Hotel and Restaurant Times Oct/Nov '16

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER ‘16

€3.65

T H E B U S I N E S S P U B L I C AT I O N F O R T H E H OT E L A N D R E S TAU R A N T I N D U S T R Y

Shaun Quinn View from the bridge

FISH FISH

Time to utilise our resources

ODONNELL ONEILL

Creative Interior Solutions

HOTEL PRICING

Industry must remain competitive

ISSN 1393-9858

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www.hotelandrestauranttimes.ie

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COVER: Shaun Quinn

Contents

Editorial 4 News 5 Bookassist 12 Shaun Quinn - end of an era 14 Industry Focus on Hotel Pricing 16 Tourism Ireland 18 P. 29 IFSA 20 Two of the Best 23 O Donnell O Neill Design 29 Fáilte news 32 Fish Fish and none to sea 34 Great Carvery 36 Fáilte food conference 38 P. 36 VDA technology 40 Gluten Free legislation 42 GMIT 44 Chef shortage 46 Food for Thought 47 Know who’s in command 52 Tallaght IT 54

P. 52 Hotel & Restaurant Times is circulated on subscription to Chief Executives, Directors and Proprietors of Hotels and Restaurants in Ireland along with Architects, Interior Designers and Suppliers to the Hotel and Restaurant Industry.

Managing Editor: Cyril McAree (01-6285447, cyril@hotelandrestauranttimes.ie) Contributors: Pavel Barter, Dr Des O’Mahony, Susan Clarke, Colm Ryan, Conor Power, Fáilte Ireland, IFSA, Tourism Ireland, Restaurants Association of Ireland, GMIT, Holly Lenny Graphic Design: Tara Mccormack Printing: Turners of Longford

ALL CONTENTS OF THE MAGAZINE ARE COPYRIGHT OF HOTEL & RESTAURANT TIMES. H&R HOUSE, CARTON COURT, MAYNOOTH, CO.KILDARE TEL/FAX: 01 6285447 EMAIL: editorial@hotelandrestauranttimes.ie WEB: www.hotelandrestauranttimes.ie

All paper used in the production of this magazine comes from certifiably sustainable forestry.

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editorial

The budget has come and gone, and despite prior concerns not much has changed regarding the tourism sector. Steady as it goes. VAT remains at 9% and visa requirements for entry to Ireland have yet to change, although this may not last when the reality of Brexit kicks in.

In other matters, the recent Fáilte Food Connect conference lived up to its objectives. Over 120 of the country’s key players attended the event, and they weren’t disappointed. The overall theme was apt, as the event approached varied aspects of the food business in Ireland. It’s not just about restaurants; it’s also about the different elements that impact on the overall culinary experience. From how to identify an outlet’s market position, by ensuring that offerings have a local feel and authenticity, to creating an ambience within

editorial

the food setting.

John Mulcahy, Head of Food and Hospitality for Fáilte Ireland, told us: “Food Connect provided an opportunity for us, as the national tourism development authority, to build on the confidence that already exists [in Ireland], and to create new partnerships which will ultimately position Ireland as an exciting, must-visit destination.”

However, there still is a chestnut issue regarding the current chef crisis. Despite everything that has been promised, attracting people into the kitchen is still a major challenge. The RAI is vocal concerning the issue and has gone outside the country to attract chefs from other European countries to work here. Adrian Cummins, CEO of the RAI, is scathing in his assessment of the situation. He questions the waste of tax payers money in trying to establish a recruitment scheme. Factors that need to be overcome perhaps include the conditions that sometimes go hand in hand with kitchen work. It may be worth looking at how our educators view hospitality in general as a career. In the short term, the industry needs chefs, and the issue needs addressing in a collaborative manner. Let’s hope this happens sooner than later.

This December sees Shaun Quinn step aside as CEO of Fáilte Ireland. He has been at the helm of the organisation for 13 years, and in that time has dealt with a myriad of issues. This quiet Donegal man has worked tirelessly for the sector. It has not always been an easy task, but he has done so, in my opinion, with honesty and fairness. The industry has changed dramatically over the period Shaun has worked in Fáilte. Under his vision, knowledge and guidance, Fáilte Ireland has performed its tasks well. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Shaun for the great work he has done over his 13 year tenure and have no doubt he will be an asset to whatever organisation he works with in the future.

Cyril McAree editor

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news

NEWS

National Geographic writer to put Ireland on the map A group of influential media were recently in Ireland to sample Sligo and Cong, two of Ireland’s best tourism and local gastronomy destinations.

The party included: Kathy Mangan, freelancer with the National Geographic; Chris Colin, Afar Magazine USA; Dr Leonardus Johannes van Marrewijk, the Netherlands; and Martin Schechler, N-News City Magazine, Germany. The trip was organised by Fáilte Ireland, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland.

Fellow citizens of tourism

The Fellows and Patrons Evening Event, a highlight of the Irish Hospitality Institute’s (IHI) calendar year recently took placed in Kelly’s Resort Hotel & Spa Hotel. Pictured (l-r) is Bill Kelly (Proprietor, Kelly’s Resort) and Ewan Plenderleith (IHI Chair of College of Fellows & GM, Herbert Park Hotel, Dublin).

Thai Spa wins big at travel awards The Thai Spa, at Lough Erne Resort, has been named Northern Ireland’s Leading Spa Resort at the World Travel Awards for the second year in a row. The five-star County Fermanagh venue triumphed at the ceremony in Italy, beating Galgorm Resort and Slieve Donard Resort.

A galaxy not so far away Nicholas Harris (centre), and his father Alan, with captain Patrick O’Neill, Waterville Boats (right), is pictured at Portmagee Pier, on their way to Skellig Michael in Kerry, after winning a Star Wars promotion. The Lucasfilm Force for Change charitable initiative offered Star Wars fans the chance to win a trip to Ireland, sponsored by Tourism Ireland in New York. Nicholas Harris, from Bradenton, Florida, won the competition.

Westin brings Christmas cheer This Christmas, the Westin Dublin has partnered with Arnotts, Ireland’s department store, to introduce a unique service for guests. Following on from the success of the Book Butler at the Westin Dublin, residents at the hotel over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day can pre-order their gifts directly through the Christmas Gift Butler who hand-wraps and delivers them straight to their room for a Christmas morning surprise.

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news

Ireland’s food story is served

Kilkenny and Waterford recently played host to a group of influential media from Germany, France, Belgium and Sweden, to hear stories of Irish food and learn more about what we offer international visitors. The trip was organised by Fáilte Ireland in conjunction with Tourism Ireland, for the journalists, who have a combined circulation of over 1.3 million.

Wicklow takes centre stage

A group of influential US media were recently in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow, as part of a joint Fáilte Ireland and Guinness Storehouse showcase. The group included representatives from Fox Media, the Huffington Post and Conde Nast.

More power to them Powerscourt Hotel Resort and Spa was voted Ireland’s Leading Hotel 2016, in an event which hosted hundreds of hospitality leaders from all around the globe. The other nominees for Ireland’s leading hotel 2016 were the Conrad, Dromoland Castle, the Intercontinental Dublin, The Clarence and the Westin.

Pictured is Ian Wynne, General Manager of Powerscourt Hotel, and Deirdre O’Brien, Director of Sales and Marketing Manager.

Celebrity chef leads trip to Haiti Haven, a prominent Irish NGO working on the ground in Haiti, welcomed its Ambassador, chef and TV personality Clodagh McKenna, to Haiti as part of a four-day Enterprise Trip to the country in September. Clodagh joined a group of Irish business leaders and entrepreneurs to visit Haven’s programmes and explore the charity’s key community and enterprise development projects. Haiti remains one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with more than a quarter of its population living with under $1.25 a day. Currently, 52% of the rural population and 35% of the urban population only have access to unimproved drinking water, and 1.5 million of its people are severely food insecure.

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Tourism took strong economic boost in first half of 2016

CSO figures recently published confirm strong growth in revenue figures from overseas visitors for the first six months of the year. The Tourism and Travel statistics from the CSO show that spending in Ireland by overseas visitors (excluding fares) for the first half of 2016 rose by 9.5% compared with the same period in 2015. The data also shows that the number of trips to Ireland in the key target market of holidaymakers rose by 13.1% for January to June of 2016 when compared with the same period in 2015.

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Autumn Grant for tourism

Tourism Ireland, and Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD, have launched a €9 million promotional campaign, to boost late-season travel to Ireland from around the world. The September to December period usually yields as much as 30% of Ireland’s annual overseas tourism business. As part of the campaign, Richard E Grant arrived in Dublin today – to film two new online videos for a promotion with Smooth Radio in Britain, which will reach about 5.5 million potential holidaymakers.

That sinking feeling

Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster joins celebrations with Titanic Belfast’s ViceChairman Conal Harvey (left) and Chief Executive Tim Husbands MBE (centre), as it is named as Europe’s Leading Visitor Attraction at the prestigious World Travel Awards held in Sardinia, Italy, beating off competition from The Eiffel Tower and The Roman Colosseum.

Thanks a million for Moher

For the third year in a row, the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience in County Clare has recorded one million visitors within a calendar year.

The world-famous visitor attraction reached the figure on 22 August 2016, three weeks ahead of the date the milestone was reached in 2015, and seven weeks earlier than the same point in 2014. The North Clare attraction is now on track to exceed its record visitor total of 1,251,574 people in 2015.

Meeting Burren dishes up tasty the Hiltons Food Fayre Hilton worldwide have come out on top at the World Travel Awards, which took place in Sardinia, Italy, with Northern Ireland claiming two of the 22 awards for the company.

The fifth annual Burren Food Fayre takes place October 29 and 30 in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare. The food event is part of the Burren Winterage Festival that celebrates the farming heritage of the region. Organised by the Burren Ecotourism Network, and supported by The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark, this year’s Food Fayre features a programme of food demonstrations and workshops, hosted by food writers, producers, and restaurants from the Burren and further afield.

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news

Ross’s point

Shane Ross, Minister of Transport, Tourism & Sport, has launched the Irish Tourism Industry Awards 2017. The awards give recognition to and promote companies and organisations that have made significant contributions to Irish tourism and to increasing the number of visitors from overseas.

Entries can be made until November 18 at www.irishtourismindustryawards.ie.

Planting seeds for local communities

Aramark, the global food, facilities and property services provider, chose Tyrrelstown Educate Together, Dublin, to host the company’s 2016 Aramark Building Community Day. This is Aramark’s sixth annual global volunteering day and aims to nurture local communities and encourage health and wellbeing. On 20 September, over 100 volunteers from across Aramark’s nationwide operations rolled up their sleeves to help refurbish the school’s buildings, build community gardens and create wellness zones. Tyrrelstown Educate Together has over 600 students, some of whom have autism.

School for stunning chefs

The Academy, situated at the stunning Cliff at Lyons estate in Kildare, is now enrolling for City & Guilds certified Professional Cookery courses for 2016/2017.

The courses are suitable for school leavers with a passion for the culinary arts, amateur chefs and those who are already working in the hospitality industry. Further advanced courses will commence in late 2017. contact Martin Potts academy@cliffatlyons.ie 087 250 1608

Crover takes over

Crover House Hotel situated on the elegant shores of Lough Sheelin in Co. Cavan, has attained four star status.

Point made

Georgina Campbell has bestowed the title of Hotel of the Year 2017 to Harvey’s Point Hotel, Lough Eske, Co. Donegal.

At a ceremony in the Bord Bia HQ in Dublin, Georgina Campbell spoke about the hotel’s “stunning location, luxurious accommodation and waterside fine dining restaurant’.

She added: “The unique selling point of the hotel is its people.”

Gold medal for Silver Hill

At the recent Irish Quality food awards, Silver Hill Farm took the top spot in the Game category for their Confit of Duck Leg product. This is the third year in a row the product has retained the top spot. Silver Hill had four products shortlisted in the category.

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Suite talkers

Ashford Castle, the luxury 5 star spa, has been named winner of the Ireland’s Best Hotel Spa 2016 category in the 2nd Annual 2016 World Spa Awards.

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CATEX stirs up solutions for 2017 Fit for a king Following on from the success of CATEX 2015, next year’s event will again be bursting with industry-specific attractions. CATEX 2017 will take place on the 21-23 February 2017, at the RDS Simmonscourt, supported by Bunzl and Calor.

Two hotels from the Red Carnation Hotel Collection have been bestowed National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World status in the latest update to National Geographic’s collection of leading travel experiences. The 800 year old Ashford Castle, overlooking the shores of Lough Corrib in County Mayo, Ireland, and Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat, an ecological oasis located on South Africa’s Western Cape, have been selected to join the collection of 51 properties on six continents.

The Éamonn Ceannt Tribute Dinner A warm welcome for Paralympian gold medallists

John Rooney, managing director, Flogas Ireland, with victorious Paralympians Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal at the Flogas head office in Knockbrack House. Eve and Katie are two of the five para-athletes who became Flogas brand ambassadors in the run-up to the Paralympics. They won gold in the Women’s B Tandem Time Trial and silver in the Women’s B Tandem Road Race.

Dr Mark McCarthy of GMIT presenting the grandniece of Éamonn Ceannt, Mary Gallaher, with a drawing of Ceannt, at the GMIT Tribute Dinner hosted in partnership with Galway County Council, and prepared and served by students and staff in GMIT’s College of Tourism & Arts. During the 1916 Rising, Ceannt was Commandant of the 4th Battalion Irish Volunteers in the South Dublin Union. After the Rising ended, he was executed by firing squad on 8 May 1916, aged 34.

Come fly with me

Dublin Airport has won a major global aviation industry marketing award.

The airport was named the 2016 World Routes Award winner for airports in the 20-50 million passengers per year category. Dublin Airport picked up the prestigious at the World Routes conference in Chengdu, China, and was placed ahead of Brussels Airport, Copenhagen Airport, Munich Airport and Vancouver International Airport.

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news

No blue notes for winning restaurants

Ireland’s Blue Book has announced wins for Viewmount House and The Duck Restaurant at Marlfield House at the 2017 Georgina Campbell Awards. Pictured is Margaret and Laura Bowe (Marlfield), Michelle Maguire (Blue Book) and Beryl & James Kearney (Viewmount).

Screaming reels

The Irish boat Screaming Reels has won the Rosslare Small Boats Festival for a record eight year. This is the sixth year in a row that the crew from Rosie’s Sea Angling Club from Midleton in Cork has won. They beat 43 other boats from Britain and Ireland, catching 30 different species of fish for 28.03 kilos.

Pictured is Martyn Rayner, skipper of Screaming Reels, at the Inland Fisheries Ireland fish tank.

A Murray Christmas World’s fastest airline

Aer Lingus staff regained two top awards at the annual BUD:Runway Run. In September, 17 members of staff took part in the annual race, which pits airline teams from around the world against each other in the air transport industry’s premier charity-sportive event.

The Department of Tourism & Hospitality at Cork Institute of Technology has appointed Dr Noel Murray as Head of the Department of Tourism & Hospitality. Dr Murray is a native of Templederry in Co. Tipperary. He has worked in Cork Institute of Technology for the past two years, having moved from Waterford Institute of Technology. Dr Murray has worked with Kerry Foods, with Failte Ireland’s Tourism Learning Networks, and in recruitment. He also worked in the hospitality industry while living in Australia.

Tourism makes connections

Bright Stars shining in North County Dublin Over the summer, Aramark held their monthly Bright Stars Culinary Academy in Keelings Farm, North County Dublin.

Selected Aramark chefs and managers were invited to tour the Keelings production facility, seeing firsthand where their fruit and vegetables are grown. The Aramark Bright Stars initiative, which was launched in April 2016, is designed for chefs to get hands-on with some of Aramark’s top producers, suppliers and ingredients.

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Business tourism will exceed €700m in 2017, it was announced at the launch of Connect16, Ireland’s first business tourism showcase. The sector is currently worth €669m and has been growing at an average rate of 7% year-on-year – or 35% since 2011. Connect16 is the brainchild of Nicola McGrane, Managing Director of Conference Partners. “In Connect16, we wanted to create a meeting place where anyone involved in organising an event in Ireland or abroad can exhibit and experience the latest in technology, meeting design, new product and new venues – something that hasn’t existed for events professionals until now,” she said.

Chinese, Indian and Australian travel agents eye the island of Ireland Louise O’Mahony, Tourism Ireland (fourth left), with travel agents from six different markets, at Clonmacnoise.

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Bookassist

Pay or Pass - The New Reality of Customer

Acquisition Online

By Ciarán Rowe The last year has seen significant changes in the way hotels can attract and convert guests through their direct website channel. Some of this change has been driven by updates from big players such as Google, while other aspects have been brought about by changes in user behaviour. Either way, the effect is the same: it is costing more to generate direct traffic and organic traffic is being increasingly replaced by paid traffic. If you’re not paying, you’re less and less in the game.

