Pubs in Uproar Over Planning for Marquees & Temporary Shelters
Pubs across the country are fearing that local councils will sting them for outdoor planning permission in the build up to the end of lockdown in April.
From April 12 pubs and outlets can offer a takeaway menu and customers can sit outside but some places have been asked to pay for planning permission to put up marquees and temporary shelters.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick urged councils to cut the red tape to help the struggling pubs industry, which supports 900,000 jobs. He told The Mail on Sunday: “We’re all looking forward to seeing pubs, cafes and restaurants open again. I’m determined we don’t let red tape get in the way of a great British summer.”
Mel Green, manager of the Black Bull pub in Otley, North Yorkshire is afraid she will have to stay shut until May following a bill for £234. This was for permission for a temporary shelter in her beer garden although the structure consists of just plastic sheeting over the top of old beer barrels. Leeds City Council officials declared permission was needed because The Black Bull is situated in a conservation area.
“It’s just another thing on the list of things to deal with,” Mel told The Mail on Sunday: “Surely you can’t get more in keeping with the conservation of an old pub than beer barrels? I wouldn’t know where to start with planning permission, I’m a publican.”
Georgette Way, landlady of the Cheltenham Motor Club real ale bar, revealed she faces a £600 bill to put up a wooden pagoda covering four tables in her car park. At the same time, pubs and restaurants in Central London are receiving £100 bills following a Westminster Council decision to force businesses to re-apply for pavement licences.
Greg Mulholland, of the Campaign for Pubs, said: “Landlords are tearing their hair out.
“They can’t understand why they are being forced to fill out forms and jump through these ridiculous hoops at a time when they are facing oblivion.”
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, called for a suspension of red tape. “We urge councils to have a bit of common sense and take a pragmatic view to relax the rules,” she said. “We need to get the economy moving and we can’t afford to let needless red tape get in the way.”
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CEO Joseph Burke said
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Fred Sirieix at Wormwood Scrubs
Fred Sirieix has announced he is to open a second prison-based restaurant. Following the success of the first, opened by his charity The Right Course, at HMP Isis in Thamesmead he will now open a similar restaurant at Wormwood Scrubs.
The Right Course is a charity set up by Fred Sirieix to train up prisoners in hospitality and give them the skills they need to get jobs upon release from prison. The venues are opened in what were prison staff restaurants and are operated as of they were on the high street.
Fred said on Twitter: “Very excited to announce the opening of our 2nd The Right Course #charity #restaurant @ HMP Wormwood #Scrubs in early April.”
The Wormwood Scrubs project will feature both a coffee shop and a full table service restaurant. Fred explained: “The aim is to ensure offenders learn the skills and values of hospitality so that upon release they can gain employment thus reducing re-offending (currently about 50%) and helping to solve the skills and staff shortage in the restaurant hospitality business.”
Prisoners can get the chance to cook alongside chefs from some of London’s elite restaurants. Chefs who have taken part so far include Jose Pizarro, Chris Galvin and Joo Won (Galvin at Windows).
Positive News For Hospitality From Budget Announcement Yesterday
There has been a positive reaction in hospitality to the budget announced yesterday. The hospitality sector received the good news of an extension to the business rates holiday through to the end of June as well as news of a new restart grant up to £18,000 which will be introduced from next month.
VAT applied to food both eat-in and takeaway will remain at 5% for a further six months until the 30th September. The same applies to accommodation and attractions. After this date the rate will rise to 12.5% for a further six months.
Alcohol duty will be frozen for a further year. Businesses will be expected to start contributing 10% of employees’ wages towards the furlough scheme from July, and then 20% in August and September.
Chancellor Sunak said in his speech:
“We’re going long, extending our support well beyond the end of the roadmap to accommodate even the most cautious view about the time it might take to exit the restrictions.”
The government is doubling incentive payments to businesses to £3,000 for all new apprentice hires of any age, alongside investing £126m in traineeships. Bounceback and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan schemes will be replaced with a new recovery loan scheme. Businesses of any size can apply for loans from £25,000 up to £10m through to the end of this year, and the government will provide a guarantee to lenders of up to 80%.
From April 2021 this will cut companies’ tax bill by 25p for every pound they invest in new equipment, which Sunak described as “the biggest business tax cut in modern British history”.
