Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Magazine - Feb/March 2023 - Issue 214

Page 6

'' Naples, a thousand colours,,

Thousands of colours and flavours connect the history of Naples to our mill. A story made of passion, generosity and respect of the tradition.

CAPUTO
www.papa.org.uk
11 mulino di Napoli

Welcome

In this issue, we hear from some well known names in the sector – Dawn Farms, Leathams and Papa Johns - and look ahead to some of the year’s early exhibitions (Northern Restaurant & Bar Show, IFE and HRC).

It’s never too early to start thinking about this year’s PAPA Awards, so we encourage you to take up the chance to get nominating and help promote your business.

Editor Clare Ben eld

01291 636336 e-mail clare@jandmgroup.co.uk

Advertising Andrew Emery telephone 01291 636334 e-mail andrew@jandmgroup.co.uk

Production Gareth Symonds telephone 01291 636339 e-mail gareth@jandmgroup.co.uk

Subscriptions

01291 636338

©

22 A foodie-inspired move – Leathams’ new o ces.

32 Q&A with Dawn Farms Foods’ Bryan Murphy.

FEATURES

24 Anything goes – pizza toppings.

ARTICLES

16 Helping to tackle the recruitment challenge –Jobtrain.

18 Enhancing the customer, and employee, experience - Papa Johns’ Lee Reed.

38 Building customer trust and loyalty for coeliacs – the Gluten Free Accreditation Scheme. 40 Are you prepared for the challenges ahead? REGULARS

suppliers.

43 Classi eds.

telephone
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J & M Group Engine Rooms, Station Road, Chepstow
5PB Contents NEWS
Delivery and takeaway sales still double pre-Covid levels despite dip in 2022.
Omnichannel a strategic move as operators face tough conditions.
Dairy Partners opens state of the art factory to increase cheese production 10 Registration is now live for Northern Restaurant & Bar 2023. PAPA ASSOCIATION
PAPA Awards 2023. PREVIEW 36 Elevate your business at HRC and IFE – show preview.
subscriptions@papa.org.uk
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PROFILE
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17 New members.
New products.
Index of
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CLARE BENFIELD EDITOR clare@jandmgroup.co.uk
Opinions expressed in Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food magazine are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of J&M Group, Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food magazine or The Pizza & Pasta Association. No responsibility is accepted for the opinions of contributors. Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food is published by J&M group Ltd. and supports The Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Association. It is circulated to managers, executives, buyers, retailers and traders in the pizza and pasta business.
J&M Group Ltd. 2023
ALPHIN PANS ap Serving the Pizza Professional Since 1989 Telephone: 01457 872486 Email: sales@alphin.co.uk Fax: 01457 820868 Alphin Pans Ltd Oakdale Mill, Delph New Road Delph, Oldham, OL3 5BY Alphin Pans is the UK’s largest manufacturer of pizza pans and pizza related equipment, we hold large stocks of all the most popular sizes of pans and can manufacture to your specific need if required. Please contact us on 01457 872486 or visit our website: www.alphin.co.uk to see what we can do for you. Making the pizza professional happy since 1989

Delivery and takeaway sales still double pre-Covid levels despite dip in 2022

Managed restaurant groups’ delivery and takeaway sales ended 2022 at twice their pre-Covid level, CGA by NielsenIQ’s latest Hospitality at Home Tracker shows.

Combined sales in December 2022 were 104% higher than in December 2019, with deliveries up 238% and takeaway and click-and-collect orders 53% ahead, the researchers reported towards the end of January.

The figures confirm how lockdowns and the convenience of delivery platforms have transformed the market for restaurants, long after the end of Covid restrictions in Britain. Managed groups received just over 24% of their total sales from deliveries and takeaways in December, the Hospitality at Home Tracker shows. It also highlights the increasing importance of drinks, which now account for 10% of all at-home orders, they report.

However, trading has plateaued since late 2021, they observe. The Tracker shows total delivery and takeaway sales in 2022 were 2% behind December 2021—the fourteenth month of year-on-year decline in a row.

Karl Chessell, CGA director - hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “After booming in 2020 and 2021, it was a year of consolidation for the delivery and takeaway sector. A return to eating out and a squeeze on consumer spending both contributed to the plateauing of sales throughout 2022. Nevertheless, with nearly a quarter of all sales now coming from at-home orders, Covid has cemented food and drink deliveries in people’s habits. The big challenge for all restaurant groups in 2023 is to protect sales and margins on third-party delivery platforms without compromising eat-in trade.”

The CGA Hospitality at Home Tracker

is a source of data and insight for the delivery and takeaway market, providing monthly reports on the value and volume of sales, with year-on-year comparisons and splits between food and drink revenue. It offers a benchmark by which brands can measure their performance, and participants receive detailed data in return for their contributions.

Partners on the Tracker are Azzurri Group, Big Table Group, BrewDog, Burger King UK, Byron, Cote, Dishoom, Five Guys, Gaucho Grill, Giggling Squid, Honest Burgers, Island Poke, Nando’s, Pizza Express, Pizza Hut UK, Prezzo, Rosa’s Thai, TGI Fridays UK, The Restaurant Group, Tortilla, Wagamama and YO! Sushi.

Takeaway orders up by 10% during World Cup

Takeaway orders rose during this winter’s World Cup, with orders up by +10% on average during England’s fixtures, according to data from Foodhub.

Analysts at Foodhub, UK-based food ordering app platform, reported the average increase in online orders across the five games that England played before they were disappointingly knocked out.

And it seemed pizza was firmly on the brain, as a fifth of the UK (19%) chose pizza as their favourite footy takeaway, with fried chicken (10%) and a Chinese takeaway (9%) rounding off the top three.

Emma Stockman, a spokesperson for Foodhub, said: “It’s great to see that people enjoyed a takeaway treat while watching the tournament. We ran a recent study which showed that over half of the UK (56%) agrees that watching football is better with food, so we’re thrilled they chose to use Foodhub to order their football feast.

“With the World Cup running throughout the winter, it comes as no surprise that 52% of Brits would opt to watch the football in the comfort of their own home, particularly with the temperature being so low at the moment.

“We may not have brought it home this time, but it was a fantastic tournament and we’re so proud of our national team!”  Foodhub is an innovative food tech company. There are more than 20,000 takeaway and restaurant partners currently featured online at its web site and through the apps available for iOS and Android. Foodhub says that it wants to shine a light on the best of local food and traditions, just like the Foodhub Marketplace brings together the best local takeaways.

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Omnichannel a strategic move as operators face

tough conditions

There is appetite for omnichannel products as consumers reduce restaurant visits due to financial pressures, claim market researchers, Lumina, after launching their Lumina Omnichannel Foodservice Report 2022 towards the end of last year.

The report brought awareness to a decline of restaurant penetration – -1.1ppt year-on-year - as the cost of living crisis has led to consumers reducing discretionary spending.

At the same time, restaurant operators face immense challenges including increasing business costs and reduced footfall, highlighting the importance of diversifying their portfolio of products and enhancing their brand image to remain profitable, Lumina feel.

On a positive note, as consumers reduce restaurant visits due to financial pressures, there is appetite for omnichannel products, some of which have made their way into the consumer household permanently (such as Nando’s Perinaise sauce, or Pizza Express’s chilled pizzas).

A closer look has also shown that sauces and seasonings are popular, yet are less frequently purchased, whereas meal kits and ready meals promise high frequency purchasing following initial engagement, which omnichannel has driven forward, alongside brand awareness, with 40% visiting a restaurant following trying its retail products.

“The consumer appetite is there,” says Blonnie Whist, insights director at Lumina Intelligence, who presented the report recently at the Omnichannel Conference, as well as Lumina’s Food Strategy Forum back in December.

“Two thirds of shoppers have bought a foodservice branded product in the past three months, highlighting the interest for these products. 46% have purchased a new foodservice branded product since lockdown, demo nstrating a willingness for experimentation and an opportunity for further innovation.”

The Lumina Omnichannel Foodservice Report 2022 aims to help businesses understand consumer perceptions and attitudes around branded restaurant products in grocery, assessing the omnichannel opportunity for meal kits, ready meals and FMCG products such as sauces and salad dressings, in order to grow customers and brand loyalty.

The report has been produced with the following feedback from 1,000 Lumina Intelligence Omnichannel Foodservice Bespoke Surveys, 1,500 questionnaires per week, all channels and dayparts, via Lumina Intelligence’s UK Eating & Drinking Out Panel, as well as external websites and apps sourced throughout the report.

Carpigiani expands team

Carpigiani UK has announced the appointment of David Lewis (pictured) to the role of business development manager – design & display.

With over a decade of experience in the industry, David Lewis brings with him a wealth of skills and knowledge, in a move that will be highly beneficial for Carpigiani.

Paul Ingram, managing director at Carpigiani UK said: “We are delighted to have David join us here at Carpigiani UK. With his impressive track record within our industry, especially within the ISA custom projects and design area, and his experience in the ice cream parlour and café sector in particular, he will be a great asset to our business. David will be focusing on our burgeoning gelato display division and utilising the IFI design concepts to help customers to create amazing spaces. Whether a single display case or a complete turnkey project, David will be on hand to turn ideas into reality.”

Jumping straight into the action with Carpigiani UK, David Leiws’s first day was as at Sigep in Rimini, Italy. “I think it truly was the best first day that anyone could have in a new role! I had a great opportunity to meet the wider Carpigiani team and learn as much as I could from my new colleagues, as well as attending some of the seminars and sampling some amazing gelato. I already know the quality of equipment and service that Carpigiani provides, so moving forward I’ll be using my experience with design and display to reach out and help existing and potential clients,” added David Lewis.

Manchester’s Festa Italiana confirms dates

Manchester’s only dedicated Italian festival, Festa Italiana, honours the very best Italian restaurants, brands, and producers, and for three days in August the event will be setting out to transform Cathedral Gardens in the city centre into ’Little Italy’ for one big Italian street party celebrating the best food, drink, and music that the nation has to offer.

The people of Manchester certainly enjoy this slice of the Italian life, with over 40,000 people eating and drinking their way around the street food, pop-up dining events,producer stalls, masterclasses, and bars last year.

This year, Festa Italiana will be returning to Manchester for its sixth year, with plans to bring together even more Italian culture, food, drink, chefs, and music than ever before. The organisers have now confirmed the dates for this year’s event as 25-27 August 20223 (the bank holiday weekend).

NEWS
6 For the latest updates, visit www.festaitalianauk.com

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Chimney fan for pizza ovens removes smoke and bad odours

In many restaurants, the wood-fired catering equipment is situated near a high-capacity extraction canopy for the stoves. This can interfere with the natural draught in the chimney of the wood-fired oven or open barbecue fire and cause smoke to be drawn out into the kitchen. The result? A kitchen full of smoke and unsanitary particles.

The Exodraft chimney fan ensures an optimal draught in the chimney, resulting in a kitchen and restaurant without smoke and bad odours.

At the same time, the fan ensures that you always have a consistent draught which helps create consistent cooking results.

Often due to the positioning of the pizza oven, long horizontal complicated flue runs will be required to take away the smoke. The Exodraft chimney fan will allow complete flexibility in the positioning of the oven.

Find out more and watch our case video at: www.exodraft.co.uk/pizza

www.papa.org.uk 7 Your energy. Optimized.

Dina Foods showcases authentic range at IFE 2023

Mediterranean food supplier, London-based Dina Foods, will be showcasing its range of authentic breads, savouries and confectionery on stand 4218 at the upcoming International Food & Drink Event, IFE, taking place from 20-22 March, 2023 at the ExCeL Centre in London.