This situation is likely to become the norm and indications are that it could soon become even harder to reach the organic result, with the latest test from Google moving the company’s own hotel ads booking widget from its previous position in the right of the page to pole position at the top, above the PPC ads. This makes paid channels even more prominent at the expense of organic.

Changes in user behaviour

Changes in Google search

While Google is still the undisputed leader of traffic generation, recent changes in their search results page layout have changed the balance between paid and non paid real estate on the page, which means a reliance on Google for website traffic has now become more expensive than ever.

Some sample changes include (see Figure 1): • Expanded ads and sitelinks - bigger ads mean more of the page is dominated by ads and less by organic • More ads at the top of the page - up to 4 ads at the top compared to 2 or 3 in the past is pushing organic results further down the page • Increased number of ad extensions - these are the text additions below the main ad body which include everything from sitelinks to a list of facilities and unique selling points (USPs).

The combined effect of all these changes is that less users are finding your hotel organically and more and more are using paid clicks to reach your site. A typical scenario would be that for a brand name search, where someone directly searches for your hotel name, your own payper-click (PPC) ad is now joined by up to 3 other ads from review sites and competing online travel agents (OTAs). This leads to your organic listing being pushed further down the page and an increase in the likelihood that a user will click on an ad rather than the organic result.

This picture is even more dramatic on the smaller mobile screen, with users needing to scroll through up to 3 screens to reach the organic result, as shown in Figure 2.

While searching for a suitable hotel to book, users are bombarded by messages from every quarter, all promising the best deals and options.

So it is no wonder that the customer journey is getting longer, with multiple touch-points along the way.

Users choose to research on multiple platforms, using multiple devices, at various times of the day as they gather information and move towards decisions. This dramatically increases the potential cost to an advertiser of reaching their potential customer along this complex journey. In addition to this, many users are now on ‘closed networks’ that cannot be accessed by advertisers. Such closed networks include users using a downloaded OTA app for example, rather than a search on Google, or someone who bases their decisions on information gathered from social media networks. The move to mobile has accelerated this behaviour, making it even more urgent to develop a coherent strategy for improving direct business.

The choice is clear - engage more strongly with these users through paid channels or risking passing them to competitors or third parties.

However, just throwing money at the problem is not the solution. You need to make the most of the various paid channels by using all the tools at your disposal correctly and strategically.

Use your data

Given the changes highlighted above, it is more important than ever to maximise the conversion of existing users and this is where advertising networks come to our aid. As usual Google is at the forefront, with a variety of options to help leverage your existing data.

Google search results are increasingly dominated by paid advertising at the top of the page, with up to 4 adverts now appearing.

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Bookassist

Google search results on mobile can demote organic results to page 3 or later in favour of paid results and Google’s own information display.

• Remarketing - presenting a recurring message to users who have previously visited your site - is achieved by creating an audience of visitors either through Google analytics or by adding remarketing code to your website. Once a user visits your site they are added to this audience and you can then present them with a tailored message while they browse other sites on the web to encourage them to return to your site and complete their booking.

• RLSA - remarketing lists for search are similar to remarketing but they work directly in Google search rather than on Google’s display network of websites. This allows you to customise bids for searchers on Google who have previously visited your website, while they are actively searching on Google, so you can decide to pay a premium to capture a click from a user who is already familiar with your brand but may be tempted to go elsewhere.

• Customer match - again this works by creating an audience, but instead of users who have visited your website, it allows you to harness the power of your email database by presenting a message to users who have an existing relationship with your hotel while they browse the web.

Other options include remarketing through Facebook which works on the same principle as Google and allows you to target users who have visited your website, but this time while they are browsing on Facebook, or consider using cart abandonment tools (see Figure 3) to present a message to users when they leave your site.

Meta search or free listings?

Cart abandonment messages can deliver valuable information even if only a fraction of users engage.

Most hotels are already present on the major meta search players such as Trivago, TripAdvisor, and Google Hotel ads, but these listings are effectively useless for generating direct bookings unless you are willing to pay. The major OTAs dominated this area until recently but more and more hotels are now consolidating their position online by bidding to appear in these searches. It makes sense that if a user is actively searching for your property, and your ad will appear only if you have availability for their chosen dates, that you should try and wrestle that user away from third parties and towards your own site.

In addition to giving hotels the opportunity to compete directly with OTAs for their customers, participating in metasearch platforms encourages the use of stringent rate management and allows for additional insights into customer behaviour.

Get smart

With the increased costs involved in customer acquisition, we need to use budgets in a clever way to maximise returns at the lowest costs. The old mindset of spending X to generate Y is obsolete and needs to be updated to reflect the current reality. Instead of looking at individual budgets on each platform we need a more holistic approach, with the use of a bundled budget. This requires a leap of faith and assumes a competent digital marketing provider, but the objective is to maximise revenue across all platforms rather than focussing on them individually.

The basic premise is to analyse performance across multiple platforms regularly and to shift budgets according to performance to achieve an agreed overall target. So for example if PPC on Google is not performing well, but hotel ads are, then budget should be moved away from PPC towards hotel ads, until such a time as performance changes and budgets need to be adjusted again. It’s a continually iterative process.

Bottom Line

The landscape has changed but with a little effort and some additional costs, good results can and will be achieved.

We recommend you consult with the experts on these fast-moving issues, and you will find the Bookassist Digital Marketing team always ready to give you up to the minute advice.

• Examine all the available platforms and see what will work best for your property. You don’t need to appear at every possible touch-point, but you should decide which ones are key and invest in them.

• Forget about return on investment per platform and look at the overall growth in traffic and business through your paid digital marketing initiatives.

• Keep on top of the latest trends and examine how users are responding to your message so that you can constantly update and refine it.

• Remember, although there is a definite push towards paid platforms, organic traffic is still an important part of the mix, so don’t neglect your SEO and social media engagement.

Ciarán Rowe is Senior Search Specialist at Bookassist (www.bookassist.com), the multi-award-winning technology and digital strategy partner for hotels worldwide.

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management

SHAUN QUINN

Shaun Quinn - end of an era Earlier this year Fáilte Ireland Chief, Shaun Quinn announced his decision to leave the organisation at the end of 2016. Here, he shares his perspective on developing the sector from his eighteen-year vantage point at the top in Irish tourism.

Quinn joined tourism in 1998, taking the helm at the former tourism training agency CERT and just four years later at Failte Ireland, the newly established national tourism development authority. Over the intervening years he has helped the industry to navigate its way around many complex challenges and invariably he has been a central and respected figure, often behind the scenes, charting a course back to recovery and growth.

As far as he is concerned, adapting to changing circumstances over the years has been critical to Failte’s success. Often that has meant radically changing its service offering in line with the changing fortunes of the industry - providing businesses with ‘life line’ supports in tough times and boosting their sales efforts when markets began to turn in their favour.

Today, he is widely credited with developing successful leisure brands like the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East, and before that with ensuring the Government’s Gathering initiative for tourism was a success.

An MBA and First Honours UCD graduate, Quinn came to tourism from food where he was Marketing Director with Bord Bia. He believes his experience and background in working closely with large and small

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home-grown businesses looking to expand overseas provided an advantage when starting out in tourism. “I had always worked very closely with client companies and representative bodies, conscious that my job was not to lecture them from a height but to help them grow. That’s why, from the start I set about ensuring that the tourism agencies worked seamlessly with the clients they served, and giving them an opportunity to shape our strategies for leisure and business tourism over time. I believe that has worked very well”.

Throughout his tenure, he has sought to foster a view that Fáilte Ireland’s success is not judged by the breadth of its activities nor the strength of its public profile, but rather by its credibility and relevance to tourism businesses. “I firmly believe that as a non-commercial public sector body we have a ‘share price’ of sorts – in essence a measure amongst our stakeholders of how useful and valuable we are to them” states Quinn adding that such a mentality is the key to delivering real value to an ever evolving sector.

After more than a decade, little remains of the original services provided by either CERT or Bord Failte. According to Quinn, “they were right for their time but we had to move on in order to meet the emerging needs of a more professional industry. If we were to stand still as a development agency, we’d become redundant pretty quick”.

Also, very little remains of all the various regional tourism bodies that were once dotted around the country and which Quinn has now incorporated within Failte Ireland. “When we began I think there were eleven tourism bodies in all south of the border. We reduced that to

management

just two organisations, achieving significant savings along the way and putting in place a more fit for purpose support service for the industry. Some might think that two agencies is still one too many and I’d probably agree”.

When Quinn took on the Failte role it was a time of strong growth for the industry – a situation that mirrors the circumstances the next CEO will find on taking charge. “That’s the nature of tourism, ebbing and flowing with its highs and lows, and different pressure points. We have operated through boom, bust and now recovery but, throughout our existence, we have had to continually reinvent ourselves to pivot to a, sometimes sudden, changing tourism environment.

“Over the course of the last several years we have changed utterly in terms of the services we provide, and that is a good thing as state agencies need to always be ahead of the curve in recognising challenges and also remaining flexible enough to adjust to unforeseen pressure”.

Quinn is particularly proud of how Fáilte Ireland quickly reshaped itself during the economic downturn when “a fundamental readjustment was needed to ensure we could assist as many struggling tourism businesses as possible needing tailored supports just to stay afloat”.

That experience of change, readjustment and flexibility has made the Fáilte Ireland of today a very lean and a highly respected organisation. “We are now an incredibly focused outfit with a very deep understanding of key market segments and their needs and motivations when it comes to tourism and travel. Continually updating our market and channel insights and sharing them with our clients is a constant priority as at the end of the day we don’t own or sell anything, that’s all down to the skills and competitiveness of tourism businesses around the country.”

According to Quinn, the business of tourism is now more sophisticated and complex than before. Visitors are more discerning, seeking out truly authentic and ‘braggable’ holiday experiences. Through peer review platforms like Tripadvisor, they are very well informed, and have scant regard for official star ratings or Tourist Board marketing. Yet if satisfied with their stay they can be the most powerful and convincing of advocates for Ireland, sharing their treasured times on social media and recommending a trip to a friend.

Reflecting on his time in tourism, Quinn says “I have found every year that I have worked in this industry to be more rewarding than the previous one”, indicating much of this satisfaction being down to the evolving nature of his own role. In terms of his hopes for the future, Quinn is optimistic but is keen to see a more sustainable growth model throughout the commercial end of the industry.

He cites recent double digit growth rates as not sustainable longer-term and, in fact, with BREXIT our fortunes could turn quite suddenly in our nearest and largest market. Mainland European and North American markets, he believes, will remain incredibly important to Ireland and will underpin any growth over the medium term.

As for the new and developing markets, he says that they are too important in of terms of growth potential to ignore but Ireland Inc. need to be absolutely clear about its focus and approach to developing business there. Awareness of Ireland is pretty low as you might expect in emerging markets and as a small destination Ireland has fairly limited resources to invest. Not surprisingly he would favour a laser focus as opposed to a shotgun approach.

On the supply side, he cites labour supply, pressures on hotel capacity and competitiveness generally as issues which could constrain tourism’s future growth. Contrary to popular belief there aren’t magic bullets to solve these issues overnight but the industry as a whole must remain vigilant on offering good value for money and excellent service.

For the remaining months of this year, Shaun Quinn now looks to see out the remainder of his term ensuring that the culture of innovation and continuous improvement he has strived to inculcate for over the years will be maintained and he hopes expanded upon in future.

“I believe the Fáilte Ireland ‘share price’ is currently very healthy and I think the organisation is in a strong position to support the industry to meet any unforeseen challenges down the road. I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with many incredibly talented and energetic teams in Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland and they are valuable assets to have in any industry.”

This explains why Failte Ireland now invests so much of it efforts in helping to bring exciting visitor experiences to market (€180m invested on Quinn’s watch) and ensuring Irish tourism businesses can compete with the best in class online.

As the tourism tide began to turn in recent years, Quinn drew on his marketing experience with Bord Bia to launch a new experience brand strategy in an effort to tackle the “green desert” perception which he believes has stifled Irish tourism’s efforts for too long . “Our research was indicating that, although there was strong awareness internationally of Ireland as a holiday destination, there was also a very poor level of understanding of what Ireland actually had to offer visitors. This was and remains a very real obstacle to converting interest in Ireland to actually choosing and booking Ireland.

“We set about overcoming this challenge by developing compelling reasons to visit – new highly motivating brands of scale and singularity, like the Wild Atlantic Way, that by themselves could achieve standout in a noisy competitive marketplace. A key learning for us from ‘The Gathering’ in 2013 was that that if you build an attractive offering of scale and tailor it to and needs of your target market segment you can succeed. The Gathering was a success”. Our new brands are catching on fast. The Wild Atlantic Way is becoming incredibly popular, Ireland’s Ancient East is building momentum and we are rebranding Dublin in a very fruitful partnership with local businesses. But this strategy is only in its infancy and to be successful it will require sustained investment in marketing and experience development.”

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industry focus

IS THE PRICE RIGHT? the average room rate was €112 (up from €97 in 2014)- or €20 per room night more than the national average. The survey also shows that Dublin hoteliers earn twice as much pre-tax profit per available room at €16,913 in the capital against €8,053 on the western seaboard.

Frank Corr looks at the danger of rising prices as tourism recovers.

Tourism is rocking.

Visitor numbers are soaring, industry confidence is high and it looks like the industry will continue to grow in 2017.

So what could go wrong?

Well- we could repeat the folly of the Celtic Tiger years, allowing hotel rates and menu prices to soar to the point of consumer resistance. If that happens we are indeed poor learners.

The word from the industry however is that so far, there has been little in the line of resistance to rates from tour operators and conference organisers, apart from the initial moaning which is an integral part of the ritual dance around making deals every year.

Hoteliers are understandably shy about sharing detailed price information, but the outcome of a series of informal conversations at Connect 16, indicates that rates for the coming year will be broadly in line with 2016, apart from operators along the Wild Atlantic Way who have leveraged somewhat better yields. ..and of course Dublin, which is ‘another kettle of fish’. There is nothing to indicate that Dublin hotel rates will stabilise any time soon, for the good reason that demand exceeds supply for most of the year and virtually no capacity has been added in recent years.

Several projects are in the pipeline, but it will be 2018 at the earliest before these have any impact on occupancy or room rates. The tourism recovery is not however evenly spread and some hoteliers are still selling bednights at close to recession rates.

The national picture is illustrated in the Crowe Horwath Annual Ireland Hotel Survey for 2015 which shows that the average room rate for hotels across Ireland now stands at €92.15, up from €82.29 in 2014.Along the West Coast it is €74.20.

The survey also shows that business is picking up in hotels across the country, with the national average room occupancy level standing at 71.1% last year, up from 67.8% in 2014.

Then there is Dublin. The survey shows that in 2015 average occupancy for hotels in Dublin was 80.7% while

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Room rates are not the only yardstick for hotel profits o. Crowe Horwath points out that hotels outside of Dublin gain more from spa, leisure centre and night club income than do those in the capital. And they also do well on weddings which have ‘bounced back’ .

The price of a hotel room in Ireland therefore is likely to rise in the short term because of a shortage in Dublin and a strong needs to improve yields elsewhere.

Accommodation of course is only one element in the spend of visitors to Ireland. Before they sleep here, they must get here, and transport is a significant element in the total visit cost. In this area there is good news with most airlines saying that they will cut fares next year , partly because of record low fuel prices and also because of intense competition. Access to Ireland has never been better with passenger numbers through Dublin airport soaring and other ports doing reasonably well. Airlines to-day are desperate to fly at full or near-full capacity and are happy to price their seats to achieve this objective.

Of greater concern therefore is the cost of dining and drinking which is perceived as being high by most visitors. Ireland has the highest rates of tax on alcohol in the EC and this situation is unlikely to change, so no great improvement can be expected. Restaurant prices, on the other hand, have fallen considerably in recent years, thanks to intense competition everywhere and a more value-conscious customer. The RAI and other industry bodies claim that the preferential 9% VAT rate on tourism services has helped keep menu prices down and that the concession (introduced as a temporary measure in 2009), should be made a permanent feature of our tax system. Successive Ministers for Finance and Ministers for Tourism have retained the concessionary rate, but this year, Patricia King, general secretary of ICTU has raised a powerful dissenting voice, suggesting that the 9% rate be scrapped, because no benefits have accrued to workers. She claims that the rate has not influenced prices but has been used to enhance the profits of restaurant businesses. It will be interesting to see how Minister Michael Noonan reacts to this claim in the up-coming Budget.

Restaurateurs also face another small increase in the Minimum Wage while the market rate for chefs in particular has soared because of an acute shortage. Indeed the RAI claims that up to 5,000 additional chefs will be needed by the sector by 2020.

A return to the standard VAT rate would add considerably to the costs of restaurants, hotels and other tourism services, but its influence on pricing is uncertain in sectors in which competition is the main driver of what can be charged.

