CESA to honour Apprentice of the Year and Best Training Initiative

Posted on September 19, 2018

Two new awards will be presented at the CESA Conference 2018 in association with Cedabond, ENSE and the FCSI on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 November, De Vere Cotswold Water Park

CESA’s drive to tackle the skills shortage and push the foodservice industry to commit to higher levels of training will be given a boost at the Association’s 2018 Conference, with the announcement of two new awards. The Apprentice of the Year, sponsored by John Gilbert, will recognise the individual winner’s commitment, contribution and success in their workplace. The Training and Development Award will celebrate a company or an individual who has done outstanding work in supporting staff development.

The winners of both awards will be announced during the Gala dinner, to be held on Thursday 15 November. Glenn Roberts, who will pass on the baton of CESA chair to John Whitehouse during the conference, has made training and staff development key strategies during his two-year stewardship of the Association. “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to announce these awards now,” he says. “By shining a spotlight on apprenticeships and training we hope they will encourage and inspire individuals and companies.”

Dealing with disruption

The Conference theme this year is ‘Evolving in a disruptive environment.’ “With Brexit looming, the skills shortage is even more of a business threat,” adds Roberts. “We have to encourage young people to consider careers in foodservice and, at the same time, raise professionalism throughout the industry.”

To find out how to enter the awards, contact the CESA secretariat. The awards are open to all CESA members and associate members. Closing date for entries is 19 October.

The CESA Conference takes place at the De Vere Cotswold Water Park on 15 November, with a networking day and informal dinner on 14 November. The event is open to all foodservice industry professionals, including equipment manufacturers, suppliers and dealers, consultants and operators. CESA members receive a discount. To find out more and book tickets visit cesaconference.co.uk

Further details:

The Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA) is the authoritative voice of the catering equipment industry, representing over 190 companies who supply, service and maintain all types of commercial catering equipment – from utensils to full kitchen schemes. For more information on CESA visit www.cesa.org.uk

Choosing sustainable, energy efficient equipment can present lifetime savings for operators, finds the new Equipped for the Future report from Footprint Intelligence, supported by Hoshizaki

The UK foodservice industry could potentially save over a quarter of a billion pounds in energy costs every year through optimising kitchen equipment, improving equipment use and tailoring menu options. The findings in the Equipped for the Future report from Footprint Intelligence, supported by Hoshizaki, were presented earlier this week at an event at The Soho Hotel, London.

The report, authored by Amy Fetzer, head of research and analysis for Footprint Media Group, also revealed cost remains the most significant barrier for UK operators when purchasing energy efficient catering equipment. Approximately 50% of the foodservice industry experts surveyed for the report indicated equipment price was their main consideration when purchasing equipment. This, the report found, was all despite increased operator awareness that installing more sustainable equipment into commercial kitchens can provide significant lifetime savings.

Action plans

Equipped for the Future is divided into a series of practical ‘action plans’ for manufacturers, operators and government/industry, demonstrating clear and actionable methods for barriers to be overcome so buyers can ultimately reduce their business’ carbon footprint and “green their supply chain”.

The will is clearly already there from the industry to improve its energy efficient credentials, with 100% of those surveyed for the report agreeing “sustainibility was important to their customers”. In addition, 100% said the sustainability credentials of their suppliers “was important”.

The report reiterated findings from Carbon Trust that 63% of an operator’s energy is used in the kitchen, with each cooked meal costing £0.45 in energy use alone. “Not only can energy efficient equipment help the environment, but it can help company’s save money,” said Simon Frost, director, field sales and national accounts for Hoshizaki, who introduced the launch of the report.

Facilitating change

The goal of the report, said Fetzer, was to “change the status quo and to help facilitate the change collectively to increase the uptake of energy efficient equipment”. Fetzer also highlighted that this is a “very nuanced” debate with “no binary solutions”. That said, according to Fetzer foodservice consultants tend to very much appreciate the benefits of energy efficient equipment, but queried if those “that hold the purse strings” were as well-informed or able to plan for the long-term as effectively.

The report found key factors such as a focus on reliability and functionality of equipment are of high importance to operators as well as cost. The price of hiring and retraining new employees, which can be as much as £15,000 per member of staff, often gets ignored. An operator that invests in more energy efficient equipment, for example choosing induction cooking systems over noisy gas ovens, can create a far more comfortable working environment for employees and prove to be a sound investment in the long run, said Fetzer.

