James Watt – ‘mini-Budget’ will cost hundreds of thousands if not millions of jobs as costs soar further due to falling value of pound: James Watt, co-founder of Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog, has argued the “mini-Budget” has “massively handicapped businesses and will cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions of jobs”. Sterling crashed to a record low on Monday (26 September) as traders scampered for the exits on mounting concern the new government's economic plan will stretch Britain’s finances to the limit – with chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng promising further tax cuts. The pound’s value slumped as much as 4.9% to an all-time low of $1.0327, before stabilising around $1.0699 in early London trade – still down 1.5% on the day. Watt said: “The ‘mini-Budget’ was nothing short of a startling display of incompetence that has massively handicapped businesses who are already fighting for their lives. The UK does not need recklessly uninformed tax cutting – it needs stable and disciplined fiscal responsibility. The ‘mini-Budget’ has made the current financial crisis, far, far worse than it needed. Like many businesses, much of our input costs are in dollars and the result of the ‘mini-Budget’ is our costs have now dramatically increased on top of already being up 34% versus 2021. Unfortunately the ‘mini-Budget’ will cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions of jobs.” The Bank of England said it would “not hesitate” to raise interest rates after the pound's fall. It decided not to hold an emergency meeting but said it would change them “by as much as needed” when it meets in November. Ramsey Baghdadi, foodservice analyst at GlobalData, said: “The future of smaller foodservice businesses such as pubs is in jeopardy if the UK government does not provide financial support. Margins are tight for local and independent pubs. The survival of pubs will rely on the sourcing of local, affordable ingredients, while the pound continues to fall. It is only a matter of time until we see which pubs can master adapting to a tough economic environment and which can’t.”

 

Turtle Bay CEO Nick Crossley to speak at final Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2022, three free places per company for operators: Nick Crossley, chief executive of Turtle Bay, will be among the speakers at the final Propel Multi-Club Conference of 2022, which takes place on Thursday, 10 November, at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London, and is open for bookings. The all-day conference will focus on “new ways of working”. Crossley will talk about the continued growth of the Caribbean restaurant and bar concept, its expansion plans, evolving its people culture and the importance of social media in interacting with consumers and potential employees. Operators can book up to three free places per company by emailing jo.charity@propelinfo.com.

Number of pub operators set to join updated Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies: A number of pub operators are among the 60 new multi-site companies being added to the next edition of the Propel Premium Database of Multi-Site Companies, which will be released on Friday (30 September), at midday. The updated Propel Multi-Site Database, which is produced in association with Virgate, features Black Diamond Pub Company, a high-end and food-led pub business operating village pubs, founded by Matt Henman, which operates three pubs in partnership with Greene King. Also added this month are Nottingham operators Tom Holodynsky and Owen Roach, who run sports bar Southbank City in Friars Lane, and have now opened a second sports-themed venue in the city. In addition, Deben Inns, co-owned by Steve and Louise Lomas, which operates seven pubs in Suffolk, will be featured. Premium subscribers will also receive a 4,100-word report on the new additions to the database. The comprehensive database is updated monthly and provides company names, the people in charge, how many sites each firm operates, its trading name and its registered name at Companies House if different. The database now features 2,677 companies. Premium subscribers will also receive the next edition of the New Openings Database on Friday, 7 October, at midday. It focuses on newly announced openings and upcoming launches in the sector and is updated every month. The next edition also includes a 12,000-word report on the new additions to the database. Premium subscribers also receive access to the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which is produced in association with Mapal Group, and the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £895 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £445 plus VAT for operators and £545 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription. Subscribers also receive access to Propel’s library of lockdown videos and Friday Wrap interviews and now also have access to a curated video library of the sector’s finest leaders and entrepreneurs, offering their insights on running outstanding businesses in the sector. Premium subscribers also receive their morning newsletter 11 hours early, at 7pm the evening before our 6am send-out; regular video content and regular exclusive columns from Propel group editor Mark Wingett.

