News

Featured News:

Client Profile: Bill's

Bill’s is one of the fastest growing concepts this year, with four new sites set to open this summer alone. But go back a dozen years and Bill’s had just one store: Bill Collison’s greengrocer's on Lewes High Street, an idyllic town about half an hour’s drive from Brighton with one castle, eight bonfire societies and, believe it or not, its very own currency. In 2001, following a flood that devastated much of Lewes, Bill opened Bill’s Produce Store and Café on the site of the former greengrocer's, lining the walls floor to ceiling with jams, chutneys and other seasonal ingredients; cooking delicious homemade food; and going on to win the Observer Food Monthly’s Best Newcomer award in 2006. Fast forward, and there are now 19 sites across the country and the company is growing rapidly. For the past six months, we have been working closely with Bill’s to help roll out its brand quickly and effectively in a variety of locations. Next to open? Bill’s Holborn, so keep an eye out for the case study coming soon.

Click here to visit the Bill's website.

15th May

The Restaurant Group (TRG) Plans 30 - 35 New Sites This Year

The Restaurant Group, operator of the Frankie and Benny's and Chiquito brands, has announced plans to open in excess of 30 new sites in 2013 fuelled by strong trading figures released today: like-for-like sales across the group were up 4.5%, with total sales up 11%. Chairman Alan Jackson said in his AGM statement that these figures reflected "another period of outperformance" for TRG. The performance of Coast to Coast, its fledgling concept launched last year, was particularly promising and a further four or five sites are in the pipeline for this year. 

Read more.

7th May

Benito's Hat Secure £1.4m Private Investment Deal to Fund Brand Expansion

Mexican restaurant chain Benito's Hat, which currently operates four sites across London, has just secured a £1.4m private investment deal from private equity investor Calculus Capital, with a view to taking the fast-casual concept to 10 sites by the end of next year. To facilitate these plans, former Wagamama operations director Jay Travis has been brought in as chairman, whilst Graham Ford - previously at Strada - comes in as the new CEO. The original Benito's Hat founders remain in place, allowing founder and director Ben Fordham to focus on site acquisition and growth, and executive chef Felipe Fuentes Cruz to concentrate on menu development. 

Read the full story on Big Hospitality.

1st May

Five Guys Confirms Long Acre Launch

Five Guys, the popular US burger chain with over 1,000 franchises in the States, has confirmed that it will open its first UK site in the former Long Acre bar unit in Covent Garden. There are already several further openings in the pipeline as Five Guys looks to begin its extensive UK expansion plans. Originally launched in Washington DC in 1986, Five Guys serves nothing but hand-formed fresh ground beef burgers grilled to perfection alongside fresh-cut french fries cooked in pure peanut oil. Despite such a niche offering, there are in fact over 250,000 possible ways to order a Five Guys burger, and the chain's debut here in the UK is already causing a stir. Plus, Five Guys is set to be joined by fellow US-based burger chain Shake Shack, founded by Danny Meyer, which is due to debut in the Covent Garden piazza in early July.

23rd April

Goodman to Launch New Steak and Crab Concept

Following the instantaneous success of its Burger & Lobster concept, Russian steakhouse group Goodman is set to launch a new 'premium' offering in November having secured a site within the prestigious One Chapel Place development in London's West End. The 120-cover restaurant will serve premium steak and live Russian king crab alongside a range of fine wines, and is as yet unnamed.

Click here to read the full story on Big Hospitality.

10th April

Zoilo: Hot-dinner Review

Zoilo, the long-awaited second venture from chef patron Diego Jacquet, received glowing reviews when it opened in November 2012. Fay Maschler, writing for the London Evening Standard, praised its 'thoughtful, playful, deft and daring preparation’, and The Guardian's Marina O'Loughlin described the food as "excellent"; the ojo de bife with chimmichurry a "rib-eye of...majesty". Today, Hot Dinners, the online London restaurant review site, said much the same. Click here for the full review, and to see some wonderful photos of the menu. 

1st April

Bill's Continues Impressive Expansion Plan

Bill's, the Richard Caring-backed casual restaurant chain, has secured two significant new sites in London in the past month: a 4,500 sq. ft. site on Kingsway that was previously a Pitcher and Piano, and another on Westfield London's Southern Terrace, the brand's first outlet in a shopping centre location. This will be Bill's 18th restaurant to open in the UK, with sites in St. Albans and Bristol coming soon.

Read more about our work with Bill's.

21st March

The Coldest Journey: Official Start

On Wednesday 20th March, five explorers from The Coldest Journey team set off on a record-breaking attempt to cross the Antarctic in Winter - the last great polar challenge. This remarkable attempt aims to raise $10m dollars for Seeing is Believing, provide crucial scientific and climate change data and form the basis of an invaluable educational programme for schools and students across the EU. In association with Sirius Products, Chapman Ventilation has designed, developed and manufactured a range of stainless-steel items, from glove racks to urinals, for use on this epic journey.

R200 Tour: Pasta, pasta and more pasta. And some parmesan. And just a little bit of ice-cream...

Day one started well with a visit to Cantina Bentivoglio for a pasta demonstration and lunch. Whilst two professional pasta makers – or sfoglines – deftly turned flour and eggs into tortelloni, tortellini, macaroni and taglieteilli, I learned not only that pasta should always be cooked al dente, but that if I accidentally overcooked it then my boyfriend would promptly dump me. No pressure then, hey.