As matters stand, visitors are quietly satisfied with the Value for Money (VFM) aspect of an Irish holiday or business trip. Failte Ireland research shows that 80% of visitors say that all-round value for money is an important element in choosing Ireland as a holiday destination. In the most recent Visitor Survey(2015), only 5% of respondents gave their

industry focus holiday a ‘poor value for money’ rating and this key figure has fallen steadily over the past decade. Neither were visitors euphoric about value, with just 18% giving a ‘Very Good’ rating. The majority were in the middle ground with 45% rating value as ‘good’ and 31% rating it as ‘Fair’. This scenario indicates that the industry cannot be at all complacent in pitching its prices, a point made continuously this year by Failte Ireland ceo Shaun Quinn. Typical was a comment made following the most recent Tourism Barometer report which showed high levels of optimism within the industry.

‘It is vitally important that everyone in tourism keeps a firm grip on those things we can control, particularly competitiveness and our value for money’, he said.

The most significant factor in the pricing of the Irish tourism product over the next few years, will be the exchange rate between sterling and the euro. Since the result of the Brexit vote, the value of the UK currency has fallen from 1.31 to the euro to a current rate of 1.15. Most commentators expect sterling to fall further as the Brexit process continues. Already the purchasing power of UK visitors (including those from Northern Ireland), has diminished and although there is as yet no evidence of a decline in visitor numbers, those who come here will be getting less for their pound if prices remain constant. It is also true however that sterling will also buy less throughout the Eurozone and also in the US where sterling has declined against the dollar. Ireland will not therefore be at a disadvantage compared to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, France, USA or other popular holiday destinations for British tourists, but weak sterling could have a negative influence on the numbers of Britons prepared to travel abroad or could also see them opt for cheaper accommodation and meals. It is yet too early to make a judgement on how the UK market will perform in the short to medium term. The full implications

of Brexit will not be known for several years and indeed there is some speculation that the UK may have a second referendum on any deal that emerges, which could conceivably result in the whole project coming to nothing. In the meantime , the hospitality industry here and throughout the Eurozone, will be under some pressure to examine its pricing structures in order to retain its share of what is likely to be a smaller UK visitor market.

In the final analysis, remaining competitive in all markets remains the key to sustained growth for Irish tourism.

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tourism ireland

A taste of Ireland at ‘Flavours’ tourism workshop in London Thirty-eight Irish tourism enterprises took part in Flavours of Ireland 2016, Tourism Ireland’s annual B2B workshop in London. Now in its 14th year, Flavours of Ireland aims to grow our share of the huge worldwide travel market. Attended by representatives of top UK inbound tour operators, who are responsible for putting in place the arrangements for holidaymakers to Britain and Ireland from all over the world, this event was an excellent opportunity for the participating Irish tourism providers to highlight and sell their product to these important decision-makers and to encourage them to feature the island of Ireland in their 2017 holiday programmes.

Tourism Minister Patrick O’Donovan; John Callelly, Teeling Whiskey Distillery; Lauren Folbigg, Intercruises Shoreside and Port Services; and Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, at Flavours of Ireland 2016.

French connection for the island of Ireland Ten Irish tourism companies joined Tourism Ireland at IFTM Top Resa in Paris.

IFTM (International French Travel Market) is the largest travel trade exhibition in France, attracting more than 30,000 visitors, including influential tour operators and travel agents, as well as business tourism decision-makers and leading French travel media. The key themes on this year’s Ireland stand at IFTM included our connections with Star Wars and Game of Thrones. Pictured are Caroline Cusack and Melanie Rogé, both Abbey Tours, with Véronique Viale, Plein Vent Voyages.

'Driving' tourism in

NYC

Ireland ads have been appearing on taxis in New York this autumn, reminding prospective American visitors to ‘take the road less traveled’ in Ireland. Pictured are Deirdre O’Brien and Alison Metcalfe, both Tourism Ireland.

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tourism ireland

Hitting the road ‘Down Under’ Tourism Ireland, together with 13 Irish tourism companies, is preparing to undertake a week-long sales mission to Australia and New Zealand. The sales mission – which takes place 14-21 November – will target some 300 influential travel agents, tour operators, airlines and travel journalists in the key cities of Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

The objective is to engage with travel professionals in the four cities who are currently selling the island of Ireland, or who have strong potential to sell the destination – and to encourage them to extend their Ireland offering, or to include Ireland for the first time, in their future brochures and programmes. The island of Ireland has seen very good growth in visitors from Australia and New Zealand over the past few years, with a record 200,000+ people visiting in 2015.

Patricia Doe, Wilderness Ireland; Sofia Hansson, Tourism Ireland; David Wardell, Irish National Stud and Gardens; Dervla O’Neill, Epic Ireland; Genevieve Sheehan, Sheenco Travel; Esther Dobbin, Giant’s Causeway; and (front, l-r) Wayne Jenkins, Extreme Ireland; John Hehir, Dromoland Castle; Fiona Delahunty, Griffin Group Hotels; and Martin Brassil, CIE Tours International, at the briefing in Dublin for Tourism Ireland’s sales mission to Australia and New Zealand.

Selling Ireland in the Middle East Tourism Ireland and eight Irish tourism operators took part in a major sales blitz in the UAE and India, as part of a sales mission to grow tourism from these rapidly developing markets. With approximately 90,000 visitors from the UAE and India travelling to Ireland in 2015, Tourism Ireland is committed to growing tourism from these markets further in 2017. Pictured in Dubai are Shaz Peshimam, Emirates; Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland; Star Wars character ‘Luke Skywalker’; Khalid Bel Jaflah, Emirates airline; and Aisling McDermott, Tourism Ireland.

Targeting 3+ million Britons for autumn breaks in Ireland Tourism Ireland is partnering with Time Out in London this autumn – reaching its 1.1 million ‘social energiser’ readers with various articles about Dublin. Digital promotions are targeting a further 550,000 people, through a special Dublin section on Time Out online, as well as through blog posts and email marketing. Various articles all about Ireland are also appearing in the Saturday travel section of the Telegraph this autumn, reaching about 1.1 million readers; the themes of the articles include Dublin and Ireland’s Ancient East. And, a further 32 Ireland articles are appearing in the Telegraph online, reaching some 750,000 readers.

Article on Dublin in Time Out in London.

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IFSA news

Bord Bia Foodservice Seminar 2016 -

SPACE FILLING UP AT CATEX 2017 CATEX, Ireland’s largest and most influential foodservice event, CATEX, is taking place again on the 21st – 23rd February 2017 at the RDS, Dublin. There has been

a strong response to the event with many looking to expand their presence for 2017. Running for more than half a century CATEX is Ireland’s definitive foodservice event gathering hundreds of suppliers, stakeholders and competitors at the RDS Simmonscourt to meet, inspire, entertain and most importantly, do business with over 10,000 top hospitality operators and food service buyers. Over 10,000 visitors attended CATEX 2015, with 96% finding it very worthwhile and, 91% of visitors saying they will visit again in 2017. This show is a must for all in the foodservice and catering sector and preferential booking rates are available to IFSA members.

Contact margaret@eventhaus.ie today for more information.

Glana Controlled Hygiene Limited Intensive Solid Dishwash developed by Glana along with our bespoke service gives you the following; • 5 actions in one wash, Cleans, Destains, Protects, Polishes, Reduces Lime.

• Preventative maintenance checks on your dishwashing equipment.

• Managed cost in use.

• Complete staff training to help you reduce your Dishwashing and Labour costs.

• Fully serviced and installed dispensing equipment, supplied free on loan.

Call us today on 051 448343 or 01 9058907 for a free no obligation dishwasher health check, or visit our website www.glana.ie.

Reduced rates for IFSA Members

Bord Bia’s annual foodservice seminar is taking place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Wednesday, 2nd November We are delighted to offer a reduced rate of €80.00 to IFSA members (regular rate €100). Please note that this numbers at this rate are limited, so book now by contacting louise.mcloughlin@ifsa.eu.com to avoid disappointment. More detailed programme information is available on the Bord Bia Website Events Pages.

PEL Waste Reduction Equipment

PEL Waste Reduction Equipment is recognized as a leading innovator in waste reduction bringing many novel solutions to the Hospitality market including the patented ‘Jaws’ range of bottle crushers.

PEL’s range of glass bottle crushers reduce waste glass volume by a factor of 5:1 or up to 80% and in turn, overall costs of waste glass disposal.

There are four products in the bottle crusher range spanning the BB01 under-the-counter machine to the BB06 ‘Mega Jaws’ product which can crush up to 4000 bottles per hour.

The ‘Baby Jaws’ machine is the only under-counter bottle crusher of its kind and crushes waste glass bottles as they are poured or returned from the floor. The bottles are fed individually to the machine and the crushed glass or cullet is collected in a tote box located in the base of the machine.

The BB01 measures 840mm (H) x 600mm (W) x 600mm (D), requires a single phase 220V/50Hz power supply and will be ready for use once installed in the bar.

The larger ‘Mega Jaws’ glass bottle crushers are usually located back-of-house and will reduce waste glass bottle volume by a factor of 5:1 or up to 80%. Specifically the built-in filtration unit on the BB06 makes it suitable for confined areas or areas where there is limited air circulation available.

All PEL Waste Reduction Equipment products are designed, developed and manufactured in Ireland, meet with the ISO9001 Quality Standard and are CE Certified.

Massey Catering Equipment Ltd

is a leading supplier of Commercial Catering Equipment based in Northern Ireland. Established over Thirty years ago, Massey Catering Equipment is conveniently located in Maghaberry Village, Moira, close to the M1 Motorway.

From our well stocked showroom we supply a diverse range of catering products including stainless steel requirements. We have a facility for designing and recommending the most suitable equipment for your resources. Using the latest CAD (computer aided design) we aim to provide you with an accurate, detailed and well balanced kitchen design at no cost to you.

We offer a friendly and reliable service by our own team of engineers who are experts in their own field. We know that peace of mind is only a phone call away, so an engineer will be available should any emergency arise. Our engineers are Gas Safe registered which ensures the equipment you have purchased will be installed safely and to the Gas Safe high standard.

We welcome the opportunity to show you examples of our work and to discuss how we can serve you.

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IFSA news NevPak Packaging Innovation Group

Managing Your Cash Security Managing cash security has proven to be problematic for many Hoteliers / Vintners. Every effort to prevent theft at some time gets frustrated, due to busy periods where it is impossible to skim cash at the same regular intervals or if the safe key holder is absent from the premises.

Several solutions are available to assist, but a proven product that is available is

“Safe-linK” The Cash Security Solution

“Safe-linK”, designed and manufactured by Advanced Pneumatic Technology Ltd. (A.P.T.) in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin is a modern and secure way of transporting cash in-house from the point of sale directly into a locked safe in a secure part of the building.

“The journey takes just a few seconds …. but the peace of mind lasts forever” What are the benefits?

• Cash is removed regularly and in smaller amounts • Reduce risk of external and internal robberies • Key holder not required on premises for deposits • Can be connected to most existing safes Who uses “Safe-linK”?

Hotels, Off Licence, Pubs, Restaurants, Convenience Stores, Supermarkets, Petrol Retailers, Department Stores, in fact all have one thing in common – Cash Security.

“Safe-linK” systems are installed in over 1200 outlets throughout Ireland and connected to a wide range of safes with insurance cash rating between €3K and €125K.

PanVas has an integrated closing feature allowing snacks to be quickly pre-packaged and put in the shelf ready for sale. No compromises in the presentation of your products! This packaging allows you to display your delicious snacks with maximum visibility as if they were not yet packaged. The transparent panorama window also guarantees a longer shelf-life for your products Special features: • Quick and easy packaging process • due to integrated closing feature • More speed at point-of-sale with pre-packed snacks • Longer shelf-life standing times, less waste • Large window for maximum • product visibility • No-mess consumption with • proven tear-off perforation

What’s your colour?

Reach Retail Services now provide a full range of innovative packaging products including the Rap and Panvas brands at the most competitive prices.

Rap has a range of different products suitable for hot and chilled food items such as sandwiches, Paninis, Tortillas, and Baguettes, pastries, burgers, sausage rolls and savouries.

Special features include: Enhanced customer satisfaction thanks to ergonomic functionality Excellent branding opportunities Flat pack – so you save on transportation and storage costs Combines light weight paper or film and profiled carton board to form receptacle Made from sustainable materials

• • • • •

SnackUps and EllaCup are also available and are becoming hugely popular in the food to go industry.

Whether it’s online, by e-mail or through our call centre, a Reach representative is available to respond to your needs to ensure you receive the personalised service you deserve – we’ll take care of your consumable requirements so you can concentrate on your own customers!

Selected product lines are available for personalisation with your own logo and identity, while standard products come in traditional white or our attractive ‘It’s So Fresh’ branding- ask your sales representative for details.

Next Day Delivery Available

Having the right finishing touches for tables can make a huge difference to how a plate looks on the table. Tork believe that the colour of aspects such as napkins are small but vitally important details that help hugely to deliver a great guest experience. Tork have undertaken a cutting-edge experiment using the latest brain wave technology, to determine how customers in a dining environment react to different colours and how colour impacts their experience. The ground-breaking experiment saw guests experience eight different environments, in eight different colours, spanning walls and floors, together with furniture and tableware.

The sophisticated brain wave technology measured brain waves and heart rate, with the results showing clear and reoccurring patterns in moods and emotions provoked by different colours. The results also indicated the suitability of different colours across varying hospitality experiences, ranging from a romantic date to a formal business lunch.

Each of the guests participating in the study were equipped with an EEG recorder headset, with each spending five minutes in each of the rooms. During each session the EEG device recorded five observations of brain wave data per second, resulting in some 1,500 brain waves observations per room and person.

To support the research, Tork have created a complete new range of table top products such as napkins, tableware, dispenser napkins and custom print solutions - available in a unique colour palette of 20 colours. The colours have been selected based on the most popular choices of customers.

For further information about Tork® visit http://www.tork.co.uk/about/whytork/horeca/ or call +(0) 1 793 0150

For more information or to place an order, please contact: (023) 8858107 custservices@reachgroup.ie www.reachretailservices.ie H&RT OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016

21

IFSA news

2016 Edition of Country Fayre at #Killenure

The second edition of the Country Fayre at Killenure took place in the stunning grounds of 16th century Killenure Castle, Co. Tipperary, home of the Killenure Dexter Beef. Suppliers from Ireland and Europe gathered at the Castle to showcase their amazing and unique products to the guests, chefs came from all over Ireland to get a taste of what La Rousse Foods has to offer. From Irish oysters to pickled herring, Irish lamb, purple potatoes to organic edible flowers and artisan Japanese products to name only a few, producers were arranged following a Tasting Trail for guests to meet them and taste their amazing and diverse products. Guests were greeted with a demonstration by Chef Kevin Thornton who showed his skills on Open-Flame cooking, inviting people to join him for an Ethiopian Banquet, while roasting a goat in the ruins of the old Castle. Beside the producers, Euro-Toques had a demonstration Marquee hosting workshops and talks on varied subject such as Foraging, Irish Charcuterie or Gluten-Free products among other things.

Chef Network was also present to promote their ever-growing activity with chefs from around Ireland. JP McMahon presented his Food on the Edge Symposium while MSK’s Vicky Endersen was regaling chefs with molecular gastronomy demonstrations.

SAVE TIME AND MONEY with ICE..!

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CIA Ireland

Matthew Algie

Leading roaster and commercial coffee supplier, Matthew Algie, has been supplying the hospitality industry with fresh, tasty and ethical coffee for 150 years. More than just a supplier, they understand the industry, making them the perfect partner for businesses looking to keep the coffee flowing.

Established in Glasgow in 1864, the company supplies its coffee to cafés, bars, restaurants, hotels and businesses across the UK and Ireland.

Obsessed with making the freshest, tastiest coffee, Matthew Algie know how to roast and pack to perfection. But this is never at the expense of the people or places that produce it, after all this is the company that created the world’s first triple certified coffee - approved by the Fairtrade Foundation, Rainforest Alliance and Organic Food Federation.

Whilst all their coffee is ethically sourced and traceable, their hand-roasted coffees are sourced directly from oneoff micro-lots from individual farmers, often an entire crop.

Matthew Algie also serves up first class business support; as a one-stop shop, they can kit customers out with everything they need from the best beans to the right machines to suit their business. As well as providing barista training at one of their coffee schools in Glasgow, Dublin and London, they offer industry insights, support with equipment selection, menu development and advice to help drive sales.

Their sister brand, Espresso Warehouse, provides ‘everything but the coffee’ with award-winning Suki teas, hot chocolate, syrups and snacks - plus a wide range of café accessories and essentials.

http://www.matthewalgie.com/

Da Mimmos restaurant in Dublin’s north strand has recently been voted Dublin’s number one Pizza restaurant. Wonderful culinary craft combined with energy efficient Palux equipment from the C.I.A. Is the secret of Da Mimmos’ success. Wood fired ovens also add authentic flavours to Pizza Boscailo and Capriciosa. Contact Enda O Donoghue at the CIA at 015179088 for further details.

