My Soho Times’ restaurant spy, reporter and commentator Kelly Gavaghan is on the hunt for what’s trending on the food scene this season…
The Rising Cost of Living Takes a Hit on the Hospitality Industry
The poor old food and drink industry in the UK just can’t catch a break over the last few years. First there was Covid where it really was a survival of the fittest. We saw many adapt their businesses and introduce takeaway and delivery services when they hadn’t done so before. We also saw many close their doors for the last time… Now, with the current economic climate they sadly are taking the biggest hit again.
As butchers can’t afford to run their fridges and many more can’t manage the escalating prices in produce, we are already starting to see the fallout with some taking the hard and often heartbreaking decision to shut down now before spiralling costs put them in serious debt further down the line.
With more than 2.9 million people employed in the F&D sector in the UK these are yet again, seriously trying times.
In the last 30 years our foodie cultural landscape has blossomed and grown beyond all recognition. Where once before we were laughed at by the rest of the world because our food was perceived as boring, we can now proudly show off the cuisine of practically every country and continent. There are more restaurants and street food vendors than ever before in our history and there is a long food chain – excuse the pun – of people and businesses that stand behind every burger you tuck into from a vendor, every dish you eat in a restaurant.
That is why it is crucial that we try our absolute best to keep on supporting them as much as we can. Yes, we will all be tightening our belts ourselves and are worried about our own domestic costs, looking to see where we can make savings, but even though it seems like ‘the chips are down’ please try and do what you can to keep on supporting our fantastic food and drink sector. We need to keep the 2.9 million people in it in employment so that they too can pay their bills and survive not just as businesses, but as humans too.
TREND ALERT: Flexitarianism… What is it?
Do you know what flexitarianism is? No, neither did I until I started to research this article. Well, that’s not strictly true. I’d heard the term and thought – correctly it seems – that it relates to people who decide to be vegetarian one day, vegan the next and a carnivore when it suits them. Well, it turns out that there is more to this movement than meets the eye and it’s based on scientific findings. Because apparently if we don’t change the way we eat we will ‘push food production beyond planetary boundaries by 2050’ according to Nature, the world’s leading multi-disciplinary science journal.
Nature’s report shows that eating a diet high in fats, sugars and meat actually risks destabilising the Earth’s ecosystem. Savvy Londoners are taking this very seriously and acting upon it. How? By being vegan one day, vegetarian the next and carnivore when it suits them too, and by doing so, helping to reduce greenhouse gasses from cattle by more than half.
As well as specialist vegan street food vendors, London restaurants are also getting in on the scene and responding positively with many now offering vegan, vegetarian and meat menus – not just their standard ‘one size fits all’ affairs that up until recently have been de rigeur. So now you know, what action can you take to help to save our beautiful planet… will you become flexi?
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This article was originally published in the Autumn ’22 issue of My Soho Times magazine. CLICK HERE to read it online, or CLICK HERE to buy your print copy!
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Written by Kelly Gavaghan | @circus_media_mk
Kelly Gavaghan is a professional food writer and restaurant reviewer of 29 years who won an award with the National Newspaper Society for her column ‘Kelly Eats Out!” for Yorkshire Post Newspapers.
As champion of the independent food & drink industry, she has helped launch and publicise food festivals as well as writing for numerous publications, including food and drink guides. As well as launching the CIRCUS Independent Food & Drink Awards for Buckinghamshire, she has also been a judge for various food awards the prestigious Oxfordshire Restaurant Awards with Raymond Blanc as Patron.
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Do you know what flexitarianism is? No, neither did I until I started to research this article. Well, that’s not strictly true. I’d heard the term and thought – correctly it seems – that it relates to people who decide to be vegetarian one day, vegan the next and a carnivore when it suits them. Well, it turns out that there is more to this movement than meets the eye and it’s based on scientific findings. Because apparently if we don’t change the way we eat we will ‘push food production beyond planetary boundaries by 2050’ according to Nature, the world’s leading multi-disciplinary science journal.
Nature’s report shows that eating a diet high in fats, sugars and meat actually risks destabilising the Earth’s ecosystem. Savvy Londoners are taking this very seriously and acting upon it. How? By being vegan one day, vegetarian the next and carnivore when it suits them too, and by doing so, helping to reduce greenhouse gasses from cattle by more than half.
As well as specialist vegan street food vendors, London restaurants are also getting in on the scene and responding positively with many now offering vegan, vegetarian and meat menus – not just their standard ‘one size fits all’ affairs that up until recently have been de rigeur. So now you know, what action can you take to help to save our beautiful planet… will you become flexi?
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