Hotel & Catering Review September 2010 by Jemma Publications

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SEPTEMBER 2010

The Top 20

2010 Big Movers in this Year’s Top Hotel Operators

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inside... September 2010 - Volume 43, Number 09

REGULARS 6 NEWS Room Rates Continue to Fall 42 PRODUCTS Hospitality Solutions 43 PROMOTIONS Who’s Doing What 44 MOVERS & SHAKERS New Appointments

VIEWS 12 OPINION Jim Murphy’s Call to Action 24 QUIGLEY Hotels Vs Offices 41 MARKETING MATTERS Alex Gibson on Imitation

FEATURES 14 GOLD MEDAL AWARDS 2010 Winners

40 34

16 COVER STORY Annual Top 20 Hotel Operating Groups 28 APPS Smart Phone Apps for Savvy Hospitality Operators 28 DESIGN New Makeovers 46 FIVE MINUTES WITH... Sebastian Maturana

FOOD & DRINK 32 SKILLS Marilyn Bright’s Marinade Masterclass 33 TRENDS New Season Molluscs Hit the Menus

34 RECIPES Marlfield’s Seasonal Delights 36 BREAKFASTS Kick Start the Best Meal of the Day

Editor: Sarah Grennan Commercial Manager: Hilary O’Shaughnessy ContribuTors: Marilyn Bright, Michelle Conaghan, Alex Gibson, Con Quigley, Jim Murphy 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 Website: www.hotelandcateringreview.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 No part of Hotel & Catering Review may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form without the prior permission of Jemma Publications ISSN: 0332-4400

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Lamb for Christmas Brought to you by Bord Bia in association with Marilyn Bright, Food Writer Autumn tinted leaves and shorter days remind us of the fleeting year and in catering terms, Christmas is just around the corner. Menu planning for holiday parties and festive nights out has never been keener with customers looking for alternatives to the usual Christmas fare, along with pocket friendly costings.

John Dowd, Culinary Di With Taste rector,

John Dowd of With Taste confirms that corporate entertaining and Christmas parties are taking on new forms to suit tighter budgets. Buffets and stand-up fork suppers have taken over from sit-down dining and customers are by-passing traditional turkey and ham, opting instead for easy-to-eat food that is a bit different. Drinks, followed by supper bowls and wine is the new format, with per head spend slashed by as much as 50% less than in previous years.

John finds that the lesser used cuts of lamb are ideal for the braised dishes that are proving popular buffet choices. For a North African style tagine, shoulder and neck are bought in trimmed and cut to specification, ready to be marinated with herbs, onion, ginger, garlic and Moroccan spices before slow cooking and finishing with chickpeas, fresh coriander and toasted almonds to be served on lemon couscous. This dish is ideal for the “supper bowl” concept that is increasingly popular, lending itself to smooth service for large numbers and attractive costings for customers. Lamb mince is another versatile option, given spicy Middle Eastern treatment on the With Taste menu, served on skewers as lamb koftas with a herby yogurt based dip.

ghan, O’Calla William hef, Head C ville House Longue

At Longueville House House, William O’Callaghan has been a long promoter of the nose-to-tail eating concept, using every bit of meat from his lambs. Minced lamb from off-cuts goes into spicy lamb sausages seasoned with William’s own cumin based mix. He’ll also be using lamb mince and shredded confit of lamb shoulder in a festive layered terrine for this year’s Christmas menu.

Lamb rump steak is also appearing on cost-conscious menus. Caterers like John Dowd and Padraic Frawley of Aubars and The Cornstore Wine Bars agree that this is a very rewarding cut when properly prepared. Marinating for as long as two or three days is recommended, using a good mix of fresh herbs and Padraic olive oil. “It’s delicious cooked just Proprie Frawley, The Corntor, Aubars an medium,” Padraic says. “I advise d store W ine Bars against well done, as longer cooking toughens the meat.” For large banquets, With Taste chefs sear the marinated rump joints which are then finished in convection ovens. “It’s important then to rest the joint for five minutes before carving,” John says, “and you’ll have a beautiful dish that will please the guests as well as the accountants.”

Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture

Contact your lamb supplier today to discuss product and prices and ensure that lamb features on your menu this festive season www.bordbia.ie HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ SEPTEMBER 2010 hcr august 2010.indd 4

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editor’s letter...

Breath of Fresh Air on Good News Day ‘Thank God for a good news day,’ gasped one industry chief at the recent opening of the spankingly fabulous new Convention Centre Dublin. And boy, did we share his gratitude. If religion is the opiate for the masses, as Karl Marx once claimed, then The CCD is certainly oxygen for the tourism industry, injecting a direly needed breath of fresh air into Irish tourism as it officially launched in Spencer Dock this September. Indeed, amidst the glitz and glamour at the high profile launch, amidst the ladies in their sparkly cocktail dresses, the acrobats dangling from the curtains and Craig Doyle cutting a dash on stage... Amidst Westlife, Louis Walsh, and a couple of hundred excited buyers; among the international press, the Treasury team and Johnny Ronan returned from exile, there etched on the familiar faces of the Irish tourism industry – the gathered hoteliers, the agency teams, the operators – was a clear relief that finally, in this era of omniscient gloom, there was a gleam of sunshine and a much desired good news story. Of course The CCD is not the panacea that will cure the ills of the beleaguered Irish tourism sector. Nick Waite and his merry team are not going to wave their magic wand and make everything alright. But they will help. Early bookings for the Kevin Roche-designed edifice are promising, with 150 bookings secured to date, delivering an estimated e110m boost for Dublin. And the stats proffered by Fáilte Ireland indicate that The CCD’s reach could extend well beyond the Pale. Recent research flags the importance of the business tourism sector, with international delegates spending six days on average in Ireland, many using it as an opportunity to mix business and pleasure. Indeed, 80% choose to bring family members with them, who in turn take time out to explore the country. While in further promising news, nine out of 10 delegates polled by Fáilte Ireland in the past said they would subsequently recommend Ireland as a holiday destination, while three-quarters would return for a holiday again. While it took 13 years to get here, through the myriad of planning negotiations, The Convention Centre Dublin could hardly have arrived at a more critical time for Irish tourism. Time will tell what impact the newly nicknamed ‘Cube with the Tube’ will have on the sector, but one thing is for sure, the tourism industry needs all the help it can get these days and local hoteliers are already reporting some handy new bookings for upcoming events. Here at Hotel & Catering Review we also had our own good news day in September, when we announced the 14 category winners and one supreme winner of the 22nd Annual Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards in The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin. Hearty congrats to the team at Gregan’s Castle Hotel in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare, this year’s top winner, as well as our triumphant category Gold Medal Award recipients and the 67 gathered finalists. The full list of this year’s winners and finalists are published on page 14 and we will return next month with our annual Gold Medal Awards Issue, with a full report from the event. For those of you already counting down to the launch of next year’s Awards programme, stick March 2011 in your diary when we will officially announce the 23rd Gold Medal Awards in the March issue of Hotel & Catering Review and also through our free Weekly Bulletin ezine service. Until then we hope, and pray, for a few more good news days to celebrate. We certainly need them.

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.

Top: The auditorium and striking design at the new Convention Centre Dublin Above: Husband and wife team Simon Haden and Frederieke McMurray were presented with the Gold Medal Award for Excellence 2010 at the 22nd Annual Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards on 20 September in The Shelbourne Hotel. Simon is pictured making his acceptance speech.

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NEWS

Falling Room Rates Places Irish Hotels Among Cheapest in Eurozone Online booking company, Hotels.com, claims Ireland now has the cheapest hotel rooms in Western Europe, with room rates falling an additional 4% in the first six months of the year. Hotels.com’s Hotel Price Index reports that while hotel rates are starting to stabilise globally with a 2% increase in the first half of the year, here in Ireland the recovery is taking longer. The Index shows that room rates in Dublin fell 7% from e78 to e73, making the city one of the least expensive major city destinations globally. Rates in Killarney

dropped by 16% in the months January to June, falling to e93 in the second quarter. In Galway, rates declined by 12% to e98. Kilkenny toppled Killarney to take the title of the most expensive destination in Ireland in the survey of rates between January and June of this year. Despite prices falling 14% year-on-year, the average room rate for a hotel in Kilkenny is e123 per night according to Hotels.com. Sligo and Castlebar were the only two areas in the country to record an increase in the period, Hotels.com claims. Room rates in Sligo were up 5% from e82 to e86

while hotels in Castlebar increased by 4%, bringing the average hotel room price to e77 per night. Cork hotel prices did not fare so well however, falling a further 5% year-on-year to e76. Waterford remains the cheapest city in Ireland (e50) with prices down 11% compared to this time last year. With an average room rate of e79 Ireland offers the cheapest hotel prices in Western Europe, says Hotels.com, and is now the fourth most inexpensive country in the Eurozone after the Czech Republic (e76), Poland (e74) and Hungary (e70).

Bunzl & Calor Gas to Sponsor CATEX Bunzl and Calor Gas have been unveiled as joint partners of CATEX 2011, the leading foodservice event to be held at the RDS next February. Announcing the move, Michael Kossack, chief executive of Calor Gas, said, ‘Calor will use the opportunity to meet with our loyal customers and get their feedback on our products and services, while also reaching out to potential new customers to understand their energy requirements. We know that top chefs prefer to cook with Calor and CATEX 2011 will be very important as we will showcase the latest in energy efficient cooking, space and water heating applications for the catering and hospitality sectors.’ Bunzl, meanwhile, looks forward to launching the All Ireland Chef of the Year 2012 competition at CATEX. ‘Bunzl is delighted to be associated with CATEX to support the hospitality industry and will be bringing the latest innovative

products to the Irish market, showcasing an impressive display of added value and cost saving solutions,’ said Alastair McLaughlin, managing director of Bunzl Ireland. A number of big name companies have signed up to sponsor events at CATEX. Avonmore will return as sponsor of the National Barista Championship, organised by the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe Ireland, while Edward Dillon & Co will lend support to the National Cocktail Competition. New for next year’s show is the CATEX Pastry Challenge, which is sponsored by Pallas Foods. The winning team at this inaugural competition will go on to represent Ireland at the Mondial des Arts Sucres in Paris in March 2012. Early entry is advised for this event, as the Panel of Chefs will be selecting the top 10 teams only to compete live at CATEX. Entry forms can be downloaded from www.catexexhibition.com.

Alastair Mc Laughlin, managing director of Bunzl Ireland; Michael Kossack, chief executive, Calor Gas and Michael Flannery, chairman of the CEA, at the announcement of Calor Gas and Bunzl’s sponsorship for CATEX 2011.

Optimism in Dublin

Luttrellstown Has the X Factor

Ireland was showcased on the Australian version of X Factor, when judge Ronan Keating flew three hopefuls to Dublin for the ‘Home Stay’ section of the show. An audience of approximately 1.5 million Australian viewers tuned in to see the contestants perform for Ronan Keating and special guests Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy and Mikey Graham of Boyzone at Luttrellstown Castle, Dublin. The visit, which was co-ordinated by Fáilte Ireland, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland, shows the contestants as they are mentored by Ronan in Dublin against the backdrop of the handpicked Irish castle.

Dublin Tourism chief Frank Magee is optimistic about Dublin’s tourism performance this year, despite the tough economic climate. Speaking at the launch of Dublin Tourism’s new VisitDublin app (see Apps, page 30), Magee said he believed the capital’s year end performance would exceed expectations, both in occupancy and visitor numbers. ‘Hotels are set to achieve last year’s figures at the very least while rooms rates are stabilising.’ The city will reap the benefits of key tourism infrastructural investments such as the opening of the Convention Centre Dublin, which will provide a sustained bounce for visitor numbers, he added.

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CCD FINALLY Opens

Conference organisers and buyers from across the world were flown into Ireland for the opening of the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD), which finally opened in September following 40 months of development and a protracted planning process which took 13 years. The Kevin Roche-designed building, which has been dubbed ‘the cube with the tube’ by Dubliners in reference to its tubular glass atrium, is the world’s first carbon neutral convention centre. Built to accommodate events catering from eight to 8,000, the CCD includes a 2,000 seater auditorium and banqueting facilities for 5,000. To date, 150 events have been secured for the CCD delivering an estimated e110m boost for Dublin. Recent wins include the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) Annual Meeting which will bring more than 2,500 delegates to the city for a four day conference in 2014 and the 22nd IAVE World Volunteer Conference which will also attract 2,500 delegates from around the world for three days in 2012. Upcoming events include the Globe Forum Dublin 2010, which takes place on 17 and 18 November and will attract 1000 delegates. The Forum will be held during Dublin’s Innovation Festival. Speaking at the civic launch of the new facility Taoiseach Brian Cowen stressed that: ‘All Ministers and State Agencies will be working hard to identify international events which we can attract here’, and he encouraged private businesses and voluntary organisations to ‘actively promote the Centre as a location for international conferences so we can maximise its impact on the local economy’.

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Fáilte Ireland capitalised on the launch of the new Convention Centre Dublin by hosting a seven day programme for top international tourism buyers. The week long event included a business workshop on 8 September when 120 members of the Irish trade met the buyers who together represented up to e500m worth of potential business from the US, Britain, Europe, South Africa, Australia and Canada. Business tourism is big business for Ireland. In 2009, Fáilte Ireland directly supported a total of 122 conferences which attracted over 57,000 delegates and generated an estimated e85m in revenue, and in 2010 it has already surpassed this performance, supporting 130 conferences to date, which brought in 59,000 delegates and an estimated e90m revenue.

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NEWS BITE SIZE School for Olivier

La Maison chef Olivier Quenet is to takeover the food and beverage operations at The Schoolhouse Hotel in Ballsbridge. Olivier at The Schoolhouse will launch in mid-October. ‘Along with La Maison, this will be the focus of all my energies into 2011. Needless to say I am very excited about this new development,’ said the chef.

New Charlotte Service

US Airways is to introduce a new daily direct service from Charlotte in North Carolina to Dublin next May. The airline expects to carry 50,000 passengers on the route, which it will operate between May and September. The announcement has been warmly welcomed by Tourism Ireland. ‘Tourism Ireland is committed to working with US Airways, Dublin Airport and other tourism interests to drive demand for this new service, and all other services to the island of Ireland, and to help maintain our vital network of routes and services,’ said Tourism Ireland ceo Niall Gibbons.

Treasury Seeks Hotel Planning

Treasury Holdings, the development company behind the newly opened Convention Centre Dublin, has sought to renew planning permission for a 150-bed hotel and two golf courses on a 427-acre site in north Dublin. The company was granted permission for the development on Milverton Demesne in Skerries five years ago and has recently lodged an application with Fingal County Council for planning for a further five years.

Hoteliers Seek Tax Scrappage

The Irish Hotels Federation has urged the Government to scrap its controversial e10 departure tax, in a bid to stem the spiralling decline in tourism numbers. Capacity to Ireland has reduced by a hefty 75,000 seats per week on 2009 figures, the IHF notes, with Ryanair cutting back services from Dublin, Cork and Shannon. The budget airline’s recent decisions, coupled with Aer Lingus’s negative outlook, highlights the need to provide greater incentives for airlines to increase capacity, said the IHF. ‘We are calling on Minister Hanafin to intervene at cabinet level to ensure the e10 departure tax on airlines is abolished or, at the very least, deferred for two years to allow industry and carriers a window of opportunity to achieve growth in visitor numbers. At this stage, the tax is doing more harm than good to the economy with the exchequer forfeiting substantial revenue including lost employment tax and VAT,’ said IHF president Paul Gallagher. ‘Carriers into Ireland will reduce capacity further by moving their assets to more profitable destinations unless industry and Government adopt joined-up thinking in relation to the barriers to profitable routes. With over 200,000 people employed by the sector across the country, any further decline in the sector will result in significant job losses,’ he added.

