As you’ll be aware, there are plenty of food dates and weeks circurling around and if you’re a regular reader of the GB blog, you’ll know we LOVE them all. But one particular week we’ve enjoyed reading about is Great British Beef Week which is ran by over 150 female beef farmers who together, promote the British beef industry. The celebratory week is now in its eighth year and the team behind the campaign are keen to get the U.K. behind it. The FU president , Minette Batters, is known in the farmer’s world as the champion of British Beef and the campaign focuses on the benefits of eating thin cuts - as they’re quick and easy to make for a mid week meal. To do our bit to support British Beef Week, we’ve shared some interesting meaty facts that like us, you may not have known…
Will you be supporting Great British Beef Week? Let us know over on Twitter #GBLOVES
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Jockey hats at the ready! The Grand National is upon us. It’s time to bring out the glad rags, the rollers and crack open the champagne. It’s one of the biggest horse racing events o the year that’s right on the doorstep - and we cannot wait for it to begin! The event, which last for three days, will see the city buzz with fabulous men and women dressed to the nines to party on throughout the day - and night. And if you’re from Liverpool, then you’ll know that you cannot start any race day with a champagne breakfast. If you’re still looking for somewhere dine this week before the races, we’ve got our top picks covered... Shankly Hotel, Liverpool Nestled in the hustle and bustle of Liverpool is the super glamorous Shankly Hotel. It’s the perfect venue for those who want to enjoy that VIP treatment - and enjoy one of their races package which include a champagne breakfast from only £19.95 and a chauffeur service there and back. And if you’re looking to rest your head in style, why not make a night of it? Suites Hotel, Knowsley For those more local to the racecourse, head to The Suites Hotel with your friends and enjoy a fabulous Grand National Brunch from only £4.95 pp which includes a full English breakfast, brioche French toast and avocado brusetto. Absolutely perfect. Gusto, Liverpool Start the day in style at the beautiful Gusto in the heart of the albert dock and enjoy a Gusto breakfast which includes transport to the races. Or why not really treat yourself and book to enjoy a Gusto breakfast, glass of fizz and transport to and from Aintree - and a three course meal on your return - from only £65pp. Let us know how you’ll be starting your racing day over on Twitter #GBLOVES We know we've only just turned the clocks back, and the spring nights are slowly (oh so slowly) appearing, but it's that time of year when we need to think about the biggest seasonal event of the year, Christmas. Despite their being eight months before it's here, hospitality establishments need to start thinking about their upcoming plans for the end of the year - whether that's their exciting party nights or Christmas Day lunch for all the family to enjoy. Trust us, there's a method behind the madness with this! We reveal three reasons why you should be keen to get your promotions underway... Early bookings Many businesses, especially large organisations, are keen to get their Christmas bookings sorted months in advance. Once your Christmas campaign has gone live, it's an opportunity for the company to promote their space and offers. By showcasing your offers early, you're guaranteed to have interest from businesses and they'll have more choice in date selection - and sometimes cost which is helpful to them. Brand exposure and getting into the back of people's minds If you're promoting Christmas through advertising or social media, people who may be starting their Christmas search may encounter your brand online or in print. Some hospitality establishments may attract new guests, or even the attention of those who perhaps don't go out and celebrate Christmas. By promoting your offers from early in the year, you're likely to stand in their mind - and hopefully might serve up their puds and Brussels sprouts in the next few months... Gives you time to plan Christmas is one of the biggest seasonal campaigns for any company which requires plenty of planning time to ensure theme, messaging and marketing tools are all on brand and ready to be share to your guests. You can also plan for work to be carried out throughout summer, autumn and winter such as social media posts, email campaigns and advertising, to name a few! Let us know what you think about planning early for Christmas over on Twitter. Across the hospitality industry, there's plenty of technology that over time has formed part of the day to operations. Companies around the world are continually trying to find new and exciting ways to operate their business to make it easier and faster for staff, and of course, to make more money. Not only goes it impact the success of the business, but it also has a great impact on providing the best experience for guests. We take a look at some of the technology that's already shaping the restaurant industry... Table Top Tablets Although for many outlets, print is king, for others, it's a case of moving with the times and making the restaurant digital savvy. Many outlets have already introduced tablets to their tables to showcase menus (and to stop us from crawling through printed menus to find out what we want to eat and drink) but there's an even more exciting invention - table top tablets which are replacing the need for cash desks which allows the guest to order what they want, and pay straight away and can help upsell new products! Digital reservations Forget those annoying buzzers given to you when you're waiting for you table and welcome to the world of the digital reservation manager. The software is primarily used to process all the details of everyone who wishes to visit and automatically locates them a table based on their preferences or reason for visiting. And for those who have to wait a short while until their table is ready, will receive a text message for a more pleasant and luxurious dining experience. Not only does this save the staff time having to manually update details, it also is a lot more guest friendly which is what most restaurants are continually aiming to be. HR As mentioned in the point above, technology is the perfect way to save time for employees during the day and help them focus