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hotels

Two of the best Brothers Paddy and Tommy Redmond are the owners of Amber Springs Hotel and Ashdown Park, two premises that deliver excellence in food, accommodation, service and facilities. While both in Gorey, North Wexford the properties target different audience segments.

The Amber Springs Hotel is a family-friendly resort-style location that specialises in family holidays, weddings and special events with its sister hotel the Ashdown Park focused toward families, couples, over 50s and naturally weddings.

Paddy and Tommy Redmond have diversified into a new market of hospitality and farming, having a majority of their previous experience in the construction industry. “We learnt a lot in the last 10-15 years, initially the hospitality sector was a big culture shock and change but we have certainly grown to understand the business at this stage. Essentially we have a good team at every level and that is the most important factor.” Paddy admits.

In the village of Craanford, just outside Gorey, is where the brothers have their own farm, called Redmond Farm. The team includes Tommy Redmond Jnr, Farm Manager, Gerry Giggins, an International Beef Production Consultant, alongside a full-time horticulturist Andrea McCann, who ensures the daily delivery of vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips, carrots, herbs and greens to both hotels.

Teaming up Redmond Farm to the two hotels was a solution to a problem that Paddy Redmond faced, which was inconsistency.

“We found the meat coming into the hotels was so inconsistent that we decided to produce our own beef which we could manage and guarantee consistency. It’s all under two years of age, while prior to that it was mixed. Every year we buy in around 500 Angus Heifer calves. We then take them through to 22 to 24 months, culling on average ten per week. Alongside that we wanted to make the farm profitable and supply 100% of the beef provided to guests to come from our own farm. Our tagline is from “Farm gate to Hotel plate” and that’s what we are doing at the moment.”

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hotels

Paddy isn’t shy to admit that the farming operation isn’t fully organic, however, no harmful pesticides are used on the vegetables and minerals are the only additives brought in for the cattle. All wheat, maize, beet and silage are produced on site. “We’re buying the calves, finishing them completely, and growing most of our own ingredients to feed the cattle.

It is unique in that sense. As far as we are aware it is the biggest beef programme of its kind within the hospitality sector currently.” Paddy reveals. With things looking so well, continued expansion for the business is always on Paddy Redmond’s mind. “We were looking at opening our own farm shop to supply our vegetables and maybe a butcher element to sell some of our meat as well. We haven’t progressed on that yet but it’s something on our minds for the future.”

I’m delighted we haven’t had the two yet or else the team would feel there is no room for improvement but I know there is room for improvement& we will get there!,” Eibhear declares.

Eibhear Coyle is the General Manager of Amber Springs Hotel.

With a world of knowledge in the cheffing industry, he has managed global fine dining in locations in his own right & with multiple Michelin Star chefs in The Savoy & Lancaster London, Salzburg, Kos, The Four Seasons Melbourne, with Paul Rankin in Belfast, and The massive Atlantis & cove resorts in The Bahamas. Finishing up on a project in London, Eibhear was married with one child and one on the way; with the strong desire to raise his children in Ireland and that’s what brought him to Gorey, Wexford. After much interviewing, Amber Springs Hotel was the perfect fit for Eibhear. “I met the lads and thought this is the one, these lads are progressive, straight talking, ambitious& very similar to me. They simply want the best and there is a lot of opportunity here to grow.

I feel I could make a lot of improvement and they took a chance with me.” Eibhear expresses.

A solid marketing plan is another result of obvious growth for Amber Springs Hotel. Approaching the market from an early stage including use of social media has allowed them to reach their target audience, as well as a strong emphasis on returning guests. This strategy has simultaneously built up the brand’s name giving them status to the likes of Kelly’s.

With only two years at Amber Springs this July, Eibhear Coyle has contributed to revamping & redesign of the BBG bar & grill, designed & built the authentic Italian Garden restaurant, FARINA, which has been a huge hit with guests for classics such as wood-fired pizzas, anti-pasta and pasta dishes, redesigned the custom Coffee dock space and most recently FARM Steakhouse, which opened in on March 11th 2016. The unique concept is an adult only restaurant, along with a majority of produce including vegetables and all Angus beef being sourced from Redmond Farm. “This was an underutilized but beautiful residents bar. We are a family resort and there are enough options throughout it if you are a family to dine for two or three days. However, I wanted something that if I was going away with my family, I would put the two kids with a babysitter and then eat somewhere quiet. You can spend a few quid and have something great!”

The formula appears to be a success as only one month into the new operation; FARM Steakhouse secured their first rosette. “We are probably three points off two rosettes.

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On a busy day there could be up to 80 staff working at Amber Springs Hotel, a popular location for weddings and communions, as well as family days out. “My goal was to always develop this into a resort that when you come here, you don’t have to leave and there is obviously a bottom line reason for that. I want people to come here, have an amazing time and there be enough options for things to do. If you are here three nights, I want you eating here at least two dinners, lunch every day and the coffee dock, the kids can experience the kids club& amber park. There is a huge amount going on here.” Eibhear Coyle is optimistic for the future, believing that “the market has turned and people are a confident to live a little”

Although setting a benchmark between the two is important to Eibhear.

“Everyone knows about Kelly’s and it has a great long established name and I want our resort to be to have the

hotels same presence in the market” he confidentially states. “We will to cement what we have, look at how this summer rolls because it’s an entirely different product to what it was last summer. I want to see what works and what isn’t working. With return guests are coming back every year, I need to keep the product fresh and evolving. Our Northern market is very strong because we have had some amazing repeat custom & word of mouth is very strong, the link from the North to Gorey now is so quick with the improved motorway links - the likes of Armagh is only 140 minutes away!, Dublin is also a key market for us with us only being 50 mins from the M50”.

Ashdown Park Hotel, situated on The Coach Road in Gorey, is the second hotel of the Redmond mini-empire, which accommodates 79 bedrooms. Paul Finegan is the General Manager at Ashdown Park and has been with the group for 3 years, having had over 20 years previous experience in hotels in England and Ireland, from the renowned Merrion Hotel to most recently The Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore and The Cliff Townhouse on St Stephen’s Green. I was lucky enough to spend 5 years with the hugely exciting group and team that is The Cliff Collection. The opportunity arose to work with the Redmond’s which is an equally exciting project, a Farm gate to Hotel plate operation on a scale that is definitely the biggest in the country.

The farm is only 10 minutes from the hotels and this means a very low carbon footprint.

The facilities at The Ashdown Park include two restaurants, both with outdoor spaces ideal for civil ceremonies in the summer time, a lobby coffee dock selling farm produce, a pool, leisure centre and newest addition are two treatment rooms with a focus on Skin care – The Skin Gym, beauty treatment rooms.

The Ball Room is located on the middle floor and can fit 350-400 guests for a wedding or gala dinner and up to 800 people over 4 different meeting / conference spaces. Staff figures fluctuate between 80 during low season and up to 130 during the peak and are predominately local people of Gorey. Up skilling staff at Ashdown Park Hotel is always a priority to Paul, to ensure facilities are being utilized to their full potential and guests experience the best that Ashdown Park has to offer. “It’s has become difficult to get staff in general because the industry has changed. The apprenticeship programs are slowly being

developed. It is difficult to get qualified chefs; there is also no program around waiting staff and bar staff. It is something that the industry is looking at closely and something that has to be addressed.

Gorey is only one hour from Dublin with the completion of the new M11 motorway and Paul Finegan gives praise to the increase in tourism coming from Northern Ireland particularly. ”I sit on the Visit Wexford Committee. We have been very engaged with ‘Ireland’s Ancient East’ as it’s been rolled out and we see the benefits of working together as a county to drive inbound traffic – particularly the idea that we need to change the East of the country to become more of a touring zone and less of a transit zone. We are only 6 minutes from many sandy beaches and our offering differs from the Amber Springs as it’s built around partnering with all the wonderful local attractions and activities that North Wexford and the county at large has to offer.

From Pony trekking on the beach to water sports, from pet farms and zip lining in Courtown adventure park to days in Wells House and Ferns Castle. ‘’Create your own Adventure’’ is our signature package.

The Ashdown Park has two restaurants; The Rowan Tree is the more formal contemporary dining offering and the Ivy Bar and Café the more laidback and casual of the two. Chris Farrell, Director of Kitchen Operations, openly reveals that when he first started at the hotel five year ago, his reservations to offer a Carvery lunch but soon realised the importance of the hotel catering to the wants and needs of the local market.

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hotels With year on year growth we have just completed refurbishment of 60bedrooms. Last year we refurbished the Rowan Tree Restaurant and introduced original art from local Artist Oonagh Latchford. We also refurbished 3 meeting rooms themed around the famous Wexford designer Eileen Gray. Chris Farrell is also busy creating his own signature products that include chutneys, oils and dressings; The Coffee Dock has also expanded its offers to now include these products for retail.

As of now, Paul Finegan can reveal that the hotel’s occupancy is significantly ahead of where they were last year, with food sales hugely increased, both positive indicators of growth. It is safe to say that the current strategies and a dedicated team that owners Paddy and Tommy Redmond have implemented to run this unique organisation are a success. Improvements to their vegetables and beef and hotel experience are two paramount goals they will strive to develop in order to attract new customers and attract returning guests.

One Farm, Two Hotels, One Vision Redmond Farm, supplies all of its beef to the Amber Springs and Ashdown Park Hotels in Gorey, The farm (and hotels) is owned by brothers Paddy and Tommy in Craanford just minutes from Gorey, North Wexford.

The Farm has just been nominated as a finalist, from a pool of 46,000 Irish farms, as one of 12 of the best beef producers in Ireland by Bord Bia as part of its Origin Green Sustainable Producer Awards.

Run in association with Teasgasc the awards are important to both bodies and reflective of the importance of Sustainability of Irish Beef Production.

The awards serve to award and promote the efficient production of quality Irish Beef and cattle for premium commercial markets.

Run every two years the Bord Bia award aim to reflect the exceptional performance by members of Bord Bia’s Beef Quality Assurance Scheme, that is, farmers that produce what the market demands in a natural, sustainable manner.

The Redmond Farm Beef programme is the biggest beef project of its kind in the hospitality sector. The farm manages a herd of over 900 Angus cattle and a 100% of the farms beef goes into the two hotel’s.

‘For us provenance is key, customers need to know the origin of the excellent quality of food we have on offer. It’s an exciting project and one we are very proud of.’ Paddy and Tommy Redmond A key focus for the farm is the continued reduction of their cattle carbon footprint with the cycle from farm to plate contained within a 10-15 mile radius, all of the feed is grown onsite and there is a parallel programme of monitoring for efficiencies in emissions, livestock health and performance and use of the land, foraging and natural resources, The farm is actively engaging in their carbon footprint programme.

There is great pride attached to the immense asset that the Redmond Farm offers the hotels, with a high proportion of the total carcasses being utilised in their restaurants. This quality and taste can be testified by anyone that has sampled a Redmond Farm steak or gourmet burgers. During the peak four-week period in summer, the hotels accommodate up to 11,000 guests and handle an average of an additional 15-20,000 visitors. These figures equate to a demand for approximately 50,000 meals with much of the raw material supplied directly from the farm to fork.

It is an extremely large and well-thought out project. The farm is the bedrock of the hotels and its an enterprise every member of the team are rightly very proud of.

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CDS Running Away with the show...

The Natural Health Expo took place in the RDS, Dublin on the 2nd – 3rd October 2016. The event organisers were delighted to gain the use of the Bunzl Catering Design Solution (CDS) Cooking Efficiency Kit in the live cooking demo’s. Celebrity Runner / Foodie Derval O’Rourke talked on her approach to food and how she makes eating tasty and healthy food accessible for everyone.

CDS Cooking Efficiency Kit is available to caterers for use at their off site events including exhibitions, demo’s, show cooking, promotions etc. The kit comprises of an induction self ventilating cooking range, refrigerated chefs table and counter top hot air cooking oven.

For availability of this kit please contact:

CDS office 048 3751 5548

Bunzl McLaughlin, 72 Cathedral Road, Armagh BT61 8AG, Northern Ireland T: 028 3751 1999 (NI)/048 3751 1999 (ROI) W: bunzlmclaughlin.com | E: bmlmarketing@bunzl.ie

Founder & Managing Director:​ Niamh O’Connor RD MINDI

Consultant Dietitian & Executive Nutritionist.

State-Registered with CORU & INDI

Nutrition Consultancy for the Hospitality Industry • Leading Service Provider • 23 Years’ Experience

www.NutriCount.ie

Based in Cork. Nationwide Service.

Email us! ​ niamh@nutricount.ie

• Highly Competitive Rates • Free no-obligation Consultation • Menu Calorie Counts • Health & Nutrition Claims • Allergen Labelling (EU Reg 1169/2011) • Associate Member of the Restaurants Association of Ireland since 2012.

10% discount for RAI members

Call us! ​​(021) 601 0786​​ Tweet us! ​ @NutriCount_IRL @CorkNutrition

design

O Donnell O Neill Design

Creative Interior Solutions

Old Spot Dublin

Graham O’Donnell is Co-Creative Director and Co-Founder O Donnell O Neill Design, An Interior Design Company who specialise in creative interior solutions for the demanding and highly competitive Hospitality sector.

Here, he discusses the growth of their firm over the past fifteen years and some key reasons for their success.

The Dublin based O Donnell O Neill Design was formed by Graham O’Donnell and Ann Marie O’Neill in 2001 and since inception has since grown to include a team of 12 Designers working from between their Dublin and Belfast design studios. Focusing mainly onHotel, Restaurant and Barinteriors has allowed the firm to build a high level of expertise in these specialist areas through work which has receivedboth commercial success and critical acclaim. Furthermore, this specific expertise has allowed them to work with some of the country’s most exciting and entrepreneurial operators across a dynamic and constantly changing sector.

Previous to establishing O Donnell O Neill, both Graham and Ann Marie had been involved at Director level with one the country’s leading Architecture and Interior Design firm, but with a desire to get back to having more involvement in the creative design aspect of the industry they decided to get back to their roots with a smaller design organisation. This allowed them to enjoy a more hands on approach and in the words of Graham, the opportunity to “create something really special” that would push the boundaries of creativity and interior design innovation.

Despite theircurrent Dublin base, many of the company’s initial key projects took place in Northern Ireland, “Over the years we had built up some good contacts in Belfast particularly, so some of our first projects were there and we had the opportunities to make our mark”, states O’Donnell pointing to the parallel emergence of his company coinciding with the emergence of the City as a desirable destination in the Hospitality Industry.

but you have to be able to sufficiently change and adapt ideas to suit an Irish context. The trick is coming up with innovative design solutions,new products and creative concepts that have longevity”.

Although many of the client design briefs for the Hospitality and Entertainment sectors require a minimum lifespan of between three and five years for some Interior projects before re-investment, Graham points to the growing potential for “design maintenance” as a means of boosting the longevity of previous builds. This pattern, along with a change to concept designs to a more understated and often humble approach industry wide is, according to him, a direct result of the previous downturn in the economy. Going forward, he sees many encouraging signs for the hospitality sector and full recovery of the tourism market, with Dublin becoming busier and some of his core clients having multiple projects on the drawing board at present. “Unfortunately we have to be very selective in the projects that we take on, because we can’t afford to let people down”, states Graham with respect to fielding new enquiries, believing that maintaining O Donnell O Neill’s quality of work is just as important as seeing their business expand the number projects in hand at any given time.

Of utmost importance for O Donnell ONeill is the synergy that exists between and the interior design and the other elements of an establishment that it must interact with. Avoiding any disassociation between form and function in this regard is best done, in the eyes of Graham, by ensuring that their concepts are built around the product offering and the customer needsas opposed to their design being the sole influence in the creation of a space. Therefore, in order for a client to ensure that they receive the best possible end product, the clarity of the client brief including details of the drink and food offer, the music policy all play an important part in influencing design solutions to create

On what sets the firm apart from other providers in the market, O’Donnell considers being a good listener, open to change along with having adiverse range of design influences as key.

“You have to be open to many external influences about the different ways things are done in the sector, from different types of food offers and styles of service and knowing how to interpret international best design standards to an Irish market”.

It is this adaptation in turn, is to what O’Donnell believes is key for in the domestic clients “Ireland is quite a specific market because it is not like the States or the UK where we also do a lot or work. You can be influenced in design from alljurisdictions

Odeon Dublin

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design the ideal ambiance. This approach also allows for the opportunity to layer different aspects of a premises together from the visual stimulation right through to the aroma of an open kitchen if appropriate. “We have completed a number of interior projects for Diageo at the Guinness Storehouse over the last five years, and every time I am on site, the smell of the roasted hops there makes you realise the importance of not only visual but also other sensory experiences and how they impact on the design”.