Pitcher – we need the talent pool to get bigger otherwise we’re driving each other’s costs up: Rob Pitcher, chief executive of Revolution Bars Group, which operates the Revolution and Revolución de Cuba brands, has said that the sector needs its talent pool to get bigger, otherwise “we’re driving each other's costs up”. On the benefits of supporting the Hospitality Rising campaign, Pitcher told Propel: “We are still viewed as a stopgap job, and despite all our best efforts, we are still viewed in that way. What attracted me to Hospitality Rising was having a national campaign to assist the industry rather than individual businesses. It is doing something differently, because we’ve all been banging the same drum for years and it’s not working. At £10 per employee and 3,000 team members, it’s cost us £30,000, and you look at that and go times are tough and that’s quite an investment, but actually it’s only half a dozen chefs across our 70 bars who are getting tapped up by a competitor, and then suddenly we have to pay him £5,000 a year more. And let’s face it, we are eating each other’s talent pool. We need that talent pool to get bigger, otherwise we’re driving each other’s costs up, so collective help and collective investment at £10 per employee is great value for money for something we’ve never done before.” Pitcher said the sector also needs the government to be advocates of the industry. He added: “I guess a frustration for me is we try and be the face of some of the hospitality industry to government, and if you speak to an MP one on one, the response you get back is ‘my constituents just told me their daughter or son has gone for three trial shifts in three different hospitality businesses and not been paid for any of them and not got any of the jobs’ and stuff like that. Sharp practice has just got to be removed from the industry because while MPs are being fed that by their constituents, we are just never going to win that battle.”

UK’s first unstaffed restaurant set to open in Oxford later this year: The UK’s first unstaffed restaurant is set to open in Oxford later this year. EZ 24 Ramen will use machines to cook and dispense food to guests. The idea is for customers to pay a daily, weekly or monthly subscription to get 24-hour access to hot and cold food. A day pass will cost £1.70, and monthly access will give people up to 40 visits, using a code to enter the building. Once inside, customers can eat noodles and toppings such as pickles, kimchi, mushrooms, bean sprouts and fish cakes – all cooked in just three minutes. Vending machines will also provide drinks, ice cream and meal kits, and pinball machines will provide entertainment for customers. Co-founder Indra Tor said: “I wanted to create a forward-thinking place that looks at how people live their lives today. The world has changed, and people’s habits are different. EZ Ramen is about being forward-thinking about technology and how we can create a restaurant that is different and embraces new things, but also allow people to learn. There’s a lot of negatively sometimes around new tech, and we want to show people in an organic setting that if done right, the tech can be used to great effect, and of course, serve them some good ramen.” It is a first venture into hospitality for Tor, whose background is in creating voxel art (3D pixels) for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), games and the Sandbox metaverse. She added: “I am combining art with ramen, and each store will have a gallery allowing NFT artists from all over the world to display inside the store.” An exact location has not been revealed yet.

Sadiq Khan – cost-of-living crisis ‘fatal’ for many of London’s pubs and restaurants: Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has warned that the cost-of-living crisis could be “fatal” for the capital’s pubs and restaurants. The Evening Standard reported spiralling energy costs, staffing shortages and fewer customers were already hitting the capital’s hospitality businesses, and bosses were as worried about the looming economic crisis as they were about closures during the pandemic. Khan was due to be joined by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge at a panel discussing the cost of doing business at the Labour Party Conference, in Liverpool, on Monday. Speaking ahead of the event, he said: “London bars, restaurants and cafes are telling me that they are as worried about the looming crisis as they were about the effect of the pandemic on business. The combination of rocketing food and supply chain costs, customers’ disposable income being hit by the cost-of-living crisis and increased business costs mean this period could be fatal for many of London’s favourite hospitality businesses. If the government is serious about wanting economic growth, they must support hospitality and other struggling industries – which provide so many jobs and huge revenues to the exchequer.”

