Hospitality Review NI Dec 2018

DECEMBER 2018

The VOICE of Northern Ireland’s catering, licensing and tourism industry

The official publication for

DECEMBER 2018

The VOICE of Northern Ireland’s catering, licensing and tourism industry

The official publication for

HOSPITALITY SECTOR EXPRESSES MIXED RESPONSE TO DRAFT BREXIT DEAL

BY ALYSON MAGEE

I BOOSTING OPPORTUNITIES: TOURISM NI’S NEW TOURISM ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME AIMS TO POSITION THE SECTOR AS AN ECONOMIC DRIVER PS8-9

BUDGET 2018: HOSPITALITY ULSTER, ITS GB COUNTERPARTS & LOCALS MPS HIGHLIGHT THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY IN CHANCELLOR PHILIP HAMMOND’S BUDGET PS35-37

VENETIAN FUN: HOSPITALITY EXCHANGE FEATURED AN EXCITING ROSTER OF CELEBRITY CHEFS & SPEAKERS & A BUSTLING EXHIBITION, CULMINATING IN A MASKED BALL PS38-41

A DAY IN THE LIFE: COMING FROM BEIJING TO BELFAST (VIA SLIGO, DUBLIN, PARIS & LONDON) CATHERINE TOOLAN PLANS TO ESTABLISH ICC AS A WORLDCLASS VENUE P48 www.hospitalityreviewni.com

ndustry has welcomed provisions for free movement of goods, services and visitors in Prime Minister Theresa May’s draft Brexit deal, but expressed concern over potential issues around labour, Tourism VAT and Air Passenger Duty (APD), as well as economic stability and consumer confidence.

For the hospitality and tourism industry, already facing a critical staff shortage, access to foreign labour is regarded as vital to its future sustainability.

And amidst challenging trading conditions, and mounting concern over the potential impact of Brexit on the economy, industry has been pushing for lower Tourism VAT and abolition of APD to create a more even playing field with competitor market, the Republic of Ireland.

As HRNI went to press, however, it was not clear whether the draft deal would make it through Parliament or, indeed, if the Prime Minister’s position was secure.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey were among the first to resign after the deal was announced, while Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg called for a confidence vote in the PM and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn branded it a “botched deal”.

In Northern Ireland, DUP Chief Whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned his party will review its confidence and supply agreement to support the Conservative Party on key votes if the Brexit deal is passed by Parliament.

Not all local reaction was negative, however, with pro-remain parties, including the SDLP, Sinn Fein, Alliance and the Green Party meeting Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney in Dublin. The group subsequently expressed confidence

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the deal would achieve their collective priorities of protecting the Good Friday Agreement and achieving a backstop.

And as the Prime Minister sought to gain support for the deal, NI Secretary of State Karen Bradley left Westminster to meet with representatives from 20 large local businesses in the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast. According to NI Chamber, host of the meeting, the broad consensus was support for the deal with any deal better than a no-deal scenario.

Colin Neill, chief executive, Hospitality Ulster: “Our position has always been that a deal needs to be done, which meets the business needs of our industry. The current draft agreement appears to provide for unfettered access to goods and services plus visa access for visitors, which is welcome. However, our current advice would indicate that it may present barriers to cutting VAT and abolishing APD in Northern Ireland and does not resolve our labour issues.

As dialogue continues, we await further detail that will allow us to understand what the resulting implications on these issues are.”

Janice Gault, chief executive, Northern Ireland Hotels Federation: “The issue around Brexit remains uncertainty.

People are simply unsure of what is going to happen and anything that effects consumer confidence presents a challenge for tourism. The hotel industry has invested in the region of £500m in Northern Ireland over the last two years and any situation that impacts negatively on this investment realising its potential is of concern. Tourism is all about people and we are keen to ensure that Northern Ireland is open for business. Overseas visitors are critical to our future success and anything that is seen as an impediment to visiting is simply not good news.”

DECEMBER HRNI • 3

editorialcomment THE TEAM & CONTACTS Editor: Alyson Magee Manager: Mark Glover Art Editor: Helen Wright Production Manager: Irene Fitzsimmons Subscriptions: 028 9055 4598 (Price £27.50 UK, £37.50 outside UK) Published by Independent News & Media Ltd: Hospitality Review NI Independent News & Media Belfast Telegraph House 33 Clarendon Road Clarendon Dock, Belfast BT1 3BG Contact: Editorial: a.magee@independentmagazinesni.co.uk.

Tel: 028 9026 4175 Sales: m.glover@independentmagazinesni.co.uk.

Tel: 028 9026 4266 The Review is the official publication for: Hospitality Ulster: 91 University Street, Belfast, BT7 1HP. Tel: 028 9032 7578.

Chief Executive: Colin Neill Chairperson: Mark Stewart The Institute of Hospitality Northern Ireland Branch Email: nibranch@instituteofhospitality.org Web: www.instituteofhospitality.org Chair: Marianne Hood FIH Vice Chair: Siobhan O’Sullivan MIH Northern Ireland Hotels Federation: The McCune Building, 1 Shore Road, Belfast, BT15 3PJ. Tel: 028 9077 6635 Chief Executive: Janice Gault President: Gavin Carroll Design & Production by: Independent News & Media Ltd Printed by: W. & G. Baird Ltd. The opinions expressed in Hospitality Review are not necessarily those of Hospitality Ulster or the NIHF.

Hospitality Review is a copyright of © Independent News & Media Ltd 2016

Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HospitalityReviewNI Look at our Website: www.hospitalityreviewni.com 4 • HRNI DECEMBER

FESTIVE GREETINGS TO THE TRADE

W

elcome to the last edition of Hospitality Review before the festive season gets into full swing. We are pleased to bring you a fairly-weighty December edition, packed with news from across the hospitality sector.

On the tourism front, we would urge you to read up on Tourism NI’s new Tourism Enterprise Development Programme (p8) and its established Quality Grading Scheme (p44); both of which offer a real opportunity to boost your business prospects and the overall quality of our hospitality and tourism offer.

And other tourism news is equally positive from Dippy’s success at the Ulster Museum, a record breaking cruise season for Belfast Harbour and ongoing preparations for The 148th Open to Catherine Toolan’s bold plans to position ICC Belfast on an international stage.

Activity shows no sign of letting up in the hotel sector, meanwhile, with Andras Hotels progressing plans for a new hotel and serviced apartments in Portrush, and another North Coast project undergoing a scaled-down redesign. In Derry, Beech Hill Hotel is under new ownership with ambitious plans; in Newtownabbey, the McKeevers have celebrated 25 years as owners of Corrs Corner; and province-wide, Beannchor is going green by using 100% renewable energy across its properties.

Across ps38-41, we bring you a bit of colour from this year’s Hospitality Exchange, the flagship event of the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation. It was another bustling event, with the celebrity chefs and other speakers not just filling their programme slots but circulating around the exhibition and meeting as many of the local trade as possible.

And after a full programme of speakers, demos and networking events, Hospitality Exchange finished well with the Gala Ball. The Venetian mask theme

made for some interesting looks, while the Crowne Plaza rose to the occasion with a bold, innovative and very successful menu.

And following on from my remarks in last month’s comment, in which I criticised a number of venues for failing to adequately address allergies, I can only applaud the Crowne Plaza for its excellent allergy control measures on the night.

Festive drinks news of course dominates much of the magazine as we go into the key trading period for the drinks trade, showcasing key lines to stock from soft drinks across beer, cider wine and spirits and even Northern Ireland’s first alcohol-free gin (p28).

And the local restaurant scene continues to see regular new additions, not all of which could even be squeezed into these pages.

Our weighty magazine also covers a few weighty issues of course, and you can probably guess what those are.

Hospitality Ulster offers the lowdown on the recent Budget over ps35-37, highlighting positives as including the alcohol duty freeze and creation of a technical working group to look at APD but disappointment around the absence of any developments for Tourism VAT. HU is also looking on enviously as small businesses in England are set to benefit from rates relief, while our absent government is preventing adoption of the same approach here. On p5, HU calls on NI’s local councils to avoid business rate increases.

As for the B-word… our p3 news story says all there is to say for now…

Wishing all our readers and advertisers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May your festive season be a buoyant and positive one, and we look forward to catching up with you again in 2019.

Alyson Magee

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news ROI TO LIMIT ALCOHOL ADVERTISING Regulations banning the advertising of alcohol in and around schools, play areas and public transport, and restricting its presentation in retail outlets, are to be introduced in the Republic of Ireland.

Irish Health Minister Simon Harris has signed orders implementing the restrictions, under the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, with the aim of reducing excessive alcohol consumption and its associated health problems.

Set for implementation in November 2019, the regulations will also limit alcohol advertising in cinemas to films rated 18-plus or in licensed venues within cinemas.

BEANNCHOR PLANS NEW £4M HOTEL Beannchor Group has revealed plans for a new 52-bedroom hotel in Lisburn Square, which would represent a £4m investment and potentially create 75 new jobs.

The hotel, which will open in summer next year if it gets planning permission, will occupy a former Argos store and neighbouring first floor space. The plans include a ground floor bar and restaurant open to both residents and nonresidents.

Beannchor already operates the Little Wing pizzeria in the square.

HOSPITALITY SECTOR CALLS ON COUNCILS TO AVOID BUSINESS RATE INCREASE H ospitality Ulster has joined Retail NI and Manufacturing NI in calling for Northern Ireland’s 11 local councils to avoid an increase in business rates.

Rising business costs, slow economic growth and uncertainty around Brexit are already placing pressure on local businesses, say the three organisations, highlighting news that rates are to be cut by a third for independent retailers and hospitality businesses in England.

The three business organisations will state their case for flat business rates in a joint letter sent to the mayors and chairs of all 11 councils.

‘As the councils begin the process of setting the level of business rates, we urge them not to increase rates at all and strike a 0% increase,’ reads a joint statement by the respective chief executives of Hospitality Ulster, Retail NI and Manufacturing NI, Colin Neill, Glyn Roberts and Stephen Kelly.

‘The business rate poundage has risen three times faster compared to the

RETAIL PRICING RESEARCH RAISES CONCERNS

CAST AND CREW CLOSES Restaurateur Niall McKenna has closed his Cast and Crew restaurant in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter after four years. The chef, who is also behind the newly-restructured James Street restaurant, opened the venue on Queens Road in 2015 but ceased trading when its lease ended in October.

“Simply put, we made the strategic decision to focus our resources and investment on the successful development of our new, exciting and expanded James St restaurant, in Hadskis and in the development of our new cookery school in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter,” said McKenna. www.hospitalityreviewni.com

rest of the UK. Our three organisations recognise that our 11 councils are key players in economic development and we want to strengthen our relationship with them going forward.

‘Rates reform is absolutely critical to the future of the economy. In our joint New Deal document, we call for a radical reduction in business rates to support our town and city centres and to ensure small business owners can reinvest more of their own money into growing their business and employing more staff.’

I

ndustry has expressed concerns over news supermarkets are selling beer for as low as 79p a pint, according to research published by trade magazine The Morning Advertiser.

The statistic, which is based on a pint-equivalent figure, has been branded

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as shocking by Hospitality Ulster Chief Executive Colin Neill.

“The below cost selling of alcohol is rife within supermarkets - a contributory factor in putting so many pubs here under extreme pressure,” he said.

“Figures show that, between 2016 and 2017 alone, almost 90 pubs closed in Northern Ireland - an average of one every four days - partly because of five successive years of increases in beer tax.”

While beer, cider and spirits duties were frozen in the recent Budget, Neill said continued high duties together with low retail alcohol prices were “effectively pushing people out of pubs, a controlled environment, into harmful drinking at home which has a whole range of negative health and social consequences. Only 6% of the population consumes 44% here, which will increase if supermarkets continue to get away with slashing prices.

“How is the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland expected to compete in that environment when it is undercut, crippling the trade in the mouth of the festive period.”

DECEMBER HRNI • 5

news

TOURISM IRELAND KICKS OFF SHOOT FOR NEW GLOBAL AD CAMPAIGN developed in 2011 and has contributed to seven years of consecutive growth in overseas tourism.

To kickstart the promotional drive for 2019, the campaign will feature lesser-known locations and attractions, such as Devenish Island in Fermanagh, The Gobbins on the Causeway Coastal Route, Connemara From left, Patrik Gyllstrom, director; Daniel Takacs, director of Photography; Brian Twomey, head of Marketing Communications, National Park and Westport Tourism Ireland; and Mark Henry, central marketing director, Tourism Ireland.

House.

“The new campaign ourism Ireland has kicked off filming for a new global advertising presents Tourism Ireland with a great opportunity to drive continued growth campaign, to comprise TV, cinema into the regions next year and to and online ads expected to reach millions of potential visitors around the encourage visitors to travel off-peak,” said Mark Henry, central marketing world. director at Tourism Ireland. “For Marking its first major campaign that reason, we are filming this new in seven years, it will continue the campaign in October and featuring Jump into Ireland theme which was

T

CLARET JUG HIGHLIGHTS THE OPEN IN PORTRUSH

From left, Liz Steele, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council; Joan O’Shaughnessy, chair of Tourism Ireland; Kerrie McGonigle, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council; and Amy Maguire, Portrush Atlantic Hotel.

O

ver 20 Northern Ireland tourism businesses travelled to London recently, to join Tourism Ireland at this year’s World Travel Market at which the Claret Jug was on loan from R&A to highlight Royal Portrush and The Open.

locations that are less well-known amongst overseas visitors.”

Additional content will be filmed throughout 2019, including locations in Northern Ireland, Ireland’s Ancient East and Dublin.

