Boing Boing!!

I received these details via the Institute of Hospitality recently and after establishing that there ARE still tickets available, am now able to promote this to you.....

On Thursday 22nd November there is a talk at the Hawthorns,(ground of West Bromwich Albion football club - for non-locals!) to learn about the diet of footballers and catering at a football ground. There will also be a tour of the football facilities. Food and refreshments will be available. Tickets for the event are £15.90, and the fun starts at around 6pm! If you are interested, you need to send a letter to confirm your booking, along with a cheque, to:
Kathleen Russell, 2 Canal Cottages, Hanbury Wharf, Worcs, WR9 7DV
I’m going, so I’ll see you there!!

The 'bare' facts.....

Are you a somnambulist? Have you ever wandered naked down a hotel corridor?
This week, A survey carried out by Travelodge ‘revealed’ (if you’ll pardon the pun!) that nude sleepwalking (particularly amongst men) is on the rise. The results, which exhibit (sorry!) a seven fold increase in sleepwalking customers, compared to 2006, indicate that a staggering 95% of the hotel chain's sleepwalkers have been naked men. The following are the most popular requests at the reception desk:

- Where is the bathroom?
- Can I check out as I am late for work?
- Do you have a copy of todays paper?

The Hotels reception desks now have a supply of towels placed on them for covering up the gentlemens… errmm, embarrassment!

For obvious reasons, I’ve not included an image for this particular entry!

Food and Gastronomy seminar

The Centre for International Hospitality Management Research ( CIHMR ) at Sheffield Hallam University have publicised a two year programme of research seminars aimed at raising the profile of hospitality research in the UK. The first of these, entitled ‘Food and Gastronomy is to be held on 15th November 2007 between 10am - 4pm. Download the booking form from the site. Some of the other seminars in the series look interesting too!

'Louis' and the Chokolit Factory?

15 year old Louis Barnett from Kinver needed no golden ticket to realise his dream! He has just employed his own mum and dad in his ‘Chokolit’ business! Self-confessed ‘Foody’ Louis, left school at 11 after being diagnosed with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia and began making chocolates from home, but his business has expanded to the point where he has now had to move premises to Bridgnorth. Read more about the budding entrepreneur here.

'Link' Special !

There is a special issue of the ‘Link’ publication available this month on the website of the HEAcademy (HLST) The idea of the issue is to showcase some of the research projects that have been funded this year by the HEAcademy. Themes of the projects include employability; student motivation; internationalisation, widening participation; reflective practice and research methods. Once you’ve clicked on the link above, select ‘view the LINK special edition here’ to take you to the pdf of the whole issue

Restaurant 2007

Speakers at the Restaurant 2007 seminar on 8th November in London, include Jim Walker, chief operating officer at The Climate Group; Jane Piper from KPMG and Luke Jensen; head of Retail, Leisure and Consumer at OC&C Strategy Consultants. Click here to download your booking form.

You might want to peruse the William-Reed site while you're there. Click on the 'search by sector' links on the left to bring up a list of products. Staff - If you would like to order any of these for the library, please let me know

A thing of the Past(a)

Italy's top consumer groups have urged all italians not to buy any food today in protest at the massive increase in the price of pasta

Catalogue revamp

If you’ve not already done so, please visit the ‘new look ‘ Library catalogue. Remember, this can be accessed from the homepage of the College website, from ANY computer with Internet access. Basic Library information, such as opening hours, resources and services has now been incorporated along with the ‘Guide to Journals’, Guide to Online resources and other previously unavailable documents. Please note, that the Subject Areas feature is still a work in progress, and will be updated over the coming months.

Aglio? Si O No ?

The Metro, the Caterer and the Times have all reported this week on the high profile campaign in Italy headed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s to ban garlic from Italian restaurants. Such is Mr Berlusconi’s aversion, he has even been known to issue breath fresheners to officials and electoral candidates and actually banned it from the 2001 G8 summit menu! Leading Italian Chef Antonello Colonna, is more sceptical, reporting that he had “put garlic into dishes at official dinners for Berlusconi without him realising ! The word Garlic (Latin; Allium sativum) has its orgins in Old English gārlēac, meaning, "spear leek". it has been used in Italian cooking since Roman times, when Pliny the Elder offered a list of its benefits in his Natural History. It can be used as seasoning or condiment, and the medicinal properties and benefits are widely known, as these sites bear out:
http://www.garlic.mistral.co.uk/ and http://www.garlicworld.co.uk/

Chewing bunches of parsley after consumption helps to reduce the after effects and leaving the garlic to soak in water for several hours BEFORE eating should maintain the taste but eliminate the odours.. but Belinda Welsman has gone one better. Her ‘snoggable garlic’ company which has been going for a number of years, produces a range of different flavoured garlics including smoked and hot chili, and uses a secret recipe to ensure the odours of the garlic are eliminated, "My garlic is famous for containing all the properties of fresh garlic but without the after smell" . I’ve actually bought some from the farmers market in Halesowen and very good it is too!

