as well as on our YouTube channel, FailteIrelandTV.

HOTEL

238789_CP_FAILTE_AMA_H&C.indd 16

CATERING REVIEW

07/07/2016 14:49

Head of Food and Hospitality, John Mulcahy, Shane Raftery (both far left) and Sinead Hennessy (far right) of Fáilte Ireland’s Food Tourism Team with the new Food Champions.

NEW CHAMPIONS TO BUILD

IRELAND’S FOOD TOURISM REPUTATION

F

áilte Ireland has named 16 new emerging food champions who will represent the importance of food to tourism and visitors to Ireland. They will join six existing food champions as part of the Food Tourism Network Development programme and the group will work together with their local community to help build Ireland’s food tourism reputation, sourcing and activating ideas to encourage visitors to stop more, spend more, and stay longer.

FÁILTE IRELAND FOOD CHAMPIONS IRELAND’S ANCIENT EAST

DUBLIN

WILD ATLANTIC WAY

Anthony O’Toole (New) Culinarean Press

Garrett Fitzgerald (New) Brother Hubbard

Áine Maguire (New) The Idle Wall

Claire Dalton (New) Dungarvan Brewing Co

Ivan Varian (New) Dalkey Food Company

Gabriel Faherty (New) Aran Islands Goats Cheese

Gearóid Lynch (New) The Olde Post Inn

Niall Sabongi (New) Klaw Restaurant

Chris Molloy (New) The Lemon Tree

Judith Boyle (New) Beer Sommelier, Publican

Ketty Elisabeth (New) French Foodie in Dublin Ltd

Tom Flavin (New) The Strand Hotel

Patrick Ryan (New) Firehouse Bakery

Seáneen Sullivan (New) Mulligan Grocer

Mark Murphy (Existing) Dingle Cookery School

John Relihan (New) Holy Smoke

Pádraic Óg Gallagher (Existing) The Boxty House

Jacinta Dalton (Existing) Dept of Culinary Arts, GMIT

Kevin Ahern (New) Sage

Ruth Healy (Existing) Urru Culinary Store

Olivia Duff (Existing) The Headfort Arms Hotel

Brid Torrades (Existing) Osta Café

Find out more at www.failteireland.ie/food

NEW AD FOR IRELAND’S ANCIENT EAST

T

V viewers across the country are being transported to Ireland’s Ancient East as a new television campaign promoting the brand runs across a number of Irish and UK channels. “This new campaign is all about getting people interested and excited about Ireland’s Ancient East and encouraging them to create their own great stories on holiday this year,” says Noel-John McLoughlin, Director of Market Development for Fáilte Ireland. The ad is part of a wider domestic marketing campaign for the new brand which is based on 5,000 years of Irish history within the east and south of the country. Significant promotion is ongoing across all media channels, including press, digital, online and social media, ensuring that 3.1 million Irish adults see the brand.”

See the ad and find out more at www.irelandsancienteast.com

HOTEL

Great Stories Stay With You Forever: The new Ireland’s Ancient East Ad is playing across UK and Irish channels.

CATERING REVIEW

238789_CP_FAILTE_AMA_H&C.indd 17

07/07/2016 14:49

COVER STORY

The Brexit

Wake-Up call 10

HOTEL

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

010_H&C_JUNE 2016_Cover Story Brexit.indd 10

06/07/2016 11:47

COVER STORY

By the time you read this we should know more about the impact that the unexpected Brexit will have on Irish tourism. But one thing we do know is that the government must work closely with our industry to minimise any negative outcomes.

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

010_H&C_JUNE 2016_Cover Story Brexit.indd 11

CATERING REVIEW

11

06/07/2016 11:47

COVER STORY

K

ey representative organisations were quick to react the morning after the night before, with the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) welcoming the Government’s initial response to the decision.

“We look forward to working with the Government to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to enable Irish tourism to react quickly,” said the IHF’s CEO Tim Fenn. “The decision creates uncertainty for Irish businesses that trade between the two countries, which poses risks for the domestic economy in Ireland and, in turn, Irish consumer confidence and domestic tourism.”

“THE DECISION CREATES UNCERTAINTY FOR IRISH BUSINESSES THAT TRADE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES, WHICH POSES RISKS FOR THE DOMESTIC ECONOMY IN IRELAND AND, IN TURN, IRISH CONSUMER CONFIDENCE AND DOMESTIC TOURISM.

12

HOTEL

Britain is the largest market for tourism to our shores. In 2015, we welcomed almost 4.5 million GB visitors to the island of Ireland, a +10% increase.

Visitor numbers from Britain are well up again in 2016. However, the decision to leave the EU gives rise to two factors which could impact on our business. Firstly, general economic uncertainty can cause consumers to be more cautious with their discretionary spend and this may impact on tourism flows in the short to medium term. Secondly, movements in currency impact on competitiveness and British visitors to the Eurozone, for the short term, are likely to see holidays as being more expensive. Obviously this is not the case in Northern Ireland where the industry may enjoy some short term gains.

A key priority for tourism is the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland. “Tourism Ireland supports the maintenance of the common travel area,” said Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons in a statement following the Brexit vote. “In recent years, we have seen the very welcome developments of the UK/Ireland Visa Waiver Scheme and the British Irish Visa Scheme which have allowed us to market to new audiences in countries such as India and China where we have seen strong growth.

These schemes remain in place and we look forward to developing new business from long haul markets in the years ahead.

Tourism Ireland is the agency set up under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement to market the island of Ireland overseas. The vote has no impact on this matter and we look forward to working with industry partners across the island of Ireland to maintain the strong growth we have seen in tourism in the last number of years.”

While Ireland’s competitive tourism offering should help mitigate any negative impact, Fáilte Ireland’s CEO Shaun Quinn is concerned that economic uncertainty and a weaker Sterling could impact on visitor numbers from the UK. “Fortunately for Irish tourism, visitor markets in the US and Europe have been performing strongly and are expected to continue to grow,” he said. “In line with the Government’s contingency plans, Fáilte Ireland will be monitoring any short term impacts of a devalued Sterling on tourist numbers to Ireland and working with businesses in the sector to develop strategies to address any arising competitiveness challenges.”

A week before the landmark Brexit vote, a straw poll conducted among leading hotel professionals in London revealed that more than 95% of hotel property and investment professionals favoured a remain outcome. At the 2nd annual Market Connections event organised by hotel consultancy HVS, an audience of around 80 investors, operators and property developers expressed their views on the outcome. The majority felt that the effect on the UK hotel sector would ultimately be neutral but expressed concerns about their ability to find enough staff of the right calibre to operate hotels if immigration were to be severely curtailed. “The overwhelming feeling from our audience was that Britain should remain within the EU, not least because it removes huge uncertainties as to what will happen if there were a vote to leave,” said HVS London Managing Director Charles Human, who presented a positive outlook for the global hotel investment community, regardless of the referendum result.

The concern about a possible curtailment of immigration contrasts sharply with the reason given by large numbers of ‘Leave’ voters who cited immigration as the main reason they voted for a Brexit. “Throughout Europe, there is a palpable malaise in the societal institutions which is copper-fastened by

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

010_H&C_JUNE 2016_Cover Story Brexit.indd 12

06/07/2016 11:47

COVER STORY

IN ORDER TO THRIVE IN THIS NEW REALITY, COMPANIES AND COUNTRIES NEED TO BE ABLE TO ADAPT QUICKLY BUT ALSO TO BEHAVE RESPONSIBLY IN THE INTERESTS OF THEIR SHAREHOLDERS, IE, THEIR EMPLOYEES AND CITIZENS.

#Brexit Fallout a deep mistrust of ‘Johnny Foreigner’ and people, it appears, have had enough, regardless of the reality of the migrant crisis,” says David Collins, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Great National Hotels and Resorts and a regular Hotel & Catering Review contributor. “And it is not just in the UK or for that matter throughout Europe that you can sense this disenfranchisement. Just look at the US and the success of the presumptive Republican Candidate Donald Trump who has capitalised on the political, economic and societal vacuum that is the legacy of Barack Obama’s inability to provide clear, decisive leadership throughout his two terms of office. This vacuum is palpable worldwide. The Brexit result is just a symptom of the global churn we are witnessing which poses real challenges to all sectors.”

So what has this got to do with the tourism industry?

“Well for starters, as of lunch-time on June 24th, the day after the Brexit vote, travelling to the Eurozone was six per cent more expensive, simply on foot of the weakened Pound,” he says. “People may in fact decide to holiday at home for value.The longer term impact is unclear but do expect further exchange value depreciation to happen as the markets remain volatile, not helped by the uncertainty as to what happens next. Markets don’t like political instability so the likelihood is further free-fall and possibly a UK recession, including stunted growth for economies dependent on British demand. In fact, in so far as you can have 100% certainty, the best alternative is less uncertainty and this must be the key focus of all concerned going forward. Whatever the pros and cons of independence or the right to self-determination, one thing is sure - we live in a global economy where everything is connected and business is infinitely more mobile and agile than ever before. In order to thrive in this new reality, companies and countries need to be able to adapt quickly but also to behave responsibly in the interests of their shareholders, ie, their employees and citizens. This, however, is where the deficit lies - both have been ill-served in recent years so it’s perhaps not surprising that people are voting increasingly against the status quo, wherever that takes us.”

