In this issue of Food Drink Magazine, you can find full details on Mexican cuisine, Top 10 Mexican Chefs in The United States – The World`s Best 50 Young Winemakers
You can reach our Digital Magazine at https://issuu.com/fooddrinkmagazine and https://www.magzter.com/US/HGH-Perfect/Food-Drink-Magazine/Food–Beverage/All-Issues.
BOSTON – MingsBings, a frozen vegan patty line, today announced its expanded retail footprint throughout the East Coast just six months after launching its direct-to-consumer business. MingsBings is hitting the shelves at all 107 Wegmans locations as well as at Roche Brothers, Dave’s Fresh Market, Alltown Fresh, Fairway Market, and select Whole Food Markets and Market Baskets. As demand for plant-based alternatives surges, this increased distribution positions MingsBings as a rising star in the category.
“Frozen and plant-based options are among the fastest-growing categories, with clear signs that the trend toward frozen will continue to grow beyond the pandemic,” said David Keenan, Roche Brothers frozen category manager. “Historically, frozen foods and innovation were not synonymous. Innovation has recently found its way into frozen and MingBings is leading the charge.”
Launched by world-renowned Asian-American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and James Beard award-winner, Chef Ming Tsai in November 2020, MingsBings, are a vegan update of the traditional Chinese street food Bing. Each of the four flavors, including the Original Veggie-Filled Bing, Buffalo Cauliflower Bing, Plant-Based Sausage & Peppers Bing, and Fiesta Bing, are packed with flavor and are plant-based, gluten-free, and dairy-free. MingsBings’ brand commitment, “Eat Good. Feel Good. Do Good.,” represents Chef Ming Tsai’s mission to make plant-based food allergen-friendly, delicious, accessible, and convenient for as many people as possible. Chef Tsai not only believes your health is your wealth but believes in spreading that wealth by providing a vegan alternative for families.
Found in the frozen food section, MingsBings donates a portion of proceeds to Family Reach and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The patties are heat-and-eat ready, and as the summer grilling season kicks off, can be prepared on the grill in 12-16 mins, in an air fryer for 12-14 minutes, and in an oven for 20-25 minutes.
“I’m so excited about the addition of MingsBings to retail shelves across the East Coast. It allows us to introduce more delicious, veggie-filled, and sustainable plant-based products that provide a quick convenient meal or snack options that can be on your plate in less than 20 minutes,” said Chef Ming Tsai, Founder, President, and Chairman at MingsBings.
Customers can visit MingsBing’s store locator to find MingsBings products near them. MingsBings are also available nationally direct-to-consumer, in packs of 12 and 24 on mingsbings.com. To learn more, please visit mingsbings.com and follow MingsBings on Instagram at @mingsbings.
According to CHD Expert, a global leader in aggregating, analyzing, and managing foodservice data, As of April 2017, there are more than 59,800 Mexican restaurants in the United States and the Mexican Menu Type represents approximately 9 percent of all restaurants in the USA. In 2017 Mexican edged out Pizzerias for the second most common non-simplified US menu type, with Pizzeria falling into the third position with approximately 59,300 Pizzeria restaurants across the USA.
As a whole, the Mexican menu type generates approximately $45 billion in annual retail sales, averaging approximately $766,000 per unit.
And while only a hand full of Fine Dining Mexican restaurants across the nation, some of these eateries offer the finest dining experiences one can experience across the nation.To access the 2017 Mexican Restaurant Trends Report in its entirety, please click here.
Here is our list of the top 10 mexican chefs in US
After a while in the sober world, there are certain things that tend to be pretty apparent. First, the weight loss that comes with drinking cessation is amazing. Second, you can’t always avoid restaurants because they serve beer. You have to find a way to enjoy them without drinking. So, what did I do? I grabbed my straightedge buddy and hit up Asbury Park’s Biergarten.
Asbury Park’s Biergarten is one of the hottest places to go “Down the Shore.” As a German-style beer hall, the entire venue is made to have a warehouse-chic feel. The interior is a sprawling, brick and concrete building that involves bench-style seating and large-scale communal seating.
I love the German-industrial aesthetic, as well as the fact that they have rooftop dining and a positively sprawling bar. If you are looking for a place that has a lot of acoustic power and a bar-heavy scenery, this is it.
