Permanent al fresco dining will form part of Boris Johnson’s ‘levelling up’ drive: Al fresco dining will become the norm and pavement licences made permanent as part of government plans to rejuvenate the high street after the pandemic, Boris Johnson is expected to say. In a speech next week on ‘levelling up’ the country, the prime minister will set out further details on how he intends to deliver on the election slogan, which has been criticised for its vagueness and lack of focus. Just last month, a Lords report warned that the prime minister’s vow to level up the country would fail unless he cancels spending cuts, devolves power, and ends ‘political bias’ in handing out funds. No 10, which has described levelling up as the ‘central purpose’ of Mr Johnson’s premiership, said the regeneration of the high street will form a key part of his address next week. Pavement licences are to be extended and then made permanent, with the aim of making it easier and cheaper for pubs, restaurants and cafes to set up tables outside and serve more customers. Temporary permissions for pubs to serve takeaway pints are also set to be extended for 12 months in anticipation of the easing of the vast majority of remaining covid restrictions on 19 July. A government spokesperson said: “The prime minister is determined to level up the UK and deliver a fairer, stronger society – one where whatever your background and wherever you live, everyone can access the opportunities they need to succeed. While talent and potential is distributed evenly across the country, opportunity is not,” they added. “That’s why, as we emerge from the pandemic, it’s vital that we do not make the mistakes of the recovery from the financial crash, and seize this moment to ensure a better quality of life for people in every part of the UK.” (The Independent)

Covid passports in pubs could be final straw for boozers struggling in pandemic: More struggling local pubs will close down if drinkers are forced to show a certificate before they can order a pint, industry chiefs warn. Covid passports could prove “the straw that breaks the camel’s back” for traditional boozers, sector insiders say. The government proposes making pubs, restaurants and nightclubs check the vaccination status of all customers from autumn before letting them in. The move was put forward as a way of boosting jab rates among the young. Official figures show the take-up of first vaccines doses has halved in two weeks, to under 100,000 a day. Industry chiefs are furious they have not been consulted about the passport plans. One industry insider said: “We’ve not been part of any working group discussions on this. We’ve tried to engage with the government on contingency plans for the winter but they have not engaged with us on any of their thinking.” Dermot King, boss of the 35-strong Oakman Inns pub group, said it would be “a lot of administration and costly effort” for landlords. He said: “It’s frustrating that the hospitality industry has been asked to do the government’s job. It will be costly to implement because it involves putting people at the door.” King said traditional pubs that struggled to operate during the pandemic would be worst hit. He added: “For these, it will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.” The British Beer and Pub Association warned there would be “significant push back” against the passports and said it hoped the successful vaccine rollout would avoid the need for them. (The Mirror)

Staff shortages force restaurants and pubs to face ‘freedom day’ with fear: The end of covid restrictions in England will allow hospitality venues to reopen fully. But many will not, because self-isolation rules could still close them down at short notice. “It will be like Christmas on steroids, but we’re not in a position to take advantage,” says Paul Askew, chef-patron of the Art School restaurant in Liverpool. Covid has only added to the problems caused by Brexit, which has made it tougher to bring in EU workers who make up a high proportion of the hospitality workforce. The trade body UKHospitality estimates that up to one third of the industry workforce are off work self-isolating at present, with numbers rising. Askew says demand for tables at the Art School is high, as people want to step out for long-delayed celebrations of birthdays and anniversaries or treat themselves after a tough 15 months. But the fine-dining restaurant is operating only 75% of its usual tables and capping bookings. That situation will continue after 19 July, with serving staff also continuing to wear masks, as he is short-handed and in fear of anyone getting sick or coming into contact with a covid case. He would normally have 35 staff but is currently operating with 25 and struggling to recruit after losing seven workers who returned home to France, Spain and elsewhere in Europe, while four others remain on furlough and are not ready to return. On Father’s Day weekend last month, the restaurant had to turn away 300 booked diners, when it was forced to close for three days after key staff had to self-isolate. “I lost about £30,000 in revenue. You can’t do that too many times. The pressure is gigantic,” says Askew. “We don’t have the capacity to bring in staff [if someone is sick or isolating]: we are too thin. There is nobody on the bench,” he says. “It’s a constant conflict for many of us. We’re desperate to improve cash flow and revenue after the last 15 months but desperate not to lose our brilliant staff.” The restaurant has already put up wages by 10% this year but says the number of applicants for jobs is much lower than usual; also, many are not experienced and balk at the work expected of them. (The Guardian)