Some of its best-selling ranges will be showcased to visitors, including its traditional artisanal flatbreads, ranging from Pitta to its signature Paninette® wraps and Lavash bread. New additions this year are the Tanour bread and Oregano and Sourdough flavoured Paninette wraps. Its vegan savouries, including a wide range of Falafel, such as the popular sweet potato version, and hummus and dips, will be on display. Dina will also bring its premium layered filo pastry Baklawa, which are in high demand, report the firm.

Dina Foods has come a long way since the family brought Lebanese food to the UK in the 1970s, says Wilda Haddad, project director. Brothers Fadi, Samir, and Wilda’s father Suheil Haddad, (the managing director of Dina Foods) and the fourth brother, the highly talented chef Amin Haddad, who has sadly since passed away, initially set up one of the first Lebanese restaurants in the country, Fakhreldine, in London’s Mayfair in the 1980s.

The brothers’ original 220-cover Fakhreldine soon became a destination restaurant in London, with queues for tables every night. A second site was then opened, the seafoodspecialist venue Lucullus.

It was from here that Dina Foods was born in 1992, originally launching in Hackney, before moving to the Park Royal area in north-west London twenty-four years ago, when it outgrew the original site. From the start the company a leading supplier of Mediterranean flatbreads in the UK, launching the UK’s first Lebanese flatbread with a major high street retailer.

Now in their thirty first year, the company is BRC AA+ certified with a multimillion-pound turnover supplying foodservice businesses and national and international retailers and employing some 180 people.

Dairy Partners opens state of the art factory to increase cheese production

Dairy Partners, which claims to be the UK’s largest manufacturer of mozzarella and pizza cheese, will increase its production of further processed chilled and IQF cheese and dairy products following its £25 million investment into a new factory.

Becoming one of the most advanced dairy facilities in Europe, Dairy Partners’ purpose-built site in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire will have capacity to process and pack fifty thousand tonnes of dairy products per year; the majority of which will be supplied from its dairy in West Wales.

Dairy Partners says that it continues to lead the way in sustainable dairy manufacturing and as a further commitment to the ‘Dairy UK Climate Carbon Reduction Plan’, the new factory having been built to incorporate high-spec sustainable technology. This includes solar energy production, water harvesting, heat recovery for office heating and cooling and construction that utilises BAT (Best Available Techniques) materials and processes to minimise heat loss and energy consumption.

Will Bennett, managing director at Dairy Partners said: “Our new facility has given us the opportunity to significantly increase our output whilst aligning with our company ethos and proud British heritage. The factory has been built with our staff in mind and the team are excited to be working from this state-of-the-art facility that includes a canteen and open decking area to positively support their wellbeing.

“For customers, our new facility means more product, more choice and more innovation as our new machinery allows us to explore and introduce other product lines. New and existing customers can continue to have the confidence that all our products can be traced right the way through the supply chain back to British farms.”

Boasting some of the most advanced dairy manufacturing machinery, the facility is home to new technology including automatic packing solutions for all production lines. IQF shredded, chilled shredded and functional processed cheese lines will all benefit from a faster production process.

Dairy Partners Cymru Wales was established in 1938 and has been operating a processing plant in Wales making mozzarella blocks from fresh, locally sourced milk ever since. In support of its proud British heritage, the company introduced a direct milk supply contract with around 150 local farmers to not only significantly reduce the carbon footprint of its products but to support the local economy and employment.

Dairy Partners’ recently opened facility in Gloucestershire is the company’s new head office and processing plant, further boosting the businesses reputation as a local company with a global reach. It is anticipated that this new factory will support and enable company growth and development as Dairy Partners continues to be the UK’s largest independent manufacturer of British mozzarella, pizza cheese and other pasta filata cheese products.

The company has become a trusted supplier to all non-retail dairy buying sectors worldwide and turns over more than £130 million, serving companies large and small around the world.

NEWS
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020 8424 9483 ESTABLISHED 1990 - LONDON COMPLETE CATERING EQUIPMENT www.pizzaequipment.ltd.uk sales@pizzaequipment.ltd.uk

Registration is now live for Northern Restaurant & Bar 2023

As well as sourcing innovative products, visitors can discover the latest trends in the sector and be inspired with demos and talks by some of the most well-respected operators and brands in the industry. With 60 live demonstrations in five theatres there will be lots to see, taste and learn over the two days.

Northern Restaurant & Bar (sponsored by Uber Eats) returns to Manchester Central on 14-15 March, promising to be unmissable date in the diary for everyone in the northern hospitality industry, and bringing together over 8,500 visitors and 300+ exhibitors for two days of business, networking, and education.

“We’re delighted that trade registration for Northern Restaurant & Bar 2023 is open ahead of our biggest and best show yet. It’s time to get together again, to do business, share best practice, support each other, network with your peers, and celebrate hospitality in the north,” said Chris Brazier, group event director of Diversified Communications, organisers of the event.

Featuring over 300 suppliers, Northern Restaurant & Bar is the essential event to discover the latest food, drink, equipment, tabletop, furniture, interior design, technology, and services suppliers all under one roof. Booked exhibitors for 2023 include LWC Drinks,

Rational UK, Unox UK, Diageo, Matthew Clark, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Greene King, Uber Eats, Stephensons, illycaffe UK Ltd, Churchill, Moda Commercial, SEVENROOMS, Koppert Cress, Mrs Dowsons, AO Seafood, James Robertshaw, Travelzoo Ltd, Valentine Equipment, La Tua Pasta, Vorwerk Thermomix, and many more.

Returning show features include the Craft Beer Quarter, Spirit Room and Market Kitchen which will allow visitors to sample new products from an exciting mix of independent breweries, distilleries, and small batch food suppliers, helping operators keep their food and drink menus fresh.

The Chef Live Theatre is NRB’s main stage where chefs from around the country will demonstrate their skills in the kitchen, showcasing their unique style and flare. There will also be spirit masterclasses with leading experts from international brands and indie producers on the Drinks Live stage. Tastings led by industry experts at the Grape & Grain Theatre will include in depth explorations in upcoming areas such as natural wine and low ABV beer.

On Day 1 of NRB the tenth Kuits NRB Top Fifty power list will be announced, which highlights the most important and influential operators in the North. After extensive research and judging by top industry experts, the awards highlight the best of the best as well as awarding special achievement awards to three operators who have done something truly exceptional in the industry.

The Bruntwood NRB Debate, which takes place alongside NRB23, includes a panel discussion about a specific challenge in the industry followed by an interview with an influential industry leader. Not to be missed, the Bruntwood NRB Debate will provide rare and exclusive insights from the operators themselves.

To register for a free trade ticket visit  www.northernrestaurantandbar.co.uk

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Veganuary 2023 breaks all records in campaign’s tenth year

Veganuary, the global organisation encouraging people to try vegan in January and beyond, has again broken all previous records and welcomed more participants than ever before with 706,965 people officially signing up from nearly every country in the world.

Only Vatican City and North Korea (where the internet is banned) are missing from the official list of participants for 2023 – the tenth year the campaign has taken place – report the campaigners.

However, even the record-breaking sign-up number is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg as several studies have suggested total participation in Veganuary is significantly larger than the number of people who register through Veganuary’s website.

In a YouGov survey conducted in January 2023, 4% of UK respondents reported participating in Veganuary during the month (all figures from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2200 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 23 and 24 January 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+)), while a 2022 YouGov poll found that 9% of Brits had ever participated in Veganuary since the campaign began in January 2014 (all figures from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2129 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 18-19 August 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+)).

These figures provide a glimpse into the broader public participation in Veganuary and its influence as a social movement. The campaign’s social media presence also continues to grow around the world with #Veganuary now having been viewed on TikTok more than 894 million times and over 300 million people engaging with Veganuary’s international social media channels in January 2023. Launching its first month-long vegan pledge in the UK in January 2014, Veganuary has been increasing its global reach for several years, opening offices in the US, Germany and Chile in 2019, Argentina and Brazil in 2020 and India in 2021. Official Veganuary campaigns also take place in Italy, France, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia, Singapore and Mexico in collaboration with local organisations. Veganuary’s five-year strategy envisions the campaign expanding into a further ten countries by 2027.

Celebrities are increasingly drawn to the campaign’s fun, friendly approach to diet change with 2023 participants including Peter Andre, actor Diane Morgan, ITV chef Juliet Sear and Corrie’s Alexandra Mardell taking part in Veganuary 2023, while Lucy Watson and Alexis Gauthier became official ambassadors for the charity this year. Previous Veganuary participants include rock legend Brian May, TV presenter Jasmine

Harman, wildlife presenter Chris Packham, ‘dragon’ Deborah Meaden, Eastender’s Kellie Bright and actor Peter Egan, all of whom continue to support the charity.

To enable people to participate in the campaign in ways that suit their lifestyle in an ever-changing world, Veganuary launched two new platforms for public engagement this year – a 31-day YouTube series providing helpful tips and advice, as well as a weekly podcast series with guests including Veganuary Ambassador Lucy Watson, Ella Mills (aka Deliciously Ella), gourmet French chef Alexis Gauthier and actor Danny Hatchard.

Reflecting on the success of the 2023 campaign, Veganuary’s head of communications Toni Vernelli said: “The impact our food choices have on the planet is getting harder to ignore, and it’s very inspiring to see so many people around the world starting the new year by taking action. Attitudes towards veganism are changing, and Veganuary’s just-give-it-a-go-fora-month-and-see-what-you-think approach has undoubtedly played an instrumental role in this shift, offering a nonjudgmental way for businesses and individuals alike to explore a transition towards plant-based.”

www.papa.org.uk 11 NEWS

Greenock to enjoy a slice of Papa Johns

The community of Greenock is now able to enjoy a slice of Papa Johns following the company’s latest store opening in the Renfrewshire town of Scotland.

The store is the first of three new Papa Johns set to be opened over the next few months by multi-unit franchisee Nazim Vadiwala, supported by his 70 strong team who also manage Leithwalk in Edinburgh, Perth, Clydebank and Whitley Bay.

Nazim Vadiwala, who worked for a rival pizza firm for ten years before joining Papa Johns in 2018, said: “My team is the secret of my success and for us, pizza is all about the people and we are growing! My operations director, Syed Salman, works closely with and Mark Morrison. Younus Mohamed is our trainer and general manager who brings our managers up to the top standard. Then we also have Shaik Fouzan Ahmed who is involved in recruitment and training of staff in Scotland. Between them, they have all the right ingredients to

develop the skill set of our wider team. This is achieved through hands-on mentoring backed up by online training modules, to ensure standards, service and quality are the very best on offer.”

Nazim Vadiwala likes everyone from his Papa Johns’ family to be involved in developing the brand’s local presence, and has started encouraging ideas for regional and social media marketing through WhatsApp.

“It’s fun and motivating and means everyone can contribute to our success. As a business, we must do more than simply satisfy demand. We need to stand out and working together as a team gives us an edge to ensure our superb pizza, made with only the freshest, finest ingredients is prominently promoted as the top choice locally when it comes to a meal to share with friends and family in

Greenock,” he said.

Nazim Vadiwala was also able to take advantage of Papa Johns’ special incentive scheme for new store openings. “This is has supported us when launching and will be helpful as we continue to expand into further trade zones, enabling even more customers to enjoy the treat of Papa Johns whatever the occasion,” he added.

Double delight as Henley Bridge gets ready for ‘take off’

Ingredients supplier Henley Bridge says that it is doubling its efforts to keep customers up to speed with its latest brands and innovations.

Following on from the success of the company’s inaugural Day of Excellence, which was held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September last year, the growing company has announced plans to host not one but two events in 2023.

The first event will be held on Thursday, 30 March 2023 in The Concorde Hangar in Altrincham, Manchester. The second will take place on Wednesday, 27 September 2023 at Twickenham Stadium in London.

