Our weekly round-up of what the national and local restaurant critics are writing about, for the week ending 16 August 2020. Restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes in England were permitted to re-open on Saturday 4 July after over 100 days of enforced closure; Scotland and Wales followed a few weeks later. Some establishments remain closed […]

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Five trade bodies in the UK have collectively called on the government to help solve the rent crisis, the foremost threat faced by restaurants attempting to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. UK Hospitality, The British Property Federation (BPF), British Retail Consortium (BRC), Revo, and ukactive have together asked the government to introduce a “Property Bounceback Grant” […]

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The veteran restaurateur Russell Norman, who co-founded the pioneering Venetian small plates group Polpo in 2008 alongside Richard Beatty, has left the company. The news was first reported by Bloomberg food critic Richard Vines on Wednesday, quoting Norman to say, “things change”. New filings listed by Companies House show Norman’s directorship at Polpo was terminated […]

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Our weekly round-up of what the national and local restaurant critics are writing about, for the week ending 9 August 2020. Restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes in England were permitted to re-open on Saturday 4 July after over 100 days of enforced closure. Some establishments remain closed – the owner of the three Market Halls, […]

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BAME in Hospitality is to launch a mentorship scheme in autumn designed to support the career development of minority ethnic employees in the hospitality industry. Mentors such as chef James Cochran, writer Rukmini Iyer, food critic Jimi Famurewa, and chef Nokx Majozi will be involved, with the group calling on mentors from diverse backgrounds and […]

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