Catering Jobs and Hospitality Jobs

Corporate Events Manager

2009-01-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

Corporate events and event management activities need to be handled with creative energy and inspiration to satisfy the clients. A tailored corporate event provides equilibrium of fun, innovative and satisfaction. There are many corporate event management companies or firms that specialize in bringing the best out of your team and hit the bulls' eye while planning for a memorable event. Choose anything from organizing any audio visual equipment, corporate event entertainment, video screen presentation, and lighting equipment to infuse a fresh energy into your team building activities.
An event management company hires a dedicated team of corporate event managers who undertakes everything to make a successful event for your company. These experts have years of experience in organizing gala events, Corporate Team Building Events, corporate outings, scavenger hunts and more. The major work of corporate event managers is to create the most successful and unforgettable business event ever.
Benefits of Choosing a Professional Corporate Event Management Company
1. Customized Service - Hiring a professional event management company helps you to get one to one service. Event managers understand the importance of an event and plan it thoroughly to make it a huge success.
2. Partners with a Company and Provides Affordable Solutions - After taking a brief on your requirements, an event management company set its people to work on designing and planning of the event. Using your ideas and a few of theirs, the company design a party that is very unique and above all else within budget.
3. Uniqueness and Outstanding - An event management company strives to bring uniqueness in every event to make it memorable. They hire best of everything to bring hearty smile on their clients' face.
Hiring the best corporate event managers helps you to get the most interesting, highly motivated, and amazing entertainment for your team

What is Event Management

2009-01-16T06:21:00.001-08:00

Event Management is the act of managing or organizing events or functions occurring at a particular place and time. Events range from festivals to team building sessions, rock concerts to training sessions. Event management requires proper consultation, planning and research. Conferences, galas, summer camps, day camps, sporting events, business events, meetings and university events are the most common events.
Event managers begin planning by booking an event at a particular location. They then plan for food and drink, entertainment, audiovisual needs, overnight accommodations for guests, tours and social programs and other support services. They will also help solicit sponsorships (especially for nonprofits), in order to help cover the cost of the event. A professional event manager will carrying out tasks flawlessly in an organized, disciplined way.
New technology has made an impact on event management, and has helped planners keep track of the many details that are involved in carrying out a successful event. This includes event-planning software that allows for f online registrations and sponsorship donation forms.
So whether you are a private individual, a company, or a government entity, you can save precious time and employ an event management company. This will allow you to take your mind off the event itself and focus on your day to day obligations. The event management company will consult with you a number of times to learn your desires and requirements, and they will also be able to offer a number of ideas. You choose how much control you want to hand over

Event Management CAREERS

2009-01-16T05:58:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wanted to work in event planning? A degree in hospitality with an emphasis on event planning might be a good idea for you. By definition, event management is the application of the management practice of project management to the creation and development of festivals and events.
What They Do:
Event managers work in the capacity of organizing and managing all aspects of the event planning process. Event planners are responsible for overseeing that all plans are in order, and that things are adhering to a timeline. Event planners have to follow a set budget to meet all the needs of the event. They arrange the location, food and beverage service, rentals such as tents and linens and service and event staff. These professionals need to have excellent organizational and time management skills, coupled with creativity and patience.
Training:
Earning your bachelors degree in hospitality and event management is the best way to get started on and event management career. A degree program will provides students with a means of developing management skills and knowledge specific to the field of event management. Event management programs offer subjects related to areas of event creation, event management, venue management, event marketing, and accounting. You will also learn about the environment in which event managers operate. On-the-job experience is the most useful and sensible training that a learner can attain to prepare for the occupation. Having practical experience in the field will help you to better understand the industry. Along with practical experience, skills in marketing and time management are a must.
Outlook:
Event management professionals can earn from £15-£60 an hour. The average annually salary of event managers and planners is £30,000. Job prospects for event managers and planners will fluctuate with the economy. If a strong economy, job prospects will be better than average.

Conference Organiser

2009-01-16T05:57:00.000-08:00

What conference organisers do
research, write, plan and run all aspects of conferences and conventions on behalf of a client or their own organisation
agree a budget with the client / senior managers
arrange to provide any equipment required by speakers, such as overhead projectors
book a suitable venue in hotels, universities or commercial conference centres
organise accommodation and catering
arrange for interpreting and secretarial services to be provided
arrange pre-conference press receptions
contact and brief speakers
post-event activities, such as producing press releases, distributing further documents to delegates, and analysing feedback from speakers and delegates.
Key skills
communication and negotiation skills
attention to detail
sales skills
diplomacy
ability to work under pressure
willingness to work unsociable hours
excellent organisational skills
language skills are often beneficial.
Training to be a conference organiser
Training is usually on the job but courses are offered by the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers and Meeting Professionals International. The Society of Event Organisers and the Association of Exhibition Organisers also run training.
Continuous professional development opportunities are increasing, along with accredited and certificated provision.
Salaries
Salaries vary, depending on location. In London, the average starting salary for graduates is around £14,000 to £17,000, but, with fairly quick progression, £25,000 to £30,000 including incentives should be attainable.

Corporate Hospitality

2009-01-16T05:56:00.000-08:00

What corporate hospitality co-ordinators do
help to plan programmes and menus
oversee the management of visitors’ accommodation and travel arrangements
may select speakers and brief them on the day
advise on and co-ordinate audiovisual services
liaise with suppliers such as florists and external caterers
may work on the design of programmes and promotional materials
arrange security and advise on health and safety
prepare and manage budgets.
Key skills for corporate hospitality co-ordinators
ability to multi-task and prioritise
organisational and decision-making skills
very good interpersonal and presentational skills
ability to meet tight deadlines
negotiation skills
ability to keep your head in a high-pressure environment.
Training to be a corporate hospitality co-ordinator
This industry does not yet have clear entry routes, so training is on the job, with newcomers given as much responsibility as they can handle.
A number of the professional bodies run short courses on various aspects of the role.
Salaries for corporate hospitality co-ordinators
Event co-ordinators start on around £15,000 outside London. Senior conference and banqueting co-ordinators can earn between £30,000 and £40,000.

Hotel Management

2009-01-16T05:55:00.000-08:00

What hotel managers do
recruit and train staff
plan and control budgets
analyse sales figures and set business targets
hold planning meetings with heads of departments to decide strategy
ensure that guests enjoy good customer service
devise marketing strategies to generate more business.
Key skills for hotel managers
ability to organise other people’s work
verbal and written communication skills
ability to prioritise and multitask
teamwork and leadership skills
willingness to do routine tasks if staff are absent
initiative
stamina
commercial awareness
numeracy
willingness to work unsocial hours.
Training to be a hotel manager
Many hotels run training schemes that enable trainee managers to experience different positions within the company.
Salaries for hotel managers
Starting salaries for graduates depend very much upon the size of the hotel, ranging from £18,000 to £20,000. Subsequent salaries can rise to over £100,000, with bonuses for reaching targets

Catering Manager Role

2009-01-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

What catering managers do
run their unit as (in effect) a stand-alone business
take overall responsibility for ensuring that customers are satisfied with the quality of the food and service on offer
oversee all day-to-day tasks, such as stock and cost control, equipment maintenance, food preparation and menu planning
take responsibility for the recruitment and management of staff.
Key skills for catering managers
leadership and teamwork skills
must enjoy front-of-house customer and client contact
ability to communicate with everyone from the pot-washer to senior management
an expert knowledge of health and safety regulations
willingness to give hands-on help in the kitchen when needed.
Training to be a catering manager
Some big employers offer management training programmes, but most training is practical and on the job.
As technology, standards and legislation are always changing, continuing professional development it essential.
Salaries for catering managers
Catering managers with some experience can earn around £20,000 to £25,000. Those at the top of the profession can earn £40,000 and above.

Catering Careers

2009-01-16T05:39:00.000-08:00

People are often passionate about food. Some people are passionate about the food that they eat, whilst some people are also passionate about the food that they cook. Whatever your preference - cooking, eating, or both - there is a 'foodie' career out there that could give you ultimate job satisfaction. Food is often thought of as a vital element in any sort of celebration or gathering, meaning that there is plenty of opportunity to make a go of a career in the catering industry.
If this is something you've considered, and you think you'd like to change career, then depending on your ultimate goal, as well as your previous experience in catering, there are a few different employment routes that you can take. This article takes a quick look at how to change to a career in catering.
What Job Positions Are AvailableThere are many ways to work within the catering business, and the route you take to changing career may depend on the sort of work you're looking for. For instance, if you have no previous experience of working within a kitchen, you might have to start at employment at a very junior level, such as Kitchen Assistant or Kitchen Porter with the opportunity to learn and progress as you work. Jobs include food preparation, cleaning and dealing with stock. Many employers are keen for their staff to train and become qualified as they work. This sort of approach is very involved and as with many catering jobs, involves long, tiring hours in a hot kitchen. The pay also varies on the establishment in which you choose to work.
However, if you already have some experience of working in a restaurant kitchen, you may be considered for more senior roles in smaller businesses, such as a Sous Chef, or Kitchen Manager/Supervisor. You will probably have to demonstrate your skills and knowledge, as well as providing a good CV with bona fide references when you apply for such a position. You may be involved in creative aspects such as helping to devise menus and plan new dishes, in which case your passion for food and your fresh ideas should be well documented. Experience of supervising staff and managing stock beforehand will also definitely be a bonus.

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If you have a Food Safety and Catering qualification, this will also help your chances of starting a little higher up the ladder in terms of career development, with the potential to earn a good, fair salary. Having a good understanding of food and hygiene is also very important. A food hygiene and safety certificate is also a rudimentary qualification when working for yourself, or running your own business. You'll also need health & safety approved premises from which to base and run your operation.
TrainingMany catering jobs don't require a whole host of GCSEs and A-Levels to begin work. However, to boost your chances of getting the most out of a catering job, you can undertake training towards a valid and recognised qualification. Whatever area of catering you wish to enter into, this can often be done as you work - as with the vast array of catering-related qualifications such as BTEC HND in Professional Cookery, Level 2 Diploma in Professional Cookery and GCSE in Catering for chefs - or as part of a college course that will involve practical training.
If you are looking for a more managerial or supervisory role in catering, then there are also opportunities to train towards an NVQ or BTEC HND in Hospitality Supervision or Hospitality Management. Again, the course you take really depends on your previous experience, and which area of catering that you decide to work in. The main point is that there are a large number of courses to choose from, many of which will allow you to earn as you learn.
Once you have achieved certain qualifications, there is also the opportunity to continually train and develop your skills, particularly if you wish to specialise. If you're serious about a career change into catering, then it may be worth contacting your local college to find out just what training opportunities are open to you.
SkillsWhatever position you choose to work within, in the catering profession there are a few attributes that are considered important for all job roles. You'll firstly have to be physically fit with a good level of stamina. This is because many catering jobs involve working in hot, busy, pressurised kitchens where you have to be constantly thinking on your feet. The ability to multi-task and communicate well are also imperative, with organisational skills being of the utmost importance.
Catering offers great opportunities for career development. To work within this profession you'll obviously need a passion for food, but also have the dedication and motivation to work long and sometimes unsociable hours.

Catering Jobs

2009-01-16T05:38:00.000-08:00

The catering industry is a $6 billion business, and it is expected to grow in the future. Given this, it can be expected that there are a lot of employment opportunities in the catering industry. The good new is these opportunities are open to almost all age groups, especially to those who are looking for part time work. This includes college students and homemakers who are looking for extra income. In addition, the high turn over in the catering industry assures people that there are plenty of jobs to go around. Among the jobs that are available include chefs, cooks, wait staff and food preparation workers.
Basically, food preparation workers are the people who prepare the ingredients that chefs and cooks prepare. Some of the most common tasks include slicing fruits and vegetables, peeling them, cutting meat, poultry and fish, and measuring and weighing the ingredients for the chef or the cook. In addition, they clean the equipment used in cooking, dishes and cleaning work areas.
The chef or cook prepares the meal by following specific recipes. Often times they also help plan the menu that is offered during the reception. More importantly, it is the job of the chef to direct the operations of the kitchen and to make sure that everything runs smoothly and according to schedule. In addition, it is also the responsibility of the chef to make sure that the kitchen has enough supplies, ingredients and workers. The wait-staff serves food to the guests attending the reception, as well as makes sure that wine glasses and water glasses are filled, etc.
The catering industry is a multi-billion industry that employs a large number of people across most age groups, especially younger people. Among these employment opportunities, some of the most common jobs are those of chef or cook, food preparation workers and wait staff. These are some of the most important jobs in the catering industry because it is the chef that acts as the "director" of the operations of the kitchen and it is the food preparation worker that makes sure that the "director" does his job effectively and the wait staff makes sure that all guests are satisfied and served promptly

Hospitality Industry Jobs

2009-01-16T05:35:00.000-08:00

What kind of work can I do?
Opportunities in restaurants include management and chef work. Opportunities for business managers, finance managers and operational staff exist within larger restaurant chains.
Pubs, bars and clubs offer opportunities in licensed retailing, management, promotions and event management.
Hotels offer management, event organisation, restaurant and bar work and a whole range of operational roles, including finance, human resources and marketing.
Contract catering involves providing professional food services such as hospitals, schools, entertainment venues or large public sector organisations.
Events, conferences and meetings are big business. Approximately two-thirds of conferences and events take place in hotels (Trends and Statistics 2006, British Hospitality Association), although there are opportunities available within event companies that operate outside of event venues.
What’s it like working in this sector?
Working in contract catering, providing meals in schools, hospitals and staff restaurants can be a nine-to-five job, whereas working in restaurants and pubs can mean longer but more flexible hours.
Working in hotels usually means longer hours but promises a wide variety of jobs and early responsibility.
Many occupations within the sector may be appropriate for those seeking flexible working hours or who wish to work part time.
Salaries vary and depend on the size of the company, the amount of responsibility involved and the type of organisation. Sometimes, packages can include profit-related pay, subsidised accommodation or meals, pension schemes or health insurance.
Starting salaries for trainee hotel managers can be around £12,000 to £20,000. A starting salary for a restaurant manager can range from £16,000 to £19,000. Starting salaries in event management can range from £13,000 to £21,000 (AGCAS Occupational Profiles, 2006). For more information on working conditions and salaries see explore types of job
How big is this sector?
According to the British Hospitality Association, the industry is made up of about 127,000 businesses and employs a workforce of 1.6 million people.
There are approximately 22,000 hotels and guest houses, plus around 16,000 bed and breakfasts, in the UK .
Restaurants employ over 500,000 full-time and part-time staff.
Contract catering and hospitality services account for 19% of the sector (all figures from Trends and Statistics, 2006, British Hospitality Association).

Role of Hotel Restaurant Manager

2009-01-16T05:34:00.000-08:00

A hotel restaurant manager, or maître d'hôtel, is responsible for the general day-to-day operation of the hotel restaurant and is ultimately responsible for the quality of service provided by the establishment.
Hotel restaurant managers have a clearly defined role with responsibility for the overall hotel management team. They are in constant contact with management, kitchen staff and customer services.
Typical work activities include:
supervising table layout;
welcoming guests and dealing with any complaints;
pre-booking and budgeting for events such as parties and special functions;
setting prices and choosing menu items;
managing finance, for example staff payroll and paying suppliers;
informing the executive chef of day-to-day requests from guests;
managing staff including organising rotas, recruitment and training;
stock control.

Restaurant Manager

2009-01-16T05:32:00.002-08:00

Restaurant managers ensure that restaurants operate efficiently and profitably while maintaining their reputation and ethos. Restaurant managers must coordinate a variety of activities, whatever the size or type of the outlet. Managers are responsible for the business performance of their restaurant, as well as maintaining high standards of food, service and health and safety.
Restaurant management combines strategic planning, shift pattern organisation and day-to-day management activities. Depending on the nature of the outlet, the role may have creative aspects, particularly in marketing and business development.
As a key role within the hospitality sector, restaurant management may be fast-paced, highly demanding and very rewarding.
» Typical work activities
Typical work activities will vary depending on the type of restaurant, but usually include:
Business activities:
taking responsibility for the business performance of the restaurant;
analysing and planning restaurant sales levels and profitability;
organising marketing activities, such as promotional events and discount schemes;
preparing reports at the end of the shift/week, including staff control, food control and sales;
creating and executing plans for department sales, profit and staff development;
setting budgets and/or agreeing them with senior management;
planning and coordinating menus.
Front of house:
coordinating the entire operation of the restaurant during scheduled shifts;
managing staff throughout their shift and providing them with feedback;
responding to customer complaints;
ensuring that all employees adhere to the company's uniform standards;
meeting and greeting customers and organising table reservations;
advising customers on menu and wine choice;
recruiting, training and motivating staff;
organising and supervising the shifts of kitchen, waiting and cleaning staff.
Housekeeping:
maintaining high standards of quality control, hygiene, and health and safety;
checking stock levels and ordering supplies;
preparing cash drawers and providing petty cash as required;
helping in any area of the restaurant when circumstances dictate

The Role of Catering Manager

2009-01-16T05:32:00.001-08:00

Catering managers plan, organise and develop the food and beverage services of organisations and businesses, whilst meeting customer expectations, food and hygiene standards and financial targets.
There are a wide range of jobs in catering management, along with a number of different routes into the industry. Roles include: managing restaurants, bars and other outlets in hotels, resorts or cruise liners; providing catering services at events; or running catering operations in organisations such as hospitals, schools and higher education institutions.
With ongoing growth in the service industry, opportunities in this demanding but rewarding area continue to grow.
» Typical work activities
The role varies according to the size and nature of the establishment: in a small operation, the catering manager has more of a 'hands on' role and will be involved in the day-to-day running of the operation; in contract catering, the catering manager will spend time negotiating with the client organisation, assessing its requirements and ensuring that it is satisfied with the service delivered.
Typical tasks will include:
recruiting and training permanent and casual staff;
organising, leading and motivating the catering team;
planning menus in consultation with chefs;
ensuring health and safety regulations are strictly observed;
budgeting and establishing financial targets and forecasts;
monitoring the quality of the product and service provided;
keeping financial and administrative records;
managing the payroll and monitoring spending levels;
maintaining stock levels and ordering new supplies as required;
interacting with customers if involved with 'front of house' work;
liaising with suppliers and clients;
negotiating contracts with customers (in contract catering).
In more senior posts, principal tasks will involve:
setting and agreeing budgets;
monitoring quality standards;
overseeing the management of facilities, e.g. checking event bookings and allocation of resources/staff;
planning new promotions and initiatives, and contributing to business development;
dealing with staffing and client issues;
keeping abreast of trends and developments in the catering industry such as menus, consumer tastes and management issues

Hospitality Schools

2009-01-16T05:29:00.000-08:00

Until now, you had heard about this subject plenty of times, but really didn't understand what all the fuss was about. When a prospective learner is looking to focus a culinary or hospitality instruct, there are some aspects that they should believe before they make their result. They first want to reveal if the instruct the institution submits hysterics the goals they have set for themselves. Next, they should look at the instructs accreditation. Also, they want to know if the institution rallies trade values by contacting the accrediting action, The American cooking Federation.
Question about the faculty. What print of values must the instructor rally in order to show at that particular institution? The learner also wants to know that on completion of their exercise, they will be frequent with and be able to maneuver utensils that are worn in that trade. Students should find out from the institution where their graduates are running and what print of assistance is presented to help graduates find employment after graduation.
Fortunately, there are a lot of opportunities nowadays for learners to arrange for hospitality and culinary instruct career exercise. Many high instructs and vocational instructs submit an open type of program linked to the hospitality trade. While winning these program, learners have the opportunity to be intricate in instruct banquets, catering instruct trial and/or running with their instruct refectory.
If you liked the first section of this article, stay tuned because we have more to follow in the next section! Somebody looking to focus hospitality instructs or instructs should see what print of job openings linked to the hospitality trade might be presented in their question. This not only arranges them for their official exercise, but it also gives them a good idea of what the hospitality trade is all about.
Squeal with people that are presently running in this burgeoning trade. Make an incline of questions you may have and get enter from a type of sources. This way the learner can get an idea of what it is like to work in the hospitality tackle.
There are certain qualities that are the keys to a successful career in culinary arts. First, one's plea to become a cook is of chief importance. Following is commitment, to manually and to the profession. This helps when life does not go according to their diagram. Professional outlook is next on the incline. It is important to be assured in your dress, your interactions and the errands you do. If you are perceived as a professional, you will be treated as one.
Last, are culinary and hospitality skills. Each learner must have the fundamental skills wanted to fastened an access-echelon arrange in the trade. These qualities are the shop blocks of a career and should to be the cornerstones of a learner's culture. Having this information handy will help you a great deal the next time you find yourself in need of it.

