Business ideas - Bright sparks

Some pubs are boosting their winter takings with unusual offerings in the food department, Mark Taylor reports.

 Lunch for even less​

 Where:​ The Olive Branch, Clipsham, Rutland How it works:​ The Olive Branch and its sister business, the Red Lion Inn at Stathern, Leicestershire, joined in with "Lunch For Even Less", a promotion set up by nearby Michelin-starred hotel Hambleton Hall in January. Subtitled "Not The FT Lunch", the offer ran from Monday to Friday and cost £13.50 for two courses and an additional £3 for a third course. Co-owner Ben Jones got involved simply because when he worked at Hambleton Hall, the Financial Times lunch promotions had always been so successful. When these ended, customer demand prompted Ben to start his own promotion, together with other local restaurants and pubs in the area to make it more of an event.

 He says: "The idea is that we try to promote one another." "You don't make enormous amounts of money out of it, but it's better than nothing at all. We do soups, stews and casseroles, which are cheaper to produce, and also easier from a service point of view. People also have to book in advance, so we know roughly how many people we'll have through the door. "Normally at this time of year, we would be doing 10 or 15 covers at lunch, but in January we were doing 35 or 40 because of the promotion."

 Takeaway pizzas​

 Where:​ The Antelope, Hazlebury Bryan, Sturminster Newton, Dorset How it works: Handmade Italian-style pizzas to take away may not be the first thing that springs to mind when thinking of a rural Dorset pub, but it's a business idea that has paid off for chef Phillip Ham. The nine-inch pizzas costs £5.95, with 12-inch pizzas costing £7.95, and the customers love them. "The one that's gone down particularly well is the Meat Lover's pizza which has a ham, salami, sausage, bacon, cheese and tomato topping," says Phillip.

 "We get quite good margins on them - between 66% and 70% GP - but we use good quality ingredients. People keep on coming back for them and we sell about 20 each week, mostly as takeaways. "We're in quite a rural area and people have quite traditional tastes so we were a little hesitant doing pizzas at first, but the closest take-aways are about six miles away, so there was a market for them. They've been very popular and have brought people in. Customers tend to come in for a pint while they're waiting for the pizzas, which are all made to order."

 Fish nights​

 Where:​ The New Harp Inn, Hoarwithy, Herefordshire How it works: Since last October, Tuesday night is fish night at the New Harp Inn, with a number of fish and seafood dishes forming the specials board. It was an idea owner Andrew Cooper got from his previous pub. He said:​ "Fish sales were pretty high here anyway, so we started off by doing different types of fish and chips. We now have a fish specials board with seven or eight different items on a Tuesday, depending on what's available to us and what our fishmonger recommends." The success of the regular Tuesday nights has also resulted in occasional gourmet evenings. "In November, we had a five-course gourmet evening with a wine tasting. It created some interest. It's quite a challenge for our head chef, Steve Jenkins, and his team, but they enjoy it."

 Healthy options​

 Where:​ Country Girl, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove How it works:​ When Country Girl owner Tim Churchman lost his father and brother to heart disease and discovered he had high cholesterol and high blood pressure himself, he decided to change his pub's menu. For the past few months, chef Sean Kyle has introduced a number of healthier, low-fat dishes at the Midlands pub, including braised chicken in wine and shallots with rice, and lemon sole with a sunflower seed and sesame seed salsa.

 "Celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver are looking at healthier options and this has had an influence on what people are eating," says Sean, who worked for Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons and who alsocooks for the England under-21 football team. "People are increasingly health conscious, but they still want tasty food. We still use salt and pepper, but we use low-fat oils and don't use much butter. We mark the low-fat dishes on the menu with a symbol. We've now got a reputation for healthier options. I personally like the flavours of classical cooking with the duck fat etc, but you have to look at the market you're aiming for."