Show Notes

• Tony Naylor in The Guardian hypothesises on the topic of Too few chefs: how a staffing crisis could change what we eat. A very interesting spin on this glut of new restaurants popping up.

• Another doom and gloom piece according to a report in Reuters says that Higher UK minimum wage to hit hospitality hardest. Not if you're a cleaner, bartender or part-time food server trying to make ends meet. But hey-ho.. they're not the victims here.

• Which is why this is such an amazing story in the International Business News as Lidl boosts salaries above living wage from October in move that will cost supermarket £9m. A move that will have caught their rivals on the back foot. Again.

• Tim Martin must be crying into his vast lake of beer at the news that Sales rise again as Costa and Premier Inn owner Whitbread adopts living wage.

• Another great story coming out of the States by Eater.com is Tom Colicchio Eliminates Tipping During Craft's Lunch Service; Dinner Could Follow. It seems that tipping in America is all dollars and no sense - you do the math! Ba-doom-tish.

• Ed Cumming of The Guardian meets the faceless food critic whose mouth-watering pictures guide the great and the good and asks: Who is Clerkenwell Boy, London’s foodie superhero? Check it out just for the pictures.

• Here's an Exclusive Offer worth booking: Enjoy a spectacular one off Champagne Afternoon Tea in the Orangery at Blenheim Palace courtesy of Searcy's. Your ticket can be exchanged for a year-round pass to the palace grounds, Now that IS good value - who knew?

Competitions worth entering

Get your younger members of the service team to enter the Gold Service Scholarship. This really is a fantastic opportunity to learn from the best in the industry. 

If you are a more seasoned operator, then why not consider entering the National Restaurant Manager of the Year competition open to anyone across the entire industry. And before you count yourself out, the last two winners have included someone from Contract Catering at BaxterStorey not to mention the high street chain Cafe Rouge.

Resources to help you avoid wasting stuff:

• A pressing engagement: what to do with a glut of apples? asks Xanthe Clay in The Telegraph. Some great tips here.

• Waste not, Want not: 5 tips to reduce your food waste is a great article for restaurateurs who practice sustainability.

• If you're more concerned about the cost of your energy, then look no further than Glynn Purnell’s Top 10 Energy Saving Tips - just the article for you brought to you by those great guys over at Hospitality & Catering News.

Management Tip - Developing Employees

This is a great article featured in Forbes - go with me here! - with eight ways to develop employees, keep them engaged, and increase the probability they will remain with the organization: 8 Key Tactics For Developing Employees. Some great pointers worth taking back to the office.

Campaign: Please Sign - and share - this Food Tech A-level Petition.

Food Teachers are campaigning to save the Food Technology A-Level.

Please read this very compelling Open Letter to the DfE by Food Tech teacher Rachel Richards and support their campaign on Twitter @FoodTCentre and use the hashtag #savefoodtechAlevel.

Here you'll find the consultation paper (Food tech on page 17)  - respond before 24 September 2015.