Lunch was followed by a tour of Bologna’s famous markets and delicatessens – mortadella, salami, parmesan and (lots of) lambrusco all finished off with a helping of gelato. A mere two hours later and we headed out for dinner at Ristorante Pappagallo. Despite having already consumed a significant amount of pasta, the tortelloni, gnocchi, beautiful quail dish and semi-fredo dessert went down a treat. Dinner turned into a ‘quiet’ drink at the bar, which turned into 90s disco at a dubious Bologna nightclub, which far too quickly turned into an 8am start and some very sore heads.

Bright and early-ish Friday morning, we set off to Modena for a tour of Hombre Organic Farm: a Parmigiano Reggiano cheese producer owned by a Mr Umberto Panini who, it turns out, is also the proud owner of a ‘small private collection’ of Maseratis, Mercedes, and Lamborghinis. Each wheel of Parmesan produced is aged for up to three years at a constant temperature of 18C to ensure it reaches the necessary standard to be called authentic Parmesan cheese.

Following this, we moved onto a traditional producer of Balsamic vinegar, testing the various aged vinegars on ice cream – a truly surprising and complex taste. The vinegars are aged for up to 100 years in barrels housed in the attic, putting the off-the-shelf stuff you can buy here to shame. Another fantastic meal, this time at Franchescetta 58 (a partnership between world-renowned chef Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana and chef Marta Pulini), finished off an incredible two days. We ate, we drank, we networked. Job done.

A massive thank you goes to everyone at Restaurant magazine for a fantastic trip, and to the operators that gave up their time to come along.

For more photos and information, follow Jenny @CVL_Marketing.

Hawksmoor, Nando's and Byron Scoop Awards at the RROTY Awards and Sunday Times 100 Best Companies

Several of Chapman Ventilation's clients have been recognised at the Retailers' Retailer of the Year (RROTY) awards and in the Sunday Times' 100 Best Companies this week. Organised by the M&C report, the RROTYs recognise the best companies, concepts and individuals in the pub, bar and restaurant market, with winners chosen by industry experts. Whilst Steve Richards of Novus Leisure was named 2013 Retailers' Retailer, Nando's won Best Company for the second year running, GBK claimed the Evolution Award and Hawksmoor's Will Beckett and Huw Gott were recognised as the year's Rising Stars. It was a double celebration for Hawksmoor, as it was also announced as the fifth best company to work for by the Sunday Times, with Byron and Busaba Eathai also featuring in the list. It's fantastic to see so many of our clients being recognised in this way, so from everyone here at Chapman Ventilation, congratulations!

Follow the links to see the full Sunday Times list or for more detail on the Retailer's Retailer of the Year awards.

The Restaurant Group (TRG) Plans 35 New Openings

TRG, the owner of the Frankie and Benny's and Chiquito brands, has revealed a 9% increase in revenues for the year to 30th December 2012. The company, a longstanding and significant client of ours, operates 422 restaurants across the country and hit sales of £533m during 2012, with like-for-like sales up 4.5% and 28 new restaurant openings. TRG are planning to open another 13-17 Frankie and Benny's outlets, up to 6 new Chiquito sites and two more Garfunkels, with further expansion across its portfolio bringing the total number of new outlets for 2013 to between 28 and 35.

To read the full article from Caterer and Hotelkeeper, click here.

Zizzi to Open Flagship Restaurant in Glasgow's Royal Exchange

Over the past few weeks, Chapman Ventilation has been working hard on Zizzi's new flagship restaurant - a 250-cover site in Glasgow's Royal Exchange Square. Opening its doors today, Zizzi Royal Exchange is the first in a batch of new openings for the Gondola-owned group to feature a standalone bar. Speaking to BigHospitality, Erica Sawer, operations manager for Zizzi Scotland, said: "As Glasgow is such a vibrant city, we wanted to offer something different so we're opening our biggest ever restaurant in the UK that features a fully-licensed separate bar." It's been a great project for Chapman's, and we're delighted to be involved in Zizzi's exciting expansion plan.

To read the BigHospitality article, click here.

The Coldest Journey - A Thank You From Sir Ranulph Fiennes

As Sir Ranulph Fiennes and the rest of the Coldest Journey team prepare to start their six-month trek across the Antarctic, everyone here at Chapman Ventilation would like to wish them the very best of luck. We're extremely proud to be involved in this project, and were delighted to receive this thank you email from Ranulph earlier today:

"Dear David

This is just a wee note of thanks to express my gratitude to you personally for all your support of the Expedition. It has taken me five years of work to get to the stage where we do stand a reasonable chance of success. There are still far too many “unpredictables” ahead to be sure we can make it. Only time will tell. But thanks to you and to our other Sponsors, we are at least in a position to have a go!

With 1000 Thanks and very best wishes

Ran."

You can find out more about The Coldest Journey and keep up to date with their progress here.
 

The Sustainable Restaurant Association Awards 2013

Yesterday saw the second annual SRA awards take place in fantastic style at the OXO2 on London's South Bank. Hosted by Raymond Blanc, the event attracted the likes of Antonio Carluccio, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Sheila Dillon, with a three course menu created by chefs from Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons (their starter of beetroot terrine is shown in the photo opposite), Bruno Loubet of Bistro Bruno Loubet at the Zetter Hotel, and Agnar Sverrisson of Texture. Chapman Ventilation was delighted to be a part of this prestigious event, sponsoring and presenting the Large Sustainable Group of the Year award. This year's winner was Marriott Hotels, who were recognised for their improvements and consistency across all aspects of sustainability. Other winners included Wahaca, River Cottage and The Savoy. For more information on the awards, please click here.

