H & C News is pleased to be able to share information on food costs and trends for May – from fruit and vegetables, to meat and fish, to dairy – supplied by Prestige Purchasing. Overview Overall CPI for the UK has dropped from 2.8% at last month to 2.4% this month, which is an encouraging sign. Food inflation has risen 1.2% from 3.8% to 5.0% from March to April and … [Read more...]
Porridge: Britons falling back in love with oats for breakfast
If you want to be successful in life, you need to eat humble porridge oats. That’s the findings of research looking into the nation’s breakfast eating habits by agency Smoking Gun’s specialist Food PR team. World famous names from the very top of their industries who face constant strain and need energy to maintain their success are all porridge fans. These range from … [Read more...]
Crown Estate’s plans for St James’s Market in London
The Crown Estate has established a joint venture that will see Canadian real estate company, Oxford Properties, take a 50 per cent stake in the £320 million commercial element of its landmark St James's Market scheme. The deal establishes a strategic partnership based on two 50:50 limited partnerships that will each own 150 year leasehold interests in two blocks located … [Read more...]
Little Chef in danger of disappearing
The familiar – though much reduced - Little Chef brand is in danger of disappearing, its owners have warned. Little Chef had 234 outlets until 2007, when it went into administration, and has been highly visible besides Britain’s A roads for over fifty years. Owners RCapital have been working to revive the brand, reducing the number of outlets to just 83, and employing … [Read more...]
Olive oil: sanity returns
On Thursday last week, sanity returned – for now – to the furore over the European Commission ban on serving customers olive oil in a dipping bowl when the EU’s Agricultural Minister Dacian Ciolos backed down and announced that the proposal has been withdrawn since “It can’t attract, at the moment, broad consumer support”. Lack of political support was as important as … [Read more...]