Gold Medal Awards 2010: This Year’s Finalists Revealed inside
Towards 2015 Plotting the Bounceback
Targeting Growth
Sodexo’s Aidan Connolly on catering challenges
AUGUST 2010
Meet
Tim Fenn The New Man in the IHF Hot Seat
Kitchen Trends + Feeding the Irish Rugby Team + ANNUAL Hotel Survey hcr august 2010.indd 1
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inside... August 2010
REGULARS 5 EDITOR’S LETTER Notes from the Gold Medal Road 6 NEWS GB Decline Slows 28 QUIGLEY Preparing for Sale 42 SOLUTIONS Festival Planning 44 PRODUCTS Maintenance Solutions 45 PROMOTIONS Grab a Daithi 46 FIVE MINUTES WITH Fitzpatrick’s Sean Dempsey
FEATURES
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40 38
11 TOWARDS 2015 Charting the Path to Recovery 15 COVER STORY IHF ceo Tim Fenn 18 HOTELS Tough Times in the Hotel Sector 21 FACEBOOK The Apps You Have to Have
26 22 INTERVIEW Sodexo UK’s Aidan Connolly 24 GOLD MEDAL AWARDS Finalists Announced 26 TRENDS More Rooms with Short-term Lets 31 KITCHENS Savvy Kitchen Planning
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FOOD & DRINK 35 SKILLS Sorbet Secrets 36 FOOD NOTES Queen of the Season 37 TRENDS Shellfish on the Menu 38 RECIPES Country Cooking
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40 ALLERGIES What to Watch For
ON THE COVER: IHF ceo Tim Fenn
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* VOLUME 43 * NUMBER 08* August 2010
Editor: Sarah Grennan Commercial Manager: Hilary O’Shaughnessy ContribuTors: Marilyn Bright, Michelle Conaghan, Karina Corbett, Eimear Harney, Con Quigley, Rory McCarthy, Kevin Sheehan Designer: Jeannie Swan Production Manager: Jim Heron Circulation & EVENTS Manager: Nicola Hickey Administration: Marian Donohoe, Josie Keane Managing Director: Simon Grennan CHAIRMAN: Frank Grennan Printing: Walsh Colour Print, Kerry Hotel & Catering Review is published by Jemma Publications Grattan House, Temple Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin Tel: 01 764 2700 Fax: 01 764 2750 Email: sales@jemma.ie SubSCRIPTIONS: Ireland 1 Year = e74+Vat Northern Ireland 1 Year = e74 UK 1 Year = e99.79 Europe 1 Year = e116.42 Rest of World 1 Year = e153.19 Note: 2 & 3 Year Subscriptions are also available Discounts: Offered on orders over 10 Rates effective: January 2010 Subscription Order Line: +353 1 764 2700 Hotel & Catering Review’s Weekly Bulletin Log on to www.hotelandcateringreview.ie to subscribe No part of may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form without the prior permission of Jemma Publications ISSN: 0332-4400
editor’s letter... Glittering Standards on a Golden Road
Looking at the variety of figures from Horwath Bastow Charleton, ITIC, the CSO and other tourism commentators, and cognisant of the phenomenally challenging environment out there, we were somewhat unsure of what we would find this year when we took to the Gold Medal Awards road over the summer to assess hotels, restaurants, catering providers and hotel groups. To say, the jury were impressed by the standards this year is the understatement of the decade. Yes, there were still the odd gremlins (one of our favourites is the waitress who, when asked was the hotel busy, replied ‘Yes, but I really don’t know why anyone would want to come here’), but we were most pleasantly surprised to see that the industry, as a whole, has managed to maintain standards in what is a monumentally difficult time for businesses. There was of course evidence of cost cutting, details of which entrants shared with us on their entry forms, but in the vast majority of cases this would have only been noticed by the trained eye. For the 14 members of the Gold Medal Awards Jury, it is not the bottles of water in the room that makes the difference, or the multimillion euro building, it’s the staff and the sense of genuine Irish hospitality which really resonates with us. We’ll be forgiving of most gripes, as long as we’re greeted with a warm smile and made feel that you’re taking care of us. The Irish tourism product was built on a foundation of welcome, and this is the most important element we look for when we’re visiting an entrant. Of course, the 22nd Annual Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards were not without their heartaches. Between time of entering and assessment, some businesses sadly closed their doors. The judges heartstrings were also tugged at the final Jury meeting when we reported back from our journeys and voted for winners and finalists. Each year it is a difficult task to choose the final limited number of category nominees but this year it felt particularly so, with a number of businesses just missing the final cut. For the judge advocating for their inclusion it can be a bitter pill to swallow, as they have witnessed the hard work and team effort that has gone into making these businesses such quality operations. But while we sympathise with the entrants and share their disappointment, we are confined by the limited number of finalists we can nominate in each category. As well as some perennial nominees, who maintain a phenomenal standard year-in-year out and have returned to the list of finalists once again this year, we have a huge number of new nominations in the 2010 Awards. Of the 67 finalists listed in the 14 Awards categories, we have 40 new entrants, while six businesses have been given the
Who will be crowned the best of the best on 20 September? Kevin and Catherine Dundon, last year’s supreme winners of the Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards for Excellence celebrate at the 21st Annual Awards.
nod in two categories, and two businesses which have been selected in an impressive three categories. Finalists are drawn from the four corners of Ireland. The full list of this year’s Gold Medal Awards finalists are listed on page 24 and this year’s Award winners, together with the supreme winner of the Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Excellence 2010, will be announced at a gala ceremony on 20 September in The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin. The Awards celebrate all that is excellent about the Irish hospitality and catering industry and all are welcome to join the party on this very special night. You don’t have to be a finalist to join us so if you’re looking for a fun night out contact Nicola Hickey, tel: 01 764 2727 or email: n.hickey@ jemma.ie for tickets. We hope to see you there.
SARAH GRENNAN Editor
Contact Us… Editorial: Our editor Sarah Grennan can be reached at tel: 01 764 2700, email: s.grennan@jemma.ie or fax: 01 764 2750. She is always happy to hear your news, views and feedback. Advertising: If you have any advertising queries, please contact our commercial manager Hilary O’Shaughnessy at the numbers above or via email to h.oshaughnessy@jemma.ie Subscriptions: To subscribe to Hotel & Catering Review contact our circulation and events manager Nicola Hickey at n.hickey@jemma.ie or tel: 01 764 2700.
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NEWS BITE SIZE Dunne Gets Green Light
Dublin City Council has approved plans for a scaleddown scheme on the sight of Sean Dunne’s D4 Hotels. The council has given the nod to a 15-storey scheme which will include 568 apartments and a 135-bed hotel. The developer, who paid a record breaking e379m for the Berkeley Court, Towers and Jurys Ballsbridge site in 2005, has been ordered to pay e17m in levies to the council before work can commence on the new scheme.
GB DECLINE SLOWS The rate of decline in visitor numbers from Great Britain is showing signs of slowing, with a 3% drop in June. Visits from our overseas neighbours fell from 260,700 in June 2009 to 252,900 in the same month this year, an improvement on the near 20% fall between ’09 and ’08. Although numbers are still in decline, the performance is also an improvement on May 2010 figures when, hampered by the ash cloud, visitor numbers from our largest market plunged by a whopping 30%. While total trips to Ireland fell by 5.7% to 600,300 in June, trips from North America increased by 1.4% and long haul markets
rose by 4.1%. Trips from Other Europe fell by a significant 14.4% however. The June figures are a sign that the GB market is starting to stabilise, said Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin, adding that the North American and long haul performance ‘gives us some confidence that things are turning around in the tourism sector’. ‘The figures show that over 2.6 million overseas visitors came to Ireland in the first six months of this year – in a period that can only be described as some of the most challenging months the industry here has faced in recent times,’ noted Minister Hanafin.
Dylan Returns
Former Mint chef Dylan McGrath has returned to the Dublin dining scene with a new restaurant on George’s Street in the city. The new Rustic Stone by Dylan McGrath restaurant is a more informal style of eatery, compared to his Michelinstarred offering which went bust at the end of the boom. The restaurant offers, among other dishes, dry aged beef which diners can cook to their liking on hot lava rocks.
New Residence Owner
Residence Private Members Club on Dublin’s Stephen’s Green has officially exited receivership following its high profile difficulties earlier this year. Businesswoman Olivia Gaynor Long has bought the club from receiver Jim Stafford, with previous owners Simon and Christian Stokes remaining on board as managers.
Great Golf for Kerry
Nearly 82,000 visitors flocked to the Kingdom for the 3 Irish Open at Killarney Golf and Fishing Club. Pictured at the event was Minister for for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Mary Hanafin TD, with the Fáilte Ireland team.
More Hotels For NAMA
Forty-eight hotels, including 35 Irish properties, are now in the hands of NAMA following the completed transfer of the second tranche of loans last week. Close to a quarter of the second tranche of e11.9bn loans are secured on hotels, with 31 hotels moving to the Agency, 22 of which are in Ireland. The hotels’ developers are required to provide NAMA with business plans for the properties in the coming months. - See Austin Hickey’s article on providing a business plan for NAMA in the July issue of Hotel & Catering Review for more advice in this area.
Michael Flannery Catering Supplies Ltd
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Top Carvery
An Poitin Stil in Rathcoole, Co Dublin, part of the Louis Fitzgerald hospitality stable, has been voted one of the ‘Top 10 Greatest Carvery Venues in Ireland’ by Unilever Foodsolutions. The pub was chosen by a panel of judges, including Unilever executive chef Willie Somers and broadcaster George Hook, for its top three dishes of honey glazed Irish ham, Atlantic salmon en croute and rib eye steak.
Irish Meat Prices Among EU Highest
Ireland, which is one of the biggest meat exporter in the northern hemisphere, has the fifth highest meat prices of the 27 countries surveyed. Consumers here pay 20% more than the EU average for meat while consumers in Britain, a major market for Irish beef exports, pay just 2% more than the EU average for their meat, according to a new report from Eurostat, the EU statistics agency. Alcohol prices in Ireland are 67% higher than the EU average and are second only to Finland, where prices were found to be 70% above the average, says the agency. It reports that alcohol prices are determined by the level of taxes and excise which governments apply to the product. Overall the dearest countries to buy food and drink are Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg and Belgium. Bulgaria, Romania and Poland are the cheapest.
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NEWS
New Group to Turnaround Tourism Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin is to chair a new high level working group tasked with reversing the decline in Irish tourism. The new Tourism Renewal Implementation Group, which was recommended in the Tourism Renewal Group Framework for Action report published last October, will meet for the first time in September. Joining the Minister in the group are: • Eamonn McKeon, chief executive, ITIC • Tony Kelly, director of marketing, Irish Ferries • Fiona O’Sullivan, president, Irish Tour Operators Association • John Rafferty, proprietor, Downhill Inn Hotel, Ballina and chairman of the IHF Marketing Committee
• Ed Ronayne, Ronayne Catering • Shaun Quinn, chief executive, Fáilte Ireland • Niall Gibbons, chief executive, Tourism Ireland • Paul Bates, assistant secretary, tourism division, Department of Tourism, Culture & Sport. Specifically, the Tourism Renewal Implementation Group has been tasked with: • driving continued progress on measures under the Survival and Recovery Actions (2010 – 2013) recommended by the Tourism Renewal Group and • meeting those with a key role under the various actions recommended, to review progress; • highlighting constraints to progress and identifying action to address them; and
• recommending any changes to the Framework for Action in response to changes in the external environment. The Group will publish regular progress reports on the websites of the Department and the tourism agencies. ‘The Government, the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport and the tourism agencies are working to assist the sector, to maximise business for Irish tourism and to ensure that the tourism agenda is in all relevant policies. I want to maximise engagement by the industry, and if necessary amend the Framework in the light of changes to the external environment. The Tourism Renewal Implementation Group will provide the means to achieve all of these objectives,’ said Minister Hanafin.
e190m Investment for Tourism FOOD FOR THOUGHT
At the Good Food Ireland Village at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival were Failte Ireland Food in Tourism Working Group chairman Derek Davis and Margaret Jeffares of Good Food Ireland.
Hoteliers Scathing of Energy Hikes
The Irish Hotels Federation has lashed out at the Commission on Energy Regulation’s decision to impose an extra levy on electricity customers from 1 October. Claiming that the levy could lead to additional charges of up to e7,000 on hotels, the Federation has urged the Government to intervene in the matter. ‘Our members are outraged by the Commission’s decision to impose an additional levy at a time when businesses are facing perilous economic conditions and struggling to survive. This decision is short-sighted in the extreme and shows an astonishing disregard for the economic realities faced by businesses on the ground. We are calling on Minister Eamon Ryan to personally intervene and defer the levies as there is currently no capacity for businesses to absorb additional costs,’ said IHF president Paul Gallagher.
Salt Asks the Question
Salt Restaurant at Lisloughrey Lodge in Cong, Co Mayo has been awarded the Just Ask Restaurant of the Month Award for August. Just Ask is a Bord Bia campaign which aims to encourage consumers to look for information on where their food is coming from when eating out and encourages chefs to provide this information on their menus.
The Government is to invest e190m in upgrading and developing new tourist facilities over the next six years, Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin has announced. The funding will be focused on completing the upgrading of major tourist attractions, developing a small number of key iconic attractions, improving infrastructure for recreational cycling, walking and waterbased activities and heritage attractions, said the Minister. She also announced the provision of almost e4m of funding under Fáilte Ireland’s Tourism Capital Investment Programme to support four projects: The Clare Coastal Walks, Lough Key Marina, Slieve League, and the Foynes Flying Boat Museum. ‘Continually investing and renewing the tourist attractions we have to offer is vitally important if we are to grow visitor numbers in the coming years,’ noted Minister Hanafin. ‘The tourism industry continues to face a very difficult international economic climate and the Government, in partnership with the industry, is helping to meet this challenge through the provision of significant additional tourism capital funding in the coming years.’
Twenty teams from Dublin’s top restaurants and fine wine shops competed for the inaugural Thomas Barton Petanque Trophy at the Radisson Blu St Helen’s Hotel on Bastille Day in July. Congrats to the team from Dax who defeated Kinara in the final by seven to two. e1000 was raised for the Irish Wheelchair Association, the nominated charity of the winning team, at the event.
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NEWS
Record Numbers of Closure Orders Served
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has revealed that a record 13 Closure Orders were served on food businesses during the month of July for breaches of food safety legislation. Closure Orders were served on: Hadi Indian Take Away, Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon; Cherry Blossom Take Away & Restaurant, Greystones, Co Wicklow; Punjab Balti food stall, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin; A Taste of India food stall, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin; Food stall occupied by Keziah Mabunde, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin; Habesha Food Company food stall, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin; Keenans Butchers and Deli (Part of premises), Lanesboro Road, Roscommon; Saagar Restaurant, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2; Rong Xing Supermarket, 157 Parnell Street, Dublin 1; Patrick Ivory pub (kitchen only), Dalkey, Co Dublin; Liada Bakery Ltd, Trading as Merkurius D, Durrow, Co Offaly; Chinese Fast Food food stall, Main Stage, Arena 2, Oxegen Festival 2010,
Punchestown, Co Kildare and Hanlin Restaurant, Parnell Street, Dublin 1. A successful prosecution was also carried out by the HSE Dublin Mid-Leinster Region on The Hogan Stand Butcher Shop, Unit 2, Lyster House, Lyster Square, Portlaoise, Laois. ‘It is a hugely disappointing statistic that we are reporting a record number of Closure Orders for the month of July. The same recurring, but easily preventable faults continue to contribute to the closure of food businesses and this must be addressed by food businesses operating to unsatisfactory standards. Dirty premises, unhygienic practices and improper storage of food simply will not be tolerated. Food inspectors across the country are as active as ever during the summer months carrying out food inspections, so that consumers can feel confident about the food they are purchasing,’ said Prof Alan Reilly, chief executive, FSAI.
Yvonne Ellard, winner of the Best Dressed competition at Blossom Hill Ladies Day at the Failte Ireland Dublin Horse Show won a trip to California worth e10,000 including a trip to Beaulieu and Sterling vineyards in the Napa Valley, and e2000 spending money.
Bringing Irish Americans Home
A new campaign, launched in New York recently by Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin, is targeting up to 10 million members of the Irish diaspora in the US this summer, with the tagline ‘This is the year to come home’, capitalising on the recent digitisation of the 1901 and 1911 censuses. Print and online ads are highlighting the ‘welcome home’ message and value offers for people born in Ireland and those of Irish descent; and approximately 1.5 million promotional inserts have been distributed through key newspaper titles in Boston, New York and Chicago featuring partner offers and great airfares. Minister Hanafin was pictured launching the campaign with Joe Byrne (left) and Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland.
Conference Preview Journalists from Britain and Mainland Europe enjoyed a ‘sneak preview’ of The CCD recently. The articles they write will be published in the September editions of their publications, to coincide with the official opening of the venue. The CCD already has bookings for 86 confirmed events totalling over 260,000 delegate days. Pictured were Sydney Paulson (GB); Áine Kavanagh, Dublin Tourism; Mark Sansom (GB); Patricia Sugrue, The CCD; Monica Nerney, Tourism Ireland; Ellen Van Reel (The Netherlands); Raquel Gimeno (Spain); Antonella Andretta (Italy).
Pub Licences Down 1,289
The number of pub closures in Ireland continue to rise, with news in August that 1,289 pub licences have not been renewed. Dublin recorded the highest number of no renewals at 146, with Cork trailing closely behind with 137 pubs and Donegal in third place at 137. However of the 1,289 pubs, 550 premises still have until 30 September to renew. The figures highlight the continuing decline that is taking place in the on trade with 2010 proving to be the worst year on record for alcohol sales in pubs. In the first six months of 2010 pub drink sales fell by 14.6% – up from an average of 5% in 2009 and 2008.
Gastropub Highlight for CATEX Pub food will be on the agenda at next year’s CATEX exhibition at the RDS. Organisers at the event, which is created and owned by the Catering Equipment Association and sponsored by Bunzl, have enlisted the support of the Licensed Vintners Association and the Vintners Federation of Ireland to deliver workable food solutions for their 5,500plus members. The event, which will run from 8-10 February, will showcase how a quality, competitively priced food offering can help publicans grow their business. ‘We are thrilled to have the support of the VFI and LVA,’ said Michael Flannery, chairman of the CEA. ‘For 2011, we are broadening visitor appeal, and we will be widening the range of seminars, competitions and exhibitors, specifically tailored to provide the LVA and VFI members with business solutions and practical advice.’
