After opening - with a great fanfare - at The Hillbark Hotel in Frankby on the Wirral, this time last year (Caterer, 7th June 2010), Aiden Byrne had parted company with the owners - and most of his team, who elected to stay - by December of the same year. The former Black Horse Hotel - renamed The Collingwood by Ed Atkinson - opened with rather less fanfare; the new manager was "removed from his post" after a couple of weeks, at very short notice. I know this because I had an appointment to see him - made the previous day - but when I arrived, it was to be told he was no longer with the company. Assured, disingenuously, by the man himself that it would not be a wasted trip for me, I will be watching how he fares at Craxton Wood. (Caterer, 16th June 2011)
Don't get me started on who, in their right mind - even if their surname is Macdonald - calls a high-class hotel group after the world's most famous hamburger chain!
