Person of the Week

Rose Gray

The River Café's co-founder died at the age of 71 after a prolonged battle with cancer. Having established her restaurant with Ruth Rogers in 1987, the River Café went on to garner great critical acclaim, in addition to launching the careers of chefs like Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver. On her passing Jamie said, "She really was one of life's very, very special, natural, genius chefs; a true pioneer of delicious simple cooking."

Quote of the Week

"Visibility is limited but reports of higher levels of transient visitors, more group conference bookings and a return of the business travellers, albeit slow, are all positive - especially for London. We think the worst is over and London looks set to build on its flourish in late 2009."

Robert Milburn, PriceWaterhouseCoopers

Facts of the week

Yo! Sushi confirm plans for Scotland

Chief executive Robin Rowland states it will be a long growth story

• Despite two previous endeavours to launch in Scotland, the sushi chain has recently invested £1.5 million in sites in the area over the past year, and is on the lookout for secondary city-centre locations plus concessions in airports and train stations.
• Yo! has previously had two stores in Scotland, Edinburgh in 2001 and Glasgow in 2007, both of which have since closed.
• According to Rowland there were property issues with both sites rather than challenges amongst the consumer base, and this article spells out the company's commitment not only to Scotland, but within the international and concession market.

Source: timeonline.co.uk

Is London emerging as serious coffee town?

Rise of independents and its impact on the market

• This report from the New York Times high-lights the vibrancy of London’s coffee scene and the series of baristas who have become world champions in recent years.
• It argues that some of the best coffee is to be found in places as obscure as Present, a men's clothing store in East London, and a pushcart at the Whitecross Street Market.
• Gwilym Davies, last year's barista champion and proprietor at both 'establishments, is now something of a cult figure. He has launched a Dis-loyalty Card, a take on traditional reward concept which is aimed at encouraging other baristas to try coffee at eight other establishments that he admires, and he will make the next drink at his pushcart.
• It's a quirky piece which underscores the real development of the coffee scene in the Capital in recent times.

Source: nytimes.com

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 EP archives. It is a business feature entitled "The story has to change." Richard Hartman was appointed as Chief Executive of Millennium and Copthorne Hotels with the remit of bringing stability and strategic direction to the business. Is he achieving his objective, and what has been his experience to date?