Matthew Brend, Director at Brend Group (Brend Hotels) commented on Twitter:
“Considering the level of borrowing, @RishiSunak has again shown his support to hospitality with the announced VAT cut extension, rates holiday & other measures. He had us sweating for a minute, but he’s come through with some much-needed support to help the industry rebuild.”
What do you think of the budget? Let us know.
Get your Pub Kitchen Ready by Investing in the Future Now!
There has never been a more important time than now for pubs to understand how kitchen technology can pay serious dividends as the hospitality sector begins to open up and the first customers start to return.
Starting this month in partnership with The Chefs’ Forum Rational are serving up 5, 45 minute webinar demonstrations, called Rational Pubs Live online to explain and reveal how their latest equipment can change the way your kitchen operates.
Why this is a big deal and why you should definitely tune in
By combining the Rational cooking systems, with the iVario Pro and iCombi Pro, 95% of all conventional cooking applications can be achieved whilst at the same time achieving space savings of up to 40%
By attending the Pubs Live online webinar, you can discover how to use the Rational cooking systems and deliver a return on your investment. You will also learn how to maximise your energy output, increase production, reduce cooking time and, most importantly produce consistent, high-quality dishes with minimum effort.
To celebrate the launch of the Pub Live online programme, Rational is offering £325 worth of free accessories* to any attendees who purchase an iCombi Pro and/or iVario Pro cooking system following the event.
Do something wholly worthwhile today and call Rebecca Saunders to book onto the session on 07710 637917 or email rebecca@redcherry.uk.com There are plenty of dates to choose from and it promises to be forty-five minutes very well spent!
Event Dates:
- Thursday 11th March – 2.30-3.30pm
- Tuesday 16th March – 10-11am
- Wednesday 17th March – 2.30-3.30pm
- Tuesday 23rd March – 2.30-3.30pm
- Monday 29th March – 2.30-3.30pm
* Terms & Conditions apply
Hope Kitchen: Chef Dale Spink Thinks “It’s Time to go Back to the Old-School Ways”
Private chef and restaurateur Dale Spink has teamed up with Vulnerable Citizen Support to start Hope Kitchen. A gourmet soup kitchen with a mission to deliver hundreds of meals to families (or anyone) in need across Leeds.
The first menu, which went live on 1st March 2021, included starters of butternut squash and ham, pea, and leek soups; mains of roast chicken and chilli con carne, and lemon sponge and custard for dessert. The menus will change each week according to which ingredients are available, many of which come as donations from local businesses, including the veg store Sutcliffe’s and Harvey’s Quality Family Butchers, both in Farsley.
THE BEGINNING OF A CHARITABLE FRIENDSHIP
But where did the idea all start? Dale’s relationship with Vulnerable Citizen Support began in November 2020, when he offered to donate some leftover meals from his company D’s Meal Prep.
“We always overdo the orders just in case we’ve missed any,” Dale explained. “And instead of tarnishing the value of the product and selling it at 50%, I thought, ‘Why can’t we support a local charity?’
“So then they messaged me one night saying they do an outreach midweek. Going around the streets of Leeds with hot food. And they asked me if I could cook meals for them. I said, ‘Not a problem’. I’d been wanting to do it for ages. And then I went and served it with them.”
At Hope Kitchen, hot meals are delivered across the LS12 and LS13 districts, while the rest are shipped out in food parcels across Leeds. Or otherwise to referral centres and food banks, ensuring that no food goes to waste.
And what has the response been like in Hope Kitchen’s first outing? Falling slightly short of their 500-meal target with 470, Dale still says, “It was a good start”. The venture even attracted the attention of MasterChef’s Matt Healy.
“It’s gone massive – it’s fantastic,” said Dale. “The warming messages and people were getting in contact actually needing the meals. And then the support and interest for donations for the food banks has gone up. Overall, it has helped the charity move forward to where it wants to be.”
“FOOD IS HOPE”
Hope Kitchen gets its name from the company maxim: “Food is Hope”. Something that Dale hopes will prompt people to look out for each other again.
“With COVID, and everyone struggling financially, I think it’s time to go back to the old-school ways where you support anyone around you, rather than being selfish,” he explained.
“The main thing at Hope Kitchen is to make sure that every meal is a proper meal, and it tastes nice. A lot of slop gets sent to the homeless, or ingredients that are donated just get thrown together. That’s why I tried to structure a menu. Mental health is a massive thing now. And I want people, when they eat something, to feel like they’ve been thought about. We don’t just put it in a tub; we’ll plate it up, so it looks presentable. So that when you open it, it’s more than just a meal.”