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NEWS
New Kerry Forum Launched Fáilte Ireland has establised a new tourism development forum for Kerry. Fáilte Kerry will spearhead a three year development plan for tourism in the region with the active support from Fáilte Ireland. The forum, which replaced the former South West Regional Tourism Development Board, is chaired by Padraic Liston, former managing director of Heineken Ireland. He is joined on the forum by: •Francis Brennan, Park Hotel Kenmare; •Michael Buckley, Kerry Coaches and Buckley Tours; •Patsy Cronin, national chairman of the Leader Network; •Tom Curran, Kerry County Manager; •Cllr Seamus Fitzgerald, nominated by Kerry County Council; •Padraig Hanrahan, Ballybunion Holiday Homes; •Nathan Kingerlee, Outdoors Ireland, Killorglin; •Muireann Nic Giolla Rua, Benners Hotel and Dingle Tourism; •Mary O’Connor, Derrynane House Hotel, Derrynane; •Sean O’Driscoll, hotelier and chairman, Kerry Branch, Irish Hotels Federation; •Mary Rose Stafford, Institute of Technology, Tralee; •Fiona Buckley, head of operations, Fáilte Ireland South West. ‘The establishment of Fáilte Kerry will provide a renewed focus on what now needs to be done to grow tourism here in these testing times,’ said Fiona Buckley.
Dublin Marketing Campaign Launched
Fáilte Ireland has launched a new e160,000 advertising blitz for the capital which it is funding in conjunction with Dublin Tourism, the Irish Hotels Federation and Dublin City Business Improvement District. The campaign, featuring a mixture of radio and press advertising, is targeting three markets - families, young couples and over 55s. Despite the current difficulties in the tourism sector, Dublin has proven resilient, says Dublin Tourism ceo Frank Magee. ‘2009 saw a 25% increase in the number of domestic bednights for Dublin - our target is to build on that figure this year.’
New Brand for Leitrim
Pictured celebrating the launch of the new tourism brand for county Leitrim was RTE’s 2FM broadcaster Paddy McKenna, Hannah Reynolds, Luke Curly and Cliodhna O’Dowd. ‘Leitrim – explore, experience, enjoy’ is supported with a new website, www.enjoyleitrim.com and Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Get Real
Finola O’Mahony, Tourism Ireland’s head of Europe and Corinne Lincoln, Dublin Tourism (centre) are pictured with Spanish football team Villarreal at the Guinness Storehouse where they enjoyed a VIP tour, learned how to pour the perfect pint and got their Camino de Santiago pilgrim passports stamped. The Spanish Primera División football club was in Ireland for preseason training at Carton House. Tourism Ireland in Spain took the opportunity to use the team’s visit to highlight the island of Ireland as a great destination for Spanish holidaymakers as well as a top location for sporting events. Promotional activity around the visit included an eNewsletter sent to over 500,000 contacts across Spain while Facebook targeted Tourism Ireland’s 15,000 ‘fans’ in Spain.
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NEWS
Bank Withdrawl Threatens Hotels Up to 150 Irish hotels could be affected by Lloyd Banking Group’s recent decision to wind down Bank of Scotland (Ireland). The move will have a disproportionate affect on the already troubled hotel sector, where the bank is estimated to provide long term loan and working capital facilities to approximately 20% of the industry. The Irish Hotels Federation was quick to voice its concerns regarding the move, describing the decision as ‘catastrophic’ for the industry. ‘In addition to long-term loans, the existing package of facilities provided by Bank of Scotland (Ireland) to our members includes vital seasonal funding to carry them through the quieter winter period. Unilateral withdrawal of these working capital facilities
at the end of December would be catastrophic, particularly at a time when other banks are reluctant to take on new customers and when asset securities would continue to be held by Bank of Scotland (Ireland),’ said IHF president Paul Gallagher. He added: ‘The Federation is calling on Bank of Scotland (Ireland) to confirm that they will honour their responsibilities to hotel customers and make available the necessary ongoing working capital facilities until such time as each customer can procure, in an orderly manner, alternative banking facilities. The Government and regulatory authorities also have an obligation to protect the economically important hotel sector from being at the mercy of the unilateral withdrawal of such vital facilities.’
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Pictured celebrating the news that Aramark Ireland has retained the Guinness Storehouse account were Paul Carty, managing director, Guinness Storehouse; Eddie Scaife, commercial director, Aramark Ireland and Joan O’Shaughnessy, chief executive, Aramark Ireland.
Aramark Retains Storehouse
Seasons, the hospitality division of Aramark Ireland, has retained its contract to provide in-house catering, hospitality sales and events at Diageo’s Guinness Storehouse. Aramark is to support the Seasons catering offer with a new e2m capital investment package for the first and fifth floors of the Storehouse and will introduce a ‘new vision for Guinness and food’ at the facility. The five year contract is worth an estimated E39m to the caterer.
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TOWARDS 2015
Trend Watch
When the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation examined a ‘Changed World of Irish Tourism’ last month and looked at the challenges facing the recovery, it reported that it could take another five years before the industry returned to those halcyon levels of 2007. ‘The opportunity undoubtedly exists for a return to growth, provided Ireland can effectively compete with timely strategic and tactical responses to evolving customer demand patterns,’ the report stated. So what are those evolving consumer demands? ITIC charted the upcoming trends expected to impact the global tourism industry between now and 2015. Authentiseeking
This is partly a reaction to the pre-recession era of conspicuous consumption, a new travel value of authentic experiences is emerging and already apparent in many travel patterns. The value of depth of experience over simple material luxury is increasingly been sought after, especially by the discerning and mid to upscale tourists. Novelty seekers and back to nature tourists constitute important sub-segments. ‘Ageless Aspirations’, reflecting the ageing demographics of developed travel markets, this group will increasingly refuse to be defined by age while seeking increasingly active and enriching holiday experiences. This age group will also boost the Gran Travel, multi-generational travel parties with grandparents travelling with their grandchildren.
Techno-Driven Travel
A new world where interactive, instantaneous and location-based technology is having a big impact on travel and lifestyle experiences. Decisions will increasingly be influenced by online communities, instant and short lead time bookings will become more the norm, while leisure activities, such as sightseeing and visits to attractions, will become more interactive based on personal mobile technology. The growth in consumer- led online peer travel advice is radically changing how destinations are marketed.
Travel With a Purpose
A definite emerging trend is a growing focus on the ‘why’ of travel rather than the traditional first question of ‘where’ to holiday. Motivation or ‘reason to travel’ is increasingly taking precedent in travel decisions, resulting in a refocusing of the marketing messages to prospective travellers to meet their needs, away from a simple destination message. With the growing concentration on the motivation for travel,
it is possible that there could be a return to the two basic reasons for travel, i.e. getting together with friends and family or to seek new adventures. Business travel could conceivably contract as communication technologies improve.
Geo-Local Travel
This is hypothesised as a future trend as the cost and hassle of air travel increases and consumers become more environmentally and socially conscious in their travel behaviour. Some forecasters see a shift to more local travel, either domestic or at least within the same continent. This trend may also be spurred by growth in popularity of alternative transport and climate change, with a move to ‘slow travel’ linked to other consumer trends of preference for locally sourced foods, etc.
Medical Tourism
The new wave of ‘medical tourists’ are those seeking health care abroad not only for elective procedures but now more so for essential procedures like cardiology and cancer treatments. A recent survey funded by Your Surgery Abroad, an online directory of medical tourism, found that more than 60% of Americans are willing to leave the country for cheaper medical services, while patients from the UK and other European countries with national healthcare services go abroad because of the long waiting times for procedures. Reports indicate that the most popular medical tourism is for dental surgery, followed by laser eye surgery, which are frequently not covered by insurance. Dr. Holiday in Germany and Well-Being Travel in the US are amongst the new specialist travel companies linking the medical and travel industries.
Wellness Tourism
Despite the recession, the number of hotel spa resorts grew globally by 5% in 2009. The popularity of spas with domestic
and overseas tourists also helped mitigate the impact of falling demand, with many properties offering free spa facilities as incentives in an attempt to boost flagging business. Thanks to the ‘lipstick effect’, global sales for health and wellness tourism fell marginally by 0.2% in 2009, with forecast annual growth expected to be 4% in the short term.
The Bleisure Trip
With business travel still curtailed by many organisations, those who are permitted to travel are making the most of it. The term ‘bleisure’ trip refers to the increasing habit amongst professionals to add a few extra days holiday onto the end of a business trip, often inviting a partner along. The promotions, discount nights and loyalty rewards offered by many global hotel chains are ideal for making the trip even more costeffective.
Cruise Tourism
Last year saw passenger numbers recover to above the 2007 peak, although profitability still lagged behind growth rate indicating heavy price discounting. The Cruise Line Industry Association (CLIA) forecasts a 6% increase to 14.3m cruise passengers in 2010, of which 10.7m will be North Americans. Cruise sales were $29.5 billion in 2009. Growth in capacity has remained on a steady upward path, with 14 new ships joining the worldwide cruise fleet in 2009 and a further 12 in 2010. The recovery in the share price of the two major cruise line groups – Carnival and RCL – reflect the upbeat mood within the sector. The Caribbean continues to be the number one cruise destination, but the Mediterranean and North Sea/Baltic continue to attract more cruise ships. The British market for cruising continues to grow reaching 1.75m passengers in 2009 up 4% on the previous year, with a further 8% growth forecast for 2010. The German 8
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TOWARDS 2015 market is the No.2 European market and continues to grow (+13% in 2009) and is increasing its market share, accounting for 21% of Europeans on cruises in 2009, against the UK’s market leading 33% share. The outlook for cruise growth remains favourable, but the prospects for ‘British Isles’ cruising will most likely lag behind global growth due to weather and be restricted by the trend towards larger ships. Development of niche and luxury markets would appear to be the most likely growth prospects for Irish ports, together with expansion of existing itineraries and season, with some home porting opportunities for Dublin and transatlantic respositioning calls for Cork.
A Greying Market
The demographic shifts, specifically the ageing population in western societies, are probably the most predictable factors likely to reshape the profile of tourism demand. While the total world population will continue to increase, the growth will be primarily in developing nations with the result that per capita income will not increase despite global economic progress. Falling fertility rates will see a decline in population in many countries in Europe, with big increases in population in Africa and Asia and more modest growth in the Americas. In contrast, the population of Europe is forecast to decline by almost 42 million by 2050 from 733m, with declining populations in Russia, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland and most of eastern Europe. Deaths are expected to outnumber births this year in 10 of the European
Union’s 27 member states. As of 2015 the EU as a whole is projected to experience negative natural population growth, with the gap growing to one million excess deaths a year by 2035. The European Commission has flagged that by 2050 the EU will have 52 million fewer people of working age. Of greater significance in the developed economies of Ireland’s prime source markets, Britain, mainland Europe and North America, is the changing age structure as a result of an increase in life expectancy and a declining birth rate. This will result in greater numbers of older people and little, if any, growth in the overall population. According to the United Nations, population ageing is increasingly becoming one of the most salient social, economic and demographic phenomena of our times. By 2030 it is expected that there will be 14% fewer workers and 7% fewer consumers in the EU than in 2005.
Turning Silver into Gold
Pre-recession research showed that car purchase was the biggest spend for over 60s in Ireland, followed by home improvements and holidays. Interestingly holiday was the top expenditure item for those living in Dublin. Across Ireland more than half (56%) of the over 60 age cohort took up to three holidays a year in Ireland, with a similar proportion (53%) taking up to three holidays abroad each year.
Environment
Concern for the environment is high in many European countries and the subject of much public debate as to its influence
on travel decisions. The extent to which increasing environmental awareness is influencing people’s travel choices or behaviour in regard to holidays, particularly if it means paying a higher price, is as yet unproven. However, while environmentally sustainability is not a primary motivator for people, evidence would suggest that it is growing in importance as a factor determining the choice of holiday. Some commentators however would claim that the recent recession has stalled this growth in interest in sustainable holidays. TUI, one of Europe’s two mega tour operators, is encouraging holidaymakers to take more sustainable trips by launching a sub-brand, ‘Holidays Forever’. In addition an increasing number of hotels used by the giant tour operator are signing up for a Travelife Sustainability Audit where they are measured on, among other things, their carbon emissions and how much local produce they source. Destinations driven by consumer trends are already adapting to a more green, sustainable model, capitalising on new energy and communication technologies, as well as placing a greater emphasis on local inputs. For example, a central London hotel is pioneering an electric car hire scheme for guests, with up to four hours free rental, no congestion charges and reduced parking fees. As the environment is a key component of the nature-based experience offered by Ireland, conservation and the management of the environment is a key aspect of ensuring sustainable European demand. Unfortunately Ireland does not have a ‘green premium’ in the marketplace. u
A Strategy for Irish Tourism Plotting the Recovery
With Irish tourism hit by dwindling tourism numbers, and competitiveness and access continuing to cause problems, ITIC has made six key recommendations to help turn around tourism: 1.) Concentrate on top producing markets In order to redress the downturn the top four producing overseas source markets of Britain, USA, Germany and France must be prioritised, says ITIC. It recommends a ‘hold and maintain’ approach in all other source markets, with priority of remaining resources allocated to smaller producing markets in mainland Europe ahead of longer term potential in new long haul markets which are unlikely to yield short term gains. Regaining tourist demand from Britain must be the top priority, says the Confederation. Without winning back lost share and volumes from Ireland’s top producing source market, recovery of tourism to Ireland will be stunted. 2.) Increase the marketing of Dublin as a distinct destination Dublin has been the top selling product in Ireland’s tourism portfolio in recent years and is a destination of choice for an increasing share of leisure visitors to Ireland, which reflects changing consumer preferences, says ITIC. Dublin, due to its market share,
warrants increased investment in marketing campaigns, since on the basis of recent performance it is likely to underpin any recovery of tourism to the country, it argues. However, ITIC underlines: ‘The recommendation is not intended to give rise to an urban rural divide but rather recognises the role of Dublin as a prime driver of Ireland’s tourism performance. Besides Dublin, rather uniquely for an urban destination, offers easy access to the countryside and will remain the most important gateway to Ireland.’ 3.) Maintaining adequate access by air to Ireland The threat of further cutbacks in air services endangers recovery for Irish tourism. ‘Air transport policy needs to ensure that measures do not militate against the continued viability of air services to/from Ireland. The abolition of the travel tax is essential to the viability of many services and to secure their continued operation,’ argues ITIC. 4.) Focus on developing and communicating better value for money offerings More innovative pricing of holiday offerings
are required to redress the perception of Ireland as high priced destination, it notes. ‘Support from Government to reducing the high cost base for tourism businesses, including labour rates, utilities, insurance and local authority and other public sector charges, is urgently required to allow Ireland to compete in the international marketplace.’ 5.) Adopt a more granular approach to marketing In a diverse global market ‘granular marketing’ is an advantageous tool for destinations and tourism providers to create value for their guests, by developing offerings and promotional campaigns tailored to highly specific consumer behaviours, says ITIC. 6.) Review agency arrangements for tourism While cognisant of Tourism Ireland’s allIreland remit, ITIC recommends a review of the State agencies involved in tourism. The particular challenges facing Ireland in a changed market environment together with the restrictions on public funding and the need for the most effective marketing of the destination combine to suggest this is an opportune time to review the current organisational arrangements, it says.
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TOWARDS 2015
•
Get Your
Game On
In 2015, will you be a game changer or a spectator? KEVIN SHEEHAN charts the trends set to impact the Irish hospitality industry in the next five years.
I
t is now more critical than ever that hospitality companies assess their business strategy and look to become ‘game changers’. While there are undeniable threats facing the industry, as consumer confidence slowly begins to return, there are opportunities for those companies who are prepared to take advantage. Against this difficult backdrop only the strongest will survive. For this reason, a recent report by Deloitte’s Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure group provides some useful insights for Irish companies operating in these difficult market conditions. The report identifies seven major issues facing the industry and details the key drivers which can determine success for companies through 2015 and beyond. Over the last five years, the value of the brand to the consumer, the growth in emerging markets, the importance of consumer-facing technology and the sourcing, development and retention of human capital have helped shape the hospitality industry. It will be these, along with the growing importance of the sustainability agenda and exogenous events and cycles,
Operators must keep pace with changing social views, business norms and government regulation in order to adapt quickly to the changing expectations of stakeholders.
which will be the key trends that will define success in the market place in 2015. 1. Technology – time to play catch up Five years ago, in Deloitte’s Hospitality 2010 report, we concluded that technology investment in the industry was significantly lagging behind others areas – and five years on, this picture has not improved all that much. Technology spending has declined as a percentage of revenue and investment has often failed to deliver the efficiencies or returns that were promised. To be successful in 2015, the industry needs to address these problems. The key areas of technological development are likely to be online booking and mobile technology, online social networking, data security, artificial intelligence (AI), self-healing technology and in-room product innovation. While justifying investment is more difficult in a challenged market, choosing not to invest carries a significant risk. If companies opt to lengthen the lifecycle of IT systems in order to reduce costs in the short term, by 2015 there may be a large 8
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TOWARDS 2015 number of owners and operators with aging legacy core systems that may no longer be fit for purpose. Irish operators that begin building these technologies now will have ‘first-mover’ advantage.
and brand consistency. As well as developing an effective talent management plan, companies need to re-think their operating model to effectively execute business talent strategy.
2. Brand – differentiate to survive Over the next five years, the importance of brand to guest choice is likely to differ widely across different segments – brand perception is more often influenced by experience than by product. It is therefore likely to have a strong, growing influence over consumer choice at the upper end of the market and a smaller, declining role in the large mass-market, more product driven segments. Currently the industry remains fragmented with a high percentage of unbranded properties in all segments. Brands should continue to play an increasing role in the short, medium and long-term future. This has important implications for brand owners who need to make careful decisions in the continuing harsh economic climate. Social media will also present new challenges for brand consistency and open up new forms of dialogue with the consumer. The growth of social media in the last five years has been staggering, and will continue to grow. This new form of communication and feedback is good news for consumers, and offers both threats and opportunities for operators. The transparency of social media will highlight any inconsistencies in the delivery of the brand, and will provide a quick and enriching communication channel between brand and consumer. Penetration and utilisation of social media is still relatively limited in the Irish hospitality sector; the most successful brands will be those that embrace and learn to harness social media rather than underestimate or fight against its influence.
