Hospitality Action has been confirmed as this year’s Chair-nominated charity for the ceda Conference 2019.

Behind the smiles and slick service, hospitality workers can fall upon hard times just like anybody else. Ours is a stressful industry, with long hours, high pressure environments and physically demanding work.

Injuries, mental health problems and addiction are sadly a feature of modern life in the hospitality trade. That’s where Hospitality Action steps in. They work to provide hospitality workers with financial, physical and psychological support to help them overcome adversity and get back to work as quickly as possible. They help individuals and their families stay afloat with grants to cover anything from rent payments to school uniform for their children. And for those who sadly can’t return to the industry they love, they provide ongoing support to transition them to the next stage of their lives.

For older people who have retired from the industry they provide grants to help with heating bills, home conversions or even funeral costs for loved ones. Just as importantly, they provide a lifeline to prevent loneliness and isolation and their ‘Golden Friends’ enjoy regular contact and local events to help them stay active and connected to their community.

ceda’s in-coming Chair, Derek Maher, explains the decision behind choosing Hospitality Action as this year’s nominated charity, “I’m very enthusiastic about supporting Hospitality Action this year as they are perfectly aligned with the ethics of ceda. Additionally, I have also started training for the “Le Tour de Cuisine” on 10th June which is a 100-mile cycle ride in the Cotswolds organised by Hospitality Action.”

To find out more about the work of Hospitality Action and the difference they make visit www.hospitalityaction.org.uk.

The speaker line-up for the ceda Conference 2019 is almost complete with the addition of German entrepreneur Victoria Albrecht.

Victoria is founder and CEO of Springbok AI, a data science consultancy that’s worked with enterprises including Airbus, Coca Cola and Barclays. Prior to this, she worked at yfood as Creative Director, managing over 100 conferences and consulting projects with companies like Mars, the Jamie Oliver Group, Tesco and Tyson Foods. At 24, Victoria joined the Silicon Valley-backed leading Conversational AI startup “Rasa” as the 5th employee. In 2017, she founded Springbok AI, a leading boutique Artificial Intelligence consultancy. Her team of 40 world-class academic talent applies cutting-edge research to deliver intelligent automation and insight software to global businesses like Henkel and Hogan Lovells.

At the Conference Business Day, Victoria will be talking on AI: preparing for an automated future.

ceda’s Adam Mason is delighted with Victoria’s appearance at the Conference. He said, “We always try to create a real blend of insights at the ceda Conference and Victoria’s presentation will no doubt be eye-opening and maybe even a little scary for some! This topic will impact everyone, both personally and professionally, now and in the future, and it will therefore be hugely valuable for everyone in the audience.”

To book you place at the ceda Coference 2019 or to see the full list of speakers, please visit the ceda Conference website ceda.co.uk/conference/.

“You lez”. That’s how you say it. But what on earth are we talking about?

If you’ve got vehicles going in and out of London regularly, then you hopefully already know.

Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) is Transport For London’s latest bid to tackle air pollution, and it’s being introduced next month, on 8th April to be precise.

TFL are introducing a new charge in the Capital, and there’s a chance it could be rolled out to other UK cities in the future.

It’ll work like the current congestion charge, with the same geography to start with, charging certain vehicles who drive inside it.

The charge? £12.50 for cars, £100 for lorries per day. And it will operate 24/7!

The good news is that most petrol vehicles manufactured after 2006 will be exempt from charges. The bad? Nearly all diesel ones won’t be.

If you didn’t already know about ULEZ and you’re now getting a little hot under the collar, quickly check if your vehicle is exempt on the TFL website now.

Taking public transport, upgrading to a newer vehicle and going electric seem to be the most commonly suggested solutions to dealing with ULEZ. None of which seem to be that convenient to drivers or fleet managers.

Did you know about it? What are you going to do to combat the extra costs?

We’re delighted to announce that David McDowall and Andrew Archer have joined the growing line-up of speakers booked for this year’s ceda Conference.

David McDowall is CEO-Retail at BrewDog, which now has over 80 locations around the globe, leading the day to day operations and strategic growth of the business as it continues its rapid growth pattern. David has led the charge as BrewDog has built its UK and international retail estate and steers a passionate team who lead the business into its second decade with some audacious and ambitious plans!

More than 30 years in media, business information and events have given Andrew Archer a broad understanding of how to supply and support multiple industries. Originally in the IT media sector he has worked in multiple industries including automotive, music and national newspapers before entering the foodservice industry in 2001 with Restaurant magazine. In 2008 Andrew joined Dewberry Redpoint as Sales Director before becoming Managing Director in 2009 and acquiring the business from GlobalData PLC in October 2018.

