Restaurant Update - April 2023

The future of fries is

2x

SENSACRUNCHTION LONG LASTING

REALLY great looking

With a trendy, artisanal appearance, these fries will satisfy diners’ desires for something unique, exciting and enticing.

THE REVIEWS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

Efficient and helpful service from start to finish. Superlative product quality. The process of choosing an awning suitable to our needs and budget was helped by the expert knowledge of the team. We needed a fast turnaround and that’s what we got. From placing the order to fitting, took less than two weeks. We had a choice from hundreds of fabric patterns which we simply would not have had if we had gone elsewhere. The installation team worked tidily and completed the job in a timely manner. Based on our experience of Indigo Awnings, we would have no hesitation in recommending them to others.

• increased revenue

• increased capacity

• improved curb appeal

• enhanced atmosphere

• multiple dining experiences

some benefits of sheltered outdoor areas:

• wider audience reach

• ability to book private events

• no need for costly extensions

• better competitive advantage

• free promotion with branding

• year round weather protection

• improved customer satisfaction

• space to host functions/events

• improved reviews

Photo credit: Alex Dilling, Hotel Café Royal AA Rosette Award Winners 2023 -

Northcote appoints MasterChef finalist as new head chef

Northcote has a new head chef. Following the departure of previous head chef Danny Young; Liam Rogers will step into the role, working underneath long-time executive chef and AYALA Female Chef of the Year 2023 winner, Lisa Goodwin-Allen.

Warrington-born Rogers grew up just down the road from Northcote, and he has already spent time working in some extremely prestigious kitchens. Previous to his new role at Northcote, Rogers was chef de partie at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, and held a junior sous chef role at two Michelinstarred Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham. He was also a finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals in 2021, where he first met Goodwin-Allen in her role as a judge for the show.

‘Lisa is ultimately what attracted me to the role at Northcote,’ he says. ‘She is renowned for her fantastic training culture and is incredibly passionate about developing people and helping to create a path for their successful careers, this is something that’s really important to me.

‘The kitchen at Northcote is really impressive, I’m excited to be able to put everything I’ve learnt in my career so far into a head chef role and working with the great chefs within the team.’

Goodwin-Allen also expressed her excitement about the appointment, saying: ‘Liam is a highly motivated individual with the drive and ambition to learn all skills required to succeed, which I spotted when he was on MasterChefhe stood out to me as someone who was very creative, focused and calm, which is the type of chef that I want in my kitchen.

‘I’m very excited for him to join my team and to see what the future has in store for Northcote,’ she added.

Northcote was ranked 19 in SquareMeal’s Top 100 UK Restaurants 2023 list, and has maintained a reputation as one of the best restaurants in the country, retaining its Michelin star for the last 26 years. Click the link for more of the best restaurants in the UK, as rated by us and our readers.

Liam Rogers joins Lisa Goodwin-Allen at the Lancashire powerhouse following stints at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie and Restaurant Sat Bains.

Wood-Fire Restaurant “Embers” to open in Brighton this April

From two of Brighton’s most lauded chefs, Dave Marrow and Isaac Bartlett-Copeland

This April will see Brighton chefs Dave Marrow and Isaac Bartlett-Copeland (Chef Patron, Isaac At) come together to open Embers – a new restaurant celebrating Sussex produce, cooked over burning wood-fire, alongside innovative cocktails – in Brighton’s historic Lanes. Opening on April 3rd, Embers will be the first joint venture from long-term friends Marrow and Bartlett-Copeland, who first met fifteen years ago as mentor and mentee in Bartlett-Copeland’s first kitchen role at The Grand Hotel in Brighton.

Embers’s menu will be focused on creating bold flavours from locally grown ingredients, cooked entirely on a medieval wood-fire cage positioned over smouldering embers in the heart of the restaurant. Having cooked in some of Brighton’s most well-respected dining establishments including Terre à Terre and Isaac At, both chefs will bring their classical training into a totally new setting, as they turn to a feudal cooking style that is stripped-back and accessible. The succinct menu will see elements of every dish cooked entirely over local, kiln-dried ash and birch wood, veering away from gas and electricity altogether.

With Marrow heading up the kitchen, guests can expect a range of playful yet thoughtfully crafted snacks, small plates and centrepiece dishes that will sit alongside a concise

selection of unique desserts. Dishes will be served sharing-style to encourage a relaxed and convivial atmosphere, drawing inspiration from Embers’s ancestral cooking ethos.

Of the opening, Isaac Bartlett-Copeland said: “It’s always been our dream to open a restaurant together and I’m so excited that this dream has finally been realised. We want Embers to be about big, bold flavours and the sort of restaurant we’d want to go to on our days off – it’s all about fire and friendship!’

Launch of catering T-level delayed ‘beyond 2024’

The launch of a T-level qualification in catering, which was supposed to welcome its first students in September, has been delayed ‘beyond 2024’.

The announcement that four of the government’s new technical qualifications (catering, hairdressing, barbering and beauty therapy, craft and design and media, broadcast and production) will be delayed comes just six months before their slated launch dates.