TWO NEW BELFAST RESTAURANTS EMBRACE HEALTHY EATING TREND

From left, Gavin Annon, Mount Charles; Amanda Castray and Patricia Ann Leach, Ulster University; and Trevor Annon and Barry Byrne, Mount Charles.

H

ealthy eating continues to be a major driver in hospitality, with Belfast welcoming two new eateries embracing the trend over the past few months.

Stacks Healthy Kitchen has joined Caffe Nero in the Soloist building, while Mount Charles has launched Freshly Chopped restaurant at Ulster University’s Belfast campus.

James Deery, also owner of Stacks Bistro in Newtownabbey, has invested £300,000 and created 25 jobs by opening Stacks Healthy Kitchen. The restaurant will cater for all ages, offering a wide range of healthy meal options including lower calorie meals, vegetarian and vegan options, pick and mix breakfast

6 • HRNI DECEMBER

boxes, lunch time specials and a protein packed shake menu.

“With the newly rebranded ICC Belfast (Waterfront Hall) next door as From left, Pearse well as Hilton Hotel, Lavery, head chef, and James Deery, St George’s Market founder of Stacks Healthy Kitchen. and a wide range of large companies located in our vicinity, we knew this would be a unique and exciting location,” said Deery. “For us it is simple; we make healthier food that stacks up.”

Freshly Chopped, meanwhile, offers customers the opportunity to create their own salad from over 90 ‘chopped’ ingredients, which can be freshly dressed into salad bowls or sealed in savoury wraps.

In June 2018, Mount Charles agreed an exclusive area development contract to rollout Freshly Chopped across Northern Ireland and Donegal.

“Consumers want a great tasting meal that is healthy, delicious and fresh so we are providing a wide variety of vegetables and protein options, seasonality in what’s offered and locally grown produce where possible,” said Trevor Annon, founder and chairman of Mount Charles. twitter.com: @Hosp_ReviewNI

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news

POSITIONING TOURISM AS AN ECONOMIC DRIVER TOURISM NI’S NEW TED PROGRAMME IS ITS MOST TAILORED & COMPREHENSIVE TO DATE, INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER CAROLYN BOYD TELLS ALYSON MAGEE

T

ourism NI has launched a new research-based development initiative aimed at helping current and aspiring tourism providers to grow sustainably. It is hoping to meet an ambitious target of reaching £1bn in tourism revenue by 2020 and, beyond this, double tourism’s value to the economy over the next decade.

Ulster University (UU) research, carried out by their Business School, has informed the focus of the new Tourism Enterprise Development (TED) Programme on five key areas: Attracting New Visitors; Digital Development; Investing in People; Leadership & Management; and Product/Experience Development.

Running from November 2018 to April 2019, the Programme includes seminars, masterclasses, workshops and conference events held across Northern Ireland on topics ranging from The 148th Open to Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Each event will offer expert opinion, training and resources, and in some cases one-on-one support, with the aim of helping businesses to develop their capability and capacity year-round.

While Tourism NI has been delivering development programmes for around eight years, Carolyn Boyd, industry development manager at Tourism NI,

8 • HRNI DECEMBER

says the research ensures that the TED programme is more comprehensive and tailored to industry needs.

UU surveyed 250 SME businesses, with SMEs representing 80% of the local tourism sector. “When people think of tourism, they often think of the big hotels and attractions, but more often than not it’s the people on the ground that do a lot of the transactions,” says Boyd.

“It’s the tour guides, activity providers and smaller accommodation providers that offer something very unique and authentic to Northern Ireland.”

Among capability gaps identified in the UU report are identifying and meeting the needs and nuances of specific visitor groups. “Culturally, Chinese visitors are looking for something very different from the US, German, GB and even RoI visitor,” says Boyd.

Digital development is another area of focus, with the report highlighting the limitations of generic training. “They need an expert on specific booking channels, in the context of hospitality,” she says. “When we’re putting our programme together, we have to make sure the speakers or mentors are people from our industry who are respected and have the relevant expertise.”

Leadership & Management and Investing in People, meanwhile, aim to address the current skills gap in tourism and hospitality, while Product/Experience Development looks at making the most of opportunities.

“For example, the Chinese love to dress up and share instantly on their social media platforms so Game of Thrones has been a big hit with them,” says Boyd. “And there’s potential there to maybe look at other areas. Should they be going to Derry-Londonderry at Halloween to dress up?”

A big focus for the local tourism sector currently is of course The 148th Open, to be hosted at Royal Portrush over July 14-21, 2019.

“We’ve got a big programme underway in making sure industry is ready right across Northern Ireland,” says Boyd. “It’s understanding the golf

visitor, what they like to do, where they want to go and creating the buzz of the 19th hole.”

With statistics suggesting as many as 70% of visitors to The 148th Open will return with family and friends, Tourism NI is eager to ensure the visitor experience in July is as positive as possible from seamless travel arrangements to affordable experiences and clear signposting of local venues and attractions.

“With accommodation, it’s making sure when visitors come back from the golf, there’s a bit of banter and signposting to the pub or any local events so the party continues,” she says.

With WorldHost Customer Service training, Tourism NI will develop a bespoke golf ambassador programme with the aim of putting 500 businesses through it ahead of The 148th Open, while creating a post-Open legacy of raised customer service standards.

And the TED programme will culminate with Tourism NI’s annual Meet the Buyer event at ICC Belfast over April 3-4, 2019, putting businesses face to face with international buyers where they can show off their newfound selling skills.

“We’ve found that a lot of industry, when it comes to finances, are not that confident,” says Boyd.

Boyd is hopeful every business attending one of the TED events will take it as a call to action, whether that be enhancing their business or a complete overhaul. “We work with industry to make sure we’re delivering really exceptional, world-class experiences,” she says. “That’s what we’re working towards in terms of best practice.”

“And the big thing is we’re looking for new ventures. Our entrepreneur rates in NI tend to be lower than they would in the rest of the UK, and that’s just a legacy of being a bit risk averse so it’s trying to get people to be braver and to work with the banks for future investment.”

For a full list of all events in the TED Programme and to register, visit tourismni.com/ted.

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foodnews

WHAT WINNING WORLD’S BEST FOOD DESTINATION MEANS FOR NI

BY MICHELE SHIRLOW, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, FOOD NI

B

eing selected as The World’s Best Food Destination at last month’s first-ever World Travel and Tourism Awards, an integral part of the highly influential World Travel Market, came as a bit of surprise. But it was one of the best Christmas presents… ever.

The expert panel of judges chose Northern Ireland over much longer established foodie hubs such as San Sebastián/Donostia in Spain’s Basque Country, Cork’s festival of food and TXOTX! (a cider tradition in Catalonia).

While TXOTX! collected the silver award, Northern Ireland collected gold because of the hugely successful Year of Food & Drink here in 2016, an initiative which united the food and drink and hospitality sectors here in a far-reaching, community-focused campaign.

What does the award mean? It reinforces Northern Ireland as an emerging global player in food and drink, the place to go for exceptional products offering quality, innovation and outstanding taste within the international travel trade. It puts Northern Ireland on a par with the likes of San Sebastián, often described as ‘the world capital of food’.

I visited the Basque city recently on a fact-finding mission and was struck by the role of food there and the presentation, in particular, of fish restaurants and pintxos bars in the colourful old town. The city attracts millions of tourists, especially younger visitors, keen to experience the extraordinary food culture there.

The city, furthermore, has more Michelin stars than any other city in the world, apart from Kyoto in Japan, and higher than even Paris or New York. And three of San Sebastián’s restaurants have the highest Michelin rating. One of its restaurants is listed in the world’s top 50. However, I didn’t see the connection to local food producers demonstrated as strongly as it is in Northern Ireland.

We have two Michelin star restaurants in EIPIC and OX, both in Belfast, and several holding Bib Gourmand status with the potential to achieve the higher rating. I would hope that World’s Best Food Destination status will encourage more to strive for this important accreditation.

Being located right on the coast, along the Bay of Biscay, San Sebastián is in a prime location and has access to

MOUNT CHARLES CELEBRATES 30 YEARS

SERC HOSTS MEET THE CHEFS EVENT

Sponsors, local chefs and producers and SERC tutors at the launch of SERC’s Meet the Chefs event.

S

outh Eastern Regional College’s Bangor Campus recently hosted a Meet the Chefs dinner to showcase the hospitality industry.

The theme for the event was Food NI’s Taste the Greatness, and it involved a cadre of top local chefs working with students to create original and delicious 10 • HRNI DECEMBER

the freshest seafood. This is something we share with San Sebastian, because our fish and seafood are acclaimed abroad. We undoubtedly have an opportunity to do much more with our outstanding seafood here.

In addition, fresh, quality produce is what San Sebastián’s food scene is all about, and the best places to see it are the city’s markets. One of the most important outcomes of Year of Food & Drink has been the emergence of a series of markets and food tours across Northern Ireland. These are helping to increase awareness among consumers of quality local food and also offering opportunities to smaller producers to gain expertise which many have used to win business with delis and then bigger retailers.

What’s next? The Best Food Destination is a global endorsement of our food and drink. We must grasp this golden opportunity for our food and drink, hospitality sectors that this acclamation offers as soon as practicable. We have the Year of Food & Drink success acknowledged by this accolade to enable us to establish Northern Ireland as the location for great food and drink.

dishes from locally-sourced ingredients.

The unique dinner brought together the local hospitality industry and further education sector as part of an Our Industry, Our Future, Our Responsibility initiative to safeguard the Industry’s future.

With over 40 guests in attendance, the event featured Michael Deane, Deanes Restaurants; Jay Eisenstadt, Stormont Hotel; Tony O’Neill, Coppi and Buba; Robert McDonald, Bushmills Inn; Colin McCreedy, La Mon Hotel; and Cathal Duncan, The Boat House.

The evening was compered by Paula McIntyre MBE, who welcomed everyone to the event before introducing each of the chefs as each course was served.

SERC’s new College Kitchen food truck is now available for bookings.

Contact Paul Mercer on pmercer@serc. ac.uk for more information.

Trevor and Cate Annon

M

ount Charles recently celebrated 30 years in business with over 200 colleagues, suppliers, friends and family at a movie-themed celebration in St George’s Market, Belfast.

Chairman Trevor Annon thanked the entire Mount Charles ‘family’ for their unwavering support, while announcing the group’s intention to hit £100m turnover by 2025.

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chefprofile

CHEFPROFILE

FRASER CUNNINGHAM, SENIOR SOUS CHEF AT THE FITZWILLIAM HOTEL BELFAST, TALKS TO HRNI

WHEN DID YOU FIRST GET INTO COOKING? I got into cooking at a young age. My first job was as a fruit picker in a large estate in Scotland collecting fruit for the kitchen of a Michelin-starred restaurant within the hotel. Being involved in the hustle and bustle of the kitchen was exciting, and seeing the dishes produced from the amazing organic produce grown on the doorstep really inspired me to want to work in the industry and learn how to create just as amazing food.

HAVE YOU ANY CULINARY QUALIFICATIONS? I am currently in the final year of a business degree in culinary arts management at Ulster University. It is a four-year degree course in which you learn everything needed to successfully run a kitchen.

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND IN THE TRADE? After picking the fruit in the estate grounds, I became a commis chef at the age of 16 in Glenapp Castle in Scotland.

I left the kitchen two years later and decided to take a break for a few years but my love for cooking and interest in the industry brought me back. I started at Malone Lodge where again I was a commis chef for a year, but was quickly promoted to chef de partie (CDP) after a lot of hard work and learning. I then moved to the Fitzwilliam Hotel as a CDP and started studying for my degree at the same time. I work five days in the kitchen and, on my two days off, I go to university to study. This dedication paid off as I was promoted to junior sous chef within a year while continuing to work and study simultaneously. I made senior sous chef after another year.

HAS ANYONE INSPIRED YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER? Starting off in the industry, I had the chance to work with two amazing chefs, Tristan Welsh and Matt Weedon. Both chefs used the best local produce (mainly from the estate gardens) in their cooking www.hospitalityreviewni.com

and taught their teams the importance of local, organic vegetables. From then, the chef that has inspired me the most is my current Head Chef Dean Butler as he is the best manager of people I have met.

WHEN DID YOU JOIN YOUR CURRENT VENUE? I joined the Fitzwilliam Hotel, Belfast in August 2015.

WHAT IS YOUR STYLE OF COOKING? My style of cooking is simple and classically French. I have a passion for nose-to-tail dining so try to incorporate as much of the animal as possible and pair it with the best quality produce available.

WHAT IS YOUR FOOD SOURCING POLICY? My food sourcing policy is simple local, sustainably grown produce.

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WHAT SIZE IS YOUR STAFF? There are now 10 chefs in the kitchen team.

WHOSE CAREER WOULD YOU WISH TO EMULATE? There are many chefs’ careers I would wish to emulate, from Gordon Ramsey to Dan Barber to Tommy Banks. But from chefs I have worked with, I would wish to emulate Tristan Welsh. Winning competitions, heading up the kitchen at Glenapp Castle, moving on to head up Petrus, having his own show on the Good Food network, then returning to London for a new venture- he is someone to emulate.

HAVE YOU ANY INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF WORK? Between work and studying for my degree, there isn’t too much time for interests outside of work, but I love to go and eat somewhere new anytime I get the chance.