BIG CHANGES FOR IRELAND? The Economy – Michael Noonan released a Summer Economic Statement recently which estimated that a Brexit could cost us as much as €3bn over two years. This would potentially eliminate tax cuts and extra spending in the coming years. However, others have said that a Brexit offers an opportunity for Ireland to attract new multi-national business as the only English speaking country in the EU. Borders or a United Ireland? - This result will lead to a ramping up of calls for a referendum on a United Ireland but the immediate question will be over the Border. The terms of a UK exit and the negotiations with the rest of the EU may determine whether this become a reality. Revenue is looking into what customs controls will be necessary if Brexit happens, with electronic checks being considered as one possibility.

Business Risks – In terms of the wider economy, the ESRI has warned that Irish GDP could drop by 0.3% for every percentage point that the UK’s GDP falls in the event of a Brexit. The predictions of market volatility and contraction in the UK economy are bad news for Irish companies. Business lobby groups have warned that small and medium enterprises would be more severly impacted than larger companies. This is currently 1.2bn worth of trade between Ireland and the UK every week. The ESRI has estimated that this could fall by as much as 20% in the medium term if Britain leaves the EU. In terms of Irish exports, a lot will depend on the deals the UK does with the EU after a Brexit. A fall in the value of sterling would harm Irish exports.

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

010_H&C_JUNE 2016_Cover Story Brexit.indd 13

CATERING REVIEW

13

06/07/2016 11:48

CONFERENCE

WHAT MAKES A WORLD CLASS

Restaurant?

Nurturing Talent, Exploring Trends was the theme of the Restaurants Association of Ireland’s Symposium 2016. Topics discussed included creating the go to food destination, the national apprenticeship programme, and what makes a world class restaurant.

14

HOTEL

T

he World’s 50 Best Restaurants were announced in New York this month, with Osteria Francescana in Italy, El Celler de Can Roca in Spain, Eleven Madison Park in New York, Central in Peru and Noma in Denmark claiming the top five positions. Lars Peder Hedberg, a World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy Judge and Academy chair for Denmark, Norway and Sweden, talked about his interest in Russian cuisine and how he believes that it is “the next big thing.”

Lars featured a number of what he believed were futuristic Russian dishes, including King Crab presented with an almost burnt cream. “It is the only Russian invasion we are happy about in the Nordics,” he said. “A version of this dish is served by Rene Redzepi in Noma in Copenhagen.” Lars, who is also the founder and publisher/editorial director of White Guide and Gourmet magazine in Sweden, two institutions with massive influence on Scandinavian gastronomy, told delegates that White Rabbit restaurant in Moscow entered the World’s 50 Best Restaurants at

No 23. “This is quite a sensational development,” he said. So why is Russia the up and coming centre of all things culinary? “Origin, Forward and Beyond are three key words that describe what makes a world class restaurant,” he said. “Origin is about authenticity. In Russia they are looking at the food approach during the Soviet period under Stalin. When Putin decided to invade Crimea, the EU introduced sanctions and he responded by forbidding the importation of foodstuffs into Russia so the restaurant industry in Russia had to look to its own resources. That is what they are doing and they have a great story to tell. Forward is about innovation and recreating what has been lost in the progress of time and looking at the impact food has on society. A restaurant should represent the development of gastronomy. Beyond is about what happens in the restaurant outside of what you are serving. It is about creating something important and relevant outside the plate and about 50% of the 50 World’s Best are doing that.”

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants looks at 1,200 restaurants all over the Nordic region. In 2004 the Nordic

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

014_H&C_JUNE 2016_Conference.indd 14

06/07/2016 11:50

Lars Peder Hedberg of the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants.

Manifesto about food in the region was published. It was about changing and improving the gastronomy that was dominating the food sector in the Nordics, namely Mediterranean cuisine. “There was nothing wrong with that cuisine but it didn’t represent what our culture was about so we looked at Nordic traditions in terms of the use of ingredients and we made foraging very trendy,” he said. “Ferran Adria has defined innovation in gastronomy through his molecular gastronomy. Magnus Nilsson of Faviken restaurant works with different fermentation techniques and is at the forefront of new Nordic cuisine today. David Chan in the US is all about merging science and cooking while Dan Barber looks at how we will have to reengineer our food system in the future in order to have a sustainable food supply. He re-engineered wheat to have an actual taste.

He found a strain of wheat in Spain that has great nuances of chocolate and leek that we don’t associate with bread or wheat.”

Lars said that the Nordic Manifesto approach can be applied to all countries and that many countries are implementing it. What can Ireland do? Lars has visited Galway a number of times but hasn’t been in Ireland for 12 years. However, he said

CONFERENCE

that, based on what he has seen on the home pages of Irish restaurant websites, he thinks there “might be potential for some Irish restaurants” to get on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list!

When it came to creating a food destination, Malcolm Bell of Visit Cornwall and John McGrillen, CEO of Tourism NI, shared their experiences.

Cornwall has been voted Britain’s top holiday region in the British Travel Awards for seven consecutive years and Visit Cornwall, its official online tourist board, has won numerous awards for its website, PR and social/digital media activities over the last three years. Cornwall has achieved its current status as a result of how the tourism industry, especially food tourism, has been developed over the past 20 years.

“Cornwall has more Michelin star chefs per head of population than anywhere else in the UK,” said Malcolm. “We have a population of half a million and we attract 4.5 million visitors. One in three households are partially or fully dependent on tourism. Back in 1985 Cornish food was a bit of a joke. It was fish and chips but not necessarily good fish and chips. The beer was flat, the bread and cheese were plastic and the pasties were awful. The food and tourism industries sold purely on price. If you couldn’t afford a proper holiday you went to Cornwall and now it is the complete reverse. Rick Stein and Keith Floyd were instrumental in putting Cornwall on the food map. Rick Stein sold his food and Cornwall in his TV series.

He encouraged other chefs to come to Cornwall to create clusters of businesses and he was very co-operative with the tourist board – if you do that and work with journalists, which a lot of chefs don’t like to do, it pays dividends.”

Twenty years on, Cornwall now boasts Michelin starred chefs, great pub food, innovation among local food

producers, the pastie has turned gourmet, and Cornish food and drink is winning awards. “Food and tourism go together and Cormwall’s success over the past 20 years proves that,” he said. “It drives the local economy as well as attracting tourists. Our challenge now is to take Cornwall to the world and push it up the European league of destinations.”

John McGrillen, CEO, Tourism NI, spoke about Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink 2016 initiative. He told delegates that it was conceived by Howard Hastings, MD of the Hastings Hotel Group and part owner of the Merrion Hotel in Dublin. “We are promising world class food by world class processors served by world class chefs. Food and drink is a great way to sell our local history and culture to the visitor but it also accounts for one third of the visitor spend so we want to enhance our reputation as a food and drink destination. Over 850 members of the industry are using our branding and we have had 5,000 downloads from our branded online store so far this year. The Balmoral Show showcased over 90 craft producers and we will support another 48 food events between now and the end of the year. All of those elements have been critical to the success of the year so far.”

John McKenna (left) of The McKenna’s Guides, who chaired the symposium, and John McGrillen of Tourism NI.

WE ARE PROMISING WORLD CLASS FOOD BY WORLD CLASS PROCESSORS, SERVED BY WORLD CLASS CHEFS. FOOD AND DRINK... ACCOUNTS FOR ONE THIRD OF THE VISITOR SPEND SO WE WANT TO ENHANCE OUR REPUTATION AS A FOOD AND DRINK DESTINATION. JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

014_H&C_JUNE 2016_Conference.indd 15

CATERING REVIEW

15

06/07/2016 11:50

CONFERENCE

NEXT

Where will the

GENERATION of chefs come from?

Fáilte Ireland’s John Mulcahy delivered the most passionate address at the RAI’s 2016 Symposium, exhorting restaurateurs to support the new Culinary Apprenticeship Scheme, while James Street South’s Niall McKenna, spoke about his own in-house training initiative.

Niall McKenna addresses delegates at the RAI symposium.

16

HOTEL

A

s Head of Hospitality at Fáilte Ireland, John Mulcahy is currently responsible for policy and operations in food tourism, education and tourist accommodation standards. He began his presentation with an image of Mark Moriarty, last year’s winner of the S. Pellegrino Young Chef of the Year award, pointing out that Mark was a DIT student and a great example of what the industry can achieve when it nurtures talent.

“There is a staff shortage in the wider hospitality industry - the Expert Skills Group’s findings show that we need to put a culinary apprentice system in place,” he said. “A wide range of industry groups, including the Irish Hotels Federation, the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Aramark, GMIT, the Irish Hospitality Institute and Fáilte Ireland are all working together to make this new apprenticeship scheme happen.

