London's Make-to- order Salad Revolution

Will salad bars be the next big fast-food genre in UK cities? A new wave of entrepreneurs specialising in make-to-order salads has been finding a significant gap, not only because of the attention now focused on healthier eating - particularly the daily sustenance sought by office workers - but also because it is operationally very difficult for chains like Prêt A Manger, EAT and Starbucks to compete with them. The big brands all offer salad products but in a limited range of pre-packs. New players like Vital Ingredient, Salade, Tossed and Chop'd have a crucial differentiator: a counter service format geared to instant assembly of bespoke salads from 50-60-plus ingredients.

Dada to Dinner

How can more people be attracted to museums? One, increasingly popular answer is to offer inter- esting foodservice facilities that, in many cases, come well into the upper-genre bracket. Naturally, such restaurants do not only keep normal museum opening times because business - particularly evening and event business - profits from the unconventional ambience and culturally-charged atmosphere of such settings. Only a relatively short time ago, museum catering was nothing more than a necessary evil: plain and unattractive places where people went because there was no other choice. Today, up-market concepts in designer look, many of which are run by stars of the local restaurant scene, are aimed at lifestyle-oriented clients from the city - and generate visitor synergies for the museums themselves: a great improvement for both sides.

Aromatic, Subtle and Mysterious

North African Concepts: compared with other ethno-genres from near and far, the cuisines of the countries on the eastern and southern shores of the Mediterranean are very much a niche topic on the European foodservice scene. Only very few consumers in Central Europe have ever gone further than a falafel from a Lebanese snack bar. France is in a special position - although the ethnic genre there largely consists of couscous served up at the unpretentious 'Arab's round the corner'. This is unfortunate, since the repertoire of the North African and Arabian cuisines has plenty potential for tantalising culinary experiences. Our survey shows: finding the right concept and outfit in line with the times is of enormous help in raising the unfamiliar to the status of a gastronomic 'in place to be'. Reports by Conrad Freeling (Paris) and Bruce Whitehall (London).

New Wave Asian:

West Meets East

Asian or 'ethnic' restaurants have been an important element in UK foodservice since the early 1960s, thanks to waves of colonial immigration from Bangla Desh (Indian curries) and Hong Kong (Cantonese cooking). But while Asian eating is still the country's largest foodservice in terms of numbers of units, most of the UK's 16,000 Asian foodservice outlets have remained small, family-owned enterprises.

Making a Meal of Soup

Broth, bisque, chowder, con- sommé, goulash, laksa, potage, stew: soup in its many variations is one of Europe's most popular and versatile dishes. Yet foodservice operators mostly treat it as no more than a warm-up for the main course while fast-food chains often ignore it altogether, despite its suitability for quick service. A new wave of stylish gourmet soup bars is attracting attention in the UK. Bruce Whitehall reports from London.