Stocking up for Chrstmas: Desserts and Coffees

Christmas dinner isn't over after the turkey, there's dessert and coffee to come.

Customers are inclined to linger a little longer at Christmas time and that makes coffee an important part of the festive mix.

Adding speciality and liqueur coffees to your menu is an obvious way of selling more, especially at the end of those long Christmas dinners, and this year there is an even bigger opportunity.

Nescafe's Donna Plumb points to a background growth in specialities, prompted by the coffee bars that have been popping up on our high streets - and a more adventurous consumer.

"Thanks to the strong interest in speciality coffees, which are growing, year-on-year, by some 60 per cent, customers have a much broader interest in the range of coffee drinks on offer," she said.

Licensees, she concludes, should consider spicing up the festive offering by including a range of coffee-based drinks, from hot liqueur coffees to ice blended coffees, on the Christmas menu.

"There is an increased uptake in coffee drinking out of home for many reasons this time of year," she added. "For some it may be because they're the designated driver for that day, for others it's because they want to extend the festivities as long as possible.

"Why not offer the designated driver a coffee on the house?" she suggests. "At the same time create a menu of coffee cocktails which can command premium prices."

To help, Nescafe has produced a series of recipe cards with more ideas like the Red Hot Maria (see below). It's available free to publicans - call 0800 745845.

Red Hot Maria​

• Place a spoon in a tall, slim glass with two teaspoons of Nescafe Original
• Pour over 200ml freshly boiled water
• Stir in 30ml Tia Maria and one teaspoon of sugar
• Top with lightly whipped cream, sprinkle with grated chocolate.

Just desserts​

The festive dinner is a time for indulgence - but not every customer likes to round off with the traditional Christmas pudding. So it's a good idea to offer alternatives.

"As we enter the festive season, Christmas puddings and mince pies abound but they are not always to everyone's taste," says Michelle Player, senior brand manager at RHM Foodservice. "Too often, caterers miss a profit opportunity by offering lacklustre desserts."

RHM is pushing its range of Cadbury Individual Desserts for yuletide,

comprising three decadent desserts: Flake, Caramel and Orange. All comprise a rich velvety mousse and distinctive layers but for the busy licensee the packaging is just as important. It enables the dessert to be decanted from frozen and served straight to the customer, allowing for easier planning and portion control.

Or you can have some fun and come up with your own Christmas sundae perming flavours from the six available from RHM: Dairy Milk, Caramel, Crunchie, Heavenly Vanilla, Fruit & Nut and Flake. All are supplied in 4.5-litre containers.

Cadbury Trebor Bassett feels there is a significant opportunity to grow the role of confectionery in pub meals, specifically deserts.

The latest idea is Cadbury Minis - miniature versions of children's favourites that can be sprinkled on ice cream to add value to plain ice cream desserts by, effectively, branding them.

The range includes mini Buttons, mini Crunchie Nuggets and mini Bassetts Refreshers (pictured)​, which are available in 750g bulk bags or single-serve 13g sachets ideal for portion control.

• RHM can provide caterers with a wide range of Christmas recipe ideas and colourful point-of-sale material. Call 0800 328 4246 or go to www.rhmfoodservice.co.uk