Hospitality Life

Hospitality Life

The business of hospitality, from gross profit and recipe costing to allergens, staffing and the pressures the trade does not talk about often enough. Written from thirty five years in kitchens and front of house.
20
Mar
Plated fillet steaks lined up on the pass with stacks of warm plates as a chef finishes the garnish

Is Your Menu Actually Making You Money?

Most menus carry at least one dish that loses money on every cover. Here is how to find it, and what the GP benchmarks should look like.
8 min read
20
Mar
Two chefs in aprons working side by side over a tray of oysters and a bowl of green dressing.

The Benefits Of Using A Catering Consultant

What a catering consultant brings to a hospitality business in South Wales, and the problems that are far cheaper to prevent than to fix.
7 min read
19
Mar
Chefs working along a busy hot line in a commercial kitchen with prepped gastronorm trays under the pass.

Enhancing Efficiency in Catering Services

Clearing the daily hurdles in a catering operation, from prioritising tasks to tightening inventory, so service stops being firefighting.
5 min read
13
Mar
A notebook, pen, mug of tea, chef knife and folded apron laid out on a stainless steel kitchen bench, seen from above

How to Choose a Catering Consultant in Wales

Eight questions to ask any catering consultant before you hire one in Wales, and why this decision costs far less to get right than to fix.
7 min read
08
Mar
Trainer in an apron with a clipboard leading a staff training session in front of a flipchart, attendees seated.

Staff Training Essentials: Boost Efficiency & Retention in 2026

The UK hospitality sector continues to face one of its most persistent challenges: a severe skills shortage combined with stubbornly high staff turnover rates.
5 min read
10
Feb
A chef reading a stack of papers at a stainless kitchen bench, a calculator and a mug on the bench beside him.

The Benefits of Using Finance in Commercial Catering: 5 Min Read

Managing cash flow while still investing in equipment is the balancing act every operator faces. How finance options take the pressure off.
6 min read
06
Feb
Title card reading Natasha's Law, above the fourteen named allergens listed in two columns, from celery and cereals containing gluten through to sulphur dioxide and tree nuts.

Natasha's Law: The Essential Guide to Food Allergen Labelling

What Natasha's Law requires on PPDS labelling, the story behind it, and how to get ingredient lists right in a kitchen already flat out.
4 min read
02
Feb
Kraft paper food pouch labelled no sugar, no additives, one hundred per cent natural.

Hidden Sugars and Additives in Catering Menus: How to Spot Them

How to spot the hidden sugars and additives that manufacturers slip into catering ingredients, what they do to a dish, and what to buy instead.
7 min read
02
Feb
Spread of prepared food with overlay text reading unnecessary ingredients, ingredients that are not needed to make the food taste good.

Unnecessary Ingredients In Our Food, can you spot them ?

The unnecessary extras hiding in everyday catering products, how to read a label properly, and why it matters when you cook for other people.
6 min read
13
Jan
A chef plating a dish at the pass under copper heat lamps while two others work the range behind.

From Startup to Scaling Your Catering Business

Seven principles for building a commercial kitchen that grows with the business, rather than one you outgrow in eighteen months.
7 min read