6. Demographic drivers of change – targeting the boomers and emerging middle classes In 2015 and beyond there will be two key demographic drivers of change in the industry, which will create new patterns of travel and demand in the West, and important new source markets in the East: the ageing US baby boomer population, and the emerging middle classes of China and India. The aging of the Baby Boomer generation and their gradual transition into retirement will shape new forms of travel and open new opportunities catering for a relatively affluent and time rich generation. The emerging middle classes of China and India will also create ripples of change far into the future as their travel patterns evolve from domestic to regional and then international. Irish hospitality operators who understand the drives and needs of these growing demographics will reap the rewards and become the future leaders in the industry.
3. Sustainability – taking a 360-degree view Sustainability will become a defining issue for the industry in 2015 and beyond. Rising populations and increasingly scarce financial and other resources will provide a challenging business environment in which sustainability will need to be embedded within all facets of the hospitality industry. Operators must keep pace with changing social views, business norms and government regulation in order to adapt quickly to the changing expectations of stakeholders. Hospitality is a discretionary purchase, as highlighted by its volatility in the recent recession. By 2015, the consumption of goods and services seen as environmentally irresponsible is likely to be challenged by new social norms. Luxury items that fall into this category risk being
China and India will continue to be the key hospitality markets and, according to the Deloitte report, by 2015 these countries will have absolute year-on-year tourism growth greater than the United Kingdom, France or Japan. seen as increasingly unacceptable. Irish businesses that ingrain sustainability in everything they do will not only improve brand reputation, but will also reduce costs. 4. Planning for the unpredictable – exogenous events and cycles The key to the hospitality industry’s survival of unpredictable shocks and minimising their impact is to establish appropriate responses, protocols and risk management programmes. Operators also need to capitalise on new opportunities that may present themselves in challenging times. Best practice in a crisis includes organisational restructuring, business continuity planning, flexible pricing, loyalty and customer care. Here in Ireland, as the number of hotel insolvency proceedings increases, driving consolidation in the marketplace, operators who actively plan for and anticipate the future industry landscape are more likely to be successful. 5. Human capital – a postrecessionary strategy for talent An average hotelier spends 33% of revenue on labour costs, but employee turnover in the industry is as high as 31%. High employee turnover continues to plague the industry, impeding company competitiveness and brand consistency. Many operators lack robust strategic plans to retain their critical employees and many are unprepared for the intensification of staff turnover that is likely to accompany economic recovery. The onus must be on high employee engagement as this correlates to high levels of customer satisfaction, customer retention, corporate performance
7. Emerging markets – time for a shift in emphasis The continued economic growth of emerging markets economies, together with growing middle classes that have sufficient disposable income to travel, are driving an increase in both business and domestic leisure travel. These factors, and the greater resilience of these economies against the recession, have highlighted their growing dominance on the world stage and their potential scale as hospitality markets of the future. China and India will continue to be the key hospitality markets and, according to the report, by 2015 these countries will have absolute year-on-year tourism growth greater than the United Kingdom, France or Japan. As these countries position themselves as key destinations for Western travellers, Irish hospitality providers will need to be prepared to compete against them in the global marketplace. Game changers or spectators? The combination of economic uncertainty and the resultant impact on the consumer means that, as an industry, action is needed to respond to the new reality. More than ever before, the consumer will be value conscious, irrespective of segment. Simply put, the options are to be either a game changer or a spectator. By taking heed of these trends, I believe that Irish companies can be the former. u
KEVIN SHEEHAN is partner in charge of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure at Deloitte.
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COVER STORY
The Fenn Factor Time spent growing up in the family hotel business, and later working in corporate finance in the 1980s and 1990s have gone some way to prepare Tim Fenn for his new role as chief executive of the Irish Hotels Federation. But, with the Federation currently facing some of its greatest challenges in its 70-year history, Tim knows he has a big task ahead of him. A couple of weeks into the job, he sat down with SARAH GRENNAN to talk through the main issues impacting the Irish hotel industry at present, and to outline his priorities for the future.
W
hen we emailed a breaking news ezine to the 2,500 subscribers of Hotel & Catering Review’s Weekly Bulletin detailing Tim Fenn’s new appointment in June, our phone began hopping with enquiries within seconds. ‘Who is Tim Fenn?’ was the main thrust of the queries. The IHF press release had noted that the Cork native was a former ceo of the Dublin radio station FM104, with some knowledge of the hotel industry when, as a young
man, he worked in his mother’s hotel in Charleville. The release also noted his corporate finance background, including time spent as finance manager with advisors Farrell Grant Sparks. The finance experience was perhaps what attracted the IHF interview committee most, in light of the mountainous financial challenges now facing the industry. The fact that the IHF selected a new chief executive from outside the hotel industry was of little surprise also. The
question of who would replace John Power when he stepped down after 14 years of service this summer had been hotly debated in the industry for months and, in the build up to the announcement of Tim’s appointment, the rumour mill was in overdrive that the Federation was considering candidates from outside the sector. Tim Fenn may be relatively new to the sector, aside from those early family days, but just a short few weeks in the job he 8
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COVER STORY
‘Oversupply is the biggest single issue facing the hotel industry. There is room in Ireland for about 50,000 guestrooms and the excess capacity needs to be taken out of the market.’
already has a good understanding of the serious issues facing hoteliers at present – not least of which is the fiercely difficult trading environment. ‘Hotels’ earnings have gone from e9,000 to e3,000 per room due to low occupancy levels and low room rates,’ he says as we sit down to chat in the IHF’s Ranelagh HQ this month. ‘They’ve gone from paying down the capital to interest only payments, and now they can’t even pay the interest. The upshot of this is that banks are appointing receivers who then only price the hotel to generate cash flow, which is effectively below cost selling. Our members see taxpayers’ money going to prop up the banks, which in turn are propping up below cost sellers and, as a result, they are putting tax paying hotels at risk. Understandably they’re not happy about it.’ With 35 hotels now in receivership, this is a problem which is only going to get worse, Tim fears. ‘Once the summer cash flow dries up there will be an increase on that number – possibly up to 100 by the year’s end.’ The thought of 100 hotels – more than 10% of the entire sector – landing in the hands of receivers is enough to send a shiver up even the strongest of spines, but with overcapacity suffocating the industry, it is clear that stock must be taken out of the market no matter what hard decisions have to be taken to do so. ‘Oversupply is the biggest single issue facing the hotel industry,’ Tim agrees, while running quickly through the figures that say it all: ‘There were 15,000 new rooms added between 2006 and 2009,
equating to a 34% increase in supply. This was at a time when market demand grew by 13%.’ To a finance man, and a newcomer to the sector, this must not make a lot of sense, and Tim echoes what economist Peter Bacon reported last autumn, that the overcapacity is simply not sustainable – even if we can return to tourism growth. ‘There is room in Ireland for about 50,000 guestrooms and the excess capacity needs to be taken out of the market,’ he says. But therein lies the $64,000 question. How can those approximate 10,000 rooms be removed from the equation? He pauses for a moment, grappling with the conundrum that has perplexed all of us over the last 18 months. ‘I don’t know, but there is an important industry there which is a massive part of Ireland and we’re going to have to figure out how to solve this. If the industry doesn’t correct itself then desperate measures will be required.’
W
ith loans secured on 34 Irish hotels now transferred to NAMA, oversupply is a key question for the agency to address also. Tellingly, in its June business plan it noted, ‘where a number of NAMA funded hotels are competing in a location where there is only potential for a single entity, NAMA will make a decision on the optimal commercial outcome.’ This suggests that the agency will look at either closing some properties entirely or seek alternative use, Tim believes. The alternate use debate is equally contentious however, with Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin scoffing recently, ‘if I had a euro for every time
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a wait and see game with the market, we are also left waiting to see what NAMA’s move will be when it turns its attentions to the hotel market at the end of this year. The time lag is leaving the industry in a limbo and Tim regrets that the housing sector was placed first on NAMA’s agenda. ‘All these fields with empty houses around the country aren’t going to solve the Irish economy and they’re not going to be part of the solution for the future. It’s a pity that they have been put ahead of hotels in terms of priority for NAMA,’ he says.
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someone suggested turning a hotel into a nursing home I would be very rich’. But Tim suggests that there is some room for manoeuvre. ‘It’s very hard to take a global view of what to do with these hotels but each individual premises has a next best use, whether that’s step down care, nursing homes, or education. Perhaps the banks could get a group together, including developers, who could look at each hotel on a case-by-case basis. They might be able to find an alternative use for the properties which are unviable as hotels.’ Whatever happens, it won’t be the IHF which will be making the call, Tim stresses. ‘It’s certainly not for the IHF to prescribe what hotels will or won’t be there in the future. We’re calling for all barriers to exit from the market to be removed so that the banks take decisions on which premises stay open based on commercial viability.’ Will the banks make that call? ‘While the banks understand the issue of overcapacity, they are reluctant to get involved. They’re all hoping that the market will correct but that they won’t be the ones to take the hit.’ In the meantime, while the banks play
hile the broader issue of overcapacity hangs in the balance, at the coalface, hoteliers are struggling to survive. Ferocious cost cutting behind the scenes has helped some hoteliers weather the storm to date, but with little scope for cutting commercial costs back any further without impacting on quality, Government imposed levies, such as local authority rates, are under the microscope. ‘People are tearing their hair out to stay afloat. They have to contend with PRSI and PAYE bills, local authority rates, VAT rates, utility bills and suppliers. Who is going to be top of the queue? The reality is that suppliers and staff have stepped up to the mark. The local authority rates are a huge issue for our members,’ says Tim, highlighting that some members with rates of e2,000 per guestroom are hit with a staggering e500,000 bill each year. ‘We need the Government to understand the pressures these rates are putting on businesses. The Irish hotel industry pays about 7% of the total take in this area, but hotels represent about 1.5% of GDP.’ The inequity of the system is clear to hoteliers, but appears to be lost on the powers that be with IHF calls for the speedy implementation of the Valuation Act 2001 (yes – 2001!) to date falling on deaf ears. ‘When asked about the rates issue the Environment Minister John Gormley said it wouldn’t be fair to adjust them but in reality it is manifestly unfair as it stands and if the Government does not address the way local authorities are funded then they will put hotels out of business,’ Tim stresses. The rates issue and cost structures are near the top of a long list of thorny subjects to be tackled on the IHF’s To Do list, and the new chief executive is busy in these early days of the job getting up to speed on the big issues. Keeping tourism at the forefront of the Government agenda is a major requirement, while Tim is also clear that the IHF needs to do all it can to help improve the trading situation. ‘We have to focus on growing the
market. If you’re not growing, you’re static or you’re going backwards,’ he says, cognisant of the difficulty of turning around the market. ‘The trouble is the structure of tourism has changed. The UK is a major problem for us. Any growth and prosperity in the UK market would be a big plus for us but clearly that’s not looking promising.’ While the domestic market has stepped up to the mark in the face of dwindling overseas numbers, Tim notes it can’t replace the drop in visitors. ‘There’s a lot of work being done with the various agencies and our members to do the best we can. I think the type of product we will have to develop further will be the value added product – the likes of the Volvo Ocean Race or the Irish Open, where we have big events to attract tourists. We will have to hook our offering on a more integrated product.’ While he busies himself in these early days with catching up on the wide range of issues affecting the sector, Tim is also taking to the road to meet with hoteliers. ‘I want to spent as much time as possible talking to members,’ he says. ‘You need to have the human story as well as the facts and figures. The hospitality industry is a human business and there’s the reality of what’s going on out there that needs to be communicated.’ With such harsh realities, you wonder what it was that enticed this former media chief and corporate recovery manager to apply for what is surely one of the most challenging jobs in town right now, but for Tim it was an easy decision. ‘When you go through a career as I have you ask yourself, what do you want to do with the next part of your life? I could have continued working in an individual business but this role offered me an opportunity to work in a very important part of the economy and be involved on a strategic level. This hugely interested me. The job is a challenge, but I have always relished a challenge, and this gives me something to get up for.’ He is also quick to point out that, despite those challenges, there are many positives. ‘You can’t focus on the doom and gloom all the time,’ he says, pointing out that the industry is still attracting 12 million bednights each year. ‘If we get tourism right it can be a substantial driver of economic recovery in Ireland. The sector employs in excess of 200,000 people directly and indirectly in every village and town across the country so any upturn in the industry will have an immediate and direct impact on the ground.’ That’s definitely a challenge worth getting up for. u
Meet Tim Fenn
A native of Cork with a family background in the hotel industry, Tim’s CV includes finance manager with FGS, finance director and latterly ceo with FM104, and most recently consultant with outsourcing firm Solve Business Solutions. Tim is married to Loreto and they have three children. HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ AUGUST 2010 17 hcr august 2010.indd 17
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SURVEY
Plummeting Profits Place Hotels in Peril
Overcapacity and high levels of bank loans are changing the profile of the sector. Hotels in crisis with a need for immediate cashflow have discounted their rates to win business and have brought the sector to a new low in terms of profitability, writes EIMEAR HARNEY.
T
hese are tough times for the Irish hotel industry. The impact of blanket discounting, excess capacity and a reliance on the price sensitive domestic market resulted in profits for Irish hotels falling by half in the two years since the peak of the boom, from e9,308 per room in 2007 to e4,650 per room in 2009. As the Horwath Bastow Charleton Annual Ireland and Northern Ireland Hotel Survey published last month shows, hotels continued to discount their rates during 2009 to attract the domestic leisure market. Value for money was key and consumers were king as they utilised their bargaining power to negotiate the best available room rates. Results from this year’s survey show that the percentage of customers contacting hotels directly has increased by 7% to 42.1% of total advance reservations.
Room rates have not been at this level since 1999, a year where the average gross weekly wage was e396.54 (now e704.76) and the price of a pint was e2.74 (now e4.34). Occupancy levels in Irish hotels fell 15% over the last two years to 59.4% in 2009. Average room rate has fallen from e97.69 in 2007 to e77.81 in 2009, a e20 reduction in every room sold which has had a dramatic impact on profit levels. Room rates have not been at this level since 1999, a year where the average gross weekly wage was e396.54 (now e704.76) and the price of a pint was e2.74 (now e4.34). Republic of Ireland
2009
2007
2003
1999
Average Room Rate
e77.81
e97.69
e90.99
e77.50
Occupancy
59.4%
69.7%
65.8%
67.4%
Profit Before Tax
e4,650
e9,308
e9,099
e5,626
Source: Horwath Bastow Charleton Hotel Survey 2010
The next graph illustrates the growth in hotel room stock since 2003 with over 19,000 rooms added in the last six years. The faltering demand levels, rate discounting and excess capacity of hotel room stock all impacted on revPAR results which fell 32%, from a peak of e68.12 in 2006 to a low of e46.22 in 2009.
Source: Horwath Bastow Charleton & Fáilte Ireland
While overseas visitor numbers grew between 2003 and 2007, it is the growth in the domestic market which is more notable. The number of bednights generated by overseas visitors reached a peak in 2007, while the domestic market generated a peak in 2008. Demand for hotel rooms fell by 4% over a two-year period. It is interesting to note that the domestic market has steadily increased its market share over the past 10 years growing from 45% of all guestnights in 1999 to 65% in 2009. 2009
2007
2003
1999
% of Irish Bednights
65%
61%
52%
45%
% of Overseas Bednights
35%
39%
48%
55%
20,839
15,517
12,120
Total Number of Bednights 20,072 (000s)
The Luxe Effect
The luxury sector has been traditionally dependent on the overseas market and, with a 12% fall in overseas visitor numbers in 2009, luxury hotels are now becoming increasingly reliant on the domestic market. Survey results show that the source of business from the domestic market increased by 30% in 2009 to 48.9% of all guests. The increasing dependence on the price sensitive domestic market has forced hotels in all categories to target alternative market segments and penetrate the market share of lower classification
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SURVEYS properties. As a result, the variance in room rate for the different categories has narrowed since 2007. Average Room Rate Hotel Category
2009
2007
5*
e130.57
e168.78
4*
e77.46
e96.71
3*
e63.00
e77.82
Variance in 5* and 4* rates e53.11
e72.07
Variance in 4* and 3* rates e14.46
e18.89
Four star hotels succeeded in attracting the domestic market through their competitive rates in 2009. The three star market consumers were willing to trade up as the four star market was offering perceived value – a quality product with ancillary facilities for a good price. As a result, four star hotels recorded the lowest fall in occupancy levels (5%) within the classification results.
Hotel Sector Debt Levels
The combination of 1999 room prices with current cost structures and the resulting falling profit levels present immense challenges for the sector. Profit levels are now insufficient to meet banking loan commitments for many hotels. Central Bank figures for the end of 2009 show total loans outstanding for hotels at e6.4bn. The graph below highlights the impact of the reduced profit levels on Irish hotels’ ability to meet their loan requirements. In 1998 debt levels for Irish hotels were circa e1.1m and interest and capital repayments did not represent any difficulties. Hotels continued to meet both interest and capital in 2003 but as debt levels escalated to e6.4bn in 2008, many hotels could not make the capital payments as profit per room had fallen to just over e7,000. In 2009, some hotels were unable to make interest payments as these payments reached e5,200 per room and, with hotels achieving a profit per room of e4,650, this leaves a shortfall even for the interest.
Beyond the Pale
There is a considerable difference in profit levels for hotels in the Dublin market versus the regional hotel market however. Region
Profit per Room Before Finance (EBITDA) 2009
2007
Variance 2009 v 2007
Republic of Ireland
e4,650
e9,308
-50%
Dublin
e6,813
e11,687
-42%
Midlands & East
e2,824
e9,433
-70%
South West
e3,908
e7,489
-48%
Western Seaboard
e3,674
e6,439
-43%
Dublin hotels are positioned to capture more varied source markets than regional hotels who are predominately reliant on the domestic leisure market. On average, Dublin hotels can potentially achieve a room rate that is approximately e16 higher than the regional room rates and on average 10% higher room occupancy levels. Meanwhile, recent investment in infrastructure in Dublin such as the Grand Canal Theatre, the Aviva Stadium and the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) will help the Dublin market rebound quicker. The Convention Centre, which is due to officially launch next month, has secured more than 40 conferences worth approximately e82m to date, while Dublin is set to receive a significant boost next year when Aviva Stadium hosts the UEFA Europa League Cup Final. Previous cup finals have generated on average e30m in revenue for the host cities and, with an anticipated global audience of 40 million, the event will provide a much needed boost for the tourism industry. The impact of business tourism to the wider hotel and tourism industry is far reaching, as recent research from Fáilte Ireland highlights: • International delegates spend on average six days in Ireland; • More than 80% of delegates are accompanied by family members who used the opportunity to explore Ireland; • Business tourists spend twice as much as holidaymakers. The launch of the CCD this autumn will be good news for the industry as a whole, as there will be a knock-on effect for hotels located outide of Dublin city centre as the peripherally located hotels will be boosted by the increase in occupancy levels.