Training staff effectively on equipment can also prevent misuse and enhance their feeling of responsibility. There can be, said Fetzer, between 45-70% of energy savings gained rom encouranging behavioural changes in the kitchen.

Expert panel

Fetzer also chaired a panel session at the launch of the report, featuring Mike Hanson, head of sustainable business at BaxterStorey; Steve Loughton, Hoshizaki UK managing director; and Keith Warren, director of Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA).

“One of the biggest barriers to energy efficient equipment is lack of planning and strategy,” said Hanson. “Understanding the direction of travel will lead to efficiency.”

The industry, said Loughton – citing how advances in ‘connected kitchens’ will also contribute to greater energy efficiency – is “on the edge of a huge amount of things. We’re seeing equipment becoming more compact and multifunctional, but someone has to pay for the R&D and to conform to the requirements of the global markets. Nevertheless, there is an awakening of understanding of environmental impacts and sustainability concerns. Of course, if it costs the same, operators will embrace it.”

There is, said Warren, “already a lot of joined-up thinking in the manufacturing area,” with regards to energy efficiency.

In conclusion, Simon Frost summed up the positive mood of the panel that change is coming and that the desire to embrace energy efficient equipment is gaining momentum. “There is no longer any excuse for inaction. This needs to become today and tomorrow’s norm.”

The full report can be downloaded from this link.

Michael Jones

Pictured (l-r): Amy Fetzer, Mike Hanson, Steve Loughton, Keith Warren

The 32nd edition of Abastur, Mexico's largest foodservice and equipment show, saw three FCSI members take to the stage to present to 120 attendees of the Ho.Re.Ca. Congress, reports Javier Sorondo

FCSI The Americas last week participated at the 32nd annual Abastur, Mexico’s largest foodservice and equipment show. The four-day show, which welcomed 17,000 visitors, saw more than 400 exhibitors showcase the latest trends and innovations in the hospitality industry.

Distinguished guests

The FCSI booth at the show, which took place on 28-31 August at Citibanamex Center in Mexico City, was visited by local FCSI members as well as an array of distinguished guests, such as Jay Stieber, chairman of the National Restaurant Association of the US.

The booth was also visited by an array of high-level representatives of Mexico’s National Chamber of Restaurants and Prepared Foods Industries.

Engaging presentations

As in previous years, FCSI members where invited by the organizers of Abastur to speak and give presentations to more than 120 attendees of the Ho.Re.Ca. Congress that takes place within Abastur.

This year, as with previous editions of the show, FCSI The Americas Division had three consultant professional members participate at the Ho.Re.Ca. Congress and give presentations on a variety of topics pertinent to the foodservice and hospitality sector in Latin America and beyond.

Bill Main FCSI of Bill Main & Associates opened the Congress with his presentation addressing the ‘Anatomy of a turnaround’ while Laura Lentz FCSI of Culinary Advisors presented on the subject ‘How to cater to four different generations of customers at the same time’.

Finally, Chris Tripoli FCSI of A’la Carte Foodservice Consulting closed the event with his keynote presentation ‘Welcome to the eat-ertainment industry’.

Strong presence

All sessions were well-attended and engaging. FCSI The Americas was thrilled to be part of the show as we continue to strengthen our presence and the FCSI brand in Latin America.

Javier Sorondo, Latin America Relations, FCSI The Americas Division

Main picture: Laura Lentz on the stage at Abastur’s Ho.Re.Ca. Congress.

Inset: Javier Sorondo and Chris Tripoli at the FCSI booth

The CESA Conference 2018, held on on 14-15 November in association with FCSI, Cedabond and ENSE, will see the CEOs of Electrolux Professional, Nisbets and Partstown discuss big industry issues

CESA expects a lively debate at its 2018 Conference on 14-15 November at De Vere Cotswold Water Park, when three of the industry’s biggest names, Alberto Zanata, CEO of Electrolux Professional, Klaus Goeldenbot, Group CEO of Nisbets and Steve Snower, CEO of Partstown, take part in a high profile presentation looking at the big issues – and how the industry needs to change to tackle them.

