Campaign for Political Representation for Restaurants Scores Ministerial Meeting

Minister for Hospitality campaign gets a small boost

Petitioners behind the call for a Minister for Hospitality will meet with its current representative in a bid to pressure the government to create the post. Paul Scully, the minister for small business, consumers and labour markets who represented the government during the debate on the matter, will meet representatives in the coming weeks.

While the government remains evasive on the likelihood of creating a role, campaigners will see the meeting as an opportunity to further press home their case. The brief petition, which simply says: “Create a Minister for Hospitality in the UK Government,” has been backed across the restaurant world, after the novel coronavirus pandemic highlighted the relative political powerlessness of a £130 billion sector. Petitions Committee chair and Labour MP Catherine McKinnell directly urged Boris Johnson to set up the meeting, saying that “it is essential there is a focused voice within Government to represent the hospitality sector.” Only Johnson is able to create the post, so any initial meeting will have to go further to have an impact.

And in other food news...

• The ultimate guide to celebrating Lunar New Year with food, including the top Chinese takeaway options and where to eat dumplings in all their stripes.
• Seventy (70) outstanding restaurant meal kits for London delivery.
• Pubs are pressuring the government on when and how they will reopen after lockdown.
• The unholy alliance between Weetabix and baked beans must be stopped.
• Theatreland restaurateur par excellence Joe Allen has died, aged 87. [Big Hospitality]
• East London tasting menu magpie Pidgin will use Fitzrovia restaurant Mortimer House to expand its delivery over the next few months. [Hot Dinners]
• Good tweet: