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Improving Your Business
"70% of the taste of the food is in the service" says Ruth Watson
Ruth Watson recently spoke to a large group of delegates at the Tourism West Midlands' annual conference. TV viewers will be familiar with Ruth as the star of Channel Five's 'The Hotel Inspector' where she can be seen in action - on a mission to transform the nation's worst accommodation, aiming to turn hostility into hospitality and swap empty beds for a 'No Vacancies' sign.
Food, Glorious Food!
Ruth has plenty of experience of the hospitality industry as well as a real passion for food. She is an award winning hotelier, restauranteur, cook, writer, and television presenter. Ruth currently owns the award winning Crown and Castle hotel, in the lovely village of Orford, on the Suffolk coast.
Do as you would be done by!
 During Ruth's opening remarks, she extolled the virtues of one of her favourite characters, Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby (from Charles Kingsley's book, The Water Babies) .
Ruth went onto remind delegates of the importance of giving good service by being welcoming and polite. Ruth believes that " 70% of the taste of the food is in the service. "
Ruth considers that looking after one's staff is of paramount importance and she recalled her exasperation whilst talking to one owner, who was complaining about his lack of staff, whilst saying 'of course, everyone knows that the industry pays badly!'
Marketing
Ruth stressed the importance of good marketing which she stressed, is not the same as advertising! She firmly believes that you can change your clientele by creative marketing. Contacting the local press is a good way of marketing your business positively, especially if you have introduced an innovative approach, such as becoming a 'green business'. Many businesses fail to attract bookings because their websites are not professional enough because, for example, large photographs make downloading pages slow.
Ruth asked delegates to remember that guests' 'Total Experience' is based on perception and she implored listeners to remember that one should not try to be what you cannot be. Speaking about location, Ruth gave the example of her home in Suffolk which does not attract overseas visitors in the same way as Stratford-upon-Avon does. Therefore one's marketing in Suffolk would differ from that of a Stratford B&B owner. As Ruth concluded her presentation, she shared some of her personal experiences of being in the hospitality trade and said that others must remember that no matter how good you are, you will never meet everyone's expectations!
Rick Stein OBE, talks to Bed and Breakfast News
Chris Stalker, recently asked Rick Stein some searching questions, in an exclusive interview for Bed & Breakfast News…
 Rick Stein is what one might describe as a very busy man as juggles with travelling abroad, filming, writing books and running his businesses in Cornwall. I have always enjoyed watching Rick’s TV programmes and I was delighted when he agreed to give Bed & Breakfast News an exclusive interview.
We began by chatting about Cornwall and I asked Rick what were his earliest recollections of cooking? Rick told me that as a youngster he liked helping his Mum in the kitchen. “She loved cooking and the first thing I learnt was how to make short crust pastry. As a teenager my favourite dish to cook for friends was Spaghetti Bolognese, adding Mum’s secret ingredient of chicken livers to the minced beef!”
I wondered if Rick had always had a burning desire to be a chef but he explained, “No, I first trained in Hotel Management but I did not like the long hours. However, the chef’s training inspired me as I’ve always liked food and cooking – as children, we were taken to nice restaurants when we were growing up and I developed a sophisticated palate for great food. All this led me to open my first restaurant!”
Whilst Rick’s hotels come under the ‘luxury’ category, the rooms above his café offer more modest B&B accommodation. Rick told me that he started offering B&B to his guests at the café about fifteen years ago. “I decided to open the rooms above the café as B&B accommodation because I wanted our diners to extend their stay in Padstow and not just visit for a meal. Our guests particularly enjoy their breakfasts in the café after a good night’s sleep.”
Rick recently starred in one of BBC 2’s films remembering the life and work of Sir John Betjeman, who was, like Rick, passionate about Cornwall. “Betjeman and Me - Rick Stein's Story” included extracts of Betjeman’s poetry, glorious Cornish scenery and culminated in a seafood feast, cooked by Rick, for special guests including Sir John’s daughter Candida Lycett Green and one of Sir John’s best friends, Jonathan Steddall.
Rick says of his beloved Cornwall, “I just love Padstow. We came here for holidays every year when I was a child and now, 40 years later, I feel like I really belong here.”
Rick as featured on the front cover of B&B News
Of course one can’t talk to Rick Stein without talking about food, so I asked him what makes a good breakfast, a great breakfast. After a few seconds pause, Rick said “Attention to detail is the key to a good breakfast. Using the very best of local produce, like really fresh farm eggs, local sausage, bacon and dairy products. As Somerset Maughan famously said, ‘you can eat well in England three times a day - breakfast, breakfast and breakfast’!”
So, what is Rick’s favourite breakfast recipe? – Without hesitation he answered “Huevos Rancheros (a Mexican dish of eggs with beans fried in lard) and good coffee - bliss!”
Every chef seems to have a favourite piece of kitchen equipment and Rick told me that his ‘musts’ are “A set of really good cooks’ knives; a big Cooks’ knife, a tiny ‘office’ knife and a fish filleting knife. If you have these three knives, you don’t need any others to prepare great food.”
I found Rick very relaxed and easy to talk to, obviously a chap with a great sense of humour. So, what makes him laugh? He chuckled, “Banter with friends! A good laugh is often on the cards, after a day’s filming with the TV crew I work with. We have got to know each other well and we have great fun.”
Rick is great friends with Hugo Woolley (author of two superb recipe books, ‘Breakfasts’ and ‘Brunch’) who runs ‘Woodlands Country House’ in Padstow. Hugo writes a recipe for Bed & Breakfast News each month and he and Rick often exchange their culinary secrets
The B&B News Website:
The new Bed and Breakfast News website has been designed to be a source of information for new subscribers, advertisers and those in the industry wishing to submit editorial, it gives a flavour of the content of each monthly issue. The email links enable direct access to the B&B News news-desk.
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