The ‘Titans of Industry’ session (the name based on FCSI’s Foodservice Consultant magazine’s long-running series of interviews with manufacturing CEOs, including Zanata) will cover the disruptions that these three global players anticipate. With margins under pressure throughout the supply chain, what needs to be done to keep pace, survive and thrive? And how does all this impact on the evolution of the value chain?

Disruptive environment

Once they’ve delivered their expert opinions, the Titans will take part in a Q&A session hosted by the conference chair Simon Jack who, as a broadcaster and economist, is well versed in asking awkward questions – and getting them answered.

The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Evolving in a Disruptive Environment.’ More details of the conference programme and speakers can be found at cesaconference.co.uk

Further details:

For 2018 the Conference is at the De Vere Cotswold Water Park, taking place on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 November. A variety of booking options is available to delegates, from simple attendance at the Conference itself to two-day packages including both the informal dinner (14^th November) and the gala dinner (15^th November), as well as golf or another activity. The event is open to all foodservice industry professionals, including equipment manufacturers, suppliers and dealers, consultants and operators. CESA members receive a discount. To find out more and book tickets visit cesaconference.co.uk

About CESA:

Pictured: Alberto Zanata, CEO of Electrolux Professional

The event will take place at on 13 September at The Law Society in Chancery Lane, London

FCSI UK and Ireland is to hold its fourth ‘Education Event’ on 13 September. Held at The Law Society in Chancery Lane, London, from 1pm until 5:30pm, the event will include an in-depth presentation of MCA-Insight’s UK Eating Out Market Report, as well as presentations regarding fixed fire suppression systems, new acrylamide laws, and BIM.

The MCA-Insight UK Eating Out Market Report 2018, will provide attendees with invaluable market and consumer insights, and includes a key market analysis, competitive landscape analysis and a forecast for the market in the next few years.

Ansul/Johnson Controls will be delivering the presentation on ‘EN16282 (Equipment for Commercial Kitchens) – Part 7 installation and use of fixed fire suppression systems’ and its implications, Keith Warren of CESA will be providing an update on BIM and Julian Edwards FCSI will present the FSA’s update on new acrylamide laws as well as providing a chairman’s update on FCSI activities.

Presentations will finish at 5pm and will be followed by drinks and networking until 5:30pm.

Further details:

For more information and to book your place, please email louise@fcsi.org

Information day organised jointly by CESA, CEDA and FCSI

BIM (Building Information Modelling) has become a critical issue for foodservice equipment suppliers, specifiers, designers and consultants. It’s not only a matter of understanding it, it’s also about keeping up to date with the rapidly developing software and protocols.

The Foodservice Industry BIM Information Day is a free event open to anyone that works within the foodservice industry. It is organised by CESA in collaboration with CEDA and the FCSI and will take place on 5 September 2018, from 10.30am to 3.00pm, in the training facilities at First Choice Group in Cannock.

“The day will be an objective, fact based, knowledge exchange forum highlighting specific developments in BIM which affect the foodservice equipment industry,” says Glenn Roberts, chair of CESA.

Latest BIM developments

Topics covered on the day will include the latest developments in BIM parameters for foodservice equipment, along with issues that manufacturers face in addressing the needs of the design and installation channel. The day will also look at what designers and consultants need to meet BIM protocols and the latest software developments.

There will be reports on the use of BIM resource libraries – CESABIM and EFCEMBIM – by both manufacturers and designers, as well as the findings of a survey into issues affecting BIM implementation.

“This event is a must for any foodservice equipment professional working with BIM, or wanting to find out about the latest issues,” says Roberts. “BIM has huge implications for our industry and it is developing fast. This event will bring people the very latest advances, issues and ideas.”

The event is free to attend but spaces are limited, so anyone planning to go should book as quickly as possible.

To register click here, or contact the CESA secretariat by phone, 020 7793 3029, or email Jocelyn.carr@cesa.org.uk.

Further details:

A strong focus on sourcing and seasonality, innovation and creativity are the key ingredients in creating a National Chef of the Year finalist

Following a series of exciting cook-offs at Sheffield College and Le Cordon Bleu, the Craft Guild of Chefs has revealed its ten talented chefs for the National Chef of the Year final. Under the watchful eyes of some of the culinary world heavyweights, four heat winners and six runners-up cooked up a storm to take their place in the UK’s most prestigious culinary final.