Not sure whether or not my friend who took me was being truthful, but he told me that the Biergarten was also built by an all-female crew. If so, that’s pretty need and progressive.
I’m not gonna lie. I’m a huge fan of German food, especially when it comes to some good ol’ fashioned wurst. But, this time around, I decided to stick to classic bar fare. More specifically, I decided to stick to wings. In terms of menu variety, you can expect this place to have a fairly decent span.
There’s stuff for vegetarians, vegans, as well as people who just want bar bites. With that said, you’re not going to see too much German food there. While they do have some, it’s not all bockwurst and knockwurst.
The wings were pretty good, and the sauce was one that would work well with many light beers. For a headier beer, you might want to try some of the other items on the menu…like a burger.
In terms of beer, well…Let’s just put it this way. If I still drank, I would probably find this to be a good rendition of Valhalla. The selection was amazing. Though most of their choices were alcoholic, they made sure to have stuff sober folks like myself would like too. Non-alcoholic beers (yum!) and Nitro Cold Brew on tap come to mind.
One thing that I appreciated seeing was the entry to the Biergarten. Unlike most other drinking areas, I saw a bouncer checking IDs there. So, no people under 21 are allowed in this venue, even if they aren’t there to drink. (Or at the very least, that’s what happened when I went there.)
So, while it’s casual and loud, it’s not the kind of place where you bring kids. It’s meant to be a place for adults to hang out, chill, and have fun. Unsurprisingly, I saw a ton of young adults and parents who had a sitter for the day in the area. Oh, and since it’s near Monmouth University, you can also expect a garden variety of college kids, too.
Overall, it was a nice trip to a cool beer hall that made me smile. As one of Asbury Park’s more iconic restaurants, I’d always driven by wondering what was the deal. It was nice to finally get inside for once. After all, most of the time, this place becomes crazy busy at night!
 | 527 Lake Ave, Asbury Park, NJ 07712 |
 | https://asburybiergarten.com/ |
 | +17329978767 |
Nicoise, for anyone who is uncertain, means something coming from Nice, on the south coast of France. In culinary terms it will mean that the dish contains garlic, anchovies and black olives and, probably, tomatoes. One of the most famous dishes from the region that most people will have encountered is a Salade Nicoise, often made with canned tuna, boiled egg, anchovy, capers and black olives.
Here is my take on Tuna Nicoise done as a hot dish with fresh tuna. Living very close to the Mediterranean I am extremely lucky to have à supply of fresh tuna loin. My best advice for cooking the tuna is to treat it like a fillet steak and only cook it to medium at most. Some would say that you only need to lightly sear the outside of the tuna steak.
In order to remain true to the classic I have included boiled eggs, anchovy, capers and green beans. I have also made a tuile, sail shaped, from parmesan cheese – I know, not strictly Nicoise!
If you have a full tuna loin cut steaks about 1-2cm thick. Alternatively, buy them from your usual fishmonger but do not be afraid to ask about the tuna. If you want the best and more sustainable fish ask for Yellowfin or Bigeye and also ask about the traceability to ensure that the fish has come from a sustainable fishery. If you are really pushing the boat out, try some Bluefin but it is going to cost you and is currently on the endangered list.
For the accompaniments, boil some eggs for 7 minutes, peel and slice into quarters. This dish works really well with some boiled new potatoes, lightly buttered and sprinkled with parsley. Cook some French beans to serve on the side. To stay on the Nicoise theme, make some tapenade with black olives, garlic, anchovies and olive oil – tapenade can be strongly flavoured so you don’t need too much.
The sauce I have made is a butter sauce with the addition of a few capers. To make the sauce; put a glass of white wine in a shallow pan with a few drops of wine vinegar, some capers and a pinch of salt. Heat it gently and let the wine reduce by at least half the quantity then add some chilled butter cut into cubes. Add the butter one cube at a time, stir and watch the sauce thicken. To finish off the sauce you could add a splash of double cream.
For the parmesan “sail”. One egg white lightly whisked, a tablespoon of flour and 50g grated parmesan cheese. Spread thinly on parchment paper on a baking sheet, put a cocktail stick in each one (the mast) and cook in the oven until they just start to colour. Allow to cool and lift them off the paper.
