It’s time to bid farewell to what’s certainly been an interesting year for the foodservice sector. It was inspiring to see so many of you at last month’s PAPA Industry Awards – check out all the results and pictures, from page 12.

Welcome to our penultimate issue of 2023 – and it’s a bumper one. Pasta and sauces go under the microscope, with the frozen sector receiving a welcome boost. We also look at the virtues of in-house creativity.

There is much to devour this issue, including previews of Casual Dining and The Italian Show.

Another great opportunity is PAPA Pizza Week. And while it’s not until 19-26 November, now is the time to consider getting involved.

Enjoy our detailed preview of the European Pizza & Pasta Show [21-22 June], while we get up close and personal with the new vice-chair of the Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Association, Sunny Chhina.

This issue is a jointly edited one as, after 20 years in post as editor, Clare Benfield is moving on to pastures new and handing over the reins to her successor, Alex Bell. 

In this issue, we hear from some well-known names in the sector – Dawn Farms, Leathams and Papa Johns - and look ahead to some of the year’s early exhibitions (Northern Restaurant & Bar Show, IFE and HRC).

Our congratulations go to all this year’s Pizza Pasta & Italian Food Awards and Pizza Chef of the Year winners, the sector having once again provided plenty to be proud about.

October sees the hosting of The Italian Show – pizza edition in London (Porchester Hall, 11 October 2022) where the finals of PAPA’s Pizza Chef of the Year competition will take place. The event will also feature a fine showcase of Italian food and wines to be sampled, with many producers in attendance to offer advice.

Next month sees the hosting of Casual Dining, Commercial Kitchen and lunch! in a combined ‘one stop shop’ format at ExCel, London on 14 and 15 September (turn to page 32 for a preview). We also come up to date with the PAPA Awards 2022 latest, and encourage you to book your places for the celebratory awards dinner which always offers a great networking opportunity and chance to catch up.

There would seem to be conflicting indicators as to how well the hospitality sector is currently recovering, and performing, as it attempts to establish a more settled period of trading.

Just when many operators might have thought they were starting to have a proper chance to recover in the wake of the response to Covid, comes the removal, all at once it would appear, and legacy, of many of the measures, rolled out to help support businesses in the first place.

The close of 2021 and the new year saw subdued trading for many in hospitality, although takeaway and delivery operators, as ever, fared much better.

The return of the European Pizza and Pasta Show in November was much appreciated and enjoyed by the sector, with news that the show will now be joining forces with Bellavita Expo London in 2022.

This month sees the welcome return of the European Pizza and Pasta Show at London’s Olympia. We look forward to catching up with many of you at this event (the show also hosting the final of the Pizza Pasta & Italian Food Association’s Pizza Chef of the Year Competition). 

The wider hospitality sector has been enjoying a much-awaited period of re-opening in recent weeks, even though an uncertain outlook remains until staffing issues can be resolved and any ongoing effects of the response to Covid assessed, although throughout it all, pizza delivery and takeaway has continued to perform.

As our news pages suggest, there are more positive signs in the sector of re-openings, the launch of new businesses and new concepts. However, the prospect of a mixed employment and staffing situation remains in the wake of ‘lockdown’ and the lingering furlough scheme; many people from overseas having understandably also decided to return home in the intervening months.

Our features and articles cover the increasing importance of having recyclable packaging and being able to deal with food waste. This issue also marks the official launch of the industry’s prestigious PAPA Awards.

April saw the partial re-opening of hospitality with a focus on outdoor eating – one reason why pizza ovens, particularly wood-fired variants, have received greater attention in recent times.
Our features also cover pizza bases and flour, and franchising – the strong demand over the past year for delivered and take-away options now translating even more into rapid expansion for some operators. As ever, we also encourage you to make plans to enter this year’s PAPA Awards.

Take-away and delivery have been a life-saver for many businesses in the Italian food sector, with competition on the rise as other operators from other food sectors re-think their business models accordingly. 

Our congratulations go to all this year’s winners of the Pizza Pasta & Italian Food Awards, as well as the Pizza and Pasta Chef competitions; particularly in what has proved to be a challenging year for many. Our thanks too, to all the sponsors and judges in enabling these events to take place.

It's our 200th edition!

Inside This Issue

It seems as though just a few weeks have passed since Eat Out to Help Out, but now there’s a second ‘lockdown’ for England in the wake of a so-called ‘fire-breaker’ lockdown for Wales, and similar restrictions in Scotland. Much of
hospitality is again under tremendous pressure, even though the takeaway and delivery sector aspect of it can continue.

Inside This Issue

The government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme proved to be successful for the sector, with calls for its extension and some operators continuing the scheme by supporting it themselves. While Covid, and the unprecedented measures taken to deal with it, have taken centre stage, the government is also turning its attention to tackling the obesity epidemic. This issue also comes up to date with the PAPA Awards 2020 latest.

Inside This Issue

The hospitality sector has been allowed to re-open this month - a reduction in the social distancing from two to one metre, a temporary VAT reduction and Eat Out to Help Out scheme just some of the latest government support measures for food businesses trying to cope with altered consumer behaviour and a damaged economy.

Inside This Issue

In the rapidly changing environment, we now all find ourselves in - where nothing seems quite as straightforward as it was before the coronavirus pandemic all but closed the restaurant world - we have endeavoured in this issue to point you in the direction of help and support, and sources of advice in these unsettling times, as well as provide our customary ‘food for thought’ in terms of product news and industry developments. Looking ahead, we’d also like to remind you about this year’s PAPA Awards.

Inside This Issue

Along with news and features from the industry, this issue looks at The Casual Dining Show (25-26 March 2020) which will once again be taking place at London's ExCel

Inside This Issue

Along with news and features from the industry, this issue looks at the PAPA Awards as well as the Pizza Chef and Pasta Chef competitions which took place in November.