Part of the HMS Group of companies, Henley Bridge claims to be the UK’s largest independent chocolate supplier, supplying chocolatiers, gelato artists, bakers and chefs.

Visitors on both ‘Days of Excellence’ can expect culinary demonstrations and exhibition stands from Henley Bridge’s leading brands, which include Belcolade, Republica del Cacao, deZaan, Sosa, Pidy, Essential Cuisine, Dobla and Boiron, plus exclusive, on-the-day-only discounts, competitions and prize giveaways.

Tracey Hughes, managing director of Henley Bridge, commented: “Our inaugural event last year was a huge success with over 250 visitors attending. Whilst everyone gave tremendous feedback from the event, one of the things that was flagged up was the desire for a similar event to be held in

the north to make it more easily accessible for our customers who are located there. We’re very excited to have secured The Concorde Hangar for our northern venue –with the opportunity for guests to tour the iconic plane - and we’re sure the event will be ‘first class’!”

12 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk NEWS

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Become a sponsor

The PAPA Industry Awards are the highlight of the Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food industry calendar.

The PAPA Awards Dinner is a veritable who’s who of key names from across the industry with senior figures from major retailers such as M&S, Sainsbury’s and Aldi, and high street chains such as Prezzo, Papa Johns and Domino’s, as well as leading suppliers and manufacturers.

As well as offering fantastic exposure for your brand, being front and centre as a sponsor provides you with a head start in making connections during the judging process and at the Awards Dinner.

For more details on how sponsorship can help you make new connections contact Sandra Bennett on 01291 636348 or email sandra@papa.org.uk www.papaindustryawards.co.uk

SOME OF THE CONNECTIONS MADE IN 2022

Papa Johns’ Lee Reed & Zizzi’s Kathryn Turner Danscorella’s Will Bennett & the winners from Tesco Futura Foods’ Mark Humphrey & Tony Macaroni’s Simone Petulla Conveni’s Noel Reidy & La Tua Pasta’s Leonardo Tita Just Eat’s Ilana Fox & Pizza Triangle’s, Sapa Nurberdiyev Stateside’s, Phil Goodhall & YUM UK’s Keith Griffiths
2023 pizza, pasta & italianfood assoc i a t i o n
9 November 2023 at the Royal Lancaster London Industry PAPA Awards 2023 SAVE THE DATE AND JOIN US AT THE PAPA AWARDS DINNER 2023 pizza, pasta & italianfood assoc i a t i o n

Helping to tackle the recruitment challenge

Jobtrain is a business that provides recruitment and hiring software for small businesses right up to large enterprise employers, and who have announced a new partnership with the Pizza Pasta & Italian Food Association to provide an all-new job advertising portal and careers site for 2023.

NEW MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT

This new solution will enable all members to post their jobs online to reach and attract candidates to apply for their jobs. Jobtrain’s software tools work by helping to reduce time-to-hire and administration, providing access to free job advertising, reducing reliance on expensive recruitment agencies and by providing a full online solution to manage hiring seamlessly.

In addition, for members who might be interested in using Jobtrain’s full online recruitment software platform, they are o ering an exclusive 15% discount on all their annual fees too, and are looking forward to sharing their 20 years of knowledge and insight on all matters relating to recruitment with members.

MANAGING RECRUITMENT - HINTS AND TIPS FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES

“Running a small business enterprise (SME) can be a challenging experience. You need to be an expert on your product/service, on nance, on management and leadership, on networking etc.,” says Giles HeckstallSmith Jobtrain’s director of strategic development (pictured above right).

“Against that backdrop, having to manage recruitment is sometimes seen as a necessary evil - it needs to be done, it provides the lifeblood of your company – but no-one actually likes having to nd candidates and manage the process and in today’s climate this can be a huge challenge too! Here are some of my tips for taking some of the pain out of hiring.”

De ne what you’re looking for in your candidates and engage them with your advert

I know it sounds obvious, but it really is important to write down what you see this person doing. What is the problem that you have and why do you need to hire someone?

The temptation is to think “I’ll know it when I see it”, but you won’t attract the right people to sit in front of you if you don’t frame the job correctly in the rst instance.

What’s important here is to allow your own passion, your own culture to frame the description of the job you want to ll. You probably noticed there that I deliberately avoided using the term ‘job description’ as that has connotations

16 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk RECRUITMENT

of boring, dry and overly factual detail. What many job descriptions fail to do is to provide context.

Where do I nd candidates

Speaking with many SMEs, I am always surprised at just how much they are prepared to spend on advertising and on agencies.

In the research Jobtrain conducted, amongst a wide range of SMEs we found that a typical spend of £80,000 per annum was the norm (split between agency fees and recruitment advertising).

Now, for some specialist roles that can be hard to ll, there is no doubt a place for agencies. However, they should not be a rst resort for many positions.

NEW MEMBERS

PERCO (NORTH EAST) LTD.

Where do I advertise my jobs?

In the UK there are a number of job boards that dominate the marketplace – Indeed, reed.co.uk, Totaljobs, and CV Library are four of the largest job boards.

There are many hundreds (possibly thousands) of others but unless you are looking at niche or very sector speci c roles then these three probably serve most purposes.

But what you may not know is that there are a number of sites where you can post your jobs for free, including Google and Indeed, the world’s largest job board! Jobtrain’s recruitment software, for instance, enables you to post all your jobs to these sites with a single click and no adverting fees!

Top tips for interviewing

There is no right or wrong answer to the rst bit of interviewing – do you screen people over the phone? Do you interview via Zoom or Teams? Do you conduct face to face interviews? There are bene ts in each and you need to decide which is right for you.

Speed is important!

With more vacancies than applicants right now, speed really is of the essence, so engage with candidates quickly!

Phone interviews can save a lot of time if you have a clear requirement and you feel you can assess people in a ve to ten minute conversation. This may involve asking them some questions about

their experience, their understanding of your business and the role they have applied for, or what their ambitions are? The important thing is to contact candidates quickly and let them know you are interested in their application! And let anyone that hasn’t been successful know too – recruitment software can automate this for you.

Take control of your own hiring and reduce reliance on agencies

At the start of this article, I shared the costs that SMEs were incurring in their recruitment activity (£80,000 per annum). That excludes the admin costs of managing all the queries, the interview arrangements, the o ers and the rejections etc.

For an investment at a fraction of the price you can have your own recruitment solution in place in just a matter of days with solutions such as our JTGO and Jobtrain applications.

Improving productivity is a goal that all sectors are striving to achieve and using systems like Jobtrain and JTGO can help to remove a huge time burden whilst delivering the tools to help you manage recruitment for yourself.

To nd out more, visit jobtrain.co.uk/bsa

Since 1996, Perco have supplied the foodservice industry with leading QSR brands such as Lamb Weston and McCain.

Perco is also well known for its own branded pizza sauces and halal pizza toppings that have proven popular among independent retailers for many years. One of the key foundations on which Perco’s success has been built is its strong relationships with suppliers and members. As a result, Perco has grown its network of wholesalers to over 120 active members based throughout mainland Britain.

Perco (North East) Ltd.

Perco House

Norton TS20 1DN

United Kingdom

Contact: Leah Homer Tel: 01642 361515

leah@percofoods.com

www.percofoods.com

www.papa.org.uk 17 RECRUITMENT

Enhancing the customer, and employee, experience

Lee Reed (main picture), who has recently joined Papa Johns as its senior director operations, shares with us some of the current thinking and teamfocused approach and aspirations for their growing UK pizza business.

BACKGROUND

Lee Reed has recently joined Papa Johns from KFC with the aim of driving further operational excellence and franchisee profitability as the company continues to grow. He is now responsible for central and field operations, franchisee team management as well as overseeing customer service teams and field training capability, and is fully focused on enhancing the end-toend customer experience.

Prior to joining Papa Johns, Lee worked at KFC for nine years in various senior roles, most recently as director of franchise operations. Before that, he was a commercial manager at Marks & Spencer, originally joining the organisation four years prior on a graduate scheme.

There are macro challenges facing the QSR industry – how is Papa Johns staying focused and what company plans can you share?

By finding the balance and blend between focusing on the short-term pressures of the ongoing inflation, which is ongoing whilst also easing, and the staffing and labour shortages the whole country is experiencing, and the ability of our talent. The thing for us is how do we elevate our approach to attracting talent, but equally how do we retain the great talent we already have in the business too? Inflationary-wise, the supply team here and internationally are working hard across everything, and we’ve already seen some positive reductions in our key menu items, cheese being one of them – something we’re now hoping to share with our franchisees.

In terms of the here and now, our customers are of course important, but at the same time with having a number of

18 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk

important additions to the leadership team, we are focusing on long term, sustainable growth across our estate, and something we are about to share with our franchise owners and operators too in terms of our strategy on how we can partner together and elevate the brand from a people perspective - improving our partner capability, and enabling our franchisees to grow at a more rapid pace. Equally, we are thinking about how do we help our teams perform better, and how do we deliver a better performance and customer experience to improve the commercial viability of the brand longer term.

How do you work with your franchise network to help them develop their businesses?

We have a team of franchise business managers who are like the partnership account managers of old, and who actively spend time reviewing the business performance of franchisees, visiting their sites, supporting them on the development of people and advising them in terms of technology and its capability within the stores, and how they can leverage local store marketing. They are like business consultants, really, attending meetings as well as being present in the stores.

Since we’ve had some new additions to the leadership team, we’ve increased the frequency of meetings both with our Franchise Advisory Council, our core strategic governing body which includes some of our larger franchisees, and their selected members, to support in the decision-making on direction of travel of the brand across all functions. With all the external pressures we are experiencing from the market, and the things are changing in connection with a new team, we’ve also got monthly franchise operator calls in where we give them an update on the work streams and the progress that’s being made. We have an open culture with lots of conversations taking place. We have operations excellence specialists, for example, who will go out and support some of our smaller partners. So we can tailor our support depending on the resource they have in their organisation.

We look at our estate in a pragmatic way. Ultimately the job is to sell more pizzas, so how do we attract more customers in, the pizza market being a competitive one. We’ve a successful partnership with Haven, for example, and which provides a new way to access customers who might not have ever tried the brand before. We’ve got to think about how we’re acquiring new customers in different ways, given say that we are challenging Domino’s who are bigger than us. So we have holiday park partnerships, a partnership with rugby football union and Leicester Tigers, and MK Dons Arena - are all great ways to do this.

You introduced some new store designs last year – how successful were these and do you plan any further enhancements?

Some of the new store designs already launched in the US and internationally – new décor, lighting etc – will be launched here. We are trying to continually evolve the brand in terms of how it looks from the consumer perspective, as well as via the app and the web and the user experience there. A significant

four out of five of our UK customers order via web or app so that it is a really critical experience point in terms of the journey. But we will be going on that journey of launching the new design in the UK soon, and it’s a question of how it works operationally and making sure we pull together the design with the international team in terms of the menu and sales mix, and the needs of our UK business. We’re very excited about what it’s going to look like, but it will help to elevate the brand further in terms of look and feel by premiumising the brand, and we’re looking at rolling that out as quickly as possible.

We have also dropped trailers – like a bespoke new unit –into some of the stadiums such as Leicester Tigers and Burnley Football Club for match days. We’re also going to be launching our first such site at Twickenham in the smaller kiosk format. We are looking at how we build asset types that fit the different needs of our clients and our franchisees, and offer them opportunities they can invest in and test and trial in different locations.

Longer term, we’re looking at evolving the brand in terms of what customer needs look like in a post-Covid world as people move back to office spaces and travelling, as to what some of our urban area sites look like and the channels we can service and offer pizza through. Pizza by the slice, for instance, or servicing high, transient locations.