What you need to start a catering business

2009-01-16T05:28:00.002-08:00

5 Things You Need In Order to Open Your Own Catering Business
You need to select a name - I know this seems obvious, but choosing a name is very important. This is what people will know your business by. A good name can drive customers to you. Think of something like: "Perfect Party Catering" or "Taste Buds" catering. You get the picture. By the way, feel free to use one of these names if you're looking for one.
Get a license - You will need a business license to open your catering service.
Permits - You will need to have a permit from the local Health Department to open your business. This is customary and no trouble to get.
Get a kitchen, equipment, and supplies - This is the real working blocks of your catering business. Make sure that you have everything you need to make diverse dishes quickly, because often you'll get calls from potential clients for last minute events. You don't need to build or buy a kitchen, you can rent one for not too much money.
Advertising material - You will need to have catering business cards, a few brochures to spread around, a website (which costs under 10$ a year), and an email address and phone number so clients can reach you.
All of these things aren't hard to do or manage, but they are necessary before you start your catering business

Starting a Catering Business

2009-01-16T05:28:00.001-08:00

Catering for functions, weddings, parties and other occasions is big business. If you enjoy cooking and preparing food then a catering business might be for you. But it's important to ensure all the legal requirements are met and adhered to at all times, and you design your business to appeal to the kinds of customers you want to attract. From a small van that offers sandwiches and refreshments to local businesses, right through to a mobile caterer that supplies buffets for functions of a hundred people or more, there are lots of opportunities in the catering business for people who have the drive and commitment to succeed. Outlining exactly what type of food you would like to supply people with will determine your market, so it's important that you consider all the elements that go to make up a successful catering business before you start. Are you interested in doing cold buffets that you can supply ready prepared to your clients, or do you want to create hot buffets that you can set up at the venue? Do you like the idea of providing a proper meal for people to enjoy? Or does the idea of selling freshly made gourmet sandwiches to local offices pique your interest? Whatever kind of food you prepare and whoever you will be catering for, you will need to prepare it in premises that are fit for the purpose. Find out all the requirements you will need to meet from your local authorities, and make sure you don't cut any corners - they will want to inspect your premises to ensure they are clean and designed specifically for catering purposes. This applies regardless of whether you are intending to use a part of your home for this purpose, or rent an outlet to use for preparing food.

Hospitality Career

2009-01-16T05:26:00.000-08:00

If you think a nine-to-five job is not meant for you because you love meeting people and entertaining them, a career in hospitality could be a good idea. This career is best suited to those who are ready to take up everyday challenges and work in high-pressure zones. However, there is more to the hospitality sector than pressure. It is a 24X7 entertaining job that lets you enjoy on the job.
India is a booming economy and upcoming tourist destination. In the current scenario, hospitality is a promising industry. According to reports, presently tourism and hospitality are the third largest net earners of foreign exchange. By 2010, they are expected to be number one. Thus, there are bright job opportunities in this field. The ninth five year plan predicts a shortage of 30,000 trained professionals every year.
Demand for hospitality professionals exists at many places such as hotels, resorts, restaurants, catering companies, guest houses and lodges, fast-food outlets, casinos and clubs, spas etc. Considering the flourishing tourism sector and the increasing spending capacity of the Indian middle-class, hospitality is set to be the next big thing in India.
High job opportunities and attractive salaries are making it a very sought after industry. Another attractions of this field is that, with a minimum academic qualification, one can find employment anywhere in the world.
There are various branches under Hospitality. These are Housekeeping, Bakery, Kitchen Stewarding and Cookery. Housekeeping has come a long way from being a job for illiterates to a high-profile job that requires people who hold diplomas, hold diplomas, have technical qualifications and are fluent in English. Housekeepers take care of housekeeping, horticulture, laundry, interiors and even guest relations. Private housekeeping businesses are also flourishing these days. There are both part-time and full-time options in this field.
Next comes cookery. A chef is the most important staff member at any restaurant or eating joint. A good chef can really raise the standard of place he is working at. For being a cook, one requires creativity, shrewdness, knowledge and willingness to learn through trial and error. The pay of a chef largely depends on his/her prowess, experience and skill-sets. These days, chefs can look beyond restaurants to work in sectors like in-flight catering, hospital catering, food styling, catering, restaurants, cruise liners and as entrepreneurs and consultants.
Bakery is a branch separate from cookery. Within baking, one could specialise in fields like bread-baking, pastry baking, cookie baking, demonstrating, R&D, marketing etc. There are good opportunities for bakers, decorators, trainers, process managers and distributors in this field. Kitchen stewarding requires maintenance of the kitchens of an eatery or hotel. Earlier, this used to be Head Chef's job but now it is a separate branch of work. A kitchen steward looks after cleaning and organising dishes, taking stock of inventory, maintaining hygiene and quality in the kitchen, keeping a tab on breakage and replacements. One can become a kitchen steward without any specific qualifications.. It is the attitude that matters here.
Those who are looking to pursue a course in hospitality have good options in India and abroad. One can either go for a course straight after 12th or a post graduate diploma. Institutes of Hotel Management are based across India in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Aurangabad. The institute offers degree as well as diploma courses in hotel management, catering technology and applied nutrition.
The Oberoi School of Hotel Management based in Delhi is amongst the premier Hotel management institutes. It offers various courses such as : 2-year Management Training Programme, 2-year Senior Kitchen Training Programme, 2-year Housekeeping Training Programme. The institute also gives stipend and other facilities to students during the course of study.
Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition, Chandigarh train students to fill the skill gap in the hospitality industry. The institute offers a Three Year Diploma Course in Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition. It is a professional full time regular course recognized by National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology, New Delhi.
Another good institute is FHRAI Institute of Hospitality Management based in Greater Noida. It offers a BA in International Culinary Administration (BIA) BA in International Culinary Administration (BIA), Diploma in Hotel Operations Diploma in Hotel Operations, BSc in Hospitality and catering Management (BHCM BSc in International Hospitality Administration (BIHA), and BSc in International Hospitality Administration (BIHA).
Those who can afford to spend can also pursue courses in international universities. One can get an edge in the international market with a degree or diploma from a good hotel management school. Most of the reputed schools adhere to international standards and offer good facilities and learning environment to students.
Depending on one's qualification and interest, one could find a good job in the hospitality industry. It is a good time to join this sector as it is growing fast and promises good job options to youngsters.

Hospitality management online

2009-01-16T05:22:00.000-08:00

An online certificate or degree in Hospitality Management qualifies graduates to apply for jobs at luxury resorts, cruise ships, deluxe spas, and many others. Through a distance learning course, working adults can study Hospitality Management at their own pace, without forfeiting current employment.
The field of Hospitality Management is expanding at an incredible pace. A distance learning course is a convenient way to prepare for a challenging career in this high-growth field. Students can earn 100 percent of the credits needed for a degree in Hospitality Management in as little as six months, without stepping foot in a traditional classroom.
An online course educates students in the principles of Hospitality Management, as well as hospitality engineering systems and the catering business. Students learn about marketing, occupancy forecasting, the front desk, reservations, organization, operations, security, room service, restaurant and bar management, housekeeping, staffing, meetings, banquets, purchasing, accounting, and more. Best of all, online Hospitality Management courses require no educational prerequisites or experience to enroll.
Hospitality Management professionals know how to build customer traffic, operate efficient food and beverage services, and make sure guests are satisfied in every way. Graduates of online Hospitality Management schools are qualified to manage a fine hotel, resort, or club. They have learned the skills necessary to own or operate a gourmet restaurant, run a country inn or bed-and-breakfast, or manage hospitality services for a cruise ship.

Hospitality industry

2009-01-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

One of the few bright spots in the business world has been the burgeoning hospitality/travel/tourism arena. While the nation struggled through an economic slump that forced many Fortune 500 companies to downsize, leaving thousands of white collar workers unemployed, this industry managed to hold its

Sure there were some rough spots. Few would argue that the lodging segment didn't suffer some ill effects from the lingering recession, with hotel occupancy rates down significantly from the glory years of the 1980s. Yet, hospitality/travel is one of the few industries that has continued to grow and expand even through the toughest of economic times. And now that the economy is on the upswing, insiders anticipate the industry will surge to new heights. "I personally think that now is a better time than ever before for African Americans to get into the industry," says Brenda Harris, founder and president of Harris Travel Management Associates. "I say that because of the economic times and the fact that there are so many hotels that are hurting for business and are looking for a new niche. And I think that niche marketing is the way of the future, and many are looking to capitalize on the African-American meetings market to help offset some of the low seasons that they're having," says the San Diego-based entrepreneur, whose travel agency provides a variety of services, including travel for convention and group markets, African-American heritage tours, and destination management.
Concurring is Sheryl Taylor, sales manager for the Marriott Orlando World Center. "There has been a lot of realization by the hiring persons within hospitality," she says, "particularly in the hotel industry, to recognize that diversity is truly a strength."

Top 10 jobs in Hospitality and Catering

2009-01-02T02:35:00.001-08:00

If there’s one rule of thumb that should apply to the work force, it’s this: Pleasant jobs call for pleasant people. And as of late, one industry needs friendly folks more than ever.
The hospitality industry, including but not limited to hotels, restaurants and meeting venues, is growing exponentially. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12.4 million people work in the hospitality industry today, making about 8.6 percent of all employment. The hospitality industry is predicted to grow 17 percent between 2004 and 2014, adding more than 2.2 million new jobs to the work force.
“When economic times are good, there is a lot of money out there, which can be devoted to travel. People are more informed about things like wine or travel destinations than they were 20 years ago,” says Jeffrey Catrett, dean of Kendall College’s Les Roches School of Hospitality Management. “That has developed a much larger hospitality leisure market.”
Some people shy away from the hospitality industry for reasons such as long hours for little pay, often unaware of benefits including opportunities for advancement and six-figure incomes.
“The hospitality industry is a vibrant and glamorous field. A career in hospitality opens up opportunities to earn a very good living with six-figure incomes, almost all-expenses-paid and it offers a more dynamic work environment than most professions,” Catrett says. “If you consider the level of accommodation that companies provide for top managers, or even the day-to-day perks that hotel and restaurant managers get for free, you find that the salaries are very competitive with other industries.”
If you’re looking for a job in an industry with continued job growth, here are 10 jobs to try your hand at:
1. Hotel general managerResponsibilities: Directs everything involved in the operation and financial result of the property; creates standards for personnel administration and performance, service to patrons, room rates, advertising, publicity and food selection.Training: A combination of more than two years of directly-related training and/or experience.U.S. average salary: $149,456
2. Hotel clerkResponsibilities: Performs an assortment of services for hotel guests, such as guest check-in and check-out, assigning rooms and answering inquiries to hotel services.Training: A combination of three to six months of directly-related training and/or experience.U.S. National average salary: $19,710
3. BellhopResponsibilities: Escorts incoming hotel guests to rooms; assists with luggage; offers information about available services and facilities of hotel and entertainment attractions; inspects guest's room to make sure things are satisfactory.Training: Short-term on-the-job training.U.S. average salary: $15,995
4. Meeting and convention plannerResponsibilities: Plans meetings and special events of various sizes. Coordinates such logistics as budgets, speakers, entertainment, transportation, facilities, technology, equipment, logistical requirements, printing, food and beverage, and other related issues.Training: A combination of six to 12 months of directly-related training and/or experience.U.S. average salary: $60,245
5. ConciergeResponsibilities: Assists guests with everything from making restaurant reservations to acquiring tickets to special events to helping with travel arrangements and tours of interesting places to visit. Training: Short-term on-the-job training.U.S. average salary: $16,262
6. Maitre d’Responsibilities: Also known as the head waiter, the maitre d’ assigns customers to tables; makes advance reservations; oversees all aspects of the dining room experience for patrons; makes sure all waiters are doing their jobs effectively.Training: Most start out as food and beverage servers and work their way up to the position. College courses in hotel and restaurant management or business administration are also a definite asset.U.S. average salary: $28,000 - $45,000, depending on establishment.
7. Executive chefResponsibilities: Oversees all kitchen activity, such as menu creation and staff management; utilizes food surpluses and leftovers; tracks popularity of various dishes; estimates customer food consumption; tests cooked foods by tasting and smelling them; creates special dishes and recipes.Training: A combination of more than four years of directly-related training and/or experience.U.S. average salary: $46,206
8. Reservation ticket agentResponsibilities: Answers phone or e-mail inquiries; offers suggestions and information about travel arrangements, such as schedules, rates and types of accommodation; quotes fares and room rates; makes and confirms transportation and hotel reservations. Training: A high school diploma or its equivalent is the most common educational requirement, but some employers prefer applicants who have completed college coursework in management or business.U.S. average salary: $27,750
9. Maids and housekeeping cleanerResponsibilities: Such light cleaning duties as making beds, replenishing linens, cleaning rooms and halls, vacuuming, emptying wastebaskets and restocking bathroom supplies.Training: No previous work-related skill, knowledge or experience is needed; short-term on-the-job training.U.S. average salary: $20,124
10. Gaming dealerResponsibilities: Operates table games such as craps, blackjack and roulette; provides dice and dispenses cards to players; determines winners, calculates and pays winning bets, and collects losing bets. Training: Most employers prefer at least a high school diploma or GED. Each casino establishes its own requirements for education, training and experience. Many institutions give training toward certificates in gaming, as well as offering an associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree in a hospitality-related field.U.S. average salary: $14,340

Recruiting in Hospitality

2009-01-02T02:32:00.000-08:00

Restaurants and other businesses in the hospitality industry are reacting proactively to the current economic downturn, it has been suggested.Speaking to Recruiter magazine, Julia Fuell, managing director at New Frontiers, said many firms were doing whatever they could to increase the number of customers coming in through the doors. "Buy one, get one free" offers were one way employers were seeking to attracting trade, something that could benefit jobseekers, she added.These comments were echoed by Berkeley Scott managing director Mark Darby, who claimed the popularity of such offers could lead to creation of new employment opportunities.He added: "I think it should have a positive effect truthfully because if they are looking to increase their clientele through making attractive promotional offers they will fill their restaurants and they will require additional staff to service the people that come through there."Last week, Recruiter reported that the charity sector was also bucking current market trends by recruiting, potentially buoying those seeking graduate jobs.

Catering and Hospitality

2009-01-02T02:31:00.000-08:00

Catering and hospitality is concerned with providing the public with food, drink and accommodation. It is an industry that is fast-moving and constantly changing and developing, as can be seen from exposure on television programmes and in newspaper supplements, tourism brochures and magazines.
Jobs range from catering supervisors sourcing food, to chefs preparing food, waiting and bar staff serving food and drink, front office customer service for assisting guests and housekeeping behind the scenes. There are also managers for all these operations.
Workers in the industry are often at their busiest during evenings, weekends and public holidays, and many can expect long, irregular hours and shift and weekend working. However this may be compensated by the greater flexibility that shift-working can provide. Some people work in clean, comfortable surroundings, but kitchen environments can be hot, humid and noisy. Staff may be on their feet for long periods.
The industry employs over 2.5 million people throughout the UK. There are also opportunities to work overseas. Employers include:
hotels and guest houses offering accommodation from budget to luxury
restaurants, including themed restaurants, pub restaurants and fast food outlets
pubs, clubs and bars, including bar facilities in hotels and restaurants
theme parks, cinemas, museums, art galleries and leisure resorts
schools, colleges, hospitals, nursing homes, railways, airports and cruise ships.
Most jobs involve dealing with the public, so staff must be friendly, polite and, most importantly, enjoy giving good customer service. They should have stamina and be able to work well in a team. Staff at management level also need good organisational and problem-solving skills.
There are jobs in catering and hospitality for people with a wide range of qualifications, from GCSEs/S grades through to degrees. Entrants to hotel management usually have an HNC/HND, a degree or postgraduate qualification. There are many relevant courses to help people prepare for entry to the industry at all levels.
Much of the training is on the job, and many employers offer training schemes or Apprenticeships which combine college-based learning and practical experience. Many people work towards NVQs/SVQs Levels 1 to 4, or Institute of Hospitality qualifications. Graduate training schemes may be available for those starting work with larger companies.
Employment prospects are good and more skilled workers will be needed, especially as Britain is to host the 2012 Olympic Games. It is often possible, in large organisations, to become a supervisor or manager, but prospects with small employers may be more limited, and people may have to move between employers to progress. Once experienced, some people may choose to set up their own business, for example a restaurant or small hotel.

Career in Hospitality

2009-01-02T02:30:00.001-08:00

For many people the thought of a career in hospitality, leisure and tourism brings up images of chefs, fitness instructors and overseas reps….and nothing else! Well of course, these are all careers that fall within these sectors, but there is so much more to consider….in fact much, much more, the hospitality industry alone employs 1 in every 10 people in the UK, that's over 2.5 million people working in more than 30,000 establishments. Also, 1 in every 5 new jobs fall into this sector with another 400,000 new jobs created by 2006 according to The British Hospitality Association. That's a lot of jobs!
Not just chefs and waiters then? No way… this is a huge industry offering variety, diversity and tons of different jobs and career opportunities to suit everyone.So what sort of person do you need to be to work in hospitality, leisure and tourism. Well to begin with you need to like people, and enjoy the challenge of working in a customer focused environment. You need to be flexible, adaptable, enjoy problem-solving and thinking on your feet and to be able to work as part of a team.Michelle Davies is 21 and is a Receptionist with hotel group Jarvis. Michelle says that the diversity of the industry brings challenges and new opportunities, and that's what appeals to her. She says, "I originally came to Jarvis when I was on a year's industrial work experience from University, now I work part-time as a Receptionist which allows me to continue my studies towards a BA(Hons) in Hospitality Management". Her advice to anyone considering a career in hotels, "Don't be put off by the thought of long hours and less pay initially - I followed my heart when I chose this as a career and I don't regret it for a moment". Michelle hopes to go on to become a Conference and Events Manager when she has completed her degree.But of course it's not just about hotels - the hospitality industry affects us every day - think about it - grabbing a sandwich for lunch, stopping off for a coffee or drinks with friends, staying at a hotel, going to the cinema or theatre, school meals, eating at a canteen in work, catching a train, motor-way service stations… the list goes on and on…….Claire Rankin is Executive Chef at Fish plc. After studying general catering for 2 years in college her first job was as a chef in a small hotel, before joining Center Parcs as Commis Chef where she was quickly promoted to Chef de Partie. Moving to London she took a job specialising in fish and within two years became Executive Chef of a new restaurant group - Fish! She says, "My career is very satisfying and I was delighted to be given an industry 'Acorn' award in 2001. My advice to young chefs wanting to progress in their career would be to focus on what they want to achieve - put your head down and keep working. That's what I did - believe me, you will get noticed!"What about travel and tourism! Sounds great, travel around, see the world, meet people - but is that really all it's about! Well no, of course not, just like any job or career it's what you make it, and of course the variety of this sector is enormous. It's a huge growth sector, valued at a massive £270 billion worldwide. In the last 10 years, international tourism has accounted for 1 in 6 of all jobs, 125,000 tourism businesses exist in the UK and 1.75 million people are employed in these businesses.Travel and Tourism is closely linked with Hospitality and Leisure, all sectors are providing services for their customers. It's a very inter-dependent industry ….it's constantly expanding… which means more jobs and careers!What's the best way in to this industry then and what qualifications do you need? Hospitality and Catering, like many other sectors, suffer from skills shortages in certain areas. Undoubtedly there are a wide range of jobs on offer - Receptionists, Bar, Conference and Banqueting, Event Management, Chefs, Waiters, Sales and Marketing, House-keeping, Food and Beverage Managers … these are just a few! The three main entry routes are :
By getting a job and benefiting from company training and development - maybe alongside a part-time college course. Whitbread Restaurants offer a fantastic Chef apprentice scheme, which combines training in the work-place with a day-release to College.
By becoming a trainee and securing a Modern Apprenticeship or National Traineeship which will offer full time training for young people up to the age of 25 to NVQ/SVQ level 3.
By enrolling on a full-time college or university course. There are courses to suit all abilities, whatever your academic achievements.