That is as it should be because a culinary apprenticeship scheme must be industry-led. Fáilte Ireland has been working on this for the past 18 months.” John gave credit to the RAI’s President Adrian Cummins for his engagement with and work in developing the programme.

“Fáilte Ireland is providing the intellectual capital from old culinary programmes that we have run in the past,” he said. “We are working with

the Apprenticeship Council, Solas, who will operate the apprenticeship system, and with ITs, colleges, Quality and Qualifications Ireland, as well as University College Birmingham, who are acting as an external adviser regarding the development of the programme. We started this process in June 2014 and the application went to the apprenticeship council in March 2015. We got the go-ahead to develop the scheme in November 2015. We are optimistic that we will be able to offer this training opportunity to the first tranche of apprentices by the end of the year - we aim to have 70 or 80 culinary apprentices starting their apprenticeships - and we are counting on the industry’s support.”

KEY FEATURES OF THE SCHEME The apprentice has to be an employee of the business that is sponsoring them.

The Culinary Apprenticeship Scheme is to train commis chefs at Advanced Level 6. Under the new training system, the Head Chef/Sous Chef qualification is at degree level, while the Executive Chef qualification is at masters level.

The new two-year Apprenticeship Scheme combines education and training and mentor support on the job.

It will involve two days in class and three days working in the industry. During the summer season it will be one day in class and four days working so apprentices will spend a total of 40% of their time in class and 60% working. The new scheme

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

016_H&C_JUNE 2016_Conference 2.indd 16

06/07/2016 12:09

CONFERENCE

Stephen Toman of Ox restaurant in Belfast gets to work on his Game of Thrones-influenced meal with special ‘Valryian Steel’ kitchen knives, inspired by the mythical steel from the Game of Thrones TV series.

will include a food innovation and product development module. “I’ve been a student, a trainee, an employee, an employer, a pub owner, a restaurateur, a trainer and a consumer,” said John. “And I believe that this new apprenticeship programme is a game changer, as it is an opportunity to put culinary training front and centre of what we do and I am calling on the industry to support it.”

During a question and answer session, Eileen Dunne of Dunne and Crescenzi asked why the new apprenticeship programme kicks in after the Leaving Certificate and why there is a Master’s Degree at the end of the educational process. “The new programme is a PLC but both the Apprenticeship Council and Solas felt that this was the point at which to start,” said John. “And the industry told us that they needed people at ages 18 to 20 to start in the kitchen as commis chefs.

There probably is potential to reverse engineer this at levels four and five but right now we are dealing with what the industry tells us they need.”

INVESTING FOR THE FUTURE Belfast Chef Niall McKenna operates five restaurants in Belfast, including James Street South, The Bar + Grill, Hadskis,

Cast & Crew, and the Cookery School, with a new venue in the pipeline for Donegall Quay. Niall has been passionate about food and cooking since the age of 16 and received a Belfast Telegraph Business Award in 2016 for his ‘Best Contribution to Hospitality and Tourism.’ In 2015, James Street South was named the Best Restaurant in Ireland by Georgina Campbell and the best restaurant in Northern Ireland by the Waitrose Good Food Guide.

At the acclaimed Janus Awards, Carl Johannessen of Hadskis won Best Restaurant Chef and Niall and wife Joanne McKenna were recognised for their Outstanding Contribution to the Industry.

Niall employs 120 staff across his entire operations and he started his in-house apprenticeship scheme at his James Street South restaurant in 2012. “There was no skill mark and the training available wasn’t what was required so we decided to introduce our own training scheme for those aged between 16 and 24,” he said. “We took on our first apprentice in 2012 and he won the Apprentice of the Year Award with Belfast Metropolitan College in 2014/2015. Another apprentice has won a Queen Elizabeth scholarship in the UK and that is all down to how we train staff. We train people from all educational backgrounds. Two of our initial group of apprentices are still working with us. For the 2015/2016 period we are training 12 apprentices and we are employing eight of them.

This year we will take on another 16 apprentice chefs and we will start our front of house apprenticeship scheme.

Our apprentices spend two days a week in the restaurant and three days in college. We operate a buddy system so it is really hands on and in-depth.

We are trying to get the working hours down to between 48 and 50 hours. A

key aspect of our apprenticeship system is instilling loyalty to the business, to the quality of the food, and to the industry itself.”

Niall said that it costs Stg£50,000 a year to run his apprenticeship scheme.

“An apprentice isn’t cheap labour because of the time and effort that you need to put into it but it has been worth it for us,” he said. “Colleges and apprenticeships have to go hand in hand.

I don’t want a chef who has worked in 15 places and has lost their drive. I want to get them young and train them correctly. I’m getting four and five years out of chefs and that is about teaching them well, getting their hours down, and paying them a decent wage.”

John Mulcahy said that the industry has to balance the investment that is made in training against the cost of losing staff further down the line. “The commis chef is the urgent item on the agenda but front of house is also vital as they are the people who impart the food story so, once the culinary programme is underway, we will move onto developing an apprenticeship programme to train front of house personnel.”

Chefs from Fitzers Catering, who sponsored The Skillery at this year’s Taste of Dublin, where many big names on the Irish culinary scene demonstrated their skills to a live audience.

I BELIEVE THAT THIS NEW APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMME IS A GAME CHANGER, AS IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT CULINARY TRAINING FRONT AND CENTRE OF WHAT WE DO AND I AM CALLING ON THE INDUSTRY TO SUPPORT IT. JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

016_H&C_JUNE 2016_Conference 2.indd 17

CATERING REVIEW

17

06/07/2016 12:09

TOURISM TRENDS

SERVICED APARTMENT GROWTH

?

N E D R U B A R O A BOON

Strong future growth is predicted for the serviced apartment sector in the UK and Ireland. Maev Martin looks at the likely impact on the hotelier’s share of the business traveller market

A

ccording to research by Savills, the serviced apartment/ aparthotel segment, also known as extended stay, remains a relatively small part of the UK accommodation market.

Current stock totals approximately 19,000 units or 3.1% of all hospitality accommodation supply. However, the extended stay sector in the UK, including serviced apartments and aparthotels, is set to be the fastest growing hospitality segment over the next two years, outpacing the growth in hotel supply. This is dwarfed by operator growth targets globally. The 48 operators in the UK who were recently surveyed

18

HOTEL

by the Association of Serviced Apartment Providers are planning to increase stock globally by 145,000 units by the end of 2018, which amounts to a 52% increase.

Extended stay purpose built supply is expected to expand by an average of 8.4% per annum by the end of 2017. This outpaces the six per cent growth forecast for budget hotels and the 2.6 per cent across all hotels. It also outperforms that seen over the preceding five years.

So what are the prospects for growth in the Irish market?

The Prem Group is a high profile serviced accommodation provider in Ireland. The Group now owns, leases and manages 44 properties, including city centre budget hotels, four star business hotels and resort properties, across Ireland, the UK and Europe, with 3,500 guest rooms and 1,500 employees under its management. The ambition is to have 50 properties by the end of the year. Its serviced apartments brand, Premier Suites, is growing, with another being added in Reading in Britain in September and in Antwerp in Belgium and Rotterdam in the Netherlands shortly. It has 10 (soon to be 11) in Britain and 18 across France,

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

018_H&C_JUNE 2016_Tourism Trends.indd 18

06/07/2016 12:12

TOURISM TRENDS Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. In Ireland, Prem owns or runs over 15 hotels and the Premier Suites apartments in Dublin 4 on Leeson Street and in Ballsbridge. “With the ongoing economic recovery and continued inward investment, we are confident that the current growth in this sector is sustainable,” says Jim Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of The Prem Group. “The challenge in terms of expansion is competition for new sites. Prem Group is looking for more locations in Dublin and we would like to look at Cork and Galway as well.” Prem Group added new brands - Premier Suites and Premier Suites Plus - to its serviced apartment collection earlier this year. At the time Jim Murphy said that the growing popularity of the serviced apartment/aparthotel sector in Ireland and the UK shows that business travellers are opting in increasing numbers for a more flexible alternative to traditional hotel accommodation. “Premier Suites are specifically aimed at guests seeking to stay for an extended period of time in home-like accommodation with hotel-style facilities,” he says. “The serviced apartments/extended stay sector’s impressive rise has been driven in part by an increasing number of businesses and their employees discovering their benefits – more living space and competitive rates being chief among them. The occupancy rates for our Irish properties are in the mid-nineties this year.

Our guests include project workers, management consultants, legal teams, and business people attending conferences or exhibitions. About 60% of Premier Suites guests stay for an extended period of time of about two weeks or more. Leisure clients mostly consist of relocating families, shoppers from the Middle East, and families visiting students and relatives.”

APARTHOTEL GROWTH Hotel-owned brands are also expected to be particularly acquisitive globally in the serviced apartment space. Eight were surveyed by the Association of Serviced Apartment Providers with their unit targets pointing to an average growth in stock of 40%. IHG’s Staybridge Suites, their extended stay concept, is set to be one of the fastest growing in its segment with 111 new sites in the pipeline globally (based on data as of quarter 3 2015). The Talbot Hotel Collection announced on January 12 that it was adding 73 luxury apartments to its operations which will be located near the Talbot Hotel in Wexford. Managing Director of the Talbot Hotel Collection Philip Gavin described the apartments as “a completely unique tourism proposition, a one of a kind tourism offering and a real game changer in terms of the accommodation offering in Wexford, and even nationally, among the Irish hotel sector.” We may see other large and not so large hotel operators making a move into this space in the coming months and years.