DECEMBER HRNI • 11

restaurantprofile

EDÕ Restaurant, Belfast JONNY ELLIOTT, OWNER AND HEAD CHEF, TALKS TO HRNI

and, more importantly, a good shape for what I envisaged the restaurant would look like. I wanted an open-plan set up so diners could see what was going on in the kitchen. I love that we have seats on the pass for people to watch us prepare their food. I like that the chefs can see out into the restaurant and can see people enjoying the food they’ve made.

WHAT FEEL ARE YOU AIMING FOR? The design was by Oscar & Oscar and inspiration is taken from New York restaurants. It’s minimal and simple but also very plush and classy. I chose warm colours to make it welcoming, but it’s still modern in its design.

WHEN DID YOUR RESTAURANT OPEN? EDÕ opened last September, so we’ve just celebrated our first year. Previous to last September, a lot of time and effort went into thinking about the restaurant and what it would be, so I’d say a good year and a half of planning went into EDÕ before we opened our doors.

I just wanted to cook good food – plain and simple. I saw a gap in the market for the type of food that I like to cook and eat and that was the start of it. I call our menu ‘new European’. It’s Mediterranean-based but you’ll see lots of eclectic influences in there too. The dishes are homely and are warm, comfort-food style. We don’t cook arsy dishes!

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I wanted to be my own boss too – I think all chefs do. We all aspire to having our own place and cooking the food we want to eat. It’s not about the kudos of having your own restaurant because, believe me, it’s not easy, but that freedom of choosing ingredients and dishes is brilliant.

TELL US ABOUT THE SPACE YOU HAVE EDÕ is a 60-seater restaurant right in the centre of Belfast. I felt it was a good size

WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU? The inspiration behind the menu is largely Mediterranean, which I got from travelling round Europe. We do have a local twist too because I think it’s important that diners can relate to their food and obviously we mostly use local produce. Our menu comprises lots of sharing plates – little dishes that a table can order and eat between them so that everyone gets to try everything.

There’s also bigger, more robust dishes for mains. It’s a menu that works for everyone. If you’re hungry, try lots of little dishes as a table and then order a main each.

If you’re not so hungry, go straight for a main or have lots of small plates. And if you want something sweet, dessert’s an option too. We have a specials’ menu every day and that gives us, as chefs, a chance to stray from the main menu and show off our creativity. Depending on what the suppliers bring us in the morning, we can get our heads together and see what we can come up with. That freedom keeps the specials’ menu fresh and the chefs on their toes.

Our drinks’ menu is comprehensive

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restaurantprofile whether you’re wanting a glass of wine or a cocktail. Again, there’s something for everybody.

DOES YOUR MENU CHANGE OFTEN? The short answer here is no. We have the main menu, vegetarian and vegan menus which stay as they are, and then the specials’ menu is what changes every day. But the veg is seasonal, so it and the garnishes change periodically.

WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO TO IMPROVE AND DRIVE YOUR MENU? Our menu works really well for us. We have a lot of repeat business based on the dishes we serve, so we’re not going to mess with that. Our specials’ menu is where you see the chefs having fun and mixing it up for patrons. As chefs, we’re always looking to each other for inspiration. Guaranteed you give us all the same ingredients and we’ll all come up with different dishes – we’re individuals and so are our dishes. The kitchen team works very well together and I think when you have a cohesive team, the dishes they produce are always going to be fantastic. We dance to our own beat in EDÕ and have our own vibe going on. We’re a bit different and that’s what I like. I trust my chefs to produce good specials and they do it time and time again.

WHAT IS YOUR FOOD SOURCING POLICY? Local, fresh, quality produce – that’s the ethos behind our food. We source a minimal amount of ingredients from the Continent – olive oil, ham and Padrón peppers because they provide the best

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that money can buy and give us a level of authenticity.

WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS? We have an eclectic clientele which we embrace. I love that people of all ages and walks of life visit us. Our menu lends itself very well to students because you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a good meal. Equally, we get a lot of business lunches, couples and families.

Friday and Saturday nights are busy with people out enjoying the weekend, and we’ve had weddings, big parties and smaller more bespoke parties.

HAVE YOU FACED ANY PARTICULAR CHALLENGES TO DATE? Every day! That’s the nature of running a business. Owning your own restaurant is more than being a chef – it’s all encompassing. I’m lucky that I’ve a strong team in the kitchen, behind the scenes and out the front and everyone does their bit. We all have a good work ethic and, although it’s busy and at times stressful, there’s always room for fun.

HOW DO YOU MAKE YOUR RESTAURANT STAND OUT FROM COMPETITORS? Visually I think we’re hard to beat, and the open pass is a big part of that. EDÕ is a beautiful setting to eat in; add to that, a delicious, unique menu and a comprehensive drinks' menu. It’s as simple as that.

HOW WAS TRADE OVER THE PAST YEAR? Trade was good for us, although we’ve nothing to compare it to. We were lucky with the publicity we got from food critics, and we just took off. I barely

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remember a time when we weren’t busy. The weather this summer was very good, and I did panic a little that people would be barbecuing and letting their reservations slide, but we maintained a busy restaurant all summer. We don’t compromise on quality and diners recognise that and it stands to us. We must be doing something right because of the repeat business we’ve seen over the year.

HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR RESTAURANT DEVELOPING THIS YEAR? My vision for us this year is to strengthen what we have and build on that. Our team is strong and I want to continue keeping our quality and consistency high. If you’re not growing, you’re stagnating and that’s not a good thing.

We don’t want patrons to get bored, so we’ll stay on our toes with the specials' menu and keep creating delicious dishes.

3 Capital House, Unit 2 Upper Queen Street, Belfast Tel: 028 9031 3054 Email: info@edorestaurant.co.uk OPENING HOURS: Tue-Sat: noon-3pm; 5 to 9.30pm

DECEMBER HRNI • 13

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SCHWEPPES REVEALS ITS DARK SIDE WITH RICH NEW MUSCOVADO FLAVOUR NEW DARK SPIRIT MIXER CONTAINS NATURAL MUSCOVADO FLAVOURS TO DELIVER HINTS OF VANILLA, CARAMEL & BUTTERSCOTCH

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his November, Schweppes is expanding its 1783 range of premium mixers with the addition of rich Muscovado flavour.

Expertly crafted by mixologists to perfectly complement dark spirits, Muscovado delivers hints of velvety vanilla, creamy caramel and sweet butterscotch. Made from all-natural ingredients, it showcases the longlasting effervescence that Schweppes is known for.

Schweppes Muscovado is a response to the growing popularity of dark spirits and it arrives just in time for the cold winter months. Adding Schweppes Muscovado to your favourite dark spirit turns your drink into the perfect warming treat. Try it with a whiskey or rum this winter.

Schweppes Muscovado will join the brand’s existing five-strong premium range, which consists of Crisp Tonic Water, Light Tonic Water, Ginger Ale, and two unique flavoured tonics; Salty Lemon Tonic Water and Quenching Cucumber Tonic Water. Each mixer is designed to marry perfectly with the finest white and dark spirits, elevating the taste sensation.

Since launching a year ago, Schweppes’ 1783 range has added €660k in value to the on-trade across the island of Ireland. Thanks to ongoing investment in the brand, Schweppes is delivering consistent growth, achieving 6.9% growth yearto-date.

Kylie Magee, Coca-Cola HBC’s marketing manager for the ontrade explained, “As the country’s number one mixer, Schweppes is a sophisticated brand that continues to thrive. Thanks to the ongoing success of the premium spirits category, the brand is primed for further growth

14 • HRNI DECEMBER

and we will support that through continued investment in marketing and innovation.

“The introduction of the new variant to the 1783 premium mixers with Schweppes Muscovado will further shape the brand’s presence in the ontrade. With its caramel, butterscotch and vanilla flavor, Muscovado is the perfect pairing for darker spirits and is sure to entice consumers throughout the festive season.”

Schweppes Muscovado is available now in 200ml glass bottles from premium bars and restaurants nationwide.

Source Nielsen sales to September 2018

SCHWEPPES MUSCOVADO GOLDEN BROWN – SUGGESTED SERVE INGREDIENTS: • 35ml Powers Gold Label • Muscovado • Garnish Lime • Serve in a highball METHOD: • Stir all ingredients in mixing glass • Strain into rocks glass over cubed ice • Add 125ml Muscovado • Stir again gently and garnish with Lime

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DECEMBER HRNI • 15

www.unitedwines.co.uk

drinksnews

CHRISTMAS WINE DOWN

BY CIARAN MEYLER, UNITED WINES, WINE MANAGER 3 x Mulled wine seasoning sachets 4 x tsp Granulated sugar Orange & cloves to garnish

DRINKS BLOG FROM #DRINKSBLOGGERNI

Cooking Instructions: 1. Bring the Orchard Thieves, sachets and sugar to the boil.

2. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, remove the sachets if you wish.

3. Serve hot, straight from the pan, garnished with sliced orange, studded with cloves.

I

’m back, hope you missed me. The guys in the office thought it was a good idea to get a few new faces to write articles as I was always (wining) whining about having to put an article together with one day’s notice. Well I hope you enjoyed Matt, Chris, Mairead and Lorna; they will be back in 2019.

Anyway now that we are well into the festive season, it’s time to start thinking about what you’re going to sip and savour over the holidays.

As you know, I love to write about wine; however, I can’t let 2018 go by without giving a mention to some other drinks taking the market by storm, so I’ll also be covering a couple of interesting alternatives.

It’s also that time of year when people are worried about what they’ll eat and drink from Dec 25-Jan 1, when we should really worry about what we eat and drink from Jan 1-Dec 25; that’s when the real damage is done.

Anyway, we can forget about it all for a short while and below is a guide to the perfect Christmas Day.

To help you with the veg prep, pour yourself a glass of Marques de Caceres Rueda Sauvignon Blanc 2017 £9.99 or Santa Rita 120 Sauvignon Blanc £7.99.

The aromatic full vibrant flavours of the Sauvignon grape will refresh your palette and keep you going.

If you’re not partaking of alcohol, we have a great range of non-alcoholic wines and beer. Heineken 0.0% is a fullflavoured crisp refreshing alcohol-free beer. The Eisberg range of non-alcoholic wines includes a Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Rosé plus the new Sparkling White and Rosé. Incredibly well constructed, they make for a superb alternative.

Crianza from the Rioja or top new world red just as Chocolate Box Shiraz.

If you prefer white with duck, try an off dry Chenin Blanc from Drostdy-Hof. Roast Beef Shiraz, Cabernet or Tempranillo will do the trick. McGuigan Single Batch Shiraz, launched earlier this year as part of McGuigan’s new Single Batch Project range, made from specific parcels of Shiraz from vineyards across South Australia, or Vega Douro, this is a really interesting Portuguese red made from the same grapes used to produce port. So it’s really port with the sweetness, a big monster of a red which will cut thought the fat in the beef, yummy!

Lamb Red Cabernet or Merlot-based wines work well with lamb; try Santa Rita National Gallery Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon or if you’re pushing the boat out, try Sartori Amarone, both wines will be exceptional.

THE CHRISTMAS DINNER If you’re on a budget, try STARTER new McGuigan Black Label Prawns or salmon are best served with Malbec, it offers you simple a full-flavoured Chardonnay; the best example is Ropiteau Chablis or McGuigan blackberry fruits at an outstanding value.

Founder’s Chardonnay or if you prefer something different try Marques de Nut Roast Caceres Deusa Nai Albarino from Rias Medium priced red, Marques de Baixas. la Concordia Tempranillo Rioja Soup is difficult to match, just continue or Dona Paula Malbec will help with the first wine. this go down.

MAIN COURSE DESSERTS Turkey & Ham with all the Any one of a superb range trimmings; I know you’ll find loads of 1/2bts of dessert wine. of people telling you what to drink with MORNING Nederburg Late Harvest from the traditional Turkey & Ham; for me it Breakfast in bed with smoked salmon South Africa £8.99, Tempus Two and scrambled eggs, served with a Bellini can only be the best Pinot Noir you can afford. Pinot Noir has all the juicy cherry, Botrytis Semillon £10.99 from (two teaspoons of peach puree toped raspberry and sometimes cranberry fruits Australia - the ultimate way to up with Freixenet Prosecco or Italian cleanse your palate at the end of sparkling rosé, a small glass of Bollinger with a touch of spicy, soft silky tannins a meal. allowing it to be a sublime wine for Non-Vintage Rosé or Special Cuvee Christmas dinner.

Push the boat out and Champagne.

To finish off the meal go for The Crossings Pinot Noir or if you Off to church with a glow in your (finish you off also) cheeks. Don’t forget to stick the turkey in prefer the fruitier New Zealand style go Retire to the sofa with a large for Santa Rita 120 Pinot Noir which is the oven! glass Taylor’s LBV Port or if you’re outrageously good value for money.

If you Back to the house and invite the neighbours in for some mulled cider and prefer to drink white with the turkey, try a pushing the boat out Taylor’s Vintage 2013 (Wine Spectator rich full Chardonnay like Indomita Gran mince pies.

Top 100 wines for 2015) Reserva Chardonnay from Chile.

Mulled Orchards Thieves Cider St Stephen’s Day Roast Duck Ingredients: Repeat as per Christmas Day. Big red such as Marques de Caceres 2 litres x Orchard Thieves 16 • HRNI DECEMBER

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BUSHMILLS IRISH WHISKEY COLLABORATES WITH THE BEARDED CANDLE MAKERS TO HOST FESTIVE EVENT SERIES

BLACK BUSH ALIGHT WILL FUSE THE WORLDS OF IRISH WHISKEY AND CANDLE MAKING

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ushmills Irish Whiskey will present the latest instalment of the #BlackBushStories event series this month, Black Bush Alight. The collaborative events showcase and celebrate the stories of Irish talent who have gone against the grain to follow their passion and become champions in their chosen field.