Explaining the reason for the delay Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education

Robert Halfon said: “T-levels are part of our longterm reforms and while I want to see them rolled out as quickly as possible, the most important thing is to ensure that every student that takes a T-level knows they are taking a great course that will set them up well for the future.

“For these T-levels we will therefore take a little more time to ensure that they are right when they are introduced – that is the right thing to do to ensure that T-levels are rolled out successfully, but it is also the right thing to do for T-level students.”

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “The Department for Education is right to ensure only T-levels of high enough quality enter the market. Sadly, though, colleges will be massively disrupted by this announcement happening so late in the year.

“Colleges already had plans in place for how to deliver these now delayed T-levels and have been marketing them to potential learners. Alternative arrangements will now need to be made urgently. Department for Education must guarantee any providers which are affected have the support they need to ensure no student misses out on learning because of these delays.

“This delay highlights the risks involved in implementing new qualifications and shows why T-levels need to be tested fully before other qualifications are defunded. That requires at least two full cohorts of students to complete each T-level before we can be sure that it is secure and working well.”

The first delay of what had originally been expected to be a catering and hospitality T-level was announced in 2018. In the intervening years the two-year course has dropped ‘hospitality’ from its name. The government’s website states that during the course “students will learn the core knowledge and skills that are needed for entry to a range of catering occupations”

T-levels have been developed to provide 16-year-olds with another educational avenue outside of A-levels or apprenticeships.

Tom Kemble has joined the team as executive chef at Chalk restaurant and the Wiston Estate, bringing more than 15 years of experience at some of the world’s best restaurants to the West Sussex estate.

Tom Kemble joins Chalk restaurant as executive chef

Formerly head chef at Bonhams Restaurant, Kemble brings his precise cooking style and ingredient-led approach to Chalk. Sussex-based Kemble’s wider career encompasses roles at Hedone, Tom Kemble at The Pass and globally renowned Swedish restaurant Fäviken. He will now be working alongside chalk head chef Bradley Adams, who has been a part of the kitchen team since 2021.

Located on the Wiston Estate’s North Farm winery site, the 122-cover restaurant Chalk opened in December 2021. The venue draws its name from the soft white limestone that the vineyard sits on, which gives its award-winning wines their distinctive, terroir-driven profile.

The menu celebrates the nature and heritage of the estate, using ingredients from the its allotment-styled walled garden. Meats such as venison, Herdwick lamb, pheasant and White Park beef are all sourced on site, while the likes of heritage pumpkin, beetroot, dazzling blue kale and Hinnonmaki gooseberry are grown in the walled garden.

Highlights from the current a la carte menu include: ‘La Latteria’ burrata with estate pumpkin, sage pesto and radicchio; venison carpaccio with walnuts, Twineham Grange and mixed leaves; Herdwick rack of lamb and belly, wild garlic, hay-smoked pomme purée; and Jerusalem artichoke soup, hazelnut praline and Olde Sussex rarebit.

The Chalk wine list consists of many wines produced on the estate, and plenty from further afield. Other list highlights include Restless River Ave Maria Chardonnay, from Hemelen-Aarde, South Africa; Bengula Cove ‘Lighthouse’ Syrah, from Walker Bay, South Africa, along with wines from its Sussex sister estates Leonardslee and Mannings Heath, which are processed at Wiston Estate winery.

Occupying a renovated 18th century threshing barn, Chalk has been thoughtfully restored. An alfresco courtyard will 60 covers in the simmer, while a private dining room hosts 10 all year round.

Gong's eye-catching pendants make a stylish addition to the award-winning boutique hotel, The Gallivant

Lighting can make or break an interior design scheme and as The Gallivant select Gong's beautiful designs, Jo Plismy of Gong, considers the part lighting has to play in boutique hotels.

Lighting can be used to pull all the elements of an interior scheme together and in a boutique hotel, it can be used to really set the hotel apart from others. As Jo Plismy from Gong explains, "Lighting is vital to the atmosphere of a space and provides much more than practical illumination. Different rooms of the hotel will require different lighting schemes and there is much to consider. Hotel bedrooms for example, will require many different layers of lighting from brighter lighting for dressing areas, to wall or table lamps for reading and relaxing. Hotel bedrooms have many different roles so lighting may also be used to zone the space and bolder pendants may be used to give added personality that boutique hotels tend to offer. The Gallivant is a beautiful example of a boutique English hotel and we are thrilled to be able to help them to create such stunning interiors."

The Gallivant is an award-winning boutique hotel in Camber Sands. Priding itself on beautifully thoughtout rooms, wonderful food and daily yoga and wellness classes, their aim is to ensure guests leave revived, relaxed and happy. Sigrid Cragoe, Interior Stylist and Designer at The Gallivant comments, "I love Gong's designs because they are so unique. I find the styles are versatile enough to work with every interior style or period

and I have used them in my projects in bathrooms, bedrooms and communal spaces. We get so many comments about them from our guests, they really are a fabulous addition to a room".