Ryanair Cuts Capacity Ryanair has announced plans

to cut its Shannon flights and traffic this winter by 21%. The airline announced the move in response to Shannon Airport’s decision to impose a further 33% increase in passenger fees from November, it said. The announcement follows Ryanair’s earlier decision to pull out of Belfast City Airport. The airline announced last month that it will close its Belfast City Airport base at the end of the current summer schedule on 31 October 2010, following delays to the proposed runway extension at the airport. The closure of the Belfast base means that ‘Belfast and Northern Ireland tourism will lose up to one million passengers annually,’ Ryanair stated. Manx2.com has announced the launch of a new twice daily service from The airline’s decisions are Cork to Belfast as part of its expansion plans. The airline has selected also bad news for Shannon, George Best Belfast City Airport as its new Ireland hub, and first permawhich saw traffic fall by over a quarter (28%) in July. nent base outside the Isle of Man. The Irish Aviation Authority The new twice daily service from Cork to Belfast will depart Cork reports that the number of Airport at 9.20am arriving in Belfast City Airport at 10.30am. An flights at Shannon fell by a evening flight at 17.40pm from Cork will arrive in Belfast at 18.50pm. massive 45% in the first half of the year to 7,800. It’s not all bad news for Ryanair however. It announced a 12% increase in seat sales in August, compared to the previous year. The airline sold 7.6m Ulster, Ireland and Lions rugby player Stephen Ferris seats last month, and recorded a load factor of helps Manx2.com launch 89%. its new twice daily service Aer Lingus recorded a between Belfast and Cork. Stephen is pictured in Cork decline in passenger numbers Airport with Captain Javier in August however, down 7% Sanchez from Manx2.com. on the previous year.

Manx Launches Cork-Belfast Service

Cork Gets Walking

Fáilte Ireland has teamed with Cork City Council to produce two downloadable iWalks, allowing visitors to explore the city at their own pace. The iWalks can be downloaded to iPods or iPhones and feature a number of trails, including Flavours of Cork (an introduction to food, drink, shopping and more) and Creative Cork (architecture, public sculptures, festivals etc).

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NEWS

Hanafin Leads Renewal Taskforce Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin took the helm at the first meeting of the new Tourism Implementation Renewal Group this month, chairing the meeting at the National Museum of Ireland in Collins Barracks, Dublin. The Minister heads the nine-strong group of tourism operators and chiefs which is tasked with turning around the fortunes of Irish tourism. ‘This new Tourism Renewal Implementation Group will oversee measures to support tourism in Ireland to ensure that the sector is positioned for recovery and growth,’ said Minister Hanafin. ‘Our focus since the publication of the Report of the Tourism Renewal Group has been on driving progress on key measures in line with those set out in the Framework for Action for the

“survival” phase. I believe that, working together, the tourism industry, the tourism agencies and the wider public sector can continue to deliver an excellent experience and ensure that the tourism agenda is in all relevant policies now and into the future.’ The group is tasked with: • Driving continued progress on measures under the Survival and Recovery Actions (2010-2013) recommended by the Tourism Renewal Group; • 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.

Bentley’s Rebrands as The Cliff Townhouse Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill on Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green has been rebranded as The Cliff Townhouse. The move, which came into force this September, follows the exit of chef Richard Corrigan earlier this year. The restaurant and townhouse is owned by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt chief executive Barry O’Callaghan and has been rebranded as a sister enterprise to his boutique Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore, Co Waterford. The new Cliff Collection will be run by Adriaan Bartels, general manager of The Cliff House in Ardmore. Drew Flood remains manager of The Cliff Townhouse, while Sean Smith stays on as head chef of the newly titled The Restaurant at The Cliff Townhouse. Drew Flood and Adriaan Bartels at the newly titled Cliff Town House on St Stephen’s Green

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NEWS

Irish Support Home Market Up to half of all Irish adults intend to take a holiday or short break at home over the next year, according to new research conducted for Fáilte Ireland. The results were published as Fáilte Ireland unveiled its new Discover Ireland campaign for autumn, launched in conjunction with Iarnród Éireann. Close to 30 tourism businesses joined forces with the two agencies to hold a Discover Ireland Day at Heuston Station on Friday, while over a million copies of Discover Ireland’s autumn brochures were distributed with national papers over the weekend. The special offers brochure included e50 spa vouchers and ‘2 for 1’ offers. Copies of the brochure can be downloaded from www.discoverireland.ie. Meanwhile, in further good new on the domestic front, an AA survey of close to 7,000 adults found that 24.4% of Irish people will take their main holiday at home this year. The travel insurance poll found that Spain is the second most popular destination, with 14% planning a holiday there, followed by France and the UK in joint third place with 9.3%.

Neven Maguire launches the Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year competition with help from Ruby and Max Kelly

Calling Ireland’s Best Young Chefs

MacNean House & Restaurant chef proprietor Neven Maguire launched the search to find Ireland’s top young chef in September. Open to chefs working in the industry aged under 25, the Euro-toques Young Chef of the Year competition celebrates its 20th year this year. Prospective competitors have until 11 October to submit a written entry to Euro-toques, and from this entrants will be shortlisted for interview. Five finalists will then be selected to take part in a cook-off where they will be judged by Ireland’s top chefs as well as guest chef Brett Graham of the two-star Michelin restaurant, The Ledbury, in London. Entry forms are available from www.eurotoques.ie.

IHF & Tourism Ireland Clash Over Britain The Irish Hotels Federation and Tourism Ireland went head to head on Morning Ireland in September, following the IHF’s move to issue a press statement describing Tourism Ireland’s strategy in the UK market as an ‘abysmal failure’. IHF president Paul Gallagher declared in the press release ‘The British market is in freefall. Despite substantial investment in marketing Ireland to Britain, visitor numbers have fallen off a cliff. In terms of marketing, Ireland is clearly doing something wrong if we’re losing visitors from Britain at double the rate of our European competitors.’ Mr Gallagher called for the appointment of a ‘Tourism Tsar’ in Britain to tackle the issue head on. Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons responded to the charges on the

airwaves when the item was picked up by Morning Ireland, the country’s most popular morning radio show which has a listenership of approximately 500,000. He pointed out that the agency is currently in the process of recruiting a new head of Great Britain. Mr Gibbons told Hotel & Catering Review, ‘We understand there is a lot of distress out there and we are acutely aware of the difficulties in the market but we need to work together for the good of the industry.’ He cited the perceived high cost of living in Ireland as a major obstacle for the agency to surmount. ‘Sixty-six per cent of British polled in Fáilte Ireland’s recent Visitor Attitudes Survey cited cost as a major issue. A quarter also said they would have difficulty recommending Ireland to friends and family because of the perceived

poor value for money. We know that the cost of accommodation has improved but the perceived cost of eating and drinking in Ireland is still a major issue that we need to tackle.’ On the issue of value for money, IHF president Paul Gallagher said: ‘We need to blow that out of the water. Our offering is a lot different now and we need to promote that.’ The decision to tackle the British problem in the public arena was ‘borne out of sheer frustration’, he told Hotel & Catering Review. ‘Our members are very concerned about what’s happening in the British market and they felt it wasn’t getting the attention it deserved.’ Tourism Ireland is hosting an industry workshop regarding Britain, chaired by Maurice Pratt, in Dublin on 6 October.

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Bounce in Meetings Market

Despite a phenomenally difficult 2009, when delegate numbers arriving in Ireland plunged by half, the meetings’ business in 2010 is showing signs of promise, says the Association of Irish Professional Conference Organisers (AIPCO). It is projecting a spike in business this year as the international market exits the recession. With the long lead times experienced in the meetings’ business, the full effect of the 2007 downturn wasn’t felt until 2009 in Ireland, says AIPCO. Statistics from the five major professional conference organisers in Ireland indicate that AIPCO members generated e65m in income between 2008 and 2010, based on the 113 conferences which took place during this time. The conferences delivered 200,000 bednights for hotels, valued at e20m. ‘The speed in which the Irish tourism industry has begun to bounce back gives a real indication of how well our industry is regarded around the world. The professionalism, innovation and vision of our companies have meant that we not only survived the recession, it’s made us leaner and stronger,’ said Nicola McGrane, chairperson of the AIPCO Executive Board.

Chapter One Lands the Treble

Chapter One swept the board once again at this year’s Food & Wine Awards, sponsored by Edward Dillon & Co. The Michelin-starred Dublin restaurant scooped the awards for Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, won by executive chef and co-proprietor Ross Lewis, and Sommelier of the Year, which was presented to Ian Brosnan. Pictured celebrating their win are proprietors Martin Corbett and Ross Lewis with Barry Costello of Edward Dillon & Co.

Eddie’s Shakes Up Sales

American-style diner, Eddie Rockets, has opened a new dedicated milkshake bar in Dundrum Town Centre where it offers more than 100 flavours of shakes. Milkshakes are big business for the Eddie’s chain. The franchise was first to introduce hand dipped milkshakes to Ireland in 1989 and two decades on the brand has diversified its best-selling menu item into a standalone business. There are a further two Eddie Rockets Shake Shop opening in Dublin this year with plans for other franchised units ongoing.

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OPINION

Balanced Approach Needed to Hotel Debate Responding to recent articles in the media about the challenges of overcapacity, JIM MURPHY argues that hoteliers need to work together, rather than rail against each other, during this difficult period for the industry.

note with growing concern comments in the print media recently from a number of ‘informed’ sources calling for the closure of a large proportion of Irish hotels. One complaint to the Competition Authority claims that ‘banks are facilitating predatory pricing and banks are cannibalising the hotel industry from the inside out’. Comment after comment concerning the ‘zombie hotel plague’ and banks running hotels for ulterior motives appear almost daily from a range of spokesmen. We have ‘too many hotels’, ‘too many bedrooms’, and ‘genuine’ hotels are suffering at the hands of ‘bank run’ hotels. Even the IHF is throwing out comments about some hotels engaging in ‘below cost selling’. The simple fact is that due to overdevelopment the Irish hotel sector is crippled by an excess of debt, much of which is now likely to come under the control of NAMA. Hoteliers, by and large, have lost control. Stabilising the sector is in everybody’s interest. Casting stones and looking for scapegoats is not. In reality, banks are not actually running hotels. When loans secured on a hotel are considered to be ‘distressed’ – due to failure or inability to meet repayments – a bank may exercise its rights to appoint alternative management – possibly through the mechanism of receivership – to run the hotel. Increasingly they, or their appointed agent, will engage an experienced hotel management company that has the expertise, track record and the requisite skill and personnel levels to stabilise the operation. Such management companies can bring a whole new dimension to hotels they take over. They will where possible seek to work with existing management, while introducing best practice hotel management systems that will help decision-making that should ultimately allow many of these hotels to survive. Their starting objective is to achieve a turnaround and to allow the business to achieve its true potential. They are tasked with saving

the core business and by so doing, saving existing jobs, reinvigorating the business and driving it back to profitability. Then, and only then, can the bank and the owners be in a position to make decisions regarding the future of specific properties. The reference to ‘zombies’ is therefore disingenuous to those toiling to keep hotels in operation. Competent management companies are engaged to return hotels to profit – not to give the hotel rooms away at ridiculously low room rates. I can only speak from personal experience. Hotel Asset Management Services (HAMS) has been appointed to take over a series of distressed hotels, and also to undertake business reviews of properties that are in difficulty. What we have found is disturbing. The real plague afflicting a lot of hotels in Ireland is not only the level of debt, the presence of NAMA or giveaway room rates. Rather it is the complete lack of proper, timely and meaningful financial information being generated by hotel management, which would allow them to run hotels effectively in these extraordinarily challenging times. Without a high level of crucial performance information, management teams are unable to react to changes in the business environment, especially when margins are ever tighter. A glaring lack of timely information has meant that existing management have not been able to communicate effectively with all the stakeholders in the business, including the banks on which they depend. In some instances, we have seen hotels where the quality of management is poor and very often the problems experienced by these same hotels is self-inflicted .The majority of the well-run hotels will survive but those that are keeping their heads in the sand, hoping the good times will come back, are facing into a bleak future. The HAMS bespoke reporting systems, which we have deployed successfully in over 40 hotels across Europe, focuses on the future, while referencing the past. We put an emphasis on accurate forecasting that forces

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Ireland on the Menu: FÁILTE IRELAND’S NEW FOOD IN TOURISM STRATEGY

management to flag potential difficulties in their business well in advance, allowing corrective actions to be taken. This is a fundamental principle. Lenders do not like surprises. Banks demand accurate reliable information from all businesses and, if hotels do not provide it, the stakeholders have little choice but to act. The lack of proper planning may well lead to a receiver being appointed and a change of management implemented so that accurate information can be delivered, allowing effective management decisions to be made. We need to get back to reality. Suggestions that closing a swathe of hotels across the country will solve the problems of the sector are nonsense and are not based on facts. Indeed there are some that must close, should never have been

slightly different over the same period for all hotels nationally: revPAR fell slightly from e47.05 to e46.10, having peaked in 2005 at e68.31. The lesson here is clear. Many hotels have been spoilt by high earnings and unsustainable room rates, and owners/ managers don’t know how to adjust to the market reality that people will not pay those high rates any more, or certainly not for the foreseeable future. In many cases, hotel owners simply borrowed more money to build on more hotel rooms on the blind assumption that rates would continue to escalate. Reality now dictates that the value of those rooms on any given night depends on what guests are prepared to pay. This would be normal across Europe where we haven’t seen a spike in room rates, and room rates, occupancy

‘It saddens me to see the sector turning on itself and if we are not careful this will do even more damage than good. This is not how this industry survived past crises and the energy that is out there needs to be channelled in the right direction before it is too late.’ built in the first place, or have become redundant in terms of what consumers expect. But a reality check is needed. We had 845 hotels of all descriptions in 1999. We have 915 now, an 8% increase. The problem has been that we have a 54% increase in the number of hotel rooms over the same period, from 38,054 in 1999 to 58,647 in 2009. Another reality check. Occupancy levels for all hotels in Ireland fell from 65.2% in 1999 to 60% in 2009, while occupancy levels in all Dublin hotels fell from 72.70% to 64.70% in 2009, a fall of 8%. Room rates nationally actually rose from e74.03 in 1999 to e76.9 in 2009, but fell from e93.22 to e87.51 over the same period in Dublin (source: Horwath Bastow Charlton). A more useful yardstick to judge the performance of the hotel industry is to look at revPAR as an indicator of trends in hotel economics. According to HBC, revPAR for all Dublin hotels actually rose in the period 1999-2009 from e51.41 to e56.62, but reached a peak in 2006 at e92.42. The scenario is

and revPAR remain steady .The old adage ‘the market will pay what the market will bear’ applies now more than ever. There is going to be a significant sea change in the ownership of the hotel assets in Ireland over the next few years. Regardless of who owns the hotel product, the majority of the new hotels in the market will remain open and will contribute significantly to the Irish economy going forward. The industry needs to work together to make sure that this country attracts sufficient numbers of customers to allow all viable hotels to survive. The industry needs to train owners and management in skills to allow them to trade effectively in today’s environment. It saddens me to see the sector turning on itself and if we are not careful this will do even more damage than good. This is not how this industry survived past crises and the energy that is out there needs to be channelled in the right direction before it is too late. All viable hotels, regardless of their ownership structure, need the support of all the stakeholders in the industry to ensure their survival. u

JULY 2010

Fitzers Hits tHe expansion trail

Geraldine Fitzpatrick Dishes all on the Restaurant Group’s Plans AWARD WINNING COCKTAILS + NAMA PLAN + CHOCOLATE HEAVEN

Looking for a Weekly Fix of Hotel & Catering Review? Sign up for Hotel & Catering Review’s FREE Weekly Bulletin and receive a weekly ezine delivered directly to your inbox with: • Industry News & Views • Upcoming Events • Product News • Updates on Hotel & Catering Review’s Gold Medal Awards • And more… Sign up to this free weekly ezine service at www.hotelandcateringreview.ie

JIM MURPHY, former president of the Irish Hotels Federation, is a director and co-founder of Hotel Asset Management Services Ltd, a firm specialising in hotel and resort turnarounds and workouts in Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. Jim is also the ceo of PREM Group, an Irish based hotel management company that operates over 40 hotels in Ireland, England, Belgium and France. * All statistics are based on the Horwath Bastow Charlton Annual Hotel Industry Survey.