When you think of tuna do you think of that beige looking product found in a tin, or do you think about that glorious fish and the tender, rich meat that it provides? In this article we are only interested in fresh tuna caught out in the ocean, although to be fair your canned tuna did once swim in the ocean.
Tuna is not actually a single species of fish but covers as many as twelve different varieties of which five are mainly eaten in the Western World. They all have unique characteristics and are often found in different oceans. Whilst researching this article I have discovered that there is some crossover of names of Tuna between Europe and the United States.
As I am writing this based in France I will use the European and apologise to any Americans who may disagree with me!
The smallest and most abundant Tuna is Skipjack. If you have just opened a tin of tuna and mixed it with mayonnaise to slap in a sandwich then the chances are that it is Skipjack. They are relatively small in size, growing up to about 1 metre and weighing 20kg. Fortunately they have a very fast lifecycle and breed at a young age, so there is not much danger of a threat by overfishing, although it is the most widely fished tuna in the world. In France they are also known as “faux thon” or false tuna as they do not actually belong to the tuna family
Extremely widely fished in virtually all oceans including the Mediterranean the white tuna is so called because of its pale flesh which is very pale rosé in colour. It is a fairly small tuna growing to just over 1 metre with à weight of 15 to 20 kg. Stocks are pretty good but it is advised not to over consume them from the Mediterranean or Pacific. It is often known as Albacore in English speaking regions.
The Albacore is also known in France as “thon jaune” (Yellow Tuna) but Yellow Fin Tuna in the rest of the World is not known as Albacore. This is a truly impressive fish growing up to 2 metres and often weighing 100kg, found in tropical and sub-tropical waters. The colour of the flesh is a deeper red than that of the Germon Tuna and has a mild but meaty flavour. Once cooked the flesh turns to a grayish colour not dissimilar to swordfish. Yellowfin can also be eaten raw as sashimi or sushi. Unfortunately it has been listed as “menaced” because of some over fishing in certain areas particularly the Indian Ocean. In the past too many young fish have been captured before having a chance to breed. A responsible fishmonger will be able to provide proper traceability.
I simply love the name of this tuna – literally translated it means Fat Tuna. If that isn’t the name of my next restaurant…..! Also known in the USA as Big Eye Tuna. These fish can grow up to 2 metres and weigh a whopping 150kg living as long as 9 years in tropical and temperate oceans. They are very much prized for use as sashimi. But if you want to cook your tuna steak treat it à little like a fillet of beef. The flesh is firm and meaty with a relatively high fat content (more than yellowfin) so cook it rare or medium-rare leaving the beautiful deep pink colour in the middle. Unfortunately due to the popularity of the Big Eye it has been over fished but the US Fisheries is working to help conserve the species in the Atlantic.
The Bluefin Tuna is split into three species depending on where they come from – Atlantic (which covers the Mediterranean), Pacific and Southern . The Bluefin is also described as the greatest fish in the ocean – large, fast and elegant. The biggest market for Bluefin is Japan, where it is sold as sashimi, which accounts for around 80% of the global market. Unlike other tuna this fish can live for as long as 40 years and measure 3 metres in length.
The flesh is a lovely deep red colour with a meaty texture. Again if you are cooking it be careful not to overcook it- rare/ medium-rare is sufficient. Unfortunately stocks of Pacific Bluefin are dangerously low, although with fishing quotas and stock management the forecast is looking better. Atlantic Bluefin came close to extinction but stocks have recovered and there is even talk of increasing quotas in the Mediterranean.
In terms of nutritional value tuna is extremely good for you. Full of protein and low in harmful fats but high in Omega 3 fats and low in sugar.. Tuna also contains an important source of creatine, a derivative of amino acid, effective in building muscle mass and present in the brain. Many top athletes eat tuna to help build muscle without excessive fat. One word of caution; some tuna can be high in mercury, so over consumption is not recommended.
Covid is influencing organizations across enterprises and the globe, and the food industry is no special case especially in Nepal. Considering the episode, Nepalese food organizations are settling on troublesome choices like closing down activities and initiating travel boycotts and the effect doesn’t stop there.
