Fresh Catering Jobs Blog

London now has its first two vegetarian pubs.  Under Alastair Choat, the Coach and Horses in Soho and the Smithfield Tavern in the City have both redesigned their menus and renounced the use of meat.  Call me old fashioned but I’m not convinced that I can handle the idea of vegetarian pubs. I’m not entirely sure what it is about the idea that offends me so but I really don’t like it. Sausage and mash is just not the same with a veggie sausage. Is a pub really a pub without the ubiquitous steak and ale pie?

Having given up meat at various stages of my life (for Lent and the like), I enjoy vegetarian food as much as the next person and have even been known to frequent vegetarian restaurants  from time to time but the English pub is a sacred part of our culture that, to my mind, should not be messed with or gentrified.  Am I over-reacting? Is this really a more sustainable business venture or just another way of spoiling The Pub?

Now that summer looks like it’s finally on the way, it reminds me of some of the unbearably hot kitchen’s I’ve worked in over the years. Sure, every chef knows it’s a hot place to work but why can’t some owners put any air con in the Kitchen or better ventilation when it’s hot outside? Obviously I’m sure some people would say “If you can’t stay the heat, get out of the Kitchen” but when chefs love what they do, it doesn’t mean they have to put up with terrible conditions! Let me know what you think!

We hope you all have a great Easter weekend and here’s a few amusing photos to get you in the mood!

With the Easter Bank holidays approaching some chefs have queried why staff in the catering industry don’t get time and a half for working when everyone else is off. Many other industries pay their staff more to work Bank Holiday’s so why not restaurant and hotel staff? Let us know your views!

Some funny restaurant signs…

Buffet style restaurants seem to be opening everywhere at the moment. They attract 1000′s upon 1000′s of customers every single week and can’t be ignored. In the Middle and Far East buffets are very popular and the quality is very high with most 4/5 star hotels serving them. But still a lot of people think they serve terrible food full of MSG. What do you think? They are an essentially part of the UK restaurant scene.

With the tightening of immigration rules and a stricter enforcement of them, some restaurants are reporting that they’re struggling to get the talented chefs they need to run their businesses. This seems to especially be the case for chefs originating from the Indian sub continent. I suppose that begs the question – can the intricacies of Indian cuisine be taught or do the best chefs have to be brought up with food a key element in their culture? With so many chef jobs available for Indian chefs and a key part of the UK restaurant scene – should immigration rules be relaxed for chefs? We’d love to hear to your views!

It’s a sad fact for the industry that banks are still not leading in any great numbers to small operators that want to expand and to individuals that have a great new concept and lots of passion who want to open their first restaurant. However there are plenty of new openings – the vast majority of which are by the existing high street chains as well as venture capitalist backing operators with a proven track record. Some predict that South American food will be big in 2012 and that “street food” will continue to evolve, embracing new cuisines, ideas and concepts. What do you think will be big in 2012?

Mondays in January are always a bit of a struggle so here’s a couple of photos to raise a smile.