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Gregan’s Glistens on Night of Gold

Gregan’s Castle Hotel in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare struck gold at the 22nd Annual Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards in The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin this month when it scooped the highly coveted Gold Medal Award for Excellence 2010. Gregan’s Castle was selected for the supreme award from the elite list of 14 winners who triumphed in the individual Awards categories. This year’s winners and finalists are:

Five Star Hotels Sponsored by:

Country Houses & Guesthouses Sponsored by:

Winner:

Park Hotel Kenmare Finalists:

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 Sponsored by:

Winner:

Gregan’s Castle Hotel Finalists:

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 Sponsored by:

Winner:

Knockranny House Hotel

Winner:

Finalists:

The Doyle Collection

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

The Doyle Collection The Moran & Bewleys Hotel Group Tifco

Three Star Hotels

Finalists:

Fine Dining Restaurants Sponsored by:

Sponsored by:

Winner:

The Headfort Arms Hotel

Winner:

One Pico

Finalists:

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

Finalists:

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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Bistros & Brasseries

In House Catering

Winner: First Floor Restaurant at Harvey Nichols

Winner: Sodexo Northern Ireland at PSNI Seapark

Sponsored by:

Finalists:

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

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

Institutional Catering Sponsored by:

Casual Dining Sponsored by:

Winner:

Wild Honey Inn

St Brigid’s Hospital

Finalists:

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

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

Ethnic Restaurants

Wine Experience

Sponsored by:

Winner:

Ananda

The Twelve Hotel

Finalists:

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

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

Cafés & Coffee Shops

Customer Experience

Sponsored by:

Winner: Cromleach Lodge

Winner:

Kay’s Real Chefs, Real Food Finalists:

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,from Gorey, Cothe Wexford22nd Annual A full report Silver Restaurant at Newbridge Silver Visitor Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare

Finalists: Aghadoe Heights, Killarney, Co Kerry Cromleach Lodge, Castlebaldwin, Co Sligo The Lodge at Doonbeg, Co Clare Glenlo Abbey, Galway Harvey’s Point Hotel, Lough Eske, Co Donegal Hayfield Manor, Cork

Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards will run in the October issue of Hotel & Catering Review.

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COVER STORY

The Heritage Portlaoise and the Maldron Hotel Parnell Square, operated by Dalata, Ireland’s largest hotel operating group.

Dalata HITS THE TOP

The group takes the lead in Hotel & Catering Review’s table of Top 20 Hotel Operating Groups. Report by SARAH GRENNAN.

alata, the group run by former Jurys Doyle chief Pat McCann, is now the largest hotel operator in Ireland, leapfrogging past The Rezidor Hotel Group, which has occupied the pole position for the last two years. Dalata assumes the number one spot in Hotel & Catering Review’s fifth annual table of Ireland’s Top 20 Operating Hotel Groups, ascending to the top this year after securing a raft of new management contracts under its Dalata Management Services division. With 2,980 hotel rooms under management in Ireland, Dalata is now more than 900 rooms ahead of its nearest competitor on the list, Rezidor, whose room and hotel numbers remain constant with last year’s figures (2,065). Ranking hotel groups by room numbers to gain a clearer picture of size, Hotel & Catering Review only factors hotels operated directly by hotel groups, and does not include franchised properties or marketing affiliations. It’s been a dramatic year for the Irish hotel industry since we compiled our last table of Top 20 Hotel Groups (see HCR September 2009). When we signed off last year’s list there were 926 hotels in the Republic of Ireland and 60,812 hotel rooms. As we go to press in September 2010 there are currently 906 hotels trading in the 26 counties, with a total of 60,318 rooms, suggesting that it is the smaller hotels, and not the large scale operators, which have closed

RANK

GROUP

ROOMS

HOTELS

STARS

2009 RANKING

Dalata Management Services

2980

3, 4

The Rezidor Hotel Group

2065

3, 4, 5

Choice Hotels Ireland

1746

3, 4

Moran Hotel Group

1653

3, 4

Tifco

1608

3, 4

Jurys Inns

1274

Carlton Hotel Group

1215

3, 4

Hilton Hotels Corporation

884

4, 5

Lynch Hotel Group

869

Irish Court Hotels

855

Travelodge Ireland

841

White’s Hotel Group

804

Hastings Hotel Group

773

4, 5

Cara Hotels

741

Brennan Hotels

666

3, 4

Cordia Hotel Group

664

3, 4

The Gleneagle Hotel Group

658

3, 4

The Doyle Collection

618

4, 5

Brian McEniff Hotels

609

PREM Group

596

3, 4

20 Returning entrant

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NEWS

Radisson Blu Hotel Belfast Radisson Blu St Helen’s Hotel, Dublin

their doors in the last 12 months. The companies listed on the hotel table who operate in the Republic (18), account for a 34% share of the market with 20,681 rooms between them, spread over their combined 144 hotels. The biggest impact on this year’s Top 20 table is the developments in the Mansfield Group, whose hotels in Citywest, Saggart and Finnstown House, Lucan, Co Dublin were seized by lenders earlier this year. As Jim Mansfield’s company is no longer in control of the hotels and operating them directly, we have deleted the group from the table this year. Receiver Martin Ferris of Ferris & Associates has appointed Dalata Management Services to run both properties and it is this deal which has boosted Dalata’s room numbers substantially from the 2,030 rooms it operated last year. Bewleys Hotel Dublin Airport As well as the 774 bedroom Citywest Hotel & Golf Resort and the 82-room Finnstown House Hotel, Dalata has also been appointed by receivers to manage the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel which contains 110 rooms. The group continues to operate the 98-room Heritage Golf & Spa Resort in Killenard, which was already on its books when lenders took control of the hotel from its owners earlier in the summer. Other hotels operated by Dalata Management Services include the three star Belvedere Hotel in Dublin (92 rooms); the Clayton Hotel, Galway (196); Diamond The Red Cow Moran Hotel, Dublin Coast Hotel, Enniscrone (89); and White’s of Wexford (157). The Maldron Hotel chain, which Pat McCann launched following his 2007 deal with Davy Private Clients to buy the Quality and Comfort Inn leaseholds from Choice Hotels Ireland, gives Dalata 1,381 rooms spread across 10 hotels in Dublin (5), Cork, Galway, Limerick, Portlaoise and Wexford. The Rezidor Hotel Group, the parent company of the Radisson Blu and Park Inn brands, has dropped to second place on this year’s table, maintaining the 2,065 rooms it controls across 13 hotels on the island of Ireland. As well as the Radisson Blu Hotels Rezidor operates in Cavan, Cork (2), Dublin (3), Galway, Letterkenny, Limerick and Sligo (total rooms, 1,659), the group operates the Park Inn, Shannon (114) in the Republic, one of three former Great Southern Hotels the group was appointed to manage in 2007 (the others being Radisson Blu Dublin Airport and Cork Airport). In Northern Ireland, Rezidor operates an additional 265 rooms – Radisson Blu Hotel, Belfast (120) and Park Inn Belfast (145). The Radisson Blu Hotels in Athlone and Limavady are not included in our figures as these are franchised properties. Following The Rezidor Hotel Group is another former number one on our Top 20 Hotels table, Choice Hotels Ireland, the group led by Frankie Whelehan which relinquished the top spot in 2008 when it sold its Quality and Comfort Inns division to Dalata. Choice Hotels Ireland’s numbers have been boosted by this year’s launch of the new Gibson Hotel in Harry Crosbie’s Point Village, Dublin, which, considering its location next to the 02 is aptly named after the Gibson guitar. The hotel’s 252 rooms swell Choice’s room numbers to 1,746. The remaining rooms span over 8

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COVER STORY

The Carlton Millrace Hotel, Bunclody

The C Spa at the Carlton Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe

the Clarion brand’s seven hotels in Dublin (3), Limerick (2), Cork and Sligo, as well as the 165-room, four star Carton House Hotel in Maynooth, Co Kildare, which has been making a splash in the sports market with its new training facilities over the last year which have attracted Real Madrid, Villa Real, and a number of rugby, soccer and GAA teams. Choice’s progression this year sees The Moran & Bewleys Hotel Group take a step back down to fourth position. The group, which was one of three companies on this year’s Top 20 table to be nominated for this month’s Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Hotel Groups, sponsored by Ireland.com, operates six hotels and 1,653 rooms in Ireland under the Bewleys (four Dublin hotels, 1,421 rooms) and Moran (Red Cow, Dublin-123 and Silver Springs, Cork-109) brands. The group, which expanded considerably when the Moran family bought the Bewleys chain from Bert Allen in 2007 in a deal rumoured to be in the region of e700m, also owns and operates four hotels in the UK – the Crown Moran and Chiswick Moran in London (total 244 rooms) and the Bewleys Hotels in Leeds and Manchester Airport (699 combined). While Moran & Bewleys is the fourth largest hotel operator on the island, the group is Ireland’s largest hotel owner. Conrad Dublin Hilton Belfast Chasing Moran’s tail is Tifco, another company which has hoovered up a number of new management contracts in the recession. Built on the solid foundation of Clontarf Castle, the four star, 111-bedroom hotel which Tifco owns and operates in Dublin 3, the group has expanded over recent years to include Crowne Plaza operations in Northwood and Blanchardstown in Dublin and Dundalk (combined 522 rooms), three hotels which Tifco owns and operates directly under the Crowne Plaza brand from the Intercontinental Hotels Group. Another hotel in the

Leaders of the Pack

Ireland’s Largest Hotel Groups 2006-2010 2006: Choice Hotels Ireland 2007: Choice Hotels Ireland 2008: The Rezidor Hotel Group 2009: The Rezidor Hotel Group 2010: Dalata

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SURVEYS Northwood Park in Santry, the 114-bedroom Holiday Inn Express, gives the group a second property close to Dublin Airport. Tifco, which was also nominated as a finalist in the Hotel Groups category at this month’s Gold Medal Awards, has expanded its portfolio with a raft of new contracts picked up in the heat of the downturn, the most recent of which is the 126-room Johnstown House Hotel & Spa in Enfield, Co Meath which, until last year, was operated under the Marriott brand. The hotel, which was part of John Sweeney’s Black Shore hotel portfolio, was recently handed to Tifco to operate by receivers. Tifco has also picked up contracts from Sweeney’s fellow Shelbourne Hotel investor, Bernard McNamara, whose gamble on the landmark Burlington Hotel site in Dublin 4 did not pay off when he failed to secure planning permission for apartments on the site in the dying days of the Celtic Tiger. The contract to operate The Burlington handsomely boosts Tifco’s room count, adding an additional 501 rooms to the portfolio, and the group also runs fellow McNamara controlled properties, the avant-garde Cork International Airport Hotel (150 rooms) and the 84-room Kerry resort, Parknasilla, which McNamara purchased during the boom in the State sale of the Great Southern Hotel Group. Sixth on our list, and holding the same position as last year, is the Jurys Inn Group, which operates seven hotels and 1,274 rooms across the island, in Dublin (3), Cork, Galway, Limerick and Belfast. The group has continued its expansion overseas, with an impressive 6,050 rooms spread across 24 hotels in the UK and one in Prague. The group opened seven new hotels last year and one this year, in Bradford, adding more than 1,100 rooms to the portfolio and creating 700 additional jobs. While on the expansion trail, the group has also invested in existing stock, launching a e9m refurbishment programme for its hotels, in addition to the e4.6m already invested in Christchurch and Custom House Quay makeovers. Jurys Inns, which was sold by the then JurysDoyle Hotel Group to a consortium led by Quinlan Private for a reputed e1.165bn in 2007, plans to continue refurb work over the next three years. The ‘to do’ list includes the extension to its Islington hotel, and the group is also actively working to increase its footprint in the London market, it says. Next up is Carlton Hotel Group, the burgeoning Irish hotel company led by chief executive and chairman Michael Kearney, which has jumped up a place from last year due to the departure of the Mansfield Hotel Group. With 10 hotels and 1,215 rooms, the Carlton Group has also grown in recent years, with the addition of a number of new hotels secured on management contract. In addition to the existing four star Carlton Hotels operated by the group in Dublin Airport, Kinsale, Bunclody, Westport, Athy, and Ballinasloe, the group has also taken over contracts to run hotels in Galway (the former Ryan Hotel, and latterly Days Hotel, which is the only three star hotel in 8

The Brehon Hotel, Killarney and The Maritime Hotel, Bantry in the Gleneagle Hotel Group, number 17 on this year’s table

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COVER STORY

Carlton’s portfolio), Limerick (Carlton Castletroy Park, rescued by Carlton after the former Chuck Feeney-developed hotel closed last year) and Carlton Tralee, the former Fels Point Hotel which was built by property developer Liam Carroll. In eighth position is Hilton Hotels Corporation with 884 rooms. The group exited Mount Juliet at the end of last year, where it operated the Kilkenny resort under the Conrad brand for a number of years. Today it continues to operate the five star, 191-room Conrad Dublin and Hiltons in Belfast and Templepatrick in the North, and Charlemont Place and Dublin Airport in Dublin (693 in total). The Hilton Hotel Kilmainham is a franchise property and not taken into account in the calculation of this table. Behind Hilton in ninth place is the Lynch Hotel Group, which went through a high profile examinership process last year but managed to successfully hold on to all its hotels and, according to reports in The Irish Times, narrowed its pre-tax losses in the 21 months to the end of 2009 to e680,000. This is an improvement on the e2.8m loss it recorded in the previous 12 months. The group operates seven hotels in the two and three

star market in the west of Ireland with a combined 869 rooms. The hotels are Breaffy House and Breaffy Woods in Castlebar, The Clare Inn in Dromoland, The West County in Ennis, The Ocean Cove in Kilkee and The George and The South Court in Limerick. Irish Court Hotels, the family-owned company operated by the Lyons, kicks off the double digits on this year’s chart, with 10 hotels and 855 rooms in Clare (Shannon Court Hotel, Auburn Lodge, Queens Hotel, Lahinch Golf & Leisure Hotel),

The Causerie Restaurant at the Europa Hotel and The Stormont Hotel, Belfast in the Hastings Hotel Group

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Whither the Internationals? The exodus of international operators from the Irish market continued to gain pace this year. While The Rezidor Hotel Group retains its firm grasp on the market, with 13 hotels and 2,065 rooms operated directly by the hotel across the island, a number of other international brands have retrenched in recent years. As of earlier this year, the Marriott brand is no longer over the door in the Druid’s Glen Resort in Wicklow, or in Johnstown House Hotel in Enfield, Co Meath, which is now operated by Tifco. While in Dublin, the staff and owners at the landmark Shelbourne Hotel on St Stephen’s Green are waiting to hear the result of the recent arbitration between Marriott, which operates the hotel under its high end Renaissance brand, and The Shelbourne’s shareholders. In Cork, Fota Island Resort and Sheraton parted ways in the last 12 months, while in Kilkenny, Mount Juliet’s owners did not renew its deal with Conrad when it reached the end of its mangement contract in December. Aside from Radisson, which is controlled from a head office in Brussels, and Hilton, which operates 884 rooms across five hotels on the island of Ireland, the remaining big players in the Irish market are either indigenous Irish brands or brands such as Clarion or Crowne Plaza, which are under licence but operated directly by Irish management companies. PREM Group, the company headed by Jim Murphy, which operates three hotels under the Days Hotel and Days Inn brands in Dublin and Kilkenny, is due to introduce a new Irish brand, Aspect Hotels, to the market imminently.

