MAGAZINE

Read the latest issue online here

Well, hello there. It feels a long time since I have directly addressed you wonderful Dine Out readers. It’s a pleasure to do so again.

Since temporarily taking the reins from Genna while she is off on maternity leave, it has been a rather busy month in the non-stop world of restaurants. Despite still keeping in touch with this side of the hospitality sector, I had forgotten how thick and fast the news agenda is – I guess it shows just how much you’re all doing out there. 

I write this welcome note on the eve of the Autumn Budget, so it’s fair to say that we’ve received a fair amount of communications from operators and their respective agencies, strongly voicing the support that the industry required from Rachel Reeves. With those statements unfortunately come the closure figures seen around the UK, as more businesses feel the impact of the chancellor’s last national address. Having said that, the reason looking after Dine Out is such a busy gig is because all the heavy content is constantly counteracted with positive news – openings, people moves, expansions, award winners. In a world where the national news agenda is dominated by doom and gloom, it’s a fine thing to regularly write about the progressive side of things within restaurants.

On that note, November was full of it. Our news and openings sections in this issue cover from page 4 all the way to page 16, and that’s before we even mention the winning businesses from two national events held last month in the National Pizza Awards (page 26) and the Street Food Championships (page 50). Yes, as well as reporting on news from all over the UK, we’ve been creating our own as well, as we spread the word about which pizza and street food dishes walked away with top honours at these action-packed occasions. Enjoy the issue.   

Tristan O’Hana
Editorial director