Here’s how the Nepalese food industry is responding to coronavirus.
Consumers in areas where coronavirus has hit are filling their cupboards with shelf-stable foods like canned goods, dried beans and rice, powdered milk, and plant-based milk. According to RamBahadur, sales of such products rose dramatically in the week ending March 7 “dried beans sales went up by 63%, rice by 58%, chickpeas/garbanzos by 47%, powdered milk products by 126%, water by 42%, and meat by 58% said Ram Bahadur”.Ram Bahadur is the local shopkeeper here in Kathmandu, Lainchour.
Although the frenzy purchasing lately has caused transitory item deficiencies, the country’s general food supply is fit as a fiddle to endure this hardship. Furthermore, some food organizations are making changes to their tasks because of expanding requests. For instance, Campbell Soup declared on March 4 that it would build soup creation. Furthermore, since eateries across the district are shut, General Stores has moved tasks at its handling plants to fill staple stock necessities rather than cafes. They’re additionally “running slaughterhouses at the full limit and on ends of the week” and hope to adjust market interest soon.
Investigators at Bernstein anticipate Covid will help producers of frozen and rack stable bundled food sources including Campbell Soup, Conagra Brands, General Mills, Kellogg, Mondelez International, and JM Smucker. Then, organizations that inventory the foodservice/QSR channel (e.g., Beyond Meat, Tyson Foods, McCormick) may “face close term headwinds in case of an enormous scope flare-up in the Nepal”
Buyers have been keeping away from new produce, dairy, and meat, yet not due to the more limited timeframe of realistic usability related to such items “customers are suspicious of new items that have gone far due to the improved probability of numerous human touchpoints before coming to the racks in the supermarket,” RamBahadur says.
Nepal imports and fares billions of rupees worth of food from China consistently, and the COVID-19 episode is affecting. In February, Wai Foods and Nepal agrarian gatherings said that Covid is upsetting meat shipments from China. As China enters its recuperation stage, notwithstanding, laborers are returning and beginning to diminish port blockage.
The dairy business is additionally encountering disturbance the severe techniques needed for dairy fares could postpone supply and decrease costs.
The FDA explained that they are “not mindful of any reports during this season of human ailments that recommend COVID-19 can be sent by food or food bundling.” Still, Matthew Wadiak, the fellow benefactor of Blue Apron, proposes Covid will provoke organizations to source a greater amount of their grains and different wares locally.
Back in February, several companies decided to shut down operations in China. The food industry giants both closed factories in Wuhan the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.
However, food facilities in China are beginning to come back to life. General Store Foods has reopened some of its Chinese operations, and Nepal is benefiting it a lot due to the blockage of the food supply from China. Slowly it was getting normal after the first wave of Covid but the second wave destroyed it all and brought us back where we were.
Utilization is dropping in Asia, making organizations reevaluate their monetary gauges. RamBahadur anticipates a deficiency of up to 5 lakhs in deals. Coca-Cola “doesn’t anticipate accomplishing its recently given monetary direction to 2020, as the adverse consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic has essentially expanded.”
Different organizations say it’s too early to tell how serious the monetary effects will be. Notwithstanding, General Mills is anticipating that food at home will be popular as schools and cafés close down around the country.
Expo scratch-offs and changes in purchaser purchasing practices are making difficulties for food and drink item improvement. Numerous organizations were depending on ideal freedoms to support their advertising endeavors and had arranged their item dispatches around career expo openings. While virtual exchange shows are a choice during these questionable occasions, it’s difficult to coordinate with the openness an actual career expo corner offers.
Presently isn’t the best an ideal opportunity to put another item on supermarket retires all things considered. Retailers and buyers are loading up on fundamentals, and any new items are probably going to lose all sense of direction in the mix. This is provoking dispatch delays as organizations center around guaranteeing an adequate stock of their present items.
Due to less physical activities these days, children are more facing the problem of obesity. Children are consuming more than exercise. These things create a great risk factor for children and their immune systems. Obesity can likewise adjust insusceptible reactions, as has been appeared with the flu infection, prompting debilitated host protection and a more noteworthy possibility of a cytokine storm with Coronavirus 19.910 Finally, stoutness reduces lung work through more prominent obstruction in the aviation routes and more trouble in growing the lungs. At the point when patients with weight should be conceded to concentrated consideration units, it is trying to improve their oxygen immersion levels and ventilate them.
