Adam Hyman

The run up to Christmas is normally a merry time for the hospitality industry. Our nation’s restaurants, pubs and bars are usually bursting at the seams. Most people are out celebrating with their family, friends and colleagues – with crackers being pulled, pigs in blankets served and a glass or two of mulled wine drunk under the mistletoe. Yet, the exact opposite is happening right now for the hospitality industry in the UK. Instead it’s the nightmare before Christmas. Ever since people in Britain have been told to work from home by the government and told to cut back on socialising by chief medical officer Chris Whitty, pubs and restaurants have been clobbered.

On Monday, Boris Johnson advised the UK population to avoid pubs, clubs and other venues. The Prime Minister did not though order our hospitality and leisure venues to close. You might think this was a sensible precaution, but in the past 24 hours it has left the hospitality industry – the third largest private sector employer in the country at 3.2 million people, that contributes £130 billion to the national economy – in turmoil. The day after Boris Johnson’s announcement, I ventured out to a newly-opened pasta restaurant in east London for an early supper. At 6:45pm the restaurant was almost full of people enjoying a plate of cacio e pepe and a glass or two of Chianti.