Brunch and afternoon tea
Where: Broad Leys, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
The idea: Weekend brunch and weekday afternoon tea menus. Licensee Helen Wood says: “We already served food throughout the day but decided to introduce the two menus to maximise trade and ensure that our kitchen was working to full capacity.
"The brunch menu tied in nicely with our new letting rooms and the afternoon teas provided something for customers not looking for a full meal.
"Brunch is served between 9.30am and 11.30am on Saturday and Sunday, with dishes ranging from croissants and bacon and sausage sandwiches through to full English, eggs Florentine and scrambled egg with smoked salmon.
"The afternoon tea menu is available from Monday to Friday, between 2pm and 5pm and offers a range of teas, served with scones, clotted cream and jam, for £4.95 per person.”
What we needed: “We extended our weekend opening hours by an hour and a half to be able to offer brunch from 9.30am. This has required staff to start earlier but gives us the opportunity to split the working hours of the kitchen staff so that one chef covers the morning and another the afternoon.
"The two menus have been advertised via social media, on our website, in-house, in our quarterly newsletter and we have recently started using Google Adwords, via the Barclays’ initiative Thrive Online, for our promotions.”
Business benefits: “At present the two menus boost takings by about £100 per week but we expect covers to rise, particularly for the afternoon teas, once the weather improves. The brunch menu has attracted some new customers, as well as existing ones, especially when sporting events have been on and the two concepts have also helped to raise awareness that we serve food throughout the day.”
Butcher’s block
Where: Crown at Worthington, Standish, Wigan, Lancashire
Tenure: Freehold
The idea: Owner Daniel Prince says: “We installed our butcher’s block seven years ago. My friend Ted Docherty, who runs Tailor Made Steaks, had seen the block in South Africa and at a Chicago food fair, and we both use them now. Johnson & Swarbrick in Preston and Phil Clarkson in Leyland supply our meat from Lancashire, Cumbria and West Yorkshire.
"Customers choose fillet, sirloin, rib-eye or rump, decide how they want it cooked and buy accompaniments separately (around £2.50) from our range of veg and sauces. Theatre makes it a talking-point: people bring friends and about 50% of Saturday food sales are steaks. When we offer two courses for £10 on Thursdays, people still choose à la carte steak.”
What we needed: “We publicise via our website.”
Business benefits: “We charge per 100g, aiming for 65% GP. Most opt for 200g. Offering half-price steak with three accompaniments on Tuesdays has boosted covers from 20 to 70-100. Diners eating the largest — currently 1.6kg — are named on our “leader board”. We offer a £10 meal voucher and are having T-shirts designed.”
Top tips: “Be confident about your promotion and tie it in with other offers.”
Chocolate Festival
Where: The Eagle & Child, Ramsbottom, Lancashire
Tenure: Thwaites lease
The idea: Thwaites tenant Glen Duckett says: “Over the past few years Ramsbottom has seen its annual Chocolate Festival grow. This great initiative attracts people from across the UK as well as locals. This year we ran our own Chocolate Festival weekend, featuring Egg Roller — a dark chocolate Porter brewed by Thwaites — and starters, mains and desserts made with chocolate.”
What we needed: “I contacted the local authority and others involved in organising Ramsbottom’s chocolate festival. Publicity was included on our own and the council’s website and on Twitter. We did a leaflet drop and had posters made, as we are 10 minutes’ walk outside the town, up a steep hill. We published our menu on our own website.”
Business benefits: “The chocolate beer was a big talking-point, with a Marmite effect: people either felt a half-pint was plenty, or couldn’t get enough of it. The dishes were eye-catching as we used chocolate as a twist on favourites, such as slow-braised ox cheek with parsnip purée (£6.95), chilli & chocolate sausages and mash (£10.95) and whoopee pie with passion fruit and raspberries (£5.25).
"We usually do about 100 covers on a Sunday and the festival brought in 20 more. Quite a few drinkers came in just to taste the chocolate beer. Trade increased by about 30% across the whole weekend.”
Top tips: “Researching forthcoming events in your area and tapping into them brings extra publicity and footfall.”