The River Lee Hotel, Cork and The Westbury Hotel, Dublin, part of The Doyle Collection, winner of this year’s Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Hotel Groups, sponsored by Ireland.com

Kerry (Kenmare Bay Hotel, Killarney Court Hotel, Killarney Riverside Hotel), Donegal (Letterkenny Court Hotel), Waterford (Waterford Marina Hotel) and Sligo (Riverside Suites). Hot on Irish Court Hotels’ heels is Travelodge Ireland, the budget hotel brand which has been growing its base, today operating 11 hotels and 841 rooms across the island of Ireland in Dublin (four), Belfast, Cork, Galway, Waterford, Limerick (two) and Derry City. At number 12 comes the White’s Hotel Group, which specialises in catering to tour groups. The group has grown its numbers over the last year with the addition of the Nesbitt Arms in Ardara, Co Donegal. Also in Donegal are The Abbey Hotel and The Central Hotel, while Ireland’s matchmaking capital of Lisdoonvarna remains a stronghold for the group which operates three hotels in the village: The Hydro, The Imperial and the King Thomond. Elsewhere in the Burren, the group operates the Burren Castle and, in its only operation in the east of the country, White’s runs Lawlors in Dungarvan. Lucky for some, at number 13 is Northern Ireland’s Hastings Hotel Group, the hotel company established in the 1950s by Sir William Hastings, and now run by his son Howard Hastings (chair of the Northern Irish Tourist Board) together with sisters Julie, Allyson and Aileen. Financial controller, Edward Carson, and Slieve Donard general 8

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COVER STORY Irish Overseas

With overcapacity the topic du jour in the Irish hotel industry, it is little surprise that Irish hotel companies are looking overseas for prospective growth. The biggest Irish operators overseas at present are: Jurys Inns: 25 hotels, 6,050 rooms PREM Group: 17 hotels, 1,776 rooms The Doyle Collection: Eight hotels, 1,520 rooms The Moran & Bewleys Hotel Group: Four hotels, 943 rooms Expect to see more developments internationally in the future as Irish hotel companies seek to expand their operations in new markets. The Arklow Bay Hotel and the Clonmel Park Hotel, part of Brennan Hotels

manager, John Toner, also sit on the board. The group operates six hotels in Northern Ireland and 773 rooms in the Culloden Estate & Spa in Hollywood, the Slieve Donard Resort & Spa in Newcastle, Belfast’s Europa and Stormont Hotels, Ballygally Castle in Co Antrim and The Everglades in Derry. As well as the six Northern Irish properties, the Hastings family also hold a 50% stake in Dublin’s five star Merrion Hotel. The Merrion Hotel, the only business in the country to win a coveted Gold Medal Award for Excellence twice (2003 and 2008), does not operate under the Hastings Hotels banner and therefore is not included in this table. Sean McEniff ’s Cara Hotels runs five hotels in Dublin and Donegal, giving the group 741 rooms and putting it in 14th place on the table. Sean is one of two McEniffs on the table once again this year, with his brother Brian’s hotel group making an appearance at number 19. Cara Hotel’s hotels are the Mount Errigal Hotel and Allingham Arms in Donegal and the Ardmore, Camden Court and Grand Canal Hotels in Dublin. Just two hotel rooms separates the next two groups. Brennan Hotels, the company run by Brian Brennan, comes in at number 15 with 666 rooms in the Bettystown Court Hotel in Meath, the Clonmel Park in Tipperary, the

Arklow Bay in Wicklow, Springhill Court in Kilkenny and the Green Isle Hotel at Newland’s Cross in Dublin. Just two rooms behind the Brennans is another Northern Ireland operator, the Cordia Hotel Group run by Lord Diljit Rana which has a big presence in the bustling Belfast market. Its 664 rooms are spread between the Ramada and Days Hotels, the Holiday Inn Express Belfast City and the Ibis Hotel Belfast City Centre and the Ibis Belfast Queens Quarter. With 658 rooms is the Gleneagle Hotel Group, which has a stronghold in the Kingdom, and operates the three star Gleneagle Hotel; the four star, Gold Medal Award nominated Brehon Hotel; Scotts Hotel and The Travel Inn in Killarney. The group also operates The Maritime Hotel in Bantry, placing it at 17 on the Top 20 table. At number 18 is The Doyle Collection, the winner of this year’s coveted Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Hotel Groups, sponsored by Ireland.com. Founded 40 years ago by the legendary hotelier PV Doyle, the luxury hotel group is now run by the next generation of the Doyle and Beatty families. Here in Ireland, the group owns and operates 618 rooms in three hotels, the flagship Westbury Hotel off Grafton Street in Dublin, the Croke Park Hotel opposite GAA HQ in Drumcondra and The River Lee Hotel in Cork. The Croke Park and River Lee properties have been rebranded from Jurys Hotels as part of the group’s ongoing repositioning, which also saw the company change its name from the JurysDoyle Hotel Group to The Doyle Collection. The company is currently investing significantly in a multimillion euro refurbishment programme designed to cement its position in the luxury segment of the market. As well as the three Irish hotels, The Doyle Collection also operates four hotels in the UK (The Kensington,

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Marylebone and Bloomsbury Hotels in London and The Bristol Hotel) and a further four in the US (The Dupont Hotel, The Normandy Hotel and Dupont Circle Courtyard by Marriott in Washington DC and The Back Bay Hotel in Boston), giving it a total of 1,520 rooms overseas. Following The Doyle Collection in 19th place is our second McEniff entry this year, Brian McEniff Hotels. The company has risen one place due to the exit of the Mansfield Hotel Group, and continues to operate 608 rooms in six hotels in Dublin and the west and northwest of Ireland. They are the Great Northern Hotel and the Holyrood Hotel in Donegal, the Sligo Southern and the Yeats Country Hotel in Sligo, the Westport Woods Hotel in Mayo and the Best Western Skylon Hotel in Dublin. Mansfield’s exit has also made way for the return of the PREM Group, the company run by former IHF president Jim Murphy, which has been expanding significantly in Europe in recent years (see Jim Murphy’s opinion piece on the challenges facing the Irish hotel industry on page 12 in this issue). Here in Ireland, the company operates seven hotels – the Days Inn Talbot Street and the Days Hotel Parkwest in Dublin and the Days Hotel Kilkenny, plus the Park Hotel Virginia, the Tulfarris Hotel & Golf Resort in Wicklow, The Osprey Hotel & Spa in Kildare and the Clanree Hotel in Letterkenny, the last four of which are management contracts picked up by PREM’s Hotel Asset Management Services (HAMS) arm. The group is on the cusp of introducing a new brand for Ireland, Aspect Hotels, which it will introduce to a number of its Days properties. PREM is introducing the brand, says Jim Murphy, following a review of ‘the effectiveness of international brands in Ireland’. ‘In the current market we believe that system delivery of the international brands

in a small market like Ireland is not sufficient justification for the fees required by these brands. Therefore, drawing on our significant experience of branding, PREM Group will be launching a new home grown brand for the Irish market in the coming weeks,’ he told Hotel & Catering Review. Away from the troubled Irish market, PREM continues to thrive, with a burgeoning portfolio of 17 hotels and 1,776 rooms in the UK, Belgium and France. The group also operates a significant serviced apartment business. With 596 rooms in Ireland, PREM makes a return to the Top 20 table this year following a twoyear hiatus, and although the group plans to concentrate most of its growth efforts in Europe in the future (it is currently chasing projects in Germany, the Netherlands and Poland), it also expects to remain busy in the distressed hotel sector here at home. With the Irish hotel sector going through its most challenging period in history and the number of hotels entering receivership growing by the week (over 30 currently, with an expected 100 hotels to enter receivership by the year end), we expect the landscape to change significantly once again over the next year, and indeed, in the coming months. u Hotel & Catering Review’s survey of the country’s Top 20 Hotel Groups features Ireland’s top hotel operating companies. Figures are verified with Fáilte Ireland’s database of registered hotels and hotel room numbers in Ireland. In line with Fáilte Ireland guidelines, only guestrooms within the hotel structure are taken into account for the purpose of this survey. Additional rooms in ancillary housing are not included. Figures relate to hotel rooms managed and operated directly by the hotel groups only, and do not include franchised properties operated independently.

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For more inFormation

Please contact us during office hours between 9.00am – 1.00pm and 2.00pm – 5.30pm monday – Friday on 048- 3752 2471. alternatively, please email your C.V., along with a brief letter of your experience to

caitriona@mfsfuels.com

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30/09/2010 10:16:46

CON QUIGLEY ON INVESTMENT

Plotting the Return CON QUIGLEY examines hotel investment returns versus offices

e are frequently asked whether hotels or offices are a better recovery option. Many investors expect a flood of hotels to come on the market at very low selling prices and at higher yields as the financial crisis unfolds. While every investment opportunity must be examined on its own merits, it is instructive to compare hotels and offices generally – from an investment point of view. In essence, all commercial properties are valued based on the same factors, their ability to generate future cash flows to the investor. The main difference between hotels and offices is that hotels are considered trading assets, i.e. the future cash flows depend on the efficiency of the business located in the building. In this article we will look at how investors evaluate this inherent business risk. In commercial real estate this risk assessment is often described by the required return on investment, or the yield. We will appraise how the investment market perceives this risk, versus the main benchmark asset class, prime offices. Offices offer leases, i.e. fixed income streams throughout the period of the rental agreement. This consistent income offers investors the security of receiving a quantifiable rate of return on their investment and thus the perceived risk is fairly low. Conversely, hotels can be operated under a range of structures from fixed income leases, variable leases or management contracts to pure franchise agreements. Variable leases, management contracts and franchise agreements do not offer any fixed income to the investor and are in essence free cash flow investments where the owner participates in the upside potential but also risks little or even negative returns during market downturns. Given the increased risk associated with a variable income stream, the perceived risk is typically higher and therefore reflected in a higher yield. Those hotels which offer fixed leases are typically operated at the budget end of the market by the likes of Travelodge or Premier Inn, as although not recession proof they are seen as less volatile. There are some hotels in the upper end of the market which offer leases. However, these hotels are typically only located in super prime locations. Hotels with these income streams typically trade off lower yields as they offer fixed income deals so are perceived in a similar way to office investments. Historically, the risk premium between hotel and office investments has been reflected in a significant differential between office and hotel yields which stood at an average

around 200 bps (basis points) in Europe. However, this picture changed significantly at the millennium. The early 2000s through to 2007 saw yields for all property classes fall markedly to all-time lows, largely as a consequence of the increased liquidity in the debt market, a result of banks’ more aggressive lending approach, i.e. lower margins and higher LTVs (loan to values). This not only drove down investors’ return requirements but also gave rise to a property boom peaking in 2007. During this period, the risk premium between office yields and hotel yields contracted and in 2007 European hotel and office yield differentials stood at approximately 100-120 basis points (100 basis points is equal to one percentage point). At the peak, Dublin prime hotel yields contracted to around 5% whilst prime office yields were just below 4%. What drove the differential between office and hotel yields to reduce? In the early 2000s, hotel deals started to be structured in a different manner across Europe, driven by a trend of owners selling their hotel assets while retaining management in either manage back or lease back deals. This trend became known as separating the ‘bricks and brains’ and had a twofold effect. It enabled new investors to acquire large hotel portfolios from major operators thereby diversifying their asset investments. It also freed up capital for operators allowing them to concentrate on operations and continue to rapidly build market share without the risks of asset ownership. Through the newly structured deals and complex investment tools new investors perceived the inherent risk linked to trading assets to be lowered, which translated to a lower risk premium on hotel transactions. This resulted in hotels appealing to a wider investor spectrum, such as institutional and private equity investors, as they were no longer seen as a specialised asset class. However, the credit crunch and ensuing global economic crisis changed the investment landscape significantly with neither the office nor hotel market immune to the effects of the international and domestic economic downturn. From 2008 onwards, yields for both asset classes started to soften as finance dried up with lenders much more wary and projects proving increasingly challenging, or even impossible to finance. This resulted in a significant decline in hotel and office investment activity. Dublin prime office yields have now softened to 7.5% whilst hotel yields are estimated to have softened to around 10%. It is also been reported that indicative yields for provincial Irish hotels are being quoted in certain cases at up to 14%! However, there have been no recent hotel transactions so these estimates remain largely sentiment driven. The Chief O’Neill’s Hotel in Smithfield was the first hotel in Dublin to be sold in two years, achieving a price of between e8m and e9m although this was a distressed sale which would have had an impact

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on the sale price achieved, but no yield has been reported for the transaction. It should also be noted, that while we would have expected this yield shift to have taken place across the European markets, we note that a narrower yield gap remains in highly desirable hotel locations such as London, where the yield premium for hotels has only moved out to about 150 basis points. Whilst hotels had become a more mainstream asset class for investors during the property boom of the early 2000s to 2007, significant differences remained between the two types of investment profiles, and remain to this day. These were perhaps somewhat overlooked during the boom period with rising asset values driven by not only improving hotel performance but also by reducing yields as competition intensified for hotel assets. The principal differences between hotels and offices are as follows: •Hotels offering management contracts, or owner operated, are generally much more involved and complex investments than offices as they require considered management, given the many variables which can impact upon trading and performance. The numerous revenue drivers such as rooms revenue driven by occupancy and rate, food and beverage revenue, minor operated departments revenue

and not knowing what income stream the yield was driven off all contributing to the perceived risk premium. • A prime office has a lifespan of 15-25 years, after which the previous office specification has become obsolete and will require a major refit to attract new tenants. Hotels on the other hand are subject to a higher degree of ongoing renovations and upkeep, and can trade for 100 years plus without a major rethink of the physical structure. As a rule of thumb hotels need to allow a capital requirement for upkeep in the region of 4-5% of annual turnover. We have seen further yield shifts in regional markets compared to Dublin, reflecting a higher level of uncertainty in the regional hotel market. This higher uncertainty further hampers liquidity in the regions. Contrary to the above, there are some hotel assets that trade on yields as sharp as prime office yields, or even lower – the so called trophy assets. These are typically high-profile buildings, often with a hotel name which is established as a brand in its own right, achieving room rates well above the market, prime examples being hotels such as The Savoy and The Ritz in London, or the George V in Paris. This is because such investments are highly desirable with significant demand for a very restricted number of assets which drives down the

The softened hotel and tourism markets are likely to maintain the current risk premium on hotel yields in the short to medium term. As a result, 2010 and 2011 are expected to be challenging for both the Dublin hotel and office sectors with transactional activity continuing at a low level and significantly below historic levels. (which could include spa, leisure centre) need to be monitored. Not forgetting the cost structures of each department which also need to be managed very carefully in order to prevent costs from spiralling out of control. Undistributed expenses such as administration and general, sales and marketing, energy and repairs and maintenance again require tight control. As such, experienced management is required, understanding industry standards in terms of the profit or cost line within each department. Offices on the other hand, do not require this level of detailed management and involvement which is why historically (apart from during the property boom), the risk perception associated with such investments was lower than with hotels and prime office yields have always been lower than hotel yields. •In general fixed income for office investments versus a more variable income stream from hotel assets, as described above. • Whilst location is a prime driver for both hotel and office investments, a triple A office location will sell off a sharp yield (i.e. lower) with neighbouring office investments likely to sell off the same yield. In contrast, whilst location is a critical factor in the hotel market, the quality (i.e. the recognised hotel category) as well as the efficiency of the business located in the building can generate widely different revenue streams and must be taken into consideration. As such, it is possible to have two hotels adjacent to each other trading off different yields as one may be deemed to offer a greater upside and increased revenue stream than the other. • There is typically greater transparency in the office investment market since there are more transactions providing potential investors with a pricing comfort. Hotel deals are more opaque given the scarcity of recent deals, the complexity of each deal,

yields that they trade off. In these instances the differential between office and hotel investments is likely to be at its lowest. The Irish commercial real estate market is gradually starting to emerge from the most testing recession it has ever faced. The decline in Irish commercial returns was 57% from peak-to-trough in the most recent cycle, which is widely accepted as being more severe than any other previous cycle, and led to a fundamental shift in investment yields for offices and hotels alike. The ongoing banking crisis together with the restructuring of bad loans through NAMA is likely to continue to restrict the debt available in the Irish market, while continuing to dampen investor confidence in the Irish real estate sector. These factors are expected to maintain relatively high office yields, while the softened hotel and tourism markets are likely to maintain the current risk premium on hotel yields in the short to medium term. As a result, 2010 and 2011 are expected to be challenging for both the Dublin hotel and office sectors with transactional activity continuing at a low level and significantly below historic levels. The question is whether we will see the same level of contraction between hotel and office yields in the future. We believe that this is very unlikely in the foreseeable future as the Irish market has undergone a seismic shift and it will take many years to return, if at all. As to whether hotels or offices constitute a better recovery play? It depends. There is no doubt that forced sales will bring opportunities. But careful analysis will be required to determine at what price an asset of either class constitutes fair value, or indeed a bargain. Hotels remain a very valid investment class, but the price has to be right and due account must be taken of the real investment cash flows attached – including the requirement for ongoing capital expenditure. 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. Con can be contacted at cquigley@horwathhtl.com Con wrote this article in conjunction with ALEXANDRA van PELT, senior consultant with Horwath HTL UK avanpelt@horwathhtl.com and ERLEND HEIBERG, principal with Horwath HTL UK eheiberg@horwathHTL.com

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Putting Ireland on the Tourism Agenda Tourism Ireland has embarked on an extensive range of initiatives to reinforce the message overseas that there has never been a better time to visit the island of Ireland.

Face to Face

and Different Drums; and through art, lectures and displays including an exhibit on Narnia, from the CS Lewis series of books.’