Younger generation cutting spending on hospitality and leisure as concerns over living costs rise: Generation Z and Millennials are cutting their spending on hospitality and leisure activities as concerns over the cost of living rise, according to a new consumer survey from PwC. In order to save money, over half of 18 to 34-year-olds are either reducing or stopping eating out (69%), subscriptions to their streaming/TV services (57%) and going on holidays (58%). This compares to only 51%, 28%, and 37%, respectively, in the over-55 age group. The findings of PwC’s annual survey of 2,000 UK adults, conducted in August 2022, show how generational spending habits are shifting, and concerns over living costs are impacting all age groups. It found that as the younger generation cuts spending in some areas, they are also planning to be more financially resilient overall. Significantly more 18 to 34-year-olds (42%) say they plan to ‘save money’ more in the next 12 months, compared to 27% of all adults and 15% of over 55s. In addition, far more 18 to 34-year-olds (38%) say they plan to learn more about personal finance over the next year, compared to 25% of 35 to 54-year-olds and 13% of over-55s. Bobbie Ramsden-Knowles, crisis and resilience partner at PwC UK, said: “The changing concerns of the UK public over the last 12 months show how fast-moving and unpredictable risk is and how quickly it can shape people’s behaviours. Organisations must rethink their approach to resilience to not only get ahead, but also better anticipate and adapt to the rapidly shifting behaviours and spending habits of customers, employees and stakeholders to mitigate the impact.”

Job of the day: COREcruitment is looking for a managing director (international) for a business that is in the luxury restaurant sector. The company has six sites, all extremely high volumes in some key locations internationally. The business also has a strong UK brand with more openings planned for 2023-24 and beyond. A COREcruitment spokesman said: “The managing director will be leading the operations team and have five key reports across the world. This role is all about putting in the right practices to get the best out of the people and the business. You will add strong commercial awareness and will be able to demonstrate your leadership skills to help drive this new vision for the business. You must be at director or chief operating officer level to be considered for this role.” The position is London based with travel internationally and the salary is between £180,000 and £200,000. For more information, email stuart@corecruitment.com

 

New World Trading Company exploring possible sale of non-core sites: Pub restaurant group the New World Trading Company (NWTC) is exploring the possible sale of a handful of non-core sites, Propel understands. The 35-strong business, which operates the Botanist, Florist and Club House concepts, is understood to be “exploring the opportunity of tentatively positioning a small number of their non-core portfolio for sale”. Propel understands that five to seven sites could be being assessed from the group’s estate. It comes as the company continues to roll out – opening three sites already this financial year, and with plans to open a further four sites in the second half – in Edinburgh, Durham, Barnsley and Chester. A spokesperson for the group told Propel: “It is sensible for any operator of our scale to regularly assess the portfolio and consider exits for non-core and tail sites.” Earlier this month, the business launched an under-£10 lunch offer in response to the cost-of-living crisis. All items on the new lunchtime menu have a fixed price of £9.95, with diners able to choose from a wide range of dishes and flavours at the same low cost. The menu is available Monday to Friday from 12 noon until 4pm. Earlier this summer, Jesper Friis stepped down as chief executive of the Graphite Capital-backed NWTC to return to his homeland of Denmark and spend more time with his family.

Azzurri Group trialling robot servicing technology: Azzurri Group, the ASK Italian and Coco Di Mama operator, is trialling robot servicing technology through one of its Zizzi sites, Propel understands. The company has launched the trial at its Zizzi Westfield White City site, saying the robots are there to “help our team carry food to customers, and taking the dirty dishes away”. Earlier this year, the Big Table Group and Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG) both launched similar trials of robot servicing technology. Big Table Group, the operator of Las Iguanas, Bella Italia and Café Rouge, is trialling the technology through one of its Bella Italia sites. Working in partnership with Pudu Robotics, Big Table Group said it had launched the trial to “boost innovation and elevate the dining experience, becoming the largest restaurant chain in the UK to introduce robot technology”. BRG is using fully operational service robots in its Slim Chickens sites in Guildford and Liverpool One. It said the robots support the on-site teams with table service and click-and-collect orders.