Chapman Ventilation Sponsors The SRA Awards 2013

Early this year we became the first HVAC contractor to be listed on the Sustainable Restaurant Association's approved supplier directory, and we're delighted to announce that we will also be sponsoring the Sustainable Large Group of the Year award at their second annual awards dinner. Taking place on Monday 4th February at the OXO2, the awards aim to highlight the foodservice businesses that have made the greatest acheivements over the past year towards sustainability.

For more information, click here.

Chapman Ventilation Phone Problems Rectified

As of today, our phone system is back online, so please use our office number to contact us as normal. We'd like to thank you for your patience over the past few days, and we're sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Chapman Ventilation Temporary Phone Number: 01707 323331

We are currently experiencing temporary problems with our telephone system. If you need to contact us for any reason, please call 01707 323331. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused, but we're working to correct the problem as soon as possible. Alternatively, if you need to request a call out, you can use our Helpdesk Contact Form. 

Naamyaa and Zoilo Among Fay Maschler's Top Restaurants of 2012

Two of our newest clients have been named by Fay Maschler as among her favourite restaurants of 2012. Naamyaa, the most recent concept from Alan Yau, the man behind Wagamama, Busaba Eathai and Hakkasan, and Zoilo, the Argentinian bar and restaurant on Duke Street, were listed today alongside the likes of Burger and Lobster, Bubbledogs and Dabbous. Congratulations all round, don't you think?

To read the full article, click here.

Chapman Ventilation Contracted to Tom Sellers' First Restaurant Concept

Tom Sellers, the 25-year-old British chef who has already racked up experience working with Tom Aikens, Thomas Keller and Rene Redzepi, is set to launch his first restaurant next month. Story, a forty-cover restaurant on the site of a former Bermondsey toilet block, will open on London’s Tooley Street sometime in February, serving British dishes that are “ingredient-led and steeped in history”. Speaking to Big Hospitality, Sellers explained that having managed to raise the funds for the restaurant and find a suitable site, he felt that now was the right time to open something permanent and “fulfil a lifelong dream”. Since returning from a stint with Redzepi last year, Sellers has been working with Adam Byatt of Trinity while searching for his own site, and ran a popular two-day pop-up called Foreword in Bethnal Green. We are absolutely delighted to be working with Tom on such an exciting project, so make sure you keep checking back here for updates on our work so far.

Read more

Chapman Ventilation Listed on the SRA's Approved Supplier Directory

We're delighted to announce that we are now listed on the Sustainable Restaurant Association's approved supplier directory. This online directory aims to provide restaurateurs, caterers and other hospitality businesses with the information they need in order to be able to make informed and environmentally conscious decisions when it comes to selecting potential suppliers. Suppliers must prove their commitment to sustainable work ethics through a comprehensive online application and assessment, and it's great to be recognised for the effort we put into sourcing only the most efficient and sustainable solutions for our clients. Check out our profile here. 

The Coldest Journey Update, from Sir Ranulph Fiennes. 

Many thanks for your support for the Expedition. It has now been five years in the planning since Mike Stroud and I first agreed to try to traverse the Antarctic continent during the polar winter. The first likely obstacle will be to find somewhere to land our D6N Caterpillar vehicles. This has sometimes proved impossible along hundreds of miles of the coastline due to fragile ever-fracturing ice cliffs or too-thin sea-ice.

Soon after our arrival the hours of sunlight will dwindle to 24 sunless hours and the temperature will begin to drop. At the equinox, 12 March 2013, we will set out from the Atlantic coast and attempt to travel 4000 kilometres via the South Pole to the Pacific coastline before 21 September, the end of the polar winter. En route the 6 man team will complete unique science research programmes, interact with our ambitious educational website and help our charity Seeing is Believing raise our target of 10,000 US dollars.

No humans, including the world’s polar experts, have yet managed to cross the frozen continent in winter time. Still air temperatures of minus 92°c have been recorded in the remote interior. The average height is 10,000 feet above sea level. We will face many unknowns and like the NASA team that dared try for the moon, we know at this pre-launch stage, that our aim may or may not prove possible to achieve. Thanks to your help, we can at least try.

With 1000 thanks and best wishes

Ran Fiennes and all The Team of The Coldest Journey

www.thecoldestjourney.org
 

Client Review: Naamyaa Cafe, Fay Maschler, London Evening Standard

Recently opened on St. John Street, Islington, Naamyaa Café is the latest venture from Alan Yau, the founder of Wagamama, Busaba Eathai, and Hakkasan amongst others. Naamyaa refers to spicy Thai sausages served with rice noodles, beansprouts, pickles, French beans, Thai herbs and green melon soup, and this traditional Thai dish is offered alongside other Thai classics, burgers and some Western meals – salad Nicoise for example. Fay Maschler, writing for the London Evening Standard, had nothing but praise for this, our latest client.

Read the full review here.