THE AIRBNB EFFECT Awareness of the serviced apartment sector among both consumers and investors has been driven in part

KEY PLAYERS

#Ireland Jim Murphy, Chief Executive Officer, The Prem Group

About

60% of Premier Suites guests stay for an extended period of time of about two weeks or more.

Tim Fenn, Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Hotels Federation

The IHF supports a level playing field for all accommodation providers, both in terms of taxation policy and regulation of the sector.

by the growth in Airbnb and its profiling of alternative accommodation options. Airbnb, which is just seven years old, is valued at 24bn, which makes it more valuable than Marriott Hotels and just behind the Hilton Group. Airbnb has experienced huge growth - Dublin hosted 240,000 guests over the last year and there are about 11,000 listings in Ireland. The listings have been increasing by 100% to 200% a year. At the current rate of growth, there could be as many as 3,000 to 4,000 properties listed on the website in 12 months’ time. This trend has implications for the hospitality sector where there is an estimated shortage of up to 5,000 hotel rooms in Dublin. The vast majority of tourists from the UK, European or American markets have already embraced the Airbnb concept. If the Dublin hotel sector fails to remain competitive on price and room rates continue to climb, it could encourage more individual residential investors to sign up to Airbnb.

Tim Fenn, Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), says it isn’t possible at this stage to determine the effect that unregistered accommodation service providers are having on the hotel sector. “Although it would appear to be negligible,” he says. “The IHF supports a level playing field for all accommodation providers, both in terms of taxation policy and regulation of the sector. It should be noted that Ireland’s hotel sector is highly regulated and has one of the highest standards of service and quality of hotel stock in Europe and, indeed, across the world. In this regard, the IHF believes that quality assurance is paramount and that all accommodation services should be registered, regulated and classified. Not only do unregulated accommodation providers pose a risk in terms of health and safety, they also raise serious issues in terms of insurance cover and lack of adequate systems for redress for guests and residents living adjacent to the properties.”

Travellers are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of extended stay, whether it is corporate housing, serviced apartments or aparthotels. Couple this trend with the stock expansion that is set to take place over the next three years, and it looks like extended stay is set to become an established part of the global hospitality market. The big question is, will the unregistered accommodation service providers eventually be subjected to the same scrutiny as businesses in other sectors of the industry?

And will they become so big that they force some hotel operators to scale down their expansion plans or, even, to exit the industry?

“THE GROWING POPULARITY OF THE SERVICED APARTMENT/APARTHOTEL SECTOR IN IRELAND AND THE UK SHOWS THAT BUSINESS TRAVELLERS ARE OPTING IN INCREASING NUMBERS FOR A MORE FLEXIBLE ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL HOTEL ACCOMMODATION.” JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

018_H&C_JUNE 2016_Tourism Trends.indd 19

CATERING REVIEW

19

06/07/2016 12:12

DOOR

KEY TO THE DOOR

KEY TO THE

Openings, Closures, Refurbs and Acquisitions

NEW BRAND BUYS LANDMARK HOTEL The Key Collection.ie announced the acquisition of the Hotel St. George on Parnell Square in Dublin city centre on June 14th last. The three star 53-bedroom hotel had been trading under the Castle Group in recent years and will continue to operate as Hotel St. George. The acquisition increases The Key Collection. ie’s existing inventory of holiday accommodation in Dublin city centre to over 300 units. Its portfolio includes two hotels - Handels Hotel in Temple Bar and Kildare Street Hotel, two guesthouses - Amberley Guesthouse and Clifden Guesthouse, and a number of serviced holiday apartments.

By the end of August The Key Collection.ie will have opened its newest apartment block, ‘City Studios and Apartments’, which will comprise 34 units on Fitzgibbon Street off Mountjoy Square.

20

HOTEL

Prem Confirms Purchase of

CAHERNANE HOUSE Prem Group recently confirmed that it had signed contracts to purchase the Cahernane House Hotel in Killarney, Co Kerry. The hotel had been marketed for a guide price of €3m. The four star hotel, set within its own private estate on the edge of Killarney National Park, is the latest addition to the Prem Group family of hotels, following its acquisition of the Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort. Jim Murphy, Chief Executive, Prem Group, says that they plan to invest further in the property over the coming year to renew and enhance the facilities that it already offers.

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

020_H&C_JUNE 2016_Key to the Door.indd 20

06/07/2016 12:16

KEY TO THE DOOR

DALATA TO ACQUIRE FREEHOLD INTEREST IN LIMERICK Dalata Hotel Group announced on June 6th that it had exchanged contracts on the purchase of the freehold interest of the 158-bed four star Clarion Limerick Hotel for 8.5m. In March 2016 the company acquired the leasehold interest of the hotel, which is to be rebranded as a Clayton hotel before the end of 2016, with further investment planned.

“The purchase of the freehold interest is consistent with our stated strategy of buying the freehold of our leased hotels that have unfavourable open market rent review clauses,” says Dermot Crowley, Deputy CEO Business Development and Finance at Dalata. Also on June 6th, the Dalata Group announced that it had completed the acquisitions of Beasley Street in Cork and Kevin Street in Dublin.

WINDWARD AND EMERALD BUY HILTON Hospitality management company, Windward Management, and Emerald Investment Partners, announced on June 5th the completion of the acquisition of the four star Hilton Dublin Airport Hotel from P. J. Walls Holdings Group.

The 166-bed hotel was built in 2005 and benefits from underground parking and also operates a shuttle bus service to and from Dublin Airport. It has traded well in recent years, with strong RevPAR growth since 2013. The hotel will continue to operate as a Hilton Hotel under its existing management and staff. Patrick Coyle, Founder and Chief Executive of Windward Management, says they intend to embark immediately on a capital investment programme to enhance the guest experience.

FARNHAM ESTATE

ON THE MARKET FOR 26M The Radisson Farnham Golf & Spa Resort in County Cavan was brought to the market on June 8th by Savills with a guide price of €26m. Savills is handling the sale on behalf of the Receiver, Aiden Murphy of Crowe Howarth. The 16th century County Cavan estate is one of Ireland’s largest land holdings, with 1,250 acres. The estates’s four star hotel has welcomed guests since 2006 and includes 158 bedrooms and suites enjoying panoramic woodland views. The profitable hotel is being sold with or without management agreement or franchise, as required. Irish luxury resort hotels are achieving impressive growth, with RevPAR up 16% in 2015 and increasing by 17% in the four months to April 2016.

TETRARCH & STAYCITY LODGE PLANNING FOR APARTHOTEL Tetrarch Capital has submitted a planning application to Dublin City Council for a 159 unit aparthotel development on Mark Street, off Pearse Street in Dublin 2. The proposed aparthotel scheme will be leased on a long-term basis to serviced apartment specialists Staycity. Staycity Mark Street will have 159 aparthotel units equating to 184 bedrooms in total and a gross floor area of circa 6,600 square metres. Units will range from studios to one bed suites and will be suitable for between two and four guests per apartment. The self catering facilities will include a fully equipped kitchen as well as lounge/dining and accommodation spaces. Guests will also be able to avail of 24-hour reception, free wifi, and a guest lobby and coffee bar, as well as exercise facilities.

Tetrarch plans to invest €25m in the development, which is targeted for completion by the end of 2018, subject to planning approval.

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

020_H&C_JUNE 2016_Key to the Door.indd 21

CATERING REVIEW

21

06/07/2016 12:16

ON THE MOVE

Move

On the

SHANE MCGUINNESS

WILLIAM KIRBY

XAVIER PERCHE

NEW POSITION PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER

NEW POSITION GENERAL MANAGER

NEW POSITION DIRECTOR OF FOOD & BEVERAGE

EMPLOYER FOOD SAFETY PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION

EMPLOYER LOUGH ERNE RESORT

EMPLOYER LOUGH ERNE RESORT

Shane McGuinness, Head of QHSE with Gather & Gather, Ireland, has been appointed PRO for the Food Safety Professionals Association. Shane has been a member of the the association for over five years and he brings considerable expertise in food safety and in health and safety to the role.

He began his career in the food industry over 10 years ago, working as a technical manager in food production and manufacturing.

He qualified as a BRC auditor and food safety trainer and completed a degree in food supply chain management at DKIT in Dundalk. While working in Gather & Gather he received an international qualification in occupational health and safety with Nebosh.

22

New Appointments, Promotions and Recruitment

HOTEL

William Kirby has been appointed General Manager of Lough Erne Resort in Co Fermanagh.