on guests who are dining or drinking with them. Through the advancements of HR technology, restaurants can now operate online systems that plan shifts, forecasted sales, holidays and shift swaps which can be accessed through an app - meaning there's no always a need for a big HR department which in turn, can save a lot of money, especially if you're a small or independent business! What's your favourite piece of restaurant technology? Let us know over on Twitter. April 2nd marks a very special day. A day that is filled with a classic American delight. It’s National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day, hurrah. It’s a classic food staple that’s perfect for a light bite - or to help when you’ve had a bit too much to drink the night before… (yep, we’re talking from experience here)! To show our love for the day, we’ve stepped back in time to discover the history of where our beloved peanut butter and jelly began - and thrown in some fun facts along the way. History of Peanut Butter and Jelly The very first reference to one of our favourite dishes was way back in 1901 in the United States in the Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economic where they were described as ‘dry little sandwiches, or bread fingers, or three very thin layers or bread and two of filling, one of peanut paste, whatever brand you prefer, and currant or crab apple for the other’. I think we’ll pass on the currant or crab apple though… During this time, peanut butter was mainly for the middle class rich folk as peanuts were expensive but over time, they did move down the class structure as the price dropped. We bet you didn’t know…
The world ‘holiday' has a different meaning to everyone. For some, it could mean lying on a hot beach, soaking up the sun with a cocktail in hand - or for others it could mean backpacking and travelling around new places to learn about new cultures. It’s a chance to escape the reality of normal 9-5 life that we look can all look forward to for most of the year! This year, the travel industry is set to see a number of new factor’s coming into play that will be shaping the way. Here’s some of travel trends you’re likely to encounter this year. Mobile booking is set to increase We are a generation who wants everything as soon as possible, for as easy as possible, so it comes as no surprise that being able to book a holiday on your phone from any location is massively on the rise. Studies by TrekkSoft revealed that 49% of bookings were made on mobile which has shot up from 2016 from 31% percent as opposed to booking through a website, or through a travel operator. Good news for phone companies, bad news for tour operators. The trust of a review Whether it’s TripAdvisor or Facebook, more and more people are doing their homework before booking their big holiday of the year. They want to ensure that they’re getting the best deal for their accommodation, and to make sure that their choice is what it seems. As a result of this, it’s now time that hotel and travel operators are jumping on board with this - and engaging with these views to show that they care about these potential business opportunities. Creating an unforgettable experience One of the biggest travel trends that we are likely to see is companies around the world creating an unforgettable experience for their guests - whether that’s greeting them on arrival with a ‘lovely to see you’ or a small personalised gift in their bedroom. It’s all about creating the memory that everyone will remember forever. What travel trends are you expecting to see this year? Let us know over on the Twitter #GBLOVES Greasy spoons have always been the norm for a delicious, traditional full English breakfast. But with the introduction of the cereal cafe, there’s some stiff competition! It’s become one of the hottest ways to spend the day and has quickly pushed the popular brunch to one side. Up and down the U.K. cafes have sprouted up offering amazing selection of cereals, different milks and toppings which are served up in the funkiest, instagrammable cafes we could only dream of. They’ve proven to be so in demand that they are now branching out from independent cafes, to join forces with hotels around the world. Here’s why: They are a unique selling point For those hotels that are independent, boutique or that are just full of character, having a cereal cafe within its doors offers guests a new and fun experience of their hotel. It will work as a unique selling point - and might just be the sort of thing people are looking for. After all, it’s beats the run of the mill buffet breakfast! Perfect for hanging out Overdue catch up with friends? Then the cereal cafe is the perfect way to chill out, catch up and play games (if you’ve not been to one already, think retro board games that we all know and love). It could drive a new audience into the hotel - especially if there’s no other cafe in the area. Everyone loves cereal It’s delicious, fun and you can choose to be healthy or not! It’s a delightful treat to enjoy at any point throughout the day - and our only other thoughts are there should be more! Let us know what you think over on the blog #GBLOVES Online influencers have been around for some time - blogging or Instagramming the hottest place to be or the newest product that you need in your life. Predominately, it's had a huge impact on the fashion world with many fashionista's using their digital presence to create a hub to show off the latest trends. Unlike 'celebrities' or reality TV stars, the majority of these influencers have come from normal backgrounds and are not always paid or gifted to promote said brand. Instead, they are creating their own digital presence to share what they are interested in and passionate about them to showcase their thoughts and feelings to us. And what we love about this is that we can really invest into them to tell us their real opinion which helps us sway our decision if we want to buy or visit the product(s) they're promoting. For the GB Team, we find by following our favourite 'influencers' we are able to discover the latest, coolest bar - or the best new burger place to hit town (and if you're like us, you'll have seen all of these influencers passing through your suggested people to follow on Instagram...) For many brands - large and independent - teaming up with an influencer can have a number of great impacts to your business. We've pulled together some of the reasons why...