The creative force behind the Bearded Candle Makers, Belfast-born Michael Morris, has partnered with Bushmills Irish Whiskey to create a limited edition winter candle and to host a hands-on candle making workshop at The Menagerie in Belfast across two nights on December 12 and 13.

Michael’s unique technique, which involves hand blending every scent, extensive research and a dedication to find the perfect combinations, mirrors the care and supreme craftsmanship

18 • HRNI DECEMBER

that is synonymous with the Bushmills distillation process, making the collaboration the perfect match.

Since leaving his full-time retail job to pursue his true passion, the creative craftsman has become fascinated by how smells can evoke vivid memories, and pours his own experiences into every candle he creates. The Bearded Candle Makers range is inspired by personal memories of favourite spots on Ireland’s distinctive landscapes and rugged coastlines.

Creating every candle by hand, from inception to postage, Michael shares his history with people all over the world, helping evoke memories of their own.

The evening will offer whiskey enthusiasts the opportunity to understand the art of documenting scent and create their very own keepsake candle, inspired by the rich, fruity notes and deep intense taste of Bushmills Black Bush. As well as crafting their own candle, attendees will hear Michael’s story first-hand and experience how he followed his passion in making Bearded Candle Makers his career. An educational tasting session on some of the best-loved Bushmills

MICHAELS UNIQUE TECHNIQUE, WHICH INVOLVES HAND BLENDING EVERY SCENT, EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND A DEDICATION TO FIND THE PERFECT COMBINATIONS, MIRRORS THE CARE AND SUPREME CRAFTSMANSHIP THAT IS SYNONYMOUS WITH THE BUSHMILLS DISTILLATION PROCESS, MAKING THE COLLABORATION THE PERFECT MATCH. whiskeys will kick off the night and specially-created Black Bush winter drinks will also be served throughout the evening.

The limited edition Black Bush-inspired candles created

by Michael are available to win at blackbushstories.com and are the perfect whiskey drinking companion this festive season.

To register for Black Bush Alight and to hear more about Michael’s story, visit blackbushstories.com. To join in the conversation and keep up to date with the #BlackBushStories series, follow Bushmills Irish Whiskey on social media.

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AN EXCEPTIONAL PORTFOLIO LA DRINKS IS LOOKING FORWARD TO CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF SUCCESS IN THE NORTHERN IRELAND DRINKS INDUSTRY IN 2019. STARTING OUT IN SOFT DRINKS, THE COMPANY QUICKLY GREW ITS PORTFOLIO TO INCLUDE BEERS, WINES AND SPIRITS AND HAS SINCE GROWN FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

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arry and Anne, the ‘L and A’ of LA Drinks, established their business in 1994. Indeed, when Larry first started the company, he already had an impressive history within the drinks industry and he set about building the company and putting his previous 20 years of experience to very good use.

Today, the company employs 24 people, including back office, administration, sales and marketing. It also has its own delivery fleet and inhouse team who pick, pack and deliver drinks province-wide, servicing the onand off-trade from its 12,000-squarefoot warehouse in Silverwood, Lurgan on a daily basis.

The success of LA is such that today it not only wholesales, but also imports and distributes beers, wines and spirits, and yet it is still very much a family business, friendly and welcoming with all the values and ethos that encompasses.

“We have grown alongside lots of our customers and have seen the good times and the bad, and we know our customers appreciate the time and effort our teams put into looking after them and ultimately ensuring the success of their businesses too,” says Larry Creaney, managing director. “As a company, we put great store in ensuring we deliver -

on time, on price and on choice.”

A marked success in the development of LA Drinks has been the introduction to Northern Ireland of a wide portfolio of wines from across the world including USA, Chile, Australia, France and the rest of Europe, to name but a few countries.

“We have seen a great expansion in our wine business and we have been supporting the bar and restaurant trades with the provisions of wine, cocktail and gin menus,” says Barry McCaughley, operations director. “Many of our customers are delighted with our exceptional portfolio of fine wines, as well as our everyday wines and our resident wine expert Gilles Crozet is always at hand for staff training.”

The past number of years has seen LA Drinks not only expand its wine business portfolio but also its spirits portfolio.

Blackwater Gin, one of Ireland’s most prestigious gins, has enjoyed a fantastic performance, with listings in most bars throughout Northern Ireland as well as featuring on the gin menus in Berts Jazz Bar, the Galgorm Gin Library and Belfast International Airport. Blackwater Strawberry Gin excelled all expectations and the distillery’s limited-edition Retronaut 17-year-old whiskey recently

“WE HAVE GROWN ALONGSIDE LOTS OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND HAVE SEEN THE GOOD TIMES AND THE BAD, AND WE KNOW OUR CUSTOMERS APPRECIATE THE TIME AND EFFORT OUR TEAMS PUT INTO LOOKING AFTER THEM AND ULTIMATELY ENSURING THE SUCCESS OF THEIR BUSINESSES TOO. AS A COMPANY, WE PUT GREAT STORE IN ENSURING WE DELIVER - ON TIME, ON PRICE AND ON CHOICE.” LARRY CREANEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR.

won gold at the Irish Whiskey Awards in Dublin. Other brands performing brilliantly include Thunder Toffee Vodka, Molly’s Irish Whiskey Cream Liqueur and 808 Whisky. 808 is much loved in nightclubs because of its inherent music industry connections and association with Ibiza. LA also represents a wide and varied range of craft ales, including McGargles, Whitewater and Dungarvan, as well as kegs, world beers, back bar

Jack and Savannah enjoy Blackwater Strawberry Perfect Serve - Blackwater strawberry gin, light tonic, fresh strawberries , a sprig of basil and freshly cracked black pepper!

20 • HRNI DECEMBER

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Blackwater took part in many of the Gin Festivals last summer.

The stands at the Belfast Gin Festival and Galgorm Gin Festivals.

syrups, liqueurs, soft drinks and mixers.

As the company has grown, so too has its workforce, and LA Drinks has a business development team including Gerry, Ray, Eamonn, John and Rosie covering the whole of the province; many of who have long and respected careers within the trade.

“WE HAVE SEEN A GREAT EXPANSION IN OUR WINE BUSINESS AND WE HAVE BEEN SUPPORTING THE BAR AND RESTAURANT TRADES WITH THE PROVISIONS OF WINE, COCKTAIL AND GIN MENUS.” BARRY MCCAUGHLEY, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

“We are always developing our business and adding to our core portfolio, we have become a one stop shop for many of our customers and look forward to welcoming new business opportunities over the next 25 years,” says Barry. “We like doing business and we try to make doing business as easy as possible. A simple strategy, but one that wins.”

LA DRINKS LTD, SILVERWOOD ROAD, CRAIGAVON BT66 6LN. T: 028 3832 6601 e: sales@la-drinks.com www.hospitalityreviewni.com

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DECEMBER HRNI • 21

counterpoint

24 • HRNI DECEMBER

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counterpoint

CLUB – LIFTING IRISH SPIRITS SINCE 1852 T

o celebrate the 165th year anniversary of Club Mixers, Club has unveiled a complete relaunch of its iconic range, which has been lifting Irish spirits and has been at the heart of Irish pub culture since 1852. As part of the relaunch, Club Mixers has introduced an award-winning new tonic recipe, iconic new non-returnable glass bottles available in 125ml and 200ml formats as well as 850ml PET, along with a new contemporary brand identity that will be supported through-the-line.

RECONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS Club Mixers will be supported with a significant marketing campaign which will include experiential and sampling marketing, consumer PR, trade press, point of purchase comms and digital support. Across the summer, Club Mixers will be showcasing its awardwining recipe and bottle to consumers at several events. This move is the first in a series of investments in the pipeline as

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Club Mixers looks to reconnect with the consumer through the brand’s unique heritage, new look, improved liquids and support plan.

EXCEPTIONAL TASTE EXPERIENCE In March 2017, the new and improved Club Tonic recipe was awarded the esteemed Three Golden Star Superior Taste Award, as part of the International Taste and Quality Institute’s Superior Taste Awards. The International Taste & Quality Institute is the world’s leading organisation dedicated to testing and promoting superior food and drink products. Club Mixers was awarded an accolade of superior and exceptional

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taste as part of a blind taste test, adjudicated by a panel of 135 expert and unanimously-recognised chefs and sommeliers.

Brian Greer, brand manager, Britvic Ireland, said: “We are very excited about the Club Mixers’ brand relaunch as it was very important for us to keep such an iconic Irish brand contemporary and relevant to the modern consumer. Our focus has always been to deliver a unique and superior taste experience, which is why being internationally recognised as delivering an exception taste was such a proud moment for the brand and reaffirms the strength of our offering in such a competitive space.”

The Club Mixers portfolio offers a wide range of flavours, best enjoyed chilled over ice with a garnish of choice. Club Mixers are the perfect accompaniment to spirits, expertly designed to blend deliciously with gins, vodkas and whiskeys.

DECEMBER HRNI • 25

counterpoint

SEASON’S GREETINGS FROM SHORTCROSS GIN C

hristmas and New Year is a time when people want to celebrate and toast the year with something a little special. Well what could be more special than visiting your favourite hotel or bar to enjoy Northern Ireland’s award-winning gin, Shortcross Gin. The dream child of David and Fiona Boyd-Armstrong, Shortcross is distilled at Crossgar, Co Down.

Authenticity is at the heart of Shortcross gin as David and Fiona use botanicals growing around their Rademon Estate Distillery such as wild clover, elderflowers, elderberries and home-grown apples to make their sublime gin. Shortcross Gin has once again won a gold award in the gin category at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, one of the world’s most influential spirits events.

Over the last three years, Shortcross Gin has proved its pedigree by winning at other leading global competitions with a Masters Award in the ultra-premium category at the

26 • HRNI DECEMBER

Gin Masters, numerous awards yearly at the International Wine & Spirits Competition, at the Spirits Cup and closer to home at the

Irish Food Awards. Season’s greetings and best wishes to all members of the licensed trade in Northern Ireland from the people who bring you Shortcross!

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LOCAL TEEN CREATES NORTHERN IRELAND’S FIRST ALCOHOL-FREE GIN they were both 0%ABV. I had to ask for help from people who like the taste of gin and I was relieved and really happy when they said my recipe tasted great. I serve it with Fever-Tree tonic and a slice of orange.”

Barbara Hughes, owner of Hughes Craft Distillery and Hana’s mother, said: “Hana is a very focused young lady who pays so much care and attention to all of her school studies. When she takes on a new project or hobby, she gives it 100% commitment and she has taken on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award with such enthusiasm. This past few weeks, she has embraced the skills challenge and through research, trials and a taste panel of gin connoisseurs, she has

I

nspired by a recent Duke of Edinburgh’s Award project, Dromorebased teenager, Hana Hughes (16) has created Northern Ireland’s first alcoholfree gin with local distillery, Hughes Craft Distillery. The gin, cleverly titled Driver’s Gin, was distilled in the family-owned distillery located in Moira Co Down using a range of botanicals such as juniper, coriander, cubebs, black peppercorns and sweet orange and is also sugarand calorie-free. Hana’s hope is that Driver’s Gin will offer an alcohol-free alternative to people who don’t drink alcohol or who took part in events such as Sober October without compromising on flavour. Driver’s Gin has been so well received that it has now been made available in Hughes Craft Distillery and The StillHouse Gastropub in Moira.

Hana Hughes said: “I had a keen interest in learning a new skill, and when reading the list I was given at a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award meeting, I was initially surprised to see brewing and wine making as suggestions. I knew the resources available to me at my parents’ distillery were unique and I set myself a challenge to learn how to distil a non-alcoholic gin. I came up with two recipes, my first was very similar to a classic gin recipe but the second was my own recipe of botanicals, strong juniper, coriander, black peppercorns, cubebs, sweet orange. When I had finished distilling the recipes, I measured the alcohol and 28 • HRNI DECEMBER

“I KNEW THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO ME AT MY PARENTS’ DISTILLERY WERE UNIQUE AND I SET MYSELF A CHALLENGE TO LEARN HOW TO DISTIL A NON-ALCOHOLIC GIN.” HANA HUGHES

created a juniper-led, non-alcoholic spirit. Hana’s Driver’s Gin really is a special drink and we are very proud of her. To be able to offer Hana’s nonalcoholic gin to visitors to Hughes Craft Distillery or The StillHouse Gastropub is really amazing and was perfectly timed for those taking part in the Sober for October campaign.”

Hughes Craft Distillery was established in 2010 by husband and wife team Stuart and Barbara. They were the first small-batch spirits producer in Northern Ireland, much ahead of the craft spirits movement.

Carefully selecting wild berries and botanicals from the beautiful countryside, moving in harmony with changing seasons, and locking the purity of nature into RubyBlue unique infusions and exceptionally smooth vodkas, RubyBlue Spirits embody premium quality traditionally crafted to create a flavour experience. The award-winning RubyBlue Spirits range is now produced in the beautiful village of Moira, with adjoining gastropub and gin school.

Exported around the world, loved and supported by local restaurants, bars and retailers, RubyBlue is featured throughout the food and drink menus at The StillHouse - see www.stillhousemoira. com/hughes-distillery/. twitter.com: @Hosp_ReviewNI

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BOTTLEGREEN: DRINKS TO SAVOUR

“B

ottlegreen delicately cold-filters the finest natural ingredients to create sophisticated taste-experiences for flavour-lovers to savour,” says Mark Edge, head of Soft Drinks at brand owner SHS Drinks.