The Gallivant offers guests a cosy 'snug' area to relax in, perhaps read a newspaper or curl up with a good book and it was here that they chose Gong's charming Benitier Silk Ceiling pendant.

The inspiration for this particular light was taken from the sea, with the shape mirroring that of a clam, perfectly inkeeping with The Gallivants coastal location. The Benitier radiates beauty and style providing the snug with a general level of ambient light, whilst it's silk shade retains a relaxed softness to the room.

The Silk Lighting Collection from Gong is full of elegant, stylish designs, so it's easy to see why they fitted in perfectly with the tasteful décor at The Gallivant. As Jo Plismy comments, "These timeless designs are ideally suited to boutique hotels, where they want to inject a little bit of personality into a space by using a different material or texture for the lighting, without going too bold. The silk adds a softness and elegance even when the light is switched off and the interesting shapes provide eye-catching features."

The Gallivant also selected another of Gong's designs for the en-suites of their Luxury Garden Rooms. The largest of their rooms, these well thought-out suites feature a relaxed yet luxurious coastal vibe with roll top baths, wood panelling, enormous beds and highest quality linens. Most impressively they also open straight out into the coastal garden and hence the natural looking Bud Pendant light fits the scheme perfectly, providing a statement fixture in the en-suite. Made from rattan, it's organic colour and spacious design allows for a subtle warm glow to emanate through, without sacrificing any light, creating the perfect atmosphere for a relaxing soak.

Jo Plismy comments, "Hotel bathroom lighting needs to fulfil many roles from providing practical lighting for personal grooming and close up tasks, to creating a tranquil atmosphere in which to wind down. At The Gallivant these particular bedrooms include the ensuite as part of the overall space, hence it was also important that the décor created a cohesive look. The large pendant is not a typical bathroom light and therefore helped to blend the two spaces seamlessly."

Jo Plismy works with architects, interior designers, hotels, restaurants and decoration shops throughout the world. Passionate about timeless designs, combined with high quality materials and expert craftsmanship, Gong's focus is style with atmosphere. Custom orders are accepted.

www.gong.co.uk

THE BEAUTY OF BARREL-AGEING

Barrel-aged American craft beers are wellsuited to the hospitality sector due their premium positioning and ability to command a price at parity with a bottle of wine.

They may be packaged in 650ml or 770ml bottles with distinctive wax caps and have long-shelf lives that make them easy to store. Barrelaged beers produced by America’s craft breweries regularly win medals at prestigious international beer competitions judged by panels of experts. Worth seeking out for their incredible complexity, depth of flavour and subtle nuances of character, barrel-aged beers are a shining example of the skill and innovation of America’s craft brewers.

A variety of beer styles are suitable for barrel-ageing in wood but sour or high alcohol beers are the most common. Barrels for sour or ‘wild’ beer may be used several times over while barrels that formerly held spirits such as bourbon, tequila or gin are rarely used beyond their first or second fill because the spirit character is diminished after the first maturation cycle.

Many American craft brewers consider barrels to be the fifth ingredient of beer and not simply a storage vessel. They source barrels with as much care and attention as selecting their annual hop varieties. Each barrel is unique

which means experimentation and flexibility is an essential part of the barrel-ageing process.

Oak is full of flavoursome, aromatic compounds that can add another level of depth and complexity to a beer, making it the preferred wood for many brewers.

Equally important to the flavour of the barrel is the art of blending different beer together to create the desired result. A number of base beers may be ageing in different barrels, some of which may be fresh barrels to give a high intensity of oak/spirit flavour and others may have been used before to give a lower intensity of flavour and it takes skill to create the end result. Other flavours may be added to add further levels of complexity, such as cocoa, coconut or coffee beans.

Simply leaving a beer in a barrel and hoping for the best is not going to cut it. Barrel-ageing presents a number of challenges and maintaining consistency in taste and flavour year after year is a skill that takes years of practice.

American craft beer is available through national wholesalers or on line from Athletic Brewing , or the Cascade Club Chefs and restauranteurs are invited to make use of the free resources available on www.brewersassociation.org or www.craftbeer.com

reveals a 55% surge in Paris hotel searches during the NBA Paris Game 2023 Presented by Nike

• French NBA up-and-coming star and Detroit Pistons guard Killian Hayes reveals his top Paris travel tips and his perfect Paris hotel collection, so fans can enjoy a breakfast with a view and stay close to the coolest basketball court in the city

• Hotels.com Travelling Hoops study uncovers that basketball fans would travel on average over 750 miles to watch their favourite team, with 78% of British basketball fans having already travelled to watch a game

2023 is tipping off with a bang, as

The NBA Paris Game 2023 presented by Nike between the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons will take place at the Accor Arena on 19 January. Hotels.com, an official travel partner of the NBA, has found that 78%1 of British residents have travelled outside their city before to watch a basketball game, showing the dedication from basketball fans. This year, as fans hunt out their “perfect somewhere” while on the road, Hotels.com found that there had been a 55%2 spike in hotel searches in Paris for the night of the big game (19th January) compared to the same date the following week. Americans and Koreans lead the international nations booking out the city hotels3.