Food in school vending machines

2009-01-02T02:19:00.001-08:00

new study has added weight to calls for juices, drinks with added sugar and candy to be removed from all school vending machines.
However, food manufacturers are already taking steps in the right direction by reducing pack sizes, addressing concerns that products sold in vending machines encourage students to consume more calories.
Beverages in vending machines were found to have added sugars, high-calorie 100 percent fruit juices and snacks over 200 hundred calories, according to the figures from the HEALTHY Study which is a nationwide effort led by Temple University to curb obesity and type 2 diabetes in middle school students
It said that despite efforts to include more healthy choices at schools, standard offerings from vending machines, including fruit juices, are giving students more calories than they require.
Amy Virus, senior health services coordinator for the study from the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University, said: "Contrary to common belief, fruit juice is not a healthy snack, if drunk in excess. It should be limited to about six ounces per day, but it's common to see more than one serving in a bottle.
"Changes made to the vending machines in schools will help reduce excess calories taken in by school kids."
Virus, who is also president of the Pennsylvania Dietetic Association, said: "The program's goal is to ultimately remove all juice and sugar added beverages, offer water instead and eliminate candy from vending machines."
Data from 42 schools across seven cities showed that 75 percent of had vending machines. Of those machines, 83 percent sold beverages alone and 17 percent sold snack foods only. The most prevalent beverages available in vending machines were added sugar beverages (39 percent) and 100 percent fruit juice (23 percent).
The most prevalent snacks available were reduced fat chips (22 percent), regular baked goods (16 percent), cereal bars (14 percent) and low fat ice cream (14 percent).
Overall, the energy content of beverages ranged from zero calories for water to 325 calories for added sugar drinks. For snacks it was between 25 calories for low fat ice cream, to 480 calories for baked goods.
Industry action
There is increasing pressure on the food and drinks industry to stop marketing products of poor nutritional quality to children.
However, a report issued last month showed that the “beverage industry continues to significantly cut calories in schools” two years into the national school guidlines scheme which was set up in 2006. This voluntary initiative is between the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, American Beverage Association (ABA), The Coca-Cola Company, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and PepsiCo.
The guidelines call for the beverage industry to provide lower-calorie and smaller-portion options in schools, including the removal of full-calorie soft drinks, all by the 2009-2010 school year.
The ABA’s School Beverage Guidelines Progress Report 2007-2008 showed that beverage calories shipped to schools have decreased by 58 percent since 2004 and 79 percent of schools under contract with bottlers are already in compliance with the national School Beverage Guidelines.
The association said the shift towards lower-calorie, smaller-portion beverages was contributing to the reduction in calories available from beverages in schools, as well as the change in the beverage mix available to students.
Vending machines are a major source of marketing through product sales and advertising on the machine’s exterior. Some states have strong nutrition standards for food sold in schools.
Yet, while schools are working to reduce junk-food sales, many vending machines are still stocked with soda, juice drinks, iced tea, candy, cookies and chips, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI

Wheat intake in Food

2009-01-02T02:18:00.001-08:00

Wheat flour consumption is increasing in the US following a dip that was driven by a trend for low-carbohydrate diets, according to the USDA, as demand for higher fiber, protein and whole grains rises.
After a five-year decrease, figures for 2007 show that per capita wheat flour use has gone up 2.3 pounds to 137.9 pounds in a year, according to estimates from the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS). Similarly the number of new wheat-flour products introduced has increased.
The use of whole grains, which includes wheat, has also seen a popularity spurt amid the health and wellness trend, reflected in the 2005 national nutritional guidelines.
However there is still some way to go to achieve previous levels for per capita wheat flour use, according to ERS researchers, as the 2007 total is down 8.9 pounds from a high in 1997.
The authors of the report, featured in the latest edition of the ERS publication Amber Waves, said: “Between 1972 and 1997, US wheat producers and millers could count on rising per capita food use of wheat flour to expand their domestic market.
“Contributing to this growth was the boom in away-from-home eating, the desire of consumers for greater variety and more convenient food products, promotion of wheat flour and pasta products by industry organizations, and wider recognition of health benefits stemming from eating high-fiber, grain-based foods.”
This growth appears to have ended in 1997 due to changing consumer preferences, including more weight-conscious people following diets such as low-carbohydrates.
Consumer interest in these diets appeared to peak in 2000 but it helped reduce per capita wheat consumption which reached a low of 134.2 pounds in 2005.
Similarly, between 2000 and 2006, 12 percent of the 223 mills listed in the Grain and Milling Annual closed, reducing milling capacity by seven percent.
The report said: “The baking industry responded by developing products to satisfy these new dietary preferences, particularly the increased demand for higher fiber and protein.”
But there seems to have been a turnaround as, according to Datamonitor, 558 wheat-flour products were introduced in 2007 compared to 97 new wheat-flour products in 1997. Similarly eighty-six whole-wheat flour products were introduced in 2007, up from 16 in 1997.
Whole grains
Although US consumers still prefer refined-wheat flour products over whole-wheat flour goods, new product launches of foods making a "whole grain" claim have grown sharply since 2000.
According to the Mintel Global New Products Database, in 2007 nearly 15 times as many new whole grain products were introduced worldwide compared to 2000.
This change is reflected in the 2005 which recommends that whole grains account for half of all grains consumed.

Watching weight and health

2009-01-02T02:16:00.000-08:00

Weight watchers become health watchers
Dieters in the US are moving away from the bathroom scales and weight reduction regimes to health management, according to a report.
Dieting is at an all-time low but the concept of a “healthy weight” is resonating with Americans and is the primary motivator for those who do begin a diet, said the report from the NPD Group called Weighing in on the American Diet: A Report on the Health and Weight Management Habits of Americans.
It found that most people associated healthy weight with feeling good and feeling healthier, rather than fitting within a small range of ideal weights.
It added that the most popular diet now is one that people call their own and fewer people were attempting “extreme” diets, such as modified fasts, severe calorie restrictions and the elimination of entire food groups.
The report stated: “People appear to be taking a new and different approach because they’ve not been satisfied with past diet attempts and they understood the importance of being at a healthy weight.”
The top complaints about previous diets were that people were “disappointed,” “tended to feel deprived” and thought it was “not a good way to maintain overall health in the long term”.
It said that instead of extreme lifestyle changes that cannot be maintained, more Americans seem to be looking for reasonable strategies that help them achieve or maintain a healthy weight and good health in general.
The health trend
Food manufacturers have tuned into a trend for weight management with targeted products and ingredients and the global weight management category is estimated at more than $7.4bn globally.
One example is soluble fibre which can boost satiety, helping the consumer feel fuller for longer, thus reducing the tendency to snack. Research has also shown it benefits digestive health.
Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD) revealed there were 42 satiety products launched in the first quarter of 2008, compared with just one in the first quarter of 2005.
The NPG report, in collaboration with the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Program, stated that the percentage of adults who said they are on a diet has steadily gone down over the past decade.
Figures showed that 29 percent of women were currently on a diet, compared to 35 percent ten years ago and 19 percent of men said they were on a diet now, compared to 23 percent ten years ago.
In addition 62 percent of Americans said a healthy weight was when they physically feel good, 45 percent said it was when they feel healthier, 39 percent when they can be active, 38 percent when they feel better about themselves and 27 percent stayed within a small range of ideal weight.
However, an estimated 25.6 percent of US adults reported being obese in 2007, compared to 23.9 percent in 2005 which is an increase of 1.7 percent, according to a study published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report last month.
Experts say that efforts need to be made to reduce these figure and this provides opportunities for food and beverage manufacturers to position consumer products that address this.
The study drew from the five NPD Group databases – The NPD Dieting Monitor, National Eating Trends, Nutrient Intake Database, Health Track Database and customized consumer research collected in November 2007.

Cooking Waste oil

2009-01-02T02:15:00.000-08:00

Finding new ways to use cooking oil waste could cut costs and potentially generate revenue for food processors, claims UK based company Bio Driven.
According to the company, 225,000 tonnes of used cooking oil are thrown away annually in the UK, and it claims that if this was all collected and refined, the resulting biofuel could generate more than 13,000 megawatt hours of electricity per year, the equivalent to the annual average consumption of 2,200 households.
Food and drink processors are facing rising energy costs, and as a result are being forced to look at alternative energy sources that could also help them meet targets to cut carbon emissions.
Cash asset
David Chalk, managing director, Bio Driven, told FoodProductionDaily.com that the firm can offer European food processors various sustainable and cost effective ways of managing their waste cooking oil such as a simple cash purchase for bulk oil for conversion to biodiesel at its own facility or a fully automated mobile unit for conversion of the oil at the food processor’s plant.
“We are the only company in the UK offering this portable conversion service. We can take 100,000 litres of cooking oil and convert it within four days into reusable biodiesel for plant power generation or for use in the manufacturer’s logistics fleet.
“Conversion on site in this way reduces road miles associated with shipping the waste oil off site for disposal or alteration and turns a waste stream into a cash asset,” argues Chalk.
He said the mobile converter will be introduced in early 2009 and that the company anticipates considerable demand from the sector for the facility.
Renewable energy source
Chalk added that the company can also provide training and expert advice on how to install and operate a permanent biodiesel plant at the manufacturing facility that would be tailored to a food processor’s particular requirements.
He said that the firm is currently in negotiations with a large German food manufacturer who is planning to install a converter on site to turn its output of 150,000 tonnes of used cooking oil a quarter into a renewable energy source.
“Working with Bio Driven will result in fuel price stability, significant savings and a greater understanding and positive contribution to current environmental issues [for the food processing sector],” said Chalk

Colour of Food

2009-01-02T02:14:00.001-08:00

Foods, particularly fruits and vegetables, are increasingly being marketed on their colour and associated health benefits, according to new Euromonitor International findings.
Speaking at the Healthy Foods European Summit in London this week, Euromonitor analyst, Ewa Hudson, highlighted how colour is becoming a powerful marketing tool for foods such as superfruits.
This kind of marketing has become possible on the back on increased consumer awareness of the link between colour-giving components of foods. An example is anthocyanins, which are nutritious pigments that have been shown to benefit heart health.
Other examples include acai or pomegranate juices marketed as antioxidant-laden ‘red’ tonics, or green teas offering similar benefits.
According to Hudson, companies such as Parmalat, Unilever, Kelloggs and Kagome are employing this marketing technique
Kagome had released a colour wheel to educate consumers about variants in the spectrum, relevant ingredients and potential health benefits that ranged from heart health to urinary tract health to bone and teeth health and more.
Kagome’s colour breakdown includes:
Blue/purple: quercetin
Red: lycopene, capsanthin
Yellow/orange: beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthan
White: allicin, flavonol
Green: chlorophyll, lutein
Global health and wellness pushing $500bn
Colour foods are part of a health and wellness category Hudson valued at $480bn (€350bn) in 2007, up seven per cent over 2006 and 42 per cent since 2002.
Naturally healthy foods (33 per cent) accounted for the biggest slice of this pie followed by functional foods and beverages (31 per cent), better-for-you foods (30 per cent), organic (5 per cent) and intolerance foods (1 per cent).
Organic foods grew fastest between 2002 and 2007 at 86 per cent. Functional foods and beverages sales increased 48 per cent and are expected to reach $170bn (€123.5m) by 2012. Functional beverages are set to jump 30 per cent in the period, while functional foods are forecast to grow 17 per cent.
North America and Western Europe are the dominant regions, with 35 and 31 per cent market share respectively.
Omega-3s, antioxidants, plant sterols, soluble fibres, calcium, bio-active peptides, squalene, GABA, collagen and flax were highlighted by Euromonitor as ingredients that continue, or are beginning, to attract a lot of interest in the food industry.
Omega-3 fish oil supplements grew strongly between 2002 and 2007, with average consumption rising 70 per cent to $2 (€1.45) per capita in 32 global markets. Last year, Norway had the world’s highest fish oil consumption at $24 (€17.40) per head.
In the plant sterols market, Hudson observed that yoghurts overtook spreads as the preferred application, with yoghurts surging 461 per cent between 2002 and 2007, while spreads dipped eight per cent. Global plant sterol food sales in 2007 came in at just over $3.2bn (€2.32bn), of which $2.6bn (€1.89bn) occurred in Europe.
Raw plant sterol ingredient sales surged 120 per cent between 2002 and 2007, with 18.2 thousand tonnes being sold worldwide last year.
The global health and wellness market will be worth $354m (€257m) in five years, Hudson said, a 22 per cent expansion. North America and Western Europe will continue to account for the bulk of sales at 34 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Catering Equipment

2009-01-02T02:10:00.000-08:00

When it comes to setting up a business in the catering industry, it is essential that you plan all the finer points of your kitchen around the type of food you will be serving. There is a huge difference between equipment that is necessary for the smooth running of a carvery to a kitchen that is going to be serving stir fry and sushi. If you have ever had the pleasure of watching an episode of Hell's kitchen, The F Word, or any other Gordon Ramsay prime time tee vee show, you will have seen him rip kitchens to bits and rebuild them. Thanks to Mister Ramsay we are also all aware that working in a commercial kitchen is fraught with emotions and tensions are high, it is because of this that it is important to create a working area where everything can run smoothly. Having catering equipment installed to specification from a well drawn up plan means you can keep the staff at the stations they are meant to be at, with good access to the things they require to prevent trips, spills and interference.Pub KitchensThe kitchens in a Public House are likely to be serving up a high volume of quick to make food from lunch until dinner time. Traditional pub menus include cold foods such as sandwiches and a ploughman's lunch; a variety of deep fried foods like scampi, goujons and chips; oven baked favourites such as lasagne or toad in the hole and hob top traditional pub favourites like chilli, or a warming stew. To kit out this type of kitchen, you will need a large area dedicated to work surfaces, as the pre preparation of various ingredients will take up a lot of room, and it is likely that many covers will be served up at any one time. It is essential to have at least two commercial fryers to keep meat based and vegetarian fried foods separate. A high spec salamander grill is a versatile item of catering equipment that can turn a sandwich in to a toastie, keep plated up food warm, and brown off food that has been cooked in a microwave.Restaurant Kitchen To equip a restaurant adequately with catering equipment it is necessary to establish what the niche of the restaurant is, and take that in to account. There are some basic items that should be in any kitchen such as the salamander grill and deep fryers. It is likely however though that you will need to account for specialist equipment such as griddles and serving stations. As it is more likely that many people will be working at once, separate work stations are essential with under counter fridges and storage spaces. You will need to equip each area with its own utensils so everything is to hand and allow plenty of available hob space. If you are planning to cook a large amount of flash fry food, ensure that there are special large wok hobs fitted.It is not just the food preparation that needs to be considered when it comes to ordering catering equipment; there are a multitude of specialist equipment that is required for service and for the clearing up afterwards. To provide a fully professional service it is essential to make the most of any commercial standard equipment you can purchase. Glass washers, ice machines and serving gantry's are all part of the commercial world of kitchens. The best bet is to think ... What would Gordon do? If you imagine that he'd ball you out with expletives, then re think your design!

Tightening our belts

2009-01-02T01:45:00.000-08:00

Where have all the sub-prime steaks gone? Gone to pork belly, every one. Even before the crash-bang-crunch was a 90-point headline, this was a year of gastronomic belt-tightening. The restaurants of conspicuous oli-gastronomy, with five glacier-faced, missile-breasted, Alaïa-clad Valkyries at the lectern who would never recognise any name that didn’t end in -ski and said you could wait in the corridor while they decided whether to feed you, are over.
Having the paparazzi outside is a sign that this is a place not to be seen in. The quality and calibre of celebrities caught outside unbookable restaurants have gone way down. Now it’s more likely to be a bloke who used to be in EastEnders, a drunk runner-up from Big Brother, and Piers Morgan. Gone are the days when Brad Pitt would engagingly take a swing at a pap, or some trashed techno-babe would wink pink getting out of a cab for the edification of 15-year-olds and downloaders everywhere. Big-money dining in multimillion rooms is so utterly over. Binge dinners are just not chic or smart, and the restaurants that specialise in them suddenly look embarrassing, passé and tacky. Sake No Hana had an overindulgent opening. Backed by Evgeny Lebedev, it is a perfect example of how to completely and utterly miss the zeitgeist, like turning up at a No Third Runway protest dressed like a 1970s Braniff hostess.
They always say that catering is the first into a recession and the last out, and I think the food knows, I think the ingredients can tell. Knives and pans have a sibyl’s sense of what's coming. There has been a move away from tables with five layers of linen, glasses big enough to breed goldfish in, and a special spoon just for supping your jus. The writing was on the wall for amuse-bouches and unordered shot glasses of tricksy gunk with caviar on top. No more gold leaf on your risotto, or truffle oil on everything. The slow-cooked rediscovery of British Industrial Revolution food overcame everything this year. For the first time in two decades, there must have been more English-restaurant openings than Italian. The fear of poverty has coincided with a digestive nationalism, a confidence in the home-grown — and thank God.
The writing on the wall also told us what field our cow came from, and the name of the wendy house in which the chicken brought up her happy, multicultural brood. Menus stopped being written by Barbara Cartland and all read like they’d been penned by WH Auden, Ted Hughes and Bill Oddie. Food went back to the sideboard, to scrubbed oak tables and bentwood chairs, served by people who wore home-baked shoes and had degrees in sustainable English. Pubs merged into restaurants, and restaurants served five types of beer. There was a sense of generous austerity about, and a cool pride.
Cooks’ menu envy made them compete to see who could serve the most gangleous of remote cuts and the weirdest hedgerow weeds. Fillet steak became braised shin; shoulders replaced cutlets; every time you opened your mouth, it was filled with a mustardy snout, ear or fry (bollock). The totemic dish of the year was the ubiquitous pork belly: a slow-roasted slab of crackling and fat, held together by slivers of exhausted muscle. It’s in every TV chef’s Christmas cookbook, and personally I’d happily not eat it again for a year. Brit food has been forcibly and good-humouredly taken back from the xenophobes and Little Englanders, from football yobs and the false teeth of pensioners. It’s not granny food or school food or hospital food, or the clubbable, stuffy, sticky, paunchy Sunday food any more. It is smart and sexy: who’d ever have thought that pies and mushy peas would be lubricious? But, it turns out, they really are. And there were dripping-fried chips with everything. We all went out to eat home-cooked without irony.
The Times

Recession hits football catering hospitality

2009-01-02T01:43:00.000-08:00

As the credit crunch bites, the corporate prawn-sandwich brigade are also feeling the chill of the recessionary wind. Clubs have long since taken their core supporters for granted, so the decreasing number of wealthy fans is far more significant to their hopes of keeping the gravy train running and the gravy boat moving.
The downturn in the lucrative hospitality market is seriously hurting top clubs and no more so than at Arsenal, where catering revenue appears to be well below expectations. Delaware North, an American company, paid £15 million up front for a 20-year catering contract, only to find that many executive box-holders who pay £100,000 a year for the privilege are refusing to pay a further £100 a head for pre-match meals. For the first time, Arsenal have also put Champions League tickets on general sale this season.
A Premier League seat was once the hottest in town. Now even Liverpool regularly put seats on general sale, while Aston Villa, whose win away to Arsenal last weekend confirmed their Champions League credentials, cannot get gates up to last season's 40,000 average.
Troubled Newcastle United have suffered the biggest exodus of fans in England, with gates down almost 5,000 per game. Only the match against Hull City in September has topped 50,000 this season and that was because the supporters wanted to shout abuse at Mike Ashley, the owner, and Dennis Wise, the executive director (football). Newcastle's club shop has also slashed 25 per cent off replica shirts.
Much as the rest of the country's supporters find it hard to resist laughing at the Toon Army, the empty seats at St James' Park and Ashley's failure to find a buyer for the club are as much to do with the credit crunch as the way Newcastle are run. And now even the Premier League's top four are feeling the effect.
Even before the turndown, the Virgin Money Football Fans' Inflation Index showed a 21 per cent rise in match-day costs since last season, with an estimated outlay of £106.21 per fan, the first time it has been above £100. Scott Mowbray, a Virgin Money spokesman, said: “In the past year fans have had severe pressure on their finances from rising mortgages, fuel prices and energy bills. The recent fall in oil prices might see a small drop in our next index in January, but fans are still paying a lot more.“It will also be interesting to see whether clubs attempt to put their prices up even higher as revenue from programmes, food and replica shirts falls.”
Train fares have also rocketed way above the rate of inflation. Steven Powell, of the Football Supporters' Federation and an Arsenal fan, said: “Most fans can't afford the train because there are no longer cheap advanced booking fares. So they go on the official coach, on a minibus or drive with friends and share the petrol costs. Supporters are also cutting down their stadium spending, taking their own food and even flasks.”
The Times

Hospitality Outlets

2009-01-02T01:40:00.000-08:00

Number of hospitality and catering outlets -
The number of UK hospitality and catering outlets dropped marginally in 2007 to 263,053 establishments, down from 263,657 the previous year.
The number of hotels and guesthouses fell by almost one percent during the year, with many reverting to residential or other business uses. There were also fewer pubs.
Nevertheless, the total number of meals served increased to 8.73 billion, up from 8.64 billion in 2006.
Food inflation (food represents 30% of operators’ costs) and the credit crunch had started to hit sales in restaurants and pubs by July.
The greater focus on food in many pubs responding to the smoking ban is believed to have added extra capacity that is 6% above current levels of consumer demand.
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These factors have favoured takeaway and fast-food outlets, along with strong mid-market brands and managed pubs.
The figures cover both the profit sector (which includes hotels, restaurants, quick-service outlets, pubs and leisure venues) and the cost sector comprising catering in business and industry, healthcare, education and Ministry of Defence sites.

