Archives for August 27, 2007

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Serial winner

Merchant Inns chairman Robert Breare is a serial hospitality- industry entrepreneur with a penchant for upmarket foodie pubs. He shares some of his...

Chris Maclean: the price is right

By Chris Maclean

Yesterday morning I met up with a group of lads who belong to our little rough shoot. It is a diversion I enjoy. Many licensees care passionately for...

Menu masterclass

Being innovative with your menu can really help your pub to stand out from the crowd. PubChef offers some tips 1. To add personality to your pub's...

Top tables

Pub owners give tips on customer service. This month we ask what should be done if a large group of customers turns up, but no record of their...

The Cod fathers

The Petrou brothers' versatility has brought them to the top of their game. Lucy Britner meets the dynamic duo It's not every day you find a pair of...

Thwaites selling 14 pubs

By James Wilmore

Lancashire-based pubco Daniel Thwaites is selling 14 of its pubs with a combined asking price of nearly £4m. Nine of the sites are in the Manchester...

Back to Basics: pub apprenticeships

Apprenticeships still feel a new idea to many in the pub trade. You might instinctively associate them with perverse initiation rites, but it's no...

A round-up of the month's pub food news

Sixth site for Merchant Inns Merchant Inns, the company headed by veteran entrepreneur Robert Breare, has opened its sixth site - in Ripley, Surrey....

Marston's buys Rutland Pub Company

Marston's Pub Company has bought Rutland Pub Company's four sites for £5.5m.This latest deal involves high-quality, English pubs in rural locations...

Polar beers

Polish beers have moved on and moved over here. Susan Nowak suggests some magic matches Ioriginally drank beer in Poland when it was still a...

Fine times

Bob Farrand is the national director of the Fine Food Guild. He talks to PubChef about speciality foods 1. Why should pubs feature speciality...

Good month bad month

Good month for Chef Michel Roux: He was named Beer Drinker of the Year by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group for his beer list at Le Gavroche....

Coffee Solutions

QWe are limited for space on our back bar and don't feel we have room for a full-size espresso machine, but I want to sell top-quality coffee. What...

Foodservice news

A look at what's new in the world of pub suppliers Seafood Week Pub operators and top chefs are being encouraged to get involved in this year's...

Openings

The Headley The Common, Great Warley, Brentwood, Essex CM13 3HS 01277 216104 theheadley.co.uk Top restaurant chefs - especially those with celebrity...

Mon£y mak£rs

Alison Baker looks at more business-boosting conceptsLoyalty card Where: Holly Bush Inn, Salt, Staffordshire, www.hollybushinn.co.uk The idea:...

Peak practice

Mark Taylor looks at how to prepare for catering rush hours With the August bank holiday approaching, pubs are already gearing up for one of their...

Super foods?

The superfoods craze has infiltrated the retail market and some pub operators are embracing it on their menus. But is this a trend too far for pubs? Lucy Britner reports

Well-starred venture

Having cut his teeth at the Michelin-starred Star Inn at Harome, North Yorkshire, chef James Mackenzie opened the Pipe & Glass in the East...

Replace smoke with business fire

It seems to be a case of so far, so good for the early days of the smoke-free pub era. As the smoke clears many operators have seen the ban as an...

Meat prices forecast to soar

The combination of foot-and-mouth, floods and rising grain prices is set to push up the price of British meat.Business advisory firm Deloitte says...

Fish for compliments

Richard Fox looks at easy ideas for using seafood on your menu When I try to recall one of those "best-ever" meal experiences, the setting is...