Opinion - Jo Bruce, Editor

V - is for very poor

I have come to the conclusion that you can't enjoy eating out in pubs and be a vegetarian.

The two just don't seem to match. Frankly I think the range and choice available to veggies is something the industry should be ashamed of. In recent visits to pubs I have been left feeling like a second-class citizen with either no choice at all on the menu or what seems to have become standard issue for veggies - the risotto or veggie lasagne.

While I am certainly not suggesting going totally Rose Elliott on your menu, when you combine the four million potential vegetarian customers with diners who are meat reducers, it is certainly worth giving your veggie offering more thought.

Research shows that a group will book elsewhere if there is not a good offering for the vegetarian among them - so you could be missing out on more business than you think.

The key to a successful veggie offering is don't think of it as such - it is food for all potential customers.

A - is for abundant talent

By contrast it's great to be able to salute Neil Clark - the inaugural Pub Chef of the Year at the Morning Advertiser Best Pub Awards.

Congratulations too to the five other finalists who ran Neil so very close for the title, and all the other chefs who entered the competition last summer. It's fantastic that we have such an abundance of cooking talent in UK pubs - we're already looking forward to next year.

See you next month.

Jo Bruce

Editor, PubChef