Hospitality and Recreation

2009-01-02T01:25:00.000-08:00

Where are the job opportunities?The hospitality industry is growing fast, but it's also changing. Some people say that you have only to look at the USA to see where the British hospitality industry is going: fast food and lots of it, theme parks and themed restaurants, so many eating places that dining out becomes as common as dining in, and an emphasis on customer service.
There are now more than two million people employed in hospitality in the UK, and by 2004 that is expected to reach 2.5 million. And it's an industry that's changing fast, as anyone with an eye on the news will have noticed.
Not only have there been some major business deals - notably the take-over last year of hotel giant Forte by Granada - but there are some small but significant trends. Who would have thought a few years ago that we'd be ordering take-away pizza from petrol forecourts, for example? Or having coffee and breakfast in a pub?Or paying to cook our own food in a restaurant? These are just some of the offers coming on-stream, and there are undoubtedly more interesting ones to follow.That's the good news. The bad is that the hospitality industry still has problems, above all with its image. But the over-riding message from recruiters is that the low pay and long hours for which hotels and restaurants are famous are becoming a thing of the past. The sheer growth of the industry has meant that employers are putting together far more attractive recruitment packages to attract the right staff. For potential managers the prospects can be tremendous.
Roddy Watt, chief executive of recruitment agency Berkeley Scott, which monitors the industry's pay levels closely, says management salaries in hospitality are increasing ahead of those in other sectors. "I would argue that he industry today is not the poorly paid at all," he says. "I think a lot of that is a hangover from the past. There are some very good packages on offer. A good reason to go into the industry is that there is a continual shortage of top-calibre people, so good qualified people will progress very quickly and can probably expect a similar amount of money to what they would earn in any other industry at an early age".
Hospitality has always been an industry in which bright things and entrepreneurs can succeed, regardless of qualifications, and employers are now realising this. Many say they want personality and charisma rather than a clutch of qualifications.
Steve Mullings, training and development manager at Bourne Leisure, which is expanding its 20-strong chain of holiday parks in the UK and North America, says firmly: "Personality is first. We're looking for outgoing, highly motivated people who are very much focused on business results - the sort of people who would one day want to run their own businesses".
Says Watt: "Good qualifications won't do anybody any harm at all, but I don't think they're by any means a prerequisite. My personal point of view is that very often good qualifications tend to mean 'high intellect' and 'good at doing exams'. These are not necessarily the best competencies for the hospitality industry. It's more important that people are the right type of individual. They've got to like other people".
Tony Goddard, human resources director at Bass Taverns, believes qualifications still count. But he adds: "Having said that, I think this is one of the few industries where you are performance-orientated. You can get as far on your performance as your ability will take you".
Pub restaurants are one of the fastest growing areas of hospitality. Bass recruits about 850 people every year for management positions within the company, and these 130 are graduates who join the company's graduate retail scheme. Within two or three years they can expect to be managing their own pubs, with 30-40 staff and a turnover of well over £1m. Average earnings are £24,000, but some reach £60,000.Goddard says the sheer pace of development in the pub industry means it's a good one to join, as brewers are constantly looking for managers for their new brands.Bass's own include All Bar One and Irish-themed chain O'Neill's. There are increasing opportunities within the chain for people working their way through the ranks. Thirty percent of managers are recruited internally, and Goddard wants to bring this up to 75%.
Laurence Watson, vice president human resources with Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, believes career progression is becoming faster because of better training and planning on the part of firms. "all sectors are becoming more competitive in their rates of pay and benefits packages, and most major groups are revitalising their graduate entry programmes," he says.
However, the hotel industry admits it still has some way to go to catch up with some of the pub and restaurant brands. Jennifer Neary, senior personnel and training manager with County Hotels, part of Queens Moat Houses, admits that she is honest with people she speaks to who want to enter the industry. "I'm not going to say yes, we pay wonderful salaries, because we don't. And as an industry we've got some way to go on that. But one thing I think our company - and probably the industry - does is that it gives fairly young people a lot of responsibility early on. If you show aptitude and the right attitude to work, you're able to progress quite quickly.
"But I say to them: I'm not going to lie to you. You do have to start at the bottom, you've got to learn the basics, and it's long hours and you will be working weekends."Nevertheless, Neary says the company is trying hard not only to make good links with schools and colleges, but to make its positions more attractive to youngsters. "We're working towards trying to get rid of things like split shifts, for example".

Catering and Hospitality Jobs

2008-12-17T03:10:00.001-08:00

The outlook for a career in hospitality jobs has never looked better with the future for openings being excellent. The reason for the openings is most food service workers move on to higher paying jobs. However if you are looking for a good career you can stay in the food service business and make a decent living in these hospitality jobs. There are courses available at community colleges, trade schools and universities to help you further your education. Here are some of the jobs available:Hotel JobsOne of the hotel jobs is room service which can pay very well hourly and with the tips you receive. Food service jobs are one of the hotel jobs that often requires some sort of college training these employees are normally cooks or chefs. In some instances these employees will have to fill in as wait staff in the restaurant in the hotel. Some times the kitchen will stay open for room service orders and may require longer hours for these workers.Catering JobsCatering jobs are a different kind of hotel job. A caterer is normally a higher paying job than your usual hotel worker because the wait staff do not make any tips and if you are a cook you do not cook from a menu. Catering jobs sometimes are on a as needed basis meaning a lot of evenings and weekends. Catering jobs are highly sought after jobs and normally offered to the best workers.Bar JobsBar jobs are for the outgoing enthusiastic individual who is a team player and will provide quality customer service.These jobs earn income thru an hourly wage and tipsand with good traffic coming into the bar can earn 200 to 300 a shift. Attending a school to become a bartender can help in landing these jobs and previous experience also helps.Hotel Management JobsHotel management jobs often require a college degree normally a Bachelor's degree in hotel management. These jobs pay more and is a high status and highly respected job and offers a lot of flexibility as far as the positions offered. This job does have a high rate of turnover and with the job sometimes requiring the person to move in order to keep being considered for promotion. This industry sometimes has a perception of being a very glamorous industry but this stems for lack of knowledge about the industry.Many of these students come straight from college having never worked in this industry before.A job in the hospitality and catering business is growing by on average 11 percent a year since 2006. These jobs offer opportunities for the regular worker as well as the student with lots of flexibility in this field of jobs.

Hospitality and catering roles

2008-11-14T04:34:00.001-08:00

Copyright © 2008 Ianson Internet Marketing
If you are looking for a job in food service, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has some good news for you--the outlook for openings is generally good because many food service workers move on to better and higher paying jobs. However, if you want a good career in the field, you can stay in food service and make a decent living with some education and experience in hospitality industries to back you up. Depending on the division of hospitality you are interested in, there are programs available at the trade school level, community college level, and university level for you. Here are a few of the jobs and programs available to you. Food Prep Workers Most of these jobs require little education or training, and often these employees learn on the job. Supervised by the chefs and cooks, they prepare ingredients, get equipment for line cooks and chefs, and keep work areas sanitary. Many of these positions are in bars, fast food restaurants, and chain restaurants. The pay is generally low, but that is also true of any entry level position. Many food prep workers are still in high school and are either working for college money or preparing to go on to the food service programs in trade schools or community colleges. Jobs for Chefs Chefs must be able to cook well, of course, but are also responsible for some day to day kitchen management. They must be able to direct the prep workers and line cooks, and serve as head cook. In more upscale kitchens, the chef has opportunities to be promoted to sous chef, executive chef, and eventually restaurant management positions if he or she has had the proper education. Generally, a two year program at a community college is expected for chef positions. In addition to restaurant work, jobs for chefs can include specialty grocery jobs, preparation of cookbooks, and even television appearances. Often busy families will employ a trained chef as household cook. Often they can find employment in non-feed service companies, like large corporations that have kitchens. Many have their sights set on promotions and must make sure they have additional training and education to qualify for them. Wait Staff One of the least favorite positions in the food service industry is the wait staff position. Waiters and waitresses (and hostesses) are often the first line of defense in the restaurant, interacting with hungry people who are of ten a little crabby. They must be cordial and friendly, and make sure the service is prompt, the food is prepared as ordered, and that the guests are happy at all stages of the experience. However, good wait staff in restaurants, bars, and other food service positions are rewarded with high tips and management promotions. High ticket restaurant work requires extensive training for wait staff, and skilled professionals can make good pay waiting tables. Although there are no higher education requirements for wait staff, good communication skills, ability to diffuse negative situations, and snap decision making abilities are highly prized. Catering Jobs Catering is a different kind of food service. Wait staff make no tips and cooks do not prepare from a menu, but these are generally higher paying jobs (hourly) than regular restaurant work. Many of the cooks and chefs have had lots of experience in addition to the required education, and wait staff have been trained in high quality service. Catering jobs are sometimes on an as-needed basis, so often a worker will be scheduled irregularly and works evenings and weekends--this is mostly when corporations have their parties, meetings, and seminars. Jobs in catering are often highly-prized, depending on the catering company. Lots of restaurants offer catering nowdays, and will offer the opportunities to the best of their workers. Jobs in Hotels Many of the food service jobs in hotels are similar to restaurants because they often have a restaurant on-site. However, many of these positions will involve room service, where a worker can make better money hourly and in tipping. Most cooking jobs in hotels require some college education and often the cooks and chefs serve as room service wait staff. A wider range of work hours are sometimes required of hotel food service workers if the kitchen stays open late for room service orders. However, the kitchens themselves are often larger and better equipped than the standard restaurant kitchen. The food service in a hotel will generally match the hotel quality, so it's easy to judge where one should apply when seeking food industry jobs in hotels. Management positions in the hotel kitchen often requires a bachelor's degree in hotel and restaurant management, but the pay is higher, status and respect higher, and the choices of positions more flexible. Specialization in Jobs for Chefs and Cooks Chefs and cooks may find that their expertise falls into a category, such as pastries or presentation. These chefs will need creativity, a little extra coursework, and on-the-job training to find positions in their specialty fields. However, they will be rewarded with higher pay and status. Chefs and cooks may also want to share their expertise with others, and many will go back to the community colleges to teach. These positions are highly-coveted among retired chefs and competition is often stiff. One of the more unique positions for chefs is kitchen engineer. These workers attend specialized training at the university level and apply their creativity, mathematical abilities, and extensive knowledge of kitchen operations to lay out these areas and equipment in an efficient manner. Some kitchen engineers work with architects, industrial engineers, etc. The Future for Food Service The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that in 2006 there were 3.1 jobs in food service, and jobs are expected to increase by eleven percent. Because of the flexibility in jobs in hotels, bars, restaurants, and catering, they are ideal for both the traditional worker and the student, and offer plenty of room for advancement for all.
Louise G Author, SEO and Management Consultant wrote this article about jobs. Visit www.mycateringjobs.com for great catering jobs

Chefs back local farmers

2008-11-08T06:39:00.000-08:00

Traditional national dishes such as toad in the hole and bangers and mash made from British-reared pork are under threat as the pig industry faces financial collapse, three celebrity chefs warn today.Gordon Ramsay, Tom Aikens and Rick Stein are backing a drive to persuade consumers to buy British sausages, bacon and ham rather than cheaper European imports now flooding the supermarket shelves.A national petition is to be launched to support British pig farmers, who are facing financial meltdown as a result of rising feed prices and competition from countries such as Denmark and Holland, where animal welfare standards are lower. The Save Our Bacon campaign is being launched by Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine, and other retailers as well as consumers are being urged to support it. Restaurateurs Sir Terence Conran and Fergus Henderson are supporting the campaign.Waitrose is using a sausage-free toad in the hole - "toad on the dole" - to highlight the average loss of £26 which pig farmers incur on every animal they sell. For the consumer, this means that everyday favourites such as bangers and mash or bacon butties could end up becoming an occasional luxury, the campaign says.Without a rise in the price they get for their pigs, many farmers will be forced to stop production, it warns. A survey by the National Pig Association showed that 95% of farmers are considering stopping production if prices do not improve. This would lead to a shortage of pig meat in the long term.

Chefs Christmas

2008-11-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

He may be master of the kitchen as a prolific TV chef, but how does Antony Worrall Thompson cope with Christmas lunch at home? He shares his secrets for success with Women's Editor Sarah FosterIT'S clear that Antony Worrall Thompson is very much a Christmas person. Unlike the Ebenezer Scrooges who eschew the festive season he takes pleasure in its magic and the bonhomie it brings. He feels the nicest thing about it is the chance to be with family."It's the best thing," enthuses Worrall Thompson, who's 56. "That's what Christmas is all about. I don't know what we'll do when the kids leave home.It's all about giving and seeing their little faces light up."Home for the Worrall Thompson clan is Henleyon- Thames, in scenic Oxfordshire. The chef is married to Irishwoman, Jay, and has a son called Toby- Jack, his eldest at 12, and ten-year-old daughter Billie-Lara. So do they still believe in Santa or are they now much too grown-up? "Billie does but Toby doesn't," says Worrall Thompson. "We have a saying in the house if you don't believe, you don't receive'."While family Christmases do vary, they're either spent in Henley-on-Thames or with Jay's relatives in Ireland. This year the Worrall Thompsons are hosting - which means they're cooking for 18."There's quite a mob of them," says Worrall Thompson wryly. "The Irish have great hospitality so you've got to reciprocate."AS Jay is also a trained chef she and her husband share the cooking. They may be confident in the kitchen but won't 18 test even them? "It's water off a duck's back really," says Worrall Thompson. "The main thing about Christmas is being organised. We've got two pubs which do Christmas lunches so we'll pop in there at some point."With that number you have to really go for turkey. I love goose, but it's really only good for six people. Turkey has a shocking reputation but that's just the way people cook it."In terms of what they will be eating the Worrall Thompsons are quite traditional. The TV chef says careful planning is of paramount importance. "The key is to be organised really," says Worrall Thompson."I would say to write a list, and it's always very satisfying when you can tick things off. We try to prepare some things ahead - bread sauce, brandy butter and things like that. I always say use the microwave a lot - not many chefs say that - and prepare as much as you can the day before."I make a puree, usually with parsnip and carrot or something like that, which can be made and heated up again in the microwave."FOR many cooks on Christmas Day a major problem is logistics - just how to utilise the kitchen so things are ready at the same time.What Worrall Thompson tends to do is use the oven on rotation. "I part-roast my potatoes for 40 minutes and the same with the roast veg," he says. "I put the veg in the oven while the turkey is resting.A lot of people don't have many ovens - I've got lots.It's down to planning and being organised."One thing he's not afraid to do is allocate jobs to other people. He says the children love to help and so he gives them their own chores. "Get the kids to lay the table the night before then set them some task," advises Worrall Thompson. "I get my kids to do the stuffing and that sort of thing. They're pretty good. They like to feel part of it. I think it's all part of the family spirit."A Christmas lunch would typically start with the traditional smoked salmon, with Worrall Thompson using this to make his crab and salmon parcels.He says that starters should be light so there is room for the roast dinner, but when it comes to the dessert he tends to stick with Christmas pudding."The family like it a lot," he explains. "I always find it a bit too rich. We have lunch at about five so we might have the Christmas pudding quite late."Yet even keeping with tradition you can have interesting side dishes and here, perhaps, is where the cook might do a little showing off. For Worrall Thompson it's tarte tatin that's made with delicate shallots or just a simple, baked terrine that adds a twist to Christmas lunch."You get a loaf tin or a terrine mould and line it with puff pastry, then pre-cook some risotto and spread a layer of that on the pastry, and then spread some veg," he says. "On each layer of veg you put a layer of cheese and basil leaves, then build up different layers and give it a nice colour, wrap the pastry over the top and bake it in the oven for 25 minutes, something like that, and cut it into slices."No doubt his guests will be replete with all the food that he has planned but if their waistlines do expand - and he himself gains extra pounds - you get the feeling that Worrall Thompson won't be inordinately upset. It seems he really does love Christmas and is determined to enjoy it. "I really like Christmas," he reflects. "I think it's a nice time of year."

Chefs Wage

2008-11-08T06:36:00.002-08:00

Not long ago, my renewed attempt to make a living on a freelance basis took me worryingly into debt and to the brink of disaster. I had to get a regular job - any job - immediately. After an “interview” that lasted 10 seconds, I found myself in the bowels of the Albert Hall in central London, about to start my first shift as a barman earning £5.60 per hour: 8p above the minimum wage. I knew it was a miserable amount. What I did not know was that I had just begun a crash course in the poverty and exploitation of those trapped at the bottom of Britain’s pile. In the small, neon-lit changing room lined with dilapidated metal lockers and full of staff putting on their regulation black, I was the only white British male. Two tiny Chinese girls were huddled together in a corner, whispering. My supervisor, a 30-year-old West Indian with elaborately shaved sideburns, assigned me to the quietest of the bars in the concert hall. Related LinksGo on, bunk off Christmas The year that changed my life The gospel truth about China’s Christian millions It may not be the most highly skilled job, but there’s a knack to being a barman. You have to be well organised and fast on your feet. One of my coworkers, Pavel, is a 25-year-old Pole who lives far out in the suburbs, where he shares a room with his former girlfriend. “I don’t go to pub, to cinema, to shops,” he tells me. “I work, work, work, all day, all night. I’m strong Polish man.” There are Brazilians, Mexicans, Filipinos. They come from everywhere, it seems, except Britain. Though they work nonstop, they are all desperately poor. Amala, 40, from Mozambique, doesn’t travel on the Underground. She simply cannot afford it. The bus is cheaper. Her conversation consists of a series of sighs and laments, and my heart bleeds for this lost figure who lives alone in a bedsit on the fringes of London. Pavel has youth and energy. What does the future hold for Amala? In the meantime, our employer - Leith’s Catering, part of the Compass Group, is laughing. The Albert Hall has outsourced the running of its bars to Leith’s, which employs a skeleton staff of supervisors and relies on a pool of dispensable casual workers. We might be asked to work just four hours in a day, or 12, or even 16. You never know - everything is always at the last minute. Any idea that Leith’s might care one jot for us was rapidly dispelled. Soon after I started, one of the supervisors called my mobile as I was on my way to work. This, he informed me, was a “courtesy call” to say I needn’t come in; they were covered for the day. It was useless to point out that they had booked me, that I was halfway there. Only when my first weekly pay cheque arrived, emblazoned with the company motto “Great people, great service, great results”, was I obliged to face the awful truth. After deductions for tax and National Insurance, I received £168 for 42 hours’ work - or a net hourly wage of exactly £4 (there is no overtime for evening or weekend work). Let’s do some simple calculations. For a four-hour shift I clear £16, minus £4 for the Tube. That’s £12 in my pocket. Include the time spent travelling to and from work and you’re looking at £12 posttax for almost seven hours, or £1.70 per hour. Basically, I’m working for free. If I get back home late after 13 hours’ work, then I clear £48. That’s about £675 net per month. There is no way you can function as a normal independent adult on this. Very rapidly, therefore, you become obsessed with money. I am sitting in a pub, having a pint of bitter. Cost: £3. That’s almost one hour’s work, so I shouldn’t be here. The food smells tantalisingly good, too, but of course it is out of the question to order any. Then a couple walk out, leaving a steak sandwich almost untouched. That’s £10 of food about to be thrown away. Two-and-a-half hours’ work. I’d love to grab it. But of course I can’t. Even worse, I’m thinking like a tramp. And the same with everything else. A £2 cup of coffee is now a foolish extravagance; the cheapest £10 haircut is an issue; the new pair of glasses that I need are suddenly the stuff of dreams; and socialising - involving, as it does, the expenditure of money - is impossible, unless friends pay. As for Christmas consumption, the thought simply does not occur. There are no two ways about it. This is akin to slavery. But at least the slave drivers of old had to house, feed and clothe their slaves. I can feel myself becoming more scruffy by the day. Never in my life have I felt less like an alpha male, never less appetising as a prospect for any woman. I have given up the five-mile daily runs that used to keep me in shape. My love life is nonexistent. And it is the same everywhere. The willing Poles who serve you in cafes, the countless others - mainly foreigners - who work in laundries and nursing homes and do the mundane jobs that keep our economy going. For all these, the standard pay is the minimum wage. With surprising speed a vast underclass has come into being that lives a shadowy existence in a twilight world; invisible and yet in our very midst. There is no chance of a bonus, or of pulling off a nice deal. There are no freebies, no lazy days. It’s just £4 or £5 net per hour, relentlessly. So they work 60 hours a week and try not to think too much. This affects us all; it’s just that the invisible workers are the first to suffer. With the bottom of the job market swamped with cut-price labour, with unemployment at 1.6m, and competition for the better roles becoming more fierce, countless jobs that used to pay a living wage no longer do. When the middle classes see that poverty is working its way up the social scale, that the prosperity they enjoy is an illusion financed by debt they can’t afford, then the public mood may be far from festive.

