Chefs

Pub focus

What's next for the Staith House?

21-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

When the Staith House was unveiled two years ago, it took just £500 in its first week. Nicholas Robinson discovers how this pub is now an award-winning phenomenon

Chef Shortage

Emily Watkins: standard of training for chefs "no good"

10-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

The standard of professional training for chefs has dropped, contributing to the industry-wide skills gap, according to Emily Watkins, chef patron of award-winning Oxfordshire pub the Kingham Plough.

Rare burger rule change ‘costly’ for pub chefs

10-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

Serving rare burgers in UK food businesses could be expensive and remain potentially dangerous, even with new Food Standards Agency (FSA) controls in place, a leading food safety consultant has warned.

Brunning and Price to create 90 chef roles

10-Sep-2015 By Nicholas Robinson

More than 90 chef roles could be created by the Brunning and Price (B&P) group, after it announced plans to open three new pubs this year and buy up to six more in 2016.

Fuller's hosts Chef's Guild graduation for rising kitchen stars

09-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Fuller’s has marked the achievements of chefs across its 189-site managed estate with the first graduation ceremony for Chef’s Guild scholars.

Chef Shortage

BII chairman: "If you're working over 55 hours a week, you're not managing your staff correctly"

07-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) chairman Anthony Pender has spoken out on the need for a more positive outlook on the ongoing chef shortage.

Chef Shortage

Great British Menu star Dom Chapman: "I want a civilised bunch of chefs in the kitchen"

07-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Training from the grass roots up and nurturing talent is fundamental to combatting the chef shortage, according to BBC2 Great British Menu star Dominic Chapman, chef patron of the Beehive, White Waltham.

Hail to the chef

VIDEO: John Calton of the Staith House

04-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

On why produce gets him excited and why he chose to open his own pub...

Hail to the chef

VIDEO: Mark Anderson of the Ruddington Arms

04-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

On the Great British pub and making it as a chef patron...

DIGITAL FEATURE

Hail to the chef

03-Sep-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Whether you’re an established restaurateur looking for the next step or a dedicated upstart wanting to make a name for yourself, taking on a pub is no minor feat. In this exclusive feature, Daniel Woolfson looks at the particular challenges faced by chef-patrons...

Chef recruitment crisis

“No half decent pub chef is paid enough” – ex-chefs on why they left the industry

28-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Sub-standard wages and long hours are driving chefs out of the sector, contributing to the industry-wide chef shortage, according to ex-pub chefs.

Chef spotlight

Northern powerhouse: the Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire

27-Aug-2015 By Helen Gilbert

For the second year in a row, The Freemasons at Wiswell, Lancashire has ranked number one in the Good Food Guide’s Top 50 Pubs. Helen Gilbert catches up with chef-patron Steven Smith to discover what the latest accolade means to him, his Michelin Star...

Chef recruitment crisis

Could training prison inmates help solve the chef shortage?

26-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Training convicts in chef skills could help solve combat the critical shortage of skilled chefs affecting the hospitality industry.

Chef Spotlight

Development chef profile: Paul Fletcher, Beefeater

24-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Daniel Woolfson speaks to the company's brand research and development chef.

We Want Plates founder: bad presentation in pubs is "epidemic"

21-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Pubs are by far the worst culprits when it comes to bad presentation of food, according to We Want Plates founder Ross McGinnes.

Chef recruitment crisis

“Fancy chefs don’t want to drop down to our level” - top London pub chef talks chef shortage

21-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

The current shortage of skilled chefs and the problems caused by it are “never ending”, according to Jesse Dunford-Wood, chef patron of Parlour, in Kensal Green, London.

Award-winning Bristol chef to open third site

20-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Award-winning Bristol chef Toby Gritten, owner of the Pump House, Hotwells and the Bird in Hand, Long Ashton, is set to open third site the Redan Inn, Chilcompton, later this autumn.

SMALL TALK

Daniel Clifford on new pub The Flitch of Bacon and Great British Menu

14-Aug-2015 By Emma Eversham

Daniel Clifford, chef-patron of the two Michelin-starred Midsummer House, speaks exclusively to Big Hospitality about returning to Great British Menu and opening his own pub, the Flitch of Bacon, in Essex.

GBM

Great British Menu 2015: Kingham Plough chef makes surprise appearance

11-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Emily Watkins, chef patron of the Kingham Plough, Oxfordshire, made a surprise appearance on this week’s episode of BBC2’s Great British Menu as a veteran judge.

Tom Kerridge to run "Tom's Table" pop-up at Harrods

10-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Tom Kerridge is set to run a week-long pop up residency, called Tom’s Table, at the food hall of Harrods on Brompton Road, London.

Chef spotlight

Development chef profile: Liezel Bezuidenhout, Admiral Taverns

07-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Name: Liezel Bezuidenhout Job title: catering development manager, Admiral Taverns

St Austell Brewery fighting chef recruitment "absolute nightmare" with new incentives

03-Aug-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

St Austell Brewery has launched a range of incentives designed to entice new chefs into the kitchens of its managed pubs.

JOIN THE PUB BRIGADE

Video: Tom Kerridge of the Hand & Flowers on the chef shortage

29-Jul-2015 By James Evison & Daniel Woolfson

Watch the double Michelin-starred chef speak on the issue.

