Hospitality Action Week

Hospitality Action, the Hospitality Industry Benevolent Organisation, has been offering assistance to those who work or have worked within hospitality in the UK, for over 170 years. This week,14th-20th May is Hospitality Action week and will see a host of fundraising activities taking place all over the country and covering the entire hospitality industry. Find out more here

'Oggy' Oscars

Pasty makers and lovers will be descending on the Eden Project in Cornwall this weekend for the first ever world pasty championships.

For a pasty to now be labelled 'Cornish' not only must it be made in Cornwall, it must also contain certain ingredients and can't be crimped on the top; only on the side! This came about as a result of the EU status award of 'Protected geographical indication'. 

There are 4 categories in the championship... 2 for residents of Cornwall only and 2 for amateur outsiders..including 'Open savoury pasty' in which unusual savoury recipes are welcomed! I know what my unusual ingredient would be! Any guesses?? What about yours....?

E-resources Bonanza!

The Institute of Hospitality has this year introduced a brand new e-Resources Collection, which combines hospitality industry e-books and e-journals on a single platform. The journals package actually contains many VERY useful Management, Marketing and Business titles, including the well-known general management magazine, published since 1922 in Boston, Massachusetts, and claiming a particularly ‘high ranking amongst academic, executives and management consultants’.

To access the Institute’s collections you must be a registered member. Registration is free, but you must be a UCB student or a member of staff. To register if you are on Campus, bring up the One-Log (Non-Athens) portal list of resources, by clicking on the logo in the bottom right hand corner of the screen (Looks like a cogwheel with a green tick in it) and choose ‘Institute of Hospitality (account registration)’ Create a personal account and then you will be able to log-in to the site on each subsequent visit, either by going directly to the Institute of Hospitality home page, or If you want to access the site from the One-Log portal each further time, by clicking on the 2nd link - ‘Institute of Hospitality (member log-in)’.

If you want to access the resource from off-campus, you will need to download software first, to see the One-log logo on your computer. The instructions for downloading the software can be found here.

Essential chocolate guide

The Largest chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut has made available an ‘Essential Guide to chocolate;. The Guide claims to be the ultimate chocolate reference for any chef and includes information on the latest chocolate trends, recipes, how to ‘temper’, plating, and problem solving techniques. You can download the guide here.

Best Employers In Hospitality Awards 2012

On the 28th May this year, the Lancaster hotel in London will host the Best Employers in Hospitality Awards 2012. The competition is now open for entries! Employers enter themselves and then their employees rank them using a bespoke employee engagement tool which asks them to evaluate their employment experience with questions ranging from working environment through to career opportunities. Click on the above to learn more about this year’s competition and the winners of last year’s event. The deadline for completed entries this year is 2nd April.

Food and Drink Apprenticeships

With National Apprenticeship Week this week, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) are keen to exploit the Government’s commitment to deliver an extra 250,000 apprenticeship places by 2015 by increasing the number of apprenticeships available in the food and drink manufacturing sector. They have called on all UK food and drink manufacturers to sign up to an apprenticeship pledge and have also launched a careers campaign called 'Taste Success - A Future in Food'. Read about the FDF’s plans, some case study examples and find about their series of regional roadshows here

Recipe for Change

Friday 24th Feb will see the first ever World Food Night organised by the charity Refugee Action. It is an opportunity to hold an event and cook food from around the world for friends, family, or colleagues in return for donations for their dinner. Celebrity chef and “dragon slaying” entrepreneur Levi Roots has endorsed the event, and registration is now open for anyone who’d like to take part. The website has all the information and resources you’ll need, including invitation cards, a poster, and recipe ideas, as well as news of how others intend to participate.