Chapman Ventilation Supplies  HVAC Equipment for Pitstop Charity Refurb

Chapman Ventilation has been working with Nando’s, the flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken specialist, for more than a decade now on the design of its bespoke HVAC systems. But this year, we were asked to help in an entirely different way.

Nando’s chosen charity for 2012 is Pitstop: a drop-in centre in Leatherhead for the homeless, unemployed and socially isolated. Running courses in basic literacy, music, food hygiene and first aid, and providing hot meals to all attendees, Pitstop aims to support users across a whole range of emotional and practical needs.

As part of their support, Nando’s has added a whole host of new furniture and equipment to Pitstop’s kitchen and seating area, redecorating areas in most need of a lick of paint and greatly improving the heating and insulation. Included in this refurbishment, we donated two over-door heaters, a hydroboil unit, a stainless-steel sink for the worktop and one night storage heater to help during the coming winter.

We’re delighted to have been able to help with such a worthwhile project that has seen Pitstop’s facilities undergo such a worthy facelift. If you want to find out more about Pitstop and the work they do, or even make a donation, visit www.pitstop.btck.co.uk.
 

Client Review: Hawksmoor Air Street, Joe Warwick, The Metro

Since opening less than a month ago, Hawksmoor Air Street has already amassed a considerable collection of rave reviews. The latest, from Joe Warwick of The Metro, has nothing but praise for this 'quality British steakhouse'.

Read the full review here.

Hawksmoor Air Street: Reviewed by Jay Rayner, The Observer

Cited by numerous critics as the best steak in London, Hawksmoor now operates four sites across the capital. The most recent opened earlier this month just off Regent Street: a gleaming homage to 1930s art-deco design, painstakingly reclaimed and refurbished. Here, Hawksmoor has joined forces with renowned seafood chef Mitch Tonks and developed a menu that showcases both steak and fish. And according to The Observer's Jay Rayner, it's pretty darn good.

Read the full review of Hawksmoor here.

Zoilo: Reviewed by the London Evening Standard

Zoilo, the long-awaited second venture from Casa Malevo’s Diego Jacquet and Alberto Abatte, opened just two weeks ago on Duke Street serving a menu inspired by the regions and dishes of Argentina. In her review published on Wednesday, Fay Maschler of the London Evening Standard described the ‘thoughtful, playful, deft and daring preparation’ as offering ‘glimpses in gastronomic pastures new’. She even went so far as to comment on the effectiveness of the extraction, and probably didn’t realise that in doing so she made a few bods here at Chapman Ventilation jump for joy. Thanks Fay, for a wonderful review of Zoilo and for pretty much making our day.

Read the full review of Zoilo here.

London Mexican Concepts Launch Significant Expansion Plans

London-based restaurant chain Poncho 8 has revealed plans to open its third restaurant in the capital at the end of this month ahead of an ambitious expansion plan starting next year. The new site will launch on Cullum Street, Leadenhall, and will join two existing restaurants in Spitalfields and St. Paul’s. It seems London can’t get enough of Mexican based concepts at the moment, as Chipotle, Tortilla, and Benito’s Hat, all clients of Chapman Ventilation, have announced significant expansion intentions for 2013.

Read more

Happy Movember!

Forget the pinching and punching, the first of November is all about growing a mo. Since its humble beginnings in Melbourne ten years ago, Movember has been raising awareness and generating vital funds for male health by encouraging men across the globe to grow, groom and preen their moustaches for the whole month.

Once registered on movember.com, all MoBros effectively become walking talking billboards for the 30 days of November, and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversations around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

And this year, we’re delighted to be involved. Alongside proper hamburger chain Byron, we’re encouraging people to take part, grow, and donate whatever they can to help. Order a special Mo Burger (no hair involved in this part you’ll be pleased to know) and 50p will be donated to Movember from each sale, or register online and raise £25 to receive a free burger of your choice.

So this is why our logo has temporarily grown a handlebar moustache, courtesy of our lovely graphic designers at Printhouse. Make sure you keep checking back here, follow us on Twitter and have a gander at the Byron website for details of some great upcoming competitions. And if anyone out there can manage to grow a moustache to rival the Chapman M, boy oh boy do we want to see it. Send us a photo, and who knows, we might just reward your efforts.

Grow forth and prosper, y’all.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen Ramps Up Its Expansion Plans

GBK has revealed plans to open another five restaurants before February as it acknowledges the surge in demand for premium burgers since it first launched in 2001. All five sites will feature an open theatre kitchen and artisan fittings – a design which has already been rolled out to existing sites including Westfield Stratford and Brighton, where we’re currently working on the improvements. The expansion plans will not end there, however. A further step-up is expected in the next financial year with a target of 7-10 openings plus 10+ in the years following. GBK’s five imminent openings are:

• Brent Cross shopping centre – 5th November
• Southgate shopping centre, Bath – early December
• Metrocentre, Gateshead – early December
• N1 Centre, Islington – early February
• Brindley Place, Birmingham – early February

Read more

Big Hospitality Business Profile: Dishoom

"With a second installment of its take on India's traditional cafe-restaurants about to open, Dishoom is successfully carving its own niche in the UK's dining space" - and as one of our newest clients were delighted to have been involved with the design and build of their second site. To find out more about Dishoom, click here.