William joins the team from Lyrath Estate Hotel in Co Kilkenny where he was General Manager for the past year. His career in hospitality has included two years at the Old Course Hotel at St. Andrews, at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh from 1991 to 1995, at the Westbury Hotel, London from 1995 to 1998 and as General Manager of Mount Juliet from 2006 to 2015. His achievements as General Manager at Mount Juliet included the award of a Michelin star for the Lady Helen restaurant at the hotel in 2013, as well as winning Hotel of the Year at the Georgina Campbell Awards in 2007.

Xavier Perche has been appointed Food and Beverage Manager at Lough Erne Resort in Co Fermanagh.

Xavier joins the team from Mount Juliet Estate, Co Kilkenny, where he held the role of Director of Food & Beverage for six years having previously worked as Food & Beverage Operations Manager at the estate since 2006. In 2000, he joined the four star Hotel Chalet St Georges in the Alpine ski resort of Megeve as Food and Beverage Manager, before moving to Lyon in 2003 to work as General Manager of the Taverne Brasserie. His achievements as Director of Food and Beverage at Mount Juliet included the award of a Michelin star for the Lady Helen Restaurant, along with RAI and GFI all Ireland awards and three AA Rosettes.

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

022_H&C_JUNE 2016_On the Move.indd 22

06/07/2016 12:17

Commercial

PROFILE

THE IN SEASON

Specialists KEELINGS FARM FRESH IS ONCE AGAIN SPONSORING THE GOLD MEDAL AWARDS 2016 PRESENTED BY HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW. THE MENU FOR THIS YEAR’S EVENT WILL FOCUS ON FRESH LOCAL PRODUCE SUPPLIED THROUGH KEELINGS FARM FRESH AND THEIR PARTNERING SPONSORS.

McCormack Family Farm, fresh salads and herbs grower

K

eelings Farm Fresh are specialists in the supply of fresh and prepared fruit and vegetables, freshly squeezed juices, salads and fresh dairy. The company is currently at the height of the Irish season with the supply of fresh produce. This time of year is perfect to get local and home-grown fruit and vegetables. It’s always an exciting and busy time of year for local producers who are highly dependent on the Irish weather.

Keelings Farm Fresh have partnered with growers across Ireland. Throughout the season we agree growing plans with local producers in order for them to plan for the year ahead. Developing strong links with growers year-onyear is something which is core to our business.

The fresh produce sector is highly changeable each year and this year was no different with high rainfall in spring hampering the Irish potato crop.

The improved weather alongside higher temperatures

has allowed for the growing season to get back on track.

The bright and long sunny days are especially required to help produce sweet tasting strawberries. Throughout the month of July fresh local fruit such as Irish cherries, strawberries, raspberries and deliciously sweet blackberries are in bountiful supply through our distribution depots, alongside Irish vegetables such as celery, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, peppers, a range of lettuce, and micro vegetables. The horticulture industry is highly specialised and this is an area that we are passionate about, sourcing premium local and international produce where & when in season.

Our partnership with local growers and the development of our produce is a continuous commitment to our customers.

The Keelings farm, located close to our Dublin depot, ensures that the freshest of berries are delivered to our customers. Keelings began growing in the early 1930s so our long-standing presence in the Irish food sector has inevitably equipped us to be highly attuned and appreciative in the art of growing.

The Keelings Farm Fresh

DEVELOPING STRONG LINKS WITH GROWERS YEAR-ON-YEAR IS SOMETHING WHICH IS CORE TO OUR BUSINESS.

Matthew Godwin, Keelings strawberry grower

Robert Carrick, Broccoli grower

Gold Medal Awards 2016 will be moving out of Dublin to the centrally located and beautiful setting of Lyrath Estate in Co Kilkenny. The Keelings Farm Fresh team are looking forward to this wonderful event that showcases and acknowledges the talent of the Irish hotel and catering industry.

Keelings Farm Fresh have depots based in Dublin, Cork, Wexford and Belfast.

Tel: +353 (0) 1 895 5301 • Email: catering@keelingsfarmfresh.com Follow us @keelings4chefs

239011_CP_Keelings_AMA_H&C.indd 27

07/07/2016 14:50

BUSINESS MATTERS

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE WOULD ALLEVIATE

CHEF SHORTAGE Shane McLave, General Manager of Excel Recruitment, share the findings of the company’s recent survey of salary scales in the four star hotel sector.

24

HOTEL

O

verseas visitors to Ireland, as reported by Fáilte Ireland, grew to 7.9 million for 2015, which represents 11% growth on 2014. Record breaking occupancy levels for Dublin and Galway were reported in 2015 and more than 60 hotel properties, with a total value of more than €700m, changed hands in Ireland during 2015. These are just some of the statistics that reflect the positive outlook for the Irish hospitality industry. It also means that demand for a pool of quality potential employees has never been higher.

This is good news for recruitment agency Excel Recruitment. However, the findings of their recent survey of salary scales in the four star hotel sector reveals some worrying trends about the way in which staff shortages are being addressed and the relationship between salary scales and chef shortages in particular.

“From a recruitment perspective we have seen a 35% increase in new roles registered versus the same period in 2015, which reflects the growth that our industry has experienced,” says Shane McLave. “However, we are seeing a continuing trend of promoting internally and back filling positions with more junior candidates. This has resulted in a shortage of middle management candidates at head of department level. The current market is extremely competitive. We are seeing more candidates who come through the recruitment process getting an average of a €3,000 to €4,000 increase on their basic salary. However, there are some exceptions to this trend.”

It has been widely publicised in the media that the shortage of chefs is approaching crisis point. “One thing that we have noticed while carrying out this survey is that, in many cases, this shortage can be traced back to the pay

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

024_H&C_JUNE 2016_Business.indd 24

06/07/2016 12:18

BUSINESS MATTERS

FRONT OF HOUSE & ADMIN Standard of Salary

Low

Average

Good

General Manager

€60,000 + Bonus

€75,000 + Bonus

€90,000 + Bonus

Deputy General Manager

€40,000

€50,000 + Bonus

€55,000 + Bonus

Operations Manager

€38,000

€40,000 + Bonus

€45,000 + Bonus

Food & Beverage Manager

€35,000

€38,000 + Bonus

€45,000 + Bonus

Accomodation Manager

€34,000

€37,000 + Bonus

€38,000 + Bonus

Restaurant Manager

€32,000

€36,000 + Bonus

€38/40,000 + Bonus

Restaurant Supervisor

€24,000

€26,000

€28.000 + Bonus

Director Of Sales

€55,000

€65,000 + Bonus

€75,000 + Bonus

Sales & Marketing Manager

€36,000 + Bonus

€42,000 + Bonus

€50,000 + Bonus

Wedding Coordinator

€26,000

€28/32,000

€32,000 + Bonus

Sales Executive

€32,000

€37,000 + Bonus

€40,000 + Bonus

Conference & Banquetting Manager

€32,000

€35,000

€40,000 + Bonus

Meeting & Events Coordinator

€26,000

€28/30,000

€35,000 + Bonus

Revenue Manager

€38,000

€45,000 + Bonus

€60,000 + Bonus

HR Manager

€36,000

€45,000 + Bonus

€60,000 + Bonus

HR Assistant Manager

€28,000

€34,000

€36,000 + Bonus

Front Office /Reservations Manager

€28,000

€32,000

€38/40,000 + Bonus

Reception Supervisor

€24,000

€26,000

€28,000

Receptionist / Reservations

€22,000

€24,000

€28,000

Night Manager

€24/28,000

€30,000

€35,000

Duty Manager

€26,000

€30,000

€32,000

Bar Manager

€32,000

€35,000 + Bonus

€38,000

Standard of Salary

Low

Average

Good

Executive Chef

€50 /€60,000

€70+Bonus

€75,000 + Bonus

Head Chef

€40,000

€55/60

€65,000 + Bonus

Sous Chef

€35,000

€40,000

€45,000

Jnr Sous Chef

€32,000

€34,000

€38,000

*Based on a 39 hour working week

scale for a Chef de Partie,” says Shane.

“In most cases, a Chef de Partie will have completed two or three years in college and spent an average of four to six years working in kitchens. Yet, a large majority of establishments are paying a rate of €12 per hour for a Chef de Partie.

In most cases, this is an annual salary, so a chef working 45 hours a week will take home an hourly rate of pay of just €10.40 per hour. I last worked as a Chef de Partie 16 years ago. I was on Stg£12 an hour, old money at the time. In the last 16 years the minimum wage has increased several times. There is now, justifiably, a strong movement to increase the minimum wage which is being led by a large group of chefs. Utilising the power of social media they are pushing for a minimum wage of €15 per hour for Chef de Partie. In my view, this would go a long way towards solving the existing chef shortage.”

