Pulling the plug on going out to dinner
TOP chef Tom Kerridge highlights the fact there isn’t a price cap on what businesses can be charged for gas and electricity (Mail).
One of his restaurants has been quoted a 600 per cent increase in its energy bill. He fears disaster looms for the hospitality industry, from high-end restaurants to High Street cafes. Restaurants and wine bars must know their customers are also feeling the pinch and will eat out less often, if at all. So you would hope they are doing all they can to encourage custom. I’ve tried to book a table in a local restaurant, but was unable to find one that didn’t expect a 7pm reservation to vacate the table by 8.30pm.
This is prevalent in London, which is not desirable but understandable, and is spreading to the suburbs. Trying to cram in as many bookings as possible to maximise takings might be permissible on busy Friday and Saturday evenings, but early in the week is notoriously slow and this offputting rule won’t help change that. We should expect to be able to enjoy a relaxing dinner, not have to bolt down our food while watching the clock.
DANNY THORPE, Kingston upon Thames, S.W. London. AS A former publican, I have sympathy for pubs and restaurants facing closure due to exorbitant energy increases. However, I looked at the menu for Tom
Kerridge’s two Michelin star pub The Hand And Flowers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and was shocked to see a three-course set price Sunday lunch is £155 per person.
Come on, Tom, you are running a megaprofitable business so may be one of only a few in the hospitality industry who can afford soaring energy prices.
JONATHAN PYNE, Hessle, E. Yorks.
HERE we go again: the hospitality sector is demanding public money to keep their businesses going. How many more times will the overburdened taxpayer have to cough up to rescue pubs, restaurants and hotels? These firms were propped up during the pandemic to the tune of billions. Now it seems they need even more money to survive the downturn. It’s a fact of life that failing firms go out of business and it’s not helpful for the Government to pump money into them. Every pound handed to the hospitality sector is a pound less for the poor and needy.
JOHN BOWYER, Lincoln. DURING the pandemic, billions were spent helping businesses stay afloat. At the time the Government said it couldn’t help everyone. And surely the same applies during the cost of living crisis. Now we have breweries pleading for help.
My local brewery struggled during the pandemic. It not only survived, but has flourished. However, it is crying out for handouts.
The Government needs to prioritise essential businesses.
I like a pint of beer as much as the next man, but if either the pub or my corner shop has to close during the economic downturn, I want to be able to buy bread and milk before beer.