Doing the Business in Canada

Pictured at the Tourism Ireland booth at the Milwaukee Irish Fest in Wisconsin which took place recently is Éamon Ó Cuív T.D. (centre) with Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland and Ciaran Barry, Sceptre Tours.

Targeting the Diaspora in Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Irish Fest is the largest celebration of Irish culture and heritage in the US, attracting about 150,000 visitors each year. The four-day festival was a good opportunity for Tourism Ireland to showcase the superb tourism product and the diversities of culture on offer around the island of Ireland. Tourism Ireland recently launched a new campaign, targeting the Irish diaspora throughout the US, so this was also a good opportunity to remind festival-goers of Irish descent to reconnect with their roots and take a holiday to Ireland this year. Joe Byrne, Tourism Ireland’s executive vice president United States and Canada, commented: ‘Tourism Ireland’s “This is the year to come home”’ campaign has been targeting up to 10 million members of the Irish diaspora throughout the US. We have been highlighting the “welcome home” message and terrific value offers on offer. We have also targeted those of Ulster Scots descent across the US in recent years. This year’s Milwaukee festival included a special “Northern Ireland Showcase” highlighting the culture, heritage and music of Northern Ireland and allowing visitors to explore Northern Ireland through song, with musicians like Kieran Goss, the McPeake family

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IncentiveWorks is an annual event for key decision-makers and professionals from all over Canada who plan, organise or influence meetings and events. The two-day promotion provided a valuable opportunity for Tourism Ireland to highlight the great facilities and good value rates available for meetings and conferences around the island of Ireland; and offered opportunities for the participating tourism partners from Ireland to meet and network with many of the 3,000+ Canadian influential meeting and event planners in attendance. Jayne Shackleford, Tourism Ireland Canada, said: ‘Tourism Ireland is working hard to promote the island of Ireland overseas as a premier conference and business tourism destination. The excitement surrounding the recent opening of The CCD, as well as significant investment in other venues, adds weight to our promotion of the island of Ireland overseas as a professional conference destination. The CCD is truly a world-class venue and its opening means that Ireland can compete with the best destinations in the world in the lucrative conference and business tourism market.’

Pictured on the Tourism Ireland stand at IncentiveWorks 2010 which took place recently in Toronto are (l-r) Alanna Mc Quaid, Lough Erne Resort; Róisín O’Sullivan, The Westin, Dublin; Helen Cole, Tourism Ireland; and Sarah Kelly, advantage ico.

30/09/2010 10:16:54

Ireland on the Airwaves

Lights, Camera, Action for Doonbeg

Up to five million TV viewers across the US will see Doonbeg Golf Club on CBS in spring 2011. The CBS crew spent time in Co Clare recently, filming presenter David Camp as he played Doonbeg in the stunning Co Clare scenery. Doonbeg Golf Club will be part of a 30-minute programme which will also preview the Solheim Cup, which takes place next year at Killeen Castle in Co Meath. The show will air in the spring and will also be repeated by CBS in various US cities throughout 2011. Joe Byrne, Tourism Ireland’s executive vice president United States and Canada, said: ‘We are delighted that CBS has chosen to feature Doonbeg Golf Club and Co Clare. It is a wonderful opportunity to showcase our superb golf and tourism product; the footage shot by the crew in Co Clare will be seen by millions of Americans, encouraging them to consider a golfing vacation here.’

Derrynane House tour guides Rachel Fitzgerald (second from left) and Philomena O’Connor (second from right) showed celebrated French travel writer Pierre Josse (centre) around the ancestral home of Daniel O’Connell. Also pictured are Alain Barnault (sound engineer) and Laurent Devaux (cameraman).

French TV Shows Off the South West to 5M+

Over five million TV viewers around France will see the magnificent coastline and scenery of the South West later this year. A crew from national television station France 3 was in Kerry and West Cork recently, to capture footage for a programme called Thalassa, a popular documentary series which airs to an audience of approximately five million people. It focuses on the sea and all things maritime, including sport and history. The programme will highlight sea angling in Courtmachsherry, Bantry House and Gardens, Garinish Island and the ferry crossing from Glengarriff; as well as the Ring of Kerry, including Cahersiveen and Derrynane House, and a boat trip from Portmagee to the Skelligs. Billy Condon, Tourism Ireland’s manager Southern Europe, said: ‘We are delighted that France 3 chose to film in the South West. It is a great way for us to get exposure and raise awareness of this part of Ireland in France. Thalassa is an extremely popular series and the footage captured by the TV crew will be seen by over five million French people, encouraging more of them to consider a holiday here.’

11m+ Hear Radio Ad Blitz for Dublin

Over 11 million potential holidaymakers around Great Britain are hearing Tourism Ireland’s new advertising campaign for Dublin. A series of light-hearted ads, consisting of a tongue-incheek apology to other popular European cities (including Rome, Madrid and Paris) for beating them in the friendliness stakes, has been developed by Tourism Ireland. The ads are now airing on major national and regional radio stations throughout Britain. Capitalising on Dublin’s TripAdvisor accolade of ‘Europe’s Friendliest City’, the message behind the ads is all about the ‘craic’ that visitors will have when they come to Dublin. Vera Stedman, Tourism Ireland’s deputy head of Great Britain, said: ‘Again and again, our research shows us that the friendliness of the people here is one of our unique selling points. Tourism Ireland’s new radio ads are an amusing and light-hearted way of promoting Dublin. It is the warm welcome and the “craic” here that resonates with potential holidaymakers overseas and make the city such a great choice for a short break of holiday.’ As well as the radio ads, the new Dublin campaign includes online advertising on key websites, direct marketing and social media initiatives, as well as co-operative promotions with tour operators and air and sea carriers. Tourism Ireland’s 20,000 Facebook fans in Britain are also helping to spread the message.

David Camp, presenter of ‘Golf Resorts International’ (right), with the CBS film crew at Doonbeg Golf Club.

Ireland Online

+9% Increase in Web Visits by Overseas Tourists

Tourism Ireland’s suite of international websites experienced a record 8.9 million visits in the period January-August 2010, a +9% increase on the same eight-month period last year. The increase follows last year’s +34% increase to 13 million visits to www.discoverireland.com for the entire year. Given the huge part that the internet now plays in peoples’ research, planning and booking of holidays, Discoverireland.com is a vital platform for Tourism Ireland to communicate with its customers overseas, showcasing the superb tourism product on offer and the many things to see and do around the island of Ireland. Brian Harte, Tourism Ireland’s head of e-marketing, said: ‘Online marketing is a core part of Tourism Ireland’s overall marketing strategy across the globe and we now invest e12m of our total marketing budget online. Our suite of websites provides a valuable platform for industry partners from across the island to promote themselves overseas, helping them to ‘close the sale’.” As part of its strategy, embracing both traditional tour operator channels and the new eWorld, Tourism Ireland is placing particular focus on social media to inspire potential holidaymakers to come and visit the island of Ireland. The organisation has 81,000 Facebook fans across 12 key markets, including Britain, the US, Germany, France, Australia, Spain and Italy. It also has Twitter accounts in eight markets, with over 13,000 followers at the last count.

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Get Appy

APPS

Following on from last month’s article on Facebook apps, MICHELLE CONAGHAN details some of the many other smart phone applications that hospitality operators should keep an eye on. Apps: Do you know how they work? What opportunities are available to you? There are numerous applications out there available to you, the hospitality business owner, and to your customers. Applications are being created and enhanced on a daily basis and many offer excellent opportunities to promote your business or engage your customer at no cost. While these are free to use for the most part it’s important to know where to spend your time and where your business could already be listed. We suggest putting yourself in the shoes of the customer. Use these tools to see what people are saying about you and check your level of visibility. On a more basic level check to make sure your website, phone number and business details are correct. We’ve covered a few here in this article but there are countless more, talk to your customers and see what they are using. Importantly, if you do post offers or specials on these sites make sure you tell people who come through your doors, on your website, emails, ezines, print material and any other medium that you feel is appropriate.

Here are a few of our favourite apps:

Google Maps

It’s never been more important to make sure your Google Maps listing is correct. Google Maps is one of the most used applications on smart phones and features a technology called ‘my location’ which automatically determines where you are by the press of a button. You can search for businesses, for example, restaurants and the results displayed will be all the listed restaurants near your location. You can easily dial the business number or get directions to the location and the application is available on most smart phones. Your customers are using Google Maps to find you and your services. Is your business listed correctly?

Skype

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls have been around for a while and certainly Skype is one of the most recognised names. Users who traditionally would have used Skype for chat and calls on their PC are now downloading it to their phone. It’s one of the top apps downloaded from the app store. The savvy consumer is looking for any way they can cut costs where there is a low cost or no cost alternative. Skype allows your customers to call you

for free or initiate the chat feature. As long as you are within your internet provider’s data package it’s completely free to make calls from one Skype account to another. Having spoken to a few hoteliers using Skype the volume is low but most agreed they wouldn’t remove it. However with Google now rolling out the same service through Gmail, this arena is destined to change.

Yelp

‘Real people, Real reviews.’ Yelp started in 2004 in San Francisco as an online user generated content site with reviews of local businesses and rolled out in the UK and Ireland in 2009. Yelp specialises in providing local search information, such as restaurant, shop or hotel recommendations. There is significant interest in the business as Elevation Partners backed by U2’s frontman Bono was reported to be investing up to $100m in the business earlier this year, and last year Yelp walked away from a $55m Google acquisition deal. The usage isn’t huge in Ireland but it’s certainly being employed and has great features for the user such as finding restaurants, pubs or hotels near your location with reviews as well as an augmented reality feature. (Augmented

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reality : For example if a customer held their smart phone up to your business they could see the ratings and reviews before they walked in.) As a business owner you should claim your business listing or set up an account. This is free to do and you also have the opportunity to load specials and respond to reviews.

Foursquare

Foursquare is a web and mobile application that allows registered users to connect with friends and update their location. Points are awarded for ‘checking in’ at venues. Users can also earn badges by checking in at locations, for check-in frequency or for other patterns such as time of check-in. Users can add ‘Tips’ to venues that other users can read, which serve as suggestions for great things to do, see or eat at the location. As a business owner you should claim your business and ensure the listing is accurate. To promote your business you can add specials or promotions to your business page, there is no cost for this. Specials can be discounts for ‘check ins’ or rewards for your ‘Mayor’. (Who’s the Mayor? It’s your single most loyal customer! The user who has checked in the most in the last 60 days.) Usage is low within the Irish market but is growing. If you have a strong following on Twitter it’s definitely worth looking at. We’ll also have to see what effect the roll out of Facebook Places has on the service.

Linkedin usage is expected to grow to 300,000 in Ireland this year and already has 75 million users in over 200 countries. It’s a business networking tool for the individual that can’t be ignored. Surely you’ve been asked ‘Are you on Linkedin?’ at an event. Linkedin is the business suit of social networking, used correctly it can help connect you with people interested in your business, promote your events, refer you to potential business connections and much more. It’s a must for the hospitality professional considering that a quarter of all users are senior executives and decisionmakers. It provides you with a professional social media space to network with your business contacts. For your company you can set up a page to profile your business although it doesn’t

have the same promotional opportunities as a Facebook page. We should watch this space as Linkedin has been making a lot of improvements recently to its interface.

Facebook Pages

Facebook pages are being used by business on a daily basis to market and promote their business and reward their customers. With over 500 million users and increasing numbers accessing FB through their mobile, this is the biggest application pond to fish in so to speak. The mobile interface is an extremely easy one to use and heavily encourages usage. Download it and try it, if you haven’t already. Put yourself in the shoes of the customer and view Facebook pages, updates, news feed from the user’s perspective to see how you can improve your presence on Facebook and interactivity. With 1.5 million-plus active Irish users, who on average have 130 friends and spend 23.5 mins per day on Facebook, it’s important to understand the users’ perspective to become more engaging.

Facebook Places

Facebook Places only recently launched in the US but will this take the place of Foursquare, Yelp, Gowalla and many more location-based services? This is the burning question. The roll out of Facebook Places last month saw record sign ups to Foursquare. Why? With heightened media coverage and constant comparisons between Places and Foursquare, people want to see what this location-based networking is all about. Places is currently being rolled out in cities across the US although it is appearing on the Facebook mobile application in Ireland now with the following message. ‘This feature will be available in your region soon. Thank you for your patience.’ At its launch, Facebook’s vice president of product, Chris Cox, described Places as a ‘digital repository for all your locationbased memories’. He described a couple’s children being able to use Facebook Places data to pinpoint the spot of their parents’ first kiss, for example. But a large part of how we store our memories on Facebook and on the larger web is via images and photographs. ‘Imagine not only being able to get textual clues about that first kiss but to also see images of your parents’ first date,’ said Cox. As a business owner you will need to

create your Place page or claim your Place page. A Place page will show you a map of where the Place is located, a list of friends who are currently checked in at the Place (if any), and a Friend Activity stream of other friends who have visited the Place in the past. The Place page will contain additional relevant information about the Place if it’s available. Place pages are not the same as Facebook Pages or Community Pages.

Facebook Photo Memories

It’s unconfirmed as of yet, but a Mashable reader reported that when checking in on Facebook Places they spotted a tab call ‘Photo Memories’. In Ireland some users have seen the feature when in ‘Photos’ and it appears to the right above ‘Sponsored’. So if ‘Places’ is to become a digital repository or scrapbook, ‘Photo Memories’ sounds like a pretty sure thing. It will be interesting to see the usage levels of ‘Places’ given the high user numbers and the time spent in the Facebook environment.

Hootsuite

Twitter users have the choice of numerous excellent Twitter clients that are free to use. Hootsuite is one I enjoy using as the interface on the web and mobile are clean and as a platform it’s constantly being updated and improved. Within Hootsuite you have the ability to manage the following: • Twitter profile/multiple profiles • Schedule tweets • Facebook pages • Facebook profile • Foursquare • Feed updates from your blog • Update your Linkedin status If you haven’t tried a Twitter client before, as well as Hootsuite there is Tweetdeck, Seesmic, CoTweet, Twitterrific, Twhirl, Twaitter, Echofon, Twitterberry and many more. One size doesn’t fit all but there is a Twitter client out there for your needs, you just need to try out a few. u

MICHELLE CONAGHAN is head of client services at NetAffinity, michelle@netaffinity.com, www.netaffinity.com

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Smart Thinking

APPS

If the web was the new frontier for hospitality marketing in the ’90s and millennium years, the teenage decade will be all about mastering mobile communication. We take a look at the first Irish tourism businesses to jump on the app wagon.

ere’s an interesting stat shared by broadcaster and travel writer Fionn Davenport at the launch of Dublin Tourism’s new VisitDublin app: sales of smartphones will outstrip those of PCs by 10 to one in 2012. It seems almost implausible but take a look around and the smartphone is everywhere. Apple has once again reached cult status with its iPhone, but chasing its tail is Google Android, and other models. Whatever the choice of handset, it is clear that the smartphone revolution is firmly underway and mobile marketing is here to stay. Consumers’ appetites for mobile applications are insatiable, with reams of column inches, airtime and web space devoted to articles and features about the latest must-download, hot app. In Ireland, the Fota Island Resort in Cork, a five star finalist at this year’s Gold Medal Awards, was the first hotel to embrace the mobile world and get in on the act, launching its smartphone app last year. Carton House followed suit this July and the Maynooth resort’s free iPhone app includes brochures and details of facilities and services, flybys of the holes on Carton’s two championship golf courses, an interactive scorecard, booking facility for both the hotel and golf, and a five-day weather forecast. Others too are cottoning on to the benefits. Travel writer and hospitality reviewer Georgina Campbell quickly rose to the upper echelons of the Irish apps chart last year when she launched a free app for her popular Guide. The app has since been voted among

Tourist Esther Pelagrina from Granada in Spain is pictured helping Frank Magee, chief executive of Dublin Tourism, launch the new VisitDublin app at The Gibson Hotel, Dublin.

the ‘Top Five Irish Apps’ by the Sunday Business Post and one of the ‘Top 20 iPhone Apps’ by the Irish Independent. With a list of Ireland’s top caterers and accommodation providers, the app has been downloaded in 50 different countries around the world since its launch last October. A second version of the app, with more features and paid content, is in the pipeline. Dublin Tourism became the first city in the world to provide a pointing technology-enabled smartphone application which allows users to point their mobile device at a building or object in the real world and retrieve information about it. The free VisitDubin app, which was launched on 1 September by Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin, is the jewel in the crown of Dublin Tourism’s e10m digital strategy. The app allows visitors to use directional search to move about Dublin and discover their interests. The augmented reality feature allows users to access electronically-stored data regarding a point of interest they are looking at, for example overlaid images, opening times or playing audio. Covering the Greater Dublin area, it features extensive detailed content for tourists that is geocoded and will initially cover approximately 1,400 points of interest. The VisitDublin app was launched one day after Ireland’s Blue Book introduced its own iPhone app. Receiving 180 downloads in the first couple of days, and a lot of interest in the US in particular, the free app features geolocation services, maps, Twitter feeds, image libraries and information about Blue Book s members. ‘With the record growth of iPhone users globally this app gives us another way to communicate with prospective guests and continue to engage returning guests as well,’ explains Ireland’s Blue Book marketing manager Michelle Maguire. ‘We know that embracing new technology and new ways to communicate can initially be a little intimidating but this app allows us to deliver what travelers really want – the freedom to wander.’ u

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DESIGN

Students Enter New Garden of Eden Aramark Ireland has unveiled a new look for its Eden restaurant in the University of Limerick. The caterer has invested more than e500,000 in the refurbishment of the main campus restaurant, which caters to more than 12,000 students and academic staff on site. New additions to the eatery include a chill out area and Java City coffee bar as well as a moving student art wall which displays and rotates artwork supplied by the students, and previously unseen pieces owned by the University. ‘Our collaborative approach with Aramark Ireland and Campbell Catering has resulted in a state of the art dining facility on campus,’ said Linda Stevens, director of campus services, University of Limerick. ‘Before the refurbishment was carried out Aramark Ireland commissioned an independent research company, Shelfwatch Ltd, to conduct a study into the eating preferences and habits of our users. This involved consultation with senior university leaders, over 1,000 students and conducting 11 different focus groups. It gave us an valuable insight into what could be improved and what we were getting right. Together with Aramark Ireland’s food services division, Campbell Catering, we then designed the new restaurant and our food offerings in direct response to the needs of our customers.’