NHS covid app is scrubbed from phones to avoid ‘ping’ of self-isolation: Millions of people across England are believed to have deleted the NHS contact-tracing app to avoid self-isolating and missing out on work and holidays. A poll by The Sunday Times of more than 9,000 readers found four in ten had removed it from their phones. The number of people who have been ‘pinged’ and told to self-isolate has rocketed, with 356,036 receiving alerts in the last week of June, up 62% from 219,391 the previous week. Ministers are examining how the app, which has led many to self-isolate despite repeatedly testing negative for coronavirus, can be made less sensitive. The surge in pings has led to severe staff shortages in sectors such as healthcare and hospitality, which many fear will worsen. Asked whether they had deleted the app to avoid self-isolation, 42% of 8,965 respondents to the online survey said they had, with 58% keeping it. Those who have the app can be told to self-isolate if they have spent 15 minutes or more within two metres of someone who has coronavirus. If the person repeatedly tests negative, they are still told to stay at home for up to ten days. Some bosses are said to be directing employees to delete the app. UKHospitality, which represents restaurants and hotels, said about 20% of staff in the sector were self-isolating at any given time, with the figure expected to rise. (Sunday Times)

Fuller’s tells staff to switch off NHS app and come to work... in case they get pinged and are forced to self-isolate: A pub chain has advised staff to delete the NHS covid app over concerns they will be pinged and forced to self-isolate. In a text message, a manager at London-based Fuller’s brewery, which operates more than 380 pubs, said they should ‘pause or delete the app to avoid being pinged to isolate’. The message reminded them that ‘there is no legal requirement to isolate’ but added: “If you are contacted by NHS Track and Trace you MUST by law comply and isolate.’ A Fuller’s spokesman said: ‘We have shared guidance provided by our trade association, UK Hospitality, regarding the NHS app and the confirmation that notifications are advisory only. This guidance also recommends that team members turn off contact tracing at work or when phones are in lockers. We have not told anyone to delete the app.” (Mail on Sunday)

Economic recovery slows despite reopening of restaurants and bars: The lifting of covid restrictions on indoor hospitality was not enough to stop the economic recovery losing momentum in May, official figures show. Output grew by 0.8%, down from 2% in April and smaller than the 1.5% expansion forecast by economists. The Office for National Statistics said the economy was still 3.1% smaller than it was in February last year, before the pandemic hit. Jonathan Athow, the ONS’s deputy national statistician, said: “The economy remains around 3% below its pre-pandemic peak.” Growth was driven by pubs, restaurants and hotels serving guests indoors again. Accommodation and food service activities grew by 37.1% but the broader services sector expanded by only 0.9%, the ONS said. The hospitality sector is likely to have expanded further last month as the main restrictions on indoor dining were only lifted towards the end of May. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, said: “It’s great to see people back out and about thanks to the success of the vaccine rollout, and to see that reflected in economic growth. Our unprecedented support, including business loans, furlough and a reduced rate of VAT for the hospitality and tourism sectors, has protected millions of jobs and helped businesses survive the pandemic.” (The Times)

UK drive-through booms as brands invest in new sites: Drive-through restaurants used to be a US-inspired novelty but a big increase in custom during the pandemic means money is pouring into new UK sites, with even upmarket names looking to serve food through car windows for the first time. New property research suggests that demand for drive-throughs has increased by 25% post-covid with restaurant chains looking to open a total of 200 sites a year. The clamour comes as established names such as McDonald’s and Burger King face competition from North American brands such as Tim Hortons, famous for its coffee and doughnuts, and burger chain Wendy’s. The growing trend for ordering burgers, fizzy drinks and coffee from our cars, which comes at a time when the UK is trying to reduce car use and obesity, is spreading beyond its traditional heartland of Big Macs and chicken nuggets. Drive-throughs have fallen in and out of favour with Britons since McDonald’s opened the first one in Fallowfield, Manchester in the 1980s. They were back in vogue before the pandemic but since lockdown demand has surged, said Thomas Rose, a co-founder of the real estate consultancy P-Three which compiled the research. He explains that operators like them because they generate high sales and require fewer staff than a sit-in property. Demand for sites “has probably increased 25% post-covid as we see a shift to more convenience”, said Rose. “There are around 200 sites per year required by operators. The pressure for sites is significant and competitive bidding for the best locations between operators is becoming more common, pushing values higher.” In the US, where visiting a drive-through is more popular than home-delivery services, health and environmental concerns have led to moves to halt the construction of new sites in some cities. Rose thinks UK planners should think hard about giving drive-throughs (in towns and city centres and on retail parks as opposed to on motorways) the go-ahead. “Drive-throughs are the antithesis of the community spirit upon which the revival of many UK communities depends,” said Rose of a dining format that encourages people to “remain separated from each other in their vehicles and travel no further than the collection point and back home”. “There’s no question drive-throughs are exceptionally convenient, especially for young families, shift workers and those on long journeys. However, that convenience comes at an environmental and societal cost. I can’t see that it is a price worth paying.” (The Guardian)