The Cornish Bakery hits 50-site mark, five more set to follow: Growing independent chain The Cornish Bakery has hit the 50-site mark with an opening in Whitby – with five more set to follow. The shop in Whitby Harbour marks a second outlet for the business in the North Yorkshire town. Director of commercial operations, Stephen Evans-Wrobleski, said: “Bringing our beautiful coffee and pastries to 50 locations is a milestone and we are looking forward to the next 50. Our teams are the ones that create the magic and I am extremely proud of what they have/are achieving. Next stops: Plymouth, Gretna Green, Bury St Edmunds, Truro and Bakewell.” In August, the business said it planned to open eight sites over the next 12 months, including Gretna, which will be its debut Scottish outlet. 

Nottingham Rock City owner returns to profit, turnover up but well behind pre-covid levels: Nottingham Rock City owner DHP Family, which operates eight music venues across London, Bristol and Nottingham, returned to profit in the year ending 31 December 2021, with revenue more than doubling but well behind pre-covid levels. The period saw a pre-tax profit of £2,079,331 compared with a £1,774,960 loss in 2020 and a £1,921,424 profit in 2019. Turnover more than doubled from £9,325,160 in 2020 to £21,131,712 but remains well behind that of the last pre-covid year, £44,595,774 in 2019. The company received £773,302 in culture recovery and reopening grants (2020: £454,002) and £870,116 in Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme payments (2020: £1,955,634). As well as Rock City, it operates Rescue Rooms, The Bodega and Stealth in Nottingham; The Garage, Oslo and The Grace in London; and Thekla in Bristol, as well as proving support and logistics at concerts and festival across the country.

Burger & Sauce to open seven new sites over next six months: Burger franchise concept Burger & Sauce will open seven new restaurants over the next six months as it expands across the Midlands. Sites in Leicester, Coventry, West Bromwich, Walsall and Derby, plus Bearwood Road in Birmingham, and Sutton Coldfield, will create around 140 jobs. Anthony Round, franchise director at Burger & Sauce, said: “There was no way of knowing how popular our fresh, tasty burgers would become when the first Burger & Sauce restaurant was created during the pandemic. Despite challenging trading conditions, our Alum Rock site in Birmingham turned over £1.5m in its first year. Since then, the concept has been well and truly proven, with the success of our other franchised restaurants, including our most recent Nottingham launch.” Burger & Sauce, which is seeking new franchisees to aid its expansion, has also invested in technology to automate customer orders and signed a marketing deal with UberEats. Round added: “We have designed the business from the bottom-up for efficiency and ease of operation, meaning it’s easy to train staff and to scale up. All our existing franchisees have now signed multi-restaurant deals as we work towards our goal of becoming the household name for fresh burgers in the UK.” Earlier this month, Burger & Sauce franchisee Subhan Munir opened the concept’s fifth site, and first outside of Birmingham, while last month, the company said it was targeting a UK estate of 300-plus stores.

Tipjar to close latest funding round early following £500,000 investment from angel investor: Cashless tipping platform Tipjar will close its latest funding round early after receiving a £500,000 investment from a single angel investor. Tipjar, founded by BrewDog managing director James Brown and backed by Monzo’s Gary Dolman and Honest Burger co-founders Phil Eeles and Tom Barton, exceeded its original funding target of £400,000 within hours of going live earlier this month, and has so far raised more than £1.3m on Crowdcube. It has now confirmed the campaign will end at 6pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 28 September), or depending on demand, potentially earlier. Brown said: “We are humbled by the support we have received so far. We’ve had more than 500 people invest anything from £11 to £500,000 in Tipjar over the last few weeks. It’s amazing to see so many people believe in our mission of ensuring staff gets total transparency and fairness when it comes to their tips. We are dedicated to using the funds raised to help even more staff, across more territories, earn more tips.” The company is offering 11.21% equity, giving a pre-money valuation of £11m. Tipjar has so far launched in more than 2,000 venues across five countries, processing in excess of £4m in tips to 200,000 workers. It plans to use the funds raised to aid further growth and provide its users with a neo-bank style system, which can provide them with pre-paid bank cards, savings pots and small loans.