Production network interruptions can happen attributable to human-made catastrophes and common disasters. Worldwide, a few examples happened in the past like the Gujarat tremor (2001), the wave in Japan (2011), the Indian Ocean quake, and the tidal wave (2004) (Gou and Lam 2019). Additionally, the flare-up of irresistible illness, Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought a worldwide misfortune for living souls, yet in addition practical exercises like assembling activities, inventory network, and coordinations, and a few different areas (Dolgui, Ivanov, and Sokolov 2020; Golan, Jernegan, and Linkov 2020; Haren and Simchi-Levi 2020; Hobbs 2020; Ivanov 2020a, 2020c; Ivanov and Dolgui 2020a; Iyengar et al. 2020; Linton and Vakil 2020; Remko 2020; Rowan and Laffey 2020).
Coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected the car area, the travel industry, avionics industry, oil industry, development industry, telecom area, food industry, and medical care industry (Chamola et al. 2020). Beginning cases were accounted for in December 2019 and saw as manifestations of pneumonia in the Wet Markets of Wuhan City in Hubei Province, China (Rothan and Byrareddy 2020), and later named as COVID-19. By noticing the gravity of wellbeing dangers caused because of the focused energy of the infection, World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020 (Eurosurveillance Editorial Team 2020).
In only a couple a very long time of the episode of the infection, a generous level of dread and nervousness has been seen among individuals, and it likewise causes a mental effect on emotional well-being (WHO 2020c). Further, noticing the impact of erratic and uncontrolled disease with more than 118,000 cases in 114 nations over the world, the WHO assigned this infection as a COVID-19 Pandemic on 11 March 2020 (WHO 2020a).
Until now (June 15, 2020) 435,600 individuals have kicked the bucket everywhere on the globe, and it might likewise accept a lot more lives as 7.9 million individuals have tried positive and continuous development has been seen in the number of contaminations of COVID-19. In India, COVID-19 cases have arrived at 368,705 in the third seven-day stretch of June 2020 (Dong, Du, and Gardner 2020). Developing cases cause huge tension on the medical care inventory network for a dire requirement for individual defensive gear (PPE), veil, and drugs (Iyengar et al. 2020). This point is not really connected to Nepal but the same scenario is also happening here.
There is a restaurant on the port of a small holiday town on the Mediterranean coast near where I live that my wife and I go to as frequently as possible. In reality that may only be about once a month as it’s about a one hour drive and we are quite occupied with our own restaurant business. I tend not to write restaurant reviews, this may be as close as I come to writing one, but I want to illustrate the reasons we keep going back to this particular restaurant.
The coastal town of St Cyprien is well known to tourists with its expanse of golden beaches and renowned harbour and port. During the summer months the town is busy, accommodations are booked out and restaurants and bars are buzzing. Like most tourist destinations there is a strip of restaurants, bars and nightlife, where most people like to be seen, offering the usual tourist interests, mostly centred around the port area and close to the beach. However, the restaurant I am talking about is located a little away from the main drag and more toward the working section of the port near the boatyards.
If you want to get into La Tonnelle, even on a lunchtime in October, you need to reserve in advance. The restaurant is extremely popular with locals and tourists alike. So what makes this restaurant special? I will try to explain.
You have to start with the kerb appeal. It is situated across a small road from the port with great views of all the boats moored up. The terrace is up 5 steps and is glassed in, although all the glass does open giving plenty of fresh air. From the outside there is a well presented blackboard with the day’s menu and a fixed menu stand with the à la carte menu. Through the glass it is possible to see the tables neatly laid with pristine white cloths – but there is nothing pretentious about this restaurant; it just looks welcoming.
Once inside the restaurant you are welcomed and shown to your table. The noise level is always a pleasant chatter – people seem to relax and enjoy themselves – something that appears quite rare in other restaurants.