“Adult consumers in the on-trade are seeking natural, true tastes and are prepared to pay a premium for quality. They are trading up in the quest for real ingredients and flavours – and bottlegreen, the UK’s No.1 elderflower brand, consistently delivers both.

“Our intention is to always delight our consumers, irrespective of whether they choose a bottlegreen cordial as a cocktail ingredient or mixed with still, sparkling or tonic water, or one of our great-tasting sparkling pressés.

“All our bottlegreen drinks are – and always have been since day one – uniquely triple coldfiltered to preserve the purity and freshness of their natural ingredients and to deliver longer, cleaner taste-experiences,” explains Edge.

All bottlegreen variants are fine blends of delicious natural ingredients and Cotswold spring water drawn directly from an onsite spring. The products contain no added preservatives or sweeteners.

“With its unique glass bottle shape and illustration-style label graphics highlighting key natural ingredients, bottlegreen is a premium

GINGER CUBAN

offering that on-trade consumers feel confident being seen drinking. Licensees should focus on brands that consumers trust and recognise; bottlegreen is one such brand.”

Amongst others, the range of 275ml readyto-drink sparkling bottlegreen pressés includes favourites such as Hand-Picked Elderflower and Pomegranate & Elderflower, the classic Crisp Apple, and the contemporary Aromatic Ginger & Lemongrass.

Bottlegreen’s cordials are as versatile as they are flavoursome; the nine variants are perfect for mixing sumptuous cocktails or mocktails, or for enjoying diluted with still, sparkling or tonic water. “Our cordials are also a great way to pep up Prosecco,” adds Edge. From the ever-popular Hand-Picked Elderflower to Aromatic Ginger & Lemongrass and Plump Summer Raspberry, bottlegreen’s tantalising flavours set taste buds tingling in whatever ways they are used.

“2018 has been a record year for bottlegreen.

We’ll be maintaining this momentum for the all-important festive period - when consumers invariably trade up to premium products – and into 2019, which is set to be another great year for the brand.”

Edge concludes: “We have a host of cocktail and mocktail recipe suggestions for bar-staff.

Below are two of our favourites.”

GARDEN OF EDEN With zesty lime, zingy mint, aromatic gin and fragrant elderflower cordial, this blissfully refreshing cocktail slips down easily.

Fragrant lemongrass and tangy ginger combine to conjure thoughts of white tropical beaches and aqua Caribbean seas.

INGREDIENTS 25ml dark spiced rum 20ml bottlegreen aromatic ginger & lemongrass cordial Squeeze of fresh lime Soda water Lemon slice METHOD Add dark spiced rum, cordial and a squeeze of lime to a short glass with ice.

Top with soda water; garnish with a lemon slice.

32 • HRNI DECEMBER

INGREDIENTS 50ml gin 10ml bottlegreen elderflower cordial 40ml cloudy apple juice 15ml lime juice 2 mint leaves Apple peel

METHOD Shake the ingredients with ice.

Strain into an ice-filled highball glass.

Garnish with apple peel and fresh mint. twitter.com: @Hosp_ReviewNI

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budget2018

CHANCELLOR MISSES OPPORTUNITY TO BOOST NI ECONOMY COLIN NEILL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF HOSPITALITY ULSTER, WAS IN WESTMINSTER FOR THE BUDGET ANNOUNCEMENT, WHICH HE SAYS FAILED TO MAKE ANY SOLID COMMITMENTS We live on an island, and in terms of business travel and tourists we need to maximise the opportunity that we have by lowering or eradicating barriers for growth when it comes to getting on and off our island.

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his year’s budget was an opportunity missed. The potential for this Budget to deliver for the Northern Ireland economy and the hospitality sector was great, but instead it has left so many issues hanging and many questions unanswered.

We welcome some elements outlined by the Chancellor, but there are a range of topics that require more work and a doubling down of pressure, as Northern Ireland once again remains far down the pecking order for the Treasury.

One of the few positives, was the announcement by the Chancellor that duties on beer, cider and spirits would be frozen but only after five years of increases, the only country in Europe that currently pays more tax on beer than the UK is Finland.

This is important for the hospitality sector here in Northern Ireland as we need to encourage people to come out and socialise in pubs and enjoy themselves in a controlled environment, otherwise more pubs will close and problem drinking at home will continue to increase.

Apart from that, the budget didn’t leave a great after taste. There are several issues really putting pressure on the hospitality industry right now and the chancellor managed to ignore or underdeliver on almost all of them. www.hospitalityreviewni.com

WELCOME SUPPORT FROM MPS The support that we have received from all our MPs in the House of Commons has to be welcomed. They are there when we need them, and they understand that there is further work to do on some of the issues that we have been lobbying on.

The Chancellor announced a technical working group to examine the issue of Air Passenger Duty (APD) but those involved in the industry worry that announcement was merely the sound of a can being kicked down the road.

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VAT Even more disappointing was the complete lack of any mention of tourism VAT. Politicians, industry leaders, the dogs in the street, everyone knows that the Northern Irish hospitality industry is at a massive disadvantage against their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland.

The VAT rate is acting as a brake on the growth of the hospitality and tourism sector.

Inaction on this double whammy of taxes is even harder to understand when the positive economic impact of tourism to the whole economy is taken into consideration. The hospitality sector is an engine for growth and we can no longer suffocate it. This is a live and real problem which is crippling trade.

FIGHT GOES ON Disappointment didn’t just come from Westminster. One of the announcements from the Chancellor was rates relief for small businesses that would massively benefit the hospitality industry in Northern Ireland but without an Assembly or Executive, we find ourselves in a very difficult position as Northern Ireland will not benefit from these financial injections due to rating being devolved.

We now demand that civil servants here look at the policy developed under the previous Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir to revamp the small business rates relief system to lessen the financial burden on small retailers and the hospitality sector in particular so that we are in line with the rest of the UK and not left hanging because of the current political paralysis.

The rates issues is so important to businesses here that, Assembly or no, Hospitality Ulster will push for changes and they have invited the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance to meet with us.

For Hospitality Ulster, this budget didn’t deal with important issues and I’m not going to stay quiet about it.

DECEMBER HRNI • 35

budget2018

LOCAL POLITICIANS REACT TO BUDGET A fter the Budget, Hospitality Ulster grabbed Sammy Wilson MP from the DUP and Mickey Brady MP from Sinn Fein and held their feet to the fire after a disappointing speech by the Chancellor. Here’s what they thought…

UK parliamentary politics is full of strange little quirks and traditions.

One of these is that the only MP who’s allowed to drink alcohol in the House of Commons is the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he’s delivering the budget. Where it came from, nobody knows, but it might have something to do with needing a stiff drink when talking about spending that much money.

This year, Chancellor Philip Hammond didn’t have a drink, but he did have something to say about it. He announced a freeze in the duty on beer, cider and spirits, welcome news to the hospitality industry in Northern Ireland.

It’s not often we get to hear Members of Parliament put on the spot straight after the budget, let alone have it recorded in podcasts, but that’s exactly what happened to Mickey Brady and Sammy Wilson when they spoke to Hospitality Ulster.

The DUP’s Sammy Wilson welcomed the freeze, saying his party had “made representations on the duties because we recognised that the hospitality industry had to be competitive with the hospitality industry in the Irish Republic”.

Mickey Brady, Sinn Fein MP for Newry and Armagh, struck a more downbeat note saying saying “austerity is still a part of the issue and it’s hard to see how hospitality and tourism can thrive in that austere atmosphere”.

And there was plenty for the hospitality

industry in Northern to be downbeat about. Hospitality Ulster’s CEO Colin Neill and Director of Operations Joel Neill both highlighted the fact that the industry has long been campaigning to reduce or even scrap air passenger duty (APD) on flights between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. While the Chancellor did announce a working group to look at devolving the issue, many in the industry will feel the pace of progress is far too slow.

Wilson, however, welcomed it as a first

“THERE IS A COMMITMENT AND, OF COURSE, THE REASON WHY WE ACTUALLY GOT VAT AND AIR PASSENGER DUTY AS TWO ELEMENTS IN THE CONFIDENCE AND SUPPLY ARRANGEMENT IS THAT WE GAVE IT THAT PRIORITY.” SAMMY WILSON MP, DUP

step, saying “there is a commitment and, of course, the reason why we actually got VAT and air passenger duty as two elements in the confidence and supply arrangement is that we gave it that priority”, referencing the report on the impact of VAT and APD on tourism in Northern Ireland which the Conservative government agreed to carry out as part of their deal with the DUP. The biggest disappointment for the hospitality industry in Northern Ireland though, is undoubtedly the failure of the Chancellor to even mention the issue of tourism VAT. Just this year the VAT rate “AUSTERITY IS STILL A PART OF THE ISSUE AND IT’S HARD TO SEE HOW HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM CAN THRIVE IN THAT AUSTERE ATMOSPHERE.” MICKEY BRADY MP, SINN FEIN

for the hospitality sector in the Republic was raised from 9% to 13.5%, which still makes it 6.5% less than is paid by the 36 • HRNI DECEMBER

hospitality sector in Northern Ireland.

This gives a clear and unfair advantage to bars and hotels in the Republic.

Brady was vocal in his support for a change in VAT to ensure companies in the north and the south were paying the same amount: “Oh absolutely, I think it does make sense and I think as an all island party, it would be remiss of us not to support that issue because ultimately it’s costing tourism a lot, it’s mitigating against tourism in many ways.”

The issue, according to Wilson, is that the UK is unable to implement this kind of change while it’s a member of the EU, but he supports the idea, saying “there are good economic arguments for it, there are good political arguments for it” and that when the UK leaves the EU, the DUP “will continue to press the government on it”.

The DUP and Sinn Fein tend to make

headlines for disagreeing, but one thing both parties clearly have in common is a respect for the importance of the hospitality industry. They both also agree that more must be done to promote it through APD and VAT reform.

Wilson told Hospitality Ulster: “The gains in terms of employment, in terms of expansion for business and even for one of the priorities the government has set for itself, namely the growth of the tourist industry is important to us,” while Brady acknowledged the economic importance of the industry saying “we’re still a low wage economy but that’s boosted from people coming from the south.”

The parties also found common ground in supporting Hospitality Ulster’s call for support for small businesses in Northern Ireland. The Chancellor announced a rates relief for small businesses in England and an investment package for town and city centres, but not for Northern Ireland. Both Brady and Wilson agreed with Hospitality Ulster that, if a small business needs rate relief in England, then they need it and more so in Northern Ireland, with Brady pointing out that rates had risen “300%” when he was first elected in 2015.

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budget2018

UK INDUSTRY BODIES HIGHLIGHT PROS & CONS M argaret Thatcher famously always knew the price of a pint of milk. It’s a question often asked of Prime Ministers and politicians who are keen to show they know the answer, but do they know the price of a pint of beer?

Hospitality Ulster spoke to two women during budget week who definitely do.

Brigid Simmonds, CEO of the British

Beer and Pub Association, and Kate Nicholls, CEO of UK Hospitality, both spoke to Joel Neill, operations director of Hospitality Ulster, about the impact of the budget on the industry they represent.

Simmonds was pleasantly surprised with the Chancellor’s decision to freeze duties on beers ciders and spirits, “to be honest, we expected nothing”, and explained why it’s so important to the industry.

“In a pub, seven out of 10 alcoholic drinks sold is still beer so when duties go up, because they’re small businesses, you probably see an increase of about 5p a pint… It decreases footfall so a freeze in beer duty was absolutely vital.” Simmonds has calculated that the freeze in beer duties could be worth approximately £100m a year to the industry.

There was more in the budget that Simmonds welcomed as well, pointing out “the increase in investment allowances for two years up to £1m, the changes in capital allowances up to 2% on new builds” which would be beneficial to her members.

important thing I thought the Chancellor did yesterday was to boost consumer confidence” but also that “it isn’t job done by any stretch of the imagination”.

She also identified the business rates relief for small English companies as a positive, and the Government’s commitment to help small businesses compete against online companies.

“Crucially the Chancellor said that he wants to level the playing field between bricks and mortar and digital businesses come 2021.”

“IN A PUB, SEVEN OUT OF 10 ALCOHOLIC DRINKS SOLD IS STILL BEER SO WHEN DUTIES GO UP, BECAUSE THEY’RE SMALL BUSINESSES, YOU PROBABLY SEE AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 5P A PINT… IT DECREASES FOOTFALL SO A FREEZE IN BEER DUTY WAS ABSOLUTELY VITAL.” BRIGID SIMMONDS, CEO BRITISH BEER AND PUB ASSOCIATION

AIR PASSENGER DUTY AND TOURISM VAT A lack of a functioning Executive at Stormont means that a similar rates relief system cannot be introduced here.

While a working group announced to look into devolving the issue of APD was welcomed, there was a complete absence of the issue of tourism VAT. This disappointment was felt as well by Hospitality Ulster’s colleagues across the water. Simmonds said, “we made a submission on VAT, we’re

enormously supportive of a reduction in VAT for hospitality”, while echoing Sammy Wilson’s comments that it was “something we probably have to look at in a post-Brexit scenario”.

She also addressed the issue of APD as an issue not just important to Hospitality Ulster and Northern Ireland but to the UK as a whole. “We’re also very supportive of a reduction in APD. Third on the list for tourists to do when they visit the UK is visit a good pub, seven out of 10 tourists visit a pub when they’re here.”

Nicholls identified the collective strength of the bodies working together as a real positive saying: “When you’re talking to your political and parliamentary colleagues from a Northern Ireland perspective, you’ve got the weight and firepower of the national body behind you as well, so I think we get better leverage for both our members.”