Why study catering

2008-11-08T06:36:00.001-08:00

If you are thinking about a career in culinary arts then studying in a culinary school is a must. You may be a great cook but you will never become expert learning culinary arts yourself. Farther taking up a job as a chef in a good restaurant demands a professional qualification, which comes only after attending a regular culinary school.There are many myth surrounding culinary arts. For example people say culinary is an art and art cannot be taught. This is not true. First culinary is not just an art, its science too. You must know about the ingredients you are using while cooking. You should also have through knowledge of the contents of the ingredients or additives you use to cook food. It helps you to be an informed chef.Another myth is that culinary education is very costly. You see, any education is costly. Culinary is not an exception. But if you compare, a Bachelor of Engineering Degree is much more costly then a diploma/degree in culinary.One of the worst myths is that chefs live a great life - full of glamor and no work. This is not at all true. Most of a chef’s time is spent in kitchen with hot oils and burning temperatures.If you love to cook - culinary school should be your destination. It is never too early for you to think about the opportunities that will come along after culinary training. America need good chef - you can be one of them.Chef, caterer, pastry chef and restaurant cook are merely the most familiar four options, but there are hundreds of jobs in the food industry. You may want to consider preparing for positions in management as executive chef, or in sales as catering director or in administration in food and beverage management. Maybe you’ll want to explore developing specialty products - a line of sauces or dressings, for example - for retail or wholesale markets. Maybe you’ll want to become a restaurant consultant to entrepreneurs who want to start restaurants. There are also teaching opportunities in professional cooking schools. Still another option is food writing and editing for magazines and books devoted to food and cooking. The options are endless.For any of these career directions, you’ll find the best preparation in an accredited school program - you’ll come out with a certificate or a degree. This training will provide you with a lifelong basis for understanding quality raw ingredients, creating balance and pleasure in combined flavors and presenting a beautiful plate to the diner. Yes, you keep learning on the job, but culinary school gives you a base of knowledge to test and compare to new trends, new ingredients and your own creativity.

Taking Chefs Jobs Outside Your Area

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There are times when you simply won’t be able to find the chefs jobs you desire within the area where you live. You may be required to take a job in another city or even country, just to get the position you want. Often, it is possible to find a lower position in your own area, but if you want to advance in chefs jobs, it may be necessary to consider elsewhere.It is relatively easy to find jobs that you can apply for in another town, without having to travel all over the place. You can simply look for jobs online. Most chefs jobs websites allow you to browse all available jobs, so you can just look until you find one that interests you and that you are qualified for. You can also put your CV online for potential employers to take a look at.Apply for the job online or by phone and you save travel expenses. The only time you may be required to travel is when you have to go for an interview, but often employers are willing to do the first interview over the phone. A second interview may be done in person, but depending on the position and the employer, you may be able to meet halfway between the job and your current city. Another option is to schedule several face to face interviews in the same area for the same day, so you won’t have to make multiple trips.Should you consider taking chefs jobs outside your area, you also need to consider the fact that you will have to relocate. If you are simply renting a flat, that shouldn’t be terribly difficult. It will mainly consist of giving notice and finding a new place in the city where you will be working. Ask if relocation costs are covered by your new employer. This is not that likely for lower positions, but if you are a good chef with higher qualifications, many times you can negotiate a deal to help you move. Even if you are not in the position to ask for moving expenses, you should consider asking for help with finding a new flat to rent while there. A kind employer should be able to point you to available places.You really open up your possibilities by searching online chefs jobs in cities other than your own. There may be higher pay and fewer hours required in chefs jobs that are on the other side of the country. It is an option well worth looking into.

Tips for Getting Catering Jobs & Chefs Jobs

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Catering companies are growing these days with the high demand for their services. That means that more catering jobs are open to new chefs and the time to start looking for a job is now. However, it can be a competitive market. So how do you make sure that you are the one that gets hired?First of all, you need a great CV. Most people aren’t that great at writing their own, so it might be a good idea write up a rough draft and have a family member or friend go over it before submitting a final draft. If you are really serious, consider hiring a resume company to revise the CV for you. When a company sees a well-written CV, they are more likely to take an interest in you. It makes you seem more professional.Having some experience in the area of catering is the best way to be accepted for a catering job. It is worthwhile to do some work for lower pay in order to get the experience. If you find that you are being rejected as a potential candidate for catering jobs, it might help to loosen up and take a job that is a little beneath you to prove that you can do it. Your work experience from school can help, if you haven’t been in the industry long.Show up prepared for the interview. Don’t go to the interview with jeans and a T-shirt. You should look the part for the job. If you want to take on a catering job, you need to look professional, calm and able to handle lots of stress! By presenting yourself as a capable person, you are more likely to get the job.Know what you are getting into. It will be pretty obvious if you have no idea what catering is about. This industry is a little different than regular restaurant or hotel cooking and you should at least study up on it if you want an opportunity to work for a caterer. That means understanding the basics of how catering works, knowing how to handle the equipment and what will be expected of you. Your knowledge will show up in the catering job interview.Preparing for getting catering jobs is the best way to make sure you aren’t the one who is always left out. Act professional, present a great CV and know a little about the job. This will help you make a good impression and hopefully land the position.

Skills needed, Chefs Jobs & Catering Jobs

2008-11-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

Skills and personal qualitiesChefs need to:stay calm under pressurecope with several tasks at once work as part of a teamuse creativity and imagination to make food look goodbe patient when doing routine tasks such as slicing vegetablesbe good communicators, organisers and managersunderstand health and safety requirementswork with figures, if they are responsible for budgets.InterestsIt helps to:enjoy cookinghave a real interest in foodhave creativity and imagination.Getting inAround 520,000 people work in the restaurant industry in the UK and that number is growing. A large proportion of those people are under the age of 30.Each year, there are around 30,000 vacancies for chefs in Britain, and this number is thought to be rising. There are many opportunities to train and work in hotels, restaurants and bars. About a third of the restaurants and other eateries are found in the south-east of England, but there is no shortage of opportunities in most towns and cities. More than half of the UK's restaurants are owner-managed or run in partnership, and many are owned and run by chefs. Cooks are in demand for work in company restaurants, schools, hospitals and in the armed forces.Jobs are advertised in trade magazines such as Caterer and Hotelkeeper, in Jobcentre Plus offices, and on specialist recruitment websites. Jobs may also be advertised in the local press, and there are many recruitment agencies that deal with catering positions.Entry for young peopleMany chefs start without any formal qualifications and learn their skills in the kitchen. Today, though, there are many ways of gaining valuable qualifications before getting a job, or while working.Many employers offer Apprenticeships or placements with a structured training programme, or trainee chefs can take full or part-time college or university courses.Courses that may be available include:City & Guilds Food Preparation and Cooking Progression Award City & Guilds Professional Certificate in Professional Cookery NVQ/SVQ Levels 1 and 2 in Food Preparation and Cooking SQA Level 2 in Hospitality Practical Cookery SQA Level 2 in Hospitality Professional Cookery Edexcel Certificate in International Cuisine NVQ/SVQ Level 3 in Kitchen and LarderNVQ/SVQ Level 3 in Patisserie and Confectionery SQA Higher in Professional Cookery SQA Scottish Progression Award in Food Preparation.An HNC in Professional Cookery or Professional Patisserie can be studied either on a one-year full-time or two-year part-time basis. Applicants may need a National Certificate in Catering, NVQ/SVQ Level 3, or relevant experience to be accepted on the course.Some higher education institutions offer a two-year full-time HND in Culinary Art, Patisserie, Food Service or Kitchen and Larder Work.In Scotland there is a two-year full-time or four-year part-time HND in Culinary Arts with Management. Applicants need a National Certificate Level 3 in Professional Cookery with Communication, an HNC, or the equivalent.Apprenticeships which may be available in England are Young Apprenticeships, Pre-Apprenticeships, Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships. To find out which one is most appropriate log onto www.apprenticeships.org.uk or contact your local Connexions Partnership.It is important to bear in mind that pay rates for Apprenticeships do vary from area to area and between industry sectors. There are different arrangements for Apprenticeships in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For further information contact Careers Scotland www.careers-scotland.org.uk, Careers Wales www.careerswales.com; and for Northern Ireland contact COIU www.delni.gov.uk.Entry for adultsMature applicants are welcome especially if they have experience in preparing food, or in customer service.TrainingLarge restaurants, hotels and catering services may offer training, usually as a combination of on-the-job experience (supervised by a trained chef) and college studies. It is also possible to take NVQs/SVQs Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 in various aspects of food preparation and cookery on a one-year full-time or two-year part-time course at some colleges. Some trainees may choose to specialise in areas such as kitchen, larder, confectionery and patisserie, and there are many courses specifically designed to provide training in these areas.Getting onIn larger organisations, NVQs/SVQs, or plenty of experience in the job, can help chefs work their way up to head chef. In smaller businesses, though, there may not be any promotion prospects, and progression means moving to another employer.Experienced chefs may move into related jobs, such as managing the food and drinks side of a hotel business, running their own restaurant or pub, or managing a contract catering business.Chefs can also lecture or teach, train in nutrition or food technology, or work as advisers for food manufacturers.

Market your Chef Job

2008-11-08T06:23:00.000-08:00

After my many years of conducting interviews and recruiting for both junior and senior employees, I have come to the conclusion that if there is one single thing that a person can do to secure a second interview or a desired position it is believe in themselves. Self-Confidence or No Confidence?Having worked with young adults in a supportive role, assisting them to get their foot on the career ladder, it has become evident that generally speaking the one thing they have in common is a lack of confidence. At the other end of the scale, in my role as a sales manager I have come across some extremely confident – in some cases, even arrogant – candidates. Neither of these situations is ideal.In order for a prospective employer to hire you, they have to believe that you will be competent in the position. Before, the can believe in you, you must believe in yourself, otherwise, you will not be able to convince them that you can do the job.The key to self-belief is to know that you are capable, that you will be an asset to the employer, and to truly believe that you will be an invaluable member of the team – They need you!Grow some Thick Skin! Once you believe in yourself, and are able to present yourself confidently to employers, you then need to work on your resilience. In the event that you are not chosen for a role you worked really hard for, it can be demoralising if you don’t keep a healthy positive attitude and aren’t able to bounce back and pursue your career with consistent excitement and vigour. And, should this happen more than once, it is even more important that you remind yourself how good you are and treat each application as a new and fresh opportunity, approaching it with the same energy and determination as you did the first.Every sales person gets RejectionIt helps to remember that rejection happens to each and every one of us at some point – or points – in our lives. It should be viewed as an opportunity to tweak the sales pattern: that is invariably what we are doing when we apply for a new position, we are selling our professional selves. And that is of course, much easier said than done. It can be a daunting task. Even the most successful sales people don’t necessarily find it as easy to sell themselves as an employable commodity as they do another product or service.Confidence or Arrogance?Whilst it is important to remain confident it is equally important to refrain from being too confident. This is likely to put many-an-interviewer off instantly. They will be thinking about how you will fit into a team or how customers will view you. If you walk into the room with a swagger and a misguided air of importance about you, they could automatically assume that you will intimidate colleagues or customers alike.There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. It is vital that the latter is not portrayed. Prepare for InterviewsThere are a number of things you can do to help you prior to being in the interview situation. The most obvious probably being connected with your appearance. If you look good you really do feel good. You can also prepare for the interview by finding out as much as possible about the role and the organisation. If the company doesn’t have a website – there are still some that don’t – then contact them by phone, find advertisements and get a feel for what they do, what their unique selling points are, their customers, the size of the organisation, how long they have been established, their goals etc. From this research you will be able to anticipate what the companies expectations of you will be and then think about how you can match (or exceed) these expectations. Just as a sales person would prepare for a sale, learn about their product or service’s selling points and then consider your selling points, ensuring that you match them to the employer’s needs.Be RealisticIf you already do all of the above and you still have a feeling of inadequacy be sure that you are not aiming too high too quickly. Set yourself realistic goals, a structured career path. After all, it’s no good applying to be a doctor if your background and studies have been in the field of say, hospitality. Remember though, that it is good to be a little nervous. The chances are you are applying for the role that will shape your future career. So whether you feel you could do with some work on your confidence, either because you are too submissive or too aggressive, remember that somewhere between the two lies assertiveness. If you are assertive you will automatically give the impression that you are confident and that you really do believe in yourself.

Event Caterer

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It was his responsibility to impress his boss and some prospective clients. I worked really hard to pull off something professional. It took a lot of effort and I believed that I could help people that didn’t have enough time to plan their own events.As an event caterer, I provide everything that someone will need. I can include food, beverages, staff, entertainment and even flowers. There is no end to what I am willing to do for my clients. I have a fantastic reputation now as an event caterer and I haven’t had to turn down any jobs, yet, but I may have to soon.I planned a corporate event last month that included the most services that I’ve ever been asked for at one event. I was referred to this company by someone I catered a wedding for last year. I think being an event caterer is a lot of fun.I have more fun with large corporate events than I do with weddings. I think that is mostly because executives appreciate an event caterer making all of the choices and a bride wants to make all of the choices. I get to use my own creativity more with event planning.There was an executive Christmas party that a local corporate world headquarters wanted to throw last year and they interviewed every event caterer in the area and chose me. I had so much fun planning this event. The corporation gave me a ridiculous budget and I used in ways that would make every guest feel like a stars.I don’t think any other event caterer in our area will provide limo or valet services for the guests. I provide those services when they are requested. I also will design and send invitations to events and I know that no one else does that. I am completely full service and come with a lot of good recommendations.The most fun that I’ve ever had planning an event was when my stepmother’s Red Hat Society group wanted an event caterer to create a memorable 65th birthday party for five of its members. We had an afternoon tea party and there were so many flowers and frills that I couldn’t help but smile. Those are some really fun women.

Catering Jobs

2008-11-08T06:22:00.001-08:00

The catering industry is a $6 billion business, and it is expected to grow in the future. Given this, it can be expected that there are a lot of employment opportunities in the catering industry. The good new is these opportunities are open to almost all age groups, especially to those who are looking for part time work. This includes college students and homemakers who are looking for extra income. In addition, the high turn over in the catering industry assures people that there are plenty of jobs to go around. Among the jobs that are available include chefs, cooks, wait staff and food preparation workers.Basically, food preparation workers are the people who prepare the ingredients that chefs and cooks prepare. Some of the most common tasks include slicing fruits and vegetables, peeling them, cutting meat, poultry and fish, and measuring and weighing the ingredients for the chef or the cook. In addition, they clean the equipment used in cooking, dishes and cleaning work areas.The chef or cook prepares the meal by following specific recipes. Often times they also help plan the menu that is offered during the reception. More importantly, it is the job of the chef to direct the operations of the kitchen and to make sure that everything runs smoothly and according to schedule. In addition, it is also the responsibility of the chef to make sure that the kitchen has enough supplies, ingredients and workers. The wait-staff serves food to the guests attending the reception, as well as makes sure that wine glasses and water glasses are filled, etc.The catering industry is a multi-billion industry that employs a large number of people across most age groups, especially younger people. Among these employment opportunities, some of the most common jobs are those of chef or cook, food preparation workers and wait staff. These are some of the most important jobs in the catering industry because it is the chef that acts as the "director" of the operations of the kitchen and it is the food preparation worker that makes sure that the "director" does his job effectively and the wait staff makes sure that all guests are satisfied and served promptly.

Hospitality and food service

2008-11-08T06:21:00.001-08:00

Hospitality is a huge, dynamic industry, constantly being affected by an array of changing forces, and, in turn, having its own big effect on our economy and the job market. In Greater Boston and throughout the state, the hotel and restaurant business has seen its share of ups and downs in recent years."After 9/11, growth was considerably more slow than before," said Michael Auerbach, deputy director of the Massachusetts Lodging Association. "Since then, we've had modest growth. Stellar? No."Boston, he said, has seen some growth from last year, "but we'd like to see it stronger than it is."With the new Boston Convention & Exhibition Center hoping to fill more dates, and a number of new hotels opening or under construction, the picture is hopeful but unclear.Careers in hotels and restaurants include hundreds of opportunities from chief executives and facilities managers to accountants, front-desk clerks, waiters, janitors, chefs, and marketing and sales personnel. For jobs in lodging or food service, contact human resource departments, or visit hcareers.com or restaurant.org.EXECUTIVE CHEFSAverage salary: $44,830 (chefs). Executive chefs average $60,000 and up, depending on reputation and the restaurant's status. Most receive bonuses.Demand: Good. Job opportunities are generally good around the area, as the restaurant scene stays fairly lively; openings occur as chefs move around, but competition is tough.Qualifications: Those aspiring to top spots usually need formal training at a culinary institution, college, or vocational school.LINE COOKSAverage salary: $25,770 (restaurant); $21,800 (fast food); $29,270 (institution); $24,670 (short order)Demand: Good. Restaurants and hotels always need cooks, and turnover is high at many places. But institutions and fast-food establishments are hiring fewer cooks and combining duties to reduce costs.Qualifications: Cooks can learn on the job; vocational schools and community college programs improve chances of promotion.FOOD AND BEVERAGE DIRECTORSAverage salary: $52,450Demand: Good. With tourism growth in the area, hotel and restaurant job opportunities are fairly good; schools, hospitals, and other institutions also need directors.Qualifications: Several good regional two- and four-year college culinary and lodging programs are valuable in getting a start.HOTEL GENERAL MANAGERSAverage salary: $62,320 average, but depends on hotel size and status. Lodging and food often included.Demand: Fairly good. New hotels opening offer job possibilities, but the overall picture, though hopeful, remains unclear.Qualifications: Degree in liberal arts or hotel management preferred; industry experience necessary for management.HOUSEKEEPING STAFFAverage salary: $23,270 (maids and housekeeping cleaners); $25,920 (janitors and cleaners); $40,180 (supervisors)Demand: Good. High turnover means jobs are usually available.Qualifications: On-the-job training. Better language skills improve opportunities.WAIT STAFFAverage salary: $23,870, plus tipsDemand: Good. Lower-priced and mid-level restaurants offer more openings than high-end establishments.Qualifications: High school education, neat appearance, friendly personality necessary.BARTENDERSAverage salary: $24,320, plus tipsDemand: Good. But the market is tight for the best jobs where tips are good.Qualifications: Be 21 years of age, know local laws, have good personality. Training available at bartending school or on the job