Burger and Lobster, MeatLiquor and Hawksmoor Seven Dials Among Top 100 UK Restaurants

The Ledbury has been voted the UK’s top restaurant for the third year running at the National Restaurant Awards, beating Pollen Street Social and The Hand and Flowers to the top spot. Since their debut five years ago, the awards have provided a definitive guide to the best restaurants operating in the UK, and celebrated the achievements of the chefs and restaurateurs that got them there. This year’s event, held last night at The Brewery in Chiswell Street, London, saw Rex Restaurants Associates and Galvin Restaurants each score a hat trick of awards – and it was a good night for several of our clients too! Burger and Lobster, MeatLiquor, Hawksmoor Sevendials, Roka and Pitt Cue were all placed in the top 100 restaurants, so a massive congratulations to everyone involved.

Read more

Chapman Ventilation Hosts Factory Open Day

Earlier today, Chapman Ventilation played host to some of the hospitality industry’s most influential business people and restaurateurs as part of our factory open day. We invited a selection of clients and associates to tour our factory, see their equipment being made and enjoy a complimentary lunch in our test kitchen courtesy of Mark Gevaux, aka. The Ribman. Mark is renowned for cooking the best barbecue ribs in London, and is the evil genius behind some of the most potent hot sauces money can buy, aptly named “Christ on a Bike”, “Holy Mother of God” and “Holy F***”. Thanks to Mark, everyone in the factory and all those that came along, the afternoon has been a fantastic success. So for those of you that missed out this time, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the next one…

The Ribman Comes to Chapman Vent

This Friday, we will be opening our doors to some of the industry's leading restaurateurs and business minds to show them exactly how their ventilation equipment is designed and manufactured - and treat them to a spot of free lunch of course! Courtesy of Mark Gevaux (aka. The Ribman), we will be serving up London's best rib rolls and spiciest hot sauce - only for the brave or stupid - in our test kitchen and diner. For more information, or to wangle an invite, click here. 

Giraffe Launches New 'Burgers and Cocktails' Concept

Giraffe has continued its expansion plans with the launch of its new Burgers and Cocktails concept. Located in the Castleford Xscape Centre, this new restaurant follows in the wake of the successful, burger-focussed site launched on St. James' Street earlier this year and, as you might have guessed, serves a range of burgers and alcoholic cocktail concoctions alongside hot dogs, selected salads and various mexican-inspired appetizers.

Find out more about Giraffe's new concept here.

Ranulph Fiennes To Attempt The Coldest Journey On Earth

Veteran polar explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, will take on one of the last remaining polar challenges by attempting to cross Antarctica in winter – the coldest journey on Earth – with five colleagues and with the support of the Commonwealth and a number of sponsors.

On 6 December 2012, on board the expedition’s South African ice-strengthened research ship, ‘SA Agulhas’, the expedition team – led by Sir Ranulph – will leave London , bound for Antarctica. Their aim is to complete ‘The Coldest Journey’ – the first-ever trans-Antarctic winter expedition. The Coldest Journey will also attempt to raise USD10 million for Seeing is Believing, a global charitable initiative to fight avoidable blindness. During their sea voyage, the team will undertake a number of scientific tasks to provide unique data on marine life, oceanography and meteorology. Using the very latest technological innovations, this epoch-making journey will pave the way for a new dawn in Antarctic, year-round exploration.

On 21 March 2013, the equinox, the six expedition members will begin a six month journey to reach the Ross Sea. Their route from the Russian base of Novolazareskaya (‘Novo’) to Captain Scott’s base at McMurdo Sound – via the South Pole – will test the limits of human endurance. During this six month period the expedition team will travel nearly 4,000 kilometres, mostly in complete darkness in temperatures as low as -90°C. The expedition team will have to be entirely self-sufficient and there will be no search and rescue facility available, as aircraft cannot penetrate inland during winter, due to darkness and risk of fuel freezing.

Previously, the furthest any expedition has ever ventured into Antarctica during the winter is 60 miles. On this forthcoming journey, Sir Ranulph and his team will aim to cover 2,000 miles in six months, crossing the polar plateau at an average height of 10,000ft above sea level.

We’re absolutely delighted to be a part of this epic journey. Working alongside Sirius Products, we have designed, developed and fabricated stainless-steel sinks, urinals and glove racks for use throughout the expedition, all of which required significant planning and research in order to develop a product able to withstand such extreme conditions.

To read more about Ranulph Fiennes and The Coldest Journey, click here.

RunGeordieRun Completes The Chapman Ventilation Death Valley Challenge

Two days, 78 miles and almost 60 litres of water later, and Mark Allison has completed the Chapman Ventilation Death Valley Challenge in aid of The Children’s Foundation. After battling against dehydration, overheating and temperatures up to 120F, Mark reached the finish line at Jubilee Pass at 2100 on Friday evening. As of today, it’s 399 days until Mark sets off on his next big challenge: Australia 2013.

To find out more about the Death Valley Challenge and the upcoming run across Australia, check out Mark's blog or follow @rungeordierun on Twitter.

Introducing the "Chapman Ventilation Death Valley Challenge"

In just three days time, Mark Allison will be running 78 miles through Death Valley in aid of The Children’s Foundation and St. Benedict’s Hospice, and as part of his preparation for his 2013 run across Australia. In what is now, somewhat ironically, known as the Chapman Ventilation Death Valley Challenge, it is not so much the distance or the terrain that will prove challenging, but the heat. Temperatures in Death Valley are expected to peak at 46C this week…

Keep up to date with Mark’s progress and learn more about the run through Death Valley on his blog, or join in the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #deathvalley.
 