Customer expectations have also changed in recent years; how will you address this and continue to enhance the customer journey?

Customer expectations are always changing and the world around you can change, and expectations change with that world. We’re currently working through an enhanced user experience through a new website which we’re rolling out and is in test trial right now. And hopefully by the start of quarter two this year, we’ll be rolling out a new app so that our customers will get a better user experience from order to payment to delivery. There’s definitely been a habitual change in that customers are now using web/app and aggregators for pizza delivery, but in certain urban areas customers are coming

www.papa.org.uk 19 INTERVIEW

back to collection. So one thing we’ve got to continue to do is review the menu that is on offer in certain locations and the price points, and equally what do we offer in store, and it may be that some of our estate probably needs some upgrading, but we have a plan we are working to on that in terms of how do we invest and make sure we get the brand online with the new imagery we want it to have.

As customer expectation continues to change, and as the delivery channel has become popular with other fast casual operators, we would certainly not rule out sit down in our stores, but it’s not in our immediate plans, but we are open to the future and how we can open more channels.

Papa Johns is known for putting people first, how does this work as an employer and with franchisees?

Out of all the ingredients when it comes to making great pizzas, our people are our most valuable, whether it’s our head office teams who bring the brand to life in marketing or the business development arena through to our franchisees; they are all real people who have invested into the brand. And this feeds through to our team in the stores.

Every pizza is handmade, the dough is fresh, the ingredients are fresh. Our tag line is “better ingredients, better pizza”, and you can add on people as part of that too because it is handmade pizza made in a traditional way. We’ve got a new HR director starting and we will be looking at reviewing and enhancing our training to improve the capability of our franchise operators and store teams to deliver a better instore

experience for our customers. We’re also helping them build their own organisational structure and talent of their team to unlock more capability. A major aspect of this is culture blended with this strategy, and which we are working through. And we’ve done a few things recently on how do we bring back culture to the forefront whether that’s incentives for our team members to win something called the Golden Slice through to our Fast Fridays, and getting our head office teams out to stores too to build connectivity.

Other things could be supporting Black History month, understanding more about the neurodiversity of our teams – such as helping with the mental health of our teams with the launch of Thoughtful Thursdays, and helping to provide self-help to our teams, and engaging with things that matter to our teams right now. Just being four months in, there will be more that I can develop and uncover as we go on.

Are you aiming to add to your team?

As we shape our strategy we will be looking to add to the head office team and how we shape our specialist functions such as for the web and app development. We’re going to be hiring and bringing in some great talent which can only help us continue to develop and drive growth forward for the brand.

How will the UK operation be used as a springboard for growth in other markets?

The UK (circa 500 stores) is the second biggest market after the US, globally, and the international hub is based out of the UK, making sure that our presence here is key for our global brand presence. We’ve also elevated the way we partner with the US brand in terms of how we simplify and centralise some of the ways we do business, and how we can use the UK market as a test bed for future innovation, we having an innovation hub here in the UK where we can test dough spinners, for example. This helps with our partnership standing with the US in terms of where we go, as well as with other markets like the Middle East, Korea and South America, which don’t have the head office resource and are 100% franchise-based or operated, we can use the UK as a hub for those arenas. We only opened it 18 months ago in Milton Keynes, so it’s still a pretty new facility.

Papa Johns has one of the most diverse teams in the QSR market – how do you continue to nurture diversity and inclusivity?

Being people first, this is a critical part of our core values –accepting diversity, understanding the diverse workforce we have whether in the office or store teams. One thing I am proud of is that this business is massively diverse, reflecting a variety of different backgrounds and cultures and who in turn reflect the different views and experiences in the office. This is reflected equally out to our estate and franchise community and store teams.

20 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk INTERVIEW

We probably have one of the most diverse workforces that many business in the UK could have, but over time there is also more that we can do, again with the partnership with the US business, as to how can we elevate things that are more important. This can be from how do we identify and support calendar dates such as Black History Month, how do we elevate the understanding around neurodiversity, how do we support more with mental health and wellbeing, how do we support people from different background (LGBTQ+), the environment, and what can we do more of.

We are an inclusive business, but I feel there’s more we could be doing to be industry-leading. We’re happy with where we are, but unhappy with where we want to get to because we want to continue evolving as we understand more around the D&I aspect, and we want to understand more and lead in it, such as by making our training more accessible for people who do not have English as a first language, because I feel ultimately this a win-win for all involved – our teams, customers and the business.

One of Papa Johns values is ‘fun’. How do you regularly incorporate fun into the workplace? Pizza should be fun! It’s a fun product, and is usually consumed when people are having fun whether that’s family time, a celebration or people are watching the sport, for example, but I think there’s more we could do internally in relation to this. Therefore, we’ve relaunched our Pizza Games with their regional heats – everything from how quickly can you pack and build boxes or make 16 pizzas, say. The final, winning team from Selly Oak in the West Midlands are now going to be flying out, all expenses paid, at the end of March to Orlando to compete against the US and international teams in

the Global Pizza Games Final. And we’re going to be doing something around how they best represent the UK. We’re not competitive in way, shape or form, but clearly we want to beat the Americans on their own turf! That would be an amazing place to be!

Then we have Fast Friday. Every ‘payday Friday’, we get as many of our head office teams out visiting as many restaurants as possible on what is, in essence, the busiest day of the month, taking recognition, swag, celebrating those who’ve won incentives previously, and going shoulder to shoulder with things like ‘beat the boss’, and seeing how quickly you can make a pizza. This helps to add a bit of fun and connectivity with the brand centrally and the store teams. We’re also doing more incentives for our top performers delivering against our key metrics. We’ve done the Golden Slice over Christmas, an incentive to drive energy and effort behind what’s important to have a great business, and recognising the teams who have been incredible delivering against those metrics, because we’ve had some record breakers in the store estate and it’s important to recognise them.

Some of our franchises do their own competitions, and one of the things we want to do and evolve is how do we make culture centric to what we do. I always think that culture drives strategy. You can have a strategy in any organisation, but if you have a strategy without a culture and the fun that goes with it, it’s just a strategy. It’s the culture which binds everything together. I ask myself every day, if I were a team member, why would I work here? And if I can’t answer that question, what is it I need to do to make our team members answer that with a ‘I’ve got loads of reasons why’, culture being part of having people wanting to be with us on the journey we’re going on. I think this brand’s got so much potential.

I’m only four months in and I see the journey that the brand’s been on in terms of growth in the UK has been great, but the future is going to be even more exciting than where we’re going and where we can get to, and despite all of the doom and gloom out in the world people outside the business talk about, I feel that we will ride out through the storm and come out the other side all the stronger for it.

www.papa.org.uk 21 INTERVIEW

A foodie-inspired move

Nick Hastilow (pictured below), group managing director at the well-known specialist supplier of global foods, Leathams, tells us about their recent new office move and the reasons behind it…

MULTI-SITE OPERATION

Here at Leathams, we’ve been inspiring and delighting our customers with a range of innovative and high quality foods from around the world for over 40 years. For 30 of those years, our combined head office and logistics centre was in South Bermondsey, London. However, after many happy years there, the growth of the business meant we needed to look for new solutions suitable for the next quarter of a century!

Finding the right locations and sites was key. Food is special to us, whether it be creating speciality branded ingredients or providing specialist sourcing solutions, we do it because we want to help our customers and their customers discover great food. When it was time to make the move, we always knew it would be great to move our head office closer to a more foodie part of town. And so, we are really excited to be in our new London base near Tower Bridge, just south of the river, in the grade II Listed Circle Building.

We also knew we would take the opportunity to focus the operational part of the business in a location that best suited today’s national distribution network. Hence our simultaneous move to a newly constructed 30,000ft ambient and chilled logistics centre close to the M25 in Dartford. Together with our frozen distribution centre in Chelmsford and sales hubs in Nottingham and Kent, this means we are now a truly multi-site operation!

FIT FOR PURPOSE

Our new London head office has been designed with our colleagues, customers and suppliers all front of mind.

As soon as you walk in, you can see our main presentation kitchen. In fact, the whole layout has been built around this carefully designed space, which together with refrigerated stores and separate R&D area, is completely focused on providing the perfect environment for customer and supplier engagement.

The fit out of the kitchen enables us to replicate many of the preparation techniques of our customers, but

perhaps our favourite bit of kit is the pizza oven with which we’ve had a lot of fun, trying out loads of delicious topping options. And of course, the office is also a very visible sign in our ongoing investment in our colleagues, by ensuring they have a great place to work and collaborate.

WELL CONNECTED

When we were planning the move, in addition to being near the Bermondsey and Borough ‘foodie action’, we wanted to be near great transport links too. So being only 10 minutes’ walk from both London Bridge

22 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk PROFILE

stations and Bermondsey tube station is perfect for colleagues to come to work and for customers and suppliers to spend time with us too.

We all know the food and hospitality industry has had a challenging couple of years. Here at Leathams we are completely committed to helping our customers grow, whether they are restaurants, pubs, food manufacturers, wholesalers, contract caterers, fast food outlets or coffee shops.

We feel that our new premises, and particularly our London office, show that we are full-on for making this happen with our specially selected range of high quality food. Since opening at the Circle in March 2022 we have welcomed over 100 customers and suppliers, and it’s been a fantastic experience to help inspire them with delicious and value-added products and hear about all the development opportunities... Now we can’t wait to welcome the next 100!

BRING A DISH TO LIFE

If you want the uncompromising taste of the original and best slow roasted tomato look no further than SunBlush.®

Our unique 8-hour cooking process gives our tomatoes their rich, signature avour which will elevate any dish to the next level.

Our Roquito range is bursting with flavour, hot & sweet with a sharp twist.

Whether your adding texture to any dish with our pepper pearls or drizzling on some Hot Honey, Roquito will be the perfect finisher with a fiery kick.

www.papa.org.uk 23 PROFILE
®
® ® For our full product range, menu advice and inspiration visit www.leathams.co.uk or email nottinghamtelesales@leathams.co.uk

Anything goes

The pizza toppings of the twenty-first century are increasingly reflecting not only consumer demand for their go-to favourites (such as pepperoni), but operator desire to compete well and attract customers who might have their heads turned by other options, as well as the wider interest in a food product’s health credentials and environmental impact.

RESEARCH REVEALS

“According to recent research (Future Market Insights data), bacon has entered the list of top five most popular pizza toppings, alongside pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, and extra cheese. Unique and more unusual toppings are becoming more commonplace, and sustainability is increasingly important following the rise of free-from and plant-based toppings,” reports Richard Cooper, senior brand manager at Chicago Town, Dr. Oetker Professional.

“Last year, researchers, Kantar, found that pizza sausage has seen strongest growth over recent months, although still not beating out pepperoni. Vegetarian toppings are also doing exceptionally well, Kantar data also reveals, as consumers become more health conscious and environmentally aware.

“Dietary requirements also remain a big trend, particularly with the resurgence of Veganuary, with 39% of people eating less meat than they did a year ago (Bidfood & CGA by Nielsen IQ, 2023 Trends Consumer Survey, sample size 2,003 (UK adults)) and over 30% of consumers identifying as flexitarian, the same survey reveals. As a result, it is crucial for operators to have both vegetarian and vegan offerings within their grab and go fixtures to tap into this market sector.”

PUNK’D UP PIZZA

“At Pizza Punks, we serve a wild range of toppings, from the more typically Italian toppings such as pepperoni and red onion, to punk’d toppings such as our Salt & Chilli Chicken, Rum Ham Hock and Sriracha Caramel Pork Belly - all of which have been very popular with our customers,” reports Brad Stevens of Pizza Punks.