Last week, Derek Johnstone, head chef at Borthwick Castle, took the first place in the NCOTY final when he won the Sheffield heat. On 19 June he was joined by fellow heat winners, George Blogg from Gravetye Manor, Glenn Evans from Las Iguanas and Liam Fauchard-Newman who works at Rhubarb/Fenchurch.

Joining them at The Restaurant Show on 2 October are the six chefs who received the next highest scores across all four heats. These chefs were named as Martin Frickel from The Forestside, David Neilson who works at Number One at the Balmoral, Nick Smith from Harbour & Jones Ashurst, Kuba Winkowski from The Feathered Nest Inn, Stefan Sewell from CSCAT, Thomas Westerland who works at Lucknam Park.

Exceptional cooking

Chair of judges, Gary Jones, executive chef from Belmond Le Manoir said: “What a week it’s been for the National Chef of the Year competition. Some of the cooking has been exceptional which made it a challenge for the judges to whittle 40 chefs down to just ten. What really stood out for me was how much the finalists listened to the brief this year and focused on the sourcing of their ingredients, considered seasonality when planning their menus, as well as showcasing their creativity and innovation. It’s set to be one of our most exciting finals yet and I can’t wait to judge it in October.”

Organiser of the competition and vice-president of the Craft Guild of Chefs, David Mulcahy added: “It wasn’t an easy brief this year with a vegetarian starter thrown into the mix and a very classic dessert brought in to truly test each chef’s culinary skills. However, the semi- finalists really embraced the challenge when putting together their menus. We saw a real variety of menus and this showed the diverse range of chefs we had from all sectors of hospitality.

“For those who didn’t make the top ten, I hope they have really learnt from this experience, and come back and try again next year. Whatever stage you get to, NCOTY helps every chef to grow and develop in some way.”

Before the final, all ten chefs will take part in a Mentor Day on Tuesday, 11 September where the mystery basket of ingredients will be revealed. Some big names have already been confirmed to judge the final exam which takes place at The Restaurant Show on Tuesday, 2 October including Tom Kerridge, Clare Smyth, Philip Howard, Ollie Dabbous and Mark Flanagan.

Young talent

At the awards ceremony, the organisers also revealed the six talented young chefs taking the Young National Chef of the Year final spots. This included heat winner from Sheffield, Jamie Mackinnon who works at The Seafood Restaurant in St Andrews. He was joined by the London heat winner, Henry Wadsworth from Belmond Le Manoir. Claiming the remaining places in the YNCOTY final are Jonathan Ferguson from Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Thomas Reeves who works at L’Enclume, Arron Tye from Grosvenor Pulford and Aaron Middleton who works at The Above Restaurant.

These six chefs join Gilles Varone who works at Petrus and was the Highest Achiever in the Craft Guild of Chefs’ Graduate Awards, Luke Turner from L’Enclume who won the British Culinary Federation Chef of the Year and Supatthra Viriphan who works at Chewton Glen and represents World Skills. The final place will be the winner of the Academy of Culinary Arts Awards of Excellence which will be announced in July.

Following the Young National Chef of the Year heats, chair of judges, Mark Sargeant commented: “I know I say it every year, but these young chefs really could compete with the senior chefs. In all the years I’ve judged, I don’t think I have ever seen such enthusiasm and energy from a group of young chefs in a competition. It was incredible to see the level of food they put out in just 90 minutes. Hearing about where their ingredients had come from and their overall knowledge of sourcing and seasonality was really inspiring and the future is definitely in safe hands with so much young talent on its way through.”

Further details:

You can find out more about the competition and follow the progress on Twitter with @Craft_Guild and #NCOTY and on the website at www.nationalchefoftheyear.co.uk.

Karen Fewell

Four consultants came together on the Commercial Kitchen stage this week as FCSI’s Foodservice Consultant hosted a session to discuss challenges and opportunities

Foodservice Consultant editorial director Michael Jones chaired the panel session, which saw consultants talk about everything from Brexit and staffing challenges to food waste and single-use plastics.

