LET’S ALL BE A VOICE FOR OUR HOSPITALITY COMMUNITY
We all understand the importance of the public health advice being passed down by the Government but this last message will come at a huge cost.
The hospitality sector is the heart and soul of our communities. We are the place where our communities meet in good times, sad times and bad times. We are the support structure for a much wider network of skilled waiting teams, chefs, kitchen porters, baristas, bar teams, gardeners, suppliers, producers, delivery drivers, events teams, marketeers, IT support teams, bookkeepers, HR teams and so many more wonderful people. I am not just talking about my business. I’m talking about our wider hospitality family.
Today my team is writing to the First Minister, Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Finance Secretary for Scotland.
We need our leaders to know the impact their decision to advise all our customers to “not visit” our restaurants, cafes and bars with “no support package” or “formal notification to close” (which would allow us to claim some compensation) is hugely unfair and will have unprecedented consequences.
The hospitality sector employs approximately 10% of the population, it contributes 6% of GDP but most importantly it is the heart of many of our high streets and rural communities.
I’m calling on all our hospitality friends and customers to let the Government understand they need to act in all our best interests through these horrendous times.
If you work in the sector, or enjoy being part of it, and are worried about the impact the Government measures will have, without support being in place, please write to share your concerns. If you want us to send any feedback on your behalf we will then forward it to the Governments in Edinburgh and London.
We need to SHOUT out as the VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY to move quickly before we all hit the iceberg that is so visible up ahead.
Carina Contini
Slow Food Cooks Alliance
Scotland Food & Drink Ambassador
RHET Ambassador