Source: Horwath Bastow Charleton and the Central Bank
Cost Saving Initiatives
With the arrival of the recession, the hotel sector reacted effectively to the fall in revenue and associated reduction in profit levels. Many hotels implemented cost saving initiatives with the aim of converting a larger element of the reduced revenue to profit. Significant savings were documented in undistributed operating expenses over the last three years. Undistributed Expenses 2009
2008
2007
% Saving between 2009 and 2007
Admin & General
e4,619
e5,864
e6,505
29%
Sales & Marketing
e2,057
e2,477
e2,559
20%
Utility Costs
e2,381
e2,830
e2,790
15%
Property Operations
e1,773
e2,334
e2,505
29%
It is positive to see that utility costs are down from e2,830 to e2,381 per room in the last 12 months. Many cost saving initiatives implemented throughout 2009 involved hotels investing less in property operations and maintenance. This figure has fallen by 29% over a two-year period and consequently hotels may need a higher level of investment in the future in order to maintain the quality of the physical product. Property rates should be dependent on the profitability of the hotels underlying business. With profits for the sector down 50% it is logical for the sector to argue that significant reductions in property rates are justified. It is reported that the completed valuation 8
HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ AUGUST 2010 19 hcr august 2010.indd 19
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SURVEY
A Boutique Hotel •Blue Haven Café •Bar & Bistro •Seafood Restaurant •17 Luxury Rooms www.bluehavenkinsale.com
A Georgian Residence •Gourmet Café •Food Boutique •Signature Suite •17 luxury Rooms www.oldbankhousekinsale.com
Café Bar •Great Casual Dining •Pizzas a Speciality •Private Parties – VIP Room •Outdoor BBQ’s •Live Bands and DJ’s www.hamletsofkinsale.com
Aperitif Wine and Tapas Bar •With a vibrant and inviting atmosphereand a contemporary design. •Great wines from around the world www.aperitifkinsale.com
•Fresh From Kinsale Retail Range •Breads – Pastries – Confectionaries •Celebration Cakes •Private Catering •Food Services Range •Signature Seafood Range www.bluehavenfoodco.com
Anne Walsh, director, Aiden Murphy, partner, Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin and Eimear Harney, hospitality consultant, Horwath Bastow Charleton, at the launch of the firm’s Annual Ireland and Northern Ireland Hotel Survey last month.
revisions, which have taken place as part of the national valuation review, have awarded on average 30% reduction in property rate charges. The acceleration of this rate review process needs to be achieved as the potential cost savings are now of critical importance to the sector.
Where to from here?
Results for the first six months of the year show that rate continues to fall by a further 10%. Hotels continue to discount in order to preserve volume levels but the impact on profit levels has become unsustainable for many hotels. There is a worrying acceleration in the number of hotels going into receivership and liquidation and it is currently estimated that there are over 30 hotels in the hands of administrators. The restructuring has only just begun. This number is set to increase in the coming months and a level of restructuring will be required to reposition at least 300, or one third, of our total hotels. Essentially we are only 10% of the way through the fallout. Because of the
fragile hotel property market the decision is being taken to hold the hotels, rather than putting them on the market for sale and instead using experienced hotel management companies to operate the businesses. It will be interesting to see what medium term impact these arrangements will have on the sector. The banks may need to hold such arrangements for a period of three to five years as it will be this length of time before we will see recovery in the sector. The future of many hotels in Ireland now rests on the decisions of the bank’s credit committees and NAMA. The uncertainty of our hoteliers is an unhealthy situation. Irish hoteliers need to convince these creditors that the business is being operated to its optimum in the current climate. Regular communication, meetings with the bank and the provision of detailed monthly cash flows are fundamental activitites to sustain the hotel and support the banks. We will be encouraged that the sector is turning a corner when there is evidence of hotel room rates increasing from the artificially low position that presently exists and this will be a key step to any recovery. u
EIMEAR HARNEY is hospitality consultant with Horwath Bastow Charleton.
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01/09/2010 14:43:16
Have You Got an App for That? MICHELLE CONAGHAN details some beneficial Facebook applications for hospitality businesses.
I
s Facebook becoming a micro site? Perhaps, if the average user spends 23.5 minutes daily on Facebook and has an average of 130 friends. In some circumstances Facebook is delivering more traffic to sites than Google, there is no doubt it is a demand and traffic generator and ultimately more direct traffic means more conversions for your business. If you don’t have an active and interesting presence here consider the opportunity you and your business are losing out on. We’ve listed out some beneficial applications for enhancing the customer experience and the revenue generated.
Facebook Mobile
With Facebook’s mobile usage in Ireland exceeding 385k and expected to keep growing, a hospitality professional should certainly know how the application works. The interface on the iPhone and blackberry is easy to use and encourages high usage. Facebook is one of the main applications being used by smart phones in Ireland. So put yourself in the customer’s shoes and download it now to your smart phone and see what they see. It might give you some ideas.
feature to your page. This will help to increase your database and can also be used for specific Facebook alerts/Blog Post/ Exclusive Offers. A word of warning, be careful not to deliver too much duplicated content to the Facebook user or they will unsubscribe/unlike.
Events
If you are not using this application you are missing out on a valuable opportunity to organically grow your fan base and promote events in your hotel. When an event is set up, the options for the customer are to click: -I’m attending -Maybe -Not attending. Once they have completed an action on their network all see that this person is attending your event. Highlight the event and build awareness of your activities.
Static FBML
It’s logical that we should present the option to book or at least query dates when on Facebook. Adding a booking engine interface to your page makes sense from a traffic and bookings perspective. To measure your ROI you need to ensure proper tracking of the activity here is put in place.
Facebook pages don’t allow any type of HTML in the main content section, but you can add FBML and HTML applications to add more customised elements to a page, like clickable images, anchor text and interactive content. The Static FBML app allows you to add advanced functionality to a page by placing a customisable box in which you can render HTML or FBML, giving you more freedom over the space to add images, video, style text and almost whatever else you can think of. It could be used to add promotions, competitions, information on upcoming events, brochures – the sky’s the limit.
Newsletter Sign Up
Reviews
Booking Engine Interface
There are various applications that will allow you to add a newsletter sign up
To add reviews or not, the age old question... What is the potential of the
application? When a customer reviews your property they rate on a one to five star basis with a comment box. Once the customer adds the comment this will appear on your review section as well as appearing on the customers own profile wall and their friend’s news feed. Ultimately this generates interest and traffic back towards your page and your site. Reviews can also be updated by the customer. Responses can only be made by an individual with a profile on Facebook not by the page. On the down side, if a bad review or malicious review is posted your options are to flag which will then give you an option to report it to the Facebook team. You are also able to block a user from your page in this circumstance.
Blog
For those hospitality businesses with a blog, you can use an application to pull updates from your blog into your Facebook page and customise the display.
This will automatically pull your tweets into your Facebook status, and it puts a cute little Twitter-themed box on your profile, so everyone knows you have a Twitter profile. It also saves you time in updating and ensures profile activity to keep you relevant. The Facebook platform is evolving on a daily basis and more applications are becoming available to help you enhance your presence and interactions with your fan base. It is important to note that whatever applications you choose to use, set a baseline on your web statistics and social presence including Facebook insights and implement tracking where appropriate so you can measure the success and results generated. It’s time to measure the return on your investment of time and resources. u
MICHELLE CONAGHAN is head of client services at NetAffinity michelle@netaffinity.com, www.netaffinity.com
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IN CONVERSATION
Targeting Growth Sodexo has ambitions to grow its business on the island of Ireland despite the downturn, UK & Ireland chief executive Aidan Connolly tells SARAH GRENNAN.
‘O
verall we’re disappointed with our sales performance. We think we can do better,’ says Aidan Connolly, the head of the UK & Irish arm of the giant food and facilities management firm, Sodexo. In Ireland to meet with the management team earlier this summer following a restructuring process, Connolly feels that – despite the prevailing gloom in the economy – the time is ripe for a return to growth. ‘We’re working on a lot of things internally which will help, and profits have been good. We need to get good growth again.’ It is a big ask however, in these dark economic times. While the UK may not appear to be as hard hit by the recession as we have been here in Ireland, it is in for a bumpy ride as the new coalition government prepares the country for tough budgetary measures ahead. ‘We’re cautiously optimistic about the future, but we know it’s going to be hard work,’ concedes Connolly. ‘They’re having a tough time in the private sector at the moment. Staff are taxed heavily, the whole economy is depressed and there’s not much opportunity.’ But no matter how testing it gets across the Irish sea,
with Irish parents and a number of friends and family living in Ireland, Aidan Connolly realises that things are a lot tougher here. ‘My friends were telling me about the huge amount of negative equity here,’ he says, mulling over the effect the recession is having on Irish spending patterns. ‘The economy certainly isn’t helpful right now.’ With the UK business split neatly down the middle between catering and facilities management, it is a model that Sodexo is keen to repeat in Ireland. The traditional catering sector does not offer as much room for growth in the current climate, while the relatively unchartered waters of facilities management provides huge scope for expansion. A case in point is the two new multimillion euro contracts Sodexo Ireland has secured to operate services in two bundles of PPP schools, the first of which Sodexo moves into this month. ‘In Ireland the traditional catering base is starting to move to a model closer to the UK which is half non-food. Building maintenance and management is more profitable,’ says Connolly. ‘It is our stated group intention to produce a 6% margin. In the UK it’s 4% and in Ireland it’s slightly above the UK, we don’t break
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h
‘When business is growing and there is lots of opportunity it’s easy to forget about asking hard questions but now we are watching everything. We’re not magicians – our clients want cuts but they want services to improve. To do that we have to run as tight a ship as possible.’
out the figures separately. We need to get to that 6%.’ Facilities management, an area where all the major catering firms are targeting, has become more popular in the maelstrom of the recession as clients demand budget cuts across the board. ‘Clients want us to deliver on integrated facilities management and deliver value from multiple services. We ought to be able to expand faster with this new service,’ says Connolly, noting that it is easier to deliver cost savings through efficiencies in building services than it is in the notoriously tight margins of the contract catering sector. The challenges in catering remain to keep prices low, while maintaining quality. ‘In the UK we are seeing a lot of companies move towards the non-subsidy model,’ says Connolly. ‘We need to be attractive to keep people in the buildings. As interest rates go up it will hit people’s pockets and many companies have had pay freezes which is prolonging the effects of the recession. Also, in time we’re going to return to serious food inflation and we’re starting to see some of the signs now. We’re trying to be more competitive over the counter and to be more attractive to staff. If you look at here as an example [Aviva’s offices in Dublin], we are offering the catering services in house and yet just across the courtyard in full view of everyone in the restaurant is a high street offering. We are competing directly with them on our doorstep and we face this dilemma all over the place. We need to stay competitive. We’re focussed on delivering quality at high street prices.’ While many employers are moving to a zero subsidy model, Aidan Connolly believes that catering still plays a vital role in the recruitment and retention process. ‘For two years employers have been saying that they are implementing pay freezes and cutting subsidies but as the economy starts to come back there is going to be increasing competition for staff. It’s very difficult to see what employers are offering now in the package. Pensions have gone, cars have been taxed away, subsidised canteens are gone as a trend. Employers are going to have to find a way to differentiate themselves from the next company and make their business attractive to staff and we are hopeful that in this context staff dining will stay but it is an uphill battle for us at the moment.’ As sales and rates came under pressure, Sodexo implemented an extensive costreduction plan to help maintain margins. It was hardly rocket science, explains Connolly, but it worked. ‘We’ve had pay freezes and we’ve made sure we haven’t wasted any money. We’ve invested in people at a time when most were cutting back. And we hope to maximise profit by not doing stupid things like putting something
in the post instead of emailing or paying premium rate overtime instead of rostering an extended shift. We’re trying to get people to think of it as their money and it’s made a difference. When business is growing and there is lots of opportunity it’s easy to forget about asking hard questions but now we are watching everything. We’re not magicians – our clients want cuts but they want services to improve. To do that we have to run as tight a ship as possible.’ With a huge number of clients now putting their catering contracts up for tender and the industry becoming more competitive than ever before, retention is as vital as growing new business. Never has it been more important to work with clients and adapt to their changing needs, notes Aidan Connolly. ‘We have long relationships with our clients. When they’re laying off 15% of their workforce we can’t wave our contracts at them and tell them we’re going to hold them to it. We have to adapt, and we have to help them achieve savings. One area where we can do this is through building services.’
A
lthough times are challenging, there is sign of light at the end of the tunnel. ‘Globally, our growth came back in the second quarter. Organic sales and profits are up so we’re in a good place but we’re cautious for the rest of the year. Our UK business is skewered to summer. We do a lot of events, such as the catering at Ascot and the Chelsea Flower Show and this is something we’re going to look at here. We’ve dabbled a bit in it in Ireland in the past but it’s not been a huge focus for us. It’s something we plan to target now.’ Globally, the company has a lot of experience in this area, catering in everything from Premiership football clubs in the UK, to the upcoming Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. For the moment however, the biggest priority on Sodexo Ireland’s ‘To Do’ list is to grow the business North and South. ‘We want to see the recovery of the economy also. It’s not helpful at the moment,’ says Connolly, in a sentiment that will surely be echoed by all caterers. Nonetheless, despite the depressive impact of the recession, he remains cheery. ‘I’m not sure there’s a company that I’d rather be in right now to be honest. This is a very exciting time for us.’ We wonder, is he energised by the challenges generated by the recession and the demands to be more creative in approach to business? Aidan Connolly smiles. ‘There’s a lot to be said for an easy market – you don’t have to be tortured by bad sales. But you know, we Irish are very resourceful and we have an enormous capacity for hard work. We’ll find ways to get ahead.’ u
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FINALISTS
Shortlist the gold
Following a busy summer travelling through the four provinces of Ireland to judge hotels, restaurants and catering operations, the Gold Medal Awards Jury have voted for their selection of finalists in this year’s Awards. A total of 67 businesses have been chosen to progress to the final round of the Gold Medal Awards, including 40 new category finalists. They are:
Five Star Hotels
Aghadoe Heights Hotel, Killarney, Co Kerry Dromoland Castle Hotel, Newmarket on Fergus, Co Clare Fota Island Resort, Cork The G Hotel, Galway Hayfield Manor Hotel, Cork Park Hotel Kenmare, Co Kerry
Four Star Hotels The Brehon, Killarney, Co Kerry Cromleach Lodge, Castlebaldwin, Co Sligo Harvey’s Point, Lough Eske, Co Donegal Inchydoney Island Lodge, Co Cork Kelly’s Resort Hotel, Rosslare, Co Wexford Knockranny House Hotel, Westport, Co Mayo
Three Star Hotels Bloomfield House Hotel, Mullingar, Co Westmeath The Blue Haven Hotel, Kinsale, Co Cork The Claregalway Hotel, Claregalway, Co Galway Downhill House Hotel, Ballina, Co Mayo The Headfort Arms Hotel, Kells, Co Meath Park Inn, Belfast
Country Houses & Guesthouses
Gregan’s Castle Hotel, Ballyvaughan, Co Clare Lough Inagh Lodge Hotel, Recess, Connemara, Co Galway Mount Falcon, Ballina, Co Mayo Tankardstown House, Slane, Co Meath Rathmullan House, Rathmullan, Co Donegal Wineport Lodge, Glasson, Co Westmeath
Hotel Groups
The Doyle Collection The Moran & Bewleys Hotel Group Tifco
Fine Dining Restaurants
The Dining Room at Gregan’s Castle, Ballyvaughan, Co Clare La Boheme, Waterford MacNean House & Restaurant, Blacklion, Co Cavan Moira’s Restaurant at Cromleach Lodge, Castlebaldwin, Co Sligo Dax Restaurant, Dublin 2 One Pico, Dublin 2
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t
Bistros & Brasseries Bijou Restaurant, Rathgar, Dublin 6 Crackpots, Kinsale, Co Cork First Floor Restaurant at Harvey Nichols, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 16 Louie’s Bistro, Dublin 1 Perrott’s Garden Bistro, Hayfield Manor, Cork West at The Twelve Hotel, Barna, Co Galway
Casual Dining
Itsa 4, Sandymount, Dublin 4 Lord Kenmare’s Restaurant, Killarney, Co Kerry Max’s Restaurant & Wine Bar, Kinsale, Co Cork The Morning Star, Belfast The Tavern Bar & Restaurant, Murrisk, Co Mayo Wild Honey Inn, Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare
Ethnic Restaurants Ananda, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 16 Chakra by Jaipur, Greystones, Co Wicklow Chameleon Restaurant, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Little Jerusalem, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Rotana Café, Portobello, Dublin 2
Cafés & Coffee Shops
Café Noir, O’Connell Street, Limerick Café No.11 at The Old Bank House, Kinsale, Co Cork Kay’s Real Chefs, Real Food, Blanchardstown Centre, Dublin 15 Partridge’s Artisan Café, Gorey, Co Wexford Silver Restaurant at Newbridge Silver Visitor Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare
In House Catering
Aramark Ireland at Genzyme, Waterford Sodexo Northern Ireland at PSNI Seapark, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim Sodexo Ireland at APC Galway The Barristers’ Tea Rooms, The Four Courts, Dublin 7
Institutional Catering Black Olive Catering at Barrettstown, Ballymore Eustace, Co Kildare St Brigid’s Hospital, Shaen, Co Laois Aramark Healthcare at Beneavin Healthcare Campus, Glasnevin, Dublin 11 Aramark Healthcare at University Hospital Galway, Galway Masterchefs Munster at Moffetts Restaurant, National University of Ireland, Galway
Wine Experience
Kelly’s Resort Hotel, Rosslare, Co Wexford Max’s Restaurant & Wine Bar, Kinsale, Co Cork No.1 Pery Square, Limerick Pinocchio, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 The Twelve Hotel, Barna Co Galway The Cornstore, Cork
Customer Experience Aghadoe Heights, Killarney, Co Kerry Cromleach Lodge, Castlebaldwin, Co Sligo Doonbeg Lodge, Doonbeg, Co Clare Glenlo Abbey, Galway Harvey’s Point Hotel, Lough Eske, Co Donegal Hayfield Manor, Cork The Merrion Hotel, Dublin
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TRENDS
Rooms Under the Radar
Hotels aren’t just competing with each other, they are also facing increased competition from the growing short-term apartment let sector, reports KARINA CORBETT.
