Speaking at the company's recently opened Railway Inn pub, in Sandford, Somerset, Thatcher said both the industry and Thatchers hadn't begun to touch the surface of the opportunities available to pubs through pairing cider with food.
"It's still very new and I don't think, as an industry or even as a company, we have done enough yet. But we've started."
Progress to pair dishes
Progress to pair dishes with cider had been made at the Railway Inn following work with two top chefs, Thatcher told the PMA in this exclusive video interview.
"We've got two fabulous chefs, Bini Ludlow and Tim Maddams, who have been doing food pairing for the past 12 months or so and I think, locally, people are catching on to it.
"I think the future is definitely cider... there are a lot of opportunities for food and cider to go together."
Watch the rest of this video to hear Thatcher talk about the qualities cider has when it comes to food pairing and to get his top tips for pubs looking to pair their dishes with cider.
Meanwhile, food and cider pairing will be a hot topic of discussion at the PMA's first Future Trends: Beer and Cider event on 22 June.
Panel of experts
National Association of Cider Makers communications director Gabe Cook will form part of a panel of experts set to tell delegates how they can make the most from cider and beer pairings.
For more information about the panel and the Future Trends: Beer and Cider event, contact Joanne Horton by email at joanne.horton@wrbm.com or by phone on 01293 610 403.
Or, to see the full agenda, visit www.FutureTrendsBeerandCider.co.uk.