Those fans who travel for sport

According to the new Hotels.com Travelling Hoops study, basketball fans say they would travel on average over 750 miles to watch their favourite NBA team, with 8%

even saying they would travel over 2,000 miles.

Les Bulls, favourite to win?

When it comes to the on-court matchup, British fans are nearly unanimous as almost 80% of fans surveyed think the Bulls will come away with the win. The Bulls also rank as the top NBA team that fans in the UK would travel for to watch, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks.

When asked what fans would do at a hotel if they met their favourite player, having dinner together (48%), playing a basketball video game in the room (29%), a workout in the hotel gym (26%) and having a sportsman’s breakfast together (26%) topped the list.

Killian Hayes’ perfect Paris Hotel Collection:

Who better than Killian Hayes, the NBA up-and-coming star who grew up in France, to share his best tips

• The survey states NBA fans visiting Paris intend to visit the Eiffel Tower, enjoy some French pastries and head to the Parc des Princes stadium Continue reading on restaurant-update.co.uk

with fans who want to (re)discover Paris.

Killian Hayes said: “France is where my career began, and Paris is one of my favourite cities in the world. It really is my perfect somewhere filled with culture, arts, food and history. I have been to Paris too many times to count over the years, but with so much to explore and see, you can just never see it all.

“One of my favourite memories is coming to watch the Christmas lights switch on along the Champs-Élysées — it was magical. My top tip when visiting this spectacular city is to bring a pair of trainers and walk everywhere. There is no better way to get a feel for a city than spending a day walking through the streets and taking in the atmosphere. If you can, take a trip down to the court in Pigalle, it really is a special place. I also love fashion, so I often head to the ‘le Triangle d’Or’ to shop when I visit Paris.

AA reveals new Rosette Award winners for 2023

Fifteen restaurants were commended for their culinary excellence, demonstrating an unprecedented level of quality and originality.

One venue was awarded the esteemed four AA Rosettes, while an impressive fourteen were granted three AA Rosettes.

Establishments with three AA Rosettes are all outstanding restaurants achieving standards which demand national recognition well beyond their local area, while those awarded four AA Rosettes are considered among the top restaurants in the country.

London-based restaurant, the Amethyst, received four AA Rosettes – standing out for its creativity and boundary-pushing flavours and presentation, which earned it a top spot as one of the finest UK restaurants.

The list of outstanding restaurants awarded three AA Rosettes, represents every corner of the UK, including One Devonshire Gardens by Hotel du Vin, in Scotland; Upstairs by Tom Shepherd, in the West Midlands, Home by James Sommerin, in Wales, Karrek, St Enodoc Hotel, in Cornwall, and Alex Dilling, Hotel Café Royal, in London.

Simon Numphud, Managing Director at AA Hotel & Hospitality Services, which operates AA quality assessment schemes, said: “This year we’ve seen an exceptional level of culinary excellence demonstrated by those receiving our coveted three and four AA Rosettes.

“I’m constantly inspired by the resilience, innovation, and quality demonstrated by these trailblazers in our industry. Congratulations to the chefs and frontof-house teams who have helped make their Rosette awards possible.”

As is tradition, each winner of a Rosette Award also received the iconic porcelain AA plate.

Craig Martin, Head of Sales UK at RAK Porcelain, the sponsor for the 2023 AA Rosette Awards, said: “We are absolutely delighted to provide the AA Rosette plates, which are the hallmark of culinary excellence. It’s fantastic to recognise these outstanding restaurants which are amongst the best in the UK. Congratulations to all worthy recipients.”

Since 1956, the AA Rosette awards have been a mark of leading restaurant and hotel venues across the UK. The allocation of multi-Rosettes

is determined by one or more visits by an AA inspector to a hotel or restaurant.

To discover all of the top restaurants across the UK with AA Rosettes and also watch the 2023 Rosette awards ceremony, please click here

The full list of 2023

Rosette winners

New four AA Rosettes:

• Amethyst | London

New three AA Rosettes:

• Upstairs by Tom Shepherd | West Midlands

• The Traddock | North Yorkshire

• Smoke, Hampton Manor | West Midlands

• Home by James Sommerin | Wales

• Karrek, St Enodoc Hotel | Cornwall

• The Dog and Gun Inn | Cumbria

• Turnips with Tomas Ludakevicius | London

• Thornbury Castle | Gloucestershire

• The Checkers | Wales

• Ben Wilkinson at The Pass, South Lodge | West Sussex

• Alex Dilling, Hotel Café Royal | London

• 263 | Lancashire

• Restaurant 1890 by Gordon Ramsay | London

• One Devonshire Gardens by Hotel du Vin Glasgow | Scotland

The UK’s top restaurants and hotels have been recognised at this year’s prestigious and highly anticipated AA Rosette Awards.

What does it take to deliver the food delivery opportunity?

While the food delivery industry is big and getting bigger, making a profit remains as hard as ever. A superior customer experience and progressive automation are key steps on the journey to scale, which in turn bring big profit dollars, says Jason Smith, VP UK & Europe at MoEngage.