Indeed, Pizza Punks have made a ‘thing’ out of becoming

well known for their diverse range of pizza toppings. Hence their marketing theme of “punk’d up”, and which applies to their pizza, and their pasta dishes.

“We also offer a number of tasty vegan toppings such as Vegan ‘Nduja and Vegan Tuscan Sausage which have been going down really well,” Brad Stevens continues.

“In fact, we like to offer a distinctive pizza and pasta experience which allows customers to create their own pizza or pasta dish with 35 unlimited toppings to choose from, all made from scratch in the Pizza Punks kitchens. Guests can create their own personalised punk’d up pizza or pasta, and all for one flat fee with no extra costs.”

So how can outlets make sure they are staying in touch with their customers likes and dislikes when it comes to offering the right flavours/toppings? Are there any particular trends the outlet notice, and then feel they have to follow?

“At Pizza Punks, our menu is split between classic items and specials. Our classics such as the Margherita, Salami and Prosciutto pizzas continually sell really well for us, but we like to experiment with specials so we can continually push boundaries when it comes to our offering,” says Brad Stevens.

“For our specials, we tend to look at foodie and street-food trends for inspiration. Combining sweet and savoury flavours is really popular at the moment - we’ve started offering Candied Jalapenos to cater for this, for instance. We’re also going to launch a Cheese-Steak topping, similar to the New York Sandwich.”

And what kind of toppings do they see becoming more popular in the future?

“We have found that some of the more ‘out there’ toppings on our menu are the best performers at Pizza Punks,” notes Brad Stevens.

24 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk PIZZA TOPPINGS
www.papa.org.uk 25

“Combining a sweet and savoury taste is certainly very popular at the moment, but I think customers are always looking to try something a little bit different. Basically, at Pizza Punks there are no rules, we’re adventurous and love coming up with crazy topping ideas or mixing up the flavour of our pizza bases! We’re advocates of freedom and expression and like to break away from the norm with new and interesting flavours.”

With ingredients supply issues and inflationary pressures currently to the fore as well, it might not always be possible for operators to source what’s needed at the right time, and at the right price. At Pizza Punks, however, they counteract this by focusing on their defining features, of which homemade is a big aspect in conjunction with their pizza topping creativity and flexibility.

“At the helm of Pizza Punks is our handcrafted San Franciscan pizza dough - a unique dough that’s proofed for 48-hours and finished with San Marzano tomato, basil and garlic sauce and mozzarella before the house-toppings are added. Although our base is sourdough, we make our pizzas in the same way as they do in Naples, using the best Italian ingredients,” says Brad Stevens.

“Since Brexit, we have experienced some difficulty in importing products and prices have also increased. We want to make sure our customers can still enjoy quality products but at a price that won’t break the bank. We balance off this cost by making our own in-house toppings from scratch to ensure everything is fresh with brilliant flavour and ensuring it’s still good value for money.”

CHANGING DEMANDS

On the supply side, the well known pizza topping supplier, Danish Crown, not only manufacture and supply their very popular, and widely used, Super Tops branded range, but they also have an assortment of bespoke products that top millions of pizzas every year.

“With a range of customers from global brands and industrial customers through to major distributors who service smaller individual stores, we need to ensure we can meet a variety of needs,” reports Kevin Peacock, Danish Crown’s commercial director UK and Ireland.

26 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk PIZZA TOPPINGS
www.papa.org.uk 27 PIZZA TOPPINGS Toppings from Danish Crown are used on millions of Pizzas every year! Manufacturers of classic fermented and heat-treated pepperoni, salami, chorizo and speciality sausages. Products are available in diameters of 15-90mm. Products are supplied in various formats, sticks, slices or cubes, chilled or frozen. Danish Crown Foods, Phone 0044 01926 293 900, www.danishcrown.com ALPHIN PANS ap Serving the Pizza Professional Since 1989 SIDE ORDER COOKING TRAYS ROMAN STYLE “PIZZA BY THE SLICE” DOUGH CUTTERS Making the pizza professional happy since 1989 Please contact us on 01457 872486 or visit our website: www.alphin.co.uk to see what we can do for you. Telephone: 01457 872486 Email: sales@alphin.co.uk Fax: 01457 820868 Alphin Pans Ltd Oakdale Mill, Delph New Road Delph, Oldham, OL3 5BY Untitled-3 1 12/01/2022 13:53:27

PIZZA TOPPINGS

“With our own integrated supply of pork and dedicated production units we are specialists in the production of salami, pepperoni and ham. Similarly, our integrated supply of beef and procurement expertise enable us to offer several beef and poultry-based pizza toppings, as well as a range of Halal products.

“Innovation is key, and we pay particular attention to consumer needs and market trends, ensuring that our products remain relevant. Recent innovation has been very much focused on health and wellbeing, our environmental impact and most importantly ensuring we are cost effective.

“With new HFSS targets in mind, we have also been working closely with branded and retail-facing customers to provide products with reduced fat and salt content, whilst maintaining the characteristics and flavour our consumers expect.”

LATEST CHALLENGES

“If we listen to climate experts, meat production presents one of the biggest challenges to the planet, and the health of future generations. This is something we cannot ignore and is

ORGANISING YOUR PIZZA TOPPINGS

Aquilo’s countertop prep fridges have been designed to be particularly ideal for both front and back of house use and are perfect for holding pizza topping ingredients in optimum condition, claim the company. Capacities range from 22 litres to 78 litres, and the range includes models with lids or glass screens.

The units are static cooled with temperature ranges of between +2 C° – +8 C° and all feature electronic thermostats with digital LED temperature display. In addition, Aquilo’s refrigeration range utilises R290 hydrocarbon refrigerant, considered to be the most eco-friendly option currently available, with no ozone depleting effect and a negligible GWP. Also, because R290 absorbs residual heat very efficiently, temperature recovery time is faster meaning that the demand for energy is reduced.

Other notable features also include complete structure interior and exterior in stainless steel AIS 304, an electronic thermostat and digital LED temperature display for accurate monitoring, as well as static cooling with continuous evaporator.

a challenge for all meat producers and a huge responsibility for our industry,” Kevin Peacock continues.

“At Danish Crown, we are focused on sustainable meat production, and a key part of our ‘feeding the future’ strategy is to achieve a 50% reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to become climate neutral by 2050. We aim to do this in an open and transparent way and carry out life cycle assessments on the carbon footprint of all our products, and have signed up to science-based targets.

“In today’s world where price is key, we are constantly challenging ourselves and our customers to think about things differently. Rather than seeing problems, we look at it as the opportunity to challenge existing procedures and find new and innovative solutions to product development and ways of working. This is an approach that our major customers have bought into and has delivered financial and operational value.”

www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk
www.papa.org.uk 29 PIZZA TOPPINGS Pizza Plus Foodservice Light Industrial Estate, Liverpool Road, Walmer Bridge, Preston PR4 5HY Tel: 01772 610415 / Fax: 01772 617610

A CONSISTENT BAKE

Blue Seal Commercial pizza ovens are traditional Italian style, stone base deck ovens, perfect for cooking deep-base or thin based pizzas, claim the firm. Designed for everyday professional use, these powerful electric ovens cook at high temperatures to ensure fast service and great cooking results, having become known as a good alternative too, to wood burning stoves or gas ovens, which are often higher in maintenance and require more specialist and costly extraction systems to take away smoke and fumes. These ovens accommodate 4 x 12” pizzas per deck, are compact, versatile and very operator friendly, feel Blue Seal, and have become popular with restaurants with outdoor seating areas, and who want to offer quick but delicious pizzas for alfresco dining to their guests, they report.

The company offer single deck and twin deck ovens, which operate up to 400˚C giving optimum cooking temperatures for decks of their size, Blue Seal point out. The single deck can be stacked onto the twin deck very easily creating a triple deck, maximising the output from the floor space. The Blue Seal oven chambers all function independently too, allowing the pizza chef to control temperatures and bake more types/ sizes of pizzas at once, therefore reducing serving times for busy restaurants, and the fact these ovens are only single phase power supply makes them very versatile and suitable for dark kitchen takeaway sites and certain mobile kitchen operations, that may have limited power supplies.

“Due to the electric power supply, the ease of installation is simplified as there are no complex regulations regarding

joy’

SRSLY’s continues to showcase how a far-reaching appreciation of a low carb/ high protein ketogenic lifestyle needn’t mean suppressing ones ‘bready joy’ urges. Even for a young business that first made it name as a champion of low carb bread, rolls, fruit loaf and ‘not cross buns’, better-for-you pizza probably seemed a thin based bridge too far.

And yet, if bread remains the undisputed stalwart of the SRSLY range, there’s little doubt that the Hertfordshire business’s new generously topped pizzas (RSP £4.99) are rapidly establishing themselves as tomorrow’s shining stars.

“It still makes my head spin to think that we’ve taken such an indulgent, fine snacking hero and given it a nutritious

interlocks/ ventilation and extraction requirements, as associated with gas powered or solid fuel type ovens. The ovens can be used in professional temporary and portable kitchens, as long as there is adequate air circulation and any vented heat/steam can be dissipated into the atmosphere or directed outside, to maintain healthy and comfortable HSE working environment tolerances. These portable kitchens can conveniently accommodate catering contractor needs, for supplying rapid efficient food offerings at a multitude of outdoor events,” says David Chesshire, Blue Seal’s national accounts manager.

“We appreciate that restaurants need un-compromised, consistent quality results from the equipment they use. That is Why Blue Seal Pizza ovens use accurate thermostatic temperature control, eco-compatible material for thermal insulation and high quality refractory stones which provide excellent heat retention. Each chamber has top and bottom temperature control, so the pizza chef can adjust the performance of the chamber to suit baking pizza either in pizza pans, or traditionally straight onto the stone.”

ketogenic reboot. Each of our hearty nine-inch pizzas are halal-friendly and free from planet-unfriendly palm oil. Most importantly each of our three deceptively fulsome flavours provide the same protein hit as steak. By combining crisp bases, fulsome crusts and a generous layering of toppings, SRSLY pizzas are attracting significant attention both domestically and overseas,” says founder, Andy Welch.

SRSLY’S Spicy Chicken is also HFSS compliant with an NPS rating of one (when, historically, a rating of four or below qualified as a ‘healthy rating’). SRSLY’s latest pizza packaging has a significantly reduced cardboard outer too (swapping out a box for a cardboard strip).

30 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk
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Call 01902 943714 or visit www.seriouslylowcarb.com.
NEW PRODUCTS
SRSLY’S ‘bready
extends into generously proportioned, low carb pizza

CHAMPIONI TOPPINGS

20-23 MARCH 2023

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PRODUCED IN BRITAIN

Q&A

Bryan Murphy, UK sales director, Dawn Farms Foods

How did you get involved in the food business?

More than 30 years ago, in my first job interview after leaving college, our CEO, Larry Murrin, sold me on the vision he had for Dawn Farms Foods (DFF) and the direction he was taking the business. I was inspired by his passion for the business and the industry, especially his focus on the customer and the people within DFF. Back then, we were an Irish food business focussed on the indigenous Irish food market, but his vision has since brought DFF to become a leading European cooked protein ingredients company. I have held several roles within DFF across business development, and prior to my current role, I was general manager of Dawn Farms Distribution.

Tell us a little about your role at Dawn Farms…

My current role is UK sales director. I am responsible for the sales of cooked protein ingredients into the foodservice channel, but also the manufacturing channels operating across pizza, sandwich, ready meal, food to go and snacking producers supplying into the UK retail and coffee chains.

