Welcome to this week’s News Bites, where we’re tucking into some tuna tostadas, devouring a plant-based burger, and swapping our electricity provider to 100% Heineken biogas. Quite a week!
Smokin’ hot at-home dining
Shoreditch smokehouse, HotBox is set to collaborate with London Bridge seafood spot Bob’s Lobster this April to create a new at-home dining experience being sold to support homeless charity, The Passage. The six course £80 meal kit includes lobster and crayfish croquettes, bone marrow loaded with onions, grilled tuna tostadas, smoked brisket tacos and a New York-style cheesecake to finish! Every delivery will include an invite to a virtual supper club on April 8, where The Passage’s Jenny Travassos will chat with Rob Dann of Bob’s Lobster and HotBox’s Lewis Spencer about hospitality and the homeless. You had us at croquettes!
Neat Burger heads for world domination!
Vegan fast-food chain and Food Alert client, Neat Burger, has set its sights on being the world’s number one plant-based chain, with 20 new sites set to open by 2022. Before the pandemic, the group had just launched its flagship site on London’s Regents Street and was due to open five other restaurants, but then lockdown hit and switched focus to dark kitchens. “As a tool for expansion, delivery kitchens make money and sense, but bricks and mortar will always remain at the heart of the Neat Burger brand,” says Zach Bishti, co-founder and Managing Director. “Being able to go out and meet your friends and family for some food and a drink just cannot be replaced; and for us that is key.”
Brewing a better world with Heineken
Since May last year, Heineken’s brewery in Manchester has been using the same machinery that usually fills its beer kegs bound for pubs, to create green energy from unsold beer. Seven million pints have been converted so far, producing enough energy to heat nearly 28,000 UK homes for a day, or 45,488,120 cups of tea!
Your vaccine papers please!
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has caused a stir this week by hinting that publicans could ask their customers for either a vaccine passport or proof of a negative Covid test before being allowed to enter. The news comes as part of a wider review into social distancing measures by the UK Government which is due to be published in June.