Into the Blu

The Radisson Blu Hotel Letterkenny has completed renovations, refurbishing all 114 bedrooms and the hotel’s leisure centre. General manager Brian Gleeson spearheaded the new look for the guestrooms, aided by Ulster Carpets and Glenmore Linens. Along with the makeover, the Donegal hotel has revamped the restaurant, Brasserie Tribecca Letterkenny, featuring new menu options, pricing, uniforms and style of service.

Zesty Design

Fineline Design, the team behind the revamp of Eamonn O’Reilly’s award-winning One Pico restaurant in Dublin, have created a new style for Zest’s Foodhall and Deli in Ennis, owned by Shannon caterers EFG Inflight. Furniture was custom designed, crafted with smoked solid oak joinery and corregated metals to give a natural, unfinished effect. Handwritten blackboards allow for flexibility in the display of seasonal produce and menus. Zest’s café area includes Italian chairs specially sourced for comfort and for their quirky shape, which complements Zest’s logo. u

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FOOD

SKILLS

Mastering

Marinades W

ith the game season upon us and autumn menus on the drawingboard, it’s worth giving consideration to marinades to add extra dimension to seasonal ingredients. Marinades work their magic by adding flavour, tenderising meats that might otherwise be tough and ensuring moist texture. Food writer Jane Grigson called marinades the ‘poor man’s refrigerator’, giving longer life and palatability to perishable foods. Many of our popular marinades and spice rubs have their origins in hot countries where refrigeration can still be a problem. Marinades generally have an element of acid which is needed to penetrate the flesh and draw out essential oils from aromatic herbs and spices to add flavour. Wine, vinegar and lemon juice are often the base, but the acid element might also be yoghurt, as in Indian tandoori paste. Lactic acid is also at work in buttermilk, used in the American south to steep chicken overnight for extra moist southern fried chicken. Game like venison is usually marinated in a classic combination of red wine, garlic, bouquet garni and juniper berries with a little olive oil for moisture and vinegar or lemon juice if the meat might be a little tough. Generally though, the farmed venison commercially available is slaughtered at 18-24 months and has controlled feeding and handling, so tenderness is not an issue and an overnight bath in marinade is simply for flavour. Wild game is more problematical and with age unknown the chef needs to use expertise to add a more acid element and increase marinating time. Old cookery books call for marination that might last several days. Marinades with an element of oil can be important in adding moisture in meats to be quickly roasted or grilled. Greek-style lamb for instance is drizzled with a good lot of olive oil, handfuls of fresh rosemary, thyme, oregano, fragrant garlic and lemon juice. The mixture works well with chunks of meat for kebabs and butterflied leg of lamb spread out with plenty of slits for the marinade to penetrate the flesh. Dry rubs like the spice mixtures used in Cajun and Caribbean jerk dishes are forms of marinade, relying on the enzymes in meat or fish to absorb the flavours, generally boosted by a good dollop of chillies and various types

of ground pepper. Pastes fall into this category as well, with spices moistened by the likes of pounded ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and citrus. Flavourful pastes are best used on small pieces of meat or fish like satay, with five-spice powder, ginger, coconut milk, chillies, star anise, cassia and lemon giving characteristic Thai taste. Malaysian raan masala is similar, with mutton or lamb on skewers with paste incorporating Indian spices as well as ground almonds and yoghurt. Velveting is a uniquely Chinese form of marinating to give tender, moist texture to food that is to be quickly stir-fried over fierce heat. Used for chicken breast pieces, scallops, prawns and delicate flavoured fish, lightly beaten egg white is combined with cornflour, a little sesame oil and salt for a brief 20 minute soak before cooking. By contrast, Chinese satin marinade includes dark soy with the saltier light soy sauce, dry sherry, cornflour and plum sauce for sweetness in duck or pork. Honey might be added to garlic and ginger with light soy as a marinade which also becomes a glaze for the barbecued spare ribs that are a favourite starter on Chinese menus. Marinades can add extra dimension to every sort of menu, helping to make the most of slow cooked economy cuts as well as flavoursome flash cooked dishes in variety only limited by the chef ’s imagination. u

Thai Red Curry Paste Although there are many commercial red curry pastes, mixing your own fresh blend is easy and allows for toning down the amount of chilli heat or bumping up spicy flavours to your own taste.

2 tsp cumin seeds 2 tbsp coriander seeds 2 tsp black peppercorns 5 chopped shallots 3 crushed garlic cloves 3 stalks lemongrass, chopped

8 dried red chillies, seeded 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger Grated zest of 2 limes 1 tbsp fish sauce (blachan) Salt to taste

Toast the cumin and coriander seeds on a dry pan. Cool and grind to a powder with peppercorns. Add remaining ingredients and grind to a paste. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

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FOOD

TRENDS

Mollusc

Magic

As autumn encroaches, MARILYN BRIGHT finds molluscs on the MENU

he beginning of the ‘R’ months always creates a stir among oyster aficionados, though in truth the famed gigas or Pacific oysters are with us year round. Our own native oysters, regarded as the crème de la crème, are off the menu during the summer months because they’re busy reproducing and are full of what has been described as ‘gritty little babies’. But in fact all of the double shelled molluscs from mussels to scallops and clams are all the better as autumn advances. Gigas oysters are generally more flabby than natives, although farmed specimens have improved greatly as they acclimatise to Irish conditions. Consequently the gigas are good candidates for varying the menu with hot oyster dishes, something that would be regarded with horror by oyster fans if native bi-valves were used. Just a quick flash of heat is sufficient to firm up gigas oysters. Several years ago, a Connemara restaurateur noticed that oysters ‘au naturel’ were only ever ordered by men. When he introduced oysters on the half-shell, flash-grilled with garlic butter and breadcrumbs, sales more than doubled as the flavoursome dish was taken up by both women and men and became the house speciality. Thirty years ago, The Old Bailey of happy memory boasted a menu featuring over half a dozen hot oyster dishes ranging from Oysters Mornay to Provencale and Rockefeller. Modern chefs have added to these classics with new versions like Richard Corrigan’s hot oysters on a bed of lightly pickled cabbage and pancetta, knapped with red wine butter sauce. At The King Sitric in Howth, Aidan McManus puts the gigas oysters on a bed of shredded dulse, tops them with strips of smoked salmon and finishes with hollandaise grilled until golden brown. Quick grilling with garlic butter also works well with mussels on the half shell, our most popular and affordable mollusc, although the various interpretations of moules mariniere are favourite menu staples. Wild mussel gathering has virtually ceased and today’s mussels come from farms where they are rope-grown or dredged from deep sea beds off shore, and purified before packing and selling on. Bord Iascaigh Mhara has done a comparative study of mussels, pointing out that rope-grown mussels are the most economic to buy, with the largest proportion of meat to shell. Bottom grown mussels have a two to five year growth cycle, developing heavier shells and more likely to be gritty. The meat may be more chewy and shells fouled with barnacles and tube worm. Fouled mussels kept in storage for several days may develop a terrible smell as the barnacles die and go off quickly. Rope-grown mussels have an 18-24 month growth cycle, with lighter shells as they don’t need to protect themselves from bottom predators. They are also less likely to be fouled by barnacles and tube worms due to the shorter lifecycle.

Since mussels are sold by weight, the proportion of meat to shell becomes relevant to costings. BIM researchers tested mussels from various sources over a two-week period and found that the average yield of meat to shell was 8.5% in heavily fouled bottom cultured mussels and 15% in the lightly fouled ones. The rope-grown mussels were smaller in size but yielded 23% meat, making them far better value for money. Although Terry McCoy of The Redbank Restaurant in Skerries has made his signature dish of razor clams with parsley and garlic for years, clams have never figured largely on Irish menus. Seafood wholesaler Sean Doran of Howth reckons that Irish diners could be lured by offering clams as a reasonably priced starter. Clams are mainly found off the east coast with small ‘surf clams’ and larger palourdes or carpetshells the most commonly available. Kate Quinlan of QC’s Seafood Bar in Cahirciveen uses clams as well as mussels in their shells in her popular seafood chowder, adding to the appealing presentation. Sean Doran suggests using the less expensive surf clams in chowders and mixed dishes, and the larger palourages in dishes where their darker sweet meat is highlighted, as in Darina Allen’s clams gratinée with a topping of diced bacon, mushrooms and buttery crumbs finished with melting gruyere. u

Terry McCoy’s Razor Clams with Parsley and Garlic 16 razor clams 50g unsalted butter 4 garlic cloves, crushed 25g flaked almonds, finely chopped 10g fresh basil leaves, finely chopped 15g flat parsley leaves, finely chopped Salt, freshly ground black pepper

Gently warm the clams in water until the shells open. Remove from the water and take out the asparagus-shaped meat. The spear should be still alive and pulsing. Discard any that are not. Clean the shells and place the spears back on the shells. Arrange shells on heat-proof serving plates. Preheat the grill. Melt butter in a pan, add garlic, almonds, basil and parsley and sweat for two minutes, then drizzle over the prepared clams. Grill for a very short time, until the butter mixture cooks again. This is the critical point: if cooked the clams will be tough and rubbery. Serve with brown soda bread. Makes four portions.

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FOOD

RECIPES

Taste of Marlfield Make the most of autumn with dishes to reflect the best of the season. Marlfield House in Gorey suggests the following recipes for this month’s mussels and game. Steamed Mussels with Wild Garlic, Spring Onions, Fennel and Curry 2kg fresh mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded Unsalted butter 1 bay leaf 1 sprig fresh thyme 100ml dry white wine 1 onion, finely diced 1 celery stick, finely diced 1 head fennel, finely sliced 200g broad beans 100g baby spinach 100g wild garlic, shredded 2 spring onions, finely sliced 1 tsp curry powder 300ml double cream Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large saucepan, melt a knob of butter, add the onion and sweat until softened, add the bay leaf, thyme and a little ground pepper. Then add the mussels and the white wine, cover and cook for three to four minutes, shaking the pan once or twice. Uncover the pan and strain reserving the juices. Discard any mussels that have not opened. Remove the mussels from their

shell. In a separate saucepan, melt a knob of butter and sauté the leek, celery and fennel until softened, add the teaspoon of curry powder and continue to cook for another minute. Add the reserve cooking juices from the mussels and reduce by half, then add the double cream and simmer for five minutes. Add the wild garlic, broad beans, baby spinach, spring onions, mussels. Season to taste. Serve with pasta and garnish with dill, tarragon and chervil. Serves four.

poultry) Olive oil 1 bulb smoked garlic, separated into cloves, skin on 200ml white wine 2 sprigs rosemary 250ml chicken stock Salt and pepper

Roast Partridge with Smoked Garlic & Rosemary Potato & Pancetta Terrine, Buttered Savoy Cabbage with Chestnuts

Preheat the oven to 160oC. Season the partridges with salt and pepper. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan, add the garlic and then brown the partridges on all sides. Roast for approximately 20-25 minutes. Remove the partridges and garlic cloves from the pan, deglaze the pan with the white wine and add the rosemary, reduce the liquid by one half, add the chicken stock, simmer for 10 minutes and season to taste. When the sauce is smooth and thickened, strain and keep warm. For the potato and pancetta terrine, preheat the oven to 160oC. Peel the garlic clove and use to

If you have difficulty sourcing partridge any game bird in season can be substituted for this tasty dish.

Partridge:

4 partridges (or other game bird or

Potato and pancetta terrine: 1kg potatoes 1 garlic clove 200g butter, melted 12 long slices of pancetta Salt and pepper

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FOOD

SKILLS

In Season rub the inside of a terrine mould and butter the bottom and sides. Peel the potatoes and slice into thin rounds. Season and pour over the melted butter, mix thoroughly. Carefully layer the potatoes to the top of the terrine mould, placing the pancetta strips in three alternative layers, evenly distributed through the potatoes. Cover with kitchen foil, set in a bain marie and bake for about 6090 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Remove the legs and breast meat from the partridges and serve with a slice of terrine and buttered savoy cabbage and chestnuts. Serves four.

Queen of Puddings 100g fresh white breadcrumbs 5 tbsp caster sugar 450ml milk 2 tbsp butter 3 eggs, separated 1 vanilla pod seeds (or alternatively, a few drops of vanilla essence) Zest of 1 lemon 3 tbsp raspberry or other sharp flavoured jam Preheat oven to 190oC. In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with two tablespoons of caster sugar. Combine the milk and butter in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the butter has melted and pour over the breadcrumbs.

Beat in the egg yolks, vanilla and lemon zest. Grease four small pie dishes and divide the breadcrumb mix and bake for approximately 30 minutes until the pudding is set and golden on top. Remove the pudding and leave to cool slightly. Reduce the oven temperature to 170oC. Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks, gradually add the remaining three tablespoons of caster sugar, continually whisking until they become stiff and glossy. Spread the jam evenly over the puddings, then top with the meringue, drawing it up in peaks. Place the pudding in the oven and bake for 8-12 minutes until the meringue is set and golden in colour. Serve with poached fruit in season such as rhubarb (pictured). Serves four. u

Molluscs such as oysters, mussels and clams are best in season right now.

ALSO GOOD: VEG Green broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, leeks, mushrooms FRUIT Raspberries, strawberries SALADS Round lettuce, courgettes, peppers, radishes, scallions, tomatoes HERBS Basil, chives, coriander, dill NUTS Chestnuts, walnuts MEAT Grouse, guinea fowl, partridge, pheasant

Marlfield House’s recipes feature in A Taste of Relais & Châteaux, a cookbook featuring recipes from 97 member chefs in Ireland and the UK.

