A London community eco café has been thrown a lifeline to continue operating for another year after a successful fundraising effort. A campaign by the FoodCycle Café in Haringey, powered by crowdfunding website Peoplefund.it and supported by celebrities, MPs and Twitter, reached its £5,000 target this week...

Sir David Michels has assumed the presidency of the Institute of Hospitality during the Annual Fellows' Dinner held at the Corinthia hotel in London this week. During the dinner, Sir David told the story of how, as a student, he was sacked from Simpson's-in-the-Strand...

The British Hospitality Association (BHA) is urging the Government to allow hotels to benefit from the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's failure to include hotels in the scheme in his autumn statement.

Lindley Venue Catering has launched a new range of branded food retail concepts and extended its partnership with Starbucks Coffee Company. Tottenham Hotspur FC's White Hart Lane Stadium was the first to benefit from some of the new brands.

Celebrity chef James Martin is to launch a restaurant at the Talbot hotel in his home town of Malton, North Yorkshire. Owned by the Fitzwilliam Estate for more than 200 years, the Talbot is currently closed while it undergoes a £4m restoration. It will reopen in the spring.

Roast restaurant in London's Borough Market has appointed Marcus Verberne as its new head chef. New Zealand-born Verberne joins Roast after a decade of working with Mark Hix, most recently at his restaurant at the Albermarle at Brown's Hotel, where he was executive chef...

Dabbous, the first restaurant from former Texture head chef Ollie Dabbous, has wowed the London food critics, with both the Evening Standard and Time Out scoring it a perfect five. Located in Fitzrovia, Dabbous is a joint venture between the chef and mixologist Oskar Kinberg.

Paul Roberts has been appointed finance director of boutique hotel brands Malmaison and Hotel du Vin. Roberts, 42, who takes up the role in March, joins the two groups from De Vere Hotels where he was finance director of 11 hotels including Cameron House on Loch Lomond and the Grand at Brighton.

Popolo Leisure has bought the remaining parts of Principle Leisure (North East), which was previously part of Washington-based Principle Leisure Group, which which went into administration last year. The deal includes five bars and restaurants...

Gary Rhodes will open his fourth overseas restaurant with the launch of Rhodes 44 at the St Regis Abu Dhabi this summer. Rhodes 44 will offer the Michelin-starred chef's signature cuisine with Arabic influences. It will be the third overseas venture by Rhodes in collaboration with Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Jason Atherton, chef-proprietor of Pollen Street Social, which opened in London's Mayfair last April, is to open a second restaurant in Singapore, with former Caprice Holdings and ex-Zuma chef Colin Clague at the helm.

Themed nightclub-cum-restaurant and celebrity haunt Gilgamesh in Camden, North London, has had its licence put under review by police after a man was glassed in the neck and other violent attacks went unreported. Police lodged a licence review of the nightspot with a claim that it was "associated with serious crime and disorder", according to www.hamhigh.co.uk.

Surrey-based caterer Caper and Berry has won a three-year contract at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford from incumbent operator Kudos. The deal, worth £2.1m, will see Caper and Berry operate the theatre's 70-seater restaurant serving a menu of modern British, locally-sourced food.

Hospitality faces two scenarios in 2012 as the top teams progress but those at the bottom struggle, says Graeme Smith a partner at Zolfo Cooper

When it comes to hospitality, it's essential to have a clear idea of what your customers want from your business. But how do you find out exactly what's going on inside their heads? How do you ask the question without intruding on the experience of your guests?

Jamie Oliver is to open the first non-London branch of his new restaurant concept, Union Jacks, in Winchester in the summer. The celebrity chef, who launched the British-influenced restaurant group at the Central St Giles development in London's West End last November, has taken over a high-street site in the Hampshire city.

Hilton Worldwide is looking to recruit 50 young chefs to join its Chef Apprenticeship Academy this summer. The programme, which has already trained around 60 apprentices since the academy launched in 2010, will offer students a 12-month apprenticeship.

Harbour & Jones has picked up brand new business worth around £5m with a three-year catering contract at RSA House, home to the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA). The three-year deal, with an option to extend to five years...

Hospitality businesses recorded a 19.3% increase in administrations in 2011, confirming that it was one of the industries hardest hit by the economic downturn. Hotels are primarily responsible for the increase, with the number of administration appointments increasing from 51 to 80, year-on-year...

Edinburgh intends to drive up visitor numbers and spend per head through the development of the city's hotel and hosptiality offering. At the seventh annual Edinburgh Tourism Action Group (ETAG), Scotland's Minister for Tourism, Fergus Ewing, announced details of the Edinburgh Tourism Strategy...