32 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk
www.papa.org.uk 33 SIMPLE | AUTHENTIC | RESPONSIBLY SOURCED For UK supply sales@silbury.co.uk Tel: 01926 410022 GREAT PIZZA STARTS WITH GREAT PIZZA TOPPINGS Batch85 is our range of signature products that you can trust, made from simple, authentic, responsibly sourced ingredients. Fully Cooked and Ready to Eat info@batch85.ie batch85.ie

As a business, we are a leading B2B specialist supplier of bespoke fully cooked and ready to eat protein (meat and plantbased) and fermented sausage (pepperoni, chorizo, salami) products produced in our state-of-the-art facilities in Naas, outside Dublin, for the UK market. I am also responsible for the sales of cooked bacon, cooked sausage, pigs in blankets, and complementary plant-based options, which are also classified as ready to eat and produced in one of Britain’s longest standing and great cooked bacon companies, TMI Foods in Northampton. I have great colleagues working with me, some of whom have been working across our two businesses for as long as I have, both in the UK and Ireland.

In our business, we like to put the customer at the heart of everything we do, and that permeates through to all our roles in the organisation. “Everyone must support the customer, or support someone who does.”

What are the main challenges to deal with right now in terms of manufacturing and maintaining consistent supply to your customers?

Like all businesses, we are experiencing the same challenges, with respect to inflation (in ingredients and raw material, cost of energy and transport etc) and a volatile supply chain. And while supply chains remain delicately balanced, it is incumbent and an absolute priority for us as a business that we continue to place a huge emphasis on a secure and consistent supply of safe, high quality food products that our customers, and their consumers, can trust and enjoy as the hero ingredient in their favourite pizza, pasta dish, sandwich, or ready meal.

What are the main trends the company is responding to? Vegan? Gluten-free? Plant-based?

We have a relentless focus on science and innovation as a business enabled through insights from industry and our own market analysis given. We work with some of the world’s leading food brands. We are faced with times of uncertainty and inflation, so consumers are looking to trusted brands to bring solutions to their needs.

There is a desire for conscious value, sustainable health, nutrition, and nostalgic or permissible indulgence as consumers seek flavour adventure and occasion led treats and indulgences, to share with family and friends. Meat remains the number one protein, however in both our meat and plant protein products, we see what we describe as permissible indulgence coming into focus as we move into 2023, as consumers seek new ways to be healthy and sustainable, without compromising on taste, flavour and texture. In this environment, our focus on innovation allows us to bring fresh and on-trend new menus ideas to customers, which in turn helps them to create a point of differentiation from their competitors.

What future trends do you anticipate? (in relation to pizza toppings, for example)

Global flavours continue to be popular, as consumers explore cuisines and cultures through food, with a shift from well-known global flavours to hyper-regional ones forecast for this year.

Regional BBQ is a good example of that. We offer two options in plant-based pepperoni including a jackfruit version as well as a classic chorizo. Consumers are also showing a desire for authentic

PROFILE
Nduja sausage pizza

and original food experiences. Pizza is a great format to blend emerging flavour trends into a more classic familiarity.

There is also an increase in demand for higher quality, value options. The real opportunity is to catch these consumers as their behaviour shifts, with ‘affordable value’ and a quality promise.

Any new product launches and developments to report that are of interest to the Italian food sector and pizza?

We have a bank of pizza-ready NPD products including Nduja sausage, a plant-based buffalo chicken that is great on a pizza, and more recently, we launched some new toppings in what has been a very well received “permissible indulgence” range, that are ideal as pizza toppings.

Truffle flavoured Salami, Jerk Ham, and Tuscan Style Chicken were all developed, based on our insight-led trending flavours, to meet consumers’ desire for indulgence/ treats , escapism, and enjoyment.

Any projects you can shout about in terms of companies you have worked with to deliver a specific product/food ingredient solution?

We have many collaborations within the food industry. TMI was the first to offer a natural, clean, and authentic smoke flavour bacon by combining the world-first PureSmoke™ Technology, with our existing traditional smokers to remove up to 95% impurities naturally present in smoke. Our smoked water ingredient adds a new level of ‘smoke’ flavour to the TMI crispy bacon.

In addition to this, we have replaced sodium nitrite (E250) with

a natural flavouring (made from fruit and spices) that maintains the natural bacon colouring and flavour without any preservatives or additives. One of our most significant calling cards is that all our products are fully ready to eat, and this remains a significant food safety advantage and signal of our interest in the ever-developing science and technology of cooked protein.

As a business we are, and I am, passionate about our unwavering focus on food safety and quality, innovation and teamwork, ensuring we have, along with our great customers, a sustainable future working together. Our commitment is to deliver great tasting ingredients, created with passion for our customers products so that they can continue to delight their customers across every eating occasion.

www.papa.org.uk 35 PROFILE
Plant Deli Indian Strips pizza

Elevate your business at HRC and IFE

The UK’s largest gathering of the food and drink and hospitality sector returns to ExCeL London on 20-22 March 2023, with a myriad of opportunities for retail and foodservice professionals to grow their offering and network with their industry peers.

the Year Ben Murphy, Restaurant Story’s Tom Philips, A. Wong chef founder Andrew Wong, acclaimed pastry chef Frédéric Bau and many more.

HRC 2023 will include two stages packed with engaging speakers and must-attend sessions for foodservice and hospitality professionals.

HOTEL, RESTAURANT & CATERING (HRC)

HRC is at the forefront of innovation in the foodservice and hospitality industry, traditionally welcoming thousands of visitors each year to discover products from suppliers in hospitality tech, foodservice, design & décor, professional kitchen and pub & bar.

This year’s event includes new feature Chef HQ, curated by Chef Publishing - a networking area, stage and demo kitchen featuring sessions from National Chef of

The Vision Stage, designed by Harp Design, will kick off this year’s seminar programme with a look at the trends and topics that are set to define the global hospitality industry in 2023 from Nicola Knight and James Walton of IGD. This will be followed by a must-attend session on how hospitality trends can be used to unlock new revenue for your business, and featuring Kateline Porritt of Egg Soldiers, Elena Deminska of London Fermentary and HOP Vietnamese’s Paul Hopper.

“I’m so looking forward to hosting this seminar at HRC, which is a fantastic

platform to really support businesses,” says Kateline Porritt. “We will take that very inspiration and show how it can be converted into reality for hospitality professionals. Along with tips and guidance from the Egg Soldiers team, we will have real life case studies of how successful businesses have recognised future trends and delivered them for customers now.”

Here are just some of the businesses taking part in HRC 2023 to look our for…

Passione Pizza

An authentic pizza solution, Passione’s pizza bases are designed for foodservice professionals and distributors that demand a supplier of the highest level. Every base is characterised by its quality, thanks to the careful selection of raw materials, and is prepared in an artisanal way according to age-old traditions.

36 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk PREVIEW

La Tua Pasta

Family business La Tua Pasta started in London in 2006 and are passionate about making authentic Italian pasta. They supply some of the best restaurants in the UK and since March 2020 have been delivering delicious dishes right to their customers’ doors.

Virtue Food Co.

Virtue exists to make great food easy with stunning sourdough pizza and pinsa solutions. Their new ambient Pinsa Romana flatbread product is set to make life even simpler for the foodservice sector, especially cafés, bars and hotels looking to increase the quality of their lunch offering without extra specialist staff or equipment.

Social and Governance) and with an array of industry experts taking deep dives into key topics within sustainability and a full day of content curated by the Food & Drink Federation.

On the Trends & Innovation Platform, visitors can attend invaluable presentations from agencies including FMCXG Gurus, Kantar, thefoodpeople and Stylus as they talk through the latest trends in retail, food and drink and global flavours.

More additions to this year’s event include the Startup Market, where brand new businesses will be showcasing their innovative products and product ranges, and the New Products Tasting Theatre, where visitors will have the opportunity to sample products from exciting startups and attend tastings run by organisations such as Bidfood, Alibaba and Empire Bespoke Foods.

Here’s a taste of the businesses on show at IFE 2023...

Doughboys Pizza

MozzaRisella

MozzaRisella is claimed to be a healthy, highly nutritious, exceptionally tasty and totally allergen-free alternative to diary cheese; a lactose- gluten- and soya-free range of organic products with all the healthy benefits of the sprouts. MozzaRisella use 100% organic brown sprouted rice grown in ‘permaculture’, adopting a sustainable model to achieve zero-pollution farming.

Napoleoni [Gluten Free] Italy

This family-managed company has been operating in the food sector since 1957 and in 2012 expanded its offer with a range of gluten-fresh pastry products. Its product lines include croissants and bundles for breakfast (frozen), single serve cakes (frozen), single serve tarts (ambient) and much more.

WHERE AND WHEN

IFE, INTERNATIONAL FOOD & DRINK EVENT

IFE is arguably the UK’s most comprehensive showcase of innovative food and drink, with countless quality British products and more than 91 countries represented at this year’s event.

For more than 40 years, IFE has been a trusted resource for retail, wholesale and hospitality food and drink buyers looking to unearth the latest innovations, new products and insights to grow their business and enhance their product ranges.

This year’s event is packed with new features designed to streamline product sourcing for visitors and provide valuable insights into trends in 2023 and beyond.

New addition is the Sustainability Stage, sponsored by Elopak - a one-stopshop for all things ESG (Environmental,

This multi-award-winning brand says that it is on a mission to bring delicious, handmade, authentic Italian pizzas to consumers’ plates at home and in the casual dining sector. Their pizzas are entirely handmade, hand-stretched and hand-topped at their state of the art pizzeria in Italy using natural and always fresh ingredients including local stone ground Italian flour, 100% Emilia Romagna tomato pulp and fior di latte mozzarella.

Hotel, Restaurant & Catering (HRC), IFE, International Food & Drink Event, end-to-end food production event IFE Manufacturing, historic chef competition International Salon Culinaire and The Pub Show @ HRC will collectively welcome more than 25,000 visitors and include over 1,500 quality suppliers.

Find out more about HRC at hrc.co.uk, IFE at ife.co.uk, and IFE Manufacturing at ifemanufacturing.co.uk and don’t miss out on your opportunity to stay ahead of the latest trends, source quality products and join the food, drink and hospitality sector at ExCeL London on 20-22 March 2023.

www.papa.org.uk 37 PREVIEW

Building customer trust and loyalty for coeliacs

BACKGROUND

For over 50 years, Coeliac UK has been the expert on coeliac disease and the gluten free diet. They are an independent charity helping people living without gluten to live happier, healthier lives. They do this by providing trustworthy advice and support, funding critical research into coeliac disease, working with healthcare professionals to improve diagnosis and fighting for better availability of gluten free food, so that one day, no one’s life will be limited by gluten.

It has trained over 4,000 catering staff across the country and gluten free accreditation can be found in around 3,000 food and catering establishments across the UK.

Coeliac UK launched the Gluten Free Accreditation Scheme in 2012 and is the only scheme of its type in the UK. It is a charity led and run initiative and does not receive any government funding.

Coeliac UK recently celebrated 10 years of its Gluten Free Accreditation Scheme with the mission to guarantee that gluten free food being served in catering establishments in the UK is safe and abides by Regulation (EU) No 828/2014.

MEETING A NEED

The term “gluten free” is covered by European regulation (Regulation (EU) No 828/2014) and embedded in UK law. To label a dish gluten free on a menu, dishes must contain 20 parts per million (ppm) or less of gluten.

Prior to the launch of this scheme, no such scheme existed, but now there are around 3,000 accredited establishments in the UK, including restaurants, hospitals, schools and takeaways, report Coeliac UK.

Coeliac disease is a serious autoimmune condition where the body’s immune system reacts to gluten found in food and attacks the gut. It affects one in 100 people and currently the only treatment is to follow a strict gluten free diet for life. Therefore, safe food preparation is vital for those with coeliac disease as even very small amounts of gluten can be damaging.