With a twenty-five-year tenure in designing interiors specifically for the Hospitality sector, Graham has seen many design trends pass, but many fundamentals of good design remain the same. “In Ireland, the consumer is generally quite hesitant about ‘cookie cut’ design and we tend to like places to socialize in that respond to a particular building environment, or geographic or demographic context”, states O’Donnell. In his opinion it is a key requirement to have a successful fusion between an interior layout for a restaurant or bar and its connection to the wider locale that it forms part of.

Extending beyond such fundamentals, O’Donnell believes that when it comes to being commercially viable in the hospitality trade in the long term,having a very clear identity and how this is articulated to the customer is key.

“For us brand is not about the name or logo, it’s about the complete package, the offering, the experience, the staff as well as the design”, with O’Donnell going on to note the successful alignment of these factors necessary to achieve the aforementioned synergy.

We have used Nirvana lighting for instance for bespoke lighting solutions and where possible also use Irish furniture companies such as Derry’s, Mc Guigans and John O’Connell Furniture, all well established and renowned for quality workmanship. Fit-out Contractors we work with include Pure Fit Out and MCAI because they understand the unique nature of Hospitality sector fit-outs.

“I would be very confident about the future of both our Design sector and Hospitality and Tourism in general”, states O’Donnell on discussion of the future proofing for his own company. As part of plansfor their business, sustainability of producing good work is key, with an emphasis on the further development of relationships with key forward thing clientsand reliable suppliers. New enquiries and new opportunities from existing clients will also form an important part of this development aided by the recruitment of the next generation of creative designers that can bring new energy, skills and ideasto the fold while also being provided with mentorship by the company. With many exciting projects currently being at embryonic stage, O Donnell O Neill will lookto build on their solid reputation of providing exciting and profitable solutions for Hospitality outlets throughout the country, continuing with a focus on high levels of consultation and communication with clients during the design development process.

You can Contact O Donnell O Neill Design at create@ooda.ie or @odonnelloneill

“You have to push the boundaries on new materials, furniture and lighting that’s available”, which according to Graham is key to remaining at the forefront of innovation in design and made even more pertinent in the area of interior design where openness to change is a necessity.

In addition to this, O Donnell O Neill have an established network of indigenous suppliers who share a similar ethos, with the company tending to use established supply partners who can be relied upon to deliver the expected quality and value throughout every step of a project.

Sophies Restaurant at The Dean

“Craft has a part to play in commercial interior design because it often humanises designs and makes them feels less corporate and I think that’s important for us”, states O’Donnell when pointing to the numerous tradesmen that his company have established working relationships over the years, many of whom belong family owned companies in business for several generations.

House Dublin

Angelinas Dublin

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The Ivy Dublin

Irelands project lighting supplier

For further information contact us at Unit 2A Ballyhimmon Business Park Castlecomer Co. Kilkenny

Tel: +353 (0) 56 440 0861 www.nirvanalighting.com

DESIGN O Donnell O Neill Architects

FURNITURE John O Connell Furniture Dunshaughlin Business Park, Co Meath

fáilte news

Conference Delegates Connect with Ireland’s Best Assets

Fáilte Ireland’s invited guests get A Breath of Fresh Air in Dublin ahead of Connect16

It was down to business last month as 70 of the world’s top international meeting planners, who bring international business worth over €210m annually to Ireland, toured the country ahead of the live event showcase Connect16. Fáilte Ireland as headline sponsor of the event took the opportunity to persuade these top international meeting planners to bring their future conference and incentive business to these shores. Valued at €669m a year Business Tourism is big business for Ireland and the Meet in Ireland team were also on hand at Connect16 to showcase the range of supports they have on offer. Find out more at www.meetinireland.com

Meeting planners take in the views in Killarney

Connect 16 delegates take in Ireland’s Ancient East with a bike ride in Kilkenny

Autumn Sales Blitz Begins Nearly 70 Irish tourism businesses from across the country attended the first of Fáilte Ireland’s autumn sales workshops in the Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel where they pitched their businesses to a group of 20 top British Coach & Group Operators.

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Patrick O Donovan, Fáilte Ireland Director of Strategic Development, Orla Carroll and Fáilte Ireland CEO, Shaun Quinn at the launch of the large capital grants scheme.

This workshop, which was organised by Fáilte Ireland, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland, is the first in a series of three sales workshops focusing on attracting more overseas visitors from key markets including the UK and Canadian markets.

Over 100 ‘Big Ideas’

Apply for Fáilte Ireland Capital Grants

(l-r) Darren Whelan, Airfield Estate with Amy Riddell and Cormac O’Suilleabhain, Tourism Ireland Great Britain at the GB Coach Workshop in Kilkenny.

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At least 113 projects from all around the country have applied for funding under the new Fáilte Ireland Grants Scheme for Large Tourism Projects launched last June. The scheme provides a pool of €65m in investment to develop new, or boost existing, tourism experiences and attractions across Ireland and will run from 2016-2020. More detail on the rolling grant scheme can be found at www.failteireland.ie

International Events Bring over €20m Boost for Ireland Over the summer Fáilte Ireland’s Event Ireland team has supported a number of international events which have delivered a significant boost for Ireland including the AerLingus American College Football Classic which brought an additional 25,000 international participants to Dublin, the World Archery Field Championships which came to Wicklow delivering a boost of €1/4 million and the GAA World Games which generated €600k in estimated revenue.

These is just a selection of events supported by Fáilte Ireland’s Event Ireland team who have already secured a further 15 international events for Ireland over the next five years. It is estimated that these events will bring an additional 22,000 international participants and spectators.

fáilte news

The World Archery Field Championships, which took place in Kilruddery House, delivered a €1/4million boost for Ireland

International Media Explore Ireland International media continue to arrive in Ireland to undertake bespoke itineraries allowing them to explore Ireland’s many treasures. Over the last few weeks influential media from across the globe have been exploring the food offering in the South East and the stories of Ireland’s Ancient East while Californian Bloggers, the Vagabrothers, arrived in Sligo to continue their Wild Atlantic Way experience.

Californian Bloggers, The Vagabrothers, leap into the Wild Atlantic Way

New Autumn Campaign for Wild Atlantic Way

Paul Flynn showcases Irish cuisine at The Tannery in Dungarvan

Overseas media take in the stories of Cork with Youghal Town Crier

Sliabh Liag is just one of a number of locations to feature on the new Wild Atlantic Way campaign

A new €1m autumn campaign for the Wild Atlantic Way called ‘Embrace the Wild Atlantic Way of Life’ has been running over the last number of weeks. The campaign ran across national and local radio, outdoor, online urging domestic consumers to switch off their smart phones, ignore all their emails and truly get away from it all with a break along the world’s longest defined coastal route.

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marketing

Fish Fish

and none to sea

The Wild Atlantic Way: A simple but brilliant concept involving branding something that has existed since millennia, cashing in on the contemporary trend of individual internet-researched travel, winding it up and watching it cut a massively successful presence through the European tourist marketplace.

But what about the Atlantic itself? It’s one thing to travel the road and marvel at the beauty of the Atlantic but what about delving into it and exploiting what’s in the Atlantic?

We have a pathetic record when it comes to exploiting the resources of the sea: we gave (not negotiated) away fishing rights to the richest fishing grounds in Europe; we have no adequate infrastructure or network of marinas to accommodate nautical tourism; in spite of progress over recent years, we still shy away from the fruits de la mer.

Even if just for the benefit of the increasing numbers of foreign tourists, should there not be an “edible” arm of the Wild Atlantic Way; a trail around our coastline where people could taste the fruits of the Atlantic as well as gazing upon its splendour?

Very often, blame is laid at the foot of our legislators – often overly zealous to ensure that every bylaw from Brussels is adhered to with fascistic efficiency.

If (as is evidently the case) the supply of fresh sea produce in our coastal towns is nothing like what it is in countries like Spain and France, is it really a case of paperwork making it difficult to feed a population starved of fresh seafood?

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marketing “The Wild Atlantic Way has been a huge success and a great initiative but the fish and shellfish along the way are some of the best in the world and they should be an integral part of the experience,” agrees chef Wade Murphy of the 1826 Adare. “You look at Rick Stein and Nathan Outlaw down in Cornwall and they always buy it from the boat. Why can’t we do it here? We create so much red tape here that it’s ridiculous.”

Although the well-documented red tape around fish supply is blamed for much of the difficulties in the customer getting access to fresh seafood, the answer is a bit more complex and appears to have as much to do with market forces a with stifling regulations.

In the meantime, the notion of promoting a coastal seafood trail has already begun: The official Wild Atlantic Way website makes a stab at this by incorporating a map of seafood restaurants and suppliers on their site, along with recommendations. Even more tangibly, BordIascaighMhara has launched an initiative in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland called “Taste the Atlantic – a Seafood Journey”.

This is a serious attempt at creating real links between seafood suppliers and restaurants so that fresh seafood will be more freely available along a coastal trail of sorts. It started in the Galway area on a pilot basis in the summer of 2015 and the aim is that it will be rolled out along the coast over the coming months.

“The ‘Taste the Atlantic – A Seafood Journey’ is there to allow people to taste some of the produce of the sea along the Wild Atlantic Way” says Ian Mannix at seafood retail and food service development at BordIascaighMhara.

Mannix says that there was no complication in getting both supplier and consumer involved: “There was good strong interest from the suppliers,” he says. “It seems to work well on both sides – chefs and local suppliers.”

“Sometimes, I think that it’s important for chefs to show the suppliers that there is a demand,” says Ian Mannix, “even if chefs are there as a group, it can help to show that the demand is there.”

When there are such strong well-established international chains of supply, many suppliers are, perhaps, inclined to concentrate on where the demand is strongest and the price, consequently, higher. Some species caught here can be found selling for up €10 per kilo higher in France, according to Paul Flynn of The Tannery, Dungarvan.

Although not located on the Wild Atlantic Way, his restaurant is on a coastal town and the struggle to get a supply of fresh fish is one that he’s very familiar with: the long distances that the fish have to come and the limited palette from which he has to choose for an increasingly discerning customer base.

It’s in dealing directly with day boats that the answer seems to lie. It’s every restaurateur’s dream to have such a service but it’s not always there.

“I’ve always been a supporter of the boats and getting fish fresh from them,” says Wade Murphy. “Cathal Sexton in Doonbeg is someone I’d working with for years. I’ve known him since we were in Doonbeg and we use them in Adare as well. I encourage people to buy more produce from the day boats and support the small fishermen. If 1826 was anywhere near a port, I guarantee you I’d be down buying directly from the boats.”

Only recently in Dungarvan, the existence of South Coast Seafood has meant that this dream has become a reality for restaurants in the area, providing a direct connection between the fisherman and the restaurant.

Even in coastal restaurants, however, the reality of the market comes down to Irish tastes: “In the summer, we find that demand is about 60% fish and 40% meat,” says Paul Flynn, “but as soon as the weather starts getting cold, it becomes about 75% meat and 25% fish.”

The comfort food factor is a critical one. We live in an age when it can seem so easy on paper to adapt our eating habits based on our last holiday.

When it comes down to it, however, the average Frenchman or Spaniard dreams of a seafood platter whereas his average Irish equivalent is more likely to visualize a plate of roast beef or lamb. Demand for meat still edges it over demand for fish in this country and that is something that will take time.

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great carvery

Kerry and Cork take all-Ireland Great Carvery of the Year Titles Nigel Owens layng down the law at Unilever great carvery awards

Pictured Overall winners & Provincial winners Munster:: - Great Carvery Pub of the Year: The Elm Tree, Glounthaune, Co. Cork.

LtoR: Jim Reeves, Customer Director Ireland at Unilever Food Solutions, Lorraine Walshe, The Elm Tree, International rugby referee Nigel Owens, Nigel Owens and Derek Walshe, The Elm Tree.

Mark Mc Carthy, Business Development Chef, Unilever, chatting with Nigel Owens Welsh International rugby referee

Great Carvery Hotel of the Year and provincial winner, Munster, The Heights Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry.

LtoR: Jim Reeves, Customer Director Ireland at Unilever Food Solutions, Bernard O’Riordan, Noreen O’Leary, International rugby referee Nigel Owens, Collette Andre and Ivor Woods, The Heights Hotel.

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The Heights Hotel in Killarney, Co. Kerry and The Elm Tree, Glounthaune, Cork have been named as the best hotel and pub in the country to serve carvery in this year’s KNORR Great Carvery of the Year competition.

The winners were unveiled by Welsh international rugby referee Nigel Owens at the KNORR Great Carvery of the Year Grand Final at the Herbert Park Hotel in Dublin.

Launched in 2010 by Unilever Food Solutions Ireland, KNORR Great Carvery of the Year is an all-island search for Ireland’s best pub and hotel carvery. Recent research carried out by Unilever found that carvery is still hugely popular with Irish people. Two in every three eat carvery meals on a regular basis, with 25% eating carvery at least once a week. The research also emphasised that pub and hotel food remain serious business with over 50 per cent of people choosing carvery as the preferred destination for a weekend family meal or Sunday lunch.

Speaking at the final, Business Development Chef at Unilever Food Solutions, Mark McCarthy said: “The standard of entry to the competition was amazing. All of the finalists in the competition proved to be of an exceptionally high standard in terms of value for money, food quality and customer service.

“I would like to thank The Heights Hotel in Killarney and The Elm Tree in Cork for their excellence in offering the best carveries in the country. Winning the award is much more than just a well-deserved nod for the hard work and dedication it takes to operate at the highest level in our industry, it is a reflection of the appreciation shown by customers as the public also has a say in deciding who goes through to the competition.”

Now in its seventh year, the nationwide KNORR Great Carvery of the Year competition is firmly established as the premier carvery competition on Ireland and Northern Ireland’s culinary calendar.

Pictured Provincial winners Ulster: The Market Yard, Derry- Great Carvery Pub of the Year: LtoR: Jim Reeves, Customer Director Ireland at Unilever Food Solutions, Anthony Doherty, The Market Yard, Betty Mclaughlin, The Market Yard, Welsh international rugby referee Nigel Owens and Lester Ferris, The Market Yard, Derry.

great carvery The Elm Tree in Cork scoops Best Pub Carvery award at KNORR Great Carvery of the Year The Heights Hotel, Kerry takes the crown for Best Hotel Carvery

Among the provincial winners in the Hotel of the Year category are Whitford House Hotel, Wexford, (Leinster); The Heights Hotel, Kerry (Munster); Hodson Bay Hotel, Roscommon, (Connacht) and The Silver Tassie Hotel, Donegal (Ulster).

In the Pub of the Year category, Beaumont House, Dublin (Leinster); The Elm Tree, Cork (Munster); The Merry Monk, Mayo, (Connacht) and The Market Yard, Derry (Ulster) claimed the provincial titles.

The two overall winning venues will each receive PR and Marketing support as well as a specially-commissioned wall plaque to inform customers that they are about to sit down and enjoy the best carvery in Ireland.

For more details, see www.greatcarvery.com.

Overall winners: Great Carvery Hotel of the Year: The Heights Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry Great Carvery Pub of the Year: The Elm Tree, Glounthaune, Co. Cork

Provincial winners: Great Carvery Hotel of the Year Leinster: Whitford House Hotel, Wexford Munster: The Heights Hotel, Kerry Connacht: Hodson Bay Hotel, Roscommon Ulster: The Silver Tassie Hotel, Donegal

Great Carvery Pub of the Year Leinster: Beaumont House, Dublin Munster: The Elm Tree, Cork Connacht: The Merry Monk, Mayo Ulster: The Market Yard, Derry

Pictured representatives of the winners and Provincial winners with Nigel Owens.

LtoR: Noreen O’Leary, The Height Hotel Killarney, EilishWhitty, Whitford House Hotel, Wexford, Ciaran Blaney,The Silver Tassie Hotel, Donegal, Shane Gaffney, Hodson Bay Hotel, Roscommon, Nigel Owens, Joe Lavelle, The Merry Monk, Mayo, Dermot Carew, Beaumont House, Dublin, Anthony Doherty, The Market Yard, Derry, Lorraine Walshe, The Elm Tree, Cork.

Pictured LtoR: Cyril McAree, Hotel & Restaurant Times and Aidan Kelly, The 51 Bar, Dublin.

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Fáilte food conference

It’s all about the

by Susan Clarke

Food is an integral component for all tourism businesses and is a growing market that Ireland is well placed to capitalise on. Ireland has a lot to offer when it comes to food - there is quality produce on the ground and a great many experiences on offer for visitors when they come here. Fáilte Ireland’s ‘Food Connect’ conference, which took place in Tankardstown last month, was established to harness this effort and ensure that visitor perceptions of Irish food is on par with the experiences on offer when they get here. By bringing many of the world’s leading food experts under one roof for two days the national development authority brought Irish tourism businesses face to face with mouth-watering food showcases and valuable insights into how Ireland can position itself in the marketplace in a way that ensures that Ireland’s food offering whets the appetite of potential visitors for many years.

