HullBID has launched a venture designed to offer city centre hospitality businesses a helping hand and bring together the wider membership for a new networking opportunity.
The HullBID Supper Club was unveiled with a launch at Bilocca – the new training restaurant at Hull College – and will be rolled out from next week with a first season of six dates at destinations including local independents and big brands.
Kathryn Shillito, HullBID Executive Director, said: “Our new supper club is a great opportunity for our members to network in a relaxed and informal setting and at the same time to support some fabulous city centre eateries.
“We will be covering a variety of dining styles and cuisines and each venue has agreed to put together a bespoke, discounted menu for us, with HullBID providing a complimentary welcome drink at each event. The response from restaurants and guests has been really enthusiastic and we’re expecting demand to increase as the supper club becomes established.”
The first HullBID Supper Club will takes place on Wednesday June 26 at Bert’s Pasta Bar in Humber Street. Further events will take place every month through to November.
BID members were given a taste of what to expect with an exclusive lunch at Bilocca, named in honour of Lilian Bilocca and her fellow Headscarf Revolutionaries, who campaigned to improve safety for working at sea.
Kathryn said: “The preview event at Bilocca is the perfect place to launch what we’re doing because it shows what Hull College is doing to address the issues in the hospitality sector.
“Young people and adult learners can learn all aspects of the hospitality and put them into practice in a real restaurant setting. Everything we have seen suggests they will all be an asset to any hospitality business as they embark on their careers. All the feedback from our guests indicates they will be coming back to Bilocca for a second helping!”
Debra Gray, Principal and Chief Executive at Hull College, said: “In relaunching the restaurant we thought about our city and our roots and about the work of Lil Bilocca and her fellow Headscarf Revolutionaries who fought for their men and the fishing industry in which they worked.
“Our brand is based around their headscarf knot and features in our marketing, menus and as etchings on the windows. The famous Headscarf Revolutionaries mural takes pride of place on our wall.
Samantha Dunion, General Manager of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Hull, said: “The HullBID Supper Club is a great idea. It’s an opportunity to network in a different environment and to welcome so many businesses into our world.
“We work with Hull College a lot and Bilocca is the pinnacle of what we are all trying to achieve. It’s enabling young people to showcase what they can do and develop their talents ready for coming into my industry.”
Phil Ascough, who co-founded the Monday Night Supper Club in 2014, said: “From day one we were all about bringing businesses together to support the hospitality sector and we were delighted when HullBID launched their own initiative.
“We estimate we’ve generated more than £150,000 plus repeat business for restaurants and café bars over the last 10 years but it’s not enough, we’ve lost some fantastic venues and we welcome anything that helps to keep the sector afloat.
“We extend across a wider area but we’ll still be visiting city centre venues and we’ll definitely be booking in at Bilocca and supporting Hull College in training the hospitality professionals of the future.”