The Gluten Free Accreditation Scheme

reassures safe delivery of gluten free food for the whole gluten free community, helping establishments to meet the increasing customer demand for medically required dietary needs. The Gluten Free Accreditation symbol automatically tells customers that an establishment is safe, helping to build trust, loyalty and driving new visitors.

KEY DETERMINANT

According to a recent Coeliac UK poll (social media polls completed via Coeliac UK’s Facebook and Instagram Stories in January 2023 with 1,736 votes), 96% said their gluten free needs, or a member of their party’s, determines where they eat out to ensure the food establishment will meet their dietary requirements. In addition, 97% said that when they’ve found a gluten free venue they trust, it becomes a preferred place to visit.

38 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk GLUTEN FREE

With some existing accredited partners reporting a 10-12% increase in business levels (Coeliac UK’s Accreditation for the Catering Industry) and a meal out costing on average of £10-£22 (Lumina Intelligence’s UK Eating Out Market Report 2022 and UK Restaurant Market Report 2021/22) per person, there is great potential for increased revenue for food and catering businesses across the UK.

Another benefit of the accreditation scheme is access to Coeliac UK’s online training courses for staff, which covers clarity on the law for allergens and gluten free food preparation, serving customers and menu labelling. This training equips food establishments to deliver a safe dining experience, while instilling confidence and trust in their customers.

Hilary Croft, CEO of Coeliac UK, comments: “We are incredibly proud of the scheme and its growth over the last 10 years. By joining the Coeliac UK Gluten Free Accreditation Scheme, catering establishments are able to give customers certainty of the gluten status of a dish

beyond the use of the wording ‘gluten free’ on menus. By law, food labelled as gluten free must contain no more than 20 parts per million of gluten – accredited partners commit to going over and above this and meet an exacting standard, and this assurance plays an important role in venue choice.”

THE SCHEME

Coeliac UK developed the Gluten Free Accreditation Scheme on peer-reviewed research and has established a rigorous process to ensure establishments adhere to best practice for safe gluten free catering. The diagram below illustrates the process to achieve the Gluten Free Accreditation:  Hilary Croft adds: “The need and demand for safe eating environments for those following a gluten free diet, which is crucial for people with coeliac disease, continues to grow.

“We will be continuing our work to increase the number of venues carrying the accreditation into 2023 and beyond, and I encourage any caterer who is not

currently accredited to get in touch with us to learn more about its benefits for them as a business, and their customers.”

Accredited UK businesses are already benefitting from the scheme, experiencing an uplift in their sales and consumer loyalty, they report, as well as receiving excellent consumer feedback.

For example, Helen Allan, director of food safety and technical at Domino’s Pizza, explains: “Working with Coeliac UK as part of the accreditation process gave us the benefit of their insight and expertise, which we applied to our catering practices to ensure we met the Gluten Free Standard. The response from the coeliac community was overwhelming and we have seen an increase in business volumes, as well as fantastic feedback.”

Hannah Thompson, marketing director at Prezzo, adds: “Prezzo is proud of our Gluten Free Accreditation from Coeliac UK. We’re delighted to offer our customers a variety of over 40 gluten free dishes throughout our adult and kids’ menu. Working with Coeliac UK gives our customers the reassurance that all strict standards are adhered to. Our restaurant teams are fully trained and confident in cooking and serving our delicious gluten free dishes. It means more people can experience the joy of Italian dining at Prezzo.”

Coeliac UK has made the Gluten Free Accreditation Scheme as accessible as possible by offering a scalable annual accreditation fee, to help even small independents offer safe gluten free food. To find out more about Coeliac UK’s Gluten Free Accreditation Scheme and discover its full range of benefits, visit:  www.coeliac.org.uk/food-businesses.

www.papa.org.uk 39 GLUTEN FREE
Coeliac UK.

Are you prepared for the challenges ahead?

shortages as some food businesses are having to reduce operating hours and rationalise ranges due to shortages of people. This is a ecting productivity and even the viability of some businesses.

found out are the businesses that lose direction and are not forward thinking enough.

The world has not been an easy place to trade post-pandemic, post-Brexit, and post-mini budget, with costs of supplies soaring, labour shortages, and in ated living costs causing consumers’ purse strings to tighten. Like many others, pizza, pasta and Italian food businesses are struggling like never before. Who would have predicted that we would come out of the various lockdowns to such challenging times.

Many in the industry are talking about their worries, with some warning they are struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel amid the current costs crisis as many factors a ect their business and the nancial state of it.

Jim Winship, director of the Pizza Pasta & Italian Food Association (PAPA), re ects the mood of the organisation’s members, saying: “With costs continuing to rise and serious industry labour shortages, food in ation is unavoidable, and we anticipate that it is likely to continue well into this year.

“Although the wholesale cost of energy has come down, it is not being re ected in business energy bills which are adding to in ated living costs.

“Members are being quite open with their situations and are seeking support and advice from the Association. In my opinion, we urgently need to see some government action to resolve the labour

“We have suggested to the government in the past that there should be a better temporary work visa system to ease these pressures, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. Temporary workers are not the same as long-term immigrants as they tend to stay here only a handful of years.

“We will be doing all we can to help our members, especially the independents, as times are not going to get much easier in the short term. However, the economic projections going forward are that things should start to ease this year.”

SO WHAT CAN WE DO

“Now is not the time to bury our heads in the sand and hope the economic woes of the moment will have gone away when we rise again. Instead, we need to take stock and nd positive solutions,” Jim Winship continues.

“The reality is that since the Pandemic et al the world has changed. Even attitudes to work/life balances have shifted and realistically they are unlikely to change back any time soon, so we need to plan for a new world order where we make greater use of technology; where systems are streamlined for greater e ciency; and so forth.

“The latest developments in AI technology where you can ask a bot to write a letter for you or create a new pack design or even a photograph, is just the start of an exciting new era of technology that is beginning to emerge.

“As we have seen with recessions in the past, those who tend to get

“We all need to be planning now for a di erent future and to be thinking positively about what’s round the corner. Reality is that we live in a world where consumers want convenience and are prepared to pay extra to get it the instant they want it – hence the rise of the delivery services in recent years. Who would have thought a few years ago that consumers would be prepared to pay someone to deliver them a tube of toothpaste because they had run out.

“The more people put lifestyle ahead of work; embrace hybrid working from

home etc., the greater the demand will be for deliveries and for getting out of the house to socialise with friends because they can no longer do that at work.

“While the cost of living challenges are undoubtedly depressing sales at some levels, these underlying trends remain strong and I believe they will emerge stronger than ever as consumer con dence returns and we need to be ready for them by having our businesses in good shape to take advantage of demand.”

40 www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk

index registered suppliers

The following businesses are members of The Pizza Pasta & Italian Food Association (PAPA) and subject to its rules and guidelines. While the Association cannot guarantee the products and services supplied by those listed, it does believe that those listed are reputable and is con dent in recommending them. The Pizza Pasta & Italian Food Association, Engine Rooms Station Road, Chepstow NP16 5PB

Telephone: 01291 6363358 or email subscriptions@papa.org.uk

Continental Quattro Stagioni Trafalgar Mills, Leeds Road, Hudders eld, West Yorkshire HD2 1YY

Contact: Mr Roberto Giacobbi

Tel: 01484 538333 r.giacobbi@continental-wine.co.uk www.continental-food.co.uk

Conveni

Willige Laagt 2, 5757 PZ Liessel

The Netherlands

Contact Noel Reidy

Tel; +44 7903 526 457 +31 (0) 493 348 700 noel.reidy@conveni.nl info@conveni.nl

999 Pizza Toppings (UK) Ltd.

Unit 6, Teakcroft, Fairview Industrial Park, Marsh Way, Rainham, Essex RM13 8UH

Contact: Homayoun Aminnia

Tel: 01708 558885 Fax: 01708 555022 sales@999pizzatoppings.com

ADM Milling UK Ltd.

Hyatt Place, 50-60 Broom eld Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1SW

Contact: Laura Passingham

Tel: 01277 262525 sales4 our@adm.com https://www.4 our.co.uk/

Allied Mills Ltd.

Sunblest Flour Mill, Port of Tilbury, Tilbury, Essex RM18 7JR

Contact: Chris Brown

Tel: 01375 363100

Fax: 01375 363199 chris.brown@allied-mills.co.uk www.allied-mills-semolina.co.uk

Alphin Pans Oakdale Mill, Delph New Road, Delph, Nr Oldham OL3 5BY

Contact: Liz Crossland

Tel: 01457 872486 sales@alphin.co.uk www.alphin.co.uk

Cooktek c/o MCS Technical Products Ltd MCS Technical Products, Building 2, Westmead Industrial Estate, Westmead Drive, Swindon, Wiltshire SN5 7YT

Contact: Steve Snow Tel: 01793 538308 Fax: 01793 522324 sales@mcstechproducts.co.uk

Dairy Partners Ltd Brunel Way, Stroud Water Business Park, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire GL10 3SX

Contact: Will Bennett Tel: 01453 828890 Will.Bennett@dairypartners.co.uk www.dairypartners.co.uk

Danish Crown – Topping Bommen 9, Thorning DK-8620 Kjellerup, Denmark

Contact: Kevin Peacock Tel: 07790 988121 KPEAC@danishcrown.com www.danishcrown-toppings.com

Eurilait Ltd

Leighton Lane Industrial Estate, Leighton Lane, Evercreech BA4 6LQ

Contact: Andrew Ford Tel: 01749 838108 andrewford@eurilait.co.uk www.eurilait.co.uk

Euro Catering Equipment Ltd.

Unit 4 Egerton Close, Daventry, Northamptonshire NN11 8PE

Contact: Steve Lane Tel: 01455 559969 Fax: 01455 559979 sales@euro-catering.co.uk www.euro-catering.co.uk

Freiberger UK Ltd

Broadgate House, Westlode Street, Spalding, Lincolnshire PE11 2AF

Contact: Andrew Thorne Tel: 01775 767655 / 01775 767656 andrew.thorne@freibergerukltd.co.uk

Just-Eat.co.uk Ltd.

Imperial Place (IP4), Maxwell Road, Borehamwood WD6 1JN

Contact: Paul Gri th Tel: 0208 7362001 b2bmarketing@just-eat.co.uk www.restaurants.just-eat.co.uk

Leathams PLC The Circle, Units 10-12 Queen Elizabeth Street, London SE1 2JE

Contact: Mr James Faulkner Tel 0207 6354026 / Fax 0207 6354017 ingredients.sales@leathams.co.uk www.leathams.com

Ornua Ingredients Europe Hazel Park, Dymock Road, Ledbury, Herefordshire HR8 2JQ

Contact: Alan Mackie Tel: 01531 631300 alan.mackie@ornua.com www.ornuaingredients.com

Pan’Artisan Unit 25-26 Holmbush Industrial Estate, Holmbush Way, Midhurst, West Sussex GU29 9HX

Contact: Charlotte Kildu Tel: 01730 811490 Charlotte.kildu @panartisan.com www.panartisan.com

Futura Foods UK Ltd.