Patty&Bun to launch non-fungible token collection: Patty&Bun, the better burger concept led by Joe Grossmann, is set to launch a non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The business, which last month opened its 11th site, will next month release 4,444 unique NFTs – cryptographic assets based on blockchain technology – along with the opportunity to purchase limited-edition physical prints. Patty&Bun NFTs also offer a membership and perks such as invitations to exclusive events, experiences and one-time offers. These include a tasting tour of the Forest Road Brewery, a bakery tour and class with Bread Ahead, and a tour and butchery class at HG Walter butchers. Registration for “whitelist” members opens at midnight on Tuesday, 4 October, with NFTs available to purchase from Saturday, 5 November before going on general sale from Monday, 7 November. Post-launch, the NFT can be sold and traded on the secondary market. The NFT will be sold in Ethereum for 0.07 ETH, which will fluctuate as with any currency exchange, and is likely to be between £90-£100. Grossmann said: “Patty&Bun from the get-go was built on community, creating a following that was more than just grabbing a burger. We wanted to create a progressive and lively membership scheme built on community, elevating it to something that is more experiential and engaging, with a real ability to have a sense of ownership of the brand.”

Experimental Group set to open live music venue and cocktail bar in London’s Covent Garden: Paris-based Experimental Group is set to open a live music venue and cocktail bar in London’s Covent Garden. Stereo, which is inspired by “the vibrant late-night cultures of New York and London complete with undertones of Parisian chic”, will open in the former Roadhouse site, at 35 The Piazza, later this year. The 500-person capacity venue will feature a central island bar, raised stage and 40-cover restaurant. Chef Andrew Clarke, of Acme Fire Cult and formerly of Brunswick House, St Leonards and Pilot Light Campaign, will lead a menu offering American inspired bar classics and lighter snacks. Drinks will come from the likes of South Bermondsey microbrewery Partizan and Thames Distillers, alongside a large cocktail menu. There will also be a music programme each night, from a house band and resident DJs to one-off artist performances. Experimental Group director, Xavier Padovani, said: “We’re bringing together the very best in the industry to create a timeless venue filled with positive energy. We want Stereo to be a place for everyone.” Founded in 2007 by Olivier Bon, Pierre-Charles Cros and Romée de Goriainoff, who were later joined by Padovani, Experimental Group operates four cocktail club bars in Paris, London, Venice and Verbier; three wine bars, in Paris, London and New York City; and ten restaurants and beach clubs. It also operates eight hotels, and earlier this year acquired Cowley Manor in the Cotswolds for its first UK site outside London.

Aktar Islam chooses to close Pulperia rather than ‘outprice’ customers, considers new concept for site: Chef-owner Aktar Islam has chosen to close his Argentinean-inspired steak restaurant in Birmingham, Pulperia, rather than “outprice” his customers. Islam, who also owns Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, Opheem, in the city, said continuing with the restaurant has become unviable in the current climate. However, he will continue to focus on Opheem and his Aktar at Home cooking kits while pondering a new concept for the Pulperia site, at 3 Brindleyplace. “Pulperia has been one hell of a journey, we barely opened just before lockdown and then was shut for the best part of a year,” Islam said. “It’s where Aktar at Home was born and was even our makeshift warehouse. It’s allowed me to showcase my love of Argentinean food and a roast dinner – it’s bittersweet. With the current climate, we simply cannot operate at the standard we want without outpricing our customers. Consumer habits have changed, and we feel we’ve come to the end of our journey. The team has been nothing short of amazing. We’re going to monitor the coming months and consider options regarding the location and introducing another concept. For the meantime, our focus now will be taking Opheem to the next level and building on Aktar at Home.” Pulperia will close on Friday (30 September).