T
he hotel industry hit the headlines recently for all the wrong reasons. As figures from the Horwath Bastow Charleton Survey covered elsewhere in this issue show, rates have plunged to a 10-year low, driven by the saturation of the hotel market. But hoteliers don’t just have their neighbours in the hotel industry to watch out for, they also have to contend with competition from short-term apartment lets, which is a growing business that has been bubbling away under many hoteliers’ radars.
Serious Self-Catering
The short-term apartment let market in Ireland is concentrated mainly in Dublin with companies offering potential customers an alternative to the traditional hotel room by highlighting features such as greater space, increased freedom, lower costs and the option of cooking for themselves rather than having to dine out. The apartments, situated in and near the city centre and also in the suburbs, cater mostly to corporate and leisure clients and can be generally rented from two nights or more. This model is popular in Europe where it is a readily understood alternative to a hotel. Indeed The Global Serviced Apartment Industry Report 2009-10 found that the number of apartment operators worldwide increased in the last 12 months, with the majority of them declaring themselves positive about an upturn in 2011. It’s a sector that’s said to be rising in popularity here, particularly with tourists who are visiting the country and already familiar with this option. And it’s a big online business – a simple search for short-term lets on Google generates quite a choice. Indeed the current availability could be down to the fact that there are so many empty apartments in Dublin now. Myriads of blocks that went up in the boom are now unsellable. In the past few years a
number of companies have either leased or bought some of these empty vessels from the developers and are making their money using the short-term let model. Furthermore it’s believed that some developers who’ve been unable to sell on what they’ve built are also going down this route in order to keep some income coming in from their properties. Your Home From Home has been operating for 15 years and calls itself ‘the real alternative to hotels in Dublin’, with more space and cheaper rates. While the bulk of its business is in the capital, it offers some accommodation in the country too. Prior to the plunge in hotel room rates, it was advertising the cost of a week’s stay in one of its one-bedroom apartments as working out at around 30% cheaper than a standard double room in a hotel. Donal McGing is reservations and operations manager with Your Home From Home and he says that, despite the difficult economic climate, the company is doing doing well. ‘We are growing, but more slowly than in previous years. We are still affected by rate and occupancy as much as hotels. But I see growth picking up once we’re through the current downturn as long as costs can be kept in check and we maximise our occupancy.’ Your Home From Home’s customer base is made up of about 80% corporate and 20% leisure and it provides accommodation for many of the financial and IT companies in areas such Grand Canal, IFSC and Ballsbridge in Dublin. It also work with agents both locally and online in the form of booking engines like Expedia and Booking.com for the leisure market. And while it’s faced with the same recession as the hotel industry, it’s still in a position to vie for business. ‘The way we can compete with local hotels, considering the competition is pretty fierce, is by way of two-bedroom
apartments, which are the bulk of the units that we have,’ explains McGing. ‘For example if you have a group of four people for a weekend, they can book a twobedroom apartment for between e105 and e140 per night and the cost per person is greatly reduced in comparison to a hotel room. Also we would impact on hotels by way of the longer staying corporate guest, who would stay for up to a month or more at a time. These guests tend not to stay in hotels anymore and choose the apartment option as they are not sitting alone in a restaurant or bar at the hotel.’ Your Home From Home owns a certain amount of the properties on its portfolio and has agreements with firms for other units. And what of the numerous apartments that were built in and around the city, which remain unsold and empty? ‘I am aware of the amount of empty apartments at the moment and can say that we are working with certain companies in this regard,’ he says. ‘It really is dependent on the location and quality of the empty units and for us they really need to be in our current area as we need to be able to service and maintain them in order to provide a quality service. For this the geographic area needs to be manageable for our team.’ McGing is certain the industry can thrive with the right ingredients: ‘I do feel this sector will continue to grow in Ireland as we provide a very good alternative to hotel living. As long as companies maintain standards as they expand, I don’t see any reason why growth won’t continue. This is a well established sector in the UK, mainland Europe and the US, and in conjunction with large relocation companies there is plenty of business out there to run a successful company as long as the product remains of a high standard.’ PREM Group, led by former IHF president Jim Murphy, specialises in both the management of hotels and serviced
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NEWS
Your Home From Home
apartments and has operated in this field since 1996. Premier Apartments are marketed as ‘a unique alternative to hotels, offering style and comfort with the space and convenience of your own home’. While PREM operates properties in the UK and Belgium, its Irish apartments are located in Dublin’s city centre and Sandyford and are available with one, two or three bedrooms. Like Your Home From Home, PREM’s developments are popular with both business and leisure guests due to the proximity of both the commercial districts and the local amenities. According to Patricia Mulligan, sales manager at Premier Apartments, there is a strong demand for apartments at the moment and within the market there is a lot of competition. She believes that much of this demand is coming from the corporate sector. ‘Many companies these days are looking at their costs. If an employee has to go away on business they’re looking at ways of keeping the total price of the stay down. With apartments you can do that because not only are they good value to rent, they are self-catering, which limits the cost of someone having to eat out all the time. These days too there are quite a few companies who will send someone to manage a project in their Dublin office, but only for two months or so. We fit in well with that kind of thing. From a comfort and a cost point of view, short-term lets really work.’ In terms of market competition Mulligan believes that some of that might be coming from individual landlords – people who bought apartments and are now not in a position to sell or lease them in the traditional way. And she agrees that the excess of empty units can be advantageous. ‘Short-term apartment lets is definitely an area where there is room for growth. We are looking for opportunities in Dublin or other Irish cities. We feel that it’s a good market to be in as long as the location is right.’ A company that has benefitted from the unoccupied dwellings around the capital is
StayCity.com, which began in 2004 when its founder and ceo Tom Walsh was getting married and wanted to sell his Temple Bar apartment. When he couldn’t get the price he desired for it, he asked his brother to let it out to tourists on a short-term basis. The rest is history: StayCity.com now operates in eight cities internationally, renting more than 600 serviced apartments in big cities worldwide. It has 218 units in Dublin. ‘StayCity.com is fast growing and we are working hard to accelerate our growth as our model is proven,’ Walsh tells Hotel & Catering Review. ‘In the US and markets where this concept is more mature, market penetration is close to 7% (as a share of the hotel market). In Europe it is 1% so there is enormous opportunity in the marketplace. Growth is constrained, not by our ability to attract customers, but by the general paralysis in the property and financial markets.’
apartment block comprising anything between 50 and 200 units. It then signs leases of between five and 25 years with either the owner of the entire block or of each apartment, depending on the property. In recent years as developers struggled to sell their finished apartment blocks, they have looked to the likes of Walsh for an easier way to rent. Some of StayCity.com’s existing portfolio has come from this channel, although suburban or semi-suburban stock is not deemed to be suitable. ‘StayCity.com’s business model is based on taking properties on long leases and, possibly with the exception of London, where we may consider acquiring property, we intend to stick to this model for growth,’ explains Walsh. ‘We will also align ourselves to property funds, developers and banks to feed our growth objectives.’ And so what does he predict for the
‘In the US and markets where this concept is more mature, market penetration is close to 7% of the hotel market. In Europe it is 1% so there is enormous opportunity in the marketplace.’ Tom Walsh, StayCity.com
Walsh says that StayCity.com’s main customers are leisure travellers seeking better value and greater comfort and space. Business is also being boosted by travelweary corporate clients who are seeking a home from home experience. ‘We are directly competing with hotels and winning market share from them as we make more sense for families, groups of people travelling together, customers seeking better value and comfort and corporate clients who want more space and comfort to take some of the pain out of their busy travel schedules.’ StayCity.com has a number of employees on the lookout for suitable accommodation, which tends to be an
future? ‘If the pattern follows that seen in the US – and we fully expect it to – we will see strong sustained growth in this sector and major players such as StayCity.com emerging as recognised brands leading the field. We expect to grow our stock from today’s 600 city centre apartments to between 3,000 and 5,000 apartments in the course of our current business plan.’ This may come as worrying news to city centre hoteliers battling with the overcapacity in the hotel sector and, as short-term letting grows in popularity globally and here at home, it is clear it is another source of competition hotels need to keep an eye on. u
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CON QUIGLEY ON HOTELS
Grooming
for Sale
CON QUIGLEY details how to prepare your hotel for sale.
P
reparing a hotel for sale has hardly been at the forefront of the majority of owners’ and hoteliers’ minds during the credit crunch and ensuing recession, which has brought about extremely testing hotel trading conditions. Instead, the focus has been on staying afloat and surviving the downturn. Significant dips in trading and demand coupled with the softening of investment yields has resulted in tumbling asset values, hardly the ideal environment for hotel asset sales. This is reflected in the dramatic reduction in hotel sales in 2009 which was 85% below 2007’s record figure of e20bn hotel investments in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa). The majority of transactions which have occurred in the UK over the last year have either been distressed, of which there were not the abundance anticipated, or highly desirable hotels generating low trophy yields. However, it has been three years since the start of the credit crunch and, following this period of decline in trading and values, and the relative stagnation in hotel transactions, some markets are improving so there appears to be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. London has exceeded expectations with revPAR increasing by 12.9% to £101.46 in the six months to June 2010, mainly driven by ADR growth of 10.7%. This compares to a 3.9% decline in revPAR during 2009 to £93.04, showing that London was relatively unscathed by the global economic crisis. This has largely been due to the weak sterling which has drawn tourists from overseas attracted by its value for money offering, enabling the leisure segment to dilute the effects of the decline in the corporate market. As such, London continues to maintain its international appeal with demand exceeding supply. On the other hand other markets, such as Dublin, are continuing to feel the effects of excessive room stock constructed during the boom period with demand unable to keep pace with supply, resulting in a severe dip in trading. Dublin revPAR fell by 22.3% in 2009 to e54.33, largely driven down by substantial ADR reductions of 18.5% as hoteliers drastically cut rates to bolster occupancy. This year continues to prove challenging for Dublin hoteliers with revPAR down 8.9% to e49.20 in the six months to June. This is 15.9% below the equivalent period last year, as such a slow return to recovery is anticipated. With this sluggish growth and significant structural changes in financing and deal terms, it is unlikely that pure market factors will drive values to the desired levels for the current owners. As such, to optimise value, owners must take a more proactive approach to their investment in order to manage their future exit. In addition to the general market recovery, with a sevenyear life span for tax breaks from capital allowances, we anticipate that a number of Irish hotel owners are likely to start looking for an exit from 2012 onwards. As a result, now seems to be an appropriate time to consider a potential future hotel sale. In fact, we are seeing a marked increase in
demand for our asset management and ‘grooming for sale’ services in order to optimise operations and maximise asset value. We anticipate that this will continue to grow throughout 2010 and pick up more significantly in 2011. In order to optimise the value achievable on sale and streamline the hotel’s performance, a ‘grooming process’ is recommended to ready the hotel asset for sale in the open market. This pre-sale preparation phase is critical to securing the best possible return on sale of the hotel asset. The process analyses a number of factors influencing the return on sale since owning and managing a hotel asset is a complex affair with numerous variables impacting upon the hotel, both internal i.e. within the owner/operator’s control, and external.
Internal Factors
The internal factors can be broken down into three main categories: Asset, Operations and Client/Guest Approach.
Asset
It is firstly important to assess the hotel’s potential and what opportunities may exist to create additional value. This can be achieved by undertaking a space review which will examine whether the existing layout could be reconfigured to optimise the floorplate and increase the revenue generating space of the hotel, e.g. the conversion of certain areas to meeting rooms/food and beverage outlets or the addition of bedrooms. While we would not necessarily recommend that any extension or redevelopment of the hotel be completed, if the hotel were to have extension or redevelopment potential, a planning permission would add value in viable locations, even if not implemented. Essentially, potential buyers need to be presented with scope for uplift in the property’s trading which could be achieved through physical improvements. In addition to optimising future value, a space review could also highlight areas where the efficiency of operations is questionable and therefore where cost savings could be achieved. This would seek to identify whether the space is being used efficiently and whether certain areas, like back of house, could be moved to facilitate operations. Hotels are a capital intensive business and capital expenditure reviews are a vital part of any hotel’s annual review process. It is therefore critical to identify expenditures which may be necessary to maintain or optimise market position and review annual capital plans, including individual capital projects. While we appreciate that there are financial restrictions on capital expenditure in the current market, some investment to ensure that the hotel is up-to-date on repairs and everything is clean and snagged will give comfort to guests and potential buyers.
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Operations
Hotels are trading assets and valued based on their existing, as well as potential trading. It is therefore imperative to groom EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) for sale. During recessionary times, many hoteliers’ immediate focus is on cost control and expenses are often reduced to unsustainable levels, which has the knock-on effect of diminishing guests’ experience and eventually the reputation of the hotel. It is therefore imperative for hoteliers to undertake considered cost optimisation and understand the difference between good and bad costs. It is essential that marketing spend remains in order to retain current guests, explore new market segments and increase market penetration. Typically branded properties outperform their independent counterparts due to their brand equity, extensive distribution channels and sales and marketing strength. As a result, we recommend that the potential value from brand or marketing consortia association and cost/benefit analyses are considered by independent operations, even though in a regional market the optimal solution may be through distribution support rather than a fully fledged management contract. Once an affiliate of a brand/marketing consortia association, it is important to ensure that the hotel continues to receive its fair share of exposure in the consortia distribution systems. This is not always the case since when searching available rooms you would, as an owner, expect a randomised list to ensure that all hotels appear on the top of the list, while it often proves to be systematic i.e. by location or alphabetical order. This can result in other member hotels having an unfair competitive advantage and calls into question the benefit of this association. However, if monitored, these associations can open the hotel up to a considerably wider audience. In addition, enhanced PR organisation (locally and corporately) may provide a costefficient means of attracting more exposure. In terms of cost reduction, a review of the personnel is essential. Whilst during recessionary times it is tempting and often necessary to permanently reduce staff numbers, it is also important to consider how the workforce could be optimised. Certain staff could carry out dual roles and, although this requires a certain degree of cooperation and flexibility from staff, it can lead to a more efficient business and fewer redundancies so will benefit employees in the long-term. This will reduce costs and improve EBITDA without causing any material damage to operations. Another means of further reducing costs is by reviewing the current supplier contracts that are in place. There may be an opportunity to renegotiate the contracts, especially in the current competitive climate as this could result in lower direct costs to the business. An analysis of pricing strategy is also critical in order for the hotel to achieve optimum revPAR levels within its market. Whilst across the board rate cuts have largely characterised the last two operating years, hoteliers should steer clear of these as they result in a lower average price point sometimes on a higher cost base. Instead, it is worth considering offering additional extras to the room rate at a limited cost which can be removed at a later stage. For example, chargeable internet brings limited cost to operations and, if guests were offered this service for free, they
may feel an increased sense of value for money and that they are experiencing better service overall. Finally, transparency in reporting will enable a potential buyer to understand the hotel operations more clearly and give them greater comfort in the hotel purchase. Whilst a lot of smaller operations have limited access to information, it is worth creating a transparent database of historic data identifiable by Irish and non-Irish buyers according to the Uniform System of Accounts for example. Recording key performance indicators is essential. Having undertaken a number of operational reviews of independent hotels, we were surprised by the length of time in receiving the full information. This gave us the impression that hotel management did not necessarily have a full understanding or control over its operations, which could potentially impact upon a buyer’s interest as they will want the full and clear picture of the hotel’s historic trading.
Client/Guest Approach
The hotel’s reputation is essential in order to retain clients and continue to attract new customers. It is imperative the hotel has an understanding of how it is perceived within the market and proactively react to negative press and internet sites in order to limit any potential damage caused. This is becoming even more pertinent with the onset of internet review sites such as TripAdvisor which provide a forum for guests to compliment or criticise their hotel stay. Many clients use these sites as a means of obtaining a true reflection of the hotel and they can greatly influence their decision-making process. The hotel must continue to manage price/quality expectations. Whilst some hoteliers have cut costs dramatically during the recession, they must take care not to impact upon customers’ experience. A four star hotel cannot cut costs to the extent where the full-service elements of the hotel no longer apply or have been seriously compromised. Guests expect a certain standard when booking a particular hotel and it is imperative that this is maintained. Therefore if costs are cut, these must not be immediately apparent to the clients. The hotel’s appearance is essential in maintaining satisfied customers. As such, the hotel must ensure that repairs and maintenance expenditure is upheld and, while it may not be possible to implement larger capital projects, a touch of paint and targeted replacement of soft goods can do wonders to the perception of the product.
External
Whilst it could be assumed that external factors are beyond the owner/operator’s influence, we believe that these can and should be monitored as they also impact upon the eventual asset value.
Yields
It is important to observe yield movements, trends, buyers of similar hotels, and comparable transactions or properties being marketed in order to provide the most accurate and up-to-date picture of the current investment landscape. This will allow the owner to build an understanding of the likely future sales price, which will ensure that the hotel is brought to market at the optimum time in order to achieve maximum value. 8
An analysis of pricing strategy is critical in order for the hotel to achieve optimum revPAR levels within its market. Whilst across the board rate cuts have largely characterised the last two operating years, hoteliers should steer clear of these as they result in a lower average price point sometimes on a higher cost base. HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ AUGUST 2010 29 hcr august 2010.indd 29
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CON QUIGLEY ON HOTELS Competition
The competition should also be monitored, i.e. are rival hotels proactively fighting the market, losing on competitiveness or likely to fall into receivership? Understanding how the local competition is faring will enable a more reasoned judgement and approach to managing the hotel and preparing it for an eventual sale. A number of firms can monitor competitive sets which will give a clearer indication of where the hotel is positioned vis-à-vis its competition. A substantial part of this work can be carried out internally by undertaking regular visits to main competitors to get a sense of their operations.
Hotel Market
Understanding the operating market in which the hotel sits is essential in order to achieve an optimum sales price. Hotels are trading assets and valued based on their existing, as well as potential, trading. This will enable the hotelier to monitor hotel performance and allow for a more considered approach to market.