The Priory, Long Street, Dursley, Gloucestershire GL11 4HR

Contact: Rhian Kinman Tel: 01666 890500 Fax: 01666 890522 rhian.kinman@futura-foods.com www.futura-foods.com

General Catering Solutions

Unit 13 Delta Court, Sky Business Park, Second Avenue, Doncaster DN9 3GN

Contact: Philip Dixon Tel: 01302 340742 info@generalcatering.co.uk https://generalcatering.co.uk/

Glanbia Cheese Ltd

4 Royal Mews, Gadbrook Park, Rudheath, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 7UD

Contact: Lynne Utting Tel: 01606 810900 Fax: 01606 48680 lutting@glanbiacheese.co.uk

Goodfella’s Pizza

Birds Eye Ltd. 1 New Square, Bedfont Lakes Business Park, Feltham, Middlesex TW14 8HA

Contact: Samantha Dolan Tel: 0208 918 3200 Sam.Dolan@birdseye.co.uk www.goodfellaspizzas.com

Blackwood Ovens

Albert House, Albert Street, Hollinwood, Failsworth, Oldham, Greater Manchester OL8 3QP

Contact: Markelle Wraxall

Tel: 0161 684 4377 markelle@blackwoodovens.com

www.blackwoodovens.com

Dawn Farm Foods Lodge Way, Lodge Farm Industrial Estate, Northampton NN5 7US

Contact: Jon Watkin

Tel: 01604 583421

Fax: 01604 587392 info@dawnfarmfoods.co.uk https://www.dawnfarms.ie/ https://www.dawnfarms.ie/tmi-foods/

Insurance Protector Group

B1 Custom House, The Waterfront, Level Street, Brierley Hill DY5 1XH Tel: 0800 488 0013 business@ipgdirect.co.uk www.insuranceprotector.co.uk

Perco (North East) Ltd. Perco House, Norton, Stockton on Tees TS20 1DN

Contact: Leah Homer Tel: 01642 361515 leah@percofoods.com www.percofoods.com

Pizza Plus Foodservice Light Industrial Estate, Liverpool Road, Walmer Bridge, Preston PR4 5HY Tel: 01772 610415 Fax: 01772 617610

Contact: Chris Smith chris@pizzaplusfs.co.uk

Qualitops (UK) Ltd Simon Scotland Road, Hardwick Industrial Estate, Kings Lynn, Norfolk PE30 4JF

Contact: Lea Hall Tel: 01553 772 522 admin@qualitops.co.uk www.qualitops.co.uk

Silbury Marketing Ltd. 9 Manor Park, Banbury, Oxfordshire, OX16 3TB

C.Carnevale Ltd

Carnevale House, Blundell St, London N7 9BN

Contact: Mr C Carnevale

Tel: 0207 607 8777

Fax: 0207 607 8774

Deliverect

8 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BY

Contact: Samirah Baurtally samirah.baurtally@deliverect.com www.deliverect.com

FOODSERVICE SOLUTIONS

Jestic

Units 3+4, Dana Industrial Estate, Transfesa Road, Paddock Wood, Kent TN12 6UU Tel: 01892 831 960

Email: info@jestic.co.uk www.jestic.co.uk

Contact: Louise De Leon Tel: 01926 410022 sales@silbury.co.uk www.silbury.co.uk

Stanislava Blagoeva Unit 204, Brick elds, 37 Cremer Street, London E2 8HD Tel: 020 7352 4356 slava@interexpos.com www.pizzapastashow.com

index registered suppliers Stateside Foods Ltd 31 – 34 Great Bank Road, Wingate Industrial Park, Westhoughton, Bolton BL5 3XU Contact: Ian Kent Tel: 01942 841200 Fax: 01942 841201 sales@stateside-foods.co.uk www.stateside-foods.co.uk Whitworth Bros Limited Victoria Mills, Wellingborough Northants NN8 2DT Contact: Gary Somers Tel: 01933 441000 Fax: 01933 222523 enquiries@whitworthbros.ltd.uk Tel: 0161 702 8447 email: sales@pizza-toppings.co.uk A We also produce a range of Halal products We Manufacture hargioni pizza toppings ALPHIN PANS ap Serving the Pizza Professional Since 1989 Making the pizza professional happy since 1989 The widest range of pizza peels manufactured in the UK Alphin Pans Ltd Oakdale Mill, Delph New Rd Delph, Oldham, OL3 5BY 01457 872486 February 2022 Advert Eighth.indd 1 12/01/2022 14:00:14

index of products

BEVERAGES

Beer

Carnevale Ltd.

Coffee

Carnevale Ltd.

Mineral Water

Carnevale Ltd.

Soft Drinks

Carnevale Ltd.

Wine, Spirits & Liqueurs

Continental Quattro

Stagioni Ltd.

Carnevale Ltd.

BREAD, CAKES & DESSERTS

Garlic Bread

Goodfella’s Pizza

CHEESE, DAIRY & EGGS

Cheese

999 Pizza Toppings (UK) Ltd.

Carnevale Ltd.

Dairy Partners Ltd.

Eurilait Ltd.

Futura Foods UK Ltd.

Glanbia Cheese Ltd.

Leathams PLC

Ornua Ingredients Europe

Perco (North East) Ltd.

Stateside Foods Ltd.

Eggs

Futura Foods UK Ltd.

Leathams PLC

Mozzarella

Carnevale Ltd.

Dairy Partners Ltd.

Eurilait Ltd.

Futura Foods UK Ltd.

Glanbia Cheese Ltd.

Parmesan

Eurilait Ltd.

Futura Foods UK Ltd.

COMPUTING SOLUTIONS

Online Ordering Solutions

Just-Eat.co.uk Ltd.

DELIVERY & PACKAGING

Heated Pizza Delivery Bag Systems

Alphin Pans

Cooktek (MCS Technical Products)

Pizza Lid Supports

Alphin Pans

DOUGH & PIZZA EQUIPMENT

Dough Trays

Alphin Pans

Holding Ovens

General Catering Solutions

Pizza Accessories

Alphin Pans

Blackwood Ovens

General Catering Solutions

Pizza Plus Foodservice

Pizza Boxes

Perco (North East) Ltd.

Pizza Making Systems & Equipment

Alphin Pans

Blackwood Ovens

Chefsrange

Cooktek (MCS Technical Products)

General Catering Solutions

Jestic

Pizza Ovens

Blackwood Ovens

Chefsrange

General Catering Solutions

Jestic

Pizza Plus Foodservice

Pizza Pans

Alphin Pans

FISH & SEAFOOD

Other Fish & Seafood

Leathams PLC

FLOUR & BAKERY

Concentrates

Allied Mills

Durum Semolina

Allied Mills

Carnevale Ltd.

Flour

ADM Milling UK Ltd.

Allied Mills

Carnevale Ltd.

Whitworth Bros. Limited

Icings

Allied Mills

Improvers

Allied Mills

Premixes (Bread & Cakes)

Allied Mills

FOOD WHOLESALERS

Continental Quattro

Stagioni Ltd.

Leathams PLC

Stateside Foods Ltd.

FRUIT & VEGETABLES

Chargrilled Vegetables

Carnevale Ltd.

Olives

Leathams PLC

INSURANCE

Insurance Protector Group

KITCHEN & SERVING

EQUIPMENT

Bakery Ovens

Chefsrange

General Catering Solutions

Baking Pans

Alphin Pans

Chargrills

Chefsrange

Displays

Blackwood Ovens

Chefsrange

General Catering Solutions

Drinks Systems

Carnevale Ltd.

Fryers

Blackwood Ovens

Chefsrange

Jestic

Griddles

Blackwood Ovens

Chefsrange

Cooktek (MCS Technical Products)

Jestic

Holding Ovens

Blackwood Ovens

General Catering Solutions

Jestic

Induction Cooking & Holding

Cooktek (MCS Technical Products)

Other Cooking Equipment

General Catering Solutions

Preparation Counters

Blackwood Ovens

Chefsrange

General Catering Solutions

Refrigeration

Chefsrange

General Catering Solutions

MEAT

Bacon

Dawn Farm Foods Ltd.

Leathams PLC

Beef

Leathams PLC

Chicken & Other Poultry

Leathams PLC

Ham

Carnevale Ltd.

Dawn Farm Foods Ltd.

Foods Ltd.

Leathams PLC

Stateside Foods Ltd.

Italian Meat & Sausages

Dawn Farm Foods Ltd.

Pancetta

Carnevale Ltd.

Danish Crown

Qualitops (UK) Ltd

Pepperoni

Carnevale Ltd.

Danish Crown

Dawn Farm Foods Ltd.

GCL Food Ingredients.

Qualitops (UK) Ltd

Salami

Carnevale Ltd.

Danish Crown

Dawn Farm Foods Ltd.

Qualitops (UK) Ltd

OILS & VINEGARS

Olive Oil

Leathams PLC

Silbury Marketing Ltd.

PASTA, POLENTA, GNOCCHI & RICE

Pasta (Dry)

Carnevale Ltd.

Continental Quattro

Stagioni Ltd.

Leathams PLC

PIZZA DOUGH, BASES & CRUSTS

Dough Balls

Pan’ Artisan

Pizza Plus Foodservice

Pizza Bases & Crusts

Pan’ Artisan

Pizza Plus Foodservice

Stateside Foods Ltd.

PIZZA TOPPINGS

Fish

Carnevale Ltd.

Fruit & Vegetables

Carnevale Ltd.

Meat

999 Pizza Toppings (UK)

Ltd.

Carnevale Ltd.

Danish Crown

Dawn Farm Foods

Perco (North East) Ltd.

Pizza Plus Foodservice

Silbury Marketing Ltd.

Stateside Foods Ltd.

READY MEALS

Italian Conveni

READY PREPARED

Prepared Pasta Meals

Freiberger UK Ltd.

Prepared Pizza (Chilled)

Conveni

Stateside Foods Ltd.

Prepared Pizza (Frozen)

Freiberger UK Ltd.

Goodfella’s Pizza

Pizza Plus Foodservice

Stateside Foods Ltd.

SOUPS, SAUCES, STOCKS & DRESSINGS

Garlic Spreads & Mixes

Stateside Foods Ltd.

Pasta Sauces

Leathams PLC

Pizza Sauces

Conveni

Leathams PLC

Perco (North East) Ltd.

Pizza Plus Foodservice

Silbury Marketing Ltd.

Stateside Foods Ltd.

Soups

Conveni

TOMATOES

Canned Tomatoes

Silbury Marketing Ltd.

SunBlush© Tomatoes

Leathams PLC

Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Carnevale Ltd.

Leathams PLC

The Pizza Pasta & Italian Food Association is the trade body representing the UK pizza, pasta and Italian Food Association. The Association is given direction by a Management Committee comprising:

CHAIRMAN

Richard Harrow (Consultant)

FROZEN PIZZA MANUFACTURER

David Jones (Pan Artisan)

CHILLED PIZZA MANUFACTURER

Ian Kent (Stateside)

PASTA MANUFACTURER/ DISTRIBUTOR

Vacancy SUPERMARKETS

Chilled - Vacancy

Frozen - Vacancy

PIZZA RESTAURANTS

Chain - Alessandro de Mauri (Pizza Express)

Chain - Keith Griffiths (Pizza Hut )

PIZZA DELIVERY OPERATORS

Chain - Phillip Quinn (Papa Johns)

Small Chain - Khalil Rehman (Caprino’s Pizza)

Independent Sunny Chhina (The Fat Pizza)

Geoff Parsons (Basilico)

Katy Habibian (Village Pizza)

AGGREGATOR

Fergal Mullan (Just Eat)

IT EPoS

Joe Heather (Deliverect) CONSULTANT

Maurice Abboudi

Richard Harrow

SUPPLIERS

Cheese

Nick Waring (Eurilait)

Mozzarella

Lynne Utting (Glanbia)

Meat

Jon Watkin (Dawn Farm Foods)

Flour

Gayle Hunter (Whitworths)

Equipment

Richard Norman (Jestic)

Tomatoes

James Faulkner (Leathams)

PAPA
Very Pizzable meat toppings Danish Crown Foods, Phone 0044 01926 293 900, www.danishcrown.com

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