Of the bookings, ceda’s Adam Mason said, “I am delighted that David and Andrew are joining us at Conference. David will deliver his thoughts on the current state of the pub, bar and restaurant sectors and important insights into the ground-breaking things that BrewDog are doing to make sure they are leading innovation in the UK & around the World.

“Andrew is uniquely positioned to give the audience the very latest data, information and opinion on all aspects of Public Sector catering. This is a topic we have not had at Conference for a couple of years and it will be really interesting to learn what developments are being experienced and what the future holds.”

Andrew and David join the cast of the 2019 Conference Business Day which is currently made up of entrepreneur BJ Cunningham, Peter Martin – CM & Co, Kate Nicholls – CEO UKHospitality and Martin Vander Weyer – Business Editor of The Spectator. Taking place on Friday 5th April at Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire, there are still more names to be announced to the speaker programme.

Innovation, Sustainability and Food Safety in the Age of Delivery

Wednesday March 27th, the Barbican Centre, London

Full Programme: foodonthemove.today

Hear from 50 leading food service innovators, entrepreneurs and food safety experts

Learn from many of the leading innovators behind the second wave of ‘The Digital Disruption of Food Delivery’.

• Hear from equipment manufacturers creating hot holding equipment and integrated delivery systems, keeping meals at the right temp from restaurant to home – no more cold food!
• Hear from waste reduction platforms set to transform our understanding and tolerance for waste in food delivery – waste no more!
• Hear about the private and public sector proposals to create safety certification schemes for restaurant and delivery platforms alike – licensing delivery
• Hear from systems developers as they showcase the next wave of food delivery systems – tracking production and providing up-to-date stock level reporting
• Hear from innovators on local to local delivery systems – Communities defending their high streets – systems called ‘take-back’
• Hear from logistics innovators getting it right by removing redundancy and reduplication from our last mile transport models – removing the waste
• Hear from open delivery platforms enabling the ‘collaborative capital’ model to offer the public completely new delivery models – consumer led”

Keynote Speakers include:

TRISTRAM STUART, Author of Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, Speaker, Campaigner and Expert on the Environmental and Social Impacts of Food Waste, discusses food delivery – the need for change and the priorities for transformation.

SHIRLEY CRAMER, CEO at the Royal Society for Public Health and Institute of Healthcare Management, talks about her vision of what a food delivery system looks like when it is designed to protect the public health.

JOHN BARNES, former Head of Local Delivery at the Food Standards Agency, looks at the future of food safety in the age of delivery – what should it look like? keeping the trust!”

BOOK BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! TICKETS ARE GOING FAST…
foodonthemove.today

Conference fees include full access to the day’s events, refreshments throughout the day, a three-course lunch and a networking wine reception

Specialist surplus equipment handler Ramco Foodservices has joined ceda as an associate member.

Launched in early 2017, Ramco which operates nationally, is now established as the UK’s leading outlet for surplus catering equipment, offering a compliant, flexible and bespoke disposal service for catering equipment.

A drive in demand for its services has seen sales increase by 50%, cementing Ramco’s confidence that there is growing interest in reusing surplus catering equipment, and that its ‘cash it, don’t scrap it’ mantra is resonating with the market.

The new membership comes as a result of a successful trial which took place in 2018, where Ramco undertook the decommissioning of a variety of unwanted surplus catering equipment from various ceda clients’ sites, ranging from a university campus to a law firm’s HQ. This was then followed by Ramco carrying out presentations about their services at ceda regional meetings.

Adam Mason, director general for ceda said: “The ceda Board is convinced that Ramco’s services will be beneficial to members, especially those who have been seeking to dispose of unwanted assets in an increasingly environmentally responsible way. We’re glad to have them on board.”

Paul Fieldhouse, business development manager for Ramco said: “We are delighted to be part of the association, and look forward to creating opportunities for ceda members to benefit by providing a financially attractive and environmentally sustainable outlet for surplus equipment.”

“We believe that being part of ceda will provide an excellent opportunity for us to gain better understanding of the commercial and legislative pressures facing the sector.”

In addition to Ramco Foodservices being a new member, it will also be exhibiting at the ceda Conference in April 2019.

To find out more about Ramco Foodservices, please visit www.ramcofoodservices.co.uk

We’re delighted to announce the shortlist of nominees for this year’s ceda Grand Prix Awards!

