MATCHING BEER with food is not just a way of promoting the menu - Ron Blackmore, lessee of the Fox in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, also uses it to encourage customers to widen their beer repertoire.
Ron runs food and beer matching events at the Greene King pub. By matching dishes with the right ales, Ron finds that he is able to encourage customers to sample cask ales that they might not have considered otherwise.
The Fox boasts a range that regularly scores 100 per cent from Cask Marque - Greene King IPA, Hardys & Hanson's Olde Trip and Old Speckled Hen are regulars, and seasonal and guest ales also feature.
"The trick is not to let your eye off the ball when it comes to selling cask beer," says Ron.
"Even if you've positioned yourself as a food pub and are managing to gain a lot of wine sales, you can still use cask beer to attract new customers - and keep them in your pub.
"Food and beer matching is a great way of capturing their interest and lifting sales."
Product innovation by brewers such as Greene King also helps keep interest levels up. Lager drinkers can be persuaded to try a light, golden ale such as St Edmunds.
"I train my staff to upsell by talking to customers, asking questions, listening to answers and providing informed advice," says Ron.
"The barstaff can help me sell more cask beer by guiding people in their choice of drink. You have to have an entry point for the conversation - and what better than a discussion about the beer that will go best with the particular food they are ordering?"
The Fox serves home-cooked food, often using ingredients sourced from local suppliers.
The menu has matching suggestions for both beer and wine, giving customers the chance to complement the dishes on offer and enhance their meal.
"Beer as an accompaniment to food goes back centuries, but the idea of choosing specific cask beers to match particular foods is relatively new," says Ron.
"You have to judge the people who might be open to a bit of experimentation - and engage them in the process of choosing. "As you describe the tastes, you are actively talking up your food and your beer, giving people confidence in what you are offering.
"By sowing the seed in their minds that they will be served something special and that they will really enjoy the experience, they are far more likely to do so."