Dale revealed how he means to increase his target by 10-20% each week, beginning with 700 meals next week. In addition, he has been contacting local primary schools to see if they will allow themselves to be used as collection points.
“The hardest thing in this modern era is people admitting they need help,” Dale said, “So if we can create a place where they can do it discretely… where we can set up a fridge and they can just grab what they need… it’d be fantastic.”
FINGERS IN ALL PIES
Hope Kitchen is just one of a number of ventures on Dale’s plate. He entered the catering world on work experience aged just 13, after the dream of becoming a professional footballer went south. From an apprenticeship at La Rue in Saltaire, he now heads D’s Meal Prep, as well as Le Voyage, a private dining event, and The High Bar Café at Nile Wilson’s Gymnastics.
Furthermore, his first restaurant, Brontaè’s, is set to open in Horsforth in May. So how does he juggle all this, with the responsibility of fatherhood added on top?
“It starts at home, really,” he said. “My partner is fantastic – she takes the biggest weight off my shoulders. She understands where I want to be and where we want to be as a family. We’ve grown up on council estates ourselves, and we want to be better for our daughter.
“And then the restaurant came about. It’s been a dream of mine forever. Since that first week, I think I said, ‘I’ll have a restaurant one day’. And as a family, we always say, ‘We will’. If you’re positive-minded, you will get your results. So that’s what I try to do, and what we try to drill into our daughter as well. ‘No one can tell you ‘no’.’
“One of the main reasons I got Brontaè’s was I got told I was too young to be a Head Chef at 23. And I thought, ‘That’s just systematic’. Who can say that you’re too young? If I’m going to put the effort in, and put myself in an uncomfortable situation to learn, then I’m surely ready. And now I have four businesses.”
For the success of Hope Kitchen so far, Dale had a number of thankyous to give for their help and support:
“Haydn Lee leads the charity, doing absolutely fantastic work, and he doesn’t take credit for it like he should. He’s the reason the charity is where it is. Jason Stockings helped me get D’s Meal Prep to where it is, so I can’t thank him enough. Plus all my team at Meal Prep. And my family. We’ve been through a tough time with COVID, and they’ve stuck by me and my mental health. Finally, anyone who’s volunteering or donated, such as Sutcliffe’s at Farsley, Harvey’s Butchers, Neils Catering Division… anyone who’s even liked or shared. Because it takes it an extra mile.”
Hope Kitchen is delivering hot meals to anyone who needs them within the LS12 and LS13 areas on Mondays. Dale Spink’s restaurant and bar Brontaè’s is due to open on 17th May.
Top Local Chefs Celebrate Amazing Local Produce in Poultry Focus at Dart Fresh HQ
On Thursday 25th February, Dart Fresh HQ in Exeter played host to a series of socially-distanced, Covid-safe cookery demos to showcase the fabulous range of local poultry and fine ingredients.
Dart Fresh has always aimed to be a one-stop-shop for chefs; to be able to give them everything they need to make their lives easier with making just one order and therefore one delivery.
Second generation costermonger and Director John Pritchard was delighted to host a day of culinary excellence and really enjoyed working with the visiting chefs showcasing his produce. He said
“This is a great chance to showcase the journey of where we’ve come from as a fruit and veg company in 1957 working with the supermarkets to becoming and all-encompassing foodservice company and now introducing an online home delivery offer with the onset of the pandemic, which is proving really popular.”
This was the second of a series of culinary focus days to be held at the depot to showcase the vast range of meat, fish, fresh fruit and veg, fine foods and cooks’ ingredients available to top chefs and now, retail customers online.
Some of the produce used included Beechridge Farm Poultry, Truefoods fresh stock, Burren Balsamics apple infused white condiment, Foie Royale, Truffle Hunter truffle sea salt and the finest fresh seasonal vegetables from local growers across Devon.
The Chefs’ Forum demo stage played host to the demos using wonderful fresh produce and the visiting chefs enjoyed using some of the finest kitchen equipment available: Locher Induction hobs, Valentine Fryer from Cuisinequip, Adande Refrigerated draw units for mis-en-place and a Falcon convection oven, all mounted on a custom-built stainless steel counter unit. It is this mobile chef kitchen that has been the star of the show at many food festivals and corporate events and so it was great to put it to good use creating recipe films while The Chefs’ Forum is unable to do its usual shows and events – Let’s hope these can resume once restrictions are lifted?!