Let’s talk about the food and menu. The daytime menu is very reasonably priced with a choice normally of 5 or 6 dishes. Everything is fresh, cooked to order and presented neatly. The portions are not huge but by the time you’ve eaten three courses you’ve had sufficient. It is not the kind of food to make you go “Wow”, but you know what you’re going to get. The à la carte menu, as you would expect, contains plenty of fish and seafood dishes.
The service sets this place apart. The maitre d’ is relaxed and has time for everyone. He is the only person to take food orders, thus controlling the influx to the kitchen. There are normally four other servers, all of whom have been employed for some time, to provide food service, drinks and generally keep the place tidy for around 100-120 covers..
The beauty of La Tonnelle is that it operates like a well-oiled machine. When you consider that here in France lunchtime is 12 noon, and pretty much everyone wants to be in a restaurant and seated between 12 and 12.30 before returning to work at 2pm, then coping with a full service of 100 covers is impressive.
Back to the original question of what makes a good restaurant and why do people return. For me it is summed up in one word – consistency. The food is well prepared, well cooked and well presented. It is not exceptional but it is consistent. The service is efficient, friendly and consistent. The establishment is consistently appealing. And the guy in charge is consistently present and has time for everyone, not just an elite group of cronies. The customers create the atmosphere but if they were not relaxed and confident of receiving that consistency then the level of chatter would be much lower and the degree of nervousness much higher.
There is a reason McDonald’s has been so successful – they are consistent across the World! What I am trying to demonstrate is that a restaurant is about an all round experience. We have two expressions in my kitchen – the first is that you are only as good as the last meal you served, and the second is that you can serve the best meal in the world badly and customers will not return but serve a good meal well and people will return.
Unfortunately, due to recent Covid restrictions, La Tonnelle, like all restaurants, has been closed for the past 7 months. They have recently reopened their terrace area and I am very much looking forward to a visit next week.
RESTAURANT LA TONNELLE
8 Quai Arthur Rimbaud, 66750 Saint-Cyprien, France
+33 4 68 95 79 88
SAINT-CYPRIEN
The 19th May 2021 was a date that was anticipated with great expectation here in France. After seven months of closure restaurants and bars were finally going to be allowed to open their terrasses to the general public. Some had even called for May 19th to be a new National Day, such was the renewed feeling of freedoms returning and life becoming “normal” once more. The rules for opening were, and still are, quite strict. Originally the government announced a maximum occupancy on terraces of 50%, but that left small restaurants, like my own, without any viable opportunity to reopen.
For those of us with less than 10 tables outside we have been permitted to open at full capacity. All customers must continue to wear a face mask until they are seated and replace it if they get up for any reason. All servers must continually wear a mask. Nobody is allowed indoors except to use the bathroom, one at a time, and there is alcohol gel everywhere! Plus there is still a 9pm nationwide curfew in place.
In the days before the 19th everywhere you turned work was being done inside and outside restaurants. Furniture that had spent the winter stacked in a corner was being cleaned, terraces swept and repaired, parasols replaced and there was a general air of busyness.
There was a renewed camaraderie between staff members that had been brought back from furlough, chefs were once again firing the kitchen and, something we hadn’t seen for a while, food and beverage delivery vans. The only factor that no-one had any control over was the weather but even if the forecast for most of France was to be wet it was not going to dampen the spirits on opening day!
The day of opening was as expected. A rush of people from the moment of opening until closing, in time to beat the curfew. There were some reported isolated incidents of stupidity amongst people thinking their tolerance for alcohol was far greater than it actually is and, in a couple of larger cities, the police had to intervene. But now that the excitement is over what has the first two weeks been like in reality?
Traditionally in France lunch is a very big deal. Two hours, everything closes and workers head to their nearest restaurant for a menu du jour. Over the past seven months this has not been possible and many of those workers have got out of the habit of going for lunch. There has also been a shift in the employment law. Previously workers were not allowed, by law, to eat lunch at their desks but since the restaurant closure this has changed. Many restaurants have reported sales being lower than expected whether this is caused by a change in habits, continued nervousness of being in groups or the weather, remains to be seen.