Chapman Ventilation Sponsor RunGeordieRun

You may remember that this time last year we sponsored Mark Allison, aka. RunGeordieRun, on his mammoth journey across the United States. Mark ran a grand total of 3,100 miles from California to New York in just 100 days, and has continued to raise over £107,000 for St. Benedict’s Hospice and The Children’s Foundation with the help of Team RunGeordieRun. And now he’s at it again. On the 16th October 2013, Mark will begin his journey across Australia in Perth, finishing up at Bondi Beach on Christmas Eve. We’re absolutely delighted to be sponsoring him throughout this new challenge, and we’ll be covering his progress over the coming year on our news feed.

To keep up to date with RunGeordieRun’s progress, check out his blog here.
 

Cabana to Open Third Restaurant in London

Cabana, the Brazilian barbecue restaurant owned by David Ponte and Jamie Barber, is set to open its third site in London: a 140-cover outlet on the Southern Terrace at Westfield White City. This new restaurant is due to open by the end of October, and will feature an outdoor terrace, Brazilian posters and denim banquettes, all inspired by the favelas of Sao Paulo. Speaking to Caterer and Hotelkeeper, Barber said; “It’s no secret that we’d like to have about four or five restaurants so we are looking for more sites. While this one is inspired by Sao Paulo, future restaurants may take inspiration from Rio de Janeiro or other states like Bahia or Para. We don’t want to be a chain of identical restaurants.” The menu at the new site will incorporate Cabana’s trademark barbecue skewers, alongside traditional street food and its new malagueta chicken breast burger.

Read more

World of Work: Read 12 year old Hugo Clark's homework report on his day at Chapman Ventilation

Last month, twelve year old Hugo Clark spent a day working at Chapman Ventilation as part of his school's 'World of Work' scheme. A few weeks later, and we received the following letter. Now, I'd like to apologise for the slightly poor quality of the image below, but Hugo's journal was so brilliant and charmingly written that I was reluctant to copy and paste bits for fear of spoiling the letter as a whole. Please take the time to read this from start to finish, it really is worth it!

Client Business Profile: Chipotle

Chipotle, the American burrito behemoth, made its debut in the UK nearly two years ago and since then it has carefully begun to expand across London, with four sites now open and a fifth due to open later this month. Compared to its rapid and prolific expansion in the states, where up to 4 new sites open every single week, this somewhat cautious approach has defied a lot of expectations. Big Hospitality has been speaking to Jacob Sumner, the man in charge of bringing Chipotle’s food and ethics to the UK market.

Business Profile: Chipotle

Jacob Sumner, responsible for US burrito chain Chipotle's expansion into and across the UK, talks about the business and its mission to show UK consumers that fast food doesn’t necessarily have to be bad food.

http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Business/Business-Profile-Chipotle
 

 30th July

Pho Secures £5m Investment to Fund Growth

Vietnamese street-food restaurant Pho has secured a £5.2m investment from ISIS Equity Partners to fund further growth and expansion. The seven-strong chain, founded and led by Stephen and Juliette Wall, is looking to increase its estate to 25 sites over the next four years, concentrating initially on opportunities in London. This will hopefully be followed by expansion into areas such as Brighton (currently the location of its biggest outlet), Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds and Bristol. The Wall duo will remain at the helm during this process, with investors Ed and Tom Martin from the ETM group continuing their support and Benoit Broch, who led the deal on behalf of ISIS, joining the board at Pho. Pho specializes in the traditional Vietnamese pho noodle soup as well as other Vietnamese street foods and salads, and we are delighted to count them as one of our clients.

Read more

2nd July

Hawksmoor to Focus on Seafood and Steak in Fourth London Restaurant

Hawksmoor, the renowned London-based steak restaurant and one of our loyal clients, is set to open its fourth site in the capital this October. The new restaurant, located on the corner of Air Street on the former site of Bruno Loubet’s L’Odeon, is expected to be a significant departure from Hawksmoor’s current steak-led menu, with an emphasis on charcoal-grilled seafood as well as its famously gargantuan steaks. It’s been a busy period for Hawksmoor: their most recent site in Guildhall opened late last year swiftly followed by the addition of a 60-cover bar to its Spitalfields restaurant.

Read more

29th June

Jamie Oliver Launches Two New Jamie’s Italian Concepts

Jamie Oliver has expanded his Jamie’s Italian estate with two new concepts: the addition of a deli to the existing Bath site and a ground breaking new restaurant in Gatwick airport’s North Terminal. The Deli @ Jamie’s Italian is located in Misom Place and offers an all-day menu of take-away dishes such as pastries, salads, sandwiches and fresh pasta alongside a speciality meat counter. Speaking about this new development, Oliver said: “We’ve been talking about doing a deli since before we even opened the first Jamie’s Italian in Oxford and finally we’re in a position where we can do it”.

The deli will be followed by the opening of Oliver’s largest restaurant to date this weekend. The 6,000 sq. ft. North Terminal site in Gatwick airport features a Jamie’s Italian, a bar version of the Union Jacks concept and an onsite bakery producing bread, cakes and pizza bases for use in the restaurants and a ‘grab and go’ option in the form of fresh salads and sandwiches. This was a significant challenge for us due to the stringent requirements relating to such a high-profile and high-security site, but we’re delighted to say that all’s gone well and we handed over on time and in budget as usual. So next time you go on holiday, make sure you pop in and check out all our hard work!
 