Are you 'Trendwatching' ?

I’ve added a link in the resources section on the right to the trendwatching.com site which scans the globe for emerging consumer trends. Read briefings, search the database, and book speakers for corporate events.

Next week is the 6th Annual International Smoothie Week . Check out the website for competitions, fruit facts, links for retailers and consumers, recipes and downloadable posters

According to Mintel in 2006 (you’ll need to go to Mintel via Athens and type in 'Smoothies' as your search, to view the whole report) , there has been a steady rise in sales of smoothies within the market for soft drinks which is indicative of the trend away from carbonates in favour of healthier, more natural alternatives.

Arena

I added a link in the Resources section yesterday to a networking organisation called Arena. Sounds like they run some interesting events. I'm wondering about setting up a corporate membership to the organisation, but I need to know who would be interested in such a membership. If you check out the 'benefits' section of the site and please give me a ring or email me to let know how valuable you believe corporate membership would be.

Cheers

English Wines - A joy or a Joke?

Despite winning a major award at the International Wine Challenge in London last month, Wine writer Malcolm Gluck and other experts were not impressed with this or indeed other English offerings at a recent tasting. Here's what the panel had to say. But, it appears that Malcolm Gluck has "long been the bane of English winemakers (see the full article here) Webmaster Bob Tarr asks us to remember that there will be good, mediocre and dreadful wines in any wine-producing country. In fact, I'm a week or so late with this posting I've just realised, as the 26th May-3rd June was "English Wine Week" ! However, the site is still there with lots of links to vineyards and independent wine merchants.

I for one think we should embrace our continuing and improving efforts and scoff the wine rather than scoff at it...

A Slice of Skoda

If, like me you've been wondering about the new Skoda Fabia ad and whether they really DID make a whole edible cake, the answer is kind of. It appears that no-one actually got to taste the finished product, as the studio lights rendered the car unfit for human consumption, although a couple of sections were kept for posterity. You can watch a video following the making process which includes a complete list of ingredients should you decide to make your own at home - (kind of Pimp my ride, and pimp that snack rolled into one!) - provided you have 180 eggs and 42 kilograms of chocolate you were wondering what to do with!

Cake or biscuit?

We've been having a debate here in the Subject Librarian office. Could we prove once and for all that a Jaffa Cake is indeed a CAKE and not a biscuit! Lets consider the evidence... a) A Jaffa Cake has a sponge base b) It goes HARD when stale; biscuits go soft... c) The word biscuit is derived from the french meaning 'baked twice' ? Is a jaffa cake baked twice?

They're certainly classed as cakes for the purposes of taxation - In 1991 McVities found themselves having to justify their decision to classify them as cakes due to the UK law that exempts biscuits and cakes from VAT ("zero rated") but classes chocolate covered biscuits as luxury items and subjects THEM to VAT at 17.5%. McVitie's produced a 12” Jaffa Cake to illustrate that they were just minicakes and won their case thus. -

BUT does that Prove it either way?

How about the scientific arguments highlighted in the article 'Are Jaffa Cakes really biscuits?' published in The Online journal “Journal of Unlikely Science”

and not forgetting the treatment given in the wonderfully entitled 'A Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down' (by 'Nicey' and 'Wifey', ) both in print and Internet versions.

On the other hand, consider this. Taken from the official HM revenue and Customs website, the term Jaffa Cakes appear in the 'Zero-rated' column but under section 3.4.2 - Biscuits! Now it gets confusing....

I await your comments with anticipation on this one!

Hospitality and Urban Regeneration

On 14th June 2007 the CIHMR (Centre for International Hospitality Management Research are presenting the first in a series of research seminars aimed at raising the profile of hospitality research in the UK, at Sheffield Hallam University. Entitled 'Hospitality in Urban Regeneration'. The Centre are looking for presentation submissions from anyone in the very early stages of their research, as a basis for further exploration and debate.

Click here for more information about this seminar, including booking details as well as more information on other seminars in the series

If you wish to present at the seminar, you need to send a 300-word abstract with full address and institutional affiliation details as an electronic file to Dr. Emma Martin (by tomorrow – 31st May !)

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Ever checked in to a hotel after a really stressful day or the day before a big event and worried that you weren't going to be able to get a good night’s sleep? Well, Travelodge have come up with one idea to help guests unwind and relax – goldfish!

Guests checking into The Travelodge at Birmingham’s Fort Dunlop can participate in the trial of the Goldfish Hire Service by requesting a fish therapy room when they check in, and then following the hotel's guide to relaxation. Surveys were undertaken and Animal psychologist and sleep experts were consulted in the development of the service! The service was probably the brainchild of Travelodge’s relatively newly appointed ‘Director of sleep'; Wayne Munnelly. The first in the world to be appointed to this post, Wayne is paid to test such things as mattress tension and pillow density! Following hot on the heels of his 'cuddillow' no doubt!

