It’s time to book that big Christmas lunch

We must help bars and restaurants get through the coronavirus crisis any way we can

‘This is brutal, it is Armageddon for the industry.” The words of a well-known chef who texted me after the Prime Minister cranked up the coronavirus restrictions. “Now is the time for everyone to stop non-essential contact with others and to stop all unnecessary travel. We need people to start working from home where they possibly can. And you should avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues,” Boris Johnson said on Monday.

His statement sparked a meltdown in the hospitality sector. Where other countries forced the closure of bars and restaurants, the British Government’s advice was simply to avoid them. It was enough to scare away customers but not enough to trigger some insurance pay-outs. Then came the news from insurers that few companies had cover that would extend to this situation anyway. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced support measures but much of it is loans and who would want to take on debt when the future is so uncertain?

The past decade has seen a remarkable boom in food and drink but the challenge now is to avoid a bust in a crisis which leaves the sector particularly exposed. Industry experts predict thousands of businesses could collapse and hundreds of thousand of workers lose their jobs.

Hospitality contributes more than £120bn a year to the UK economy and is worth more than the automotive, pharmaceuticals and aeronautics industries combined. More than 3.2 million people work in what is the third-largest sector for employment.

But more than that, the hospitality industry is the beating heart of our national life. From the first pint to date nights, graduation, birthdays and wakes, pubs and restaurants are where we go to celebrate and commiserate. Think back, I bet some of the big moments in life were sitting at a restaurant table or propping up a bar? Now all that is at risk.

Despite the incredible pressure, the sector has risen to the occasion. From Best Western offering 15,000 hotel rooms to the NHS to Pret, Domino’s and Mcdonald’s offering free food and drinks to hospital staff, the hospitality industry is saying thank you in a way most of us cannot.

So how can we say thank you to them? Many businesses have closed their doors but in the absence of firm advice from the government to do that, others are still trying to trade and keep staff employed. More government action is needed. The bounce back after 9/11 was swift but this could take months or years.

“Hospitality businesses are collapsing because they have no income and it is a daily deteriorating situation. A tide of redundancies is sweeping through the sector and every days delay sees more,” said the chief executive of UK Hospitality Kate Nicolls.

Immediate grant support is required to reverse this situation. Far better that funding is provided to save businesses rather than paid out in benefits to redundant workers after they collapse.

The rest of us can buy gift vouchers, order food to go and book that big Christmas lunch now. These are the worst of times and only we can make them better.