Euro 2020 final will be busiest night for pizza since New Year’s Eve: If England score tonight staff probably will not notice at Domino’s Pizza in Brentford, west London. They will be too hectic on their second busiest night of the year, beaten only by New Year’s Eve. Just under five miles from Wembley Stadium Mariana Cebanu, the general manager, has spent days planning to ensure that pizzas arrive hot and on time at their customers’ front doors. Most people want them either just before kick-off, or at half-time. Cebanu has an idea of what to expect. On Wednesday, as England beat Denmark, four workers made 305 pizzas, each baked for exactly six minutes. The football was not shown inside the store, with Denmark’s own goal registered only when a driver walked in and announced the score a few minutes later. “I was paying more attention to what the drivers were doing,” Cebanu said. The 19 people who ordered pineapple on their pizzas on Wednesday had clearly paid no notice to an Italian fan who held a banner at the game reading “Stop putting pineapple on pizza”. After arriving in the UK in 1985, Domino’s has grown into Britain’s biggest-selling pizza brand, selling £1.4 billion of pizzas last year from 1,100 stores. It grew in popularity at the turn of the century, partly through its sponsorship of The Simpsons. In Brentford, preparation for tonight’s game began minutes after England won on Wednesday. “We have to be very organised, everyone has to know what their job is,” said Cebanu, who moved to the UK from Moldova five years ago and has worked for Domino’s ever since. “Mistakes happen, but we try and sort it out as quickly as possible so the pizza gets to the customer on time.” Jason Hunt, Domino’s operations development manager in the UK, said it was “always going to be a challenge” to persuade staff to work during the match. To sweeten the deal, staff are to be paid an extra £6 an hour on top of their usual rate of about £9.75. (Sunday Times)

Commercial landlords improve rent collection: Leading commercial landlords have reported improved rent collection for the latest quarter but said retail and leisure tenants continued to hold back cash. Land Securities collected 76% of the amount due on the June quarter payment date, up from 67% the prior quarter. Some 81% of rent had been received by Wednesday. The office landlord also confirmed that it would pay a first quarter dividend of 7p a share for the current financial year, which annualises at 28p a share. However, that is behind an analyst consensus forecast of 32.97p a share for the 12 months to March 2022. Shares in FTSE 100 constituent Land Securities were up almost 3% to 685p on the morning of the update, although they have underperformed the broader index so far this year. Its rival Derwent London also reported a higher rent collection rate for the June quarter, of 89%, compared with 87% in March. Mark Allan, chief executive of Land Securities, said a rise in people returning to work and the reopening of businesses had led to more tenants engaging with the landlord over rent arrears. The ban on commercial evictions was due to expire at the end of June but was extended until March next year. However, Allan said the moratorium needed to end “so that we can meaningfully address those last remaining well-capitalised businesses who continue to refuse to engage with us”. Land Securities and Derwent both reported more heavy shortfalls in collection rates from retail and leisure tenants. Landsec received 43% just of the amount owed from its “sub-scale” leisure, hotel and retail park assets, while the latter received just 27%. (The Times)

