Mitch joins calls for a Minister for Hospitality
WESTCOUNTRY chef and restaurant owner Mitch Tonks has added his voice to calls for a dedicated Minister for Hospitality.
A petition calling for the Government to instate such a role is set to be debated in Parliament on January 11.
The petition was started by Claire Bosi, the editor of hospitality publication Chef and Restaurant Magazine.
It urges the Government to create a position to ensure the hospitality industry’s concerns – including those around taxation and legislation – can be heard.
It has far exceeded the 10,000 signatures needed to gain a response from the Government and has now won renowned restaurateur Mitch Tonks’ support.
He has the award-winning Rockfish seafood restaurants in Devon and Dorset and The Seahorse in Dartmouth which Mitch co-owns and runs with his friend Mat Prowse.
Hospitality is the third-largest employer in the UK, with over 3 million people employed by the sector and contributing billions of pounds in taxes.
Mitch said he is supporting the petition because the hospitality industry is “in the fabric of who we are” – and he hopes others will do the same.
Under lockdown his restaurants have had to temporarily close. Only hospitality venues providing takeaway are permitted to open at this time.
He said he understood the need to protect the public from the coronavirus, but said hospitality “needed somebody that understood the challenges of the industry.”