The panel was made up of Julian Edwards FCSI, director of GY5 and the chair of FCSI UK & Ireland; Matthew Merritt-Harrison FCSI, managing partner of Merritt-Harrison Catering Consultancy and vice chair of FCSI UK & Ireland; FCSI senior associate Catherine Anderson, principal of Anderson Power Consulting; and Duncan Hepburn FCSI, principal consultant, Hepburn Associates.

During an insightful 30-minute session the four considered the pertinent topics currently facing consultants and the wider industry – they were not short of things to talk about. “Staffing shortage and availability of high-quality staff is a real issue in the care sector where I work a lot,” said Anderson. “Younger people don’t consider it a long-term career and in the care sector it means it is harder to keep standards high.”

Other panellists concurred on the staffing issue and, as Merritt-Harrison pointed out, it is about to get even worse when the UK fully exits the European Union in 2019. “It is bad already and it will affect everybody. The hospitality industry is going to be devastated if the UK has a mass exodus of trained workforce back to their country of origin as a result of Brexit we do not have enough adequately trained competent staff to meet the shortfall,” he said. “There will be a huge deficit in the labour market in terms of quality and quantity.”

He went on to say that his own firm has been affected already. “We used to work with the Council of Europe and for some reason the last few months they have not asked us to do any more work. I can think why that is.”

Opportunities

But Edwards noted that Brexit will also bring opportunities. “When it comes to standards on equipment design and regulating our food for the future, which is environmental health; when it comes to allergen management and compliance a lot of this intelligence that is shared in Europe was generated from the brains in Britain so for a lot of things, and certainly allergens, we will peel off the EU Kitemark and replace it with the UK Kitemark,” he said. “So where food safety and allergen safety is concerned we are already Brexit proofed.”

It is important to remember, he said, that the foodservice sector is apolitical. “We just get on with it; the government eventually will see how we behave as businesses and we won’t get scared and it can be a great opportunity,” he said.

Brexit is not the only area bringing uncertainty to the industry – in the last year the UK has seen many mid-market chains closing branches as they struggle in a climate of high overheads and a demanding dining public. According to Hepburn, those who survive this time will find there are added opportunities. “I think those that are left probably have a sound business vehicle and they will have the opportunity to upsell and strengthen their opportunity,” he said. “There probably will also be a gap in the market for new players to come in with different concepts.”

Focus on food waste

The current hot topic of food waste and food packaging was welcomed by the consultants. “It is very trendy now to jump on the bandwagon to cancel your plastic straw contract and get into recycling,” said Edwards. “This is a good thing, media can help stimulate debate and it gives us an opportunity.” FCSI has long been working as a society to promote best practice where food waste is concerned.

Anderson has seen a real focus on the issue of plastic use in public sector foodservice facilities. “I have been helping clients to look at single-use plastic throughout their restaurants, particularly in hospitals. We have tended to use a lot of disposables in the service of meals and that is changing – we are going back to crockery. It is about re-thinking the approach and one of the benefits has been you can re-invest the savings from single-use plastics in your menus and to reward staff,” she said.

It is impossible to address the future of the wider hospitality sector without mentioning technology and Jones asked the panel where they saw things going with the advance of automation. “This is a big thing; we have talked about the size of kitchens, training, losing staff and Brexit maybe it is all aligning and maybe it means we will devolve an amount of physical tasks to a machine,” said Edwards. But Merritt-Harrison said there’s a limit to the use of robotic technology. “Service delivery comes first and IT should come second,” he pointed out.

Connected kitchens

Elsewhere at the show, Andrew Seymour of Foodservice Equipment Journal chaired an insightful ‘fireside chat’ with Jack Sharkey of Vision Commercial Kitchens on the subject of ‘the connected kitchen’ and how technology can be used to drive efficiencies.

Sharkey is of the belief “both operators and manufacturers” are driving the change towards increasingly connected kitchens, although he feels the process is still in the “early stages” of adoption.

The move towards greater connection between kitchen systems, said Sharkey, is born out of the need to reduce risk in an operation, a desire for great efficiency from owner operators and an increased appetite to monitor and control the output from a commercial kitchen. Currently, said Sharkey, lots of individual pieces of equipment in a kitchen can communicate their output, notably combi-ovens and refrigeration systems – via remote monitoring – but there remains “no real collective monitoring” across the piece.

“We need a common platform,” said Sharkey, “for the information to feed into. It’s a challenge for us, but once we achieve it we will have a truly connected kitchen.”