Transfer of Debt
A new buyer is unlikely to be able to obtain similar debt levels that were given to the current owner. In the light of potential interest in the hotel acquisition, it is worth discussing with the bank whether the loan can be transferred to the new owner and on what terms. In summary, a potential acquirer is likely to make allowances in their offer for perceived uncertainty and risk in relation to the hotel. In order to maximise the sale price, one of the main issues is to reduce such risk perception and to limit any deductions they may make during the due diligence process, as well as to allow for a calculated premium for potential upside. The grooming for sale process will achieve this by: • Optimising EBITDA; • Securing any development potential, i.e. planning permission and cost estimates; • Ensuring transparency and industry standards with regards to the corporate structure and accounts;
• Ensuring that the hotels are perceived as well known and well operated entities in the market; • If necessary, reduce the reliance on any single corporate contract; • Aligning the properties with market trends; and • Aiming to reduce the number of contractual and tax issues that may impact the value, such as lease terms and rateable values. Although these stages will not alter the external investment climate, they will provide hoteliers/owners with the knowledge that they have done all they can to prepare the asset for sale and maximise their return on investment. These factors were not so important at the peak of the market when asset values were increasing by the day purely as a result of external factors. However, in today’s market owners will need to unlock any latent value in the property through a more active ownership. Furthermore, this market driven process will place the asset within the comfort zone of a wider pool of potential investors. u
CON QUIGLEY, ACA, is the managing partner of Horwath Bastow Charleton in Limerick and the chairman of the UK Horwath HTL firm. As the partner responsible for the corporate finance activities in the London office Con works with hotel and hospitality clients all over Europe, the Middle East and Africa on valuations, market and financial feasibility studies, business plans and strategy, project management and due diligence. cquigley@horwathhtl.com Please note there was an error in Con’s email address printed in previous issues. Hotel & Catering Review HP
Con wrote this article 22/7/10 10:27 Pagein1conjunction with ALEXANDRA van PELT, senior consultant with Horwath HTL UK avanpelt@horwathhtl.com
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KITCHENS
Confidential
Planning a new kitchen or updating an existing operation? Five chefs tell KARINA CORBETT what makes their kitchens tick.
T
he kitchen is the heart of any restaurant or catering outfit. It’s where the food is delivered, prepped and cooked and a good one can play a big part in making a success of a business. From logistics to equipment, there are a number of factors that need to be considered when planning the perfect kitchen. So what ingredients do the professionals believe are essential in order to achieve this? Neven Maguire, who owns MacNean House & Restaurant in Blacklion, Co Cavan refurbished the kitchen on his premises three years ago. ‘I’d advise anyone to make sure
there’s a good floor with good gully traps as well,’ he tells Hotel & Catering Review. ‘We insisted on that when we did up our kitchen. And we thought very carefully about what we wanted because we have 10 chefs. We are a very busy kitchen and unfortunately there’s only one door – I’d love to have two. When we refurbished we doubled in size and we wanted to make sure that life would be easier for everyone. In fact last year we built on a separate area again for pot washing.’ When MacNean House & Restaurant received its kitchen makeover, Maguire opted for an island unit from Charvet. He
has two combi ovens also but says that one of the best pieces of equipment he has is his Pacojet. ‘Pacotising’ is a process that mixes and purees deep frozen food stuff directly in its frozen state to produce a frozen and intensely natural tasting mousse of extremely fine consistency to ideal serving temperature. ‘It cost about e3,500 and it’s brilliant for ice cream. And because of the way it works there’s not as much cream so it’s healthier too. I wouldn’t be without a good hand blender either – I have a Bamix one and it’s superb for soups and sauces. It really lightens them.’ 8
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KITCHENS ‘Buy quality equipment, find a good bunch of people to service it, learn about what maintenance you can do yourselves to keep things in good shape and try to encourage good habits with staff’ Domini Kemp
According to Atindra Roy, the head chef in the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa Galway, ventilation is one of the most important features of a professional kitchen. ‘The ventilation needs to be really good and if it’s not done in the beginning it can be hard to fix. So this should be considered at the start. Also, the flooring should be very good in that it needs to be non-slip, durable and easy to maintain at all times. In my kitchen I have a very good quad hob and cooking range oven. But I couldn’t live without my combi ovens. In my kind of operation – and that’s doing anything from 100 to 500 covers and sometimes more – they are essential.’ Stephen Gibson and Nick Munier opened Pichet Restaurant on Trinity Street in Dublin in July of last year. Gibson says that when they were designing the kitchen, budget was a major factor. ‘We’ve got busier and busier so we’ve been adding on stuff as we’re going along. Cost is a big thing – there’s no point in spending thousands if you haven’t got it.’ Gibson also points out that ventilation is crucial: ‘That has caused us so much hassle. We’ve had to change our whole air con system because the sheer volume of customers has meant that the kitchen has been busier and hotter. We’ve
had to do the floor more recently as well. There were cheap tiles when we moved in here first but we closed for two days over the bank holiday and had a really good resin non-slip floor put in. It cost e5,500 but it was important to get it done. It’s much easier to clean and maintain now.’ Domini Kemp owns the Itsa food company with her sister Peaches. Now in operation for 10 years, they run bagel outlets, restaurants and a full service catering division. Kemp believes that a good kitchen needs to be well thought out. ‘You need efficient, practical spaces that take into account the boring but necessary stuff, like where the chemical store or refuse area should be located. These things always get forgotten about until the last minute, or they get squashed into awkward spaces that make it hard for those who are working there every day. You should plan your kitchen in conjunction with the people who are going to be working in it and go and see examples of good kitchens that work well. And you should always show your plans to your local Environmental Health Officer. It is vital you get the EHO’s input from the start because it will save you time and money in the long run.’ Kemp maintains that costs can be controlled without compromising on quality. ‘Buy quality equipment, find a good bunch of people to service it, learn about what maintenance you can do yourselves to keep things in good shape and try to encourage good habits with staff,’ she advises. ‘Kicking fridge doors, leaning on open fridge doors and slamming equipment around the place is pure ignorance. If you treated someone’s car like that they would probably cry!’ And is there anything in her kitchen that she simply can’t live without? ‘Yes – alarm monitoring on all our fridges and freezers in our central kitchen. We learned an expensive lesson a few years ago and had to throw out about e4,000 worth of prep because of an electricity cut over a bank holiday weekend when the kitchen was closed. As a result, we got the alarms and monitoring service installed straight away.’ The brand new Aviva Stadium has a catering operation on a somewhat bigger scale. The Compass Group – also official caterers at Twickenham and the Millennium
Choosing the Right Option
Among chefs’ top priorities in a workable kitchen is good flooring and Eddie Kehoe of Mulcahy Technical Services underlines the importance of choosing the right option for your business and your pocket. ‘We offer two types of floors – Altro, which is competitively priced, and a poured resin floor which is totally seamless, more durable and easier to repair.’ A kitchen should be designed with seating in mind, he says. ‘Whatever your seating capacity is, the kitchen needs to be able to service the restaurant when you’re at full capacity. If it can’t it will slow service considerably and you will have customers walking away.’ Kehoe notes that a lot of manufacturing is being centralised now, with some companies manufacturing for a number of different brands. Mulcahy Technical Services has sourced one manufacturer, Giorik, which manufactures only under its own brand. ‘This means we can be more flexible with our kitchen design and offer ideas which are solely patented by Giorik. It is high end equipment but it is available at today’s competitive market prices.’ Conscious that in today’s market it is not always possible to buy new, Mulcahy’s has opened a new purpose built reconditioned/ secondhand equipment showroom which provides a range of cost-effective options for commercial kitchens. All equipment is cleaned and serviced on site and comes with a full range of warranties, providing peace of mind for prospective buyers. ‘We remain one of the market leaders when it comes to service and we guarantee a 24 hour response from logged call to an engineer arriving on site, seven days a week. We service all brands of equipment, not just our own, and this service commitment is appreciated by our customers, and as a result we enjoy long-standing relationships with customers in the public service as well as restaurants, hotels and cafés.’ For more 8 information about Mulcahy Technical Services, visit www.mulcahytechnical.ie.
FAVOURITE KIT Every chef has a favourite item or piece of equipment and Domini Kemp loves big mixers and soup kettles. ‘I’m a big fan because they really do speed up production.’ The Radisson’s Atindra Roy’s top pick is his chef’s knife, but he says that coming in at a close second is a good iron skillet as everything can be cooked on it, whether it’s grilling, frying or braising. Neven Maguire’s current choice is his Thermomix, which is a food blender and processor that also weighs, cooks, simmers and steams. ‘It blends, purees, cooks – it’s just a fantastic piece of kit,’ he says. ‘And it wasn’t even invented originally for commercial purposes. It was aimed at the domestic market. It makes a creme brulee in seven or eight minutes. And it’s great for soups and sauces too. The consistency is amazing and it really saves on time and labour.’ The Thermomix is also Stephen Gibson’s favourite appliance: ‘It’s just unbelievable. I had one when I worked in L’Ecrivain but for the first few months in Pichet I didn’t. Then I got one and it makes life so much easier. You can use it for nearly anything. I use it mainly for soups and vegetable purees. It’s brilliant.’
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8
Stadium, Cardiff – is running the Lansdowne Road venue under the guidance of executive chef Mark Wright, who has been with the venture from the beginning. ‘Flows, storage and logistics were all the things we thought about before planning,’ he explains. ‘We’re taking delivery of a vast amount of products so we had to bear that in mind. We took into account what other stadiums had done and we went from there.’ The Aviva outfit, which was designed by Canadian company Smart Design, has 35 kitchens, along with 15 pantries for the boxes – hot food can be brought directly to them this way. Health and safety and sustainability were major considerations during construction and everything is done on site now and is fresh. Wright says that an essential part of the equipment is the collection of new style combi ovens. ‘They’re all singing, all dancing really. They’re so fantastic now that you can programme them to
‘Once the drawings are done then they should be sent to the EHO for approval. Not a cheque should be written or a penny spent before this approval is got.’ Mary Daly do almost anything.’ Of course the aforementioned health and safety factor is hugely important in a kitchen of any size and whether it’s a refurbishment or a planning and building from scratch, professional guidance should always be sought. The Food Safety Professionals Association is made up of independent food safety/hygiene
professionals operating on the island of Ireland and the organisation offers a wide range of services including kitchen layout and design. PRO Mary Daly suggests that anyone looking to build a new kitchen – or indeed do any work on an existing one – should go to one of the FSPA members for advice on the planning of it. ‘Once the drawings are done then they should be sent to the EHO for approval. Not a cheque should be written or a penny spent before this approval is got.’ The Environmental Health Officers’ Association agrees with this. ‘My advice would be to go to the EHO once you have an idea or plan of what you’re doing,’ says PRO Lisa Fitzpatrick. ‘It’s easier to get guidance from an EHO in advance rather than afterwards.’ And as anyone who has been hit with a massive remodelling bill soon after investing in a brand new kitchen can tell you, that is sound advice indeed. u
Hygienic Handles Convotherm has begun fitting its mini combi steamers with a hygienic antibacterial door handle. The Hygienic Handle, which was previously fitted to the +3 combi steamers, is available without extra charge and prevents harmful bacteria being transferred onto containers or plates. 8
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United Coffee has struck a deal with Italian manufacturer, Nuova Simonelli to become the exclusive provider of a full range of equipment, from traditional espresso machines like the Aurelia to state-of the-art semi automatic and automatic machines like the Black & White Cool. The Nuova Simonelli Aurelia is the official machine of the World Barista Championship, and Colin Harmon, Irish Barista Champion 2009 and 2010, is a big fan. ‘I chose the Aurelia because no other machine on the market was able to meet Barista Championship specifications and now I wouldn’t consider any other machine for my business. It’s reliability, functionality and consistent performance really set it apart. Being ergonomically certified, it’s an absolute dream to use. All the controls are perfectly positioned.’ The Soft-Infusion System grants a perfect extraction by creating more time between the water and coffee while the self-stabilising system maintains temperature equilibrium, delivering consistent quality. ‘The problem with many machines is that they can lose temperature and to produce a good espresso you need the temperature to remain stable, which is why the Aurelia is the perfect working barista’s machine. The parameters can be changed at the touch of a button so experimentation is easy and the barista retains complete control at all times,’ says Harmon. United Coffee is also offering the Black&White
Cool, a bean-to-cup machine that delivers barista quality coffee at the touch of a button. Extensive research and development into milktexturing has produced a machine that delivers handcrafted quality, creamy dense foam. This technology is unique to the Black & White Cool. It provides high-volume outlets that don’t have the time and space for a traditional offer with the reassurance that every customer will enjoy the same excellent standard of drink. ‘The Black & White Cool provides operators with a reliable, high-performance machine that produces premium coffee based on authentic espresso-based recipes, without the need for a barista. We’ve received excellent feedback from customers who realise the commercial benefits associated with delivering consistently high quality coffee,’ explains Sean Francis, business development manager, United Coffee Ireland. United Coffee offers free demonstrations on any of its machines at its showroom in Blanchardstown. Contact Sean Francis, tel: 086 817 7186, for more.
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R
Nice Ice Baby
ed berries and blueberries, wild blackberries and peaches from the South – all are enjoying their fleeting moments of perfection now, challenging busy kitchens to showcase sunny flavours in cooling ices and sorbets. Modern equipment and easy access to quality ingredients have made in-house production of universally popular desserts a doddle. Ice cream machines, although sometimes an expensive bit of kit, work at the touch of a button, but uncomplicated still-frozen ices can be successfully made in an efficient freezer. Using various techniques fresh sorbets, ices, granitas, parfaits and ice creams can be produced effectively in any kitchen, adding menu appeal and healthy profit margins. Conventional ice cream is made with a cooked custard base of egg yolks, sugar, milk and cream combined with flavourings ranging from chocolate and vanilla to citrus, fruit or nuts. Beating during the freezing process incorporates air and produces a smooth, creamy texture, increasing the volume by about one-fifth. If not using an ice cream machine, good results can be achieved using the still-freezing method. Quick freezing is key, so freezer temperature should be at least -18oC to ensure growth of small crystals. Pour mixture into a shallow container with a depth of no more than 4cm. Check after an hour or so and when the mixture is frozen to form a ring of ice around the sides with a slushy centre, it should be turned out and beaten to a uniform slush by hand or in a food
processor. Return the mixture quickly to the freezer and repeat the beating process at least twice more at intervals of an hour or so. The still-freezing method is especially good for producing summery fresh fruit sorbets, strangely neglected here but served up in rainbow-hued profusion in Continental cafés. Angelique in Paris is famed for its refreshing orange ice taken by promenaders from the nearby Tuileries Gardens and Venetians sit outside to indulge in post-prandial vases of multicoloured ices strewn with glacé fruits, nuts and splashes of syrup. Sorbets or water ices are made with a basic sugar syrup (one kilo sugar to one litre of water) combined with flavouring, most often fruit purée. Egg white is often added to the mixture to lighten and stabilise the finished product and, since this is not cooked, pasteurised egg white should be used. (See last month’s Food Skills section for tips on working with egg whites.) The egg whites should be just lightly beaten to loosen before adding to the sorbet mix; if beaten to a foam the whites will not amalgamate properly in the mixture. Because sorbets are not cooked, they wonderfully preserve pure fresh flavours of summer berries like strawberries and raspberries and the refreshing qualities of citrus – lemon, orange and lime. Anyone making sorbets for the first time will need to experiment and taste to get the right intensity of flavour, bearing in mind that chilling decreases intensity. Many of the fruits and berries benefit from flavours
FOOD
SKILLS
Strawberry Sorbet 450g ripe strawberries 375ml sugar syrup Juice of 2 lemons 1 egg white* Purée the strawberries with a little of the sugar syrup. Blend with the remaining sugar syrup and lemon juice. Taste and adjust sweetness if necessary. Chill mixture in the fridge until cold. If using an ice cream machine, pour in mixture and churn for about 10 minutes, then add the loosely beaten egg white and complete the process. If using the still-freezing method, freeze mixture in shallow container until ring of ice forms around the edges; remove and beat to uniform slush, adding the loosely beaten egg white at this point. Return to the shallow container and repeat beating process twice more at intervals of an hour or so. Transfer to covered freezer containers after final beating. Makes about 1.1 litres.
* 35g pasteurised egg white heightened with a touch of lemon juice or a dash of liqueur. Sorbets made with alcohol should be made at least a day in advance, as they need longer to ripen and set properly. u
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FOOD
NOTES
Going for Gold
Nutritionist Paula Mee; Mike Neary, horticulture manager, Bord Bia, Roisin Webster and Anthony Lyons celebrate the arrival of the Queen, the most popular new season potato variety.
A host of Irish food and drink companies scooped gold at the recent Great Taste Awards in the UK, including the Blue Haven Group from Kinsale, which was awarded two coveted gold stars for its seafood chowder. No stranger to the winners’ enclosure, Blue Haven has collected a number of gongs for the chowder since its launch, including the award for Best Overall Irish Product at Shop 2009 in the RDS last year. Blue Haven’s ‘Fresh from Kinsale’ range first dipped its toes into the retail market, supplying the likes of Supervalu, and now the brand is rolling out to the foodservice sector, offering a range of products including the winning chowder, plus Kinsale fish pie and a smoked salmon pate. See www.bluehavenfoodco.com for more.
BoilIe Gold for Fivemiletown
Northern Ireland’s Fivemiletown Creamery launched its new Boilie Goat’s Cheese with Pesto and Black Tapenade at the Nantwich International Cheese Show last month, and earned a gold award for its efforts. The new cheese was created by the creamery with input from Pete Williamson, the development chef of Creative Technical, who works with the food innovation team at Loughry College as well as British supermarket chain, Waitrose.
Sustainable Kitchen Menus
Five year old Finn and his fishy friend announce Moran and Bewley’s Hotels Food Fair in Bewley’s Hotel, Ballsbridge next month.
The Moran and Bewley’s Hotel Group is hosting a food fair in Bewley’s Ballsbridge on 9 September to launch Kitchen, a new initiative promoting sustainable food choices on menus in the group’s four Bewley’s Hotels in Dublin. The Brasserie Restaurants at the four hotels have taken a number of steps to reduce their carbon footprint and improve animal welfare, by using local suppliers as much as possible and only sourcing free range eggs, while also using free range chicken and sustainable fish options. The food fair will run from 3pm-9pm, with a number of suppliers manning stalls at the event, including Ashgrove Meats, the Limerick beef producer; sustainable seafood provider Atlantis Seafood from Wexford; yoghurt producer Killowen; and Silver Hill duck supplier.