Why Catering Jobs & Catering education

2008-11-08T06:20:00.000-08:00

Hospitality prospects and Jobs in Hospitality

2008-11-08T06:18:00.002-08:00

Some of the main issues facing the industry for thefuture are the same as those it faced in the past –investment, attraction and retention of staff andskills shortages.ECONOMIC IMPACTOver the last ten years, over £20 billion has beeninvested but more needs to be done if the industryis to compete successfully in the global market ofthe future. Government support of the VisitBritainmarketing strategy generates around £13 billion inrevenue each year. Further investment here wouldproduce significantly greater returns to both theindustry and the UK economy generally. The recentenlargement of the European Union (EU) and Chinaprovides potential new areas for investment.DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGESPopulation growth and migration around the worldis one of the key issues for the industry in thefuture. The world’s population is projected to growfrom 6.2 billion today to 8.9 billion by 2050 butless than 6% of that growth will be in developedcountries. The number of elderly will increasesignificantly so as to shift the ratio of workingpeople to retirees in favour of the latter. In short, inmany parts of the world, more people will be over60 and living longer, healthier lives. Many of themwill want to travel. With fewer young people cominginto the workforce in developed countries, theindustry will have to look increasingly to migrants tomeet their customers’ needs and expectations inthe future (For full article, see Hotels magazine,March 2004).TRENDSEmployer branding is becoming increasinglyimportant when it comes to recruitment. Manycatering companies believe that building asuccessful employer brand makes it much easier toattract people who fit the culture of a company. Acompany’s organisational structure and its workingenvironment are becoming more important toprospective employees than the financial packetand benefits.Nutritional Standards for schools and hospitals willcontinue to be on the agenda. Various governmentinitiatives already underway are set to move on tothe next phase. The ‘better hospital food’ initiative,which has focused on better food for patients, willmove on to address environmental issues. One ofthe requirements of hospital caterers and othergovernment contracts will be the use of locallyproduced and fair trade food products. Tough newstandards for school meals will be introduced in2006 and caterers will be required to providenutritious meals. From September 2006, howhealthy a school’s menu is, will become part of theOfsted inspection process.GOVERNMENT LEGISLATIONA ban on smoking in cafés, restaurants and pubsthat serve food heads the list of policy initiatives inthe Government’s White Paper on Public Health.The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) saidthat around 22,000 bars and pubs would enforcethe ban before the end of 2005. Wetherspoons hashad smoke-free areas in its pubs for over ten yearsand plans to ban smoking completely by May2006. However, other big players are morecautious and have agreed that they will graduallywork towards the notion of a complete ban. At themoment, it is unclear how the law will beimplemented and what the economic impact willbe. There are fears that some pub operators mayhave to get rid of food sales and become drinksonlybars.In October 2005, the national minimum wage isdue to rise to over £5 per hour for those who are21 and over, with a further increase of 6% inOctober 2006. A spokesman for the BritishHospitality Association (BHA) said that this was inline with what the industry expected (seeCatererSearch for details).6As it will be7Hotels - there are a number of large recruiters inthe luxury, mid-range and budget hotel markets.Examples include: Accor, which operates in over 90countries and has amongst its brands, Novotel, Ibisand Sofitel - it focuses on training and developmentof its staff, offering graduate programmes, modernapprenticeships and management developmentprogrammes; Jurys Doyle, which offers careeropportunities in various specialist roles andmanagement positions and provides a range oftraining opportunities for those keen to get on;Hilton, which has over 500 hotels worldwide; andWhitbread, which is the UK’s largest hotelier - it hasrecently acquired Premier Lodge Hotels andconverted them to Premier Travel Inns and isplanning to rebrand all of its 457 hotels to PremierTravel Inns within the next six months.Restaurants - this is quite a diverse sector withmany small, independent businesses alongside theburgeoning branded sector. It is an area where selfemploymentis a possibility, especially if you haveflair and initiative. A few big players dominate thehigh street chains, especially:• Whitbread, whose brands include Beefeater,Costa, TGI Fridays, Brewers Fayre and more(Whitbread also has investment in Pizza Hut -UK);• The Restaurant Group, with ConcessionConnection, Caffé Uno, Chiquito, Frankie &Benny’s and Garfunkels amongst their brands.Pubs, clubs and bars - the distinction betweenthis subsector and restaurants is blurring with manyof these establishments now offering food. Again,there’s a mixture between small, independentbusinesses, tenanted or freehold businesses andlarge groups who own particular brands. Examplesof these are: Scottish and Newcastle PubEnterprises, who own numerous brands, including T& J Bernard, Thistle Inns and others; Mitchells andButlers whose brands include O’Neills, All Bar One,Vintage Inns and Toby Carvery; The Spirit Group, amanaged pub company with over 2,000 pubs, barsand restaurants in the UK; Punch Taverns, a leasedand tenanted pub company with around 7,800pubs across the UK; and Enterprise Inns, anotherleased and tenanted pub company with 9,000pubs spread throughout the UK.Contract catering - this subsector is much moreconcentrated. The largest players are the CompassGroup, whose operations span the hospitality sectorwith over 9,000 businesses in the UK; Sodexhowhose clients range from schools and hospitals tothe armed forces to blue-chip commercialcompanies; and Aramark, which also has a broadspectrum of clients.Hospitality services - generally speaking, the bigplayers in this sector are public sector institutions,eg schools, hospitals, universities and civil servicedepartments. Within this, though, contracting outmeans that contract caterers are also heavilyinvolved in this area.In general, these big players offer excellentmanagement prospects and a range of training anddevelopment opportunities, from modernapprenticeships to graduate training programmes.OTHER AREAS WITHIN HOSPITALITYA popular career area for graduates is conferenceand exhibition management. Opportunities existwithin large hotel groups, specific conferencevenues (eg universities, sporting venues andexhibition centres) and smaller events managementcompanies. Hospitality-related careers are alsoavailable working on cruise ships.There are officer-level positions in the armed forces(Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy) forgraduates looking for careers in cateringmanagement in these environments.SALARIES ON OFFERA number of factors will determine salary and it willvary across the subsectors of the industry. It willalso depend on the size of the employer. Here aresome examples that demonstrate the wide range ofsalaries available. For example, a general managerof a budget hotel in the provinces may earnbetween £25,000 and £75,000 and a receptionmanager between £12,000 and £16,000. Thegeneral manager of a five-star hotel in London,however, could earn between £35,000 and£185,000. A pub manager of a small outlet mightearn between £23,000 and £26,000, whereas anarea manager might earn between £34,000 and£40,000 (source: The Caterer Group Careers Guide2005).Big players8The hospitality industry is a major player within theglobal economy. The World Travel and TourismCouncil (WTTC) estimates that, in 2004, the traveland tourism economy represented 10.4% of theglobal economy (this includes suppliers). The WTTCalso estimates that the global travel and tourismeconomy created almost ten million new jobs in2004 (Hospitality Journal Dec/Jan 2004/05). Thehospitality sector is vulnerable to national andglobal events and can be seriously affected bythem. For example, Foot and Mouth disease in theUK and the aftermath of 9/11 in 2001, the war inIraq and SARS in 2003 and, more recently, thetsunami disaster. It is too soon to say how theindustry will be affected by this latest catastrophebut small businesses will undoubtedly be thehardest hit.However, the World Bank forecast a return to realGDP (gross domestic product) growth of 4.0% for2004 and continued growth, albeit at a slower rate,for 2005 (source: World Bank Global Outlook).OPPORTUNITIES OVERSEAS FOR UKGRADUATESThe hospitality sector is a worldwide industry andthere are lots of opportunities for graduates,particularly temporary and seasonal work. There arealso opportunities for more career-focused jobs butit may be difficult to get a graduate positionimmediately after graduating, as most hotel groupsexpect their graduates to undergo their own broadbasedtraining schemes, thus giving them a fullunderstanding of the company and its culture.However, with experience, it may be possible totake secondments abroad and possibly even moveabroad within one of the global groups. Inevitably,language skills are important for many of theseopportunities.A new career portal was launched in 2004. It cameinto being largely due to a strategic alliancebetween the International Hotel & RestaurantAssociation (IH&RA) and HCareers. It can beaccessed through the IH&RA website and itprovides job seekers with easy access to thousandsof hospitality job openings internationally. IH&RAhave also recently formed a partnership withhotelschools.com and hospitalitynet.com so as tofurther promote education and career developmentwithin the global hospitality and tourism industry(IH&RA Report, Hotels, November 2004).OPPORTUNITIES IN THE UK FOR EU ANDOVERSEAS STUDENTSEU students are in a good position when seekingemployment, particularly if they have stronglanguage skills. The hospitality sector in general ismultinational but, just like any other industry, workpermits would be required to gain employment.Policies will vary and of course it will depend uponwhat specific skills and experiences you have tooffer. Contact individual employers for more details.For further information, see the AGCAS SpecialInterest booklets Working Abroad and UsingLanguages. Consult Prospects Directory for detailsof graduate recruiters.A world view9Getting in and getting onGraduate training schemes are very common in thehospitality sector, particularly where largecompanies are prominent. Inevitably, each will havetheir own features but some general points are asfollows (see also ‘As it is’).Most hotel programmes are designed to developoperations managers of the future. To achieve this,graduate trainees spend their training periodmoving around various departments and hotelswithin the group. Such departments could include:front of house; restaurant; housekeeping; accounts;conference and events; sales and marketing; andhuman resources. Hotels argue that this broadtraining before specialisation gives a greaterunderstanding of the business and this is importantin a competitive market where brand identity,company ethos and uniformity of service areparamount.However, not all graduate trainees becomeoperations managers. Many specialise in an area oftheir training, either within a hotel or develop in ahead office function, such as accounting andfinance, information technology, human resources,sales and marketing, etc.In the restaurant subsector, again the larger playershave graduate schemes and many features ofthese will be similar in the pubs, clubs and bars.With many programmes you would join as anassistant manager and undertake structuredtraining, particularly in the areas of leadership,finance, health and safety and customer service.You would also need to become familiar with allaspects of licensing legislation and some employersmay put you through the qualifications ofprofessional bodies, eg British Institute ofInnkeepers (BII).The hospitality services subsector is unlikely to havegraduate schemes, although interested graduatesshould apply to specific vacancies they areinterested in. The contract catering subsector isfairly concentrated and most of the big players havetheir own graduate training schemes.For those interested in conference and exhibitionmanagement, there are the general programmesrun by large hotels, which can lead to specialisationin this area. For employment at exhibition venues orwithin events management companies, theseopportunities are likely to be advertised eitherlocally, through specialist hospitality publications orvia hospitality recruitment consultants. Many enterthese organisations via speculative approaches (see‘Good reads’ and ‘Hot links’ for further details).Exhibition venues and events managementcompanies tend to be small teams, therefore, thenumber of openings are unlikely to be numerous.The ‘hotel’ section of a cruise ship is the largestand, therefore, has the most opportunities.Management positions tend to be filled internally sogetting a foot in the door would be the first step. Inmost cases, you would apply directly to the cruiseline. See ‘Good reads’ and ‘Hot links’ to identifycontacts.If you are interested in the armed forces, your firststep is to arrange an informal discussion with therelevant university liaison officer for the branch ofservice you are interested in. This can usually bedone through your university careers service.

Hospitality among top career choices for youngsters

2008-11-08T06:18:00.001-08:00

A study conducted by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), shows that there has been a radical change in the preferences of today's youngsters. No more they are targeting at BPO jobs but are instead looking forward to hospitality, aviation and retail, which are newer and promising areas. According to the study, the change is due to lack of job security and erratic work conditions in BPOs and other sectors. The study cites, 'By now, confronting a high attrition rate of 25 to 30 per cent together with the projection of facing a 30 to 40 per cent staff shortage in the next two years, BPOs seem set for tough time as urban youth 'rove' to newer and promising areas such as aviation, hospitality and retail'. Venugopal N Dhoot, president of ASSOCHAM, says, "A number of youngsters after passing class twelfth who were earlier seeking opportunities for jobs in BPOs and call centres, are now interested in joining other attractive areas of hospitality, retail, aviation, animation, journalism, designing and entertainment."The study titled 'Urban youths new emerging choices for career making,' cites hospitality, aviation and retail sectors are experiencing shortage of up to 25 to 30 per cent of skilled personnel. Venugopal adds, "With this change in preference, there is likely to be some make up for the scarcity." He explains that the change is due to the definite pay package with incentives. Also, the working conditions and lifestyles seem to be much more reasonable and in harmony in the jobs in hospitality, aviation and retail, he said.

Working in a ski resort

2008-11-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

Chefs in particular are always in demand, they can make or break a chalet or hotel, and not only because so many depend upon repeat business from culinary satisfied guests to survive. Typically the chef is also in charge of ordering, budgeting and kitchen hygiene – which can bankrupt a business in an afternoon if not adhered to rigorously – and managing anything from a single assistant to a small army of staff. It can be a genuinely high pressure environment, but because of this there are almost always positions available. As Will Corder, who now runs The Ecrins Mountain Lodge by Les Deux Alpes, said: “That’s one of the best things about being an experienced chef, I love travelling and I love snowboarding, and I know that I can rock up pretty much anywhere and I’ll find work. I once went to Perisher Blue, with no contacts or job offers, and the same afternoon I arrived I was put in charge of a mountain restaurant and given my own flat and a lift-pass.” To move up to chef at a hotel may improve your bank balance, but it also ups those stress levels. Even working at a club hotel, where the food tends to be chalet standard, the sheer quantities and staff to control make for a more labourious living. And of course there are establishments scattered about the Alps where even the most highly skilled and experienced are likely to start only as a sous-chef or kitchen assistant. NanniesThe other key position for which demand always seems to outstrip supply is, perhaps surprisingly, the humble nanny. They are there ostensibly to look after the kids, but for parents to enjoy a guilt free ski, they have to believe that their children are having a good time too, and enjoying it in a safe pair of hands. The days have long passed when a nanny only had to be passably cheerful, over 16 and not totally hate kids. Katherine Last, Child Care Manager for Crystal Holidays France told me: “From the perspective of health and safety and insurance alone, but also for the peace of mind of parents, it is imperative that all our nannies have child-care qualifications, we insist they have CACHE or equivalent qualification and are CRB checked. We also follow the strictest UK regulations with regard to ratios of adults to children; which means that we need an awful lot of staff.” Good nannies can usually afford to be choosy, and the size of employer they want to work for is one of the key decisions they need to make. Katherine now manages a staff of almost 100, having started out as a nanny fresh from school. Whereas, though typically the job is much easier, when looking after the children of a single family there is little room to progress long term. Talent will sometimes find a way however, Lee Mann started working for Chalet Shiraz in Les Houches as a nanny for the owners, but after only one season is now running the marketing side of their business. Size makes a difference in the cooking world too; as a chalet host with the bigger tour groups, you don’t even need to be a qualified chef, simply knowing your way around the kitchen and attending the early season training will suffice. Of course, being trained makes you infinitely more employable, but be warned, it’s not unknown for the best cooks to be placed in the worst chalets, to even out the holiday experience. In small owner operated chalets, conditions, budget and pay tend to improve dramatically, so qualifications or a lot of experience are usually required. Damian Blanchard of Ice and Orange gave me their take on the chef’s role: “For us it’s quite simple: work for three hours in the morning, to make sure the guests are plugged full of delicious energy food. Then go and ski or board for the rest of the day. Return to lay on canapés and dinner by the fire. Have a few drinks in Cham and repeat for four months” For that unarduous sounding life, the remuneration package is €220 euros per week, all your food and drinks and a private, fully-serviced, one bedroom apartment. Bar staffIf you’ve left it till the last minute you are very unlikely to walk into a position in the top après ski joint; indeed any pub or club jobs are highly sought after. Many bars actively recruit staff at the end of the previous season, to get the comeliest and most charismatic staff on their books. The reason why bar tending is so scarce is quite simply because it’s one of the best jobs to have. A lot of places don’t open during the day at all, or with skeleton crews, which means plenty of time on the hill. Pay is usually better than with holiday companies, and with more consistent tips. Be generous with the right people and you should be able to eat and drink around town for free on your nights off. There are also good prospects for pulling more than pints, being the only person sober enough to remain charming and witty in the evening mêlée. The downside of this is a mirror of the up. Not working during the day means working late into the night. Give out a few gratuities and suddenly everyone wants them: the choice is offend them or really offend your boss. And being the only sober person in a dribbling orgy of indulgence is often not all it’s cracked up to be. Ski rep/escortWorking as a Rep or a Ski Escort is another popular choice, but sadly here too you have probably missed the boat. Most of the solely ski escorting jobs will go to returning staff and the new Reps will be getting stuck into their training courses any day now. Repping is not for everyone in any case, you need an abundance of confidence and patience to even consider it; sales skills, diplomacy and bluff, to be a success. Depending on the resort though, you should eat and drink entirely or mostly with wallet firmly pocketed. You’ll be paid a decent wage, in ski resort terms, with opportunities for commission. You get plenty of spare time if you’re organised, and you’ll party hard, whether you want to or not. You’ll also miss perfect powder days whilst guiding the ‘Blue Cruise group’ - unless you can pre-arrange an ‘emergency’ call from the office - hear more moaning and swearing than a film censor; and eat more humble pie than the Buddhist Desperate Dan. Les plongeursThe plongeur aka EPH and KP - ‘extra pair of hands’ or ‘kitchen porter’ - is either the lowest of the low or the best job in town, depending on how you view the world. It is also the only unskilled role you have a realistic chance of just turning up in the resort and picking up. Many hotels and larger chalets will not bother to advertise for KP’s and prefer to employ those who have already found their own accommodation. If you’re not big on client contact then this is definitely the role you want. At worst you might make a brief welcome speech appearance, largely so the rep can do his ‘underwater ceramic technician’ joke, generally you need never see the guests at all. Cutting vegetables and washing up in well run chalets or hotels is not taxing work, and it is generally agreed can be performed at a certain level of intoxication and any degree of dishevelment. It can even be fun. Getting in the way, being shouted at by chefs, carrying heavy boxes and barrels, clearing terraces and being whipping-boy to even the greenest waiter is no fun at all, however. It all depends where you end up, something over which you will have little control. And wherever you are you will never, ever, have any money.

Hospitality Jobs Awareness

2008-11-08T06:14:00.000-08:00

A new initiative is being launched to raise awareness of the wide range of career opportunities to be found in the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors.There are already more than 100,000 people working in those fields in Devon.Now 'Ambassadors', who have already started successful careers in these sectors, will be visiting schools and colleges to describe their working lives and inspire youngsters to consider such careers.A pilot for the county-wide scheme ran during 2007 and so the existing Ambassadors will be sharing their experiences with new recruits as the scheme launches.Ambassadors are given an intensive training course on presentation skills and schools and colleges can then book a visit by a local Ambassador for their students. The project aims to have 50 trained Ambassadors each making one or two visits to their local school or college by summer 2008.Project manager Rosie Bates of the Devon Tourism Skills Network explained what students can expect to get out of the visits."Students can have preconceived ideas about careers in these sectors so they tend to be really surprised to hear about the wide range of jobs that could potentially be their future careers. It's also fun for them to hear some of the challenges and triumphs that our Ambassadors have experienced in their early careers."One of the new Ambassadors, Izzy Warren from Paignton Zoo, is looking forward to being involved. "I am really keen to support this project as it gives me a chance to tell others about my work and how much I enjoy it. My role is diverse, exciting and every day is different."The Zoo employs up to 250 people so the career development opportunities are really attractive. I have achieved several qualifications and promotions in the last four years, exceeding my original expectations."Top employers from across the county are supporting the project, recognising that they need to ensure that potential future employees gain a good understanding of opportunities within these sectors.The Ambassadors also benefit from free training in a set of skills that will be invaluable as their career progresses.Ambassadors are still being recruited for the spring training events so interested individuals or their employers can contact the project office on or visit www.devondmo.com/ambassadors to find out more.Schools and colleges can arrange Ambassador visits by contacting the project office or browsing through the relevant resources online

No longer hospitality in the hospitality industry

2008-11-08T06:12:00.000-08:00

DESPITE the skills shortages in the Australian economy, there has been little attention given to its importance in regional Australia.University of the Sunshine Coast research involving interviews with senior regional business managers highlights supply and demand issues concerning the regional skills shortage in growth areas, and more insidious problems involving poor management practices in business and the lack of basic skills by many staff.The Sunshine Coast, like the rest of Australia, has experienced a skills shortage because of the demand caused by years of economic growth and increased consumer spending. It has also been affected by rises in average household earnings by 70 per cent, faster than the national average of 60 per cent. In particular, the Sunshine Coast has been caught in a skills crisis because of the large number of new arrivals and their particular characteristics.For instance, while the largest group arriving on the Sunshine Coast is aged 30-45, with one or more children under 10, there has also been an influx of those over 55. These two groups are creating demands for different services and skills sets at the same time.Interviews indicated serious skills shortages across health services, tourism and hospitality, retail, education, construction, information and technology and automotive sectors.There is even a lack of chefs, client service assistants, and – not unexpectedly – professionals such as solicitors, accountants and engineers.On the supply side, a problem in regional Australia has been the lower than national average participation rates by young people, especially young males, in extended secondary and post-secondary education.Supply of skilled staff has been affected by the fact that 90 per cent of businesses in regional Australia employ fewer than 20 staff, and often fewer than five staff. Such small businesses are least able to invest in staff training or apprentices to develop long-term skill strategies, or to recruit the right people.Many seniors or single parents coming to regions face too many obstacles to employment. Their considerable skills are often underutilised.What was really depressing about the research was reportage that even basic generic written and oral skills of many staff were poor and that interpersonal skills, overall work ethic and general attitudes essential in most service sector jobs were lacking.One manager said: "There is no longer hospitality in the hospitality industry." This is an indictment of the education system and possibly the contemporary family structure that is failing to deliver both the right skills and the right attitudes. Fuelling these issues are generational changes where values such as loyalty and punctuality are disappearing.Combined with other research findings about the poor supervisory skills of many middle managers, Australia does not have the quantity or quality of competent management staff to succeed in the future. Australia could become a second-rate economy unable to maximise its tourism opportunities because of its skills deficiencies.While many businesses are going offshore in search of skilled staff, there are Australian solutions. For instance, more could be done to reduce barriers and unlock prejudices to encourage more participation from women and seniors in the workforce.This requires campaigns to promote more flexible arrangements to cater to their particular work and home needs.Additionally, business needs to stop free-riding on government training programs and invest in training that adds value and capacity or they will be out of the market.Regional collaboration to pool resources is one option.Most importantly, we need to confront these issues at a regional level, to target key areas and to develop solutions that meet district needs, rather than to rely on national approaches. Too many government bodies do their own thing in isolation from each other. As one manager said: "Businesses are being caught in a minefield of silos."Wayne Graham and Dr Scott Prasser of the University of the Sunshine Coast have completed research on skills shortages on the Sunshine Coast that has implications for growth regions across Australia.