CHEF

Breakfast Chef

€24,000

€28,000

€28/30,000

Chef De Partie

€26,000

€30,000

€32,000

Pastry Chef

€26/28,000

€28,000

€30/35,000

Head Pastry Chef

€35,000

€40,000

€50,000

Commis 1st Year

€9.50 p/h

€10 p/h

€11 p/h

Commis 2nd Year

€10 p/h

€ 11 p/h

€ 11.5 p/h

Commis 3rd Year

€ 10 p/h

€ 11 p/h

€ 12 p/h

Commis 4th Year

€24,000

€26,000

€27,000

Waiting Staff/KP

€ 9.15 p/h

€9.50 p/h

€ 11 p/h

Bar Staff

€ 9.5 p/h

€ 12 p/h

€ 13 p/h

*Based on a 39 hour working week

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

024_H&C_JUNE 2016_Business.indd 25

CATERING REVIEW

25

06/07/2016 12:19

GREEN HOTELS

Green

HOTELS

RETROFITS YIELD ENERGY SAVINGS AT LEADING PROPERTIES Two of the country’s most successful hotel operations are enjoying significant energy savings following major retrofit programmes.

Throughout 2015, Bord Gáis Energy provided €27,000 in funding for an LED lighting retrofit and additional energy efficiency upgrades at The Maryborough Hotel & Spa in Douglas in Cork. €18,000 of the funding was used to retrofit the entire building with LED lighting, resulting in substantial electricity savings. A further €9,000 was provided for energy improvements, including the reconditioning of a combined heat and power (CHP) unit and the installation of an Eco-Cooler, which uses 90% less energy than an equivalent refrigeration system. This installation, and the reconditioning of the CHP, resulted in further cost savings. The Maryborough Hotel and Spa has been a Bord Gáis Energy gas customer since 2006. In addition to implementing energy efficiency projects, the key account manager constantly works with their hotel managers to ensure they are getting the best possible value from their energy supply.

Bord Gáis Energy provided the funding as part of its Energy Efficiency Partnership Scheme, which helps Irish businesses realise sustainable reductions in energy costs. Both customers and non-customers can apply for financial support towards the capital cost of their energy efficiency projects. In addition to funding, Bord Gáis Energy also offers a range of services and supports such as LED lighting solutions, energy audits and employee awareness schemes. “The new measures have already reduced our energy costs and, coupled with competitive gas supply charges, the hotel will continue to realise long term savings,” says General

26

HOTEL

Kevin O’Kane, Energy Services Engineer, Energia, and Michael Byrnes, Director of Engineering, Powerscourt Hotel.

#Energy Saving LED AND HIGH EFFICIENCY LIGHTING TYPICALLY REDUCES COSTS BY UP TO

75%

NEW BOILER OR HEATING CONTROLS CAN SAVE OVER

Manager Justin McCarthy.

Meanwhile, Energia has helped the Powerscourt Hotel Resort & Spa reduce its carbon footprint by a massive 831 tonnes each year. Energia put together an energy efficiency plan for the hotel, a key feature of which was replacing 12,138 old incandescent light fittings with newer, more efficient LED lights.

The hotel has reduced its energy usage by 1,788,389 kWh each year, lowering its carbon footprint by over 831 tonnes over the next 12 months. The upgrade work has also resulted in an annual saving of almost 213,000 on its energy bills. The work was carried out under Energia’s ‘Cash for Kilowatts’ scheme that provides grant funding to companies for energy efficiency projects.

Any company carrying out an energy efficiency project can qualify for grant funding based on the amount of energy they save. The grant can fund up to 30% of the project cost. This scheme is open to all businesses, whether or not they are customers of Energia. “After Energia carried out a straightforward energy audit, we realised that for a relatively small investment we could significantly cut our energy bill and, more importantly, seriously reduce our carbon footprint,” says Michael Byrnes, Director of Engineering at Powerscourt Hotel.

“The upgrade work was very smooth and had no impact on our operations.”

25%

OF YOUR ANNUAL FUEL COSTS NEW REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS CAN REDUCE YOUR COSTS

BY UP TO

30%

John Herbert, Bord Gáis Energy, Sous Chef Oisin Collins, and Justin McCarthy, General Manager, at The Maryborough Hotel & Spa.

CATERING REVIEW | MAY 2016

026_H&C_JUNE 2016_Green Hotels.indd 26

06/07/2016 12:22

Commercial

PROFILE

FLEX YOUR

Mussels BORD BIA 3 YEAR SHELLFISH STRATEGY

B

ord Bia is launching a long-term strategy on shellfish, and will be investing almost a1m over the next three years in driving awareness of the availability of great Irish shellfish, and encouraging consumers to purchase and cook shellfish at home.

Year one of this strategy will

focus on mussels. In Ireland we produce almost 9,000 tonnes of mussels every year and suppliers have also cited a recent increase in demand among Irish consumers. For 2016, Bord Bia is encouraging Irish people to #flexyourmussels and have a go at cooking Irish mussels at home, communicated via outdoor,

press, radio, digital and in-store.

Bord Bia has also invested heavily in trade and supplier activity, including fish counter staff training, in-store POS, merchandising and supplier onpack activity.

For more information please contact Bord Bia: (01) 6685155 www.bordbia.ie/fish

IN IRELAND WE PRODUCE ALMOST 9,000 TONNES OF MUSSELS EVERY YEAR

Moules Marinières

Serves:

2

This classic dish is surprisingly simple and quick to make

Ingredients:

• 1kg mussels, prepared • A knob of butter • 1 shallot, finely chopped • 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed • 60mls white wine • Chopped parsley, to serve

Nutritional Analysis per serving: Energy: 424kcal Protein: 20g Carbohydrate: 47g Fat: 15g Iron: 6.47mg

!

Method:

Time: 10 mins

• Set a large saucepan over a medium heat. Melt the butter. Add the chopped shallot and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. They should soften but not brown.

Add the wine and mussels, turn the heat up to high and cover tightly with a lid. Allow the mussels to cook for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time to ensure they cook evenly. Discard any that have not opened.

• Remove the pan from the heat to stop the mussels cooking any further. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, then spoon them into warmed bowls and pour over the pan juices.

• Serve with lots of crusty bread.

For more recipes go to www.bordbia.ie/fish

240375_CP_Bord Bia_AMA_H&C.indd 27

07/07/2016 14:50

FOOD HEROES

Mark

HANDS OVER HIS

TITLE to British Chef George Kataras of M Threadneedle Street, London, will represent Ireland and the UK in the final of the S. Pellegrino Young Chef in Milan on October 13th. He takes the title from Ireland’s Mark Moriarty who made history last year as the inaugural winner of the competition.

#Cono Sur

k so

nw

ith

his

w

h.

HOTEL

J ac

d is

28

P eter

ing

PETER JACKSON, EXECUTIVE CHEF AT THE ARMADA HOTEL, SPANISH POINT, CO CLARE, WAS CROWNED THE OVERALL WINNER OF THE INAUGURAL CONO SUR CHEF CHALLENGE FINAL HELD AT THE PALLAS FOODS FOODSERVICE CENTRE IN CO DUBLIN EARLIER THIS MONTH.

O

n June 21st professional chefs from Ireland and the UK gathered at the Waitrose Cookery School in London to prepare their signature dishes for the jurors, which included Ross Lewis, JP McMahon, Ollie Dabbous and Claude Bosi.

Ireland was represented by Alfonso Giugliano of The Cornstore Restaurant in Cork and Romuald Bukaty of Avenue by Nick Munier who cooked up a storm on the night. Ireland’s Mark Moriarty wowed the judges last year with his celeriac baked in barley and fermented hay and cured and smoked celeriac with toasted hay tea and the Dublin native was on hand to pass on the crown as the reigning Ireland and UK semi-finalist and overall winner of the competition in 2015.

Following the closing of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016 registration on April 7, 10 semifinalists from each of the 20 regions across the world were selected from thousands of applications submitted to FineDiningLovers.com. Young chefs

inn

CLAREMAN WINS INAUGURAL CONO SUR CHALLENGE

from more than 90 countries submitted their applications, along with their signature dishes, to compete in the 2016 edition of S.Pellegrino’s global talent search to find the best young chef in the world.

The event is an opportunity for participants to learn from other talent, gain global visibility, and come in close contact with some of the most renowned chefs on the planet, such as those of the impressive Seven Sages grand finale jury, composed of David Higgs, Carlo Cracco, Gaggan Anand, Elena Arzak, Mauro Colagreco, Wylie Dufresne and Roberta Sudbrack.

There’s a long road ahead to the Young Chef finals in October, and ALMA - the world’s leading international educational and training centre for Italian Cuisine (www.alma. scuolacucina.it) - has already been hard at work. The acclaimed cooking school, in charge of the competition’s regional semi-finalists selection, divided the thousands of applications received into 20 geographic regions and selected ten semi-finalists from each region according to ingredients, skills, genius, beauty, and message. Phase III of the project will take place from May 1st to August 15th, during which the semi-finalists from each region will compete in local challenges.

Each region will have a jury composed of top independent chefs who will judge the semi-finalists’ signature dishes and choose the best one, based on the five

It was a close-run contest, with judges locked in discussions for over half an hour and the recipes finally only separated by a hair’s breadth.