There’s no doubting the appetite for food deliveries is growing. Hungry for fast-format, on-demand take-outs and subscription recipe boxes, burgeoning customer demand has grown food delivery into a global market worth an estimated $130 bn in 2022, according to Statista.

Having received a huge boost during Covid, leading analysts predict it will grow to $223 bn in 2027, a CAGR of 11.44%.

Competition between delivery companies is fierce and, despite some consolidation in some territories, there appears to be a continued craving for innovation and new businesses. But both established players and new entrants are having to work up ever more inventive and imaginative customer experience (CX) strategies to attract a customer overwhelmed by a smorgasbord of options.

Some companies have tried to find new ways to generate new business and cement customer loyalty. Sometimes this is about hyper-personalising communications to surprise and delight customers. Indian food delivery company Swiggy uses artificial intelligence to give customers highly accurate delivery times, by using data to make predictions as to which driver can get there fastest based on traffic and weather conditions.

Surprise may literally be something that customers are not expecting, such as personal delivery by the founders, surprise discounts on food and reverse social media where experiences are posted out at the point of delivery, and pop-up cooking experiences where customers can even cook their own meal.

The goal is to embed hyper-personalisation so it can be delivered to all customers. By analysing customer data for trends and common challenges, insights can be shared across different departments to help companies make datadriven decisions that lead to continuous improvement. For instance, online food delivery and takeaway app, Foodhub. co.uk, doubled conversion rates to 40% while improving new customer activation times by turning customer insight into actionable marketing engagement to create meaningful customer journeys that not only improve CX and grow revenue among existing audiences but build new app users.

Other ideas are less about surprise and more about giving customers greater certainty, such as using inventory geolocation so that customers know their order is definitely available in a local restaurant. And some companies are

using a single app to offer a choice of fulfilment – deliver, take away or eat in.

Succeeding in this ruthlessly customer-focused culture requires consistent processes and behaviours from staff, as well as a continual effort to remove broken links in the fulfilment chain that can include inaccurate orders, late delivery and incorrect billing.

Certain app features should now be a given for all players in this market – easy onboarding, easy-to-use interface, realtime delivery tracking, a broad range of payment options, and recommendations for cross and upselling. These are simple steps on the road to personalisation, which should also be a given, considering the highly particular relationship that customers have with their food. And this depends on data. While this journey may start with a generic offer, companies should from scratch use every interaction in order to build profiles that will ultimately enable them to offer something unique to each customer.

However, personalisation also means that companies have to think from the customer’s point of view rather than their own. What does this unique offer look like from the customer’s point of view? Is it easy to access and use? Are there filters that will always work to surface known preferences and screen out proscribed foods for allergies and other intolerances?

And is every step of the journey simple as well as rewarding? Can they sign in not just via the app but their social media as well, which also enables them to post pictures of their dishes? Looking back in from the customer’s viewpoint will throw up a continuous flow of questions that are stored to enable progressive improvements. For instance, any number of consumers always order the same thing, so is it easy for them to do this rather than go through the same steps as for a new order?

Deep data to build personalisation also enables delivery companies to recognise that the customer may well be ordering/gifting food to friends, family and co-workers, with all their attendant preferences to be considered. In addition, these customers may well expect a reward for themselves, so a referral programme is essential to win their loyalty.

The fusion of style, technology & contemporary design.

gruvyer chair and armchair

The Gruvyer is a best selling Italian manufactured range available in both a side chair and armchair.

Striking design in a choice of 16 different polypropylene colours.

harrogate Range Truro Range

Rustic Vintage Style Furniture

Eden Furniture has a massive selection of Indoor, Outdoor & Poolside Furniture. Our Harrogate and Truro Ranges have become increasingly popular with their rustic and rural charms. The Harrogate Range is available in dining and bar height with complimentary stools and benches. The Truro Range is also in dining and bar height with dining stools and benches.

Both ranges are made to order so almost any size is achievable.

SalfordDchair

The Salford is a great looking all-weather stackable chair with an aluminium frame in an Antique Vintage finish

The Salford Chair can be used both indoors and outdoors and we stock these in Antique White and Antique Grey

Available for QUICK DELIVERY

How to Improve Customer Experience with Smart Video Solutions

By Gareth Bakewell, Business Development UK, DTiQ

Today’s business owners need to provide an exceptional customer experience to develop a loyal customer base and stay competitive. Smart video systems can play a significant role in success. By helping protect businesses from criminal activity and providing insights that help improve every aspect of a customer’s experience from the moment they enter your establishment, it’s no wonder more businesses are leveraging smart video solutions.

Evolving Technology

Intelligent video has evolved. These days, users can expect their video solutions to offer insights, track key metrics, and generate reports on transaction times, customer conversion, and other trends. With insights like this at business owners’ fingertips, using analytics to improve business operations is rapidly becoming the norm – Fast Company reports that 99% of Fortune 1000 companies are investing in big data. Often there is no need to upgrade your current CCTV or EPOS to get on board with intelligent video, as the latest tech can work with existing infrastructure.