Unfortunately, the weather has certainly played its part with more rain than is normal for this time of year. As I write this it is raining and I have reservations for this evening! Customers are not allowed inside and the rules for providing shelter outside are strict. Evening trade is being severely hampered because of the curfew. Restaurants that would normally manage two services do not have the time to turn the tables. The last time for reservation has to be around 8pm but many people work until at least 6pm or even 7pm. Traditionally evening service does not start until 7pm or 7.30pm
Another factor that has become evident very quickly is that there is a shortage of hospitality staff. With the majority of catering employees either being furloughed or finding alternative employment over the past seven months it seems that some bars and restaurants are struggling to recruit for the summer season. There is a similar issue in the UK and, I would expect.it will be a repeated pattern across many countries as they reopen the hospitality industry.
On a personal level my own restaurant has been quiet during the first weeks of reopening. We have only four tables outside because of neighbouring doorways and public access along the street but we felt it was important to get the restaurant open again before our customers forgot we were there. We are still offering a takeaway service and many of our regular clients are still choosing this option.
Luckily, until today, it has not rained but I find myself checking the weather forecast at least twice a day. Stock control is one of the most difficult issues that we face. Knowing how much to buy for the restaurant in normal times can be tricky, but with the threat of rain and then no customers…………impossible!
The next significant date for the hospitality industry is June 9th. At this point we will be permitted to allow customers inside with a maximum of 50% of our normal capacity and outdoor terraces will be back to full capacity. There will also be a system of QR codes that customers must use to register themselves within the premises, which is linked to the government’s track and trace system, in order to be alerted if there are any reported Covid cases at that establishment.
The national curfew will also be relaxed to 11pm. Everyone within the industry is hopeful of progressing in the right direction and of continuing to open up leading into the summer. We can only hope that Covid cases continue to decline and that there is no further closure.
The hospitality industry in the United Kingdom entered its second phase of reopening, following the pandemic closures, on May 17th. From this date pubs, restaurants, cafés and bars have been permitted to allow customers inside their premises; since the first phase of opening on April 12th customers have only been allowed to use the outside areas. After a particularly cold April, the coldest in 100 years, the pent up demand for dining indoors has been enormous and many establishments have found themselves fully booked with customers but struggling to get staff.
As we all know, when the pandemic first struck it was the hospitality industry that suffered amongst the worst of all businesses. Almost half of all unemployment in the UK caused by the pandemic was from hospitality and catering staff. Now as places start to reopen you would think that there would be a surplus of good, well-qualified staff just itching to get back to it, but, unfortunately, this does not appear to be the case.
In the past, and by “past” I mean pre-pandemic, the hospitality sector employed a mix of career caterers, foreign nationals and students. Post pandemic it appears that many of those career caterers have had a change of heart and are now looking for employment in less stressful environments and with better working hours, conditions and pay. The other major influencing factor on recruitment in the past year has been Brexit.
When some of those catering employees were laid off at the start of 2020 many of them returned to their country of origin to be with family during the crisis. However, at the start of 2021 the UK left its membership of the European Union and with it the right to work for European migrant workers. Much of the Brexit debate was based around immigration and migrant workers taking jobs that could be filled by British nationals. It appears now that not many British nationals want low paid hard work within the hospitality industry.
A friend of mine has just opened a new catering establishment after putting her plans on hold for nearly a year. On opening night, with plenty of reservations in the diary, her head chef failed to show up. In the week that followed she arranged interviews with three other potential chefs – all of whom failed to turn up to the interview! At the moment this is not an isolated incident and there are many anecdotes doing the rounds on very much the same theme.
Pay and conditions within catering have improved enormously in recent years and it is no longer the poor relation to more glamorous retail jobs. But the recruitment crisis is not just at entry level. In London there is a severe shortage of qualified chefs and catering managers with job postings 20% higher than pre-pandemic. In fact some of the larger London companies are offering very attractive joining bonuses to help attract qualified staff, and I expect some managers are pretty much naming their price! Some companies will obviously promote from within and look to hire less qualified junior employees.
In the future as things continue to settle down and we get over the initial Brexit problems many of those vacancies will again be filled and our wonderful industry will operate as efficiently as it should. But in the meantime while pubs and restaurants are simply struggling to get open again and need all the revenue they can get, it’s going to be hard work to get the team together. I just hope customers will be understanding of some of the issues that we face.
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