Are university degrees now meritless and undervalued by employees? Previous generations looked at higher education as a major investment which was highly valued by both society and employees. In previous generations, higher education came with the promise of job security and a fast track to increased salary but as time passes university degrees are becoming an undervalued prerequisite for a base starting salary. People comment that students are working less for their degrees but expecting more and perhaps this is the truth. The reality of a degree from a Russell Group university in 2023 is to ..read more

Technology is here. And it is here to stay. But how is it impacting Food Service? How are companies using technology, and what are the views and opinions at the coal face? These were some of the questions we tackled at our roundtable event in February, organised in collaboration with EP Hospitality. The event, is the first of a series of events, where we invite contract catering professionals from across the sector to join and debate some of the key challenges regarding:‘how technology is impacting foodservice’. In this first event, we were joined by Julie Ennis CEO Sodexo Corporate Services ..read more

EP was delighted to interview Carrie Kwik, Executive Director, Europe at the Singapore Tourism Board following their announcement that Singapore has been certified as a sustainable destination by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) after being the first to apply the certification process on a country level. We were interested to learn more as we wanted to understand whether this would attract increased inward investment and also encourage stronger collaboration across industry as well as inspire a stronger understanding of the cultural legacy amongst the population. As many will know ..read more

‘Entitled’, ‘anti-social’, ‘lack of respect for others’ and ‘social justice warriors’, are just some of the descriptives that have been used for Generation Z. But are they more disliked than any other generation when they too, were emerging? The existence of social media was amiss when the Millennials or Gen X were evolving, so how do we know they too would not have received animosity from their predecessors. Social media allows people from every corner of the globe to be connected, all the time. Individuals tweet their inner thoughts around the clock; it’s almost like a superpower that allows ..read more

The modern office phenomenon is the introduction of workplaces filled with staff benefits and perks far beyond the previous era of complementary tea and coffee but are these simply incentives to never escape the office? Leading companies like Microsoft, Facebook and Google now commonly supply three meals a day, gyms, areas of relaxation and a range of activities that employees have everyday access to. A recent survey found that 44% of Google employees are working in excess of ten hours a day and often work late at night or on weekends. This has been made possible due to these office benefits ..read more

“We must all learn how to cook from scratch or die.” This statement didn’t come from me, but from a highly respected scientist with a worldwide reputation. Is it really that simple? So much accepted wisdom, on how to eat and what to eat to Keep healthy, has been turned on its head in the last 5-10 years. This is how science works; advice is constantly changing as we discover more about how our bodies deal with the food we consume. That’s great if you’re on the lookout for what’s new and find that whole world endlessly fascinating. But as an individual who is simply trying to understand what to ..read more

During the pandemic, we were confined to our homes, hanging off every new announcement from the government, praying to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The pandemic left people feeling lonely and understandably anxious for the future, seeing a rise in numbers suffering from mental health. Now the pandemic is over, is the number of those suffering from mental health reducing? Evidence suggests not. Regrettably, we are seeing the aftereffects of the pandemic in terms of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis. Gas and electric prices have soared leaving some people simply unable to heat t ..read more

Diversity: starting from the top Hospitality is more than providing a product or service. We’re a people orientated industry, from the development and effective potential of human resource, to curating the customer experience and satisfying our markets’ changing needs and desires, we create with others in mind. Our accessibility to customers and stakeholders is a tool for which I believe the industry can have a greater impact. For many, the idea of working in hospitality evokes notions of unenthused burger flipping, exhausting concierge or barista work in a local start-up, labelled, “low skill ..read more

Cancel culture is referred to as the removal of support for an individual or company based on their views or actions and is connected to social media and the boycotting of brands. This concept became popular in 2018 and in recent years has quickly caused a culture shift of how businesses are presenting themselves and communicating. Is the fear of miscommunication hindering companies’ ability to organically connect with audiences or is this a necessary sensitivity to ensure inclusivity and forward-thinking businesses? In the last fifty years business communications have transformed from annual ..read more

Can a new food-tech business light the way to radically reduce food waste whilst building stronger collaboration across the industry and opening up new opportunities?  Introducing Dan Mazig, founder of Cerve  Cerve is a Swedish based food-tech business, now seeking to enter the UK and which is set to ask some searching questions as it hopes to enable procurement to become more transparent and open. Their mission is to build an integrated supply chain which would allow for stronger collaboration, better communication, and greater efficiencies with the result being a reduction in food waste thro ..read more