Food and that this creates a very special ambiance that his guests may be nervous about at first, but usually end up really enjoying. In 2015 Justin started a distillery in one of the outbuildings on the farm. Following a research trip to London Justin and a friend decided to begin distilling a gin they named Bertha’s Revenge Gin. The gin is made using alcohol made from whey. They spent nine months perfecting their recipe and went into full-time production in March of this year.

Julie and Rod Calder-Pots of HighBank Orchard in Kilkenny are producers of apple cider and apple syrups. They have also recently started producing a gin and liquor. They are 100% organic and Rod spoke passionately about how important it has been for them to produce a quality organic product. Julie spoke to the conference about how important branding has been for their products and how the story behind the brand is very important to tourists. HighBank Orchard now gives tours of its farm and distillery and it also now holds different types of events. Julie explained that business tourism has really taken off for them but that the Irish tourist is equally important. The team at HighBank held a harvest picnic this year and they anticipated approx. 200 people to attend, in fact, 2,000 turned up!

Food Connect- Shane Raftery, Fáilte Ireland, Gabriel Faherty, Aran Goats Cheese, and Daniel Klein, The Perennial Plate

The final speaker of the morning was Daniel Klein.

Daniel and his partner Mirra Fine are videographers who travel around the world making web series about food producers. Their videos have amassed millions of views and they were approached by Intrepid Travel, a multinational travel company to travel to Vietnam and create a three-minute film about the food they ate. This video went viral and they have now travelled to 12 countries making short films about the food being produced. At the moment they are working with Fáilte Ireland making ten short films about different food producers here as they travel around Ireland for the next number of weeks. According to Daniel, people love to know the story behind what’s being produced he says, “sometimes the unexpected story is the best.

Producers should focus on getting across who they are rather than the product they have”.

Jacinta Dalton, of the Region of Gastronomy Galway initiative, had the unenviable task of opening the conference and the theme for the morning’s talks was ‘food puts place on a plate’. “The day of the passive tourist is over”, Jacinta explained, “People want an authentic experience, one that is not manufactured. Every tourist that gets off a plane in Ireland needs to experience the local food on offer”. Jacinta’s argument was that gastronomy and tourism are natural allies and mutually reinforce each other. Jacinta also explained that the word gastronomy no longer refers to high-end meals but rather to local, good food, so every establishment serving a food offering has to make sure it is the best it can be.

Justin Green of Ballyvolane House told the conference how growing up on a farm gave him a real appreciation of food and how it’s produced. Justin explained that at Ballyvolane House the guests eat together at one big table

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Pictured at Food Connect are speakers Pol O Conghaile Travel writer Irish Independent (MC for the event), international speaker Hege Anita Eilertsen, Museum Nord, Sinead Hennessy Failte Ireland Food Tourism Officer and international speaker Hans Achterberg, Villa van Streek.

Fáilte food conference The panel discussion raised some interesting points one of which was that tourism in Ireland would benefit from more connection between the Departments of Agriculture and Tourism. Another area discussed was the need for further education of consumers about how they shop and what they are buying. Denmark is on course to be the first organic country in the world and this has been a consumer led drive. By contrast, Ireland is on course to be the most obese country in the world in the next 14 years.

“Innovation and insights” was the focus of the afternoon, Erik Wolf of the World Travel Association explained, “marketing to foodies is very precise, there are 13 different types of foodies and you can be a food traveller in your own backyard!” Erik told us the top three types of foodies are the food travellers looking for an authentic food travel experience, those looking for an eclectic food travel experience and those looking for a local food travel experience.

Interestingly, according to Erik, the food traveller looking for a gourmet food travel experience is the least prevalent type of food traveller.

Erik explained that UNESCO has now named food and the food experience of travellers as an intangible cultural asset and he had a grave warning for Ireland. He said, “I came to Ireland looking for Irish stew and soda bread and I couldn’t find it in Dublin. Also, no-one who served me had an Irish accent”. While our food offerings are now much more extensive than this, the food traveller may also still want this type of experience. Erik stressed the need for producers to engage with the food traveller before their trip, during their trip and after their trip using all aspects of social media.

Author and presenter Trish Deseine, described how in essence, the food traveller wants what the locals are eating. She explained, “good food and good restaurants must exist for locals first. There must be less separation between a domestic and overseas strategy”. Trish stressed the need for meaningful, accessible experiences for travellers but that our focus needs to be on “growing bigger by thinking small”.

Food Connect Fáilte Ireland Food Champion and lecturer at the College of Tourism and Arts in Galway, Jacinta Dalton addresses delegates

Author and Presenter Trish Deseine gave her persepctive on Irish food culture

Overall approximately 120 key players attended ‘Food Connect’, all of which were interested in either consolidating their visitor experience, or seeking new insights and approaches to being a visitor experience of choice.

John Mulcahy, Head of Food and Hospitality for Fáilte Ireland further emphasised, “Food Connect provided a real opportunity for us, as the national tourism development authority, to build on the confidence that already exists out there, and to create new partnerships which will ultimately position Ireland as an exciting, must-visit destination.

“What was interesting about Food Connect was the realisation that food in tourism also means beverages, and, clearly, Ireland is at the cutting edge of new visitor developments in beer, cider, and spirits, such as gin, & whiskey, which give us yet another string to our bow when it comes to satisfying the visitors most essential of needs.”

Overall this delegate found the conference engaging and thought provoking and the opportunity to network with food producers from around the country was very enjoyable. Fáilte Ireland has created an extremely relevant conference which no doubt will grow over the years to come.

For more information and resources on food tourism go to www.failteireland.ie/food

Food Connect - Daniel Klein and Mirra Finne, along with toddler James, began documenting Ireland for their food and travel blog The Perennial Plate after the conference Justin Green of Ballyvolane House talks about the importance of telling your food story H&RT OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016

39

technology

Leading the way in

Room Technology

VDA is a family owned company, based in Italy. Formed over 35 years ago, the company began providing inroom control for air conditioning and lighting in hotels.

Warren Edwards, GM for Ireland, “In Ireland, VDA started supplying TVs and interactive services at a time when hotels wanted to provide movies and TV channels to their guests. Now the business model has completely changed, as everyone now travels with mobile devices.

So the need in the industry has changed, and Wi-Fi is now one of the most important aspects of a guest’s requirement in a room”.

Approaching its 14th year in Ireland much has evolved for the company as digital technology has progressed. Today there are two main areas of business for VDA, the first being able to provide everything from a single TV to their ONAIR TV system, a digitally interactive experience where the guest has a choice of more than 60 TV channels, can listen to their own music, and watch their own movies using the streaming functionality on their TV. The second area is VDA’s room automation and energy management system, named Micromaster.

Warren explains, “Hotels are now looking for the most up to date technology that includes access control, and control of air conditioning, lighting, and curtains etc. Our first hotel to welcome our in-room controls in Ireland was Ashford Castle, installed almost two years ago now. Since then we also provide the in-room controls for the Uniworld Cruise line (in the same ownership as Ashford Castle). We have also now won the contract for the extension to the North Star Hotel (McGettigan hotels) where we are providing the TV system, and in-room controls. We have also now extended our client base into the North of Ireland, being awarded the contract for the Galgorm Hotel Resort & Spa”.

VDA are now the only Interactive TV and Room Control company in Ireland, still operating with their own Irish based engineers, their own technical services and offering support seven days a week. VDA services over 60 hotels and Warren says that they pride themselves on their repeat business, “when GM’s move from one hotel to another, and they telephone me to invite me in to their new hotel, that’s great validation for us”.

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technology But it’s the economical aspect to VDA’s systems that brings added value to any hotel. Warren explains, “I explain to the various GM’s that when a guest leaves in the morning and doesn’t return until the evening, the hotel still pays for lighting and heating. Our systems, even prior to the guest checking in, can be set to a certain temperature, even closing curtains to keep the temperature constant. When the guest checks in, our system is alerted from the PMS that the guest is about to arrive to the room, the temperature having been set to a predetermined level, the lights turned on, and so on. The in- room items that run up energy costs in a hotel room are not lighting nowadays, as most are LED. It is, in fact, the air-conditioning, the towel rails and the bathroom under- floor heating. Most hotels use mechanical cut off, dumb card readers that only turn off the electricity.

The Micromaster Control system in contrast, uses intelligent keycards which when inserted into the room units, goes as far as allowing the hotel’s housekeeping / reception team to know who is in the room. This way, time is also saved through not needlessly sending personnel to rooms that are occupied. Check in and check outs are thus made very efficient”.

Guest comfort is also very important but there can also be significant savings in energy consumption using the Micromaster system. However, VDA are continuously looking to the future in their system design, and Warren explains, ”We are always moving forward, and now even have the ability to send your Keycard to the guest’s smart phone. So before the guest arrives at the hotel they can check in.”

“We are also moving forward with wireless control. We are in the process of installation of this new exciting product in the MGM Grand in Macau where we are using all wireless technology. So now we can look at hotels for retro fitting without the need for any major reconstruction work”.

“We are providing our hotels the facility to up-sell to their guests via an App prior to their stay. Thus when a guest makes a reservation they receive a link that allows them to download the app, the guest thus seeing presentations on their phone such as room service menu’s etc”.

With a full research and development team in Italy, most of VDA’s developments have been instigated through customer requests and requirements. “Tablets and I-pads require a strong Wi-Fi signal, that’s why sometimes it’s hard to get a good signal in a hotel room. So we’ve designed a TV set back box that has Wi-Fi built in, so guests such as at the Marker and the Morrison for example, don’t have the problem of connecting to the internet, through the use of our ONAIR system. But, although our system is technologically advanced, it has to be very simple to use. We always ask ourselves, can a mature person switch it on and switch it off with great ease?”

So how did VDA survive to be the only company in Ireland doing what they do? “We have flexible financial options for hotels, starting from the selling our equipment, together with a clear and straight forward service contract, all the way to renting it with a fully included service contract. All of our contracts are internally

“

financed, so in the recession when hotels couldn’t afford those certain luxuries, our flexibility worked exceptionally well for the hotels”.

“We have actually grown almost exponentially ever since the start, and this year alone we’ve installed over 2,000 rooms to date. New hotels that we’ve contracted with this year include; Lough Eske, the upgrade to the Marker, and K club now has our digital TV system. We also take as much pride in working with large hotels as we do with working with an 18 bedroom hotel. We’re not just a provider to 5-star properties, but can cater for just one TV up to thousands on any one site. We pride ourselves on providing for the needs of the hotel.

VDA is a family company with a extended global reach. The systems are now in hotels in the Middle East, Far East, and even as far as Australia .Warren says “I am very proud of my team here and the work we do, and I looking forward to the next 14 years!”

Warren Edwards is GM at VDA Ireland. warren@vdaireland.com.

Ph:086-8257171.

This year alone we’ve installed over 2,000 rooms

”

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41

nutrition

Is your ‘Gluten-Free’ menu labelled correctly?

– A review of recent legislative changes.

Editorial by Niamh O’Connor RD MINDI, Freelance Consultant Dietitian & Executive Nutritionist, Cork Nutrition Consultancy™ & NutriCount®.

State Registered & Member of the Irish Nutrition & Dietetic Institute.

Associate Member of The Restaurants Association of Ireland.

If there was ever a list of buzz words or topics that raised the blood pressure of dietitians, chefs, servers and restauranteurs simultaneously, ‘gluten-free’ would surely be on the top of that list! The growing fad of following a DIY gluten-free diet for lifestyle reasons, typically on the basis of celebrity endorsement, is as irritating for food businesses as it is to nutrition and dietetic professionals. Apart from being a medical necessity to treat Coeliac Disease, following a gluten-free diet has no proven health benefits for non-Coeliacs!

Timeline of key legislative changes

The legislation regarding using a gluten-free claim on a food label or on a restaurant menu has changed several times in recent years, so it can be difficult for food businesses to stay up-to-date. Up to 2009, Gluten-free foods were allowed to contain up to 200ppm (200 mg/ Kg) of gluten and still be labelled as ‘Gluten free’. However, strict new legal definitions of what constitutes ‘gluten-free’ came into effect in January 2012 (EU Regulation No. 41/2009), where the permitted gluten content was reduced by a whopping 90%, from 200 parts per million (200ppm or 200 milligrams per Kg) to just 20ppm (20mg/Kg) . Under the new rules, only foods which contain less than 20ppm can legally be labelled as gluten-free. Such foods are suitable for all Coeliacs.

A second category was introduced at that time, for foods which contained between 20 - 100ppm of gluten. These foods are classed as ‘Very Low Gluten’, but should be avoided by all newly diagnosed Coeliacs for a period of 1 – 2 years after initial diagnosis until the Coeliac blood tests (antibodies) and biopsies are normal. Only if such tests are normal can a Coeliac proceed to eating very low gluten foods with caution.

The last major change to labelling legislation was in December 2014, when the EU Food Information for Consumers (FIC) Regulation No. 1169/2011 came into full effect. It requires manufacturers to highlight any presence of the 14 major food allergens within the list of ingredients of their products. This legislation also applies to non-prepacked food including meals served in restaurants, yet many food businesses still haven’t addressed this and are unable to produce allergen menus on request from customers, food safety consultants and/or HSE environmental health officers.

Foods which are specifically manufactured for Coeliacs can apply to use the universally recognised cross-grain symbol, but only on foot of laboratory evidence of gluten content.

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Major changes to legislation in July 2016

Having two separate legislations concerning the presence and absence / reduced levels of gluten has never been an ideal scenario, and legislative changes came into effect this year to reconcile this issue, with several consequences. New regulations relating to the labelling of gluten-free manufactured food and non-repacked food (including restaurant meals) carrying a gluten-free claim came into effect on 20th of July 2016, These changes to the FIC legislation (Food Information to Consumers) pertain specifically to any labelling or menu claim which makes reference to the presence of, absence of, or the lowering of a gluten content in a food or meal. This poses serious and significant issues for restaurants, such that a gluten-free meal can only be labelled as such, if, and only if, the meal has been sent to an accredited laboratory for gluten analysis. Whilst some of you reading this may be gasping in horror or laughing out loud in disbelief, I am aware of a two wellknown restaurants in Dublin who are currently awaiting the results of laboratory analysis for a large number of their dishes. They feel confident their dishes will meet the required gluten-free credentials of less than 20ppm, as they want to retain their Coeliac market share and can only advertise/promote/label Gluten-Free meals as such with technical evidence to back up the claim – the results are imminent and eagerly awaited! It is important to note that using any similarly-worded claims on a menu, such as ‘Coeliac-friendly’ is highly misleading; many Coeliacs would construe that as being a green light to consume the meal, and this is in breach of existing legislation.

The First rule of food labelling is that the consumer cannot be misled, inadvertently or otherwise. Food information to consumers, including allergen labelling of menus, must be accurate, clear and easy to understand. (Ref: EU Reg No. 1169/2011, Chapter 1, Article 7)

Which regulations remain unchanged?

Regulations concerning use of the terms ‘gluten free’ or ‘very low gluten’ remain the same. However, these are now the only two terms which can “provide information to consumers on the absence or reduced presence of gluten in food”. No other terminology, label or claim in relation to gluten is permitted on a menu.

nutrition Terminology which is no longer permitted

In working with many of my hospitality clients before the July changes, I would have encouraged them, where appropriate, to use the terms ‘no gluten-containing ingredients’ (NGCI) or ‘no gluten as an ingredient’ (NGAI) on menus, but unfortunately even these are no longer permitted. Why? Many restaurants are totally clued in when it comes to which ingredients which are genuinely glutenfree and those which are not, but many restaurants are not. FSAI is flooded with complaints about restaurants serving meals which have been cross-contaminated gluten.

The Coeliac Society of Ireland produce two very detailed brandspecific checklists of gluten-free manufactured foods every year.

One is for retail products, which Coeliacs require when shopping.

The other list, which contains just under 7000 items ordered from wholesale / catering suppliers, should be in every commercial kitchen but I have yet to find one there! Apart from obvious unsuitable foods such as bread, cakes and pasta, most brands of gravies, white pepper, soy sauce and ice cream are not in fact gluten-free. Similarly many brands of stock cubes, sauces, ketchup, mayonnaise and potato products (such as frozen chips or wedges) are not gluten-free either. Even if your restaurant uses certified gluten-free frozen chips, or fresh hand-cut potatoes, and if they are subsequently cooked in shared fryers, these cannot be labelled or sold as gluten-free due to cross-contamination. Separate fryers are essential. The same applies to gluten-free pizzas, which must be cooked in a separate dedicated oven.

Regulators and EHOs aside, consumers are becoming more knowledgeable, more vocal and less loyal to your brand, and are more likely to take to social media to highlight such errors before they proceed to make formal complaints to the restaurant itself or to the FSAI (who received 2,739 formal food complaints in 2015).

Is any other terminology permitted?

Two additional terms, which were permitted before, namely “suitable for people intolerant to gluten” and “suitable for Coeliacs”

may still be used, but if and only if you can prove that the meal contain less than 20ppm of gluten (requiring laboratory analysis).

