FNQ food lobby has big plans on menu
OUTSPOKEN hospitality stalwart John Japp is weeks away from launching a Far North Queensland food and beverage industry lobby group and his timing could not be better.
As hospitality operators in Cairns take stock of how coronavirus will affect their futures, Mr Japp – chef and owner of La Fettucina – said a collective body would afford members greater negotiating power when it came to dealing with levels of government, and suppliers.
“Everyone will have to play ball,” Mr Japp said.
“We need to have an association and have somebody stand up, who can lobby council said. “I’d like to get apprentices indentured back to us and do away with a third party.”
The restaurant veteran is confident the fledgling organisation would garner hundreds of members within weeks.
“I can nail 500 members in two months,” Mr Japp said.
“There is no seafood supplier association up here either.
‘‘I mentioned it to three of the larger operators and they have asked ‘when are you going to start? We need representation.”
He said the next month would present a need for an industry body in Cairns.
“Come Monday we are shutting down for four to six weeks,” Mr Japp said.
“We will lose 50-100 businesses in that period. There is going to be a big gap in the market. We need to be galvanised – we need everyone to realise that if we aren’t all together, it will go back to how it was in the ’80s – with 10-15 restaurants, one dive operator and that’s it.
“There are 1500 food businesses in the region – that is more food and beverage per head of population than anywhere in the country.
“In order to have an impact we need 1000 players.
‘‘We need to pull together rather than scuttling away when things get hard.”
The Australian Culinary Federation supports the launch of an industry lobby.
“We definitely need a regional body like it,” Far North Queensland ACF president Brian Down said.