Intelligent video can also improve employee performance which is important to ensure a positive customer experience. You can track employee and customer behaviour, identifying areas where employees might need additional training and support. We call this ‘big sister technology’ as it can be used to instigate positive change across the business.

Measuring Customer Experience

Once a leadership team has taken steps to monitor customer and employee behaviour, how can success be gauged? Intelligent video can

generate valuable insights on metrics such as speed of service (SOS) which is a key indicator of customer satisfaction.

Intelligent video and AI-powered analytics allow businesses to find areas of improvement in their customer service operations, ultimately becoming more efficient and being able to deliver an even better customer experience. Investing in analytics pays off big: Forbes reports that businesses using customer analytics have higher growth and more sales.

Another key measurement in customer experience is order accuracy. Using video solutions to monitor orders helps businesses identify why orders may be delivered inaccurately and how the issue can be addressed and solved.

Help from DTiQ

If you need expert advice on how to improve customer experience with video surveillance, DTiQ has more than 20 years of experience, serving more than 45,000 clients around the world. DTiQ works with some of the leading QSR brands in the USA and Europe including Burger King, Subway, Starbucks, Domino’s, and the Hard Rock Café to help them manage costs, optimise revenue, and drive operational excellence.

DTiQ combines best-in-class surveillance equipment with cloud-based analytics and convenient managed services. The team at DTiQ can build a customised business intelligence solution that integrates with your existing POS system, saving time and money. Our 24/7 support and enhanced reporting tools give you the data you need to drive better business decisions.

Black Bull Sedbergh to build new luxury guest suites

Work is set to start this March on the creation of two new luxury guests suites at the Black Bull, Sedbergh, which was recently listed as one of the UK’s top 50 gastropubs, located in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The next phase of the Black Bull development will see an existing stone cottage located in the 17th century Inn’s stable yard be sensitively restored and transformed.

The Cottage, a £250,000 project, will see the creation of a ground floor garden suite, sleeping up to four people, with a separate seating area, sunken bath in the contemporary ensuite, as well as providing new external spaces and a ‘wildflower garden’ for guests to enjoy.

While the upper floor’s suite, with its double height roof space will reveal and celebrate a unique existing roof structure constructed from ancient ship’s timbers. Externally the suite

will lead onto a new external wrap around terrace complete with seating area for those wishing to take in the views of Winder and the Howgill Fells.

The Cottage suites design will see the contemporary concepts taking their inspiration from aspects of ‘Ryokan’, traditional Japanese inns. Though now more often frequented by walkers and visitors ‘Ryokan’ are still feted for their impeccable hospitality ‘omotenashi’ and multicourse seasonal ‘kaiseki’ dining and hearty breakfast spreads, which are philosophies that guests staying at the Black Bull will most certainly recognise and attest to.

Head Chef Nina Matsunaga has taken ‘kaiseki’, to new heights. At the heart of this simple multisensory dining experience is the fact that ingredients are at their tastiest, most vibrant, most flavourful and most nutritious when they are in season.

Alongside this Nina has taken the ethos of regional German cooking centred around wholesome hearty dishes made with vegetables to develop a very distinctive and innovative culinary style.

Nina is producing food that makes you sit up and take notice. Using the very best fresh produce available from the landscape surrounding the Inn, she creates dishes with a twist, inspired by the fusion of two very different cultures, her rich Japanese and German heritage.

Image credit Rob Whitrow Photography

Image credit Phil Rigby Photography

New PEPPADEW® Bites - The Ultimate Bite to Pep Up Menus & Profits

PEPPADEW® - the UK’s No. 1 pepper brand6 - has launched new PEPPADEW® Bites, a premium branded bite exclusively available for foodservice.

PEPPADEW® – the UK’s No. 1 pepper brand – has launched PEPPADEW® Bites, a premium branded bite exclusively available for foodservice.

With 9/10 consumers looking to treat themselves when eating out1 and 87% of consumers saying they’d order new PEPPADEW® Bites2, this latest innovation from Peppadew® is set to take menus by storm. Made in the UK in their AA BRC accredited facility, these delicious new added-value bites balance the sweet, tangy flavour of their signature whole Piquanté Pepper, with a smooth, sumptuous West Country Soft Cheese filling, all coated in a crisp, panko-style crumb.

100% vegetarian, they meet the demand for tasty flexitarian options, as consumers continue to move away from meat3. The ultimate in versatility, they’re perfect for starters, sides, small plates/tapas, bar bites, or as an addition to sharing-platters. Not only that, they also come conveniently frozen and can be ready in 3-4 minutes straight from the fryer, making them the quick and simple way to pep up your menu.

Crucially, these delicious bites also offer an easy way to drive margin, as over half of consumers would pay more for PEPPADEW® Bites, than jalapeno poppersii, with each 5kg case serving up a substantial £200 return4. Whilst their frozen format, 18-month long shelf life and versatility help minimise waste, making them a sustainable and cost-effective choice.

Try PEPPADEW® Bites for Yourself This March!