The Liverpool pub and hospitality group gifting staff mortgage deposits: A Liverpool-based pub and hospitality group says it will provide mortgage loans for staff across its all sites as it bids to retain employees amid a sector crisis. Circle & Hen Group said it is keen to invest in its “most prized asset”, and has launched the “ground breaking” financial incentive package at its three venues – The Jubilee in Litherland, The Hoggins Irish Pub in Old Swan, and The Thatch and Thistle in Southport. The firm said on Friday it will provide an interest-free, 5% home deposit loan for staff wishing to buy a property for the first time. The brand said that as getting on the housing ladder becomes more and more difficult, this move will provide staff with a “sense of permanence”, as well as encouraging them to grow their careers at the group. A spokesperson for Circle & Hen group said: “We have been investigating other industries which encourage growth for their employees, both personally and commercially. Hospitality has always had its own superstars, but we wanted to really create a benchmark in terms of support and recognition. Within Circle & Hen Group, we have recently developed our own, detailed 15-year business development blueprint, and so obviously it made sense to us to discuss recruiting, retaining, and investing in staff. We also consulted with our current personnel to gain valuable feedback and their message was clear: they desire both job and personal financial security.” The spokesperson said if an employee joins the scheme but later sells their property, the initial 5% interest-free loan would be returned to the business. There is also an upper limit on the property purchase value. The spokesperson added: “As property prices are rising in the area, we know from talking to our employees that this is a fair transaction for everyone involved.” (Business Live)

Giles Coren reviews the Lamb Inn, Oxfordshire: I’ll tell you where you do go for the food: anywhere run by Peter Creed and Tom Noest. The Bell Inn at Langford, was Noest and Creed’s first venture and admittedly the best pub restaurant in the country, but that is not where we are going today – you want head for Shipton-under-Wychwood and the Lamb Inn. Just like The Bell, the Lamb had lain derelict for a while so there was roofing to be done, rewiring and replumbing, and a new kitchen to be built. For Peter it was a coming home of sorts: he lived in the village for ten years, played for the local football and cricket teams, and while he loves Langford and the Bell, he says, “It’s nice to be north of the A40 again, in the proper Cotswolds, in amongst all these other great pubs.” The menu, as anywhere with Noest in the kitchen will be, is a humdinger. Fans of the Bell (that means anyone who has ever been there) will be delighted to see such established classics as the devilled kidneys, the pizzas, the garlic, parsley and bone marrow flatbread, the double cheeseburger with the astonishing “not McDonald’s” sauce and one or two others. But elsewhere there is a turn towards the rural French bistro with a brilliant special that day of sweetbreads, bacon and peas and, on the starters, “Escargot and crispy frogs’ legs”. “We wanted to differentiate a bit,” says Peter, “and maybe give people who are staying at the Bell something different if they come here for lunch. It’s also about challenging the locals a tiny bit. Like when we put the bone marrow on years ago at the Bell: lots of people out here didn’t think of bone marrow as something to eat. They mostly eat fillet steak. So it makes for a talking point.” We also had half a pint of prawns with aïoli, a zippy salad of thinly sliced beef tomatoes with a yoghurty goat’s cheese called Sinodun Hill and a bean-filled borlotti vinaigrette, the buttermilk fried chicken, of course (“It’s just like frog!”), and a magnificent whole John Dory for two with samphire and Jersey Royals. The children snarfed their burgers and pizzas as usual and then shot off down the lane to bother some ducklings and, well, I guess with places like these I can probably get through the summer. (The Times Magazine)

Marina O’Loughlin reviews the Table, Broadstairs: I was first bowled over by Joe Hill’s food at the excellent Wyatt & Jones in Broadstairs, but he’s knocked it up several notches here. Being his own boss has allowed him to be more creative, more out of the box. We order everything on the small menu apart from oysters and tomatoes. Oh, but “you have to have the tomatoes”, he tells us. “If you don’t like them, they’re on me.” And he’s right. The dish looks like nothing much, a few peeled cherry tomatoes bobbing in a clear liquid, but we spoon it in and gasp: there’s so much more going on. How, I ask him, how? “Locally grown allotment tomatoes marinated in homemade elderflower vinegar and soy. Dashi made with a local kimchi” – yes, we have kimchi in Kent – “and foraged seaweed. Then topped with fronds of cabbage, deep-fried shiso leaf and black sesame. I love trying to adapt Asian flavours to very British produce.” Dish after dish has the same effect. Some of it is elegant and sophisticated: line-caught cod salted for six to eight hours, then dressed in a sort-of-ceviche tiger’s milk of cultured buttermilk, lemongrass and lime leaves: soothing and energising at the same time. An ultra-creamy burrata – from La Latteria in London, I think – with asparagus and a rough pesto of basil and sorrel. Some verges on street-food-trashy. A play on Mexican elote: blackened corn cob slathered with curried onion mayo, lime juice and chips of golden garlic; a skewer of grill-crisped lamb neck with peas and fermented green chilli that could easily have just escaped from a celestial kebab. And some combine both qualities: soft-shell crab ‘tacos’, where sweet, crisp seafood meets the crunch and freshness of pickled vegetables, chillies and lettuce-leaf wraps. This is only the second restaurant I’ve reviewed in Broadstairs; the other was Stark – now Michelin-starred and almost literally on my doorstep. But this is a little beauty. And it’s seconds from the seafront. Who can blame any of us for welcoming an escape? (Sunday Times Magazine)