Polish food market and delicatessen Mleczko sees turnover and profit drop ‘as more people turn to online services’: Polish food market and delicatessen Mleczko, which operates 15 stores in London and Berkshire, has reported turnover fell 8.2% to £31,842,063 for the year ending 26 December 2021 compared with £34,695,710 the year before “as more people turned to online services”. Pre-tax profit fell to £483,999 from £1,119,704 the previous year. The business said it was monitoring the recovery of the UK economy before considering opening further shops. It has also set up a hardship fund for employees with the company transferring 2% of its profits after tax into the scheme. The business received government grants of £41,539 (2020: £42,542). In their report accompanying the accounts, directors Antony and Michael Mleczko said: “Having experienced significant growth in sales in 2020, driven mainly by increased grocery shopping by our regular customers during the two main lockdown periods, there is no doubt 2021 was a much more challenging year for the business, as more people used online services to do their grocery shopping and we faced direct competition in a few areas where we operate our delicatessens. We also faced price increases from our Polish suppliers and producers that we were forced to pass on to our customers. We managed to mitigate some of the impact of these price rises by the fact that sterling strengthened against the Polish zloty over the period.” A dividend of £193,093 was paid (2020: £153,678).

Benugo to introduce science-based carbon labelling: Benugo, the operator of deli cafes and catering in high-profile venues, is introducing science-based carbon labelling. It will begin with a pilot at the Natural History Museum where labelling will be available on cakes and chilled food in its cafes and restaurants at the attraction. The data and carbon labelling system has been developed and administered by Foodprint from Nutritics. Its labels highlight scoring levels of carbon impact from A-E, with A being the most climate-friendly choice. Following the pilot, Foodprint will be applied across the entire range of Benugo’s own food and drink and expanded to other Benugo sites. Shane Kavanagh, commercial director at Benugo, said: “We want to give our customers the option of making informed choices to reduce the carbon emissions associated with chilled food purchased from our sites at the museum.”

Family-owned Lake District hotel reports profits and turnover above pre-pandemic levels, driven by investment in bedrooms and restaurants: Family-owned Lake District hotel, Gilpin Lodge Country House, has reported profits and turnover above pre-pandemic levels for the year ending 31 December 2021. This has been driven by investment in its bedrooms and “destination” restaurants, the company said. Pre-tax profits for the Windermere venue were £829,750, up on both £221,214 in 2020 and £439,362 in 2019. Turnover was reported as £6,024,320, which again was up on both £3,689,314 in 2020 and £5,809,136 in 2019. The company said: “Turnover has increased with the addition of five new suites in 2020 and a continued high occupancy of 96%, achieved through continued investment in bedrooms, with more than half the bedroom portfolio refurbished during the numerous lockdowns. Significant investments have also gone into the gardens and grounds, and the two restaurants remain destination restaurants. Continued investment in marketing techniques, research and development strategies has enabled the business to grow its client base and enjoy increased occupancy and covers at its two restaurants. New employee training systems have improved recruitment and retention, enabling the hotel to remain fully open despite difficult HR challenges.” Dividends of £180,607 were paid. The business was founded by John and Christine Cunliffe in 1988, with their son, Barney, and his wife, Zoe, running it on a day-to-day basis.

German Doner Kebab opens at Merry Hill shopping centre: German Doner Kebab (GDK), owned by Hero Brands, has opened a site at the Merry Hill shopping centre in Dudley. The restaurant, which has created 40 jobs, forms part of plans by the brand to open 78 new outlets across the UK in 2022. Daniel Bunce, GDK managing director for UK and Europe, said: “Our game-changing kebabs are revolutionising the kebab in the UK, and we are excited to be bringing our new dining experience to the area, offering great tasting fresh food in a relaxed and modern setting.” The restaurant offers dine-in as well as takeaway and click and collect while delivery will soon be available.