This month the PEPPADEW® team will be showcasing new PEPPADEW® Bites at several foodservice events around the UK. Including the Northern Bar & Restaurant Show (14th-15th), Bidfood Big Food & Drink Show - Lee Mills (15th), HRC 2023, Excel London (20th-22nd) and the Confex Trade Show (23rd). Giving you the chance to try PEPPADEW® Bites for yourself and find out how they can pep up your menus.

Speaking about the branded PEPPADEW® innovation, Lukasz Lubasinski, Commercial Director, PEPPACO Ltd. said: “Now more than ever every part of your menu needs to taste great, work hard and most importantly drive spend and margin. PEPPADEW® Bites is an exciting, flexible and premium new product that works across a range of eating and drinking occasions as well as major trends5from indulgence and meat-free to sustainability.

“Consumers love the PEPPADEW brand, indeed our consumer research has shown that 66% of consumers would be more likely to order if they saw the PEPPADEW® brand on menu. So operators can take advantage of our brand profile and number one status to premiumise their menu with a quality product that works on a practical and commercial level.”

PEPPADEW® Bites are now available through leading wholesalers including Bidfood, Booker and KFF.

Visit www.peppadewfoodservice.co.uk for more inspiration and information.

PEPPADEW® Background

PEPPADEW® International has been the trusted global supplier to retailers and foodservice operators for over 25 years, in 25 countries. Famed for their sweet Piquanté Peppers, PEPPADEW® maintains a first-to-market approach with exclusive and unique offerings, including the Sweet GOLDEW® Peppers, PEPPADEW® Whole Sweet Piquanté Peppers and now the new PEPPADEW® Bites.

To find out more visit www.peppadewfoodservice.co.uk

Woolfox wellness experience exudes radiance amongst rural surrounds

Luxury lifestyle members club, Woolfox, approached B3 Designers to develop the design narrative of their estate as part of their design overhaul.

The site is near to the town Stamford in Lincolnshire, set amongst hills and with vast space in all directions. Formerly known as The Woolfox Golf and Country Club, the membership now offers existing guests and new, so much more under the new ownership. Restaurant group Fika, has opened a site within the grounds and there are property development opportunities too for buyers to build their own holiday homes.

This luxurious retreat had a number of farm buildings that could be re-purposed to make large spaces with lots of character. The Nordic minimalistic approach to the architecture allowed the design internally space to breathe. It is light, textured, sleek and timeless throughout. The large-scale windows provide a lot of natural light, bringing the colours and textures of the surrounding nature to flood within the spaces. B3 started applying their design expertise to the Old Barn which now is home to a pool, sauna, gym, yoga and changing facilities. Each of these health and wellness zones were sympathetic to the architecture and location and therefore the number of finishes were kept minimal, with smart lighting being key to layering the experience for guests. Simple and organic; the calmness of the outdoors spreads throughout the interior.

Upon entering the Nordic-style timber clad Reception, guests check-in and get ready for their wellness or fitness experience with Woolfox. The desk is upholstered in a sage linen, adding

softness and texture in the open barn entrance. The changing facilities are light with deep tones in the colour palette, timber for comfort and warmth on the locker front. The soft green ceiling draws guests in, the layout is simple and easy, the red shimmering tiles adding more warmth. The wall lanterns are brass and classic in style, a slight contrast to the modern tapware. Additionally, further lighting throughout is soft ceiling spotlights, dimmable in every area of the space.

Guests proceed to the gym, pool, studio, sauna and relaxation room or can simply relax on the outdoor seating. The pool has a deep red ceiling with neutral walls and floor making the blue look serene and ever tempting. The spotlights that shine upwards showcase depth, exaggerating the tall ceiling heights in the space. The modern arch windows draw guests through to the different spaces from the pool. A pale pink, white, black and grey palette is applied in these spa facilities with the red gloss tile continuing throughout the space. The sauna features some of the best views from the wellness area; the views stretch for miles across the rolling hills while being warm in a timber clad cocoon.

The gym is industrial, raw and masculine; the near ceiling barn doors have become a feature to show the double-height voluted ceiling. The femininity detail of the glowing mirrors provide a welcome contrast, and the neutral warmth timber floor continues the use of natural materials throughout.

Mark Bithrey from B3 says “It’s been a great pleasure working with the client at Woolfox. Incredible vision and we’ve been really proud to be a part of the journey. Transitioning this old barn into a luxurious destination has been really exciting. Designing a swimming pool, sauna and relaxation space, that looks out onto an uninterrupted landscape at Woolfox, has been really special opportunity to design and epitomizes what a spa experience destination should be.”

Holly Withers from Woolfox says “Working with Mark and his team at B3 has been brilliant. From the beginning, they realized our vision and pushed our boundaries, leading us to what Woolfox has become today. The old barns were beautiful yet somehow uninspiring, so to see how they’ve been brought to life in such a sleek and cosy way is truly impressive. B3 supported and inspired us to create, and make our own design decisions too which makes this project even more rewarding.”

www.b3designers.co.uk

• Pre-mixed cocktail market has rocketed by 226% over last five years

• Findings in line with recent research revealing 30% of Brits will cut their spending on alcohol in 2023

New research from premium British drinks company Gunner Cocktails Ltd has revealed that nearly 30% of Brits celebrated Valentine’s this year with a pre-mixed alcoholic drink, signalling the growing consumer uptake of ready-to-drink alcoholic alternatives.

