Category Archives: Food & drink industry

Pret a Manger raises pay for second time in a year amid staff shortages

Posted on by

Sandwich shop chain to increase pay by 5% for most cafe workers, with higher rates for baristas

Pret a Manger is investing £10m in raising pay, announcing its third rise in 13 months to a minimum of £10.30 an hour, as hospitality and retail businesses compete to attract workers during the busy run-up to Christmas.

The sandwich shop chain, which has more than 400 outlets in the UK, said it was increasing pay by 5% or 50p an hour for most cafe workers from 1 December. Pay for skilled baristas, who are particularly in short supply, will rise from a minimum of £10.30 to £10.85 – an extra 5p.

Continue reading...

Family of woman who had fatal reaction to ‘vegan’ wrap call for better testing

Posted on by

Celia Marsh’s family say more people will die unless testing throughout food industry is improved

The family of a woman with a severe dairy allergy who suffered a fatal reaction after eating a “vegan” Pret a Manger wrap contaminated with milk protein have warned that more people will die unless comprehensive testing throughout the food supply chain and better labelling is introduced.

Celia Marsh’s family also said they believed the 42-year-old dental nurse would still be alive if a company that made a coconut yoghurt added to the wrap had informed Pret there was a risk it could have been contaminated because it was made in a factory that used milk.

Continue reading...

Gordon Ramsay gin ad banned over nutritional claims

Posted on by

Scottish producer Eden Mill made claims about ingredients on its Instagram and Facebook pages

An ad campaign for celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s new gin has been banned for making nutritional claims that are not allowed under UK marketing rules.

Ramsay, known for his restaurant empire and shows such as Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen, launched his first gin last year in partnership with the Scottish producer Eden Mill.

Continue reading...

California’s fast-food industry calls for referendum on new labor legislation

Posted on by

Law provides for councils to represent workers, but opponents claim menu prices will increase and restaurants will close

The fast-food industry is seeking to overturn one of the most significant labor wins in recent American history by trying to scrap a new law in California that will establish an industry council for the sector on wage standards and other regulations, including safety.

The Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, AB 257, was signed into law by the California governor, Gavin Newsom, on 5 September in what is seen as a huge fillip to a US labor movement seeking to capitalize on a wave of unionization drives.

Continue reading...

Which businesses will be open or shut on the day of the Queen’s funeral?

Posted on by

Many shops, cinemas, pubs and airports are choosing to limit their hours on Monday

Since it was confirmed last Saturday that Queen Elizabeth’s funeral would be held on Monday 19 September, a slew of businesses and services have said they will be reducing operations or closing for all or part of the day as a mark of respect.

With the day declared a bank holiday, many employers have given staff the entire day off and most shops will be closed. So what will be open on Monday and when?

Continue reading...

UK food price inflation hits highest level since global financial crash

Posted on by

Prices in shops rose by 5.1% in August, British Retail Consortium finds, as the war in Ukraine pushes up prices up for farmers

The rapidly rising price of food including milk, margarine and crisps pushed August shop price inflation to the highest levels since 2008 as the war in Ukraine raised costs for farmers.

Prices in shops rose by 5.1%, a big increase from 4.4% in July, as food producers passed on increases in the cost of fertiliser, wheat and vegetable oils, large amounts of which are produced in Ukraine and Russia, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and market research firm NielsenIQ.

Continue reading...

Kenyan tea pickers on Scottish-run farm to pursue health issues in UK court

Posted on by

Prolonged bending to gather tea for James Finlay Kenya is argued to accelerate ageing of pickers’ backs by up to 20 years

More than a 1,000 Kenyan tea pickers who say that harsh and exploitative working conditions on a Scottish-run tea farm have caused them crippling health complaints can now pursue their class action in an Edinburgh court.

Lawyers acting for the tea pickers have won an order from the court of session, Scotland’s highest civil court, telling James Finlay Kenya Ltd (JFK) to abandon attempts to block the suit through the Kenyan courts.

Continue reading...

Ben & Jerry’s lose bid to block sale of ice-cream in Israeli West Bank settlements

Posted on by

Damage to Vermont-based company’s reputation of licensee’s sales in occupied Palestinian territories ‘too speculative’, US judge rules

Ben & Jerry’s has lost its attempt to block its parent company Unilever from selling its ice-cream in West Bank settlements, which the US firm said would run counter to its values.

The company, known for its political activism, took the unusual step seeking an injunction after London-based Unilever announced it had sold its interest in the ice-cream to an Israeli license-holder.

Continue reading...

Pro-Putin rapper reopens former Starbucks coffee shops in Russia

Posted on by

Timati and co-owner Anton Pinskiy have rebranded it as Stars Coffee after buying the rights to the chain

A pro-Putin rapper has reopened the chain of coffee shops formerly owned by Starbucks under a new name, Stars Coffee, the latest high-profile rebranding of a major western chain after an unprecedented corporate exodus from Russia.

On Thursday, the rapper Timati and restaurateur Anton Pinskiy, the duo that acquired the rights to the chain in Russia, attended the opening of the first of the 130 cafes previously owned by Starbucks. During the opening in central Moscow, the pair also revealed the chain’s new logo, which replaces Starbucks’s iconic siren with a woman wearing the traditional Russian kokoshnik headdress, but is otherwise fairly similar.

Continue reading...

Japan tax office launches campaign to help encourage drinking

Posted on by

Contest asks young adults for ideas to revitalise popularity of alcoholic drinks after big fall in tax revenues

The Japanese government has launched a nationwide competition calling for ideas to encourage people to drink more alcohol after a change in attitudes among the young resulted in a slide in tax revenues.

