By Ruth Addicott
Caterer & Hotelkeeper has had a major overhaul and a complete restructure of its editorial team.
The Reed weekly, dedicated to the UK hospitality industry, unveiled a new look this week – including 10 extra editorial pages, taking its total pagination up to 200.
New fonts, a new masthead, improved paper and an updated colour scheme have been introduced along with new job titles for staff.
Editor Forbes Mutch said roles had been changed to make them sector-specific. “We are not sectionalising the magazine, but I know this restructure will make it easier for the market to contact us,” he told Press Gazette.
“Each of our writers has been assigned a specific subject matter from one of five key areas to focus on full time – effectively creating a team of specialists. This will give our editorial real depth and enable much closer understanding and analysis of quite a broad marketplace. A lot of journalists are looking forward to burrowing deeper into the sectors,” he added.
News editor David Harris has become restaurants and bars editor; chef editor Amanda Afiya has become food and equipment editor; deputy editor Jenny Webster has become hotels editor and assistant chef editor Diane Lane has become suppliers and products editor. Chris Druce has moved across from Reed’s electronic group to be people writer and former trainee Dan Bignold has been appointed food and equipment writer. Features editor Rosalind Mullen has become contract catering editor and Linda Pettit, former assistant editor of Family Circle, has rejoined the team as managing editor. Pettit left Reed in 1998, having been editor of SuperMarketing, deputy editor of Independent Retail News and features editor on Caterer & Hotelkeeper.
Mutch said he would have a more “ambassadorial” role and Pettit would oversee content. The magazine is still in the process of recruiting an art director.
The relaunch is backed by an advertising campaign due to kick off this month. Mutch said it was the biggest refocus the title has had in 15 years. “We are trying to get away from the style of the traditional Caterer & Hotelkeeper. It has been around for 125 years, so we have taken a step forward to make it more modern.”
Mutch is also hoping to make the title more interactive by running more competitions.
“The redesign retains all the content that our readers love and includes some new stuff too, packaged within a fresh and confident format.”
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