But it was Peter’s dish of Atlantic cod with summer peas, saffron and mint accompanied by black pudding and air-dried Connemara ham that wowed the judges thanks to its “perfect balance of flavours, sensitive use of ingredients and precision cooking.” The judging panel, which included Adolfo Hurtado, General Manager and Chief Winemaker at Cono Sur, and Patrick Clement, Business Development and Events Manager for Pallas Foods, concluded that “the herbal notes of the dish

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

028_H&C_JUNE 2016_Heroes.indd 28

06/07/2016 12:35

FOOD HEROES

From top, left to right, Alfonso Giugliano with his mouthwatering dish, and Romuald Bukaty with his competitive dish, both of whom represented Ireland in style at the London cook off.

golden rules. The individual winners from each geographic area will then move on to the international finals. By the end of August, the 20 best local young chefs from each region of the world will be announced as the international official finalists. At this stage, they will also be assigned a ‘Mentor Chef ’ who will advise them on how to improve their signature dishes and help them prepare for the global finals. The 20 finalists will compete in the Grand Finale in Milan on October 13th, which will include two demanding days of cooking in front of the Seven Sages jury, that will determine the winner of S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2016.

were finely judged and paired magnificently” with the 20 Barrels Sauvignon Blanc, while the cod fillet “was creamy, supple and cooked to perfection.”

Peter Jackson won a first class trip for two to Paris for a gourmet weekend away, and all finalists received a large hamper of gourmet Pallas Foods products and Cono Sur 20 Barrels wines for their efforts. The final involved an intense ‘cook-off ’ where each participant had only an hour to prepare, cook and present four servings of their

dish under the watchful glare of the judges. In runner-up position was Richard McKee of Redcastle Hotel in Donegal, whose breast of Gressingham Duck recipe impressed with its complex accompaniments of smoked artichoke and fermented garlic, as well as an innovative raspberry and hibiscus gel that used Cono Sur 20 Barrels Pinot Noir as its base. Last but not least was Alan Fitzmaurice of The Glasshouse Hotel in Sligo. The judges felt that his stuffed loin of rabbit wrapped in Parma ham and served with broad bean purée, carrot, pickled

mushroom, burnt onion, and a beetroot crisp played well with the more delicate flavours of the Cono Sur 20 Barrels Pinot Noir that it was paired with.

The Cono Sur Chef Challenge began in April when all chefs in the Republic of Ireland were invited to submit an original recipe that complemented Cono Sur’s 20 Barrels Sauvignon Blanc or 20 Barrels Pinot Noir range.

Thirty submissions were received with six entries chosen to compete in a close-fought semi final from which the three finalists were chosen.

ABOVE: Alan Fitzmaurice of The Glasshouse Hotel’s stuffed loin of rabbit, broad bean purée, carrot, pickled mushroom, burnt onion, and beetroot crisp.

BELOW: Richard McKee’s breast of Gressingham Duck with smoked artichoke, fermented garlic, raspberry and hibiscus gel, and roasted hazelnut.

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

028_H&C_JUNE 2016_Heroes.indd 29

CATERING REVIEW

29

06/07/2016 12:36

FOOD HEROES

ABOVE: Wade Murphy from 1826 restaurant in Adare and JP McMahon, Symposium Director of Food On The Edge.

RIGHT: Kevin Thornton, Thornton’s Restaurant, and Olivia Collins, Food PR and Communications Manager for Food On The Edge.

Edgy

LINE UP

Announced at Fade Street

Fade Street Social in Dublin was the venue on June 27th for the announcement of the full line-up of Food On The Edge 2016, the acclaimed international food symposium taking place this October 24th and 25th in Galway.

S

ome of Ireland’s best food talent was in attendance, including chefs Kevin Thornton, Ross Lewis, Graham Neville, Dylan McGrath and Wade Murphy, as well as Irish media personalities, including Kathryn Thomas, who attended with her partner restaurateur Padraig McLoughlin, and food media. Dylan McGrath’s menu on the night - fresh sushi and tapas-style dishes, as well as some bite size treats - was fitting for the nation’s food royalty.

“Food on the Edge is not about elitism, it’s about inviting chefs from all over the world who I feel have something to say, be that three Michelin stars or chefs running street food trucks!” says Symposium Director JP McMahon. “We have a stellar line-up of chefs this year, including the Chef and Owner of the world’s best restaurant, Massimo Bottura, Peruvian Chef Virgilio Martinez, and a number of return speakers from last year.” Una Fitzgibbon, Marketing Director of Bord Bia, says that Galway is the right place to hold the event, given that it has just been named as European Region of Gastronomy for 2018. “Ireland’s food stands for everything that is pure, clean and fresh - 5,000 years of farming and continued sustainability across our food producers, manufacturers and food companies. We are very proud to be sponsors again of Food On The Edge

30

HOTEL

and we wish JP and his team continued success.” Wade Murphy, Chef and Owner of 1826 restaurant in Adare, says that “something magical” happened at last year’s event. “Chefs, producers and food experts came together in a monsoon of inspiration. For me, speaking at Food On The Edge was the highlight of my career.”

A roll call of more than 40 of the world’s leading chefs is now confirmed to speak on the future of food in Galway this October. These include Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana, a three Michelin-star restaurant in Modena, Italy, which has been listed in the top five at the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards since 2010 and was ranked first in the World’s Best Restaurants at the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards 2016. Daniel Burns of Luksus is currently one of the hottest chefs in New York City. His resumé reads like a shortlist of the world’s finest eateries. After working at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck in the UK, Daniel spent three years running the pastry department at Noma, before moving to New York in 2010. American Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, formerly of The French Laundry in Napa Valley, recently opened Otium in Los Angeles. The legendary Frenchborn Pierre Koffman will also attend Food On The Edge this year. Currently the Head Chef of Koffmann’s at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, he is one of a handful of UK-based chefs to have been awarded the coveted three Michelin stars for his former London restaurant La Tante Claire.

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

028_H&C_JUNE 2016_Heroes.indd 30

06/07/2016 12:36

FOOD HEROES LEFT: Keith Mahon and Julie Mahon from TheTaste.ie. RIGHT: Graham Neville from Restaurant Forty One BELOW: JP McMahon and Kwanghi Chan from BaxterStorey.

BELOW: Edel McMahon, Event Administrator & Graphic Designer for Food On The Edge, with Margaret Jeffares of Good Food Ireland.

ABOVE: Padraig McLoughlin, restaurateur, and his partner, TV presenter Kathryn Thomas.

LEFT: Christopher Molloy, Lemon Tree Restaurant, Letterkenny, and Mark Barrett, Belles Kitchen, Rathmullan, with Olivia Collins.

Pawel Karnafel, Cava Bodega Restaurant, Galway, and Martin O’Donnell, Chef at The Twelve Hotel Galway.

ABOVE: Adrian Boyle, Bunzl, and Zsolt Lukacs, Manager of Aniar Restaurant Galway.

LEFT: Sarunas Godovan from BaxterStorey and Caomhán de Brí from @ redchardfood.

LEFTL: Gavin McDonagh, Brioche Restaurant, with JP McMahon.

RIGHT: Food On The Edge 2016 speaker Dylan McGrath with JP McMahon.

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

028_H&C_JUNE 2016_Heroes.indd 31

CATERING REVIEW

31

06/07/2016 12:36

Organics…

Naturally Good For Business

Tel: 091 750 020 • info@solarisbotanicals.com • www.solarisbotanicals.com Trade Enquiries: Caitriona Scully or Joerg Mueller 236753_2L_IOFGA_IB_H&C.indd 1

28/06/2016 13:57

Food Business Opportunity CLONAKILTY WHISKEY DISTILLERY & VISITOR CENTRE An exciting food business opportunity exists in a new whiskey distillery & visitor centre, with a projected opening of Q2 2017. The centre also offers retail space and a modern 100 seat café/restaurant with ample parking.

The vision is for a spacious, trendy venue ideal for a vibrant and ambitious food business operator.

This iconic tourist attraction requires high quality service to cater for venue visitors, locals and high volume passing trade.

For expressions of interest to tender please contact Brendan Russell: 0876233088

240371_2L_Heneghan PR_JM_Hotel&Catering.indd 1

AD H&C_JUNE 2016_Editor.indd 2

01/07/2016 13:28

07/07/2016 14:51

#INGREDIENT

Tea

Party Sipping on a traditional Assam breakfast tea of a morning is a staple for many of us, but by using teas to liven up recipes you have a whole new way to enjoy its fragrance and flavours.

J

ust like wine, organic tea is a wonderful ingredient whose distinctive flavours add layers of interest. Treat it as a herb and infuse tea into liquid bases, including milk, cream or stock to form fragrant savoury or sweet sauces and to flavour the broth for Asian soup dishes.

Sample the scent of tea when crushed and match it with complementary seasonings to create a delicate rub for meat or poultry. Tea also adds a heady aroma when used as a smoking agent for fish or duck. From Matcha green tea ice cream to tea-smoked duck, this ingredient will add something really unique and special to your meals. Here are some innovative ideas for taking tea to your table.

ASIAN BROTH Take a chicken or beef broth flavoured with ginger, garlic and chilli. Add 1tbs of green tea (in muslin) per litre of broth and let it infuse for 5 minutes. Serve in an oriental teapot to pour over bowls of noodles with stir-fried vegetables and meat.

