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Poet and Chefs Collaborate

An award-winning poet has partnered with two chefs to bring poetry to a new audience. eunicepower

Clodagh Beresford Dunne has collaborated with the Dungarvan-based food artists Paul Flynn and Eunice Power as well as multi-media artist John Birmingham, for a unique project marking Poetry Day Ireland.

"Food for the Soul" is a collection of three of Clodagh Beresford Dunne's poems chosen by the two chefs and the artist and John Birmingham has created three short films.

"It's an honour to be involved in such an exciting collaboration with these creative people," the poet said.

"This project was the brainchild of Eunice Power and seeing these creatives connect with the work and create culinary performances inspired by my poetry is really special.

Hospitality must evolve Post Civid

Valuable insights from the Cvent 2021 Travel Managers Report reveal that the hospitality industry will need to adapt and evolve its practices to support the changing travel and event planning requirements from corporate travel managers (CTMs) in the post-pandemic era.

Cvent, a market-leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider, commissioned an independent research company, Censuswide, to survey industry professionals from Europe in the first quarter of 2021. This report is based on the survey responses from more than 500 CTMs from the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Netherlands. Respondents are responsible for sourcing hotels for their organisation’s travel programme.

CTMs across the UK and Europe stated that for future sourcing of venues, stringent health and safety protocols (including COVID-19 tests at the hotel), larger rooms better equipped for working and meetings, and more outdoor space will be key considerations. As such, hoteliers looking to capitalise on the RFP opportunities in 2021 and 2022 will need to focus on these areas in their sales and marketing efforts, and negotiations.

Tourism Welcomes Summer Plan

The tourism and hospitality sector has given a broad welcome to the plan to open much of the economy this Summer, with just he RSA voicing criticism. cruiser

The Taoiseach outlined the reopening plan throughout May and June, saying the country is in a better place and the Covid-19 strategy "is working" thanks to the efforts of people and the vaccination programme.

The main points of the re-opening plan are:

On 17 May all shops will be able to reopen, and on 2 June hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses and self-catering accommodation can open again.

Outdoor hospitality, including restaurants and all pubs, will resume on 7 June. Gyms, swimming pools and leisure centres can reopen on the same date for individual training.

While matches will resume on this date, it will be later in the summer before even small numbers of fans are allowed attend.

Also from 7 June, 25 guests can attend wedding receptions and indoor visits in private homes involving one other household can begin again.

People will be allowed to travel across the country from 10 May.

NI Hospitality Returns

ublicans and restaurateurs in Northern Ireland are gearing up to reopen their doors today in a further relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.

Under Stormont’s phased reopening plan, outdoor hospitality and all non-essential retail are due to resume later today after four months of closure.

Licensed and unlicensed premises can serve customers in outdoors settings in groups of six from no more than two householders.

It means publicans and restauranteurs who have outdoor space can resume operating.

Curfews on takeaways and off-licences have been removed.

RAI slams 'Divisive' re-opening

The Restaurants Association of Ireland has sharply criticised the Government’s reopening plan for “dividing” the hospitality sector. cummins2021

Under the easing of restrictions announced by the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, hotels will be allowed to reopen with indoor dining for residents from June 2nd, while other hospitality outlets will be allowed to reopen with outdoor dining only from June 7th.

No date has been set for the resumption of wider indoor dining apart from within hotels. The State’s public health advisers have repeatedly warned that indoor dining creates the conditions most conducive to the spread of the virus.

The RAI said the reaction within the restaurant sector to Thursday evening’s announcement is “disbelief, confusion and frustration” as “restaurant customers must dine on the street, whilst hotel guests can eat and drink indoors.”