Building and cultivating close relationships with other industry bodies gives Hospitality Ulster the ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of the BBPA and UK Hospitality.

Nicholls explained they “align well with Hospitality Ulster’s issues”.

Hospitality Ulster played the lead role in introducing the Save the Local campaign in Northern Ireland, drawing support from over 100,000 people across the UK with nearly 50,000 people writing to their MP. BBPA Chief Simmonds credits it with ensuring the freeze in beer, cider and spirits duties.

“WHEN YOU’RE TALKING TO YOUR POLITICAL AND PARLIAMENTARY COLLEAGUES FROM A NORTHERN IRELAND PERSPECTIVE, YOU’VE GOT THE WEIGHT AND FIREPOWER OF THE NATIONAL BODY BEHIND YOU AS WELL, SO I THINK WE GET BETTER LEVERAGE FOR BOTH OUR MEMBERS.” KATE NICHOLLS, CEO UK HOSPITALITY

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE Nicholls looked at the broader picture, telling Hospitality Ulster that the “the biggest and most www.hospitalityreviewni.com

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DECEMBER HRNI • 37

hospitalityexchange2018

TRADE TURNS OUT FOR HOSPITALITY EXCHANGE

NIHF’s annual industry conference and exhibition returned to the Crowne Plaza Belfast over October 16-17, featuring a busy programme of speakers including chefs Harry Guy, Marco Pierre White and Shauna Froydenlund, mixologist Phum Sila-Trakoon and food critic Giles Coren.

Berni Neill of Calor Gas with Marco Pierre White.

Phillip Waring of Environmental Products and Services with Stephen Meldrum, vice president of NIHF.

Gavin Carroll, president of NIHF, with Charlie Davis of Dream World Bedding.

Gavin Carroll (second left), president of NIHF with Paul Caves, Ashleigh McCrellis and Judith Doak of Stephens catering Equipment.

Phum Sila-Trakoon with Cathy Fox and Brenda McGale of Counterpoint.

Gavin Carroll, president of NIHF, with Darren Graham of Molson Coors.

GUEST CHEF HARRY GUY HOSTS GOURMET DINNER

The McKeever Hotel group team.

38 • HRNI DECEMBER

Janice Gault, chief executive of NIHF, with Pamela Ballantine & guests.

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hospitalityexchange2018

IRISH TOURISM MINISTER HEADLINES SPEAKER LUNCH

GALA BALL RAISES £2,270 FOR PEAT From left, Dr Stephen Gallagher, chair of Parents’ Education as Autism Therapists (PEAT) and Gavin Carroll, president of NIHF.

Brendan Griffin TD.

A VENETIAN THEME FOR THE GALA BALL

Ciaran Meyler of United Wine Merchants, Marianne Hood of the Institute of Hospitality & guest.

Sonya Cassidy, Anna Toriola and John Stuart of NIHF.

Gavin Caroll, pre sident of NIHF, Catherine and recipients of the Eugene McKeeve Hospitality Hero r– Award, and ho st Pamela Balla ntine.

The Tourism NI team.

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DECEMBER HRNI • 39

hotelnews RETHINK FOR £65M NORTH COAST HOTEL PLANS

The couple behind a £65m hotel on the North Coast have withdrawn their planning application and said they plan to submit new designs for a more modest project.

Minka and Gavin Boyd, of North Coast Ventures, originally planned to open Dunluce Resort and Spa, a 115-room venue with 14 penthouse apartments, three detached villas and a further 48 apartments, ahead of next year’s Open golf tournament.

But the couple have withdrawn their application and said they will propose a new set of plans for a £30m luxury hotel.

LUSTY BEG ISLAND LANDS TOURISM AWARD

Lusty Beg Island has been rewarded for its 50-year contribution to the local tourism industry at the recent NI Travel and Tourism Awards.

More than 400 guests and VIPs throughout Northern Ireland gathered at the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa in October, with Lusty Beg Island picking up the Northern Ireland Tourism Industry Award 2018.

At the Fermanagh Herald Business Awards, Lusty Beg scooped Restaurant of the Year for Becketts Dining Room, and was highly commended for its popular Fairy Trail in Tourism Initiative and as Family Business of the Year.

SLIEVE DONARD LIFTS NI SPA OF THE YEAR

The Spa at Slieve Donard has been named Northern Ireland Spa of the Year at the Professional Beauty Regional Awards 2018 in Manchester.

The Spa at the Slieve Donard collected the title of Northern Ireland Spa of the Year, beating off stiff competition from Galgorm Resort & Spa, The Spa at Corick House Hotel and Pure Day Spa and will now go forward to the National Awards which take place at the end of February 2019.

42 • HRNI DECEMBER

ANDRAS HOTELS PLEDGES TO RESTORE PORTRUSH SITE TO FORMER GLORY

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ndras Hotels has submitted plans to restore, revitalise and refurbish the former Northern Bank building in Portrush to transform it into serviced apartments and a café bar.

The B+ listed building is housed on Main Street adjacent to the proposed 87-bedroom Andras Hotel at the former Londonderry Hotel site. The bank buildings project would feature six serviced apartments alongside a café bar with the original fabric of the building restored.

The combined project will create 48 jobs in construction and an additional 41 jobs once open, according to Andras, and contribute an estimated £1.4m per

year to the local economy.

“We are really excited about the prospect of restoring this fine bank building and bringing it back to active use and we are committed to maintaining the architectural interest and integrity of the building,” said Rajesh Rana, director of Andras Hotels.

“We see the former Bank project as being part of our hotel proposal, as the apartments will be operated from the hotel as serviced accommodation.

They will be one and two-bedroom apartments, suitable for families, golfers and tourists visiting the North Coast.

“The ground floor will be a cafe bar which will be open to the public. This will see the existing Atlantic Bar licence transferred to provide continuity for this use, including acoustic live music.

“We have lodged a planning application and with the consent of Historic Environments Department, and we hope to start work very soon.

Our intention is to have the apartments completed in time for the The Open championship in July next year.”

HOLIDAY INN BELFAST CITY CENTRE RANKED TOP IN THE UK AND IRELAND

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oliday Inn Belfast City Centre has been ranked the number one Holiday Inn Hotel in the UK and Ireland, and granted the highest possible ranking in the InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) Elite Status.

The hotel, located on Hope Street just off Great Victoria Street, is owned and operated by Andras Hotels, and is one of only five hotels out of 133 in the IHG group to have achieved the Elite status, being ranked number one within the five.

The Elite status was achieved through outstanding Guest Satisfaction survey

results and Andras attributes the success to continued investment in its team, each of whom are trained through the group’s Andras Academy.

From left, Nicolle Loughran, guest relations manager, and Vikrant Tyagi, general manager at Holiday Inn Belfast City Centre.

GEORGE BEST HOTEL OPENING DELAYED

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he opening of the George Best Hotel in Belfast City Centre, which was expected in December, has gone into extra time.

The delay until 2019 is due to an issue with obtaining a licence, according to Liverpool-based developer Signature Living.

The company said Christmas parties

booked at the hotel would be honoured, but in the Waterfront Hall. The company said it had been continually faced with objections from a nearby business to securing its licence.

The £15m hotel is being developed at the listed Scottish Mutual Building, next to Belfast City Hall.

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hotelnews

McKEEVERS CELEBRATE 25 YEARS AT CORRS CORNER HOTEL

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Catherine and Eugene McKeever, owners. ugene and Catherine McKeever have celebrated 25 years as owners of the Corrs Corner Hotel which, prior to its expansion into a hotel, was a bar and restaurant.

Eugene joined the property as a staff member in 1966 and was promoted to head chef in 1974, holding the position for 11 years.

Since his time, only two head chefs have succeeded him, with Jason Gault currently holding the role, while 40% of all staff dishwasher doesn’t do their job right, members boast over 10 years of service then nothing else can work and it works including six with over 25 years. the other way around too,” said Eugene.

“I believe that the dishwasher’s role is “Trust me, I have done both jobs and as important as my role because, if the

many in between so I am in a unique position to understand the importance of all of these roles.”

The McKeevers purchased Corrs Corner from John Corr, a mentor to Eugene who died earlier this year, and has invested around £6m in it over the last 25 years, transforming the original road house into a venue with 68-bedrooms, a grill and restaurant, public bar, banqueting suite and eight conference rooms.

The McKeever Hotel Group also includes the Dunsilly Hotel, Adair Arms Hotel in Ballymena, Dillons Hotel in Letterkenny and Dunadry Hotel.

waste-to-landfill policy across all its venues, the introduction BEANNCHOR GROUP of bio-degradable straws across the entire group, fully compostable takeaway and coffee cups in Bullitt Belfast and POWERED BY 100% Little Wing Pizzeria and fully compostable takeaway containers Onion.

RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY in “AsThetheDirtylargest hospitality group in Northern Ireland, we

B

eannchor has taken a step towards reducing its carbon footprint by agreeing a £500,000 Bill Wolsey, renewable electricity contract with 3T Power. managing director, Beannchor Group.

The clean energy transition has been rolled out across the group’s entire portfolio including The Merchant Hotel, Bullitt Belfast, The National & Sixty6, Little Wing, The Dirty Onion and The Hillside Bar and Restaurant, with all venues now using 100% renewable electricity, generated locally by wind farms in Northern Ireland.

The move is one of several eco-friendly initiatives the group has introduced to increase its green credentials including working towards a zero

want to build a cleaner and more environmentally responsible business,” said Bill Wolsey, managing director, Beannchor Group. “We are always looking for ways to innovate and the group’s new electricity contract will significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

“We’ve also introduced an ethical sourcing policy and are committed to reducing plastic waste. On an annual basis, Beannchor venues use over 500,000 straws and over 50,000 take away cups and the move to introduce fully biodegradable and compostable versions will dramatically reduce the amount of waste being generated.”

BEECH HILL OPENS FOR BUSINESS UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

From left, Julie McIlwaine and Stephen Comer, business acquisitions managers at First Trust Bank, and Barry Kemp, Adam Kemp and Sam Harding, The House Hospitality Collection, new owners of The Beech Hill Hotel.

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ne of Northern Ireland’s oldest country house hotels, Beech Hill Hotel on the outskirts of Derry~Londonderry, has been acquired

by The House Collection following a multimillion-pound investment.

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The hotel is now under the ownership of entrepreneurs Sam Harding, Barry Kemp and Adam Kemp who, between them, run a number of successful local and international businesses. The new owners have already created five new jobs at the hotel and have an ambitious growth plan to become the best four-star hotel in Northern Ireland, capitalising on its prime location between Derry and the North Coast.

The House Collection hopes to bring new life to the iconic hotel which was sold by the O’Kane and Donnelly families, previously owners for over two decades.

Beech Hill’s facilities include a

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number of function rooms and a marquee for conferences, events and weddings, as well as a fine dining and casual restaurant with food grown and harvested from the estate’s walled garden, thought to be one of the oldest in the country.

“Our future plans include showcasing Beech Hill as a unique wedding venue with phenomenal photo opportunities,” said Barry Kemp, director of The House Collection. “We also want to celebrate the provenance of food heritage here in the North West so we’re also updating our fine and casual dining experiences to reflect the produce we grow and source locally.”

DECEMBER HRNI • 43

accomodationfocus

NORTHERN IRELAND SHOWS ITS STAR QUALITY

QUALITY GRADING IS SIMPLE TO ACHIEVE BUT OFFERS MANY BENEFITS, TOURISM NI ACTING QUALITY & STANDARDS MANAGER SAMANTHA CORR TELLS ALYSON MAGEE For example, a five-star would get an overnight visit every year to make sure standards remain high.

REQUIREMENTS FOR TOURIST ACCOMMODATION MANDATORY: Certification of all accommodation with Tourism NI under the Tourism (Northern Ireland) Order 1992.

VOLUNTARY: Membership of Tourism NI’s Quality Grading Scheme.

WHO SUPPLIES OFFICIAL STAR RATINGS FOR TOURIST ACCOMMODATION IN NI? Tourism NI and The AA. Tourism NI’s Quality Grading Scheme is the same common standards scheme used by The AA and the national tourist boards in Scotland, England and Wales. This means that if you stay in a star graded hotel, guest house, B&B, self-catering or hostel in Northern Ireland, you will experience the same standards of hospitality, service, comfort and food at a similar property anywhere else in the UK. HOW MANY PROPERTIES ARE CURRENTLY GRADED BY TOURISM NI? We have about 600 members of an accommodation stock currently sitting at just over 3,800 properties, and about 70% of our hotels are graded.

Those who are graded work closely with Tourism NI, are committed to quality, run a professional business and use the grade to compete on a more commercial level. The number of people opening their doors to visitors this past year has climbed by almost 1,000 due to the increasing profile of tourism, greater awareness of the need for tourism certification and due to people opening their doors ahead of The Open in 2019.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR ACCOMMODATION TO BE GRADED? Northern Ireland is a new market for a lot of people and providing consistency in their expectation is a good starting point. Our visitors understand what a star grade means and which grade best suits their needs, so it helps them to 44 • HRNI DECEMBER

differentiate between the thousands of different properties available. Some markets such as tour operators, corporate clients and golf operators will only stay in graded properties, so it helps in attracting this business to our shores.

Tourism businesses also find value in the assessment process and written report, using it as part of their staff training or deciding where to invest. For Tourism NI, the Quality Grading Scheme drives standards, improves our reputation and helps us to compete more effectively on a global scale. We can use the assessment process to share key Tourism NI messages with accommodation providers and to bring product information back to our colleagues in the marketing teams.

