Bruce McLernon, manager and head chef at the Red Lion in Corley Moor, near Coventry, won a new laptop, courtesy of www.menumakers.co.uk, as top prize in the draw for pubs which completed the Food Report survey.
The Red Lion has a large menu, with dishes ranging from smothered chicken, Mexican pancakes through to crispy roast duck & home-made chicken jalfrezi. With a chef who likes to experiment, the menu is constantly subject to change with a huge selection of dishes also on the specials menu.
Bruce says: "Unlike some other websites it is easy to register on MenuMakers. The idea is not only useful to inspire chefs to alter their menus with less hassle, it also allows them to consider profit margins.
"MenuMakers is great for chefs with creative flair that have a large specials menu. With the ability to use the layouts and templates alone to incorporate dishes is very appealing."
MenuMakers offers pubs the opportunity to include Moy Park Foodservice staples alongside their own options, filling in any gaps and creating a perfect balance of starters and mains.
"There is a large variety of products to choose from that work extremely well on pub menus, meaning it is a great tool for menu ideas alone, but with the addition of a profit calculator publicans can also look at how to increase profits - by incorporating side orders for example," says Bruce.
MenuMakers aims to make menu planning easier, providing a range of staples and seasonal ideas, using templates supported by a profit calculator.
The website has a selection of menu types of different sizes, backgrounds, headings and fonts. There is also an option to customise to create a seasonal range of menus around events such as Christmas, Easter, Mothers' Day and Bonfire night for driving additional revenue throughout the year.
The range of foods can be used to create starters and light bites, main meals and desserts, and includes:
- Chickwich Premier: coated chicken products (battered or breaded), all either whole muscle or made from 100 per cent breast meat, including goujons, wings and fillets.
- Health Farm: added-value chicken products including marinated, flavoured, pre-cooked oven-ready cuisine and buffet specialities.
- Kitchen Range Foods: battered whole natural onion rings to breaded fresh mushrooms; meat-free starters and centre plates, from spicy bean burgers to creamy risotto-filled red peppers; and delicious desserts and sweet snacks from mini chocolate topped donuts to morello cherry pies.