For the past few years, there's been a huge focus on creating a sustainable world to live in - from cutting plastic bags in supermarkets, using less water when we shower and switching electrical things off when don't need to use them. Through making these simple changes in our daily lives, we can help reduce waste and conserve natural resources. most importantly, we are helping to protect Mother Earth and the environment in which we live. Already, going green has had a huge impact on the hospitality world - and more recently here in the U.K. there could be a ban of plastic straws in our pubs and restaurants. In the hotel world, green travel is rapidly on the rise with many travellers considering how green a hotel is before their stay. Today, we take a look at how and why hotels around the world are doing their bit to help towards protecting our environment. Changing the modern hotel key Plastic key cards are present in most hotels across the globe. They may look great, but they are made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) as part of a toxic manufactoring process. To go green, these cards are being replaced by options such as wood, paprt and bioplastic that are great for the enivironment and will too stand the test of time Hotel food preparation Going 'local' is one of the unique point of sales that many restaurants and hotel guests love. More and more hotels are now putting this at the forefront of their hotels to showcase they they now offer sustainable and healthy dishes in a sustainable way. Look at the lighting Where possible, many hotels are using daylighting senses that will light up when needed in those places that people might only be passing by now and again - for example the lobby toilets, any office areas and in exterior parts Recycling Across hotels, you may already see the options to reycle - just like you would at home to encourage you to continue doing your bit for the environment Wildlife habitat Properties that offer extensive lands are now building homes for the outside wildlife - so frogs, beetles and insects will have a little home for the night to eat and sleep! Going green is great for both the environment and also the hotel as it creates a number of benefits, including: Lower costs for the hotel Any sustainable property must reduce the consumption of water and energy and in order to do so will often introduce a system which helps maintain in and avoid wasting energy that's not always necessarily used. Customer loyality If you include being green as part of our brand, then guests who agree with what you're doing will become loyal to you and will be quick to tell their friends and family about you. Market leader While the number of hotels going green is still rising, being one step ahead of the game will put you in good stead with customers and those who understand the importance of being green, and will help create you an advantage over your competitors. Let us know your thoughts on hotel going green over on Twitter #GBLOVES Us Brits LOVE our hot drinks. Whether it’s coffee, tea, hot chocolate we are all over it. (Hey, we do live in a rainy country 90% off the time)! In today’s ever changing food and drink world, our favourite bars and restaurants are focusing on one thing, and one thing only: fabulous Tea and Coffee. They’re now offering up such a varied and delicious selection it’s so hard to choose one! This year following an increase demand, the hospitality world is shaking things up to make out hot beverages even more indulgent and exciting. Here’s how.... Coffee cocktails Coffee mixed with booze? Yes, please! Now we’ve probably all tried the classics (Irish coffee, espresso martini etc) but this year, we’re set to see wonderfully talented bar tenders shaking things up behind the bar and whipping up some amazing concoctions such as a popcorn frappe. It’s set to the one of the biggest - if not the greatest - introduction of 2018 and we cannot wait. Watch this space... Health kick hot drinks Everyone is on a diet. Everyone is healthy eating. And soon enough, everyone will be healthy drinking! Another big trend this year is to see the rise of the healthy hot drink to allow those leading a healthy lifestyle to stick with it without the distraction of the unhealthy hot drink on the way to work. Say goodbye to chocolate sprinkled over you Cappuccino and welcome its new replacement, protein shakes! Cold bottled coffee Remember when ice tea was introduced and the world went crazy for it? Well, here we go again - we have cold bottle coffee that’s slowly building its reputation in the hospitality industry. It’s made up of steeping coffee beans in water for 24 hours and then bottling it up. We haven’t tried it yet, but it’s on the list! Let us know what you think of the new trends over on Twitter #GBLOVES |
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