Join the pub brigade

Celebrity pub chef: 'I'd love to see more young people choosing hospitality as a career'

29-Jul-2015 By Josh Eggleton, chef patron of the Pony & Trap, Chew Magna, Somerset

When I joined the trade, life as a chef was tough - with long hours, hard work and not a lot of time off. But that didn’t deter me at all and I’ve loved it since day one.

Join the pub brigade

Mass Mobilisation: meet the managed pub groups taking on the chef shortage

27-Jul-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Finding and retaining chefs for an independent or leased pub can be hard enough, but imagine trying to find and recruit enough chefs to maintain and drive kitchens at — in some cases — hundreds of sites. Daniel Woolfson reports.

Join the Pub Brigade

The battle for the kitchen crew

22-Jul-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Filling their boots? Daniel Woolfson talks to some of the top figures in the pub industry to discover the lay of the land regarding chef recruitment.

Join the Pub Brigade

Meet the chefs

22-Jul-2015 By Daniel Woolfson & Noli Dinkovski

Meet the pub chefs who are facing challenges regarding recruitment - and how they overcome them.

Digital feature

Join the Pub Brigade

22-Jul-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Many operators say they are finding it harder than ever to hire and retain chefs - but why? In our extensive digital feature covering the crisis, the PMA looks at some of the issues facing the sector and how certain individual operators are challenging...

Celeb chef Phil Vickery: "ignorant and arrogant" chefs "pay lip service" to coeliac customers

21-Jul-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Chefs’ “ignorant” attitudes towards coeliac customers can lead to missing out on valuable business opportunities, according to celebrity chef Phil Vickery.

Hampshire student named "MasterChef" at Sun Inn chef's competition

21-Jul-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Stephen Naylor, who recently finished a level 3 diploma in professional cookery, won the title at a cook-off held at Basingstoke College of Technology, organised by Gordon Stott, head chef and landlord of the Sun Inn, Basingstoke.

North-west pub chef creates YouTube recipe channel

20-Jul-2015 By Noli Dinkovski

A north-west chef has set up his own YouTube channel to showcase some of his pub’s more unusual dishes.

GREAT BRITISH MENU

Great British Menu 2015: the pub contenders

17-Jul-2015 By Fred A'Court

This year’s BBC2 Great British Menu is approaching and with past winners including Emily Watkins of the Kingham Plough, Oxfordshire, James Durrant of the Plough Inn, Longparish and Tom Kerridge of the Hand & Flowers, it’s a veritable proving ground...

Dining Out

Dining out at... the Anchor & Hope, Waterloo

17-Jul-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Sitting down to eat at the Anchor & Hope, one of South London’s oldest established gastropubs, I can’t help but feel like I’ve been teleported to Spain.

Neil Rankin: The Good, The Bad & The Eggy

13-Jul-2015 By Stefan Chomka

Neil Rankin, the chef behind Smokehouse and Bad Egg talks about his latest ventures, his eclectic menus and turning pubs into restaurants.

Chefs

Dining out at...The Marksman

13-Jul-2015 By James Evison

A much anticipated re-opening of a Hackney pub aims to find a place in a crowded market. It succeeds...

Galvin: ‘It’s no wonder pubs are closing down with food like this’

01-Jul-2015 By James Wallin, MC Allegra FS

Successful restaurateur Chris Galvin has said standards of cooking across pubs are not meeting customers’ expectations.

Whitbread appoints new development chef for Beefeater

25-Jun-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Whitbread Restaurants has announced the appointment of Paul Fletcher to the role of brand research and development chef for its Beefeater chain.

Pub & Bar Careers website launches

25-Jun-2015 By James Wallin, M&C Allegra

Pubandbarcareers.com, a new website showcasing the range of career opportunities in the sector, has been officially launched.

Tom Kerridge to release new cookbook

22-Jun-2015 By Jo Bruce

Tom Kerridge is launching a third cookbook in September.

Menu insight

First look: the Gipsy Queen's menu

22-Jun-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Great British Pub of the Year winners Susie Clarke and Joel Czopor’s new site the Gipsy Queen, Kentish Town, officially opens its doors to the public on Friday 26 June.

Chef Focus

Award winning chef talks shop: "I'd cook a decent burger for Elvis Presley"

18-Jun-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

The newly crowned Craft Guild of Chefs Pub Restaurant Chef of the Year 2015 Ray Brenner, of Hampshire gastropub the Chequers, in Eversley Cross, talks tongs, posh egg and chips, and cooking for the king of rock ’n’ roll with Daniel Woolfson

TV Sport

Tom Kerridge on why food and sport are a match made in heaven

17-Jun-2015 By Sky Sports Preview Magazine

When it comes to matching food, drink and live sport successfully, the Coach – run by Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge – covers all the bases.

Two pub chefs win at Craft Guild of Chefs Awards

16-Jun-2015 By Jo Bruce

Peach Pub Company head chef Ray Brenner, head chef at the Chequers at Eversley Cross, Hampshire, won the Pub Restaurant Chef Award.

Four pub chefs competing in BBC's Great British Menu 2015

15-Jun-2015 By Daniel Woolfson

Josh Eggleton, chef/patron of Michelin-starred gastropub the Pony & Trap, Chew Magna, near Bristol and Dominic Chapman, chef/patron of the Beehive, White Waltham, Berkshire, will compete on the show for the chance to cook at a banquet in honour of...