Person of the Week

William Baxter, Deputy Chief Executive, BaxterStorey

William was made a CBE in the New Years Honours List for his services to the catering industry. He has been one of the leading figures of the sector for more than 20 years. William has stood behind three successful businesses within his career and is regarded by many to be a role model for the industry.

Other hospitality honours went to: Peter Philippson of Merlin Entertainment, restaurateurs Cyrus Todiwala and Iqbal Wahhab and River Café founders Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. Congratulations to all.

Quote of the Week

"A friend of mine once called in sick and said to his supervisor that there was something wrong with his eyes. When asked what was wrong with them he replied 'I just can't see myself coming in today'."

From the Test Match special blog on sickies

The Big Issues of 2010

Have you completed our quiz of the topical stories of the year? 2010 is a vitally important year, with a General Election on the horizon and a weak economy which needs to stabilise. EP would like your opinion on a number of key points.

Click here to participate

Given the political stories flying around this week, we thought we would update readers on the results for our question on the election to date:

Facts of the week

Dubai's public gesture of gratitude to Abu Dhabi

An unexpected twist at the launch of the world’s tallest building this week

• The Burg Khalifa was opened this week in Dubai standing 828 metres high, nearly 300 metres more than the previous record holder, the Tapei 101.
• Given the events of the past 12 months, in which Dubai's property market has collapsed and the Emirate State has been bailed out by its neighbour Abu Dhabi, the spectacle of this week's launch was slightly incongruous.
• So it was an interesting turn of events when the building was publicly renamed to honour the head of Abu Dhabi's ruling family and President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan (who did not attend the opening ceremony).
• The building was originally named the Burj Dubai but changed to Burj Khalifa.
• Despite the question marks which are still raging over Dubai, Emaar – the developer - has confirmed that they have sold 90% of the building and Giorgio Armani will be opening his first hotel on site in March.

Source: timesonline.co.uk
Source: traveldailynews.com

The English of 2moro?

Why traditional spellings may be under threat

• Prior to the internet, the majority of articles appearing in print were checked by an editor or proofreader.
• According to one academic, the advent of the internet and proliferation of blogs and chatrooms has meant that this is no longer the case, resulting in an increasing number of alternative spellings are becoming more mainstream and accepted by children.
• Professor David Crystal of the University of Wales Bangor argued that often many spellings more no relation to meaning or pronunciation, but acknowledged that children still needed to understand that standard English spellings as part of their education – "What you consider to be atrocious now may be standard in 50 years."
• "There are people around who would treat what I said to be the voice of the devil, but one has to remember that spelling was only standardised in the 18th century. In Shakespeare's time you could spell more or less as you liked."
• Well, thx then!

Source: theage.com

EP and Bacchus Lunch Club

Always looking for ways of bringing together professionals in the hospitality industry, we have joined forces with Bacchus, the networking arm of Oxford Brookes University's Department of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management. Bacchus lunches, held in top London venues, are the events for those who consider relationships to be the foundation of business success. The next Bacchus lunch, to be hosted by Michael Caines MBE, will be held on 19th January 2010 at Home House on Portman Square. Michael will reflect on the power of mentoring as a mechanism for unleashing potential.

To learn more, and to book your place, contact Razia Nabi rnabi@brookes.ac.uk

Article of the week

EP Condense is EP's weekly e-newsletter. But did you know that EP is also a bimonthly magazine available via subscription? Our Article of the Week provides a sample of what we have featured in past issue.

This week we feature a story from the 2009 feature list of EP magazine. It is a people article entitled "Time to breathe." EP met with Gerard Basset, a man who has made his passion for wine a central inspiration for his business ventures. The only person in the world to hold the titles of Master Sommelier, Master of Wine and Wine MBA, he will be competing in the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) World’s Best Sommelier Competition in April this year.