Letters
Sorry state of agency service
Why are some chef agencies so inefficient? We received a mail shot from one agency and decided to give them a try.
Our temp chef arrived with no CV. When we asked the agency for one, we were informed that CVs were shredded after six months and therefore they had no current CV for him.
As the chef was living in the hotel, I felt it prudent to ask for some background information. The agency asked if there were any problems, and when I told them that he had a bad attitude toward our staff, the agency representative replied: "Well, I don't like your attitude either."
Is this the sort of service we are to expect from chef agencies? Surely we are entitled to receive basic information on temporary staff we employ, especially if they are living in.
The agency we used before this had never met or interviewed the chefs sent to us, and consequently had no idea of their capabilities.
In our business, the customer is our first priority. It has become obvious to us that not all chef agencies feel the same.
LYNN BOXALL
Dial House Hotel,
Bourton-on-the-Water,
Gloucestershire.
Central overview for tourist ports
"Welcome to England, now sod off!" These are the words written by Simon Calder in the Independent on 9 August, discussing the closure of Gatwick Airport Tourist Information Centre.
The reason, Calder found, was that the Gatwick TIC was funded by the South East of England Tourism Board, which, after cutbacks, could not afford the £1,000 per week to keep the office open.
Obviously, the local area board is there to promote its own region, not the Derbyshire Peak District or anywhere else in England, let alone Wales or Scotland.
The Government should find some way to fund these vital tourist offices at airports and ferry ports, for the benefit of the UK as a whole.
PETER J BRAMHILL
Abbeydale Hotel,
Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
Deal with the problem now
Six months ago, I embarked on a journey to recruit more chefs for the purpose of turning away from split shifts and doing more straight shifts, in the interest of morale. Also, this would give me the opportunity to increase the range, style and quality of the food we offer.
Initially, I placed advertisements for two commis chefs and two sous chefs. The resulting response was not just disappointing but shocking. For the commis position, we received just eight applications, and just six for the sous chef position.
After interviewing the chosen candidates, we managed to acquire only one commis (untrained) and one sous chef, so we decided to readvertise with a bigger and brighter advert, and from that we received just a further six replies.
My concern, having gone through this exercise and from talking to other people in the industry, is that there seems to be a significant lack of youngsters coming into the industry at a craft level, and that those who are coming are being primed from college to go into managerial positions.
The industry as a whole needs to look at the reasons for this. There must be a rethink of the training systems in colleges, to give young chefs a better grounding than NVQs currently offer.
There also needs to be a review of the hours that youngsters are expected to work, and their pay.
If these issues are addressed then the catering industry in this country will continue to flourish. If they are not, then decline is just around the corner. Let's deal with the problem and continue to produce some of the best chefs and food in the world.
GN RUSLING
Food production manager,
Ashridge Management College,
Hertfordshire.
Yield software wired in the head
There were some sweeping statements from Bob Battye, managing director of technology specialist Prologic (Caterer, 17 July). They included: "Yield management is really only possible using the right software."
John Palmer of Fidelio, on the other hand, says that we in small to medium-sized hotels "understand the yield management concept intuitively, but we do not apply any controls or logic to it." Oh, really?
To the magazine's own suggestion that most small to medium-sized hotels have yet to consider yield management, I think you would be surprised.
Thank goodness for Dr Kevin Donaghy from the Northern Ireland Hotel & Catering College, who feels that yield management is more about people and communication than software. If this were not true we would not be enjoying the increase in room rates and occupancy that we are today.
As a hotel sales and marketing manager for the past 10 years, I am certainly not belittling yield management software systems - I'm all for them - but if you can't have one, it doesn't mean you can't manage yield.
After joining the 108-bedroom Redwood Lodge Hotel in Bristol two years ago, I implemented a manual yield management system based on the previous four years' reservations history,12 months' forecasting and any other influencing factors, such as bank/school holidays or local festivals. But I don't, as Mr Palmer asserts, say: "We know we'll be busy in September because we've always been busy."
Year-on-year, I am looking at occupancy growth of 8.9%, average room rate growth of 6.6% and room yield growth of 14.6%.
EMMA KNAUST-LYSTER
Sales and marketing manager,
Redwood Lodge Hotel,
Bristol.
All that talk and so little action
On the point of hotel grading, how can so many pontificate for so long to produce so few original thoughts?
I commend the principle of a harmonised scheme, but I see the present offering as nothing more than a fudge.
There are still to be three awarding bodies, albeit to one set of criteria, but each one is going to tempt us to trade with them to gain added "quality" awards.
Where do quality establishments fit into the scheme of things? I do not see the value of being a plain, bog-standard, two-star hotel when in the past my hotel has been highly commended, 76%, plus rosette with the AA. Do I now have to pay for more than one inspection to receive these add-on awards?
The AA's "Q" scheme for bed and breakfast accommodation would appear to give much greater recognition to quality, something the star scheme seems to have overlooked.
Some may argue that quality is embodied in the star, but that is nonsense. Are they saying all those tatty two-star hotels will still be given the same grade as the quality two-star establishments?
Let us have one scheme, one awarding body, where quality is instantly recognised and the guest comes first.
JANE BECK
Swallows Eaves Hotel,
Colyton, Devon.
Reports of our death…
Independents beware? I think not. The predicted demise of the independent hotel is mirrored throughout many industries - and those that offer a service or product that is special serve a niche market.
In our industry, there are many guests and potential guests who do not want to conform. They, therefore, look for good alternatives where they can be cosseted. Couple this with increasing disposable income and leisure time, and the future looks very rosy for the independent.
We will need to be sharply focused in what we offer and how we convey the message, but the spearheads will surely be individuality, high levels of hospitality, warmth of welcome and friendliness, comfort and outstanding food. It's a recipe for continuing success.
JOHN PATTIN
Proprietor,
Cottage In The Wood,
Worcestershire.
Cornish crab was never home-made
Referring to the news item (Caterer, 7 August) about the "home-made" crab soup at the Port Gaverne Hotel, the fact that it was not home-made is not the point at issue - it was never advertised as such. The point in question was that it contained Norwegian crab instead of Cornish.
When my husband and I took over this hotel in 1968/69, I was in charge of the kitchen and my husband the bar. It was not till July of 1969 that I acquired a chef. In the meantime, I made a delicious crab soup based on a tinned condensed soup made by a company in Porthleven, Cornwall.
It was so good that it was never thought necessary to change it, and we continued making it until 1996, when the complaint was made (which, incidentally, is the only complaint we have ever had). Since then, we have made our own soup from scratch.
What I was unaware of was that the original company in Porthleven had changed hands, and some years ago was taken over by a firm that uses Norwegian crab.
MARJORIE ROSS
Port Gaverne Hotel,
North Cornwall.