Yellow Mountain Green Tea

Golden Monkey: Black Tea

For enquiries contact: Solaris Tea Tel: 091- 750 020 Trade Enquiries: Caitriona Scully or Joerg Mueller info@solarisbotanicals.com or see www.solarisbotanicals. com for more information.

SMOKING Black tea, such as Lapsang Souchong, is ideal for smoking fish and meat. It imparts a delicate, sweet smokiness. Place 2tbs of Lapsang Souchong, or other black tea, on a sheet of foil in the base of a cast iron wok, cover and heat until it begins to smoke. You can vary the flavour with the addition of whole fragrant spice such as star anise, cloves or cinnamon. Place the duck, chicken or fish on a rack over the tea. Cover, reduce the heat, and smoke for 10 to 15 minutes, then transfer to the oven or pan to finish cooking.

Green Tea

COCKTAIL Try a peach iced green tea. Make the green tea as usual, pour over ripe sliced peaches and allow it to cool. Add a fresh peach slice, a few mint leaves and ice cubes to tall glasses, and pour over the strained tea. Add a shot of peach schnapps or mint liqueur.

Matcha Powder

DESERTS Teas add a sophisticated edge to deserts.

Their herbal qualities come into play in blackberry and black tea sorbet. Try infusing the custard base of your ice cream with Matcha tea powder for a gorgeous flavour and fabulous colour. Rooibos’ red tea has a fruity flavour that makes a wonderful sugar syrup for vanilla scented deserts and puddings.

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

xxxxxx_CP_IOFGA_JM_H&C.indd 33

CATERING REVIEW

33

07/07/2016 14:39

Partners in Food

PROFILE

CREATING A

Delicious & Nutritious

EXPERIENCE

BAXTER STOREY’S EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT CHEF AUDREY CRONE TALKS ABOUT THEIR SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGY, HEALTH AND WELLNESS, AND BRINGING THE HIGH STREET INTO STAFF RESTAURANTS. Q: What are the key challenges that you face in your role as Executive Development Chef?

A: The challenges within my role are what make it so exciting. As a chef, you are always looking for new ideas and keeping up with food trends. Developing these to suit our business is motivation for our chefs. And we are able to recruit and retain better chefs for longer than other caterers because they can see an opportunity to develop within our organisation.

Q: What is your approach to menu design?

A: Our menus are tailored for our customers on each site. We encourage our chefs to get to know their customers and to use their skills and creativity to produce real food. Working in the catering sector doesn’t mean that we are ready to retire, which was the traditional perception, or that we have stopped being culinarians. We value chef skills, and ongoing innovation in food development encourages creativity and inspires our chefs to produce exciting food.

Q: What are the key demand trends coming

Keelings Farm Fresh Managing Director Colm Bury with Audrey Crone, Executive Development Chef, BaxterStorey.

through from Baxter Storey’s clients?

A: We typically bring trends to our clients. We bring what is available on the High Street more directly into our staff restaurants in order to retain our customers’ interest.

BaxterStorey is commited to using fresh ingredients and allowing our team of chefs to prepare and present great food rather than opening packets.

Health and wellness is always important, but healthy food should not mean boring or tasteless food! Real food is about variety, flavours and using the best ingredients, combined in a way that stretches the boundaries, whether that be through our creativity during the food preparation or through menu design.

Q: How would you describe your working relationship with Keelings Farm Fresh?

A: Passion for food starts with our catering supplier and creating excellent food starts with procuring exceptional ingredients. Our supply chain

strategy at BaxterStorey is a market leading approach and our collaborative relationships with our suppliers provide real benefits in delivering locally sourced produce of the highest quality, with the lowest environmental impact, to our chefs and managers. Working with Keeling’s Farm Fresh ensures that our vegetables are sourced as locally as possible from a sustainable supply, giving the farmer a market that may not have been there before. Our vegetables are from Ireland when in season and our direct supply ensures that our vegetables are the freshest of produce. It also ensures that they arrive with the lowest number of road miles required to deliver and maintain optimum nutritional value.

Q: What gives Baxter Storey the edge in the competitive contract catering sector?

A: Our food philosophy ensures that we use whole and natural food forms rather than convenience or processed foods. Our chefs have control of their own supply, allowing them to take great pride in producing high quality food from scratch that always exceeds expectations.

Dublin: +353 (0)1 895 5301

Wexford: +353 (0)53 9147447

Email: catering@keelingsfarmfresh.ie

Cork: + 353 (0)21 4968088

Belfast: +44 2890324236

Web: www.keelings.com/corporate

239013_CP_KEELINGS_AMA_H&C.indd 33

07/07/2016 14:53

INTERIOR TRENDS

Interior DESIRE

The design of The Medley Café is a collaboration between Architect John Sweeney of Sweeney Design and Designer Gwen Kenny of Divine Design.

The Medley Café Scirocco H cast iron black radiator, €200 per element, www. sciroccoh.it/en/

Gwen Kenny

Black A4 chalkboard with metal stand, €14.90, Harvey Norman

Luxe marble diamond table, £355, Oliver Bonas

Orange wooden pepper mill, €55.00, Harvey Norman

Faux tree, €49.99, HomeSense

Alluminium effect storage chest, €368, www.puji.com

035_H&C_JUNE 2016_Interior Trends.indd 35

Shorditch, sample pot (100mls) £4.25, Mylands Paints

John Sweeney The brief was to create a contrast between the refined cuisine and the industrial nature of the building. This resulted in a ‘silk and steel’ theme which is evident throughout. Maintaining an unfiltered, open space was of paramount importance to John who, in the first instance, addressed the design of the mezzanine structure. “We worked in harmony with the original industrial space that we were given,” he says. “Materials, tiles, and leather were all chosen to work with the original space.” The key design goal was to create an adaptable space capable of catering for both intimate lunch meetings and larger events. “When you enter the ground floor the main feature is the serving counter,” says John. “The seating and layout is designed around this to optimise the available space.” Gwen Kenny points out that the strategically placed lighting and backlit areas against subtly backlit copper cladding highlight many of Andrew’s quirky collectibles and salvaged antiques. “This brings further depth to the industrial design influence,” she says.

White wash Jasmine tub chair, £452, www.sweetpeaandwillow.com

Style Tip

Gold lustre stemware, £9, Debenhams

JUNE 2016 | HOTEL

When it comes to restaurant design, always aim to create an adaptable space that can cater for smaller and more substantial events.

CATERING REVIEW

35

06/07/2016 12:39

A QUICK CHAT

“A good relationship with suppliers is vital - without the produce you can’t have good food and without good food you won’t have customers.”

FAVOURITE INGREDIENT: SEA BASS

I’m loving fresh sea bass. It’s in season at the moment.

CLODAGH MCKENNA

“I really think the Irish consumer wants to see Irish on the menu, which has always been a part of my ethos since I first got involved with food 20 years ago.”

FAVOURITE DISH: DUMPLINGS & BLUE CHEESE

Irish potato dumplings with black pudding in a spiced Cashel Blue sauce is becoming a signature dish of mine.

When people ask me to cook they’re always asking for my dumplings and spiced Cashel Blue sauce.

“Customer feedback is so important - it’s how we develop the menus, it’s how we make the service better, it’s how we keep evolving the restaurant.”

WISH LIST: KENWOOD KAYMIX

I’d be lost without my Kenwood Kaymix because I make a lot of sourdough. I would love copper pots. They’re beautiful but I can’t afford them.

“I think we’re going very seasonally focused and very farm to fork. People are much more aware of the importance of knowing where their food comes from.”

36

HOTEL

Hotel & Catering Review’s Orla Connolly talks to celebrity Chef Clodagh McKenna about her food favourites, kitchen musthaves, and the Irish diner.

INSPIRATION: ALICE WATERS

Chef-wise I guess it would be Alice Waters just because she’s so consistent and so disciplined with her focus on great seasonal and local produce.

CATERING REVIEW | JUNE 2016

036_H&C_JUNE 2016_Quick Chat.indd 36

06/07/2016 12:51

45 MAGAZINE TITLES ▲ 10 EVENTS ▲ 3.6 MILLION REACH

DID YOU KNOW

Ashville Media Group is Ireland’s largest publishing and events company.

You’ve almost certainly read our magazines or attended our events.

Our mission is to connect your brand with the largest audience in Ireland.

(01) 432 2200 ▲ info@ashvillemediagroup.com

Ashville Iceburg Advert.indd 1

26/04/2016 11:17

When only the freshes t will do ...

With over 6 0 years exp erien understand your need fo ce, we r quality serv and flexible ice delivery.

It’s our kno wledge that allows us to you the bes bring t local and s o urced produ both fresh a ce, nd prepared .

Keelings Farm

your caterin

Fresh

g supply pa

Dublin +353 (0)1 8955301 Cork +353 (0)21 4968088 Wexford +353 (0)53 9147447 Belfast +44 2890324236 239014_1C_Keelings_H&C.indd AD H&C_JUNE 2016_Editor.indd 1 2

rtners

catering@keelingsfarmfresh.com

www.keelings.com

21/06/2016 07/07/2016 11:21 14:53