Hospitality Jobs

2008-11-08T06:10:00.000-08:00

Depending upon where you look and who you ask, a good case can be made for a bad situation -- that the U.S. economy is slipping into a recession.Happily, the same can't be said for Wyoming.In January, the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly three decades at 2.7 percent, according to figures released Tuesday by the Wyoming Department of Employment, Research and Planning Section.It was the second lowest rate in the nation, trailing only South Dakota at 2.6 percent, and at its lowest point since June 1979 when Wyoming's unemployment rate stood at 2.6 percent.At the same time, the state had a job growth rate of 3 percent when compared to year-earlier figures, while the U.S. job growth slowed to only 0.7 percent. The state added 8,300 jobs when compared to January 2007."It looks like we're number one in January," said senior economist David Bullard. For all of 2007, the annual average job growth rate in the state was 3.9 percent, behind only Utah at 4.0 percent."Overall, the economy's growing here, where nationally it's pretty flat," Bullard said."The other good thing I see, with the weak dollar, it's going to bring in more tourists from other countries," he added.Other states in the West have been less fortunate than Wyoming. Bullard noted that formerly rapid job growth in Nevada and Arizona slowed in 2007 to 1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.Wyoming job growth in January was led by the construction sector, which added 2,000 jobs, and transportation and utilities with 1,200 additional jobs.More modest gains were posted in leisure and hospitality (800 jobs), retail trade (700 jobs), education and health services (700 jobs), wholesale trade (600 jobs), natural resources and mining (600 jobs), and government (600 jobs).The information sector lost 100 jobs and manufacturing remained unchanged.Between December and January, employment fell by 6,500, which was consistent with normal seasonal patterns.The highest unemployment rates were recorded in Big Horn (5.8 percent), Platte (5.4 percent) and Fremont (5.3 percent) counties.

Buying local food could save businesses

2008-11-08T06:09:00.002-08:00

There are more benefits of using local and seasonal food than just cutting food miles and CO2 emissions. Becky Paskin explores how restaurants can use it to their own advantage, for the sake of their business and the industry.Sourcing food locally is not a new concept. Gordon Ramsay has been blasting the country through the power of Kitchen Nightmares for years for traipsing across the globe for food they could have grown in their back gardens.In last year’s series the serial swearer ridiculed a Brighton chef for not using locally caught fish on his menu. “But you can’t get local fish round here,” replied the adamant young chef. Determined to prove anyone wrong, Ramsay marched the lad to a local fish market on the seafront. “Now don’t tell me you can’t get f***ing fish in Brighton, yes?”Ramsay is notorious for forcing his locally sourced, seasonal ethos onto the chefs of his popular reality show, and you can see why. It’s great for the environment, consumers get better quality food, it’s fresher – but the British kitchen population is under the impression that using locally sourced food is far too costly, rare and just too much hassle.If chefs just put a bit more effort into researching the ethos Ramsay champions so much, they would uncover the huge benefits it has for the local economy, and for their business, particularly during the current ‘food crisis’. Earlier this month Horizons market analysts told restaurateurs to innovate or lose out to the pub trade. “Now consumers are feeling the crunch they are cutting back on discretionary spend – including eating out,” said Horizons’ Peter Backman. “When they do eat out they will be looking for value-for-money, reliable service, good quality food and something that offers them what they want, when they want it.” Links:Find a farmers market in your area Hints for local food newbies Tips to cut down on food costs A recent survey for Westfield London revealed that two thirds of diners thought it more important to eat local food than organic. The consumer population is more conscious than ever about what they put in their mouths, and restaurants struggling to pull in new customers during the recession should utilise this. It seems obvious for chefs to offer local food on their menus if their diners demand it, and industry body the British Hospitality Association agrees, stating that “it makes sense”.“Chefs are very aware that local produce is fresher, tastes better and has much stronger menu appeal than unidentified produce from overseas,” said BHA Chairman Bob Cotton. “Customers recognise this too, so will be tempted to choose those dishes that have good, local ingredients. The menu is the means by which restaurants merchandise their dishes so if they can claim local provenance in much of what they offer, the more dishes they will sell - so it's good for the customer and it's good for the restaurant.”But with so many restaurants jumping on the local bandwagon, how can an independent establishment stand out?Innovate or lose outIt’s those restaurants that really embrace their produce’s ‘life story’ that are seeing the biggest return for their efforts. Tom Aikens for example papers his supplier’s details and background all over his walls and menus, giving diners the opportunity to really understand the field to plate process, as well as plugging his suppliers’ businesses.Amanda Daniel, Local Food Project Officer for the Soil Association believes that this process of establishing relationships between farmers, chefs and diners will give everyone involved a broader knowledge of food and its origins.“Selling food with provenance and being able to tell the story behind it is the key”, she explained. “Developing links with local farmers, growers and butchers enables this connection to be made and enables you to source high quality local produce that's in season.“Consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from and this is very evident from the continued success and increasing sales of box schemes, farmers markets and farm shops.”Serving local food is therefore not only beneficial for the consumer, but for the chefs as well. With such a growing population of trainee chefs in our kitchens, restaurants can really offer a valuable experience by using local farmers to teach them about food.Forage and huntScott Goss at The Swan in West Malling, Kent, uses his local suppliers to teach his young chefs about different cuts of meat, types of fish, and which vegetables to expect in which season. Every other week he sends them off to visit cattle markets, abattoirs, chicken farms and also Smithfields and Billingsgate markets, to obtain products and learn more about the food industry. They even go out foraging for mushrooms in the afternoons.“It’s all about knowledge, and with that comes confidence,” he muses. “A lamb rump does not come in a vacuum packed bag, it comes off the animal, and you need to know where it comes from, why, and how we cook it. If you’re not going to understand why you’re doing it, why put yourself through 16 hours a day? You need to know why you’re doing these things, or you might as well pack your knives up and go home.”By engaging chefs through investing in teaching them the ins and outs of the food industry, restaurants could potentially expect to see a drop in their staff turnover, an industry problem that is currently estimated to be at 30 per cent.Malmaison is just one boutique hotel chain that manages to implement its food provenance strategies across 12 outlets nationwide. Malmaison Group Executive Chef Ray Brown says their policy was originally intended to give chefs more independence, as well as setting the hotels up as market leading and innovative. But as time has drawn on, Brown has not only seen a massive improvement in the quality of the food his guests are being served, but has built long-term relationships with farmers and suppliers around him.“The quality is 10 times better, the only real problem to start with is quantities and seasonality, but you can get produce from anywhere,” he enthused. “Going to farmers markets is also a good way to find suppliers and share your enthusiasm and passion. They then feed off of you and as usual one relationship leads to another, and then all of a sudden people are calling you to see if they can send their produce to you. To this day I still use a supplier who produces smoked salmon and have done for 18 years.”Regenerating the economyFarmers’ markets are one of the best ways to find top quality local food, build trade relationships by meeting suppliers in the flesh, and support the local economy all in one go.The increased trade supports small businesses and community enterprises, encourages entrepreneurship, creates new jobs, and ultimately regenerates the local economy. And because there are fewer middlemen involved (as opposed to some wholesalers), farmers and small producers can retain a higher proportion of the end price of their produce.“Supporting local producers encourages them to continue farming the countryside, growing and producing wholesome food with care and pride,” added Sue Thomson of FARMA, the National Farmers’ Retail and Markets Association. “It has kept some producers in farming when things otherwise looked very bleak.“And there's nothing quite like the first seasonal asparagus or strawberries of the season. Watching people shop at farmers' markets and in farm shops I think purchases are much more considered, so I would hope food is less likely to be wasted.”So does Gordon Brown, who last month pleaded with the people of Britain to stop overbuying food in a bid to ease the global food crisis. But even though Brown, like his foul-mouthed namesake, is urging Britain to be more considerate and ‘go local’, should restaurants pay attention?As we’ve been told, there’s no better time to innovate and with a hoard of consumers lining up for a taste of local provenance, the answer is, in the words of the serial swearer himself, ‘yes’

Female Chefs on the UP

2008-11-08T06:09:00.001-08:00

Anna Hansen gazes up at the hand-painted sign on top of her new restaurant. Large golden letters spell out The Modern Pantry on two sides of the Grade II listed Georgian building in the heart of Clerkenwell in Central London. This is the chef's first solo venture and it has been four years in the making - probably the longest opening in restaurant history, owing to one thing and another, but the fact that she has stuck with it and made it happen (it opens on Monday) is a testament to her drive, enthusiasm and talent. Have you spotted anything unusual yet? Yup, she's a woman. Being a top chef has never been so good - especially in London. The capital is crammed with cooking legends who turn out world-class food, and have made a fair amount of dosh doing it. But here's a question: where are all the women? The majority of home cooks are women; and we are now into our fifth decade of feminism, yet only a small percentage of women run top kitchens. And I'm not talking about the Nigella Lawsons of this world - they don't turn out hundreds of meals every night in hot, sweaty, shouty kitchens. The main theory has to do - not surprisingly - with children. Women chefs, like women in any other demanding and time-consuming profession, have to make loaded decisions when it comes to having a family. Restaurant hours are hardly child-friendly, and taking a year off to have a baby is deemed to be career suicide. The solution, say those who have managed to pull it off, is to focus on your career first, then have a family (or make sure you have a great sous chef). Then there is the long-held opinion that the work, particularly in French kitchens, with the lifting of large, heavy stock pots, is just too physically demanding - women simply don't have the stamina. That's rubbish, of course. And what about the bullying and aggression? Professional kitchens are seen as ugly places, where hot palette knives are frequently brandished and walk-in fridges double up as the naughty corner. But that has changed now too, thanks to legislation in the workplace, and restaurateurs and chefs are now refusing to tolerate such behaviour, spurred on by their need to encourage talent. One of the best barometers of change has to be catering college. One of the UK's largest, Bournemouth & Poole College, reports a surge in female students this autumn, with the numbers jumping dramatically - the intake this year is around 50:50, compared with a 75 per cent male student body last year. “It's a more female-friendly industry now,” agrees the course tutor and co-ordinator Debbie Sherman. “When I worked in kitchens from the mid-Eighties through the Nineties, it wasn't the done thing for women to enter the profession. You were always treated like a commis, whatever your position. But attitudes have changed. A lot of women are putting family plans on hold for their careers, and the industry has also realised that women make reliable, good workers, and can often defuse a situation.” In fact, women chefs are rising through the ranks faster than in many other male-dominated industries, from 27-year-old Lancastrian Lisa Allen, the head chef of the Michelin-starred Northcote Manor in Blackburn, to Ramsay-trained Sue Ellis, a former Worcester Chef of the Year at Belle House in Pershore; to the London crowd, which includes the Finnish-born chef Helena Puolakka at Skylon at the Royal Festival Hall, Skye Gyngell at Petersham Nurseries, and Maria Elia, a former head chef at Delfina in Bermondsey who is soon to open her own place in London. Some have already reached the top - if the top is a three-star rating from the Michelin guide. Among them are Clare Smyth, who was last year appointed head chef of Gordon Ramsay's three Michelin-starred restaurant in Chelsea at the age of 29; Anne-Sophie Pic, who was awarded three stars for her family restaurant in Valence, southeastern France, just two years ago - the first French female chef to do so in 50 years; and Elena Arzak, of Arzak restaurant in San Sebastian, Spain, happily juggling the 50-seat restaurant and 30 chefs (many of them women) with the care of her three-year-old daughter. Anna Hansen isn't worrying about children yet - she's finding it hard enough to get a bloke, she tells me, with a giggle. It's difficult to imagine why: she's tall, blonde and attractive. “Maybe I'm too tall?” she ponders (she's 6ft). Maybe she's too ballsy? “I run a calm kitchen. I'm generally quite a laid-back person. In fact, I tend to hum when the s*** hits the fan,” she grins. Born in Canada and raised in New Zealand, Hansen first came to London in 1992, aged 22, after a degree in business management. At a loose end, a friend persuaded her to join him in the kitchen at The French House Dining Room in Soho, where she worked as a kitchen porter. She didn't stay as a KP for long and was soon running the place when the bosses were away. She was fired up for the first time in her life. “My family are all very creative - except me. I felt like an outcast. But then suddenly I found that I could cook,” she recalls. Later, she hooked up with chef Peter Gordon, who made his name at the Sugar Club, and the pair went on to open The Providores in Marylebone High Street, which won countless awards. She left in 2005 to focus on developing The Modern Pantry, from finding a backer and a builder to negotiating with English Heritage and the local council. Has she encountered any chauvinism through any of this? “In a lot of ways, I haven't. At certain times I feel like I am being patronised, but that can work to my advantage. If men want to play that role, then I'm not going to stop them,” she says. Women make up over half the team at The Modern Pantry. “That wasn't deliberate, it just kind of happened that way. Though I have to say, it is important for me to have lots of women working with me - I think it's an environment women will enjoy working in,” she promises. Women would also undoubtedly enjoy working with Hélène Darroze. The two Michelin-starred Paris chef opened up a successful outpost at The Connaught in London in June - and she didn't achieve it by shouting. “My kitchen is very quiet. Most people are surprised by how quiet it is, even those who come and work for me,” says Darroze. “But they also say that it's better to work this way: you can be more focused. I don't want noise in my kitchen, I want respect, and concentration from my staff - and you need silence for that.” So how does it work when the pressure is on? “I always tell my brigade to speak to me with their eyes. The solution is not in shouting; you have to recognise the problem and try to solve it quietly,” she says. Darroze's brigade in Paris is 30 per cent female, though she has only one woman (out of 21) working in her London kitchen. “I'm rather disappointed by that - I was hoping that more would apply,” she admits. “It's such a difficult choice for a woman to make - I know, I have a little baby at home.” Darroze has an adopted Vietnamese daughter, 16-month-old Charlotte, and divides her time between London and Paris - but Charlotte is always with her. “She is my priority. I spend an hour with her every day after lunch, and she usually spends 15 minutes with me before service,” the diminutive Darroze grins. So has this “blonde powerhouse” (a nickname given to her by the French critics) ever run into any problems with boys in the kitchen? “Never. If anything, I have only encountered men who wanted to be too nice to me,” she shrugs. Do women's cooking styles differ from those of men? “What I would say is this: I cook with my emotions. I go inside myself and put that on the plate. Women don't have the same sensibilities as men - that is evident. I think we are more sensitive in our approach. Men think about technique first, then emotion. Of course I am generalising here, some men can be very feminine in the way they cook; and some women can be very masculine.” Some might say that chef Angela Hartnett is masculine in her approach to cooking (more than one male chef has whispered that she is as tough as any testosterone-fuelled man). Hartnett was the former incumbent at The Connaught and is now about to open her own place in Mayfair, Murano - with a little help once again from Mr Ramsay. “I've lost my rag about stuff, certainly, but I get annoyed when I do. I feel like I've lost control,” admits Hartnett. “Men dominate most industries - get over it and get on with it, I say. There's no point in me trying to square up to a bloke; you have just got to be smarter about things.” Thomasina Miers is a very smart chef who has made it on TV. The owner of the Mexican food-inspired eatery Wahaca, in London's Covent Garden, and winner of the BBC's 2005 Masterchef competition believes that women are much more meticulous in the kitchen than men. “For us, the look of a dish is as important as the taste, whereas men sometimes just end up throwing it all on the plate. But then, women are used to juggling all sorts of things.” And there you have it - the main reason why women make great restaurant chefs. They can cook, yes, but they can also multitask. Watch and learn, boys.

Jellyfish Risotto !!!

2008-11-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

MADRID - A jellyfish soup? Or a mini-bundle of blanched vegetables with julienne strips of jellyfish? A prestigious Catalan chef plans to take advantage of the gloopy stinging creatures that plague Mediterranean beaches every summer and float them on to the region's menus as a gastronomic delicacy. Carme Ruscalleda, who has won five Michelin stars for her restaurants worldwide, has developed a range of jellyfish-based dishes for her flagship Sant Pau restaurant in the coastal town of Sant Pol de Mar near Barcelona. Most people who encounter jellyfish at close range may see them as a painful, if not disgusting, menace to be avoided, but Ms Ruscalleda praises them as "beautiful marine princesses". Her efforts to bring jellyfish to Spanish dinner tables are unlikely to make inroads on the 16 tons that were washed up last year on beaches in Andalucia alone, but she hopes to shift a sceptical public opinion in favour of a food that she insists is a marine delicacy. "They really have quite a wonderful flavour and texture, crunchy but tender," Ms Ruscalleda enthuses, "but they need careful treatment. We drop them live into coarse salt for 12 hours. We open them, clean out the insides, drain them and eat them directly with a vinaigrette dressing. Or you can add them to a vegetable fideua [a traditional Catalan dish]. They cook with the heat of the fideos [noodles] taken straight from the oven."So far Ms Ruscalleda has tried out her experimental dishes only on her culinary colleagues - "my creative team" - but she plans to put them before the public next year if marine scientists and food regulators approve. She imports her specimens from China, but plans eventually to use Mediterranean supplies. The marine invaders may produce miles of unsightly shoreline debris, and cause rashes and swollen limbs for unwary holidaymakers, but jellyfish could indeed be a nutritious superfood, according to a report commissioned by Spain's environment ministry. "Jellyfish contain 95 per cent water and the rest comprises mainly proteins. They contain almost no lipids, carbohydrates or cholesterol, so they could be a source of healthy food," according to the Bionaturis report, which was backed by Andalucias's Innovation and Development Agency. "They may also serve as fertiliser, and for use in the cosmetic industry, for their high collagen content," according to the report, published in yesterday's El Pais. The Chinese and Japanese have already developed a taste for jellyfish, and Ms Ruscalleda has tried many jellyfish dishes during her visits to her Sant Pau restaurant in Tokyo. She favours Cotylorhyza Tuberculata - known to Mediterranean fishermen as "fried eggs" - and Rhopilema Esculentum, because of their strong flavour, and began experimenting a year ago. "We started buying them in Chinese gastronomic fishmongers in Barcelona," she says. Her plan is to use Mediterranean supplies, if the dishes catch on. Fellow gastronomes however remain cautious: "I'm not sure the Spanish are quite ready for this," says Angel Leon, another chef specialising in marine nouvelle cuisine.