The great thing about the grading and certification is we know how many bedrooms there are in Northern Ireland and that helps us when we we’re bidding for big events such as the Giro d’Italia, the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup and The 148th Open in 2019.

WHAT DOES THE STAR-GRADING PROCESS INVOLVE? We keep costs minimal, and don’t make any profit. Annual membership of the Quality Grading Scheme costs £96 for self-catering accommodation, £187.20 for B&Bs and £229.20 for hotels. For self-catering, we arrange to visit the property once a year at a pre-notified time. For a B&B or hotel, the first assessment is always a mystery overnight visit to assess hospitality, service and food, and then their grade determines the frequency of future overnight assessments.

WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS FOR PROPERTIES USING AN UNOFFICIAL GRADING? If you claim to be have a certain star grade when you don’t, your guests are going to arrive with high expectations and they might be disappointed. This can lead to bad reviews for the business and it affects the reputation of the whole destination. We work with our partners in the tourism industry, online travel agents and Trading Standards to ensure star grades are not misused.

HAS THERE BEEN AN INCREASE IN QUALITY ALONGSIDE GROWTH IN ACCOMMODATION STOCK? I’ve seen a huge improvement in the quality of our accommodation since joining Tourism NI back in 2012. Last year, with the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, we benchmarked against some of the best hotels in London and South East England and, in my view, our accommodation providers can easily compete in terms of quality and hospitality. Staff shortage is a challenge, but good people are coming into the industry, and there is a real drive in recruitment and training to make sure that service standards remain high.

WHAT MAKES A PROPERTY STAND OUT AS HIGH-QUALITY ACCOMMODATION? A property that knows its brand and applies it in all areas of the business. In terms of grading, we assess a number of areas, but the common themes are the quality of the bedroom, bathroom, staff engagement and food. The bedroom and bathroom are your own private space, so they should be comfortable and well-appointed. Owners will spend a lot of money on great mattresses and bed linens to make sure their guests sleep well. Staff have such an important role to play too. If someone takes a little time to say hello, use your name and make conversation, that will always stand out.

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hotelprofile

HOTELHUB

THESTATS

BISHOP’S GATE HOTEL, DERRY

N

ow in its third year of trading, Bishop’s Gate Hotel is well established in the market and reaping the rewards of hard work through its continued growth and success.

“The last 12 months have been very encouraging,” says Ciaran O’Neill, managing director. “In September, Bishop’s Gate scooped one of the main accolades in the UK hospitality sector, having been named as AA Hotel of the Year (Northern Ireland) 2018-19.

“It was a fantastic achievement for such a young business, and recognition from the AA reaffirmed that our business plan is on the right path.”

And the AA accolade represents the latest in a steady stream of awards this year, with the hotel picking up the team category of NIHF Hotel Reception of the Year and featuring in TripAdvisor’s annual UK Travellers’ Choice awards for the second year in a row.

“The ratings are an indication of the continued appeal of Bishop’s Gate and demonstrate the consistently high standard

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of customer service that is delivered to all visitors,” says O’Neill.

What’s next for the business? “The property is still new so there are little capital plans for a few years, but we have added a new family room,” he says. “It was needed, and it has been well received by our customers.

“In terms of new markets, we are seeing a real uplift from golf operators on the back of the Irish Open in Ballyliffin and The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019. We are still finding our feet in relation to which markets to target in the long term.

“These are good times to be a hotelier with the surge in tourism and occupancy, but we need to be cautious as many businesses are seeing rising costs. This will Ciaran O’Neill have a significant impact on decisions we make in the coming months.

“This worries me more than Brexit.

We will cope with whatever Brexit brings but we need government to address the big questions around VAT, rates, skills and the Living Wage, and for decision makers to realise the challenges we are facing as operators.”

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HOTEL OPENED: March 2016 OWNERSHIP: Bishop’s Gate was part of a restoration project driven by Inner City Trust and other partners.

EMPLOYEES: 84 ROOM NUMBERS: 31 STAR RATING: 4 star Silver with AA – high end boutique STYLE: Elegant luxury - a converted gentlemen’s club.

The exquisite Grade B1listed Bishop’s Gate Hotel is perfectly positioned within the historic city walls in the heart of Derry City’s Cathedral Quarter. Built in 1899, the hotel blends stunning Edwardian architecture, stylish appointments and luxurious facilities which have been sensitively restored to pay homage to the rich heritage of the building, while exceeding the contemporary needs and desires of its guests.

MARKET POSITIONING: Targeting high-end leisure travellers looking for City breaks.

GUEST PROFILE: A mixture of all types and very different segments compared to other properties in the North West.

USPs: Exceptional service/ award-winning property/ unique location nestled within the walls.

FOOD & BEVERAGE: Wig and Gown offers high-end casual dining, as well as three private dining areas.

DECEMBER HRNI • 45

tourismnews-attractions

DIPPY PULLS IN THE VISITORS FOR ULSTER MUSEUM

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lster Museum visitor figures for Dippy on Tour: A Natural History Adventure have reached 41,000 in the first month since the exhibition opened.

The Natural History Museum’s iconic 26-metre-long Diplodocus, a plaster cast of the fossilised bones of a Diplodocus found by railroad workers in Wyoming, USA in 1898, is currently touring the UK. On show in Belfast until January 6, Dippy took a full week to build by a team of four technicians and two conservators from the Natural History Museum.

An exhibition running alongside Dippy, meanwhile, explores the uniqueness of our natural world and biodiversity across the island of Ireland as well as explaining why so few dinosaur fossils

Dippy surrounded by children from Botanic Primary School, Belfast.

have ever been found here.

“It is great to see so many visitors of all ages and from all over Ireland and beyond come to see Dippy in Belfast,” said Aaron Ward, head of Creative Engagement for National Museums NI. “Dippy has captured the imaginations of people for generations and it is very

special that the Ulster Museum is the only place to see him on the island of Ireland.

“We are also delighted to hear the positive responses and visitors’ enthusiasm for the National Museums NI collections exhibited alongside Dippy such as fossils and the bugs, birds and mammals that live on our island.”

Dippy on Tour: A Natural History Adventure has been brought about by the Natural History Museum, in partnership with the Garfield Weston Foundation and supported by Dell EMC and Williams & Hill.

For further information, visit www.nmni. com/dippy.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE MARKET TO DELIVER £100M FOR BELFAST BY 2021

From left, Catherine Toolan, managing director, and Ellvena Graham, chair of the Board of Directors, at ICC Belfast.

A

new conferencing brand identity for Belfast Waterfront, ICC (International Convention Centre) Belfast, was launched in October

with the aim of generating £100m in economic impact for Belfast.

“The repositioning, which has been delivered in conjunction with our partners Visit Belfast, Tourism NI and Belfast City Council, is a crucial step on the journey to realising the full potential of this fantastic venue,” said Catherine Toolan, managing director of ICC Belfast. “We have the facilities, infrastructure, team and city-wide support to deliver major international conferences in Belfast.

“By attracting the international conference market, we aim to deliver 50,000 conference delegate days each year by 2021 across the city.

GOLF JOURNALISTS VISIT NORTH COAST AHEAD OF THE 148TH OPEN

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ourism Ireland and Tourism NI have hosted a group of GB golf journalists from media outlets representing a combined audience of around 14 million, including Eurosport, Golf Monthly, Country Life and The Daily Telegraph, on the North Coast.

They tested their skills at next year’s venue for The 148th Open, Royal Portrush, as well as courses at Portstewart and Castlerock and paid a visit to Galgorm Castle and the Giant’s Causeway.

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Tourism Ireland is taking every opportunity to highlight The Open, which will provide a superb platform to shine a spotlight on golf in Northern Ireland.

“Golf is the world’s largest sports-

This will generate £100m in economic impact for Belfast and contribute to the creation of 1,500 jobs.”

Toolan and Ellvena Graham OBE, chair of the Board of Directors at ICC Belfast, welcomed over 100 guests from a range of businesses, industries and organisations to the launch event.

The repositioning of ICC Belfast is now live and supported by a new website, www.ICCBelfast.com, designed to support conference and event requirements 24-7. A digital strategy is also in place, aimed at selling the venue in the competitive international market. related travel market and we are working hard to drive home the message that a golfing holiday in Northern Ireland is about much more than a round of 18 holes – the combination of our world-class courses and our unique brand of hospitality plays a key role in attracting golfers,” said Julie Wakley, head of Great Britain, Tourism Ireland.

Joe Cruise, Tourism Ireland, with the golf journalists on the first tee at Castlerock Golf Club.

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tourismnews-travel

SKY’S THE LIMIT AS MOUNT CHARLES ANNOUNCES £30M BIA CONTRACT B

elfast International Airport has renewed its contract with Mount Charles, valued at £30m over the next seven years, with the catering and support services company set to deliver a new and exciting food and beverage experience.

With the aim of offering travellers a fresh concept to rival top-tier UK airports, the new experience will entail a refurbishment of existing facilities and ultimately the creation of a further 20 full- and part-time jobs at the airport.

“Customer experience and continuous service improvement are key priorities for us,” said Trevor Annon, chairman and founder of Mount Charles. “We conducted extensive research at leading airports across the UK and we have

also listened to what our local business travellers and holidaymakers want.

“Our bar will be redesigned and relocated, to enhance customer experience and the food offering will encompass three key concepts. Our homegrown brand, Fed & Watered, continues its journey in the Northern Qtr, with a revitalised offering and look and we are thrilled to announce that Freshly Chopped, Ireland’s leading health food outlet, will be joining our line up at the airport. Finally, with the growing trend for traditional Mexican food, we are proud to introduce ‘Coco Diablo’, Mount Charles’ own exciting, new Mexican cantina brand.”

Brian Carlin, director of Commercial Development at Belfast International

From left, Trevor Annon, chairman and founder of Mount Charles; Barry Byrne, managing director, Mount Charles; and Brian Carlin, director of commercial development at Belfast International Airport.

Airport, said: “Belfast International Airport is one of the top 10 airports in the UK with over six million passengers set to travel through the facility in 2018.

That trend is set to continue in 2019 and therefore we were keen to enhance the food and beverage offering to cater for this growth.”

AWARD-WINNING CRUISE SEASON FINISHES AT BELFAST HARBOUR

O

ctober 17 marked the end of an award-winning cruise season for Cruise Belfast, the partnership between Belfast Harbour and Visit Belfast, with the arrival of the final ship of the year, Black Watch.

Since March 2018, a record-breaking 185,000 passengers and crew on 115 ships have called at Belfast, which has been named as one of Europe’s most popular cruise destinations

by Cruise Critic, a subsidiary of TripAdvisor.

The global cruise review site and online cruise community named Belfast as one of the best destinations in the British Isles and Western Europe in its third annual Cruisers’ Choice Destination Awards, based entirely on consumer ratings submitted with reviews.

“With many millions of pounds of investment in our tourism infrastructure and visitor experiences, there has never been a better time to visit Belfast, and to be recognised by such a

prestigious platform as Cruise Critic speaks volumes for the work that has been done to improve and enhance the cruise experience here,” said Mary Jo McCanny, director of Visitor Services, Visit Belfast.

“For everyone involved in tourism, it’s rewarding to see that a large percentage of the reviews were classed in the Excellent and Very Good categories, demonstrating the positive experiences cruise visitors have when visiting Belfast and Northern Ireland.”

STENA LINE CUSTOMERS ENCOURAGED TO ROUND UP FOR CHARITY

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tena Line has launched another fleetwide donation campaign to support Mercy Ships, a charity organisation sailing around the world bringing free, life-saving medical care to where it’s needed the most. www.hospitalityreviewni.com

During the month of November, customers on all of Stena Line’s 38 vessels were encouraged to Round Up for Charity; rounding up their onboard purchases to a donation to Mercy Ships.

“We believe Round Up for Charity is a simple and effective way for our customers to help make a contribution to Mercy Ships’ inspiring work,” said Niclas Mårtensson, CEO at Stena Line.

“Last year we managed to raise £11,000 during a two-month coffee campaign, and this year we hope to raise at least the same amount of money, in half the time.

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“In Mercy Ships, we have found a partner that is committed to helping those who need it the most, and like us see the benefits and the flexibility of having the ocean and ships as your workplace.

“This partnership is the most important part of our social sustainability initiatives, as it gives us an exciting opportunity to involve our employees, customers and partners in helping to make a difference. It also embodies our core value – care.”

The humanitarian non-governmental organisation and Stena Line became partners in February 2017, with the aim of both fundraising and encouraging employees to volunteer and share their unique technical and naval competence.

DECEMBER HRNI • 47

q&a

A DAY IN THE LIFE promotion of live music really excites me.

Sometimes as a business leader, you must make tough decisions that not everybody appreciates, understands or supports. I never take such decisions lightly and ensure they are in the best interest of the business.

WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST CHALLENGING ABOUT THE SECTOR? The biggest challenge we face is to build awareness of Belfast as a business tourism destination as it is an incredibly competitive industry. However, by repositioning the Waterfront Hall to ICC Belfast for the international conference market, we aim to make Belfast a world leading business tourism destination.

CATHERINE TOOLAN

MANAGING DIRECTOR, ICC BELFAST WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ROLE? I’m the managing director of ICC Belfast, Waterfront Hall and the Ulster Hall. I took up the position in August 2016 and lead a team of over 600, with a focus on establishing ICC Belfast as a world-class conference and entertainment facility. We aim to deliver 50,000 conference delegate days each year by 2020, which will generate £100m of economic impact to the city by the end of 2021.