Jay Rayner reviews Pho Cue, Manchester: It’s a simple cafeteria space with fake whitewashed brick walls and a fake vertical garden, the restaurant’s name glaring out in white neon from amid the plastic flowers. The owner, Cue Tran’s family escaped Vietnam during the war in a dinghy, joining the other boat people in their search of safety. He was just a baby at the time. Now here is that family making a statement about who they are and where they have come from, one brisk, vibrant dish at a time. In the kitchen Tran is often accompanied by his father and uncle. All the classics are present and correct and all are seriously good value. Small dishes are around £6. Very few of the larger dishes make it into double figures. We see summer rolls, sliced in half and standing to attention in their silky white skins, pass us by. There are deep-fried spring rolls. Both come with pungent dipping sauces. There are, of course, banh mi, those huge lengths of over-stuffed, slightly sweet baguette, a legacy of the former French colonial power now transferred to Manchester. We have soft-shell crab, broken up and lightly battered, in a big, dry mess of onions, garlic, chilli, salt and pepper with just a touch of sugar. It’s a bowl of pow and gosh and “do you mind if I finish this?” The nearest thing to slightly arch innovation is what they call Vietnamese tacos, the wheat or corn flour tortilla replaced by hand-sized deep-fried pancakes, lined with iceberg lettuce then filled with a sweet-sour tumble of fresh tomatoes, bean sprouts, fried shallots and in our case roasted pork. It’s a messy, encouraging handful. Ask for extra napkins. The pho is everything it should be: a huge bowl, steaming with the sort of 24-hour simmered stock that helps you conclude everything is right with the world. Its rich savoury depths are profound and restorative and all consuming. Ours has thin slices of beef, poached from raw in the liquor, along with handfuls of fresh mint, coriander, spring onions and beansprouts. At the bottom is a big old tangle of slippery rice noodles. It is a dish to which you could return time and again. It is lunch by itself and, at £9.30, a damn reasonable one. (The Observer)

Tom Parker Bowles reviews KungFu Kitchen, Reading: It would be easy to walk past KungFu Kitchen with barely a second glance. Sitting in an unremarkable row of shops near Reading University, between a Greggs and a student estate agent, it still resembles the cafe it once was. There’s a blackboard flogging lattes and cappuccinos, and an epic menu mixing full English breakfast with chips, chicken nuggets and egg fried rice. But look closer, and you’ll find this is no run-of-the-mill regional takeaway. Hell no. Not so much lemon chicken as stir-fried lamb’s tripe with coriander and Dongpo-style pig shoulder. “This is proper Chinese, darling,” says Joanna, the co-owner, along with her English husband Steven. She’s charmingly loquacious, a native of Shandong in China, as is her chef. There is a magnificent starter of cold Sichuan beef. The homemade oil is gloriously fragrant and numbing, the very essence of ma la, with a slow-building burn, and a long, languorous finish. Thinly sliced meat blends soft chew with a wonderfully gelatinous crunch. Chicken gizzards, cut into small pieces and stir fried in a salty, richly complex sauce studded with Chinese chives, coriander stalks and bullet chillies, have a similar cartilaginous crunch. The heat is strident, but never overwhelming, the whole dish a triumphant symphony of texture and big, bold flavour. There’s barbecue lamb, a dish from the north, soft and gently fatty, awash in fresh roasted cumin and more of those pert chives. The sauce, knowingly spiced with a hint of sweetness, clings tenaciously to each nugget of flesh. We savour chewy homemade dan dan noodles, and attack a vast pile of local crayfish, drenched in a seething lake of crimson ire, until the table before us is covered with brutal crustacean carnage. Hand-chopped potatoes, the starch scrupulously washed away, come doused in sharp vinegar, a welcome respite from the heat. This is a 30 (authentically thin and useless)-napkin lunch. We leave, lips numb and tongues aglow, our shirts splattered with oil, our bellies filled with joy. (Mail on Sunday)