If you buy in a range gluten-free manufacturers foods (e.g. laboratory certified gluten-free bread, gluten-free pasta) which are specifically formulated for Coeliacs and approved in the Coeliac Society checklists, these can be sold/ labelled on your menu as certified gluten-free. However, a word of caution on breads bought from some local bakers, suppliers or farmers markets! – such items cannot be sold to customers as gluten-free (even if the bakery claim it is gluten-free!) unless they are on the Coeliac Society’s list of approved bakeries (where the products have been tested). Such items are often made in the kitchen of a family home (and not a commercial kitchen with dedicated GF area) so there would be huge risk of cross-contamination. Contact The Coeliac Society info@coeliac.ie for updated list of approved bakeries.

Why is gluten being singled out?

At present, there are 14 major allergens which must be flagged for consumers, but why does gluten repeatedly get such special attention? I suppose the answer lies in the fact the 13 out of the 14 allergens cause an allergic reaction, but Coeliac Disease is quite different. Contrary to popular opinion, Coeliac Disease is not a food allergy, wheat intolerance, wheat allergy or gluten allergy! It’s an Autoimmune Disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissue. Coeliac disease causes sufferers to react to gluten, the protein found in wheat, barley, rye, malt, and for a significant number of Coeliacs, oats as well. If a Coeliac consumes gluten, the lining of the small intestine becomes damaged and reduces the absorption of nutrients from food. If undiagnosed, it can potentially lead to many serious long-term complications such as osteoporosis, cancer, nutritional deficiencies, malnutrition, and infertility in women. The labelling of gluten-free foods is designed specifically for people with Coeliac Disease.

A little bit of gluten won’t do any harm, right?

Wrong! If a true Coeliac consumes minute amounts of gluten, inadvertently or otherwise (even if they don’t complain of any immediate or delayed symptoms) the level of Coeliac antibodies rises in their blood, it takes three months to return to normal levels, even if no further gluten has been consumed in the meantime!

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GMIT news

Preparing for the year ahead Dear Industry Partner,

As the new academic year begins I was very privileged to welcome 400 first year students to the College of Tourism and Arts on September 7th. However it is worth sharing that CAO applications to programmes in Hospitality , Tourism and Culinary Arts are in decline and this situation is one we need to collectively address before the skills shortage deepens.

In GMIT we host the annual Tourism Careers Fair each year in Spring, the next fair takes place on Wednesday March 8th from 1.30pm to 4.30pm. There are no costs involved and it is a wonderful opportunity for you, our industry partners, to meet students who are seeking work placement opportunities and for students about to graduate from college. Students in GMIT undertake several work placements during their studies so you can be assured that in addition to their qualification they also bring relevant work experience to the market place.

I will be extending an invitation to all Institute of Technology to take part in this event next year in the hope we will have even more students to meet you and hopefully join your business.

If any tourism business would like to attend this fair please connect with Bernie or Lorraine in the LINKS office email: linksoffice@gmit.ie If any employer is interested in joining our Work Placement Programme as an accredited employer please also connect with Bernie or Lorraine. Joining this programme will ensure we send work placement opportunities and updates to you and we only place our students with accredited employers throughout the year.

Finally do follow up on social media sites for constant updates, we can be found at: Email: linksoffice@gmit.ie Facebook-GMIT College of Tourism & Arts Jobs Noticeboard Twitter-@GMITTourismArts LinkedIN-GMIT College of Tourism & Arts Alumni As always thank you for your continued support and help, it is always greatly appreciated.

Cáit Noone MIHI Vice President International Engagement Head of College Tourism and Arts Galway Mayo Institute of Technology Dublin Road Galway Ireland www.gmit.ie/cta Email cait.noone@gmit.ie Tel +353 91 74 22 36 Mobile +353 86 39 33 206 Twitter @CaitNoone

College of Tourism & Arts

Student Work Placement Durations & Locations 2017 DEPARTMENT OF THE SERVICE INDUSTRIES / DEPARTMENT OF HERITAGE AND TOURISM

Duration:

Location:

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in International Hotel & Catering Management

Yr 1 Yr 2

12 wks June - Sept 30 wks June - Dec

Ireland Overseas

Bachelor of Business in Hotel & Catering Management

Yr 1 Yr 2

12 wks June - Sept 30 wks June - Dec

Ireland Overseas

Bachelor of Business in International Tourism Management

Yr 1 Yr 2

12 wks June - Sept 12 wks June - Sept

Ireland Overseas

Bachelor of Business in Retail & Customer Service Management

Yr 1 Yr 2

12 wks June - Sept 30 wks June - Dec

Ireland Ireland / O'seas

Bachelor of Business in Event Management with PR

Yr 1 Yr 2

12 wks June - Sept 30 wks June - Dec

Ireland Ireland / O'seas

Higher Certificate in Business in Tourism

Yr 1

12 wks June - Sept

Ireland

Higher Certificate in Hotel & Hospitality Operations

Yr 1

12 wks Jun - Sept

Ireland

Yr 1 Yr 2

12 wks June - Sept 30 wks June - Dec

Ireland Ireland / O'seas

Higher Certificate in Culinary Arts

Yr 1

12 wks June - Sept

Ireland/O'seas

Certificate in Culinary Arts (Springboard)-12 wks-September or January

Yr 1

2 days per week

Ireland

Certificate in Pastry and Baking (26 wks)

Yr 1

2/3 days per week

Ireland

DEPARTMENT OF CULINARY ARTS Bachelor of Business in Culinary Arts

Advanced Certificate in Professional Cooking - Total Immersion Chef Programme (9 months)

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GMIT news

College of Tourism & Arts Alumni Where are they now?

Shane Cookman When we look at the long list of GMIT alumni that have gone on to have distinguished careers in hospitality, Shane Cookman belongs at the top of that list. Aside from having been successful here in Ireland, he’s been able to achieve success on an international level - in New York, no less. That type of success is a boon for GMIT, as it furthers our already solid reputation as well. While Shane might be an international hotelier now, his roots are planted right here.

Shane is a native of Donegal. After graduating from GMIT in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts in Hotel and Catering Management, Shane joined the Jurys Hotel Group as an Assistant Food and Beverage Manager. Soon thereafter, he was promoted to Sales Manager at the Jurys Hotel in Cork. After a time, Shane was made Deputy General Manager of the Jurys property in Glasgow, Scotland.

In 1990, Shane was hired away from Jurys to be General Manager of the Middleton Park Hotel outside of Cork. In 1992, Shane settled in as General Manager of the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links. This was a watershed moment for Shane, as Portmarnock turned out to be his professional home for thirteen years. In what he described as a “labor of love”, Shane spearheaded the transformation of Portmarnock from being essentially a 19 bedroom country house into a luxury golf resort with 103 guest rooms and world class food and beverage facilities. Shane described this period by saying “This was a very exciting time in my life. I saw much potential for Portmarnock, and it was exhilarating to actually realize that potential and see it as an international destination.”

In 2005, Shane left Portmarnock to become Managing Director of both Dunboyne Castle and The Dylan Hotel, giving him the opportunity to oversee multiple properties at the Director level.

In 2010, Shane had another watershed moment, when John Fitzpatrick invited him to come to New York City to oversee both Fitzpatrick Hotels there. Shane said “It was a big decision, but the timing was right in my personal life, and I knew it was a golden opportunity to gain international experience while also working with someone like John Fitzpatrick. John is so well known here, but he is very well respected over in the States too. In fact, he has served as Chairman of New York City’s Hotel Association, and was recently President of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the largest hotel industry professional organization in the United States. I couldn’t pass this great opportunity to expand my horizons.”

As Executive Director of Operations and Area General Manager, Shane oversees all aspects of daily hotel operations, sales and marketing, human resources and food and beverage for two luxury hotels in a very competitive New York market. He also works closely with John Fitzpatrick on business development projects. Shane has already developed a solid reputation in the New York business community. He sits on the board of the East Midtown Partnership business improvement district, and was recently invited to join the Executive Board of the Hotel Association of New York City. John Fitzpatrick had this to say about him, “Shane has been a great addition to the team here in New York. His strong background as an Irish hotel operator has strengthened our ability to deliver uniquely Irish hospitality to the New York market. He is a very strong leader.”

Shane was asked to identify the biggest differences between running hotels in New York and in Ireland and had this to say: “The sheer number of hotels competing for business in relatively small geographic area is amazing – there are over 500 hotels and over 100,000 hotel rooms in New York.

That’s a staggering number. Costs are also much higher than what we are used to. For instance, real estate taxes alone are roughly $2,000,000 US at one building, and room attendants will make $70,000 in salary next year. “ Shane added, “You really have to find ways to distinguish yourself from your competition. John has always done that by keeping a great room product and delivering top flight personal service. As a rule, Fitzpatrick Hotels are refurbished a few years faster than industry norm. In fact, we are replacing all of our furniture and carpets in one hotel this year, and renovating bathrooms in the other. We recently upgraded the entire technology infrastructure of our hotels. This involved completely rewiring both hotels to handle smart TV’s and improve our internet service overall. We put new smart TV’s in every room, and our guests can now run five different devices in each guestroom. On the service side, Irish hospitality is well received in New York. People love the personal touches and the attention to detail.”

When asked about his future plans, Shane said, “I feel like I still have a lot to do here at Fitzpatrick’s. John really understands the importance of family, and as such I get to go home very frequently. It makes it easy to stay in New York, which is such an exciting place – the energy is tremendous. I can’t wait to complete our refurbishment projects, and I will continue to help John Fitzpatrick look for ways to grow his brand.”

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45

NEW MEMBERS

chef shortage

“

Restaurant Name

County

Restaurant Name

Prezzo

Dublin 22

Co Mayo

Overends Restaurant

Dublin 14

Grangecon Café

Co Wicklow

Go Explore Hostel & Sailor’s Bar & Restaurant

Co Wexford

La Piazza

Co Wexford

Kove @ Killyhevlin Hotel & Golf Club

Co Fermanagh

The Hollow Bar & Restaurant Murphys Pub

Co Kerry

Parkview Hotel

Co Wicklow

The Oarsman Dublin

Dublin 4

Perios Restaurant & Grill Bar

Dublin 22

The Pembroke Restaurant @ The Imperial Hotel

Co Cork

Monsoon Valley

Co Donegal

Ard Na Breatha

Co Donegal

Paddy The Farmers

Co Cork

The Garden Bar & Grill

Co Dublin

Co Tipperary

Brannigan's

Dublin 8

The Schoolhouse Restaurant

BT23 6EA

Thatch & Thyme

Co Cork

Relish Brasserie

Co Laois

The Georgian Fast Food Company

Dublin 18

Co Dublin

Harpers @ Hotel Kilkenny

Co Kilkenny

Co Kerry

Lavanda Restaurant

Brownes

Co Galway

The Blue Door

Co Limerick

Dragon Inn Restaurant

County

Restaurant Name

Bring back Cert!

Tiramisu Café

Co Cork

Ristorante Mia Maria @ Sweeneys of Kilbride

Dublin 15

Dawros Bay Hotel

Co Donegal

Seasons of Skerries

PoppySeed - Eyre Street

Co Galway

Finnegans

PoppySeed - Oranmore

Co Galway

The Creel Coffee House

Co Mayo

Logue's Bar

Tullys Hotel

Co Roscommon

Lishh Café

Co Cork

The Dough Bros

Hatch and Sons

Dublin 2

Forge Road Café

Co Cork

Old Street Restaurant

The Galway Plate

Co Galway

The Barn Restaurant

Co Cork

The Old House Restaurant

Co Cork

Café Bar @ Mill Park Hotel

TheRAI Pavilion Café @ Pavilion Garden The Laurentic President Bar & Bistro Co Donegal of the RAI Anthony Gray, CEO of the Adrian Cummins Centre with the RAI Pre Budget Submission 2017 Roadside Café Co Donegal Rage The Harbour Inn Co Donegal

Adrian Cummins,Co CEO of the Restaurant Association of Morton's Ranelagh Donegal Ireland (RAI) has recently returned from a tripStreet to Croatia.

Morton's Hatch Pink Garlic Letterkenny Co Donegal However, this trip wasn’t a holiday, it was part of a Cians on Bridge Street The Strand Hotel Donegal recruitment drive,Coled by the RAI to match employers in Murray's Inn experienced Gerry's Coffeethe ShopIrish hospitality Dublin 2 with pre-selected sector Aisha's Café & Bistro staff from other countries.

Pallet Pizza Café Dublin 2 Blueberry Tearoom

County

”

Dublin 7 Co Donegal Co Galway Co Dublin Co Westmeath Co Donegal

Dundalk Golf Club Co Louth Co Dublin Noshington Café Dublin 8 Adrian says6he is angry at how much of the tax payer’s money that Dublin & Restaurantthe apprenticeship Co Monaghan he maintains has beenAndy's wastedBar in establishing Dublin 2 a collaboration programme; between Failte Ireland, the Department The Hill Bar Dublin of 6 Education and a number of other stakeholders. Adrian says, “If they were Co Mayo The City Arms Gastro Bar Co Waterford operating in the private sector all of this would have been done two Dublin 20the private years ago. In sector we haveBar the& understanding, “we it The Brandywell Bistro Comake Leitrim happen”, and that’s what we’re doing with this recruitment drive. ” Co Louth Miso Sligo Co Sligo

Treacy's Bar & Restaurant Bow Lane Gastro Dublin system 8 “The education and training we have for the hospitality sector Saba Baggot is in shambles at the moment. thatStreet the industry will Greenmount Restaurant Co LouthWe have identified have a deficit of 5,000 staff a year by 2020.

CurrentlyAlley 1,800 staff are being Thundercut The Erriseask trained Restaurant @ in Ireland per Co yearGalway so there is a 3,200 shortfall of staff per year in The Connemara Hotel industry. The RAI has been The Jugto identify this theSands hospitality theCopper first body problem and now we Co areGalway the first to leadCobblestone the way in solving Joes it”.

The Seafood Bar @ Kirwans

Co Laois According to Adrian, “the state bodies areStone continuing heads Kilfeathers @ The Leaf to stick their Dublin 2 in the sand 4in relation to the lack of adequate staff within the industry so Dublin Westport Country Lodge Co Mayo we have been left with no choice but to address this problem ourselves.

Dublin 7 were theRiver We at the RAI first toRoom highlight this problem but we @ Galgorm Resort4 years ago, Co Antrim haveCo received support in relation to it”.

Clare no state Fratelli @ Galgorm Resort Co Antrim

doing circuit over there, matching employers from Bachelor InnIreland to staff Esquires Coffee Shopa (BlackDublin 4 that want to come to work in here. We currently have a waiting list of rock) employers in Ireland who want to come Lotts on ourCafé recruitment trips in the Tulfarris Golf New ClubYear. That’s how much Co Wicklow demand there is from the sector here for Toughers Restaurant Carlow quality staff. It is critical to the survival of our industry. “ BAOBAB Coffee Roasters

Dublin 1 Honey Truffle Dublin So if there is one message Adrian would like the state to hear from the2 industry at 1the moment what&would Dublin Wine Brine that be? “Bring back Cert!”.

Co Down

Limerick WithCo further recruitment tripsBar planned to Hungry, Gillies & Restaurant @ Slovenia, Galgorm Slovakia, Co Antrim Spain and in the New Year, Adrian maintains this recruitment Resort Edento House DublinPortugal 16 The White House Dublin Adrian and a number Co of Irish employers The travelled Zagreb for the oneimitative has much scope and potential and is key to addressing the staff preselectedThe staffMorgue including chefs, waiters, Co Dublin Heaven Pizza day event and met with Co200 Cork Fratelli Belfast Belfast shortfall within the hospitality sector here. managers, floor-staff etc. The employers are responsible for organising Urban Kitchen & Coffee Co Co Kildare Tuar Ard Coffee Shop Co Westmeath the details of contracts with the staff they meet. According to Adrian Twenty One Co Waterford But with so much positivity in the industry at the moment and with are Cork very high in Croatia the East moment and the Ruth's Diner unemployment rates Co PeachatTree Dublin 24 for 2016Three Way Inn levels ever, does the RAI Co Fermanagh tourist figures at the highest really have average monthly wage is between 500EU and 600EU. The RAI sees a cause to be negative about the sector at the moment?

“No-one is talking Lodge Restaurant @ Letterfrack Lodge Co Galway House of Plates Co Mayo great opportunity in overseas recruitment for the hospitality industry in Abbey Court Hotel Co Tipperary about the staffing shortfall problems. If we have something to say at the Ireland.

Forge Field Coffee Shop Co Louth Bru House Newbridge Co Kildare Harkins Bistro Co when Leitrim RAI, we will say it. The current situation reminds me of the 1990’s we had to go to countries outside the EU to recruit staff”.