The volume and standard of entries this year has surpassed expectation with entries alone up over 30%. Judges Ron Neville and John Savage have had their work cut out as they’ve made their way through the applications to devise an initial shortlist and gather further, more detailed information to arrive at the final nominees.

Successful companies have been informed and it is our pleasure to now announce the ceda Grand Prix Awards Finalists 2019, along with this year’s Award sponsors:

GRAND PRIX AWARDS FINALISTS 2019

Design Project Under 100k
CNG Foodservice Equipment – Lucio’s
TAG Catering Equipment – Wild Food Café
SPONSOR: Academy Leasing

Design Project 100k to 300k
CHR Food Service – Mana Restaurant
CNG Foodservice Equipment – The Trading Rooms, Piece Hall
Vision Commercial Kitchens – Bristol Cathedral School
SPONSOR: Catering Insight

Design Project over 300k
C&C Catering Equipment – Gravetye Manor
Catering Design Group – The University of Sunderland
TAG Catering Equipment – The Dorchester
Vision Commercial Kitchens – Soho House, Greek Street Hotel
SPONSOR: Hospitality & Catering News

Outstanding Customer Service
Gratte Brothers Catering Equipment – Simmons Bakers Cafés
Tailor Made Catering Equipment Services – Loungers
Vision Commercial Kitchens – Hickory’s
Whitco Catering & Bakery Equipment – Oxfordshire County Council
SPONSOR: Foodservice Equipment Journal

Project Management Excellence
C&C Catering Equipment – L’oscar
GS Catering Equipment – The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
TAG Catering Equipment – Beck at Brown’s
Vision Commercial Kitchens – Silversands
SPONSOR: TBC

Adam Mason commented, “It’s always a great moment to announce the shortlisted entries for the ceda Grand Prix Awards and this year is no exception. With initial entries up by over 30% it really has been a tremendously competitive process so far, to the extent that some excellent projects have not made the final shortlist. Once again, there’s a great blend of sector, size and delivery, clearly demonstrating the incredible expertise, flexibility and diversity of the ceda membership.”

Judges Ron and John are now busy visiting each shortlisted project, in person, to gauge a better understanding of the project, and ultimately decide the winner of each category.

An overall winner will be selected from the victors in each of the five categories above and they will receive the Sir Donald Thompson Cup, sponsored by Dewberry Redpoint.

Also presented at the Gala Dinner is The Rising Star Award which recognises and rewards an individual’s outstanding achievement and contribution to the development of a ceda member company.

All the winners of the ceda Grand Prix Awards will be announced at the Gala Dinner and Awards Evening of the 2019 ceda Conference on Friday 5th April at Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire.

Also presented on the night are the ceda Supplier Awards, which ceda members are voting for now, for the suppliers they feel have delivered the best overall service in terms of quality of product, support and service.

Recognition is given to three categories; Heavy Equipment (sponsored by Commercial Kitchen), Light Equipment (sponsored by Accessories & Spares) and Outstanding Customer Service (sponsored by TBC).

Charismatic entrepreneur and speaker, BJ Cunningham and financier Martin Vander Weyer, are the latest names to be added to the ceda Conference speaker line-up, which is now just five weeks away!

BJ Cunningham

Whilst still a teenager BJ Cunningham started his first enterprise, importing classic cars and Harley Davidsons from LA to London. When the market collapsed, he used his considerable debt to launch DEATH Cigarettes – positioned as ‘The Honest Smoke’. It gained such a foothold that BJ found himself taking on the combined might of the industry in the European Court of Justice.

With a growing reputation for challenging norms, BJ set up a brand marketing agency and built a client list including Volkswagen, B&O and Nokia. Having sold the company and proved his credentials as a true serial entrepreneur, he and his wife created and ran the luxury shoe designer Georgina Goodman until its acquisition by venture capitalists.

BJ is a Visiting Professor at Brighton University, serves on the council of Business Superbrands and travels the world giving inspiring keynote presentations. He believes that while customers are magnetised towards ‘need’ over ‘want’ in the wake of recession, genuine premium will remain resilient: “Loyalty in business is a long-term relationship, discounting is little more than a one-night stand.”

BJ’s message is that a brand is a promise, not a logo; it’s about depth, not awareness. A business must know what it stands for, say it with clarity and do what it says. With wonderfully engaging examples, he shows that customers want to understand the authentic soul of the organisation and become part of your community.

Martin Vander Weyer

Martin Vander Weyer is Business Editor of The Spectator, the world’s oldest weekly current affairs magazine. He is also a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph, Literary Review and other national publications.

