Liverpool City Centre to welcome innovative new Asian inspired restaurant and bar

AS a new season arrives, the City is preparing itself for warmer weather and the launch of an all-new restaurant and bar in the hugely popular Victoria Street. Zenn Liverpool, which is currently planning its arrival on the City's bustling restaurant scene, has a team readying itself to reveal the venue's rooftop, restaurant, bar and garden in time for the start of summer.

Offering many experiences in 1 place, Zenn Liverpool is centred around its unique Asian inspired menu, a slick selection of drinks, a stimulating soundtrack and sophisticated atmosphere, served up in a specially crafted social space. Perfect for enjoying an amazing night out, whether you choose to spend the whole evening at Zenn, or want to pop in for part of it, this 350 seat venue is already a talking point, with its contemporary architecture and glass fronted ground floor area. Whether guests choose to dine, dance or relax in the Zenn garden, this location will provide the perfect backdrop to the summer season.

Zenn Liverpool has already attracted the Head Chef from Australasia, Manchester, and the team have travelled to key destinations around the world, taking inspiration from their favourite places and venues, to ensure that Liverpool will have its own similarly original destination. With emphasis placed on invigorating dishes using fresh, local produce combined with sensuous taste experiences, this will be a restaurant that is both 1st rate, and the place to be seen.

Location is key; close to so many of the City's leading hotels and apart-stay locations, Liverpool 1 and the nearby Met Quarter, and easily accessible by road and rail links, including:- Lime Street and Moorfield Stations, it is situated in an area renowned for its tourism, leisure, retail and night time zones.

Cat Roberts, Group Head of Business Development for Zenn Liverpool states:- "This is a unique venture for the City, and our demographic is the stylish over 25 crowd, who expect excellence. Zenn offers somewhere to dine, drink, and dance not just under 1 roof - but also on our rooftop, too! The interest we have received has already been incredible, and we can't wait to share the vision we have for the brand, and the concept as a whole. We are in the middle of building an incredibly talented team around us who all share a passion within our Zenn-DNA for great Hospitality."

As Liverpool continues to be an attractive and busy City for the restaurant and bar scene, both with visiting tourists and discerning locals, and with a packed roster of events taking place over the summer months, Zenn Liverpool will certainly be ready to establish and earn its place on an already impressive map.

Zenn Liverpool will be hosting a recruitment day in the very near future to source the very finest Hospitality talent. You can view their current vacancies here:- Recruitment Day - Liverpool L2 - Indeed.Com.

New calorie labelling rules come into force to improve nation's health

NEW rules requiring calorie information to be displayed on menus and food labels came into force, on Wednesday, 6 April 2022. The changes; which were approved by Parliament in 2021; mean it is now a legal requirement for large businesses with more than 250 employees, including:- cafes, restaurants, and takeaways, to display calorie information of non-prepacked food and soft drinks.

Calorie information will need to be displayed on:- menus, online menus, 3rd party apps, food delivery platforms and food labels, at the point a customer is making their food and drink choices. As well as listing the calories for each food item, menus and labels will also need to include daily recommended calorie needs.

The legislation, which forms part of the Government's strategy to tackle obesity, aims to ensure people can make more informed, healthier choices when it comes to eating food out or ordering takeaways. Displaying calorie information may also encourage businesses to provide lower calorie options for their customers.

It is estimated that overweight and obesity related conditions across the UK cost the NHS ₤6.1 billion each year. 63% of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity; and 40% of children leave Primary School overweight or obese. Obesity is also the 2nd biggest cause of cancer across the UK.

The Covid Pandemic has highlighted the impact that obesity can have on people's health, and as part of its drive to level up the health of the nation, the Government is also asking smaller businesses to adopt calorie labelling.

Public Health Minister Maggie Throup said:- "It is crucial that we all have access to the information we need to maintain a healthier weight, and this starts with knowing how calorific our food is. We are used to knowing this when we are shopping in the supermarket, but this isn't the case when we eat out or get a take away. As part of our efforts to tackle disparities and level up the nation's health, these measures are an important building block to making it as easy as possible for people to make healthier food choices."

The most recent official data shows that in 2019/20, there were over 1 million Hospital admissions where obesity was the primary or secondary cause, an increase of 17% on 2018/19 when there were 876,000 obesity related admissions.

Bridget Turner, Director of Policy, Campaigns and Improvement at Diabetes UK, said:- "Obesity is the single greatest risk factor for type 2 diabetes and there are an estimated 13.6 million people at increased risk of developing the condition in the UK. Tackling this health crisis is vital, so the Government's commitment to make large takeaway, cafe and restaurant chains calorie label the food they sell is a welcome move towards reducing the rising levels of obesity in the UK. Diabetes UK campaigned strongly for these measures through our Food Upfront campaign. We hope it will bring these large, out of home businesses more in line with the food retail sector when it comes to giving people clear calorie information for the food they buy, hopefully leading to improved menus and healthier options."

There are some exemptions to the legislation including:- food that is only on a menu for 30 days of the year or less, and all alcohol drinks above 1.2% ABV. The legislation will be enforced by Local Authorities with the Department of Health and Social Care supporting them with the additional costs of enforcing the policy. Local Authorities are encouraged 1st to have conversations with those businesses who are not complying with the law. Local Authorities can issue improvement notices. Any person who fails to comply with a notice could be guilty of an offence and could be fined ₤2,500. Buying food on the go or getting takeaways are increasingly important to people. On average the portions of food or drink that people eat out or eat as takeaway meals contain twice as many calories as their equivalent bought in a shop, where labelling is much more common. Research suggests that food people eat outside the home makes up 20% to 25% of an adults calorie intake. In a survey by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities on calorie reduction, 79% of respondents said they think that menus should include the number of calories in food and drinks.

The types of businesses covered by the requirement include:-

► Restaurants, fast food outlets, cafes, pubs and supermarkets.

► Home delivery services and 3rd party apps selling food that is in scope of the legislation.

► Cafes and takeaways within larger shops and venues, such as:- supermarkets, department stores, and entertainment venues such as cinemas.

► Specialist food stores, delicatessens, sweet shops and bakeries.

► Contract catering; for example:- for events and canteens.

► Domestic transport businesses including:- planes, trains, ferries and other forms of water transport, within the UK.

As part of the Government's obesity strategy we have also introduced regulations to restrict the promotion of less healthy foods, by location and volume price in store and online, which come into force in October 2022, and  through the Health and Care Bill, restrictions on the advertising  of less healthy foods on TV before 9pm and via online paid for advertising.

These new rules have already been branded:- 'dangerous' and 'disappointing' by eating disorder campaigners and many experts... What do you think of these rules? Do you agree with them? Please send us your thoughts to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com.

Anyone affected by an eating disorder in the UK can contact:- 'Beat' who offer a confidential support phone line that can be accessed by calling:- 08088010677 as well as a confidential support email service:- Help@BeatEatingDisorders.Org.UK.