Hanora's Cottage & Guesthouse Co Waterford Murphy's Bar Adrian explains, “We are Co going Wicklow The Malt House Dublin 8 to Romania in December and we are

Co Carlow Co Kildare

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forTHOUGHT Boyne Valley Claims Ireland’s Foodie Destination Title For a second year in a row, Derry was announced as the Foodie Destinations runner up, showing that they are again one of the top foodie destinations in Ireland.

In 3rd place was The Burren, 4th place was new entry Cong and 5th place went to Sligo. The announcements were made at an event held in Hotel Doolin, Co. Clare on Wednesday 21st September.

The Restaurants Association of Ireland is delighted to announce that the winner of Foodie Destinations 2016 is Boyne Valley. After a rigorous few weeks of applications, town visits and over 10,000 online votes, Boyne Valley have beaten the competition and proven themselves to be an excellent leader as a foodie destination. From Tapas Trails and Food Safaris to innovative strategies for growth and development, they set the benchmark for food tourism in Ireland.

Representatives from the top ten final foodie destinations were present to hear who would claim Ireland’s Premier Foodie Destination title.

Aoife Carrigy, chairperson, Irish Food Writers Guild and Foodie Destinations judge stated of Boyne Valley: “They represent an Ireland that is ready to reclaim our food culture of today, of yesterday and of tomorrow, and to bring that to a world stage.”

Restaurants Association of Ireland 11 Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin 8 - Registered Company No. 56224

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Restaurants Association Submit Pre-budget Submission 2017 Last month, the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) submitted their pre-budget submission 2017, “Putting Tourism, Hospitality and Food at the Centre of Our Recovery.” The plan outlined the RAI’s key issues that need to be addressed for the Restaurant and Hospitality sector ahead of Budget 2017. These issues are as follows; 1.

Shortage of Chefs 2.

9% VAT rate 3.

A freeze in the minimum wage until 2021 4.

Cost of doing business 5.

Insurance Costs 6.

Excise Duty 7.

Tourism Policy 8.

Sale of Alcohol on Good Friday.

The full RAI pre-budget submission 2017, which was presented to members of the Dáil at an Oireachtas briefing held on 28th September in Dublin, can be found online at www.rai.ie/pre-budgetsubmission-2017.

Schweppes, now available in sleeker 200ml pack Now to better reflect the 200 years’ of experience, the Schweppes range will be relaunched with a new look and feel. The sleeker brand look and new bottle shape will feature across the existing 125ml range, and the new 200ml pack. Available from August 2016, the 200ml pack conveys the simple sophistication of the brand, and will be accompanied in premise by a 125ml glass bottle from January 2017.

The number one mixer across the island of Ireland, Schweppes’ legendary tonic remains the signature taste of the brand with its delicate balance of bitterness, acidity and citric sweetness. The tonic only uses natural flavorings and contains the highest quality ingredients including quinine from cinchona bark.

Invented by Jacob Schweppes ‘Creator of Bubbles’ in 1783, Schweppes has been charming tongues ever since. With For further information on the new Schweppes range the perfect balance of bubbles and flavour, the iconic or any Coca-Cola product please contact your local range is now evolving with a new look and feel, and Coca-Cola HBC salesperson or our Customer Service the option of a 200ml pack to complement the existing Helpline on ROI 1890 262226 | NI 0845 608 8889.

Restaurants Association of Ireland 11 Bridge Court – Citygate - St. Augustine Street - Dublin 8 - Registered Company No. 56224 125ml range.

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Duct Hygiene Specialists With more than 25 years’ experience providing Duct Hygiene Services in Ireland and the UK, we provide the entire solution to your duct cleaning and maintenance requirements.

All our staff are fully trained and insured to carry out work on your premises.

We offer high quality workmanship at very competitive rates giving you the best value for your money. Here are some of the services we can offer you; • • •

Free site surveys Cleaning of all canopies and ducting systems AHU’s and DEU’s and all other types of ducting systems

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“We would highly recommend Duct Hygiene, as they are extremely professional and 100% reliable.

We have used them over the years for both our restaurants and they have always completed same in time scheduled. Their workers are extremely polite and any work carried out is always finished to a high standard.” Salamanca Restaurant, Dublin 2 For more information, call: +353 1 4137300, email: info@ducthygiene.ie, visit: www.ducthygiene.ie

Difficult to Fill a Job Vacancy? The Restaurants Association Can Help The Restaurants Association of Ireland held a European Hospitality Recruitment Fair on Monday, 3rd October in Zagreb, Croatia. The aim of this fair was to recruit skilled workers from within the European Union to bridge the skills shortage the restaurant and hospitality industries are currently facing here in Ireland. It is hoped that on the success of this pilot fair, similar recruitment fairs will take place in different European locations within the coming months. For more information, or to express interest for an upcoming fair please call the Restaurants Association of Ireland on +353 1 6779901 or visit www.rai.ie.

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Prezzo

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Overends Restaurant

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Go Explore Hostel & Sailor’s Bar & Restaurant

Co Mayo

Grangecon Café

Co Fermanagh

Co Wexford

Kove @ Killyhevlin Hotel & Golf Club

The Hollow Bar & Restaurant

Co Wexford

La Piazza

Murphys Pub

Co Kerry

Parkview Hotel

Co Wicklow

The Oarsman Dublin

Dublin 4

Perios Restaurant & Grill Bar

Dublin 22

Co Cork

Monsoon Valley

Co Donegal

Brownes

Co Galway

The Pembroke Restaurant @ The Imperial Hotel

Ard Na Breatha

Co Donegal

The Blue Door

Co Limerick

Paddy The Farmers

Co Cork

The Garden Bar & Grill

Co Dublin

Dragon Inn Restaurant

Co Tipperary

Brannigan's

Dublin 8

The Schoolhouse Restaurant

BT23 6EA

Thatch & Thyme

Co Cork

Relish Brasserie

Co Laois

The Georgian Fast Food Company

Dublin 18

Tiramisu Café

Co Cork

Ristorante Mia Maria @ Sweeneys of Kilbride

Dublin 15

Dawros Bay Hotel

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Seasons of Skerries

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Harpers @ Hotel Kilkenny

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PoppySeed - Eyre Street

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Lavanda Restaurant

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PoppySeed - Oranmore

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The Creel Coffee House

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Logue's Bar

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Tullys Hotel

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Lishh Café

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Hatch and Sons

Dublin 2

Forge Road Café

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Old Street Restaurant

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The Galway Plate

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The Old House Restaurant

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The Laurentic Bar & Bistro

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Café Bar @ Mill Park Hotel

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The Pavilion Café @ Pavilion Garden Centre

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Rage

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Blueberry Tearoom

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Andy's Bar & Restaurant

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Pink Garlic Letterkenny

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Cians on Bridge Street

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Pallet Pizza Café

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Treacy's Bar & Restaurant

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Kilfeathers @ The Stone Leaf

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Westport Country Lodge

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The Erriseask Restaurant @ The Connemara Sands Hotel

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Thundercut Alley

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River Room @ Galgorm Resort

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The Copper Jug

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Fratelli @ Galgorm Resort

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The Seafood Bar @ Kirwans

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Cobblestone Joes

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The White House

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The Eden House

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Gillies Bar & Restaurant @ Galgorm Resort

Heaven Pizza

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Tuar Ard Coffee Shop

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Urban Kitchen & Coffee Co

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Twenty One

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Peach Tree East

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House of Plates

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Lodge Restaurant @ Letterfrack Lodge

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Bru House Newbridge

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AB Sytems

http://www.absystems.ie/

PestGuard Ltd

http://www.pestguard.ie/

Let's Connect

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Miller Group

http://www.millergroupbelfast.com/

O'Donnell & Associates

http://www.oda.ie/

SM Gas Services

n/a

Irish Distributors Ltd

http://www.irishdist.ie/

Bakeshop Sligo

http://bakeshopsligo.com/#top

Oths Consultants Ltd

http://www.oths.ie/

Thornton's Recycling Restaurants Association of Ireland http://thorntons-recycling.ie/

11 Bridge Court – Citygate St. Augustine Street - Dublin 8 - Registered Company No. 56224 Airways Canopy & Duct Cleaning- Services http://www.airways.ie/

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Manage your restaurant, Boyne Valley Claims Ireland’s Foodie Destination Title your payments and your time.

For a second year in a row, Derry was announced as the Foodie Destinations runner up, showing that they are again one of the top foodie destinations in Ireland.

In 3rd place was The Burren, 4th place was new entry Cong and 5th place went to Sligo. The announcements were made at an event held in Hotel Doolin, Co. Clare on Wednesday 21st September.

The Restaurants Association of Ireland is delighted to announce that the winner of Foodie Destinations 2016 is Boyne Valley. After a rigorous few weeks of applications, town visits and over 10,000 online votes, Boyne Valley Business doesn’t stand still, andthemselves yours is no exception, have beaten the competition and proven is whyleader we think you’ll love this new iPad towhich be an excellent as a foodie destination.

From Tapas Trails and Food Safaris to innovative strategies based point-of-sale system.

Brought to you by talech, for growth and development, they set the benchmark association with Elavon, our iPad combined solution forinfood tourism in Ireland.

enables you to manage your restaurant, your payments Representatives from the top ten final and your time.

foodie destinations were present to hear who would claim Ireland’s Premier Foodie Destination title.

Aoife Carrigy, chairperson, Irish Food Writers Guild and Foodie Destinations judge stated of Boyne Valley: “They represent an Ireland that is ready to reclaim our food culture of today, of yesterday and of tomorrow, and to bring that to a world stage.”

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food trends

Know who’s in command The traditional brigade system is specialised almost to the point of dysfunction if one or two of the workers were sick or got kicked by a horse!

Members of the Brigade

The general hierarchy is as follows, with each position directly responsible to the position above his.

Chef de Cuisine –This chef is in charge of the entire kitchen. He prepares menus, purchases foods and directs everything that goes on in his kitchen.

The Kitchen Brigade is a structural chain of command for professional kitchens created by the legendary French chef, Georges-Auguste Escoffier. Named by Kaiser Wilhelm as “the emperor of chefs,” he is one of the most important figures in the development of modern French cuisine, and one of the fathers of haute cuisine. Most kitchens today use a similar system based on Escoffier’s ideas.

Way back when there were only two classes, the aristocracy and everyone else, the titled elite could afford to spend hours and hours “at table” while a chef prepared course after course for their culinary pleasure. They could dawdle about, drink and dally while waiting for each course. After all, what else did they have to do except be rich? And everyone else? Well, they cooked for themselves. If they could find anything to cook, that is.

What was needed was a system by which culinary tasks were codified and delegated to specific workers in the kitchen.

Enter Escoffier and his Brigade de Cuisine. Escoffier realized that if he could pare the time at table down from six hours to only one or two, the middle class could work a full day and spend their money at a fine hotel restaurant. Escoffier was one of the first, at least in the culinary world, to realize that time is money. Escoffier modelled his Brigade system on the military hierarchy. This system was based on a strict chain of command and a separation and delegation of tasks to a host of different kitchen workers.

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Sous Chef de Cuisine –Sous means under in French. The sous chef is the chef de cuisine’s deputy chef. He takes his orders directly from the chef de cuisine and acts in his place if he is not present.

Chef de Partie –There is not one chef de partie. A chef de partie is in charge of a particular station in the kitchen. Each chef de partie might have one or more cuisiniers, commis or apprentices working directly under him.

Cuisinier –The cuisiniers are cooks. They are responsible for preparing specific dishes at a specific station.

Commis - The commis, or junior cooks, also work a specific station, but they are generally responsible for taking care of the tools on that station. They report directly to the chef de partie.

Apprentice – An apprentice might work a specific station, eventually. They are usually gaining work experience and help with cleaning and prep work. At the start of his apprenticeship, an apprentice might even find himself washing dishes.

The Stations

There were many stations in the kitchens of Escoffier’s time. Each station was run by a chef de partie who reported to the sous chef. I am leaving out some of the more esoteric stations because in my opinion, they have no relevance in todays’ commercial restaurant kitchens. The stations listed here are still seen, in whole or combined with other stations, in modern commercial kitchens; Saucier , Rotisseur , Grillardin

food trends , Friturier, Poissonier, Preparations, Entremetier, Potager, Legumier, Garde Manger, Patissier, Boulanger, Executive chef , Sous Chef, Pastry Chef, Line Cooks, Garde Manger , Fry Cook, Grill Cook, Saute Cook and Pastry cook/ plater.

While the brigade of today is very different from the brigade of Escoffier’s day, today’s cooks owe the spirit of their stations to that great chef and culinary innovator.

The Kitchen brigade of the future could and should in my belief adapt and evolve to a hybrid of all that is good from the past the present and the future while also looking at what is happening both here in Europe and Overseas.

Kitchen Manager - Has the overall responsibility for the smooth running of every facet of the kitchen. I would ask you to ponder is it more important that this person is the culinary genius in the kitchen or the person who will make sure that every member of the team has the tools they need to complete the job required of them to deliver exceptional experiences for your guests? I would suggest that the most important skills needed to be a great kitchen manager in today’s world are more in line with a project manager. Someone who is extremely organised, a multi tasker, great at delegating responsibility and developing and training a team of professionals and last and probably most important great financial awareness and ability to manage their profit and losses.

Line Cook - These are the chefs who are responsible for the actual cooking of the food in a busy kitchen and typically are split into various stations for example you will have one that excels on the grill but is not as efficient on the fryers. You will find chefs are more passionate about one aspect of cooking, for example if a chef lives and loves a healthy lifestyle then they will excel in the area of creating amazing salads and healthy options and this can easily be brought into any operation as additional value to the guest.

Prep Chef - This is the engine room of any good operation and the one person you cannot live without. The prep chef is the direct line between what is needed for ordering and what is needed for service and has the responsibility to work closely with both sides of the operation. A good prep chef will save you both time and money and also enable your line cooks to deliver a more consistent and timely offering for your guest.

I will leave you with this thought in this day and age and with all we know about the shortage of skilled chefs in our industry, maybe it is time to look at taking the best of both past and present while also looking at best practices from around the globe to create the brigades of the future.

I think we are delusional if we think as people we can be experts in everything especially when it comes to food as it is a living breathing and ever evolving adventure in our lives and what we love today we forget about tomorrow.

Surely in this day and age we should look at our people and understand “WHY” they are doing what they do and what it is they love about what they do and then help them to be the best at what it is they love doing and maybe build a team around those who compliment them.

We need to realise that it’s more than acceptable to not want to be a Head Chef but to expect to be compensated for the contribution you make to a team delivering for the guest. I would argue that if we look at our teams in the kitchen and reward them financially for being part of the overall team that has exceeded the guest expectations then you will have a team that will not only be stronger together but will work harder together.

Imagine if everyone in that team was financially rewarded at the same level for being the expert in their department and instead of leaders and followers. We would have professionals who took pride in their roles and celebrated their achievements as a team.

Hotel & Restaurant Developer Ania Shuhmacher

H&RT OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016

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IT Tallaght

Mastering Taste With so many distractions throughout our day, when chefs taste food are they really savouring the essence of the ingredient?

Chefs that are currently studying on the MSc in Applied Culinary Nutrition at the Institute , recently took part in a workshop which looked at exploring if we are really tasting when we are tasting! The chefs were asked to explore the tasting of food using ‘a mindful approach that uses all the senses’ and to notice if there was a difference in their perception and experience of the actual taste of the food.

In a relaxed environment, this experience ‘peeled’ back the ingredient to its natural characteristics making the ‘taster’ aware of its colour, shape, texture, smell and lastly the actual taste. The majority reported that taste was more pronounced and for some for the first time, they were more ‘tuned-in’ to the various aspects of the ingredient as well as its taste. They reported that it was an enjoyable way of eating and said they believed that it would result in eating less, as the ‘taster’ is more aware of the satiety cues. Some concluded that, as chefs they do not spend enough time really eating and enjoying the food.

Chefs then explored bringing these practices into the kitchen and the dining room and the potential for this approach in varying sectors in the hospitality. Research into mindful eating is ongoing with current research linking it to being of assistance for food intake, portion control, diabetes and weight management. Some students plan to explore this area in greater depth so watch this space!

When you Eat Just Eat!

Mindful Eating …getting started!

1. Honour the food 2. Engage all the senses 3. Be mindful of portion size 4. Chew 5. Eat Slowly 6. Do not skip meals Reference: Dr. Lillian Cheung: Harvard, School of Public Health , Author of ‘Savour’

MSc Calendar of Guest Lecture Series

This semester, students have a varied line up of guest speakers in various programme- related specialist areas to include:

- Mindful tasting

- Medicinal Botanical foods

- Raw food

- The Gluten free Professional Kitchen

- Adapting Cuisine for Health and Wellness

- Food law from the lawyer’s perspective

- Role of advertising standards in promoting a food business The MSc in Applied Culinary nutrition is a two-year part-time programme specifically designed for practising chefs. Applications now open for September 2017. For further details contact: 01-4042826

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