Innovation Challenge – the winners

A total of 25 products were entered into the Innovation Challenge Awards this year at Commercial Kitchen 2018 and they impressed the judging panel.

“The standard was so high this year. Judges praised the amount of innovation on display,” said show director Chris Brazier as he implored manufacturers to “keep on innovating – the industry needs you.”

Gold

Adande Aircell Grab and Go

Carpigiani Freeze&Go

Synergy Grill Mark 2 from Synergy

Trak Hot and Cold Display Unit

EVEREO by Unox UK

Silver

FilterShield FS1500 from Environmental Products and Services

General Catering ROG Grill

Bronze

Retigo Hold-O-Mat

Shepherd Filters from Shepherd Filters UK

Target Bespoke Induction Range from Target Catering Equipment

Tina Nielsen

The 2018 National Restaurant Association, Restaurant Hotel Motel Show in Chicago, US, on 19-22 May delivered good footfall, quality leads and some of the biggest names in the business, reports Michael Jones

Restaurants, said Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of National Restaurant Association are “the backbone of America”. The industry employs 15 million people in the US, making it the country’s second largest employer.

And the National Restaurant Association, Restaurant Hotel Motel Show in Chicago, US, on 19-22 May certainly demonstrated the importance of communicating that this week as an impressive number of attendees and exhibitors at the show revealed a sector experiencing growth and opportunity, but also one that relies on its greatest advantage – the people who work in it. “Restaurants provide fundamental skills for careers and for life,” says Sweeney. People are our greatest asset.”

The show’s keynote speaker, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, reiterated the importance of educating and upskilling young people, and the role the restaurant industry can play in that regard. “America can’t have 18-year-olds who don’t have a skill. And I know your industry provides those skills,” she said.

Strong footfall

While official attendees from the show are still being calculated, an estimated 67,000 foodservice professionals are expected to have walked the halls at McCormick Place, with approximately 2,300 exhibitors representing 900-plus product categories.

Jay Stieber, chairman of the Association, opened the show’s ‘Signature ’18’ session and offered encouragement and issued challenges to industry leaders in attendance.

Stieber highlighted the foodservice industry’s positive impact on society, from the sponsorship of baseball Little League teams all the way up to aid being delivered by the industry for natural disater relief. “I encourage you to get out and tell our industry’s stories,” he said.

“Restaurants are part of the fabric of America. We are present in every single community. Our people – both employees and customers – are our priority.”

Bringing the fire

The hashtag #FiredUp was used throughout the show, indicating the passion people in this industry have for its future. It also represents the ideas and innovation that was abundant around the show, nowhere more evident than in its Kitchen Innovation (KI) Awards. The 2018 KI Award recipients reflect the trends and topics most important to foodservice operators today. The 22 selected innovations address operator concerns from labor, energy and water efficiency to food safety, sanitation, cross-functionality and space-saving.

Some of this year’s award recipients include makers of a non-ozone producing ice sanitizing system; a multi-cook oven with multiple temperature-, fan- and time-controlled cooking chambers; an automatic fruit and vegetable peeler; a multi-zone plancha; an induction countertop line; a an adjustable well system for salad bars to make them appear fresh and topped off; an oven that uses radio frequency cooking to “learn” how to recognize food items, and much more. Check out the full list here: https://show.restaurant.org/exhibitors/ki-awards#KI-recepients.

This year’s judges included Dan Bendall (principal, FoodStrategy, Inc.); David Chislett FCSI (executive principal, Ricca Design Studios); Jeff Cook (chief engineer, Restaurant Solutions Group, McDonald’s Corporation); Richard Eisenbarth FCSI (president/COO, Cini-Little International); Foster F. Frable, Jr. FCSI associate AIA (president, Clevenger Frable LaVallee); Randy Homer (program manager, Food & Beverage Operations Asset Management, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts); Jim Krueger, Jr., CMCE, NRAMF (chief, Air Force Food & Beverage Policy, Procedures, Business Development & Strategic Initiatives Air Force Services Activity (AFSVA) Food & Beverage Branch); Aaron Lamotte (senior director, Performance Interiors, Sodexo Performance Interiors), and Steve Otto (director, Capital Equipment Purchasing, Darden).