New research from premium British drinks company Gunner Cocktails Ltd has revealed that nearly 30% of Brits celebrated Valentine’s this year with a pre-mixed alcoholic drink, signalling the growing consumer uptake of ready-to-drink alcoholic alternatives.

Of the 2000 respondents surveyed, nearly 30% of those celebrating Valentine’s Day with a drink did so with a Ready to Drink (RTD) alternative, shunning the wines and spirits traditionally associated with the day. Recent years have seen the pre-made cocktail market become one of the fastest-growing segments across beverage alcohol, with sales of RTD cocktails increasing by 226% from 2016 to 2021.

With research earlier this year revealing that 30% of Brits plan to limit their spending on alcohol due to the cost-of-living crisis, these latest results echo an increasing demand for portable bar-level quality cocktails which consumers can enjoy at home instead of potentially expensive nights out.

Other key findings from the survey reveal that:

• Just under half (45%) of UK adults intended to celebrate with a drink.

• A third (32%) planned to celebrate with an alcoholic drink.

• 16% planned to celebrate with a non-alcoholic drink.

• Around one in ten (11%) planned to celebrate with a cocktail.

This announcement follows previous research from the luxury cocktails company, which found that 40% of consumers feel let down by the lack

of free/low alcohol alternatives, a trend reflected in Gunner Cocktails anticipated year-on-year growth of 500% in 2023.

Dannie McDonald, Managing Director of Gunner Cocktails, said: “On an occasion that has long been dominated by wine and champagne, our survey revealing that almost a third of consumers will plump for pre-mixed cocktails this Valentine’s Day is a bellwether moment. As consumers look to trim their spending on alcohol, highquality RTD alternatives which can be drunk at home with a partner or friends will be welcomed by consumers, and Gunner Cocktails stands ready to cater to this change.”

Giles Fuchs, Founder of Gunner Cocktails, said: “There is no debating that drinking habits in the UK are in a moment of transition and companies such as Gunner Cocktails, which are succeeding in tapping into this shift, will no doubt thrive.”

www.originalgunner.com

Almost a third of Brits chose pre-mixed cocktails this Valentine’s Day

Havwoods Launches NEW Woodbook Design For 2023

Leading wood floor specialists, Havwoods, is excited to reveal its latest Woodbook – in a brand-new format. Created for homeowners, interior designers and architects, the new design offers a fresh take on the brand’s vast collection of inspiring products and case studies.

Leading wood floor specialists, Havwoods, is excited to reveal its latest Woodbook – in a brand-new format. Created for homeowners, interior designers and architects, the new design offers a fresh take on the brand’s vast collection of inspiring products and case studies.

“We are always looking for new ways to be innovative and keep our customers engaged. Our latest Woodbook design has been created to better display our ever-evolving collection of flooring and cladding, with new products, insights and projects to be discovered and enjoyed.”

- Paul Moody, Global Marketing & Digital Director, Havwoods

Sustainability remains at the forefront of interior design in 2023 and is a key pillar for the brand, highlighted in the first few pages of the new Woodbook. Sourcing materials from sustainably responsible sources has

never been more important, and for Havwoods, sustainability affects everything they do - from offering FCS and PEFC-certified timber to their HavSeal seal of approval.

From the bespoke Hand Grade collection to the affordable V Collection range, the Woodbook is now organised ranging from the highest price to the lowest, with products grouped within each section into colour categories. Whether customers are looking for paler shades such as Platinum and Ash, or darker tones like Chestnut and Brunette, products are now easier to navigate.

Showcasing the ever-evolving portfolio of commercial and residential projects, new case studies are now peppered throughout the Woodbook, paired beautifully within each collection to showcase the range of flooring in situ against the samples. In addition, Havwoods has added new QR codes throughout, allowing customers to be easily directed to more information about each product and case study - resulting in a cleaner, more streamlined design.

The brand has built upon its existing products with new patterns and colours within the Venture Plank and V Collections. Within the Venture Plank collection, three new patterns have been introduced in the new Abrego colourway including Herringbone, Chevron and Mansion

Weave, alongside four new Brushed and Smoked 1-Strip board colours in Cantal, Vosges, d’Or and Alpes tones.

In the V Collection, two new 1-Strip colours in Toulouse and Orleans, plus two new Herringbone patterns in Narbonne and Chambery, have been added – expanding this brilliant and varied range of flooring. Adding a luxurious finishing touch to projects, Havwoods now also offer LED nosing as an ideal edition to contemporary homes.

Continually developing its product offering, Havwoods’ offers an unparalleled service for its customers from free next day sample service, to its online room visualiser, virtual appointments and showroom experts on hand across five showrooms around the country.

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