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND? I grew up in a village in Sligo and completed a degree in Business and Hospitality Management in Galway, followed by a Master’s in Business in UCD (Dublin). I worked in Paris, London and Dublin with the Forte Hotel Group. As part of my MBS, I won a Post Graduate Master’s Scholarship to study in Tsinghua University, Beijing.

I previously spent over 10 years as managing director of Global Sports and Events with Aramark, a $15bn US corporation. There, I oversaw the build, design and execution of food and retail in the Athletes Village for the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing and London. This included building a supply chain for elite athletes from scratch in a developing country and serving 100,000 meals on a peak day, to ensuring we met specific dietary requirements of Olympians from 205 countries.

WHAT ARE THE BEST/WORST PARTS OF YOUR JOB? I love welcoming new visitors to our city from across the globe.

It’s fantastic to be part of Team Belfast (that is anyone who is proud of Belfast and wants the best for it) and build brand awareness of Belfast as a business tourism destination.

On the entertainment side, it’s a plus being a music lover in my job. Live music and live events as an experience are a growing phenomenon and being part of the ongoing 48 • HRNI DECEMBER

OUTLINE A TYPICAL DAY Every day in this industry is different. I am regularly in London or another European city raising awareness of ICC Belfast and Belfast as a business tourism destination.

In Belfast, I meet my leadership team every day, and welcome and meet clients to ensure we are delivering the product and service they require. I often work late to check in on our entertainment events at Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall. I also spend a lot of time with our stakeholders to ensure we’re all working together.

PROUDEST MOMENT OF YOUR CAREER TO DATE I am very proud to have led the largest peacetime catering projects in the world for the recent Summer Olympic Games, with the largest team being over 7,000 people. In 2010, I was humbled to have been awarded the Business and Finance Asia Pacific/Ireland International Business Person of the Year in Hong Kong for outstanding contribution to the international business community. I’m also honoured to be part of Team Belfast and to be part of the journey to deliver economic development.

BEST THING ABOUT BEING INVOLVED IN THE LOCAL SECTOR I am proud to call Belfast my second home. Belfast today is full of ambition, optimism and above all energy. I believe Team Belfast can make a difference and leave a legacy that is the development of sustainable business tourism for our future.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO TO UNWIND AWAY FROM WORK? As well as attending live music events, I love cooking and like nothing more than hosting a dinner party using culinary techniques I’ve picked up from everyone from my grandmother to my Asian, Irish and South American colleagues.

TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW I love to hike and climb mountains and, in 2011, I realised a lifelong ambition to climb to Base Camp Two on the Tibetan Side of Mt. Everest in the Himalayas to 7,000 metres above sea level. It was one of the most amazing but challenging experiences ever. twitter.com: @Hosp_ReviewNI

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businessnews

MENTORING INITIATIVE LAUNCHED TO FAST-TRACK FEMALE HOSPITALITY LEADERS U K Hospitality, in partnership with executive search firm Odgers Berndtson, Elliott’s and BT Sport, has launched the first industry-wide mentoring initiative to help female managers working in hospitality and leisure break through into senior executive and board level roles.

The goal is to provide women seeking senior management roles with outstanding mentoring, advice and motivation from objective mentors to help them achieve it; particularly for those working in small companies in which formal support may not otherwise be available.

“The vision behind this is to give talented women the empowerment and support they need to achieve

Holly Addison, head of Hospitality and Leisure at Odgers Berndtson.

leadership roles,” said Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality. “We also want to build a network of senior mentors from across the hospitality industry to support the next generation of inclusive leaders.”

250 LOCAL ROLES TO BE CREATED

BY HOSPITALITY STAFFING APP

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epublic of Ireland company Get The Shifts has announced it will provide 250 casual roles across the hospitality and events sector in Northern Ireland over the next 12 months.

Its first major contract is with Best Parties Ever, a UK entertainment concept transforming South 13 on the Boucher Road into a Masquerade Ball event over the Christmas period, involving recruitment of 150 Belfastbased staff to provide shift work totalling 5,000 hours.

Get The Shifts has already created over 700 roles in Ireland for bar staff, wait staff, event staff, promo staff, baristas, mixologists, chefs and kitchen porters and housekeepers, with a view to increasing this to 1,200 over the next 12 months.

The start-up’s innovative technology helps its clients to source staff and manage those they hire, removing all administration, making the process both time-effective and cost-effective. A business can browse through hundreds of trained, pre-screened staff, known as superstars, using filters such as area, age and skill set.

“We are incredibly excited to expand into Northern Ireland with our first activity scheduled for Belfast at the end of this year,” said Hannah Wrixon, founder of Get The Shifts.

“Northern Ireland has a thriving hospitality market with excellent talent in its major cities and hospitality hubs across the region and as a result is a promising market for us.”

Holly Addison, head of Hospitality and Leisure at Odgers Berndtson, said: “We want more women to believe in themselves and their ability to contribute, at the most senior levels, to the success of their organisations.”

Odgers Berndston launched its own Charter for Change earlier in the year, having heard from many female candidates across the industry that mentoring had a strong role to play. The hope is now that potential mentors will come forward – initially making themselves known to participating partners – and that all taking part will help to refer individual women who might benefit from the additional support.

HASTINGS HOSTS DIGI-TALK CONFERENCE

Pictured with Hannah Corbett, left, and Prof Julie Hastings, centre, from Hastings Hotels are event sponsors Nikki Murphy and David Warwick from Warwick Event Services, Peter Brown of EOS Systems, LesleyAnn Diffin from Belfast Live and Ann Cromie from Bank of Ireland.

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astings Hotels recently hosted its annual Digi-Talk: The Conference in the Europa Hotel, with over 200 delegates in attendance from local businesses, government bodies, charities and universities.

The conference offered a unique insight into how local companies can grow their businesses online with an impressive line-up of speakers from global brands including Facebook and Google.

MAKE HOUSEKEEPING PART OF YOUR GUEST EXPERIENCE

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aking hotel housekeepers more customer-facing could significantly improve the experience for guests, according to a survey by the professional division of Miele, while getting feedback and having the chance to meet customers also makes housekeeping staff most happy in their roles. www.hospitalityreviewni.com

In Miele’s survey, 96% of housekeepers said they like receiving positive feedback and 86% expressed a desire to meet hotel guests, while 80% said they liked taking responsibility for customer experience.

In comparison, only 54% of housekeepers said they liked the cleaning side to their job. This topped

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the list of the most frequently disliked aspects of the role along with the working hours and the level of benefits they receive.

The survey of 100 UK hotel workers including housekeepers was undertaken by independent market research company Sapio on behalf of Miele in 2018.

DECEMBER HRNI • 49

appointments

TOURISM IRELAND PREPARES FOR FUTURE GROWTH

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ourism Ireland has announced a number of senior management appointments to strengthen its Northern Ireland and Emerging Markets teams and align with future growth opportunities ahead of the development of its next three-year corporate plan (2020-22).

In support of accelerating opportunities in emerging markets such as China, India and the Middle East, Aubrey Irwin has been appointed to the new post of manager – Emerging Markets. He will work with tourism businesses across the island of Ireland to increase industry awareness of, and engagement in, these increasingly

be recruited shortly. important markets. A further “Overseas tourism to post of manager – Asia will the island of Ireland has be advertised in the coming enjoyed record levels of weeks. growth in recent years,” Shane Clarke assumes said Niall Gibbons, CEO strategic responsibility of Tourism Ireland. “Our for Northern Ireland, as objective now is to ensure director of Corporate we are positioned strongly Services, Policy & Northern to capitalise on accelerating Ireland. He will be Shane Clarke, director of Corporate Services, Policy growth opportunities in responsible for evolving & Northern Ireland. emerging markets like and building on Tourism China, India and the Ireland’s ambition in Middle East, and to strengthen our relation to overseas tourism to Northern delivery for Northern Ireland and exploit Ireland. Also in support of these the many exciting tourism developments objectives, a further post of stakeholder coming on stream.” liaison manager – Northern Ireland will

VINCENT TO LEAD TOURISM NI’S DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME

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ourism NI has added to its senior management team with the appointment of Dave Vincent as chief digital officer.

With over 20 years’ experience in the IT, telecommunications, utilities, financial services and public sectors, Vincent will drive digital transformation across the organisation.

In his new position, he is responsible for accelerating a Digital First ambition to deliver organisational change, while also providing strategic digital leadership to the tourism industry to enhance the visitor experience.

Vincent holds an MBA in e-Business from the University of Liverpool along with a BSc in Computing from the University of Ulster and was recently appointed as a board trustee for the Northern Ireland Hospice.

“Digital transformation is a strategic priority for us an organisation and it underpins all we do and all that we have ambition to do,” said John McGrillen, chief executive of Tourism NI. “Dave’s combination of entrepreneurial drive and business management skills will enable him to translate complex business issues and requirements into commercially- and technically-compelling propositions.”

Dave Vincent

McGINN JOINS HASTINGS HOTELS’ BOARD OF DIRECTORS

J

ames McGinn has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Hastings Hotels.

One of the most respected professionals in the local tourism industry, he joined the group in August 1996 as quality development manager in the Europa Hotel under General Manager John Toner. Subsequently, he has held the position of general manager in the Stormont Hotel, Culloden Estate & Spa and the Europa Hotel, where he has been at the helm since 2003.

Many still fondly recall James’ appearances in a BBC TV fly-on-thewall series about the Europa Hotel entitled Lobby Lives, which ran for 26

50 • HRNI DECEMBER

episodes from 2006 to 2008.

“He has been a committed colleague James McGinn for over two decades and this is the right time to acknowledge his continuing contribution to the Group,” said Edward Carson, chairman of Hastings Hotels. “James will also remain general manager of the Europa Hotel.”

McGinn said: “I look forward to playing a significant role in the continued growth and success of Hastings Hotels.”

THE MERCHANT APPOINTS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Janine Gelston, business development manager at The Merchant Hotel.

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anine Gelston has been appointed as business development manager at The Merchant Hotel in Belfast.

Responsible for developing and nurturing relationships with new and existing customers, Gelston will identify opportunities for new business and oversee strategic planning in terms of financial growth and ensuring customer satisfaction.

She will also represent the hotel nationally and internationally, presenting hotel products and services to existing and new business targets and at trade shows, networking and client events.

With over 13 years’ experience, Gelston has worked within luxury hotels in various roles, including front office manager, guest services manager, sales account manager, and assistant director of sales within the hospitality and tourism industry.

She began her career in Belfast, before moving to Edinburgh for nine years to work within sales in the city’s best fivestar hotels.

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AMUSEMENT & LEISURE

CATERING EQUIPMENT

AMUSEMENT & LEISURE

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CATERING EQUIPMENT

COFFEE SUPPLIES

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DECEMBER HRNI • 51

DRINK DISTRIBUTORS

52 • HRNI DECEMBER

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DRINK DISTRIBUTORS

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DECEMBER HRNI • 53

DRINK DISTRIBUTORS

54 • HRNI DECEMBER

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DRINK DISTRIBUTORS

FOODSERVICE

INDUSTRIAL CLEANING

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DECEMBER HRNI • 55

INDUSTRY ORGANISATIONS

56 • HRNI DECEMBER

INTERIOR FIT-OUT

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PROPERTY CONSULTANTS

REFRIDGERATION

RECRUITMENT

SEAFOOD

SEAFOOD

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DECEMBER HRNI • 57

q&a

THE LAST WORD FAVOURITE BAND: Metallica LAST BOOK READ: Scar Tissue – Anthony Kiedis’ autobiography.

FAVOURITE CELEBRITY: Conor McGregor

SOCIAL

FAVOURITE FOOD: Tapas FAVOURITE RESTAURANT: Stockdales in Leeds LAST HOTEL YOU STAYED AT: Sunny Villas in Santorini LAST BAR/NIGHTCLUB YOU VISITED: Sweet Afton FAVOURITE PLACE IN THE WORLD: Thailand INDOOR CONCERT OR FESTIVAL: Festival LAST HOLIDAY: Santorini, Greece

DRINKS

FAVOURITE HOT DRINK: Black coffee FAVOURITE SOFT DRINK: Dr Pepper Zero BEER OR CIDER: Beer, in particular Birra Moretti WHITE OR RED WINE: Red wine WHISKEY OR BRANDY: Whiskey GIN OR VODKA: Gin COCKTAILS OR BUBBLY: Bubbly WHAT FOUR PEOPLE WOULD YOU INVITE TO A DINNER PARTY? George Best, Jordon Belford, Dave Grohl and Robin Williams.

ONE ITEM YOU COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT? Mobile phone

NAME

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK

COMPANY

UNITED WINES

JOB TITLE

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THIS ROLE? Five years.

DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY? I have breakfast while checking my emails before I leave the house. A typical day then consists of about eight to 10 sales calls with various on and off 58 • HRNI DECEMBER

trade accounts. These will be broken up with phone calls and emails throughout the day. After my sales calls I will go to the gym and then head home. I then do some admin work in the evening while watching TV. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB? I worked in my local Co-op off licence.

ENTERTAINMENT

FAVOURITE TV SHOW: Game of Thrones FAVOURITE FILM: Man on Fire FAVOURITE ALBUM CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: I’m more into listening to playlists on Spotify.

WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE? Tom Hardy – aiming high.

WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL JOB? I love the drinks industry and want to progress as far as possible within it.

FAVOURITE QUOTE? Nothing worth having comes easy.

THE MOST IMPORTANT LIFE LESSON YOU’VE LEARNT? Be positive, things are rarely as bad as they seem at the time.

INSPIRATION IN YOUR LIFE? My dad.

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