The Scottish have a long tradition of hospitality so perhaps the warm welcome extended to all at the IOR Scottish branch annual dinner each year shouldn’t come as any surprise.

Last year’s dinner in November, attended by approximately 550 guests at its new venue at Finnieston Quay had the usual friendly and relaxed atmosphere and appeared to be enjoyed by all. I hear that other dinners around the country such as the still relatively young IOR Northern branch annual dinner in Newcastle, now in its 5th year, also goes from strength to strength attracting around 300 guests this time around. In London, the award ceremonies and press organised dinners are also flourishing, but sadly the same can’t be said for the mother of them all, the IoR’s annual dinner held on February 13 at the Grosvenor. Now in its 108th year, it was at one time viewed by many in the industry as the major event of the year and was regularly attended by well over a thousand diners. However for several years now, the numbers attending have been steadily dwindling, for one reason or another, with well under 800 attending this time around. This year’s dinner saw a number of changes made to the traditional format, such as placing the top table in the centre of the room, not having a key note speaker, and presenting the awards before the food arrived. The changes were met with a very mixed response from those present, with some appreciating the less formal approach whereas others were less than in favour. Whilst the old adage ‘you can’t please all of the people all of the time’ is as true as ever, it is also very clear that if the dinner is ever to return to anything like its former glory, something has to be done. What is perhaps less clear is what will happen if the numbers continue to fall. There is a remorseful line in a song by Joni Mitchell, ‘you don’t know what you’re got ‘til its gone’. After decades at the Grosvenor, will we rue the day that it can’t continue due to lack of support. The Scottish dinner featured a bag-pipe band, and the Northern dinner a traditional Northumberland piper. Perhaps the London should feature Chas ‘n Dave or a troop of Morris Dancers. So what can be done and indeed should any thing be done? Do the lower number reflect the state of the industry or the status of the dinner itself? Any suggestions?