Read more

13th June

Spotlight: Nando's Westfield Stratford City

Nando’s, the fast-casual Portuguese grilled chicken restaurant, has amassed a considerable estate since it was established in 1987 and over the past decade we’ve worked closely with them on over 100 sites. One of the latest and most high-profile sites opened in Westfield Stratford City last September, the official shopping centre and sponsor of the 2012 Olympic games. The impressive 260 cover site, designed by Harrisons, features artwork by South African artists at the Spier Arts Academy in Cape Town, a black and gold mosaic floor, and a sweeping copper bar. As you’re probably well aware, Nando’s specialise in traditional flame-grilled Peri Peri chicken, ranging from the mild lemon and herb to the “throat-scorching” extra-hot. For us, this cooking style was particularly tricky. High temperatures, live flames and lots of smoke, plus the addition of the various spicy sauces and the sheer size of the cookline, meant a bespoke ventilation and filtration system had to be developed in order to effectively cope with the intensive cooking style. In conjunction with filtration manufacturer Sirius Products, we installed high-efficiency Electrostatic Precipitation and Ultra-Violet odour control, to remove all perceptible traces of grease, smoke and odour from the air stream. Eight months on, and the project has been a phenomenal success.

To read our case study on Nando's, click here.

To learn more about the design and layout of Nando's Westfield Stratford City, click here.

28th May

Brasserie Blanc to Continue Expansion into the Provinces After Chez Gerard Conversions

Brasserie Blanc, the mid-range French brasserie concept founded by Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc, is to continue its plans to expand into the provinces once it completes the conversion of the recently purchased Chez Gerard sites in London. The Brasserie Bar Company, which operates Brasserie Blanc alongside the White Brasserie Pub chain, is aiming to open 11 new sites in 2012 taking its portfolio to 25. According to Mark Derry, chief executive of Brasserie Blanc, the firm has traditionally avoided expanding into London because of the ‘fierce’ rents. However, when the Chez Gerard sites came onto the market just after Brasserie Blanc had secured new funding to develop, it was seen as a significant opportunity to operate in a market in which the brand was previously under-represented. Despite this, Brasserie Blanc are continuing with their old strategy of continuing to develop the provinces.

Read more

17th May

 MWB Sell Bistro du Vin Sites to Burger & Lobster

MWB, the firm behind the Malmaison and Hotel du Vin estates, has confirmed the sale of its two Bistro du Vin sites in London to the owners of the Burger & Lobster brand for £1.2million. The two restaurants in Soho and Clerkenwell generated a loss of approximately £330,000 in the eighteen months leading up to June 2011, and the revenue generated from the sale will be reinvested in the existing Hotel du Vin, Business Exchange and Malmaison ventures although it’s currently unclear what the firm will do with their two Pub du Vin sites in Birmingham and Brighton. Burger & Lobster, one of our newest clients, currently operate one site in London’s Mayfair, although the brand is managed by the owners of the Goodman Russian steakhouse concept.

Read more

30th April

 Cote Tops UK Profit Growth List

The 31-strong Cote estate has been revealed as having the fastest-growing profits in the UK’s restaurant, pub and quick service market after delivering a 225.3% profit growth over a three-year period. Owned by Richard Caring, the French bistro chain topped the Zolfo Cooper Profit Tracker – an annual list of the 50 most profitable foodservice companies In the UK. Wasabi, the London based Sushi and bento chain, came in second with a profit growth of 79.8%, closely followed by Nando’s which reported growth of 75.3%. Other high performing businesses on the list include Giraffe, Wagamama and Brasserie Blanc. Speaking to Big Hospitality, Alex Scrimgeour, Cote’s joint managing director, said; “It is really nice to be recognised through this unique new benchmark. Our approach has been very much to keep our heads down, ensuring that our restaurants are delivering the right Cote customer experience…”. Formed in 2007 by the management team that sold Strada to Tragus, Cote takes its inspiration from the many famous bistros that populate Paris, offering simply-prepared French classics such as steak frites and moules marinieres.

Read more

17th April

 Vietnamese Restaurant Pho Secures 7th Site

Vietnamese restaurant chain Pho is to open its seventh outlet after securing a site in East London. The group, led by Stephen and Juliette Wall, currently operates five sites in London and one in Brighton, serving traditional Vietnamese cuisine, street food and its infamous Weasel coffee (strictly for the strong of stomach). This new addition to the estate is in the former S&M café in Spitalfields and is set to open in late June. Commenting on the site, Stephen Wall said: “We’re thrilled to have finally secured this site after chasing it for a long time”.