Prawns overtake burgers in the food industry

2008-11-08T06:07:00.000-08:00

Figures show their popularity soaring thanks to appearances in recipes by Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.More exotic middle class tastes, boosted by a generation of gap year travellers, are also thought to be behind the change while concerns over obesity have persuaded others to cut back on meat.Gordon Ramsay recently featured a king prawn and scallop wonton soup in his television programme, "The F Word", while Jamie Oliver cooked up a skewered option with lemon and bay leaves for barbecues.Sales of king prawns have increased by 14 per cent in a year - twice the rate seen by burgers, according to figures provided by market research firm TNS.The study, commissioned by Marks & Spencer, found that sales of old fashioned frozen burgers were flat.Separate data from the Sea Fish Industry Authority now ranks warm water prawns - which include king prawns and tiger prawns - as the fifth most popular type of seafood after salmon, cod, haddock and cold water prawns.British shoppers spent just over £169 million on warm water prawns last year while frozen burgers accounted for just £44 million of sales.Marks & Spencer said its sales of king prawns had soared by 20 per cent in the same period."Once upon a time a barbecue meant bangers and burgers but now people are more adventurous and want a range of dishes to serve," M&S fish specialist Lesley Saunders said."King prawns are popular because they are more unusual and also a light and healthy option."Another reason for why they have become so fashionable is because they are quick and easy to cook." Jon Harman, development director at the Sea Fish Industry Authority, said: "Warm water prawns are in strong growth because they are extremely versatile and, in addition to being used in sandwiches and salads, they can offer good value in main meals."When premium fresh varieties are included, the UK burger market is still worth almost £700 million a year. Higher prices helped push the figure up seven per cent although volume grew by only four per cent.But the growing popularity of king prawns has provoked anger from environmentalists who claim that prawn farming has destroyed a quarter of the world's mangrove forests.Some parts of the industry have also been accused of polluting water supplies and coastline with growth hormones, antibiotics and effluent.As well as Asian countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Bangladesh, they are increasingly cultivated further afield in places including Honduras, Guatemala and Madagascar.Some small organic prawn farms have been set up more recently shunning antibiotic growth promoters

Chefs can cut your food bill

2008-11-08T06:06:00.000-08:00

Having trouble balancing your food budget while prices go though the grocery store roof? Before you start clipping coupons or stocking up on canned soup, consider looking toward a more unusual source for tips on cooking on shoestring budget: professional cooks at successful fine dining restaurants.Restaurants are on a tighter budget than almost any household. If cooks don't precisely control food costs, they'll be left without a penny of profit at the end of the day. At restaurants where ingredients are expensive, making the bottom line work is even more difficult but also even more important. Whether they learn it in culinary school or on the job, restaurant cooks have many tricks that can help you save money without sacrificing quality.A word of warning: Cooking well and sticking to a budget aren't effortless. That's why it takes talent, hard work and perseverance to become a successful cook. These tips will save you money only if you're willing to spend more time with your food. But this type of cooking is immensely satisfying and gets easier with practice.Buy food when it's in seasonMost successful fine dining restaurants follow basic rules of seasonality. They do so because food tastes better and it's cheaper. Fruits and vegetables are cheap and plentiful in the summer, so make salads. In the winter, when it's a pleasure to stand over a hot stove, cook soups and stews.Buy in bulk, wiselyEven at grocery stores that don't specialize in bulk purchasing, there are ways to maximize your yield per dollar. Items such as onions, apples and potatoes often come in bags that make the items much cheaper per pound.Many stores, including Whole Foods Market in East Liberty and the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. in the Strip District, will give you a 10 percent discount for buying food by the case. If your local grocery store doesn't do this, ask why not. If enough people complain, the grocery may change its policy.But before you buy 10 pounds of something perishable, consider whether it's likely to wind up rotting or sprouting before you can eat it.Waste not, want notChefs have an uncanny knowledge of the exact contents of their walk-in refrigerators. It's not rocket science; they just keep a running list in their head of what they've bought, what they've used and what they have left.Your fridge is much smaller. Keep it clean. and keep track of what's in there. Don't buy food without having some idea of what you're going to do with it, especially if it's an item that requires a certain amount of preparation, or other ingredients you don't always have on hand.Let go of the listYou've probably heard it a dozen times: Go to the grocery store with a detailed list and don't get anything that's not on the list. That's fine when it comes to cleaning supplies and staple ingredients, but when it comes to buying meat, fish and produce, your list is not necessarily your friend.Choose your food based on what looks good and what's reasonably priced. Get inspired by ingredients and cooking won't feel like nearly as much of a chore. You can still make a list -- just make it more general, detailing what kinds of food you need, rather than specific items. Write down "four vegetables for four people" rather than "carrots, green beans, broccoli and cabbage."Expand your culinary horizonsAmericans have become used to eating the more tender and more expensive cuts of meat. Eating the "whole animal" may seem like a trend, but it's actually the oldest and most cost-effective way to eat.To save money, buy cheaper cuts of meat, rather than lower-quality meat. Make soups, stews and pasta sauces, because they stretch meat out to more portions.Start with chicken. Cooks tend to prefer dark meat over white meat because it's far more flavorful. Don't take off the skin (or if you do, don't tell me). The added fat and flavor from the skin make the meat more flavorful. Cut empty calories from your diet rather than fat from natural sources. Legs and thighs can be roasted or braised, and they're much less expensive than chicken breasts.Cheaper cuts of beef, lamb and pork are usually the tougher cuts. These types of meat are superior in flavor to more tender cuts -- they just take a little more work and a lot more patience.Treat meat like a flavoring ingredient rather than the focus of the plate. Use smoked or cured meats like bacon, ham hock or guanciale (cured, unsmoked pig jowl or cheek) in soups or as the base of otherwise vegetarian dishes. Think of it as "vegetarian plus."Offal, which used to be part of every cook's repertoire, has been making a comeback in restaurants, but not as much in home kitchens. Chicken and calves livers are good places to start.Even seafood has cheaper options. Octopus (if you can find it) and squid are a bit challenging to cook, but when prepared correctly they are delicious. Cleaning mussels is an onerous task (that's why restaurants may seem to charge a lot for them), but they're relatively inexpensive and very easy to prepare once they're clean

Different Chefs

2008-11-08T06:04:00.000-08:00

Executive chefThe Executive chef is in charge of everything related to the kitchen, including menu creation, staff management and businessaspects. While the position requires extensive cooking experience and often involves actively cooking, the staff of benefit, it also involves a high level of management and business aspects of the kitchen. They can also be referred to as the “chef” or “head chef”. Although “head chef” may seem redundant, the word “chef” has come to be applied to any cook, kitchen helper or fast food operator, making the distinction necessaryChef de CuisineChef de Cuisine (”Head of the Kitchen”) is a synonym for the title executive chef. This is the traditional French term from which the English word chef comes, and is more common in European kitchens or those American kitchens which use the classical French brigade system. In some establishments this title is used to designate a chef who is the head chef at one location of an operation that has multiple locations where the corporate chef has the title executive chefSous chefThe sous-chef de cuisine (Deputy-chef of the kitchen) is the direct assistant of the executive chef and is second in command. He may be responsible for scheduling, and filling in for the executive chef when he or she is off-duty. The Sous Chef will also fill in for or assist the chef de partie (line cooks) when needed. Smaller operations may not have a sous chef, while larger operations may have multiple. The term “sous-chef” is pronounced like the rare spelling “su chef”.Expediter or Announcer (Aboyeur)The expediter takes the orders from the dining room and relays them to the stations in the kitchen. This person also often puts the finishing touches on the dish before it goes to the dining room. In some operations this task may be done by either the executive chef or the sous chef.Chef de PartieA chef de partie, also known as a “station chef” or “line cook”, is in charge of a particular area of production. In large kitchens, each station chef might have several cooks and/or assistants. In most kitchens however, the station chef is the only worker in that department. Line cooks are often divided into a hierarchy of their own, starting with “First Cook”, then “Second Cook”, and so on as needed.Station ChefsStation chef titles which are part of the brigade system includeSauté Chef (Saucier) [sos.je] - Responsible for all sautéed items and their sauce. This is usually the highest position of all the stations.Fish Chef (Poissonier) [pw?.so.?e]Prepares fish dishes and often does all fish butchering as well as appropriate sauces. This station may be combined with the saucier position.Roast Chef (Rotisseur) [?o.ti.sœ?]Prepares roasted and braised meats and their appropriate sauce.Grill Chef (Grillardin) [g?i.ja?.d?~]Prepares all grilled foods, this position may be combined with the rotisseur.Fry Chef (Friturier) [f?i.ty.?je]Prepares all fried items, position may be combined with the rotisseur position.Vegetable Chef (Entremetier) [ã.t??.me.tje]Prepares hot appetizers and often prepares the soups, vegetables, pastas and starches. In a full brigade system a potager would prepare soups and a legumier would prepare vegetables.Roundsman (Tournant) [tu?.nã]Also referred to as a swing cook, fills in as needed on station in kitchen.Pantry Chef (Garde Manger) [ga?d mã.?e] They are responsible for preparing cold foods, including salads, cold appetizers, pâtés and other charcuterie items.Butcher (Boucher) [bu.?e]Butchers meats, poultry and sometimes fish. May also be responsible for breading meats and fish.Pastry Chef (Pâtissier) [pa.ti.sje]Prepare baked goods, pastries and desserts. In larger establishments, the pastry chef often supervises a separate team in their own kitchen or separate shop. Some kitchens may have an executive pastry chef.

Training and Development in Catering

2008-11-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

Training and DevelopmentYou need to understand the important contribution training and development makes tocompetitiveness and the standards of work and performance in the hospitality andcatering industry. You need to be able to relate this to an outlet.Standards of work and performance should include:· attendance, behaviour, time-keeping, disciplinary and grievance procedures· occupational standards· legislation and regulations which the hospitality and catering industry has to abideYou need to be able to explain and give examples of the following training methods andactivities:· induction training· mentoring· coaching· apprenticeships· in house training· external training.You should be able to distinguish between on-the-job and off-the-job training andtransferable and non-transferable skills developed through training programmes.You should understand how nationally recognised training structures can contribute tothe training and development programme.Students usually find human resource management, like marketing, accessible andinteresting. Finding out about job applications, CVs and interviews is particularlyrelevant to their lives. The teaching of this unit can be effectively integrated with workexperience or other vocational experiences.Whilst students are likely to develop a good understanding of the appropriate theorytheir skills of application can also be developed. They should be encouraged to use thetheory on motivation and form a strong awareness of the differences between theoriesaddressing types of behaviour and the behaviour of individuals.Researching suitable outlets should be considered when planning this unit. Outletsshould be where students can investigate and observe good human resourcemanagement, including aspects of working relationships, a supportive approach to staffsatisfaction and motivation as well as clear policies on work and performance standards.This unit requires students to plan the approach to the investigation so that multiplevisits to the outlet are not required to fill in gaps. Therefore it would be best to ensurestudents are fully conversant with the theory before starting to investigate the practicalaspects. It should be possible for both students and staff to collect evidence of differentapproaches to human resource issues, and it may be useful to explore differences thatexist between published policies and the perceptions of managers and workers.

Hospitality ROLES

2008-11-08T05:54:00.000-08:00

People are the ultimate resource - “An organisation’s most precious asset is its people”.Organisations within the hospitality and catering industry rely on their staff to portraythe right image so that customers get the products and services they require. This meansthat staff have to portray the right attitude and manner to customers as well as havingthe skills and abilities to allow them to work either individually or as part of a team.You may have a part-time job in hospitality and catering and will know first hand howimportant it is for an organisation to keep employees informed and motivated.You will learn about:· staff roles and responsibilities· the importance of working with others· how organisations go about recruiting and selecting staff· training and development.The unit links to the work in VCE Unit 1: The hospitality and catering industry andUnit 4: Customer service in hospitality and catering. This unit will also providebackground information and help support your learning in Unit 15: Small businessplanning and Unit 16: Planning and managing a hospitality event. It also has links withVCE Business Unit 4: Human resources. Whether you are going on into employmentor on to higher education you will find this unit useful if you are intending to follow acareer in the hospitality and catering industry.This unit links with NVQs in providing goods and services such as Restaurantmanagement/supervision, Multi-skilled hospitality management/supervision and Frontoffice management/supervision at levels 3 and 4.This unit is assessed by external assessment. The grade on that assessment will be yourgrade for the unit.

What we can learn from Mcdonalds

2008-11-08T05:52:00.000-08:00

Two Things the Foodservice Equipment and Supplies Industry Can Learn from McDonald's October 28, 2008
It was interesting to learn last week that McDonald’s continues to be somewhat recession-resistant. In looking more closely at the world’s most famous quick-service restaurant, though, I think there are some lessons everyone can learn about building a business that sustains growth.
It’s All about the MenuMcDonald’s core menu items – burgers, fries and soft drinks – remain constant. Despite this, McDonald’s continues to tinker around the edges. Adding chicken items, tinkering with breakfast and augmenting its beverage lineup with such offerings as sweet tea, allows McDonald’s to remain true to its roots but incrementally broaden its customer appeal. And it allows the chain to refrain from becoming stale.
Managing the fringe to the benefit of the whole is a true art and requires significant effort. But no matter what your role in the foodservice industry, it’s something that you should consider doing to help deepen your customer relationships. Listen to what customers have to say about their businesses and add those products or services that mesh nicely with your core.
Value Items Are of No Value Unless They Generate a ReturnThe value menu is a McDonald’s cornerstone and a component of their business that many believe drives the chain’s success. Still, as this Ad Age article points out, rising commodity costs have made it very difficult for McDonald’s franchisees to turn a profit on such items as the wildly popular double cheeseburger, which the chain sells for $1.
As a result, McDonald’s management is looking at various ways to restore the profitability of the double cheeseburger, once a personal favorite of mine. Many business leaders would easily develop an emotional attachment to an item that’s contributed to their company’s success in the way the double cheeseburger and the value menu have for McDonald’s. While I am sure they derive no pleasure from taking such steps, management understands the need to do so.
Take a look at your business. Do you understand the costs? Are your value items driving the same return they once did? If you don’t know or are uncertain, use this downturn to develop a better understanding of your costs and devise a strategy to make sure your value items provide value to both you and your customers.
That’s what McDonald’s has taught me during this highly volatile economic climate. What have they taught you?

Serving Wine !!

2008-11-08T05:51:00.000-08:00

When restaurant wine service hits the floor
I had lunch today in a fancy London restaurant that I shall not name, and was amused to witness goings-on at the adjacent table, where two elderly gents asked the waitress to decant their bottle of burgundy.
She duly returned with a decanter, into which she upturned the bottle to vertical and began to slosh wine. Alarmed, one of the gents grabbed her arm and levelled the bottle, explaining that a little more delicacy might be in order. At this, the waitress tilted the bottle so close to horizontal, that the wine dribbled down it and onto the floor. Her coup de grace was to empty the sediment from their pricey bottle into the decanter, to the horror of the two old boys.
I don't believe for a moment that the poor standard of wine service the men received was the fault of the waitress. Rather, her employers should be ashamed of themselves for expecting guests to pay top whack for good wines, but not being prepared to invest in effective staff training. They could do far worse than to check out Caterersearch's wine channel and seek out our series of wine masterclasses penned by former Gordon Ramsay Holdings executive head sommelier, Ronan Sayburn

Training in Hospitality

2008-11-07T06:08:00.001-08:00

The better employment packages are more likely to come from the big firms than from the small private ones. But where smaller businesses can sometimes shine is in offering people more autonomy and a faster rise through the ranks.
The same goes for the different sectors of the catering industry: each has its benefits and drawbacks. Contact catering - feeding people in schools, hospitals and staff restaurants - may not have such a glamorous image, but the hours are mostly nine to five, a dream for anyone who dreads split shifts, and the pay is normally higher than other sectors.
In restaurants and pubs hours are longer, but the food and drink offers are constantly changing. One minute Spanish tapas are in, the next it's Thai, then it's back to good old British fare. Managers with the big brewers can expect salaries to match: last year some of Bass's top pub managers earned £50,000 - £60,000.
Hotels demand long hours too, and probably offer some of the lowest pay rates in the industry. But there are literally hundreds of jobs to choose from, from housekeeping to running a restaurant to personnel management. And hotels stress that responsibility starts young.
So where are the job opportunities? Market research firm Marketpower, which specialises in analysing the catering industry, predicts huge growth in what it calls the activity sector - such as pubs, cinemas and theme parks - where food is ancillary to the main activity.
According to Marketpower, this sector will account for 40% of the market in 2001, compared to 25% in 1981 and 37% today. It predicts that contract catering and restaurants will show little or no growth.
Routes to Qualifications
The catering and hospitality industry has led the field in developing new qualification routes. These mean a wide variety of ways to help you build on your skills and knowledge, to get the qualifications employers want.
If you are about to, or have recently left school, there are three main options, described below.
1. Attend a college of university as a full-time studentYou need to consider what interests you, how long you wish to study for, and the entry requirements for particular programmes. These range from the motivation and potential to succeed for foundation programmes, to three A levels or five SCE Highers for some degree programmes.
2. Join a training programmeOperated by an employer or an organisation that works with employers to provide training, such as HCTC. The programme combines work experience with training on-the-job - by your supervisors and training specialists, and training off-the-job - at a college or training centre. You will be helped to build up a National or Scottish Vocational Qualification in the subjects and at the NVQ/SVQ levels appropriate to your career (usually a combination of Levels 1,2 and perhaps, 3).The length of the programme varies from a few months to two years.
3. Go straight into employmentTry and get a job that will provide useful experience for the future, with an employer who offers training or can help you get the support you need.
HCTC training programmes
Many HCTC trainees become employees part-way through the programme. Some can be put into paid jobs from the start of the programme. Others are already working, and their employer contracts with HCTC to provide the off-the-job training and help in delivering NVQs/SVQs.
If you have a non-hotel and catering degree
The HCIMA offers an exceptional entry programme leading to the Professional Diploma, and a number of universities offer a Postgraduate Diploma. These usually involve one-year of full-time study and a period of industrial experience.If you are already have experience in the industry and want to get qualifications, there are four main options.
1. Work towards NVQs/SVQs with your employerNational and Scottish Vocational Qualifications are open to anyone, of any age or experience and there are no entry requirements. There are four levels: Level 1 (basic skills), Level 2 (craft skills), Level 3 (advanced craft/supervisory skills) and Level 4 (management skills).
2. Attend a College Part-timeYour employer may be able to help you attend a local college one day a week, or on a block release basis, when you spend longer intervals at college (e.g. four weeks). Generally experience is more important than the standard academic entry requirements.
3. Take a full-time College/University ProgrammeIdeally, chose a programme intended for people with experience in the industry, and designed to meet your needs in the quickest possible time.
4. Distance Learning or Self-studySuch as HCIMA's (leading to the Professional Certificate/Diploma and NVQs/SVQs Level 3), which includes tutor contact and attendance at seminars, or HCTC's operational management programme for supervisors (leading to an HCTC certificate and NVQs/SVQs Level 3), which combines one-day courses with self-study workbooks

The Hospitality Industry

2008-11-07T06:06:00.000-08:00

The Hospitality and Catering Industry
'Long hours, low pay small rewards.' This is how many people still see the hospitality and catering industry. The truth is much more encouraging. By the year 2004, there will be 2.5 million people working in hospitality in Britain alone. There are skills shortages across many sectors and employers are looking to recruit high calibre staff.
Where are the job opportunities?The hospitality industry is growing fast, but it's also changing. Some people say that you have only to look at the USA to see where the British hospitality industry is going: fast food and lots of it, theme parks and themed restaurants, so many eating places that dining out becomes as common as dining in, and an emphasis on customer service.
There are now more than two million people employed in hospitality in the UK, and by 2004 that is expected to reach 2.5 million. And it's an industry that's changing fast, as anyone with an eye on the news will have noticed.
Not only have there been some major business deals - notably the take-over last year of hotel giant Forte by Granada - but there are some small but significant trends. Who would have thought a few years ago that we'd be ordering take-away pizza from petrol forecourts, for example? Or having coffee and breakfast in a pub?Or paying to cook our own food in a restaurant? These are just some of the offers coming on-stream, and there are undoubtedly more interesting ones to follow.That's the good news. The bad is that the hospitality industry still has problems, above all with its image. But the over-riding message from recruiters is that the low pay and long hours for which hotels and restaurants are famous are becoming a thing of the past. The sheer growth of the industry has meant that employers are putting together far more attractive recruitment packages to attract the right staff. For potential managers the prospects can be tremendous.
Roddy Watt, chief executive of recruitment agency Berkeley Scott, which monitors the industry's pay levels closely, says management salaries in hospitality are increasing ahead of those in other sectors. "I would argue that he industry today is not the poorly paid at all," he says. "I think a lot of that is a hangover from the past. There are some very good packages on offer. A good reason to go into the industry is that there is a continual shortage of top-calibre people, so good qualified people will progress very quickly and can probably expect a similar amount of money to what they would earn in any other industry at an early age".
Hospitality has always been an industry in which bright things and entrepreneurs can succeed, regardless of qualifications, and employers are now realising this. Many say they want personality and charisma rather than a clutch of qualifications.
Steve Mullings, training and development manager at Bourne Leisure, which is expanding its 20-strong chain of holiday parks in the UK and North America, says firmly: "Personality is first. We're looking for outgoing, highly motivated people who are very much focused on business results - the sort of people who would one day want to run their own businesses".
Says Watt: "Good qualifications won't do anybody any harm at all, but I don't think they're by any means a prerequisite. My personal point of view is that very often good qualifications tend to mean 'high intellect' and 'good at doing exams'. These are not necessarily the best competencies for the hospitality industry. It's more important that people are the right type of individual. They've got to like other people".
Tony Goddard, human resources director at Bass Taverns, believes qualifications still count. But he adds: "Having said that, I think this is one of the few industries where you are performance-orientated. You can get as far on your performance as your ability will take you".
Pub restaurants are one of the fastest growing areas of hospitality. Bass recruits about 850 people every year for management positions within the company, and these 130 are graduates who join the company's graduate retail scheme. Within two or three years they can expect to be managing their own pubs, with 30-40 staff and a turnover of well over £1m. Average earnings are £24,000, but some reach £60,000.Goddard says the sheer pace of development in the pub industry means it's a good one to join, as brewers are constantly looking for managers for their new brands.Bass's own include All Bar One and Irish-themed chain O'Neill's. There are increasing opportunities within the chain for people working their way through the ranks. Thirty percent of managers are recruited internally, and Goddard wants to bring this up to 75%.
Laurence Watson, vice president human resources with Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, believes career progression is becoming faster because of better training and planning on the part of firms. "all sectors are becoming more competitive in their rates of pay and benefits packages, and most major groups are revitalising their graduate entry programmes," he says.
However, the hotel industry admits it still has some way to go to catch up with some of the pub and restaurant brands. Jennifer Neary, senior personnel and training manager with County Hotels, part of Queens Moat Houses, admits that she is honest with people she speaks to who want to enter the industry. "I'm not going to say yes, we pay wonderful salaries, because we don't. And as an industry we've got some way to go on that. But one thing I think our company - and probably the industry - does is that it gives fairly young people a lot of responsibility early on. If you show aptitude and the right attitude to work, you're able to progress quite quickly.
"But I say to them: I'm not going to lie to you. You do have to start at the bottom, you've got to learn the basics, and it's long hours and you will be working weekends."Nevertheless, Neary says the company is trying hard not only to make good links with schools and colleges, but to make its positions more attractive to youngsters. "We're working towards trying to get rid of things like split shifts, for example".

Catering and Hospitality

2008-11-07T06:05:00.000-08:00