Charlotte Vincent, Head Chef of The Five Bells (Clyst Hydon), Slawomir Drozdzalski Executive Chef of Puffing Billy (Exton) & Blue Ball and Werner Hartholt, Development Chef at Butlins Minehead, part of the Bourne Leisure Group were invited down to the depot in Marsh Barton (Exeter) to cook their signature dishes on a purpose-built stage.
Charlotte Vincent was first up on The Chefs’ Forum demo stage (sadly without an audience due to current restrictions) to create a film of her signature recipe:
Beechridge Farm free range duck breast with Foie Royale (the ethical alternative to foie gras), fresh blackberries, preserved blackberry gel, seasonal greens and Charlotte’s special veal stock, five spice and recurrent reduction.
Charlotte said
“It was great to visit Dart Fresh as one of my favourite suppliers. John Pritchard is always so supportive of everything I do and it is great to see where all the magic happens in supplying me with all I need for ‘The Five Bells At Home’. My home meal kits prepared at The Five Bells have proved a real hit with our customers throughout both lockdowns. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I cook a three-course menu that customers collect in a box from The Five Bells and finish at home with my detailed instructions.”
Next up was Slaw and his partner Anne-Marie Rice joined forces to cook a duo of dishes on the demo stage; Slaw, a chef recipe and Anne-Marie a home-cooked family dish for the home delivery customers to garner inspiration.
Slaw cooked a Cornish Smoked sea salt potato croquette with Beechridge free range duck breast, pak choi and sweet potato purée. Slaw expertly blow-torched the duck skin to achieve a crispy finish which went so well with the succulent breast meat.
He said
I think this is some of the best duck breast I have ever eaten and to know its from a farm just a few miles down the road is fantastic news! I have worked all around the world and pride myself on preparing fine food with global influence. It was great to play with excellent ingredients at Dart Fresh today and great that Anne-Marie could join in and have some fun cooking which made a change from her profession as a sports therapist!”
Anne-Marie’s dish was comparatively simple to create, but extremely flavoursome. It was Grenadine chicken with rice and kidney beans – A wholesome and hearty dish using local free range Beechridge Farm chicken to feed a family at home. Dart fresh have a thriving home delivery business and this recipe will be used to create a recipe card for the home cook.
Werner then rounded-up a day of brilliant cookery demos with his favourite dish of Lontong Ayam Seku, an Indonesian speciality of compressed sticky rice, Beechridge Farm chicken cooked in coconut sauce with a tomato sambal and stir-fried vegetables.
He was delighted to have been invited to Dart Fresh HQ to see the extensive range of local produce on offer, he said
“It was great to be able to cook with such high quality locally-sourced chicken, this dish is absolutely delicious and was made even better with the excellent ingredients provided. It is always fantastic to meet local suppliers and see their operations when sourcing ingredients for our busy kitchens. In normal peak times we do over ten thousand meals per day at Butlins in Minehead, so it was a brilliant opportunity to have a socially-distanced tour of the depot and meet the team behind Dart Fresh in advance of my return to work next week.”
Next month’s culinary focus day will see an emphasis on butchery showcasing top quality Dartmoor beef and lamb and the line-up of top local chefs will be announced shortly!
For more information on Dart Fresh, ingredients for chefs and the new online home delivery service, visit www.dartfresh.co.uk
The Chefs’ Forum Partners with Rational UK to Support Hospital Caterers!
Chefs, caterers, and equipment manufacturers should be looking at hospitals as the next battle ground for better standards.
The Chefs’ Forum is delighted to be working in partnership with Rational UK to bring together 150 hospital sector catering delegates to discuss the various topics covered in the recent NHS Food Review report.
Updated technology, sustainability and hospital chef training were cited in the report as being of the utmost importance, so Rational UK has taken the step to cover this as well as kitchen design, nutrition, menu development in a two-hour seminar taking place on the 28th April.
The Prue Leith-led report into hospital food may have come out four months ago, but its findings have been lost in the lockdown and the fact that hospitals have been under siege for close to a year.
Philip Shelley, Chair of the NHS Hospital Food Review will be speaking at the virtual event and welcomes The Chefs’ Forum’s joint campaign with Rational UK to highlight the cause for an overhaul of hospital menus and kitchen operations, he said
“With 40 new hospitals being planned, there has never been a better time to review hospital catering across the board. It would be great to have increased influence over hospital menus and the training and development of chefs and leaders within catering, as well as those patient-facing in terms of portion control and finishing dishes to a decent standard. Improved technology, training and ingredients in hospital kitchens will mean that hospital chefs are able to create delicious food, that is both nutritious and visually appealing. Its time we broke the stigma of hospital food being unappealing and rather make it something to look forward to, improving the patient experience in hospital.”
