"I could almost not taste the difference": The hotel that banned avocado on toast

The boss of one of Manchester's most prestigious hotels has revealed why he banned it from serving avocado on toast and decided to replace the tropical fruit with broad beans.

Johan Scheepers, who took over as the general manager of the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in May 2020, made the novel move in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of one of the city's largest hospitalist landmarks.

In an exclusive interview with the Manchester Evening News, the GM lifts the lid on what it's really like to run one of the city's most top hotels, the battle to hire back as many people as possible who were made redundant during the pandemic, as well as how making the extra bank holiday for the Queen's Jubilee permanent would be positive for his establishment.

He also addresses how the cost of living crisis might make hotels reassess what they offer and the rates at which they sell their rooms and how the location around the hotel has been transformed in recent years.

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The building which now houses the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel has been a landmark in Manchester city centre for more than a century.

With construction starting in 1891, the imposing structure was originally home to the Refuge Assurance Building until it was transformed into a hotel in 1996.

Going under several different names, including the Palace Hotel, Le Méridien Palace andThe Principal, the hotel has witnessed a lot of change occur outside of its gates.

But since being snapped up by the InterContinental Hotels Group in 2018 the hotel has been given a new lease of life and been reinvigorated inside and out.

The severe challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic has also had a profound impact on