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BREAKFASTS

Morning Glory

t has long been heralded as the most important meal of the day, yet in our fast paced, changing lifestyle, breakfast is being sacrificed by busy commuters on the go. A new survey from Kraft Foods Ireland reveals that 32% of Irish people fail to eat breakfast each day, a figure which surges dramatically in the 20s age group, where 48% of people regularly skip the day’s first meal. Their reasons are predictable – 37% sidestep the primary meal of the day due to time pressures, while 38% say they aren’t hungry first thing in the morning. Close to a third (29%) prefer to swap breakfast time for more minutes in bed, while a quarter would rather spend time on their appearance. Whatever the reason, these changing consumer patterns open up a wealth of opportunities for the catering industry. On the go coffee and breakfast providers in convenience stores and cafés thrived on feeding busy workers during the bustling days of the boom, when Breakfast Roll Man rose as an icon of the Celtic Tiger. While many cafés and deli counters saw business dip in line with the construction industry (less builders, less demand for breakfast rolls) savvy caterers continue to use the early morning as a useful opportunity to boost profits, with clever promotions and two-for-one offers. These days, the breakfast roll still has its place, along with its more delicate peers in the pastry section, but they are joined by a raft of healthy options as smoothies, fruit salads, yoghurts and breakfast bars offer welcome options for additional sales. Packaged attractively with

a quality grab and go coffee offering, these early morning treats can help drive spend per head and set delis apart from their peers on the high street. Interestingly, the Kraft survey also found that Irish people who did make room for breakfast first thing spent the shortest amount of time dining. We Irish spend just nine minutes a day at breakfast, compared to the 9.8 minutes set aside by our UK counterparts, 13.6 minutes spent in France, and 14.9 minutes devoted to breakfast in Spain. With such rushed activities, it is little wonder therefore that the breakfast is such an important part of the Irish hotel offering. When else do consumers get time to relax over a leisurely breakfast feast than when on a welcome getaway? George Bernard Shaw once famously asserted that to eat well in Ireland one should opt for breakfast three times a day, and while we have moved on since those times, there is no doubt denying that here in Ireland, we know how to do a good breakfast.

Morning Stars

Stalwarts of the Irish hospitality industry, such as Rathsallagh House in Dunlavin, Co Wicklow, make the first meal of the day a truly memorable dining experience, using breakfast as an opportunity to showcase the best of local, seasonal produce. Rathsallagh’s bountiful breakfast buffet showcases the best of Irish to visitors, with star performers including meats from the local Doyle’s butchers, homemade jams and preserves created by the kitchen team with the fruit

grown in Rathsallagh’s delightful walled garden, and breads baked on site including a range of gluten-free options. It is little wonder, therefore, that Rathsallagh has won the National Breakfast Awards an impressive four times. Regulars to Neven Maguire’s MacNean House & Restaurant have long cottoned on to the fact that it is best to book into the house itself when making the trip to Blacklion in Co Cavan for dinner. That way, not only do they get to enjoy the best of Neven’s cooking in the evening, they also can indulge in the added bonus of MacNean’s legendary breakfast. Homemade breads, compotes, and refreshing peppermint tea served with peppermint gathered from the MacNean garden all delight, but nothing on the menu lingers longer in the mind than Neven’s famous porridge served with honey and Irish whiskey, a creamy affair that will warm the cockles of even the crankiest of early risers. In Clare’s five star Dromoland Castle, breakfast in the Earl of Thomond Restaurant is a decadent affair, with every desire catered for. Naturally, considering its proximity to the Treaty City, Limerick ham plays a central role, while a range of artisan cheeses help reinforce Ireland’s growing reputation as an artisan producer of note. Traditional breakfast fare such as kippers have retro appeal on Irish breakfast menus today and tempt diners in some of the country’s most luxurious hotels, including in the Park Kenmare, which as well as winning this year’s Hotel & Catering Gold Medal Award for Five Star Hotels, sponsored by Edward Dillon & Co, also picked up 8

Meat on the Menu

Olhausen has a proud tradition catering to the breakfast market, stretching back to the launch of Freddie Olhausen’s first butcher’s shop in Dublin in 1896. Over the intervening years, the company has developed an extensive portfolio of breakfast products tailored for the foodservice sector. Olhausen works closely with farmers and abattoirs across Ireland to develop its range of competitively priced traditional sausages and bacon, breakfast puddings and flavour-enhanced meats and sausages. The company is involved from farm to fork, overseeing the development of the products from animal through to the final pork and bacon dish. Olhausen’s full range is available through Pallas Foods, t: 069 20200.

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BREAKFAST the Irish Breakfast Award for best hotel breakfast in 2010. Reviewer Georgina Campbell raves about the ‘sense of occasion’ at breakfast in the Park, with its crisp linen and delicious dishes including kippers served with tomatoes, mushrooms and parsley, and kidneys served with bacon and pearl onions. We have to admit, we share her sentiments. Interestingly, this year’s winner of the country house breakfast award also won favour with the Gold Medal Awards Jury, with Gregan’s Castle in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare bagging the ultimate hospitality award, the supreme Gold Medal Award for Excellence 2010 at this September’s Gold Medal Awards ceremony. Again, local produce plays a vital role with organic smoked salmon from the neighbouring Burren Smokehouse, Burren Gold organic cheese and the famous Limerick ham from Clare’s neighbouring county taking pride of place on the Gregan’s buffet. We are fortunate in Ireland to have a wealth of talented food producers on our doorsteps, ready, willing and able to supply hotels, guesthouses and cafés and delis with a range of tasty breakfast treats – from our award winning collection of cheeses, to the best of seafood, and the most succulent pork and charcuterie. In the 165 times the judges of this year’s Gold Medal Awards had breakfast, it was the hotels and restaurants that made the most 8

BEST BREW No breakfast is complete without a coffee or tea to kick-start the day. Sean Francis, business development manager, United Coffee Ireland, offers the following advice: ‘Hot beverage consumption is at its peak in the morning, so it’s incredibly important for operators to ensure the quality of its offer is of the same high-standard as the rest of its breakfast menu. Provide a variety of hot beverages – cappuccinos, lattes, espressos – rather than just coffee to cater for increasingly diverse and sophisticated consumer tastes and don’t forget about speciality teas, which have become really popular in the last couple of years.’ United Coffee’s leading foodservice brand, Grand Café, provides ethically sourced coffee and teas. The tea range is available in a broad variety of flavours, from the traditional to the more exotic such as White Ginger Pear and Vanilla Orchid. ‘The growth of working breakfasts provides

a great profit opportunity, but they will expect speedy, discreet service, top-ups throughout the meeting and high quality drinks – operators need to deliver on all counts in order to maximise profits,’ Sean notes. ‘For those whose guests don’t always have time for a sit-down breakfast, such as hotels close to airports, provide a graband-go option such as takeaway coffee and a pastry selection.’ Automatic bean-to-cup machines, such as the Black&White Cool are perfect for busy breakfast times when quick service is a must, Sean says. The Black&White Cool produces speciality, barista quality coffee at the touch of a button. There’s no requirement for speciality staff, making it suitable for both back counter and self serve, and it has the capacity to deliver an impressive 200 cups of coffee per hour of the same consistency.

Olhausen’s

Sausage, Rashers and Puddings Available through Pallas Foods

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8 of their locality, showcased the best of produce from the local food industry, and offered guests a true taste of Ireland, that made the most impact. As well as the stalwart grilled fare, judges look for healthy options such as smoothies and tasty cereals, a range of tempting pastries, a variety of coffees and teas, and of course good service, excellent presentation and regular replenishment of items at the buffet. But nothing sets judges up more for the day ahead than seeing the best of Irish showcased on breakfast menus. Remember, breakfast is the most important meal of the day – not just nutritionally, but because it is the last meal you will serve to guests before they depart. What better time is there to put your best foot forward? 8

Tasty Treats

Pumpkin & Apple Muffins

Why not celebrate the upcoming Hallowe’en festivities with these tasty pumpkin apple streusel muffins?

2½ cups flour 2 cups white sugar 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup pumpkin puree ½ cup vegetable oil 2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apple 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 /4 cup white sugar ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 4 teaspoons butter

Preheat oven to 175oC. Lightly grease 18 muffin cups or use paper liners. In a large bowl, sift together two half cups flour, two cups sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin and oil. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. In a small bowl, mix together two tablespoons flour, quarter cup sugar and half teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffin batter. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Breakfast on the Go

Kraft Foods has launched Belvita Breakfast Biscuits, the first specially designed breakfast biscuits in Ireland, which provide a quick and easy breakfast solution for consumers who don’t have either the time, or the inclination, for a formal sit down breakfast. Belvita Breakfast Biscuits are made with wholegrain, rich in cereals, a source of fibre and contain a selection of vitamins and minerals. When eaten as part of a balanced breakfast such as with a latte and apple, these low GI biscuits are clinically proven to regularly release carbohydrates over four hours to keep you going throughout the morning. Belvita Breakfast Biscuits are a quick and convenient breakfast option with nutritional benefits, ideal for consumers away from home. They come in a Milk & Cereal variant in an attractive branded four biscuit 50g pack. For more information, t: 01 605 2600.

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BREAKFAST

Tasty Treats

Recipe and image: Bord Bia

Colcannon Cakes with Poached Eggs and Hollandaise Sauce

Serve with a slice of baked ham or bacon on the side or chopped and added to the colcannon mixture. 450g potatoes about 40g butter 3 scallions, finely chopped Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper 50g Savoy cabbage, shredded A little plain flour, for dusting Olive oil, for frying 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 4 large eggs

earth2earth Compostable =

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Hollandaise Sauce: 2 tsp white wine or tarragon vinegar 2 large egg yolks 100g unsalted butter Fresh watercress sprigs, to serve

Cook the potatoes in a covered pan of boiling salted water for 15-20 minutes until tender. Heat a knob of the butter and one tablespoon of water in a heavybased pan with a lid over a high heat. When the butter has melted and formed an emulsion, add the scallions and cabbage with a pinch of salt. Cover, shake vigorously and cook over a high heat for one minute. Shake the pan again and cook for another minute, then season with pepper. Drain the potatoes and mash until smooth, then beat in the remaining butter. Fold in the cabbage mixture. Shape the mixture into four balls, dust with flour and press into neat patties. Heat a thin film of olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan and add the patties, then cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. To make the hollandaise sauce, place the vinegar and egg yolks in a food processor with a pinch of salt. Blend until just combined. Gently heat the butter in a heavy-based pan until melted and just beginning to foam. Turn on the food processor and with the motor running at medium speed; pour in the melted butter in a thin, steady stream through the feeder tube. Continue to blitz for another five seconds and pour back into the pan and stir in the scallions but do not return to the heat. Allow the heat from the pan to finish thickening the sauce as you stir it gently for another minute before serving. Season to taste with salt. To serve, place a poached egg on top of a colcannon cake and spoon hollandaise sauce on top. Serves four.

Fruity Options Keelings, the grower and fresh fruit and veg provider, specialises in a range of exotic fruit suitable for breakfast, including mangoes, melons, papaya and coconuts as well as menu staples such as oranges, apples, bananas, pineapples, peaches and more. As well as the comprehensive fruit range, the company also offers an assortment of freshly squeezed, non-pasteurised juice drinks. The juices are available in two litre bottles or in grab and go 250ml packaging. Distributing to the catering sector countrywide, Keelings also supplies fresh milk and cream, breakfast yoghurts including natural and Greek yoghurts and a wide selection of cheeses. u

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ALEX GIBSON’S MARKETING MATTERS

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Marketing

ALEX GIBSON argues that innovation may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

ecently the topic of reality television cropped up in a conversation with a friend who works in the hotel sector. Specifically the focus of our discussion was the rise and rise of the expert makeover genre of show. Given our respective backgrounds it was no surprise that among the shows discussed was RTE’s At Your Service featuring the Brennan brothers, John and Francis, from the Park Hotel Kenmare. The hotelier troubleshooters approach to tackling distressed hospitality cases has certainly won my admiration. However, my friend proffered the view that some of the ‘solutions’ suggested were somewhat lacking in novelty, suggesting that the pressures of appealing to a wider television audience led to a somewhat less innovative approach to tackling the problems. But it got me thinking; what if the drive to continually innovate was actually misplaced; what if it was a focus that invariably leads to disappointment and frustration? In one of the episodes I watched, the food offering of a pub was dramatically enhanced when the Brennan’s head chef arrived to take over proceedings back of house, basing a new menu loosely on what was already in situ at his five star home base. Certainly some of the leading academic writers on business management today are challenging the oft-expressed view that innovation, not imitation, is the route to competitive success.

And they need to ask themselves realistically can they imitate – trying to introduce five star service standards observed elsewhere in a modest restaurant is likely to fail if your staff is on minimum wage and view their role as a job and not a career, for example. So it’s important to study all aspects and contexts that make an innovation successful. In his book Shenkar makes the point that, rather than view imitation in a negative light, it should instead be seen to be a form of intelligence. Indeed he cites the Chinese economic miracle as having at its core a structured approach to harness imitation for competitive advantage. Contrast this with the developed West where it’s seen in mostly disparaging terms. I wonder too in our macro-economic, and indeed tourism policy, if we are not guilty of the same mistakes. Certainly in the tourism sector we’ve been well endowed in terms of funding for innovations. Both North and South of the border we have Tourism Innovation Funds – with a critical criterion to get your hands on the lolly being uniqueness of offering. I can scarcely imagine what reaction a ‘Tourism Imitation Fund’ might get, but perhaps we do need to have a more structured approach to imitation also. Rather than look to develop innovation practices throughout the organisation, perhaps we should be concentrating more on making sure of a more widespread

Certainly we do need to identify who to follow, how to gain insights into best practice and share this widely in the industry. I see this as a critical role for the marketing manager in the company rather than something that the entire management team needs to endlessly be exercised over. In his book launched this summer titled, Copycats: How Smart Companies Use Imitation Strategies to Gain a Strategic Edge, author Oded Shenkar presents a well argued, example backed, thesis to make the case that imitation is more valuable than innovation. In the book he claims that 98% of the value generated by innovators is captured not by the innovators but by those pesky copycats. Among the companies cited to support his contention on the benefits of imitation is Ryanair, whose success is attributed by many to a canny replication of the Southwest Airlines’ success model. McDonald’s is also spotlighted in the book – seemingly its fast food system is borrowed in no small measure from the White Castle chain. Indeed, I’ve often used the unattributed quote to the effect that McDonald’s don’t do any one thing better than their competitors, but rather do 100 small things one per cent better. In his book Shenkar argues that imitation is not a matter of just waiting around to see what’s new on the block. Instead companies should commit to imitate in a strategic way keeping in mind both resource and timing issues.

adoption of implementing well current practices. Perhaps the mantra that everyone needs to be ‘thinking outside the box’ is leading to unrealistic expectations, confusion of job roles and ultimately frustration all-round. Certainly we do need to identify who to follow, how to gain insights into best practice and share this widely in the industry. I see this as a critical role for the marketing manager in the company rather than something that the entire management team needs to endlessly be exercised over. While it would be great to fund the entire Irish tourism sector to take a sabbatical to study global tourism innovations that we might ‘borrow’, this is probably not going to happen. So At Your Service and similar shows perform a valuable role in opening our eyes to the value in sincere reproduction of all that’s best in the competition. Maybe if more of the industry tried to copy some of the success of the Kenmare operation, some of the magicdust would be spread everywhere. Bravo for the copycats I say (just don’t tell any of my students!). u

ALEX GIBSON is senior lecturer in Marketing at the School of Hospitality Management & Tourism, DIT.