Philip is a great proponent of ‘The Power of Three”, this is the positive relationship between dieticians, caterers and clinicians, this will be the main theme of the event which chimes with the Rational hospital sector strapline of “The way back to good health” in working with hospital kitchens to improve precision and consistency with the ConnectedCooking system and cutting edge technology.
A close look at the document produced by a panel of experts from official bodies including The Hospital Caterers Association, Public Health England, The Food Standards Agency and The British Dietetic Association reveals a huge opportunity for all parts of the hospitality industry to get active and pitch in. Why?
There’s a very simple answer to that question: because the report has the backing of the The Prime Minister, The Health Minister and the NHS. For the very first time there is a real chance of change in hospital food with two distinct points highlighting the opportunity.
Point 1 – NHS kitchens are often a long way from the patient
Point 2 – Kitchens may be in sorry need of refurbishment and wards often lack finishing kitchens or café facilities
Yes, so? What does that mean? If you read between the lines it means only one thing. If the right answers are put in place, then investment to make the necessary changes will be forthcoming.
How will this happen? You only need to look at the hospitality response to lockdown and the drive for a Minister for Hospitality to see that the industry can act and get things done. A debate happened. The government listened. There is dialogue.
If the hospitality industry can demonstrate that it can use its muscle in an area that has full government support then the answers that are desperately needed in the NHS can show why a Minister for Hospitality is such an important post. Hospital Hospitality. The two go together.
Hospital food has always been an add-on. It’s a consequence of being in hospital. That’s why kitchens are far away and under-valued. The primary needs are staff, equipment and technology. That’s perfectly true. But now there is an understanding at the top levels that taking a broader look at the true power of food as medicine can have a lasting effect on health and the well-being of patients. Improve the food, improve health.
Paul Da Costa Greaves, UK Country Manager for Koppert Cress said
“We have undertaken extensive research into this very subject in Holland and would love to support the Hospital Caterers Association here in the UK. It would be great to look at replacing salt-laden powdered stocks and sauces with healthier alternatives using cresses and microgreens to fortify and enrich hospital menus. It is imperative that nutrition is addressed and that menus offered aid recovery and assist in making hospital food not only look better but taste great too.”
So, what’s it going to take? There is equipment out there that can revolutionise hospital food. New tech from companies like Rational could make the production of food faster, more consistent and diverse without breaking a sweat.
Colin Parry, Sales Director at Rational is currently working with The Chefs’ Forum to bolster support for hospitals chefs and caterers, he said
“Our new RATIONAL ConnectedCooking range has set new standards for automated and precision cooking. The iVario Pro and iCombi Pro models have taken technology used in hospital kitchens to new levels making cooking more precise than ever before. The RATIONAL iVario Pro and iCombiPro are very fast and so easy to use. Not only do the new models look fantastic, instantly updating aging kitchens, they deliver outstanding food quality without checking or supervision. We would be delighted to work with The Chefs’ Forum to show hospital chefs how value can be added to their kitchens in terms of saving time and money and improving levels of precision and productivity.”
A new thinking process, led by chefs, could improve and modernise hospital menus to include the sorts of dishes that patients actually want to eat.
Put the two points together and it is clear that hospitality understanding of finishing kitchens will play a big part going forward. What this area needs is a chef to do the planning. The report by Prue Leith highlighted crisp toast for breakfast. What will that take? How can it be done? There is tech out there but it needs to be planned. This is the opportunity for hospitality to take the lead.
Any hospital caterers or catering managers who would like attend this free event should contact catherine@redcherry.uk.com
Social Media and Chefs in Lockdown!
How chefs are reinventing themselves on social media and why it’s all healthy no matter your motivation.
Alex Claridge is bored at The Wilderness. Not totally bored but bored enough to start thinking about things in a different way. A recent tweet summed up his mood:
“Look, I’m bored of doing food boxes. If we did a live cook along for like two courses where you can buy the ingredients or collect them. Would anyone do it, like 20 quid or something, Alternatively, it’s Onlyfans?”