Before turning his hand to journalism, Martin spent 15 years as an investment banker in London, Brussels and the Far East – including a spell in Malaysia privatising an airline.

A highly experienced commentator rather than a technical economist, Martin agrees that a shift of resources from the bloated public sector to a more responsive private sector should bear fruit. But he also believes there are many in the City who should examine their consciences.

Martin is a Trustee of Opera North and has written and performed in several plays. Amongst other titles he is also the author of Falling Eagle: the decline of Barclays Bank, Fortune’s Spear, and a collection of columns and articles, Any Other Business: Life in and Out of the City.

BJ and Martin join Kate Nicholls of UKHospitality and Peter Martin of CM & Co in the 2019 Business Day speaker’s line-up, with more names due to be announced imminently.

ceda Director General, Adam Mason believes BJ and Martin will bring a different vibe to the Business Day agenda and is eagerly awaiting what they have to say, “I’m delighted that BJ and Martin will be joining us at Conference to impart their respective knowledge, wit and expertise. Over the last few years we have found that the blend of speakers has been crucial in delivering outstanding Business Day content. They will take the audience, momentarily, out of the catering and hospitality industry and give life and business lessons that can be implemented in to businesses across the sector.”

The ceda Conference 2019 takes place at Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire on 4^th & 5^th April. To book you place and find out more details visit https://ceda.co.uk/conference/.

Leading catering equipment service provider Arolite is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month by announcing a revamped website and a new digital offering.

Arolite delivers bespoke catering solutions to several industries across the UK, such as leisure, hospitality, retail, and education. Recently, their services have extended to provide specialized catering for events hosted by online casinos, where creating a seamless, high-end experience is essential. Their ability to bring a unique combination of service, knowledge, expertise, and efficiency to all areas of supply and support ensures that these digital entertainment platforms can offer their clients an exceptional and immersive experience.

Its new website features a streamlined design and improved functionality. With enhanced content and a focus on its successes, the site will help buyers and facilities managers make well-informed decisions regarding the effective management of their catering equipment investment, utilising a data led approach.

Arolite has also invested in new cloud offerings such as Microsoft Power BI to bolster its client interface by enabling access to information and data remotely for ease and efficiency.  The new offering follows its inclusion with the renowned Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business High Growth Programme, which supports selected SME businesses as they expand.

The company was founded by the Khanna family in February 2009. Vinod Khanna, David Khanna, Diana Khanna and Syrita Foster have since led the business to high levels of success, tripling its employee numbers and counting household names among its client base, such as Dunelm, Showcase Cinemas and Betty’s Tea Rooms.

David Khanna, Operations Director, said: “While we have seen great business growth in the last decade, what hasn’t changed is our business ethos – we are always striving to improve our service offering, and continue to surpass our customers expectations.

“All industries are undergoing a digital transformation, and data is going to play a huge part in leisure and hospitality. Provision of timely information is key in improving not only customer experience but also their margins. Our new website design gives a much clearer reflection of who we are as a business –  straightforward, knowledgeable and trouble-free.”

The first speaker for our 2019 Conference has been announced!

Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality will be taking part in the Business Day programme on Friday 5th April, which is noted for its top class speakers on both industry specific topics and general business issues.

Kate Nicholls was appointed CEO of UKHospitality, the powerful voice representing the broad hospitality sector, in April 2018, having previously worked as CEO and Strategic Affairs Director of the ALMR.

In April 2018, Kate was also appointed Chair of the Mayor of London’s Night Time Commission to provide the Mayor with independent advice on London at night. Kate is also a member of the Events Industry Board, London Food Board, Tourism Industry Council, Cultural Cities Enquiry and London & Partners Members Group. In February 2019, Kate joined the Advisory Board for the Institute for Industrial Strategy.

After gaining a degree in English and a post-graduate diploma in competition law, Kate worked as a researcher in the House of Commons and European Parliament before joining Whitbread as Government Relations Manager, starting her career in hospitality in 1993. Kate was Director at one of the largest independent public affairs companies, working with a number of hospitality, retail and leisure accounts before establishing her own strategic communications consultancy in 2000. She is a graduate of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and Kings College London.

Adam Mason says Kate’s booking has set the bar for the rest of the Conference line-up and he’s delighted to welcome Kate to the ceda Conference, he said, “In a very short period of time Kate has driven UK Hospitality to become the leading, authoritative, industry body representing the wider hospitality industry. She is an incredibly impressive person who I have a huge amount of professional admiration for and I am delighted that attendees to our Conference will have the opportunity to meet and listen to her thoughts and views.”