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PRODUCT NEWS p Travelshake.com is a new social media platform, free to Irish tourism businesses, which allows the public to browse videos, images, social media feeds, and the latest offers and updates from individual Irish tourism businesses, in one single location. The website provides consumers with a simple platform for planning a holiday in Ireland, and gives operators the opportunity to reach a worldwide audience, via a very useful social media travel site. Registration with Travelshake.com is free of charge and, so far, over 100 Irish businesses have signed-up. The new allIreland website, which is a first-of-its-kind in the travel industry worldwide, is the brainchild of Irish brothers, Laughlin and Fergal Rigby (pictured). Laughlin Rigby is a former internet marketing manager for Tourism Ireland, and Fergal Rigby previously worked as an ecommerce consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

t: 01 44 333 65 e: info@travelshake.com w: www.travelshake.com

p Panesco is celebrating 20 years in business with the launch of a new Sweet Cocktail Collection. The range comprises an assorted box of 40 filled sweet dessert glasses. Suitable for entrements or desserts, the sweets are inspired by four classic cocktail recipes - the Mojito, Pina Colada, Tequila Sunrise and Kir Royal. Panesco is part of the La Lorraine Bakery Group, the largest, independently owned bakery group in Belgium. w: www.panesco.com

p Samsung’s ‘oversize compact’ microwaves offer wider options to chefs, manufactured 35% larger than other commercial models. Despite their small footprint (464mm wide x 557mm deep), which is suitable for kitchens and back bar, they can accommodate containers as big as 2/3 gastronorm, making them the ideal commercial microwave oven for cooking or reheating multiple portions. They can also hold up to four small dishes at the same time and are the only compact models that can accommodate oversize dinner plates, so are perfect for any restaurant, pub or diner with designer tableware. Samsung’s oversize compacts are available with either touch-pad, pre-programmed controls or as fully manual models, with dials for power and time. They come in four power levels, (1100, 1300, 1600 and 1850 Watt), all of which run off a standard 13 Amp plug.

w: www.samsungprofessional.com p Winterhalter’s new STR Energy warewasher combines high output with lower energy consumption that can save operators thousands of euro over the lifetime of the machine. It also improves the working environment, by cutting the temperature and humidity of the system’s exhaust air. The STR is a single-tank rack conveyor warewasher designed to offer a big capacity in a small footprint. Just 1300mm long, it is capable of processing up to 110 racks per hour and has special programmes to ensure best wash results and process for every type of ware – for example, the glasswasher setting reduces the temperature to 65°C, significantly increasing the glassware’s service life. At the heart of the new STR Energy model is an air heat recovery system. This captures the energy from waste steam, which would normally be lost through the system’s exhaust, and uses it to heat the incoming cold water supply. As well as slashing the energy consumption by around 6kW per hour, the technology minimises the amount of steam escaping from the warewasher, significantly enhancing the working environment while reducing the workload on the site’s extraction system. t: 01908 359000 e:info@winterhalter.co.uk w: www.winterhalter.co.uk

p Bunzl McLoughlin launched its new festive range at its sales conference on 3 September in Armagh City Hotel. Included in the offers are: Christmas novelties from Thompson Med, festive napkins and table covers from Duni, crockery from Steelite and Churchill, new coffee concepts from Kraft Foods and value for money light equipment offers from Glen Dimplex. For further information please see Bunzl McLaughlin’s double page insert in this issue.

t:028 3751 1999 e: orders@bunzlce.ie w: www.bunzlce.ie p Gadget-loving chefs are checking out Thermomix, the multitasking kitchen appliance which cooks, chops, crushes, emulsifies, whips, mixes, steams, blends, kneads, grinds, simmers, grates and mills. ‘Top chefs love the Thermomix because it does so many food preparations with speed and consistency,’ explains Janie Turner, UK Thermomix. ‘For many, the Thermomix has become the tool of choice for blending and purées, cooking sauces, making ice creams and much more.’ Chefs can set the temperature and the blade speed to create a wide variety of dishes from raw ingredients, with all the stirring and cooking done for you and the appliance also includes a steaming attachment that can be set on top of the machine to gently cook fish, meat, vegetables and puddings. t: 0044 1344 622 344 w: www.UKThermomix.com

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… OPEN BOOK Elaine Walsh has launched an

exciting new project in Town Bar & Grill in Dublin, bringing a culinary twist to the age-old Book Club concept. The Cookbook Club brings Ireland’s top chefs to the restaurant on the first Monday of every month, where they meet with guests and discuss their cookbooks over dinner created from recipes featured in their books. First up to entertain diners was The Tannery chef patron Paul Flynn, followed by Catherine Fulvio of Ballyknocken House in Wicklow. Tickets for the monthly event cost e35 and more info is available on www.thecookbookclub.ie.

DOLCE VITA Italian lovers were able to

1. The Cookery School at The Village at Lyons celebrated la dolce vita in September 2. Town Bar & Grill is hosting a monthly Cookbook Club on the first Monday of each month 3. Longueville House’s 9th Annual Mushroom Hunt takes place on 10 and 24 October

indulge their passion at The Village at Lyons’ Love Italy weekend in September. The Kildare restaurant and cookery school housed a farmers’ market with Italian inspired treats, including smoked Italian tomato sauce by Tastefully Yours and Parmigiano Reggiano from Knockdrinna Farm House. Italian wine tastings and Italian lunches and supper packs to go were on offer at The Village’s General Store, while Clodagh McKenna ran Italian themed cookery classes in the Cookery School. The event ran from 3-5 September.

TAKE ON THE TUX Did you know

that the classic dinner jacket first made its appearance at a ball in New York’s Tuxedo Park in 1886? No, we didn’t either. But in homage to the garment, which celebrates its 124th birthday in October, The Shelbourne, Dublin is running a range of events in the hotel over the weekend of 8-10 October. Friday’s festivities commence with a black tie supper club evening in the Saddle Room restaurant, where gents in tuxes and ladies in cocktail garb can enjoy Big Apple-inspired food and cocktails, and relax to live jazz. Tuxes are also welcome on Sunday, when the hotel will offer Sunday brunch in the Saddle Room and a tuxedo themed afternoon tea with Cosmo jellies in the Lord Mayor’s Lounge. Black Tie will be delighted.

MUSHROOM HUNT What better way is there to

celebrate autumn than indulging in a spot of mushroom hunting? Cork’s Longueville House is hosting its 9th Annual Mushroom Hunt on the estate on Sunday 10 and Sunday 24 October, with chef-proprietor William O’Callaghan guiding the parties. The country house is offering a day trip rate of e90 for non-residents, which will cover the hunt, scones and coffee on arrival and lunch with wine (kids under 12 charged e20, with farm pressed apple juice instead of the wine). Those choosing to make a weekend of it can check into the hotel and avail of B&B, gourmet dinner on the Saturday night and Sunday’s mushroom hunt and lunch, starting from e240pps/e255so. Premier accommodation and junior suites are available for e245 and e255pps respectively.

BEYOND THE BUMP Cashing in on the spike in

birth rates (all that cold weather last winter is credited for the increase), Aghadoe Heights Hotel has developed a package for new mums in need of ‘me time’. Mums can make the most of their free pass and check in early to avail of the spa’s thermal suite, treat themselves to a treatment with a 25% discount, dine in the Lake Room restaurant and follow with a muchneeded uninterrupted sleep with breakfast in bed (if required) in one of the hotel’s Lake Side Rooms. Rates are e140pps. u

HOTEL & CATERING REVIEW ❖ SEPTEMBER 2010 43 3. hcr august 2010.indd 43

30/09/2010 10:19:49

MOVERS & SHAKERS YVONNE DONOHUE

MICHAEL HAYES Anthony Smiddy

DENIS O’FLYNN

IVAN TOUHY

On the Move

IVAN TOUHY has swapped a view of the Atlantic in Spanish Point for the Clarion Hotel and the Clarion Hotel & Suites in Limerick, moving to the Munster rugby stronghold from the Armada Hotel in Clare. Prior to his period as general manager of the Armada, where he was involved in the redevelopment of the four star hotel, he served as general manager of the Holiday Inn Killarney. Ivor previously worked with Dromoland Castle, the Slieve Russell, the Mercer and the Carrigaline Court hotels. He is the current secretary of the Shannon branch of the Irish Hotels Federation... YVONNE DONOHUE has been appointed director of sales and marketing at The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin, replacing ANN MARIE WHELAN who moved to the Fitzpatrick Design Collection (Morgan and Beacon Hotels) earlier this year. Yvonne made the move to The Shelbourne from the nearby Westin Dublin where she joined as director of sales and marketing in 2005, and was later promoted to director of sales and marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Ireland in 2007. Prior to Starwood, Yvonne worked with Radisson Blu St Helen’s Hotel in Stillorgan, Co Dublin and the Conrad Dublin... The Fitzpatrick Design Collection has announced the appointment of Anthony Smiddy as operations manager at The Morgan Hotel in Temple Bar. Prior to joining The Morgan, Anthony was the deputy general manager at the Slieve Russell Hotel & Golf Resort in Cavan. A graduate of Shannon, he has worked in a number of hotels around the world including the Sheraton Hyannis Resort on Cape Cod, Swissotel in Boston, The Concorde El Salam Hotel in Cairo and Coral Diera Hotel in UAE… Across town, and JAMES DILLEEN has joined the team at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Golden Lane as meetings and events sales manager. James joins the Dublin property from Radisson’s Galway hotel where he spent five years in the same position. James first joined the Rezidor family in 1997 when he worked in the Movenpick Radisson Blu Hotel in Lausanne while on college placement. He later served at the Westbury Hotel in London’s Mayfair as assistant director of food and beverage, before returning to Radisson in Galway in 2003... Aghadoe Heights Hotel general manager MARIE CHAWKE is to join the team at Residence in Dublin on a short-term, part-time basis. Marie will divide her time between Aghadoe in Killarney and the private members’ club on St Stephen’s Green, commencing her role as executive director of business development next month. She is due to work with the club until next March, and will combine her duties in Residence with her management role in Aghadoe, which will open for a three-day week (Thurs-Sun) from December until February. Joining Marie in Residence, which was recently purchased by OLIVIA GAYNOR LONG, is former Doonbeg Golf Club assistant manager

JAMES DILLEEN

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KEVIN BOURKE

SEAMUS DOOLEY. Seamus, who has worked in private clubs in the US and the UK, where he was general manager of the late MERV GRIFFIN’s St Cleran’s Manor House in Craughwell, takes over as general manager. He will work closely with DEREK PHILLIPS, the club’s newly appointed chief operations officer. Twins CHRISTIAN and SIMON STOKES have exited the business… Back to Marie’s home patch of Killarney and The Brehon has appointed MICHAEL HAYES as head chef of the Danú restaurant. A graduate of Limerick IT, Michael moves to the Kingdom from the Boardwalk Bar & Grill in Lapps Quay, Cork where he worked as head chef. Michael previously trained under MERCY FENTON in Jacob’s on the Mall in Cork, and CONAILL BREHANNY in the Lime Tree Restaurant, before travelling the world and returning to the Lime Tree as head chef at the tender age of 24. He has also served with The Cliff House in Ardmore and Restaurants Plateau and Zafferano in London... KEVIN BURKE has risen up the career ladder at the Castlemartyr Resort in East Cork. The Bandon native has been promoted to the role of head chef, previously serving as senior sous chef since he joined the Castlemartyr team in February 2009. Kevin moved home to Cork from London where he spent four years working for Michelin-starred restaurant, Foliage, in The Mandarin Oriental. Prior to London, he worked in the kitchens of The Kingsley Hotel in Cork City and Dromoland Castle Hotel & Country Estate in Clare, a sister hotel to Castlemartyr… Tourism Ireland has announced a number of new appointments. In North America, MEGAN DEARING has been appointed advertising, direct marketing and emarketing assistant and VIRGINIA GOFF has been appointed promotions executive, both based in New York; JOHN COSTELLOE has been appointed finance, administration, planning and reporting executive for Central Europe, based in Frankfurt. In Spain, SUSAN BOLGER is the new emarketing executive and JENNIFER ARMSTRONG has been appointed marketing assistant. AILEEN HICKEY is emarketing and communications executive – Australia and New Zealand, based in Sydney; HELEN COLE is the new promotions executive Canada; ANDREW SHORTT is the new ADM (Australia and Developing Markets) assistant, based in London; and CAROL WHEATLEY has been appointed customer engagement executive for GB... Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard has appointed DENIS O’FLYNN as commercial director, Ireland. Denis will be responsible for all commercial and marketing activities for the Irish market, including Dillon Bass in Northern Ireland. He previously served as human resources director with the company, a role he held since joining IDL in 1998… In the Irish Hospitality Institute, Fáilte Ireland registrar DOUGLAS JORDAN has been elected chairman of the College of Fellows. Douglas, who is president of the Dublin branch of Skal International and a former president of the IHI, succeeds DICK BOURKE who stepped down as chairman following the completion of his two year tenure at the IHI Fellows Dinner in the Old Jameson Distillery this month. u

Pictured at the recent CEA Golf Day in Newlands Golf Club were (back row) Fergal O’Connell, president elect, Irish Hospitality Institute; Andrew O’Gorman, president, Bartenders Association of Ireland; Tim Fenn, ceo, Irish Hotels Federation; Brendan O’Neill, Panel of Chefs; Michael Egan, Panel of Chefs; Adrian Cummins, ceo, Restaurants Association of Ireland; Liam Mongey, secretary, Catering Equipment Association, (seated) Natasha Kinsella, ceo, Irish Hospitality Institute; Michael Flannery, chairman, Catering Equipment Association; Emer Bent, president, Catering Managers Association of Ireland.

They say repeat business is the best business, and Ballymascanlon House Hotel in Dundalk certainly appreciates the visits of their loyal band of Scottish golfers who have visited on the same weekend in April for the last 10 years. This year, the 18-strong group even brought along a magician and a couple of musicians to entertain locals. They are pictured with Ballymascanlon gm Chris Brayden and managing director, Oliver Quinn.

The Leinster rugby squad stayed at White’s Hotel in Wexford during their pre-season training recently. The squad are pictured with Jane Crosbie, senior sales and marketing executive, Peter Wilson, general manager and Fionnuala Dillon, sales and marketing executive.

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FIVE MINUTES WITH...

SEBASTIAN MATURANA The 2010 Santa Rita Heroes Campaign was launched on 26 August with a celebration of Chilean food and wine in The Cellar restaurant of The Merrion Hotel, Dublin. Sebastian Maturana, who flew in from Santiago to cook for the event, is pictured with model Georgia Salpa.

Santa Rita’s publicist tells us you champion smart food. What is that?

Smart food is a follow on from functional food, which basically is food which has health benefits. In Chile we don’t have many laws governing food production and labelling and so everyone says they’re doing functional food, when they’re not. In my new restaurant, Casa Mar, we want to take that a step further and produce good wholesome food. Casa Mar is the first restaurant in Chile to promote entirely healthy food. We call it smart food.

What does that involve?

Sebastian Maturana, Chile’s answer to Jamie Oliver, is on a mission to change the dietary habits of the Chilean population through his new restaurant, Casa Mar in Santiago, where he promotes healthy cooking and eating. Named one of the 100 young leaders in Chile by El Mercurio newpaper, the chef also works closely with Chilean winemaker Santa Rita, to devise successful food and wine pairings. Hotel & Catering Review caught up with him on his recent visit to Dublin where he prepared a four-course banquet for guests at Santa Rita’s Heroes Dinner in The Merrion Hotel.

Casa Mar is a new project which follows healthy eating and promotes eating food naturally. We cook the food lightly as if you cook too much you lose the nutrients. We are careful with salt, which is a big problem in the food industry. People everywhere are consuming too much salt, it’s so bad for your health. In Chile we have luckily found a natural solution, a natural salt mine where the salt has 34% less sodium. It’s really healthy to eat and cook with. I work with a nutritionist, Victor Hugo, in the restaurant. He works full time with me, looking at the science of the food and how to get the best out of it. We serve a lot of fish. I love seafood because it’s naturally healthy. We are blessed in Chile because we live by the Humboldt Current which comes up from Antartica to Peru. It brings a lot of seaweed with it for the fish, and the fish live in very cold water which is so good for them. As a result they have a really good ratio of omega six and three.

What kind of dishes do you serve?

Ninety per cent of the dishes we serve in the restaurant are seafood. We do a lot of octopus, sea urchin, abalon, clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp and squid. Sea urchin is the most popular but it’s a very particular flavour so it is an acquired taste.

Is poor diet a big problem in Chile?

Unfortunately yes. In my country, we always follow the American culture, which is not necessarily a good thing. I lived in the US for a few years – it’s a great place to live but the food culture is very bad. It is so unhealthy. In Chile now we have a big problem with food. One in five kids are now obese, they’re stressed and it’s a serious strain on their health.

Is Chile ready to embrace healthy eating?

I hope the people want to change, but I don’t know. Don Quixote always fought for his dream, and this is my dream which I will fight for. I’m worried with the way our food culture is developing. I don’t want my kids to eat that way.

What else can be done to promote better diets?

The most important thing is to tackle the legislation. I’m working with the Government on the issue to try and encourage them to improve food safety and food labelling laws. You have a lot of food safety legislation here – I think that is a very good thing. Your restaurants also do a lot in this area. I was really impressed when we had dinner in Ely Wine Bar and they had ‘v’ and ‘c’ listed beside certain dishes on the menu, as well as a list of producers. I think that is excellent. In Chile we don’t do that, but I would love to see more of it.

You have travelled with your job. Which cuisine do you enjoy the most?

I love the Asian cuisine. The smartest thing they did was invent the wok. It’s really fast and healthy, and keeps all the colours of the food. u

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