Epic Hospitality Group reveals first five traders for new Ormskirk food and drink market: Epic Hospitality Group, led by Simon and Fiona Beer, has revealed the first five traders for its new food and drink market in Ormskirk, Lancashire, opening this autumn. Located in Moorgate and spanning two floors, the 10,000 square-foot venue, which is themed around Eat, Meet & Play, will welcome award-winning Baltic Triangle restaurant Lu Ban, headed up by executive chef Dave Critchley, as part of its new street food concept Meishi. It will be joined by Burscough pizzeria Purely Pizza, steak and fish eatery Salmo, outdoor hangout Backyard Liverpool, and burgers concept Meatello. Epic is on the hunt for one more local independent business to complete the venue’s line-up. Simon Beer said: “There has been a lot of interest in who will be joining us at the market, so it’s great to finally announce this and to welcome these brilliant concepts on board. When we first came up with the concept of Ormskirk Food & Drink Market, it was so important to us that it helped to propel start-up businesses and to put them into the spotlight. Ultimately, it’s about giving them a platform, and the opportunity to get their foot on the hospitality ladder. The search is now on for that final trader.” Acquired by the Beers in 2012, the former indoor market has remained vacant for the past 12 years and is currently in the latter stages of transformation. It will soon come to life as a new food hall, alongside the six kitchens, a bar area, an immersive games area, several retail outlets, live music floor and private hire space, creating 80 jobs.

Manchester hospitality group appoints new executive chef: The group behind Manchester venues Cottonopolis, Edinburgh Castle and Libertine has appointed a new executive chef. Shaun Moffat will head up the kitchens at the three sites, including the newly opened Libertine in Withington, a 70-cover restaurant and bar that launched last month. South African-born Moffat has previously worked with Mark Hix and the Jamie Oliver Group, at Mateca in Shoreditch and at Nest in Hackney. He was also part of the senior culinary team at The Conduit, specialised in live fire cooking at John Salt and headed up the Middle Eastern grill house Berber & Q from opening. Moffat said: “I have a real devotion for only cooking in a sustainable and seasonal way. I’m really looking forward to joining the group to drive its offering further. I can’t wait to become a part of Manchester’s already thriving restaurant scene, and in particular, to immerse myself with its local traders, farmers and gardeners to create the best offering available.” Directors Nick and Hayley Muir opened Cottonopolis in a former tailor’s studio in Newton Street in 2015, before securing the tenancy for the Edinburgh Castle in Blossom Street, Ancoats, in 2019. They then added Libertine to their portfolio earlier this year. They said: “This is a really exciting time for our venues. We’re always looking for ways to progress our food and drink offering, and feel that Shaun’s creativity, sustainable ethos and passionate drive will elevate our menus to the next level.”

MasterChef The Professions winner opens debut restaurant as part of £1bn Nottingham regeneration: MasterChef The Professionals winner Laurence Henry’s new restaurant and entertainments space in Nottingham has opened. Henry, who won the BBC show in 2018, will operate and oversee the food offering at Canal Turn – which will include venues spanning three storeys. It is part of a £1bn “city within a city” regeneration project to transform the city’s 36-acre Island Quarter. Canalside bar and grill Bink Yard is now open, and it will be followed in a few weeks’ time by new fine dining restaurant Cleaver & Wake. “I am blown away every time I walk in,” said Henry. “It’s been a massive labour of love for the last few years. I feel like I have poured my heart and soul into it, and everyone else in the project has as well. It’s great to be part of the wider Island Quarter development. It’s a really exciting thing for Nottingham, and it’s an honour to kick off the whole development with Binks Yard and Cleaver & Wake.”