Meanwhile, recipients of the annual FABI awards were those food and beverage products that a panel of judges decided stood out for taste, creativity and profit potential, and that will likely make a substantial impact on the restaurant industry.

This year’s 36 FABI Award recipients (https://show.restaurant.org/exhibitors/fabi-awards/fabi-award-recipients-2018) were selected by an independent panel of experts and represent a variety of both commercial and non-commercial industry segments.

The essence of hospitality

Michael Mina, co-owner of Mina Group, which owns 30 reastaurants nationwide, was one of the star chefs cooking at the show’s World Culinary Showcase.

“Hospitality is where it all starts – making sure everything is focussed on the end guest experience. We take time and effort to understand that guest experience,” he said.

Evens such as the National Restaurant Association, Restaurant Hotel Motel Show are essential for reinforcing that message and showing how truly important “the backbone of America” really is. Next year will see the Association celebrating its 100th year, and never before has it felt so vital.

Michael Jones

FCSI UK & Ireland’s Education Day offered attendees the chance to get to grips with the crucial issues facing foodservice and hospitality, reports Thomas Lawrence

On 16 May, the cream of the foodservice crop gathered at London’s Royal Over Seas League, a stone’s throw away from Green Park. The afternoon’s talks were dominated by two topics that have taken the foodservice and hospitality industries by storm in 2018: food waste and GDPR.

The event kicked off as representatives from across the industry took to the stage to offer their perspectives on the food waste outlook.

War on waste

The first session saw speeches from Meiko’s Mick Jary, IMC’s Steve Witt and Lugano Kapembwa from the Canary Wharf Group and LUKAP Consulting. Each explained their own experience of cutting down waste long-term for their clients.

“I was once told if you could make food waste sexy you wouldn’t have a problem”, said Witt. Although admitting he wasn’t quite there yet, Witt argued putting some money back in peoples’ pockets by offering food audits and future proof technology was the key for clients. IMC’s solution is the Wastestation, an example of how far and how fast food waste technology is advancing. Centrifugal force accelerates the dewatering process, facilitating further food processing.

Lugano Kapembwa’s talk provided an interesting case study on how combining communication and technology transforms behaviour. At 97 acres, the Canary Wharf Estate is a waste ecosystem all of its own. Based on the premise that “you can’t manage what you can’t measure,” Kapembwa oversaw a standardised waste management system allowing resource flows to be mapped and tenants to see precisely how much waste they are creating. This comes alongside attention-grabbing initiatives like the forthcoming “three weeks campaign”, which will see all plastic straws banned on the Estate in an effort to change wasteful habits.

Mick Jary spelt out Meiko’s guiding principles when installing waste management systems for clients; integrating it into kitchen workflows, eliminating odour, future-proofing projects and complying with existing and forthcoming legislation. This last point was an important one, with Jary predicting new legislation clamping down on food waste would emerge within the next 18 months.

Legislation consternation

Jary set the stage for CESA’s Keith Warren to discuss the outlook for waste legislation across the UK and its future direction. Warren pointed out that European directives on waste have driven British legislation forward in recent years, but anticipated legislative momentum would continue and gather pace despite the shock of Brexit. Circular economy initiatives in particular are a key focus for policymakers.

With the overall sustainability picture so varied across Europe – Germany has achieved over 80% reprocessing rates, while Estonia has scarcely got off the ground – latecomers are encouraged to turn their attention to existing success stories. This is true even within countries, with Warren arguing Wales continued to set the pace within the UK. He urged consultants to look to these examples in order to “keep the door open to innovative solutions.”

Talk then turned to the legislation at the forefront of everyone’s minds: GDPR. Foodservice Consultant’s primer on the topic should give industry professionals everything they need to prepare for the deadline and make the most of the new rules. Gary Brooks emphasised compliance with the law and protecting data are “two sides to the GDPR coin”; a timely reminder with 25th May the cutoff point for businesses to get their data policies prepared

Tying all the afternoon’s themes together was Kafoodle’s Tarryn Gore. The company’s digital food tracking solution offers custom meal plans which could circumvent allergies and help solve malnourishment. With 31 trillion dollars of potential savings from food waste on offer from the switch to healthy diets, it’s an indication that the waste fighting impetus from both regulators and the industry is building in tempo all the time.

Thomas Lawrence