GUILD TALK
View from HQ
By John Farrand managing director
MY SON, GUY, who is nearing the end of a slightly disappointing year off, has a summer job at a resort in Cornwall. Typical teenage unskilled stuff, but he’s willing to learn, earn money and put the hours in. Sounds like he is the exception rather than the rule as a few weeks ago they had to shut the restaurant due to staff shortages. I’m a retail man and so can't claim to understand the mechanics of
news from the guild of fine food running a foodservice team. But Michel Roux Jr. does and even he stopped lunch service in the swanky Le Gavroche for similar reasons. Consider that the Office for National Statistics state that 4.8% of economically active people over 16 are unemployed. That’s 1.6m people according to the website Statista. It seems to me that a few more people should be queuing up to fill these foodservice opportunities. Everyone I speak to in that world is desperate to have a successful summer, nay more than that, must have a successful summer to stay in business. And like the folk who stand behind the counters in our delis and farm shops, good people make all the difference to whether that extra bottle of wine or that additional piece of cheese is sold. Recruiting the right people is only half the battle, though. Like the retail trade, the hospitality sector is famously bad at investing in training. As I’ve said in this column before, selling from a position of knowledge and understanding
The Word on Westminster By Edward Woodall ACS
THE GOVERNMENT’S DELAY to the reopening roadmap has been a further blow to businesses, especially the hospitality industry that is reliant on the complete removal of restrictions to return to normal operations. While this is only a one-month delay, it is likely to have longer-term implications for the UK’s recovery that is so reliant on consumer confidence and spending. Many businesses will be asking: ’When will we get back to normal and what does that look like?‘ The food supply chain has faced a further challenge in recent weeks with driver shortages and has called for Government to act decisively on it. Local shops are seeing regular issues with supplies
to stores, resulting in availability issues on shelves for customers. The driver shortages are the result of long-standing challenges for the logistics industry. Recruitment of new drivers has been further exacerbated by COVID and Brexit has reduced the pool of EU-based drivers in the UK. We acknowledge the longterm challenges that have caused these issues and the need to address them. However, we are surprised the Government has not moved more quickly to address the immediate effects of the driver shortages by increasing the hours that drivers can work on a temporary basis. The Government does not have to cast its mind too far back to remember the monumental efforts of the food supply chain to feed the nation. So why not act quickly and decisively now to address the immediate challenge? We
makes you a better operator and, there is no doubt, increases sales. My concern is that in the chaos of 2021, educating and training of staff will be sacrificed further.
We won’t be able to deliver a successful summer because there won’t be enough chefs Pandemic aside, we would still have had a labour shortage in the UK, as the movement of workers from the EU would have been severely restricted. My fear is this: we won’t be able to deliver a successful summer because there won’t be enough chefs to cook the food or waiters to pop it in front of the inevitable increase in punters. And those customers will have a poor experience, jump onto the illusory TripAdvisor, and won’t come back. We can’t let it happen. continue to make representations to Government on this matter. What this situation further reinforces is the need for the Government to reset its relationship with all parts of the food supply chain. COVID and the UK’s EU exit have shown how fundamental we are to the UK economy and the health and wellbeing of the nation. This thinking is currently underway in Government, as recently set out in its response to a parliamentary committee, it will be publishing a Food Security Report by the end of 2021. This report will look closely at the food supply chain’s resilience, household spending on food and global supply chains. The right conclusion for Government should be to listen and work more closely with the supply chain in the years ahead. Edward Woodall is head of policy & public affairs at small shops group ACS edward.woodall@acs.org.uk
Supporting our sector: mentoring and more
With the results of our industry survey indicating future employment growth in both independent retail and food & drink production, the Guild is looking to launch two new schemes around mentoring and job-matching to support our members. Could you give back to the industry by mentoring a small business? Would you benefit from the advice and experience of an industry colleague? Perhaps you are job-seeking, or have vacancies you may be advertising for later in the year? We want these schemes to benefit as many people as possible, so please register your interest and help to shape our ideas by visiting gff.co.uk/ support
Guild retail cheese course returns
Many of you have been in touch asking when we will be back in the classroom talking all things cheese. The Guild is pleased to announce that our Retail Cheese course will return this autumn with classes in London and the north of England. Venues and dates – along with details of the revamped course, including an increased focus on those all-important retail skills – will be released soon. To ensure you are the first to hear, sign up for alerts at gff.co.uk/training/cheese
The Guild of Fine Food represents fine food shops and specialist suppliers. Want to join them? GENERAL ENQUIRIES Guild of Fine Food Guild House, 23b Kingsmead Business Park, Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB UK Tel: +44 (0) 1747 825200 Fax: +44 (0) 1747 824065 info@gff.co.uk gff.co.uk
THE GUILD TEAM: Managing director: John Farrand Marketing director: Tortie Farrand Sales director: Sally Coley Operations director: Christabel Cairns
Sales manager: Ruth Debnam Sales executives: Becky Haskett Sam Coleman Membership, circulation & awards manager: Karen Price Operations manager: Claire Powell
Operations assistant: Meredith White Events manager: Stephanie HareWinton Events assistant: Sophie Brentnall Financial controller: Stephen Guppy Accounts manager: Denise Ballance
gff.co.uk Accounts assistant: Julie Coates Chairman: Bob Farrand Director: Linda Farrand
Vol.22 Issue 6 | July 2021
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