The Sake Viva! campaign, which is being run by the National Tax Agency (NTA), asks 20- to 39-year-olds to come up with proposals to help revitalise the popularity of alcoholic drinks, which have fallen out of favour because of lifestyle changes during the coronavirus pandemic and among young people.

Continue reading...

Revealed: Indonesian workers on UK farm ‘at risk of debt bondage’

Posted on by

As farms look further afield for labour, investigation finds Kent pickers saying they struggle to pay fees charged by unlicensed brokers

Indonesian labourers picking berries on a farm that supplies Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco say they have been saddled with debts of up to £5,000 by unlicensed foreign brokers to work in Britain for a single season.

Pickers at the farm in Kent were initially given zero-hours contracts, and at least one was paid less than £300 a week after the cost of using a caravan was deducted, according to payslips and other documents seen as part of a Guardian investigation.

Continue reading...

Production of French salers cheese halted due to drought

Posted on by

Farmers in Auvergne despair as cows cannot be fed on grass left parched by hot summer

Traditional cheese has become the latest casualty of France’s summer drought, as production of the salers variety in the central Auvergne region was halted due to a lack of grass for cows.

Salers is an unpasteurised cow’s cheese that has been made for centuries in central France. It carries France’s appellation d’origine protégée (AOP) stamp of approval, meaning it is unique to the small area where it is produced.

Continue reading...

Salt Bae’s London restaurant reports £7m in sales in its first three months

Posted on by

Nusret Gökçe’s ‘ludicrous’ Nusr-Et Steakhouse charges more than £600 for a tomahawk steak

The London restaurant of Salt Bae, a flamboyant, condiment-sprinkling chef, has reported £7m in sales in its first three months.

Nusr-Et Steakhouse, the outlet at the Park Tower hotel in Knightsbridge known for outrageously priced items such as tomahawk steaks wrapped in gold, also made pre-tax profits of £2.3m in the year to December having only opened its doors in late September, according to accounts filed at Companies House first reported by The National.

Continue reading...

Starbucks workers hold strikes in at least 17 states amid union drive

Posted on by

Workers allege over 75 people have been fired in retaliation for organizing this year

Workers at Starbucks have held over 55 different strikes in at least 17 states in the US in recent months over the company’s aggressive opposition to a wave of unionization.

According to an estimate by Starbucks Workers United, the strikes have cost Starbucks over $375,000 in lost revenue. The union created a $1m strike fund in June 2022 to support Starbucks workers through their strikes and several relief funds have been established for strikes and to support workers who have lost their jobs.

Continue reading...

Domino’s retreats from Italy having failed to conquer the home of pizza

Posted on by

After seven years and an ambitious plan to open 880 outlets, US chain’s local franchise files for bankruptcy

Domino’s Pizza has pulled out of the Italian market after failing in its mission to conquer the home of pizza.

The US fast food chain’s departure from Italy after seven years followed a period in which the business was badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which in turn forced traditional Italian pizzerias to adopt their own delivery services.

Continue reading...

Italy taking Slovenia to court over balsamic vinegar name row

Posted on by

Government says Slovenian plans to ‘standardise’ use of name threaten traditional producers in Modena

The Italian government is launching infringement proceedings against Slovenia in an attempt to defend the authenticity of its famed, geographically protected balsamic vinegar.

Relations between the two countries turned sour last year when Slovenia notified the European Commission of its plans to “standardise” its vinegar production, essentially seeking to market any wine vinegar mixed with concentrated fruit juice or must as “balsamic vinegar”.

Continue reading...

Two-thirds of UK’s top restaurants in the red after Brexit, Covid and inflation

Posted on by

Meanwhile £700m of support funds in business rates relief remains unpaid by local councils

Debt repayments, staff shortages and rising energy bills have pushed almost two-thirds of the UK’s top 100 restaurants into the red, according to research that reveals the impact of the pandemic, Brexit and the cost of living crisis on the hospitality sector.

With a recession looming and further increases in energy bills weighing on businesses, a separate report found that £700m of business rates relief remains unpaid with only half of English councils paying out the support funds.

Continue reading...

No 46 to Le Manoir: Raymond Blanc funds local bus service to restaurant

Posted on by

Hourly bus serves local villages and brings staff – and sometimes customers – to Michelin-starred restaurant

With rural buses in long-term decline and a funding crisis putting more routes in peril, a surprising service has appeared on the English transport menu: the No 46 bus to Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.

Raymond Blanc’s celebrated restaurant and hotel in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside may not appear classic bus territory. The Michelin-starred establishment’s seven-course dinner with matching wines starts at £350 a head, rising to just over £1,000 if you want to drink the good stuff.

Continue reading...

British wine wholesaler to leave UK over post-Brexit paperwork

Posted on by

Daniel Lambert, who supplies M&S, Waitrose and 300 independent retailers, to set up in France after £150,000 hole in revenue

A British wine wholesaler who last year criticised Brexit as the biggest threat to his business in 30 years has decided to leave the UK after post-Brexit paperwork made a £150,000 hole in revenue.

Daniel Lambert, who supplies Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and 300 independent retailers, is moving to Montpellier in France later this week with his wife and two teenage children.

Continue reading...

Prices fall as UK heatwave produces glut of soft fruit

Posted on by

Yields of cherries, strawberries and blueberries could more than double on the same time last year

The UK heatwave has produced a glut in strawberry, cherry and blueberry harvests prompting a wave of discounts in stores and lower prices for British farmers.

Strawberry farmers said they were picking as much as 30% more fruit than usual, and blueberry growers at least 50% more this week as temperatures topped 40C on Tuesday in some parts of England. Yields are expected to be double that of the same week last year in the week ahead. Blackberry harvests are expected to be up 80% on the same time last year this week according to the British Berry Growers association.

Continue reading...