On the Nose
Euro-toques Ireland is running a series of chef development workshops this autumn in conjunction with La Rousse Foods. The workshops, on ‘Nose-to-Tail’ cooking, will showcase larder and butchery skills and emphasise the importance of thrift in the kitchen in these austere economic times. The ‘Nose-to-Tail cooking’ theme will kick-off with an exclusive industry event at La Rousse Foods headquarters in Dublin on on 20 September. ‘Nose-to-Tail with Corrigan & Crowe, Chef & Butcher’ will be a journey through butchery, preparation and cooking of the lesser used cuts with chef Richard Corrigan, assisted by pork butcher TJ Crowe of Crowe’s Farm in Tipperary. For full details, dates and venues of college workshops visit www.euro-toques.ie.
In Season If it’s summer it must be…
POTATOES
It’s official, we Irish still love our spuds. Not that you ever doubted it we’re sure... New Bord Bia research indicates that a whopping 95% of Irish households still purchase potatoes on a regular basis, with 52% eating one portion a day, and a third tucking into the spuds twice a day. Not only that, we think that potatoes are still the best tasting carb (no silly Atkins diets for us Irish), with 69% rating them above rice (13%) and pasta (11%). Of course, there’s never been a better time to tuck into a tasty bowl of spuds and this month is great for new season Queens, Ireland’s favourite new season potato variety. We love them cold in summer salads, but there’s never a shortage of suggestions when it comes to cooking with this royal spud. High in potassium, vitamin C with little or no fat and twice the amount of fibre that you’d find in an equal measure of brown rice, potatoes are super good as well as super tasty. What more can you ask for from our national veg?
Also Good This Month:
VEG Beetroot, carrots, cauliflower, French beans, kohl rabi FRUIT Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries SALADS Cucumber, iceberg lettuce, red oakleaf lettuce HERBS Mint, parsley, sage, thyme SEAFOOD Langoustines, lobster, haddock MEAT Pigeon, lamb
Did You Know?
There are 10,000 hectares of farmland devoted to producing potatoes in Ireland, half of which is in the north Leinster area with Meath, Dublin and Louth the big producers.
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FOOD
TRENDS
Prawn Stars
The perennial summer favourite, shellfish, is a classic on Irish menus. MARILYN BRIGHT looks at the latest vogue in langoustines and lobsters.
S
ucculent fresh caught shellfish is one of the glories of the Irish summer. Dublin Bay prawns, crab and lobsters from our cool coastal waters are popular all year round, but go straight to the top of the leader board as summer brings on generous catches to feed holiday moods. Sean Doran, fresh fish wholesaler and operator of two restaurants on Howth pier, points out that both langoustines – Dublin Bay prawns – and lobster are always menu winners, happily in good supply and good value, about 30-40% cheaper than they were a couple of years ago. ‘Prices are not as exceptionally cheap as they were last year when the bottom fell out of the Spanish market, but they’re still a bargain. Continental buyers are gradually coming back, so you can expect prices to recover slowly in the future.’ At Padraig Frawley’s Cornstore restaurants in Cork and Limerick, the half-lobster platter with handcut chips, hollandaise sauce and organic garden leaves for e25.95 has become a signature dish, with each venue selling about 200 portions a week. Lobster also features on a changing summer gourmet fish menu, in variations with coriander or garlic butter, mornay sauce or traditional mayonnaise. Langoustines appear occasionally as a starter, either with garlic butter or Thai style dressing. ‘We only buy them when they’re plentiful and good value,’ Padraig explains. ‘The basis of our business is to buy at the right price so we can sell at the right price and keep the volume up.’ One might assume that cost is not an issue at the newly Michelin-starred Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore. However, award winning head chef Martijn Kajuiter believes that no part of good ingredients should be wasted, be it meat, fish or fowl. Lobster caught off the Ardmore shore features on a tour de force seafood platter with the tail meat turned in sea vegetable butter with a little lemon zest, while the claws are marinated in lobster oil and grilled. Pasta for the accompanying lobster
ravioli is made from dough bound with the green head tomalley instead of egg yolk. ‘The dough is green before it is cooked, but it turns pink when it goes into the boiling water – just like the lobster shells.’ Other lobster bits and pieces go into stock for the aerated bisque which is part of the presentation, carcasses from the tail shells are dried and powdered to sprinkle over the dish and there is a final garnish of rock sapphire which is foraged from nearby Goat Island. Martijn uses langoustines from Helvick on the bar food menu or as a restaurant starter as supplies can be erratic, depending on the weather. ‘They’re very fragile and must be extremely fresh so we keep preparation simple – butterflying the prawns and griddling to serve with fresh parsley and lemon butter. For the restaurant presentation, we dry the shells and tomalley and blitz to make crisp crumbs for sprinkling.’ Beside Liscannor harbour’s landing bay, Denis Vaughan of The Anchor Inn lists ‘proper scampi’ and chips on his popular lunch menu. He buys langoustine at the Rossaveal auctions on Mondays and Thursdays, about 120kg a week, to be peeled by hand and battered to his own special recipe. The prawns might
also appear in the bar’s famous prawn sandwiches with Marie Rose sauce and salad. ‘It may seem old fashioned, but people really like the traditional,’ Denis observes. He also gets through four to five dozen lobsters a week, serving them at lunchtime as a half-lobster platter with fresh crab meat and salad. Evening treatment is more elaborate as Denis pairs shelled lobster meat seared in butter with foie gras, asparagus and a shot of lobster bisque. Award winning chef Mickael Viljanen of Gregan’s Castle in the Burren also takes a creative approach to pair fresh lobster with meat. Sourcing lobster from nearby Doolin, Mickael considers that 500 grams is the ideal size for succulence and tender texture. As a starter, the lobster meat is poached in butter and served with a kromesky of pig’s head, leek mimosa, leek ash and local summer truffle finished with a dusting of fennel pollen. From fine dining level to casual bar food, there’s no doubting that Irish shellfish is a menu winner, finding favour in new creative dishes as well as the deeply comforting retro pleasure of fat pink prawns heaped on brown bread with a slather of Marie Rose. u
Aromatic Prawns
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
450g raw peeled Dublin Bay prawns
salt, pepper
dill, mustard and coriander seeds 1 small onion 1 clove garlic 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley ½ tsp cayenne ½ tsp ground allspice ¼ tsp ground cloves
4 tbsp olive oil
Preheat oven to 190oC. Place prawns in individual buttered baking dishes. Toast the dill, mustard and coriander seeds in a dry hot pan for a few minutes, then put into a mini-blender with onion, garlic, parsley and ground spices to blend to a paste. Add vinegar and with the blender running, slowly trickle in the oil to make an emulsion. Pour over prawns and bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.
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FOOD
RECIPES
Country Fare Coleman Andrew’s ode to Irish cooking, The Country Cooking of Ireland Cookbook, brings together a wealth of recipes from the leading lights of the Irish food movement in one glossy tome. Here are a few of our favourites.
Arlington Chicken Liver Pâté This country-style pâté is one of the most popular appetisers and bar snacks at Maurice Keller’s Arlington Lodge in Waterford. 1lb/500g slab bacon, chopped 1 large onion, coarsely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced
Refrigerate the mixture in a 1.5 litre, plastic lined terrine until the butter solidifies or for up to five days. Serves 12 to 16.
Crubeen Tortellini with Almond Butter This tasty pasta treat is from Paul Flynn in The Tannery 4 brined pig’s feet
2lb/1kg large chicken livers, membranes removed
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
¾ cup/190g butter
Dash of sherry vinegar
Salt and coarsely cracked black pepper
Pepper
Leaves of ½ bunch parsley, minced, plus 15 to 20 whole leaves for garnish
1 tbsp almond slivers
Leaves of ½ bunch cilantro, minced (optional)
300g white flour, plus more for dusting ½ tsp salt 2 eggs, plus 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water
Fry the bacon, add the onion and garlic, reduce the heat, and cook until the vegetables are soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken livers and cook for another eight to 10 minutes, until they are cooked through but still slightly pink inside. As the livers cook, add butter, a few tablespoons at a time, stirring in well. When cooked, season, and stir the parsley or the cilantro. Place in a food processor and pulse three to four times until coarse.
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 120 ml clarified butter
Bring the pig’s feet to boil then simmer, covered, for two to three hours or until meat is almost falling off the bone. Skim any foam off the surface of the water as the pig’s feet cook, and replenish the water as needed to keep the level constant. Set aside to cool.
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Remove the meat and some of the fat from the pig’s feet and put into the bowl of a food processor; add the mustard, sherry vinegar, and pepper to taste. Pulse the ingredients three or four times (do not process to a paste), then transfer to a medium bowl, cover, and refrigerate for three to four hours. Toast almond slivers in a pan and set aside. When the pig’s feet mixture is almost ready to come out of the refrigerator, combine the flour and salt in the clean bowl of a food processor, pulse two or three times. Whisk the two eggs, oil, and three tbsp of water together in a small bowl, then pour the mixture into the food processor in a slow, steady stream while processing, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Roll out the dough as thinly as possible on a floured board, then cut into rounds 7-10 cm in diameter. Assemble the tortellini by putting ¼ tsp of the pig’s feet mixture in the centre of each dough round. Brush beaten egg on the bottom half of each round and fold over, pressing down gently to seal. Fold each sealed dough round over your finger, then turn down one edge of it to form each of the tortellini. Set the tortellini aside on a lightly floured baking sheet as they’re done. Cover lightly with waxed paper until ready to cook. Heat the clarified butter in a small, heavybottomed pot over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until it begins to turn amber. Remove from the heat and stir in the almond slivers. Spoon the almond butter over the cooked tortellini and serve with turnip purée and buttered kale. Serves four.
Frosting: 125g Lesmé Belgian dark chocolate 1 tbsp dark Jamaican rum 110g butter, softened
Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC (Gas Mark 4). Melt the chocolate and rum together and set aside to let cool. Beat the butter, mix in the ground almonds, add 100g of the sugar and beat on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another medium bowl, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt. Add the remaining one tbsp of sugar and beat until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl with the butter and almond mixture and stir in well. Fold in one-quarter of the egg white mixture, then one-quarter of the flour. Repeat the process three times to use up the egg white mixture and flour. Divide the batter equally between two 18- or 20-cm round cake pans. Bake the cakes for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm and the centres are slightly underdone. Decorate with chocolate and rum frosting, slivered almonds or candied violets. u Coleman Andrew’s Country Cooking of Ireland, featuring recipes from Good Food Ireland members, is available from Good Food Ireland at www.goodfoodireland.ie
Ballymaloe Chocolate Almond Cake A hearty treat from the spiritual home of Irish cooking Cake: 125g Lesmé Belgian dark chocolate 2 tbsp dark Jamaican rum 110g butter, softened, plus more for greasing 85g ground almonds 100g plus one tbsp caster sugar 3 eggs, separated Pinch of salt 50g white flour, plus more for dusting
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DAlert ALLERGIES
ietary
With more and more diners and chefs suffering from allergies it is becoming increasingly important to be vigilant in the kitchen, notes MARILYN BRIGHT.
‘T
he thought of 2,000 people crunching celery at the same time horrified me,’ is a quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw, explaining why he had declined an invitation to a gala vegetarian dinner. The quip heads up Dromoland Castle’s special vegetarian menu which features six starters and main courses with appealing choices like shallot and puff pastry tart with aubergine gratin and sautéed potato gnocchi with white cabbage velouté and smoked Gubbeen cheese. Vegetarian menus and vegetarian options on menus are the norm now as caterers rise to the preferences and dietary needs of customers who enjoy dining out and no longer feel honour bound to endure boring restaurant vegetables or stay at home. In addition, growing awareness of health and sustainability issues has meant that many omnivores opt for salads and
‘
common, estimated to affect one in every 100 people. Tesco Ireland, launching a range of ‘free-from’ products a few years ago, cited research indicating that 25% of people in Ireland may be suffering from a food allergy or intolerance. Garry Hughes, executive head chef at Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel, puts up daily vegetarian menus in the restaurants and says they automatically cater for 15% vegetarian options at functions, even when they have not been requested in advance. In addition, wedding tastings also include the vegetarian dishes to be served on the day, so the bridal couple are happy with the food for all their guests. Requests for gluten-free food are most common, Garry confirms, and other sensitivities regularly flagged by diners include dairy products, nuts and shellfish. ‘People now are much more forthcoming about their dietary needs,’ Garry says.
from head office if allergen issues arise. Sufferers from food allergies have varying degrees of tolerance with extreme cases experiencing difficulties just from touching the forbidden food or eating food that has been contaminated by close proximity to the irritant. Anne Manning of The Coeliac Society of Ireland deals with the catering sector, providing information as well as the up-to-date Catering List 2010 which deals with gluten-free products by brand name alongside sourcing contact numbers. She points out that crosscontamination can be a problem in busy kitchens. The booklet includes helpful guidelines for preparing gluten-free meals in catering kitchens. Storage of gluten-free products should be kept separate and all surfaces carefully cleaned before preparing glutenfree meals, checking to make sure there is no gluten-containing dust in the air,
‘
Shellfish and seafood allergies can be sudden and dramatic. Garry Hughes reports that he has one or two staff in The Shelbourne kitchen who can’t be near prawns, and just lifting a box of prawns caused one brigade member to turn blue and be rushed to hospital.
interesting vegetarian dishes, with 19% reporting that they are ‘mostly vegetarian’. While vegetarians usually are so by choice, increasing numbers of people are presenting with serious food allergies and intolerances, ranging from sensitivity to gluten, wheat and dairy products to nuts and seafood. In Ireland, coeliac disease – sensitivity to gluten – is by far the most
‘Once we get the information, we can deal with it.’ The Shelbourne’s catering system records a breakdown of the ingredients used in every dish, so the content can be checked immediately when any query comes in. In addition, all executive chefs in the Marriott Group must do a food allergy course, and there is online 24 hour consultancy support
on working clothes or hands. Anne also points out that, while many restaurants carry supplies of gluten-free bread and rolls, they must be aware of the risks of cross-contamination. Separate bread knives, breadboards and toasters must be used and kept free from contamination with ordinary bread or crumbs. Another area that can trip up the
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y
unwary is in deep-fat frying. While chips themselves are gluten-free, they can be contaminated by being cooked in oil that has been used to cook breaded or battered food. Staff must be constantly on the alert. Coeliacs have numerous stories of specially prepared gluten-free dishes served up with a garnish of breadcrumbs or salads that have an addition of croutons. Interestingly, the Beshoff Brothers’ outlets in Howth, Clontarf and Mespil Road in Dublin put up gluten and wheat-free fish and chips every weekend, along with gluten-free chicken goujons, seafood chowder, fisherman’s pie and scampi. They also host International Coeliac Awareness Day organised annually by the Coeliac Society of Ireland. The Coeliac Society Catering List is required reading for any caterer wishing to be coeliac friendly. Glutens can be present in many non-obvious products. Stouts and most beers are grain based and contain gluten, as do many soy sauces and a number of herb and spice mixes may contain wheat flour as filler. Some low-fat dairy spreads have starch added to provide bulk and shredded suet often has flour added to stop clumping in the packet. Products that contain melt are off the list too, and that includes drinks like Horlick’s and Ovaltine. Drinking chocolate from a machine may have gluten content and a popular rice milk substitute cannot be classed as gluten-free. Restaurateurs and chefs alike are not immune to food sensitivities that are found in the general population. Colin O’Daly, former chef/partner in Roly’s Bistro, is allergic to gluten and his own predicament led to his setting up a gluten-free bakery section supplying the restaurant as well as a popular take out facility. John FitzGibbon of the family-owned Aherne’s Seafood Restaurant in Youghal was diagnosed as a coeliac at the age of 45. In the early days, John says they bought in batches of gluten-free bread to store in the freezer. Now however, John’s brother David, who presides over the kitchen, produces their own glutenfree bread and ensures that two-thirds of the menu is gluten-free or can be adapted to gluten-free. Shellfish and seafood allergies can be sudden and dramatic. Garry Hughes reports that he has one or two staff in The Shelbourne kitchen who can’t be near prawns, and just lifting a box of prawns caused one brigade member to turn blue and be rushed to hospital. Shane Osborne of the Michelin starred Pied a Terre in London has called attention to the increasing number of chefs who are affected by food sensitivities. During a visit to Dublin he spoke of his own potentially life-threatening allergies that began to surface about seven years ago, hoping that his experiences may serve as a warning to other ambitious
young chefs who are inclined to overwork and ignore their own health as stress and exhaustion take their toll. ‘I’d been working too hard and filleting fish on a daily basis since early training days and my body simply started reacting.’ Symptoms included itchy hands, stomach pains and swollen tongue and mouth. Extensive tests identified fish as the trigger, but Shane’s immune system had broken down and allergies extended to a long list that included sesame, citrus and wine. With care and good medical advice, Shane’s body has repaired itself to some extent but he is left with a potentially lethal reaction to fish and red wine. Tasting dishes as they arrive on the pass is no longer an option for Shane, and he wears surgical gloves while working in the kitchen. He insists on his own chefs wearing gloves when prepping fish, and strongly recommends this to anyone working with fish. ‘Cotton lined vinyl gloves are best,’ he says, ‘as you can develop an allergy to latex when the system is weak.’ The Shelbourne Hotel dealt with a related situation when alerted to the arrival of a guest with a severe allergy to latex gloves, usually worn by staff plating up. Chef Garry Hughes appointed a chef with specially scrubbed hands to prepare the guest’s dishes in a separate room and all was well. ‘That was our most unusual request,’ Garry comments. ‘The most common allergies we deal with involve butter and dairy products, shellfish and wheat.’ In regard to vegetarian diets, there seems to be a common misconception that this equates to ‘meat free’. It is fairly common to see fish and seafood dishes flagged on menus with the ‘V’ denoting vegetarian options. While it is true that some vegetarians occasionally eat fish, vegetarian diets exclude fish and poultry as well as all types of meat. The less seen vegan diet is even more exclusive, eschewing all animal products as well as meat – no eggs, dairy products, cheese, gelatine or even honey from bees. In planning vegetarian dishes, the caterer’s challenge is to create dishes that have plenty of taste appeal bolstered with proteins from pulses, nuts, cheese and eggs and a variety of vegetables. Denis Cotter sets the high watermark for vegetarian cookery at his Café Paradiso in Cork. Even nonvegetarians are lured by dishes like almond pastry galette of spinach and Knocklara cheese with harissa sweet pepper sauce, olive crushed potato and green beans with lemon and thyme. A simple lunchtime choice might be black bean and vegetable chilli with grilled polenta and lime and coriander sour cream or broccoli and smoked cheese tart with dilled salsa and salad. All a million miles away from the mushroom
Required Reading The Coeliac Society of Ireland’s Catering List 2010, a 100-page book produced for the foodservice industry, listing gluten-free and low gluten products, with details of producers and distributors and general information on dealing with coeliac diets. The book is free on request from The Coeliac Society of Ireland, e: coeliacmanulist@ eircom.net, w: www.coeliac.ie. In 2009, the European Commission published new food labelling and compositional rules in regard to ‘gluten-free’ designated products. Under the regulations only foodstuffs that contain less than 20mg/kg of gluten will be permitted to use the term ‘gluten-free’ on their packaged products, but from 2012, according to Anne Madden, the term will also apply to ‘loose food’, ie restaurant food designated as gluten-free. The compliance programme will be administered by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and there is further information in the publication, Guidance Note 24, available on request from the FSAI.