All this has lead me to a very interesting blog in which there's some very funny pictures of people bed jumping...

but I think that’s probably for another day!

Want a coffee?

Between 23rd and 24th July, Caffe Culture, the UK’s only dedicated event for the café and coffee bar sector will take place at London’s Olympia.

This 2-day event will feature 160 international exhibitors, and provide workshops, seminars, demonstrations and tastings, as well as the opportunity to meet with suppliers and distributors, café owners and buyers from the various brand chains.

You can now book for the British Hospitality Association’s Annual Luncheon, on Wednesday, 27th June, which includes the ‘Inaugural Annual Lecture’ and takes place at London’s Grosvenor House. The speaker has been confirmed as Visiting Professor of Forecasting and Innovation at De Montfort University, and established physicist, broadcaster, author, and columnist; James Woudhuysen. He will address the trends that are likely to shape the future of the hospitality industry.
For further information or to reserve your place, please contact Camilla Woods at the BHA on 0207 404 7744, or email camilla.woods@bha.org.uk.

Representatives were in College today demonstrating the websites for Just-food; and Just-drinks and discussing different membership packages. They are going to set us up with a trial to both sites, but for this trial each interested party will require a separate log-in

Please could you have a look here (for the Food site) and here for the drinks site, and let me know if you would like be part of the trial. I will then give you an idea of the costs of subscribing to each service, and you can tell me whether you think this seems value for money. Sections on the sites include News and Comments from around the Globe on Food and drink related issues; monthly management briefings; information on relvant reports from other providers; jobs and events. Hope it'll be of interest to you!

Researchers at Columbia University have found that regularly tucking into a full English Breakfast could double our risk of developing Chronic Lung Diesase, and other debilitating chest conditions more traditionally associated with smoking., such as bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive airways disease.
As Britons appetite for cured meat products is increasing, our susceptibility to these conditions is also growing, in addition to the raising of our Cholesterol levels.
Read the full article here

Chocaholics...

Have you munched your way through all your Easter Eggs then? I’ve still got a tiny bit of mine left! I know it’s nearly 2 weeks ago now, but I thought you might enjoy a few choccy facts…

We Brits lead the way with our spending on the confectionery, with an average of £72 per head a year, and also on the consumption; devouring 10 kilos on average, or 25% of all the choccy eaten across Europe. Last year we managed, as a nation, to put away 80 million Easter eggs AND 500 MILLION cream eggs!!

The First chocolate egg was produced by Fry’s in 1873

The most expensive egg ever offered was the Diamond Stella Egg last year – A chocolate egg laden with diamonds. It cost a wopping £50,000 !

And finally, the largest egg ever made was a chocolate and marshmallow one, recorded in South Africa in 1996. It weighed 4,068 kilos and it had to be supported by an internal steel frame!

Institute of Hospitality

Never heard of them? Well, in fact, it's just the new name for the HCIMA. The name change will be effective from 2nd April

IFE07

Billed as "The most innovative Food and Drink Event", the International Food and Drink Event" is being held at ExCel in London between 18-21 March. Full programme details can be found here. Highlights include the World Barista Championships; For the uninitiated (and I include myself here!) "Barista (plural – Baristi) – refers to one who has acquired some level of expertise in the preparation of espresso-based coffee drinks." and the World Cheese awards as well as Global New Product Information, Consumer Trends and Buying Behaviour, Market Research & Insight and Retail & Foodservice solutions.

The 11th International Global Lodging Forum is being held on 8th-9th March.
Probably a bit short notice to get in on this one now, but they may post papers after the event, so might be worth keeping an eye on.

The British Institute of Inn-keeping (BII) are in the middle of a series of seminars discussing the Introduction of the Smoking ban in public places. The ‘Smoking Roadshow’ comes to Birmingham (Aston Villa ground) on the 29th March.
Click here for more information and a booking form if you are interested in attending

SPRIG is a UK organisation promoting information in hospitality, leisure, tourism and sport.
On the 16th March A SPRIG event is being held here at the College. The programme is aimed at post-16 educators in hospitality and catering and details of the day can be found by clicking here. Included will be a presentation from the HCIMA about the internet resources that students can access via the HCIMA as part of the educational membership scheme (this includes our students as we are members of the scheme.) As Institutional members of SPRIG, there is no cost for lecturers. If you would like to attend, please let either myself, Stephanie Holliday, or Jerry Hartley know as soon as possible

Intute

Intute: Social Sciences is the subject hub of Intute that provides quality Web resources covering social sciences, which includes hospitality, food and retail. The Hub was created by combining the resources and services of two of the Hubs of the Resource Discovery Network (RDN): (Altis and SOSIG), and offers an effective and easy-to-use search facility for discovering Internet resources in this area, that have been evaluated and selected by a network of subject specialists.