We can all understand this sentiment of a live cook-along. Chefs need to cook. They need to feel connected. When no-one’s eating, no-one is listening. If lockdown has shown one thing in the chef world it is a universal need to connect with customers, people and causes. All chefs are different that’s what makes them unique.
One Twitter user suggested in a retort that it should be called ‘Only Pans’, which was very funny indeed, proving that there is still humour despite the current situation.
Dipna Anand, of Brilliant Restaurant in Southall, pledged to do a new recipe every day and her followers, all 38k of them are loving it. Recent Instagram posts showed her doing workouts as well as continuing to innovate with new recipes and ideas.
Simon Wood in Manchester is also changing things up. His campaign to feed families for £30 has aligned with the work done by footballer Marcus Rashford and local food banks to offer genuine help and constructive advice for those that are struggling.
What these three examples demonstrate is that chefs need a platform and going forward as life returns to normal there will be more opportunities for chefs to express themselves in new ways outside the kitchen and not be chained to the stoves and the plate to justify their existence.
Mental health is a very important subject at the moment. We have all felt the debilitation of being confined and kept away from each other. Social media has allowed us to connect and feel connected. Let’s hope it continues. Let us know how you are using social media.
Clink Expands Prison Chef Training to 70 Prison Kitchens
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and The Clink charity are set to increase their training programme in up to 70 prison kitchens.
Training will continue at HMPs Bristol and Styal but from the end of April these two will be joined new initiatives at Eastwood Park, Send and Downview.
A further rollout will create opportunities to help as many as two thousand offenders with the hope that routes into employment can keep them away from crime for good.
Prisons Minister Lucy Frazer MP said:
“This expansion of the catering programme is testament to the thousands of training and job opportunities it has provided for offenders over the years.
“Cutting reoffending and its vast cost to society is a priority for this government. Training within prison leads to employment on release, which we know has such a positive impact on ex-offenders, their families and communities, and ultimately reduces crime.”
Finlay T K Scott, Chairman of The Clink Charity said: “Reducing crime and improving all of our lives is at the heart of what The Clink does. This latest initiative in partnership with HMPPS underlines the tremendous impact The Clink program has had over the last ten years.
“We will build upon the success of our innovative integrated program and roll it out across the prison estate. This platform will dramatically increase the number of students we are able to rehabilitate with the subsequent impact upon reoffending figures.”
The partnership with The Clink Charity is one of many Government schemes aimed at supporting offenders into employment with the ultimate aim of cutting crime. Other initiatives include work placements for dozens of offenders as the construction of HMP Five Wells gets underway, as well as the new prison at Glen Parva.
Would You Offer Your Restaurant as an Office Space?
A new scheme to allow hospitality venues to open-up earlier has been put forward to the government and is seeking signatures for a new petition.
Work Anywhere Hub aims to harness all the empty spaces of hospitality and utilise them in a positive way following the relaxation of lockdown.
The idea comes from a similar move during the first lockdown, venues across the country began to offer desks by the day in an effort to fill spaces and revive businesses crippled by COVID restrictions.
Work Anywhere Hub has taken this idea to the next level and is demanding that as part of the roadmap, the government allows venues to reopen as COVID-safe workspaces for remote workers when lockdown begins to lift.
View the petition here
Founder and CEO of Work Anywhere Hub, James Santi, has managed a restaurant in west London for almost 20 years. Being able to reopen as a base for remote workers would inject much-needed revenue into his business.
He says: “We believe hospitality venues should not be forced to suffer any more. Across the country spaces lay empty. If offices are allowed to be open then why can’t we?
“Work Anywhere Hub proposes that all venues be allowed to open as remote, COVID-safe workspaces until we are allowed to reopen to the public. This might not be until May so we need to be making use of our spaces now.
“Pubs, restaurants, cinemas, hotels, we all have space to rent and workers do not want to take public transport to travel to work, so let us open up as remote workspaces thus reviving our businesses, offering a safe environment for employees in which to work, and offering employers pay per day workspace locations to enable them to cut overheads.”
From renting a desk by the hour to a socially distanced interview room by the day, week, month or year, venues the length and breadth of Britain are ready to open up to the workforce.
The campaign has already received backing from the award-winning Marylebone Leisure Group family of boutique bars and restaurants, and generated lively debate on social media.
Venues can create a free listing on the Work Anywhere Hub portal so workers can find a space close to them that offers a safe and comfortable working environment. They then fix the charge per day, and cost of optional extras including food and drink.
Would you be willing to open-up your restaurant or hospitality space? Let us know!