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SOLUTIONS
Q&A Got Something On Your Mind? Do you need some expert advice? Email your question in complete confidence to hcrsolutions@ jemma.ie. Names and identifying details will be withheld in published queries.
SPREADING THE FESTIVAL WORD Q: I am thinking about setting up a festival/event in my local area but I am not sure how I should go about marketing it. Have you any advice?
A: There are many definitions of marketing. A good
one is that marketing is about ‘meeting customer expectations at a profit’. The key words here are ‘expectations’ and ‘profit’. It is possible for your event to make a profit but still fail to meet the expectations of your customers or visitors. Without successful marketing, you cannot expect to attract enough visitors to reach your financial targets. Regardless of the size of your festival or event, having a marketing plan in place is essential. Drafting this for the first time will take some thought, but once done it can be updated year on year. For any kind of festival or event you need to dedicate a minimum of 10% of your overall budget to marketing. If you need to sell a significant number of tickets to recoup your costs and if you need to attract visitors from outside of your local area then you should consider allocating 20% or more of your budget to marketing. There are a number of different techniques you can use to generate interest in your festival/event, much of which will depend on your aims, and your cash flow. PR is an effective and often relatively economical means of getting the word out about your event. Festivals and events are sources of good news for local media and festivals can often provide highlights, photographs and video footage that attract national and international media coverage. A suggested PR timeline: • One year in advance: set dates and pull together basic event info for international media and tourist boards • Three to four months in advance: invite all your media contacts to attend the event and send them some interesting storylines, highlights etc • 10 weeks in advance: issue weekly press releases each outlining new stories to media • Three weeks in advance: publicise event listings, invite media to launch • One week in advance: Set up creative photocalls to
local and national media • Post festival: Issue a wrap up press release and announce next year’s dates. Consider also how you might advertise your festival/event. It is most important that all advertisements give a crystal clear message, and this is especially important with radio or TV advertising, where the listener cannot go over the advertisement again to check details. The key information is covered by: a. What is it? b. Where is it on? c. When is it on? d. The cost Ask yourself where advertising is best placed to reach your target audience. Possible advertising opportunities include radio (national/local); TV; newspapers (national and regional); and online. Most festivals and events print two print pieces: one general advance brochure or leaflet six months or more in advance, and a more detailed brochure detailing the programme that is available at least four weeks in advance of the event. Write your brochure or leaflet with the needs of the potential festival/event visitor in mind (and not the needs or preferences of the committee members!). Decide the print run carefully. How are you going to distribute the brochures? Tourist Information Offices will not necessarily take thousands of copies, and the Tourism Ireland overseas offices will probably only take a few copies for file purposes. The following constitute the basis for every distribution list: a. Registered/approved accommodation within a 30km radius b. Brochure distribution networks covering centres of population from where you wish to attract visitors eg; Micromedia, Brochure Brokers, London Calling, c. Local bars, cafés, restaurants and shops d. Tourist Information Centres e. Media contacts f. Ferry ports/airports. With more than seven out of 10 visitors now using the web to research their leisure time, using the
Spread the Word
Be sure to use other websites to promote your event. Fáilte Ireland, through www.DiscoverIreland.ie, offers all festivals and events the opportunity to have their listing included on their site, where visitors to Ireland can view events listings by date and by area. This is a great way of getting potential visitor referrals to your site. To get your 2011 event listed on discoverireland.ie register your event on www.failteireland.ie/calendar.
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Amberley Quality and Environmental Services Ltd are a water management and certification company specialising in water quality certification, technical support and bespoke treatment. Water types include surface water, groundwater, drinking water, leisure water and wastewater.
Image: Fáilte Ireland internet to promote your event is essential. Before you brief a website designer for a new site, or site upgrade there are two key issues that you should consider: a. What are you trying to achieve with your website? b. Who are your target users? Here are some important points in regard to website design: • Keep it simple • Avoid clutter, flying banners, flashing boxes • Make it easy for the visitor to navigate around your site • Remember that in about 15 seconds a visitor to your site for the first time will decide whether to stay with your site, or move to another one • Provide the contacts for your festival or event on the first or home page. There is little point in having a website it if it is not actively promoted so make sure your website address is featured on all of your literature, ads etc. To consistently attract visitors from outside the locality and ideally from outside the country remember the following key points: • Analyse and if necessary redesign your marketing plan to ensure that enough of your marketing activities will have a reach outside the local area, local flyers and local posters will attract locals only! • Set dates a year or more in
advance and notify tourist boards so that information about your event can be included in tourist brochures etc. Try to be consistent with the dates you choose each year. • Think about the enthusiasts attending your event and how you can reach similar enthusiasts through targeted advertising in print magazines and online advertising. • Think about photographers and how images of your event can be captured. Good images tend to develop a life of their own and are often used by media, tourist boards and are distributed online and via email. • Remember to update your website regularly to stop the content from become stale and out of date. It is always important to remember that you are not the only one who will benefit from visitors coming to your festival/ event – developing links with local tourism businesses can be a very effective way to extend your promotional activity. And finally, remember to be innovative. The introduction of new ideas and concepts to the festival or event will keep it fresh and appealing to potential visitors. You must avoid the problem of ‘we were there last year and it never changes, and we will not go again this year’. So remember you have to think innovation constantly. u
Rory McCarthy, Fáilte Ireland Festivals and Events festivals@failteireland.ie
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PRODUCTS p VAL-PM Solutions, a maintenance solutions company based in Valentia Island, Co Kerry, has launched an innovative new maintenance software system to help hoteliers and restaurateurs keep track of their maintenance schedule for their properties. The web-based software system provides a complete overview of the maintenance of the business, detailing a comprehensive online schedule for maintenance work and cutting out cumbersome and time consuming paperwork. ‘The system also allows you to log faults, so if a guest complains to reception that the shower isn’t working properly in their room then the front of office staff can immediately log the problem online and alert the maintenance team,’ explains Seanie Murphy of VAL-PM Solutions. ‘These alerts can
be sent via text or email directly to main personnel and assign tasks to individuals.’ By providing a checklist system for more than 500 items in hotels VAL-PM can help maintenance managers schedule improvement works. ‘For instance, you can log four rooms to be attended one week, a further four the next, and so on. The system also allows you to schedule daily, weekly, monthly and yearly tasks. By staying on top of preventative maintenance work, this
can improve your guests’ experience while also reduce the liabilities associated with equipment or asset failure,’ says Seanie. Health and safety checks are also recorded in the programme, while VAL-PM provides a useful system for tracking utility costs and generates reports on all aspects of maintenance. The easy to use system is already in use in a number of hotels, including The G, The D and Meyrick Hotels in the Monogram stable, Aghadoe Heights Hotel in Killarney and the Castle Hotel & Leisure Centre in Macroom. ‘The VAL-PM Solution is great as it allows a proper preventative programme to be developed and controlled. The reports from the system provide important information on the performance of the assets and equipment,’ says Pat Chawke, group director, O’Reilly Hotel Group.
t:066 947 6214 e:info@valpm.com w:www.valpm.com
p Dalcassian Wines & Spirits has launched a new range of wines exclusive to the on trade Tapaz Tempranillo and Tapaz Syrah, both from the central plateau La Mancha, Spain. Tapaz Tempranillo is a fruity, spicy offering with aromatic flavours while the Syrah offers a palate of cherries and plum flavours. Meanwhile Dalcassian’s own Chilean wine brand, Elvaro, will shortly be relaunched with a new label design and twist cap.
t:01 293 7977 e:info@dalcassianwines.com w:www.dalcassianwines.com p Bewleys has scooped an impressive three Gold Stars for its Fairtrade Harmony Blend at The Great Taste Awards in London. The coffee was the only espresso blend from Ireland and the UK to achieve three stars in the Awards, which are organised by the Guild of Fine Foods. Described as a ‘lively espresso with hints of spices and orange chocolate’, the blend hails from Bewleys fairtrade farming cooperatives in Central and South America. Bewley’s also won eight gold medals for their tea range, making it the most successful hot beverage producer in each of the categories in which it competed. Among the award winners were Bewley’s Special Blend Fairtrade Tea and Earl Grey Loose Tea, which both received two gold stars. Bewley’s Original Blend Tea, Gold Blend Tea, Irish Afternoon Tea, Decaffeinated Blend Tea and Irish Afternoon Loose Tea all received one gold star each. Bewley’s Café Blend coffee was also awarded a gold medal. t:01 816 0600 e:info@bewleys.ie w:www.bewleys.com
p Erin Foods has reformulated its bouillon paste range in chicken, vegetable, beef and fish flavours. The bouillons are now gluten free, have an improved recipe and come in new packaging. Contract pricing is now available for hotels and caterers. t:01 800 946 974 w:www.unitedcoffee.eu
p United Coffee has launched a new addition to its Grand Café brand. Premium blend Grand Cru hand-crafted, credible coffee is fruit-sweet and honey-thick to taste and described by United Coffee as ‘the champagne of the coffee world’. Each coffee adds a different characteristic to the final espresso, says the coffee supplier. The 30% Colombian ‘Agua Azul’ gives mouth-feel, 30% Kenyan ‘Gethumbwini’ adds dry citrus tones, 30% Costa Rican ‘La Pira’ adds grape-like acidity and toffee apple notes and 10% El Salvador ‘Las Delicias’ creates a chocolate finish. All the coffees have been selected from the countries’ best harvest and two
t:01 882 3217 e:foodservice@batchelors.ie
If you would like to promote your products or services within this section please call Hilary O’Shaughnessy on 01 764 2700.
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PROMOTIONS
Who’s Doing What This Month... GRAB A DAITHI To mark Daithi O’Shea’s achievement
A rose by any other name: Daithi O’Se is pictured with the Leitrim, Belfast and Laois Roses.
as Kerry’s first homegrown presenter of the Rose of Tralee, festival sponsors the Carlton Hotel Group encouraged mná na hEireann to grab their very own Daithi and avail of a free room in one of the group’s 10 hotels. Carlton, which hosted the famous Rose Dome in its Tralee hotel, offered a free room to anyone named Daithi during the festival – a promotion which built on the success of its original deal providing free rooms to anyone named Rose a couple of years ago.
BOOK WORMS To celebrate Dublin’s status as a new UNESCO City of Literature, The Fitzwilliam Hotel, Dublin has introduced a new ‘Novel’ (get it?) rate. The ‘Novel’ City Break includes an overnight stay for two, breakfast, a literary pub crawl and a e25 voucher to spend in Dubray Books on Grafton Street for e110pps.
TEENAGE KICKS Carton House has returned with its popular Teenage Kicks promotion this summer, offering three nights’ B&B, movies, tennis, hip hop classes, golf lessons, outdoor activities with Xtreme Ireland for the kids and golf and wine tastings for the grown ups from e395pps. A GAME OF INCHES Spirit One Spa at Galway’s Radisson Blu is guaranteeing CBS’s Peter Greenberg broadcasting from Dromoland Castle.
six inches of weight loss with the new Universal Contour Wrap Classic. Spa lovers can prep for that bikini (or trunks) outing with the new treatment which uses a blend of mineral rich clay and specialist body wrapping techniques to shave inches off the body. Cleansing and detoxifying, warm, clay-soaked bandages are applied to the body and left for an hour as guests receive a mini-facial and scalp massage. The treatment takes one hour, 45 minutes and Spirit One is offered a special rate of e85 for the month of August.
BEACHED TRAVELLERS Beach goers were also out in force in Dublin Airport when the DAA ran a ‘nostalgic’ summer event at the airport on 6 August. The event in the Mezzanine included sun-themed entertainment, food, decorations and goodie bags, which were designed to bring customers ‘back to the days of the family summer holiday in the lovely Irish beach resorts’. Maybe the DAA wanted to show Irish holidaymakers what they were missing at home before they jetted off to the beach in distant locations... LOVE POTTERY Artworks Pottery Café in Portmarnock, Co. Dublin has teamed
SPA SUNDAYS If Sunday is
the day of rest, then the team at the Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt (above) have just the package to help guests unwind. The Wicklow hotel has launched the Sunday Spa Escape, which includes an overnight stay in deluxe room with full Irish breakfast, 60 minute massage in the hotel’s Espa spa, and use of the pool, fitness and thermal suites for e160pps (e75 single room supplement).
up with The Portmarnock Hotel to offer outings which combine pottery lessons with lunch and dinner. The price for a half-day experience, including two workshops and lunch, is e52, or e72 for a full day, including three workshops and lunch. As well as the experience, and the lunch, guests have the added joy of bringing home their very own piece of art.
DROMOLAND ON AIR More than three million listeners of 400 radio stations across the US listened to CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg when he broadcast across the airwaves from Dromoland Castle, Co Clare last month. Greenberg’s broadcast included interviews with Tony Kirby of Heart of Burren Walks, the Bunratty Castle entertainers, Margaret O’Shaughnessy of Foynes Flying Boat Museum, genealogist Annette O’Brien and Peter O’Brien of Country Choice in Nenagh. The visit was facilitated by Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland in association with Shannon Development. ON SCREEN IN MACROOM The Castle Hotel Macroom has launched a new promotional video online. The video, which was produced by WildAcre Productions, can be seen on YouTube or on the hotel’s own site, www.castlehotel.ie. HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ AUGUST 2010 45
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FIVE MINUTES WITH...
Sean Dempsey Micheál Stapleton The We executive head chef Fitzpatrick’s Castlegeneral Hotel touredmanager with the Irishofrugby in New Zealand earlier this summer. caught up ofwith the new theteam Radisson Blu Royal Hotel We popped in for a chat to find out what it’s like cooking for some of the country’s biggest and healthiest eaters. in Dublin.
How long have you been working with the Irish team?
We’ve been looking after the rugby team on and off for about 12 years. We were lucky when Eddie O’Sullivan left that we were still kept on as the base hotel for the team. Often when there’s a change in management the new coach changes things, but Declan Kidney opted not to move the team. They love it here.
What does the job entail?
I work closely with the IRFU’s nutritionist, Ruth Hill Martin, and she tells me about the various requirements for all the players. Some are very strict on their diet, like Peter Stringer. He is always coming into me and asking me what’s in the food. Others aren’t as strict, and you will always have some who are a bit finicky but the players interact with you all the time so you know what they like and what they need. They’ll regularly stick their head in the door of the kitchen to have a chat.
What do you serve them?
They eat a lot of food. It’s all very healthy – there are no biscuits, no muffins, no croissants. For breakfast they get cereal with slimline milk. They’re allowed bacon but it has to be the eye of the bacon and there are no sausages or pudding. For lunch, they always have soup and we put out a big buffet so they can make their own sandwiches and salads. They love bread and go mad for the baguettes. They take out all the dough and eat the shell. For dinner we might start with a prawn and avocado salad or a noodle salad with shredded duck and then the main course varies – roast turkey, fish, we have different menus. As well as the main meals, we stock up the bus with coffee, water, drinking chocolate, low fat fruit cake and a basket of fruit before they go training. There is also a buffet in their rest room, and we have to keep that replenished all day. They have their own toasters and blenders in there so they can make themselves toast, sandwiches and smoothies throughout the day. They expend so much energy in training so they’re continuously eating.
Do they ever sneak in the odd naughty snack?
They’re allowed a treat after a match, such as an ice-cream sundae with chocolate
Sean and the Fitzpatrick’s Castle Management and staff with the Irish Rugby team
sauce but other than that they’re very disciplined.
What did you get up to when you went on tour with the team? I travelled a day ahead of the team to New Zealand. We spent five days in Auckland and then headed up the coast to New Plymouth. As well as overseeing the catering for the team on the tour I also had a look at some of the hotels the IRFU are considering booking for next year’s World Cup to ensure the team’s catering requirements will be met. For this tour, I met with the head chefs of the hotels and went through guidelines for the team’s catering with them. I was also there every service to ensure that the food was right and that it arrived on time. The funny thing about working with the rugby team is that you have to have the food ready 20 minutes before they say they’ll be there because they can arrive in at a moment’s notice if training finishes earlier than anticipated.
Did the Kiwi chefs mind you standing over them?
No, they knew that was the deal before we arrived and they understood I was there to do a job. I know what it’s like as we have looked after a number of opposition teams in Fitzpatrick’s Castle in the past. If they’re serious enough they usually bring their own chefs and catering managers with them.
So what are the players like?
They’re fabulous guys. They’re very friendly and the banter and the fun we have together is great. I knew all the lads before I went on the tour, some of them I’ve known for six or seven years. They’ve spent their whole career coming here to us in the hotel.
Did you enjoy the trip?
I did. It’s an honour for me and for the hotel but there’s a lot of responsibility too. I didn’t know what set up I was going into. In my head I was saying to myself, I hope no one gets sick. The worst thing that could ever happen would be to hear that someone got sick from the food. I felt a huge relief when everyone went home happy and well. The tour was stressful in ways, but the coaching staff were adamant that you had your downtime. We were all invited out on Captain’s Day, which is a night out in a local restaurant and you had to take part in at least one team activity on your day off, whether that was golfing, cycling, spa or whatever.
Did you get to go to the games when you were there?
I went to the Maori game which was a great match. You go on the bus with the players. It’s a big entourage, there’s the doctor, physios, masseurs, the IT manager, Rala the baggage master, myself and the nutritionist Ruth and then the management and coaches. Along with the players there are 53 of us in total but we all fit on the bus. It’s great craic when we’re all together but they’re serious on the way to the games. They know what they have to do.
And is it tough when they lose?
After they got hammered by the All Blacks in the first test in New Zealand I thought to myself ‘Christ, how are we going to pick them up after this?’ but in fairness to them by the time they got back to us at the hotel they were great. No sportsman likes losing but they handle themselves well. u
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