Read more

11th April

Ribstock 2012: Sponsored by Chapman Ventilation

10th April

Brasserie Bar Co. Secures Funding for Expansion Plans

4th April

The Restaurant Group Reports Like-for-Like Sales up 3.2%

19th March

Byron to Open First Restaurant Outside London

Read more >

8th March

Nando's, Jamie's Italian and Pho Winners at Retailers' Retailer of the Year Awards

Congratulations to all those who won at the Retailers' Retailer of the Year award earlier this week! The prestigious awards, held at The Dorchester on 7th March, are the only industry awards to be voted for by senior executives within the industry itself. They aim to identify retailing excellence in an eating and drinking-out environment, concentrating on marketing position, great products and flawless execution. Just some of the winners include: Nando’s, David Niven’s high-street peri-peri chicken concept which beat Prezzo, McDonalds and Whitbread to the Best Company award; Brasserie Blanc won the Best Acquisition award after its £9million purchase of the Chez Gerard chain; Vietnamese street-food chain Pho was recognised as the Best Emerging Concept; and Jamie’s Italian on Threadneedle Street won the award for the Best Venue.

For more information on the RRTOY awards, click here >

27th February

Jamie Oliver Acquires Covent Garden Market Building Site

No, he hasn’t bought a building-site in Covent Garden, rather a new restaurant site in the Covent Garden Market Building.  The site, formerly occupied by a pop-up restaurant from Canteen, is likely to be transformed into either the fourth Union Jacks since the concept was launched in November 2011, or alternatively another Jamie’s Italian branch.  The purchase of the glass-covered site inside the Covent Garden Market Building was completed last month, and although full details have not yet been revealed, it has also been confirmed that a request for planning permission to erect a glass box within the building had been submitted to Westminster County Council.  This purchase accompanies plans to expand Oliver’s restaurant business into Gatwick airport, and the anticipated opening of the first Union Jacks site outside London this Summer.

Read more >

17th February

Big Hospitality Interview: Jamie Barber on Cabana, Choosing Restaurant Concepts and Learning from Failure

Jamie Barber, founder of Brazilian barbecue chain Cabana, one of our latest clients, has been renowned for his hands-on approach to choosing and launching restaurant concepts since he opened Hush in 1999. Since then, he’s gone onto launch concepts such as Villandry and Kitchen Italia, before opening Cabana in West London’s Central St. Giles development late last year.

Watch the interview >

6th February

Jamie Oliver to Launch First Union Jacks Outside London

Jamie Oliver and Chris Bianco have acquired a site in Winchester for the first Union Jacks restaurant outside London. Jamie Bianco Ltd., the company established to oversee the Union Jacks concept and expansion, has taken a twenty-five year lease on the High Street restaurant set to open in the summer of this year. The Hampshire site will be the third Union Jacks to open in a relatively short period of time: the concept was launched in November 2011 with a large site in the Renzo Piano-designed Central St. Giles development in London’s West End. Since then, another site on the Chiswick High Road has been secured, which is set to open on 26th March. This rapid expansion follows a particularly successful trading year for Oliver’s high-street restaurant chain Jamie’s Italian, and further expansion of this chain is set to take place in 2012 including plans for an outlet at Gatwick airport.

Read more >

18th January

Hawksmoor Spitalfields to add 60-cover bar

Steak restaurant Hawksmoor, voted Time Out magazine’s “Best New Restaurant 2011” is set to start work on a new 60-cover bar at its Spitalfields site next month. The bar is due to open late in February, and will feature interiors by regular Hawksmoor collaborators, interior architects Macauly Sinclair. It will have an exclusive drinks list running alongside the regular cocktail menu plus an entirely new bar menu. Currently in a testing stage, this new menu will include short-rib French dip, fried oyster roll, chilli cheese and Hawksmoor hot dogs alongside onion rings, chicken wings and fried oysters.

Read more >

9th January

La Tasca Buys Newbury Site from Paramount

Spanish casual dining chain La Tasca, another of our high-street clients, has expanded its estate for the first time in four years following its acquisition of the former Brasserie Gerard in Newbury, Berkshire. Paramount, the operator of Brasserie Gerard, was placed into administration in November, and have since sold sites to Spaghetti House, Prezzo, and Brasserie Blanc. Simon Wilkinson, chief executive of La Tasca Restaurants, said: “On the back of very strong December trading…we have taken the opportunity to begin our expansion programme ahead of schedule with the acquisition of the Brasserie Gerard in Newbury”. La Tasca Restaurants said it would aim to take on more sites throughout the year, while continuing to transform their existing estate into the new La Tasca, Spanish Tapas Bar and Kitchen concept.

Read more >

6th January

GBK Raises Money for Capital FM's Help a Child Campaign

Since 2009, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, or GBK, have raised £250,000 for Capital FM’s Help a Child campaign, a charity which aims to provide financial support for grass-root projects for London's less-advantaged children. From 16th January until the 26th February, GBK will be offering two of their burgers for £10, with 20p of each sale being donated to Help a Child. They are also giving one Capital FM listener the chance to win a trip to Hamburg, New York, in time for the Hamburger Festival, alongside £500 spending money. “GBK’s support of Help a Capital Child has been phenomenal over the last couple of years, said Rich Clarke, presenter on Capital FM. “We are all confident that this latest partnership will be the most successful yet.

Read more >

21st December

Tortilla Gets £3.5m Backing to Expand

Mexican casual dining chain Tortilla are one of our newest customers, and have recently raised £3.5m from private-equity investors Quivlest in order to continue their rapid expansion after plans to open its eighth London site were revealed. Quilvest has previously been associated with firms such as Yo! Sushi, and consequently Tortilla are predicting substantial growth over the next five years. As part of the deal, Quilvest partner Axelle Strain will join the board of directors, while former chief executive of Clapham House Paul Campbell is a non-executive director.

Read more >