This week’s Diary includes the restaurant rumour mill in over-drive, new destinations for Gatwick’s F&B offer, unfortunate timing at the Beer Innovation Summit, and pancake woes for Whiting & Hammond man.
Something in the air
There is always a bit of excitement and renewed optimism at the start of any year, but in central London’s restaurant sector this positivity might have been taken a step too far, judging by some of the rumours currently doing the rounds. Only days away from the opening Balthazar in Covent Garden, Keith McNally has been linked with opening another one of his restaurant formats over here, with Pastis rumoured to be lined up for the Cock & Bottle site in Notting Hill. April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig in New York fame is being linked with a move to Shoreditch as part of the opening of an ACE Hotel in the area. At the same time, Danny Meyer of Shake Shack fame has been linked with the former Cantaloupe site in Shoreditch for a Gramercy Tavern. Closer to home, Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett is believed to have teamed up Canteen co-founder Dominic Lake to work on a new concept. Diary would be happy if all were true buy may have to settle for just one or maybe two coming off!
Ready for landing
It’s fair to say that airports around the world have stepped away from ageing terminals and can now boast Michelin-starred chefs and leading branded operators. Gatwick Airport has been at the forefront of this change, highlighted by the success and recognition Jamie Oliver’s Italian/Union Jacks/bakery combo has garnered since its launch last summer. This success has led to Gatwick exploring a revamp of its branded options and Diary hears that later this year, a raft of established operators and fledging concepts might be checking in to the airport’s new F&B offer.
Innovation wars
Beer writer Pete Brown was at his provocative best at the Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s Beer Innovation Summit at St George’s Park in Burton-upon-Trent yesterday. Addressing the question of whether brewers approach innovation seriously, Brown listed a series of ‘innovations’ that have been introduced by the big brewers in recent years, before rubbishing each of them. He saved his biggest criticisms for AB InBev, panning Budweiser 66 as a late entrant into the 4% lager market and Stella Cidre for copycatting Magners, six years late. As Pete left the stage to nervous applause, up to the lectern stepped the next speaker – Jamie Hornsey, account controller for managed multiples at… you’ve guessed it… AB InBev. Hornsey gave as good as he got though – reminding the audience that Stella Cidre exceeded £50m of first year sales.
8 out of 10 beer drinkers prefer whiskers
Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham – otherwise known as the Thinking Drinkers (performing live at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer) – spoke at the Beer Innovation Summit about where UK brewers should be looking for inspiration. The example that will live long in the memory was that of the Rogue Ales Brewery in Newport, Oregon, US, where the head brewer John Maier used yeast cells cultivated from his own beard to brew his New Crustacean beer. Innovative maybe – palatable maybe not.
Pancake pain
As Pancake Day was such a huge event for pubs we thought we’d give it a few more column inches... and we just really wanted to tell this story. Whiting & Hammond’s Farm @ Friday Street in Eastbourne, East Sussex unreservedly embraced the day that marks Jesus’ spell in the wilderness with events that even made the BBC news, though not for the reasons the team most likely expected. The pub put together a Pancake Race, which drew impressive attendance including BBC Southeast. Unfortunately, the focus of the night’s coverage was deputy manager Gareth Nixon "face planting" spectacularly mid-race. His embarrassment was slightly tempered by a wave of Twitter support paying tribute to his "awesome" and "now legendary" fall. Such support was in short supply from managing director Brian Whiting who recounted the incident through gales of laughter. "Was he hurt?" we worriedly asked. "I think he must have been a little bit," replied a still-sniggering Whiting. "You obviously care," we said, feeling sympathetic for the poor man, whereupon he exclaimed: "Of course, I care - it was for charity!"
Cocktail capers
Diary has received more information on the upcoming cocktail bar in London whereby customers bring their own alcohol. BYOC (Bring Your Own Cocktails) on Bedfordbury Street, Covent Garden, is the brainchild of Juice Club, the fledgling juice bar concept. Under the concept, the customer brings an alcoholic drink of their choice, be it spirit, wine or beer, and a well-trained bartender "wielding a vintage Italian drinks trolley" will concoct a tipple based on their preferences. The company said places in the "small drinking den" must be booked in advance and there’s a charge of £20 per person "to exploit the bartender’s knowledge and the contents of his non-alcoholic drinks trolley". Tables are subject to a two-hour turnaround time. Diary can’t wait to give it a whirl.
