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A group of York students has won the opportunity to have their very own I-phone application developed after winning The App Challenge final, held at the Ron Cooke Hub on Wednesday, January 18.
Laura Reynolds looks at the habits of exam-weary students
I’ve always been interested in food and drink from an early age. My mother is an incredible chef, and I guess I picked up my love of cooking and fine food from her in some respects. But this was further enhanced by my gap year, which I spent in Chile, teaching English. It was there that I also got quite interested in drinking Chilean wine.
On coming back to Britain I worked in a very good wine merchant’s in Edinburgh, and it just picked up from there. I turned my enthusiasm for a hobby into a job, so my knowledge obviously expanded to a great extent and I’ve been interested in food and drink ever since.
In terms of the Fox and Apple Club, the idea struck me when I went to a nice restaurant – I think it was Hotel du Vin. I was absolutely amazed to see how few people were in the restaurant. The idea is that there are a lot of students who are interested in having nice dinners. Not everyone wants to get inebriated at Gallery or Tru. I think the second and third years especially are looking for something a bit more relaxed.
Traditionally, eating out in York is very expensive. It’s a tourist city and what we’ve seen is quite a high inflation of prices. The idea is to make these restaurants more appropriate for students. I came up with the idea of a membership club, where people would join for a year and they receive discounts at selected restaurants.
We're going to give 50% of the profits to a charity. If we’re going out for good meals with fine food and wine, I think we should at least give a bit of money to support a good cause. Fortunately we don’t have many costs and what we’re not doing is paying ourselves wages! The remaining 50% will go back into the business for running costs.
On average, it only takes one visit to one restaurant to make more than your money back on the cards, so it’s very good value. For example, the Fox and Apple Club has an exclusive deal with Melton's. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are 2 for 1 on the entirety of meals - so what should come to £30 each, should only come to £15 each. I think it does genuinely help restaurants, especially at the higher end of the scale, who are being hard-hit by incredible financial difficulties.
Ostentatious consumption is something people are immediately willing to cut back on, whereas some of the cheaper restaurants are doing better than ever. Students are completely financially sound, it’s a market restaurants really should be thinking about, and I think they’re starting to, which is why I think the Fox and Apple Club should be a success. Students can go out and eat at very good restaurants for far less money and can also benefit the restaurants, which are an important part of York.
With the Fox and Apple Club membership, this isn’t just a three course meal, this is a three course meal with matching wines and a port for the dessert as well. Plus, we have a specific Fox and Apple menu, which is different from the early bird menu. So we’re looking at things that are better suited. Plus, who really wants to eat that early, before eight? I mean, it’s a pretty unreasonable hour. Traditionally early bird specials have been very unpopular with students.
Anyone who wants to join can, but I’m not going to push it to people who aren’t interested. But for the people who are, I think it represents a very good value way to eat out. Eating out may seem expensive, but I know that if I go out for an evening in nightclubs like Gallery I can spend £20 or £30 incredibly easily. I think the amount that York Uni students spend a huge amount on alcohol, something like 11 million pounds.
I know that even though we’re affording students to go out to these restaurants at an incredibly reduced rate, it’s still not cheap. If people are willing to spend a little extra, than on a standard chain restaurant such as Bella Italia, where the food is substandard, then Fox and Apple’s for them.
We have a lot more - the Facebook group only shows a selection of restaurants. We have the Ivy at the Grange Hotel, which offers two courses to get one free, and L’antica Locanda, a place in the Shambles, where we’re still finalising an offer. We’re looking at 10-15% off meals. We have Masons, we’re going to have a three course offer in the evening with 20% off wines. We’re still working with the Lime House restaurant and Melton’s Too to finalise offers. And for the restaurant Nineteen, it will be 15% off meals.
We’re also thinking of introducing more delicatessens around York. Right now we have a deal with the Hairy Fig Delicatessen, which is on Fossgate. York has a lot of very good local produce, with a huge number of shops specialising in preserves, wine etc, so you could buy fresh, local ingredients to cook back home. Fox and Apple isn’t just about eating out, it’s about a genuine love for food and wine.
Each offer will be different in each restaurant. On the website it will state this specifically. For some of the restaurants, there will be lunch offers. There’s a special menu for members at Buzz Bar, which has a heavy emphasis on drinks. We talked about getting in a few different spirits, along with discounts on main courses, which we could then offers discounts for Fox and Apple members.
I think a very small percentage of students at York will join. I’d be happy with 200 members. So far I have about 80 people interested in joining. The idea is to keep it to restaurants which I believe are good quality. With cheaper chain restaurants, such as Gourmet Burger Kitchen, it is difficult to establish deals, as they don’t possess a lot of autonomy. I think you need to concentrate on one sector of the market. I’m not producing a student discount card, I’ve started a dining club.
I’m definitely looking for someone at the moment - the Fox and Apple Club is something I want to continue, even after I leave York. Right now, I’m searching for a first year to learn the business and what we do, to meet the restaurant owners, the club members etc. and then to hopefully take it on when I leave. I really would be upset if Fox and Apple didn’t continue as I believe it benefits both the members and the restaurants at York.
I received a £650 grant from CETL-e, which is mainly going towards the website, marketing and printing the cards. The reason why I’m planning on giving so much profit away, is because there’s very low risk implication.
I think £15 membership is pretty reasonable. I really hope that restaurants will continue their support, as they are not paying me and the only sort of profit is through membership. If the business doesn’t work, I’ll be very upset. Fortunately it’s not going to financially ruin me!
I think completely the opposite. I think students are largely unaffected by this. The majority of students have loans, which are certified to come in. During this time of financial difficulty, there are still students who are interested in going out to these upmarket places, so restaurants need to appeal to new areas of the market.
Again, we come back to what you are going to spend your loan on. As I said, the club is not going to be something which appeals to all students. On average I’d say I eat out about twice a week. Buzz Bar is excellent for great sashimi, I really like Melton's, Ate O’Clock and Nineteen as well – I think I’d happily recommend these restaurants for all of my friends. They’re all my favourites.
A lot of people have criticised my business plan, but I’ve always said, I believe there is interest from the student population. We’ll see how it goes, I’m happy to take a very relaxed approach to it because I think it’s something people will definitely be interested in.
For more information about the Fox and Apple Club, join the Facebook group here: [1]
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