Craft Talk - Changing options for children

With the spotlight very much on healthier school meals should licensees look at changing their options for children? Craft Guild of Chefs member Michael Tuckwood and patron chef at the Stag in Aylesbury, gives his view

I'm not certain that there is a demand for healthier children's meals in pubs as such, because eating out is still seen as a treat for kids and therefore they are more likely to choose something like pizza rather than a beef sandwich given the choice. And most parents, for an easy life, tend to let them.

In the past we've had to compete with fast food operators who are geared up to attract children. While we can't compete on price we can on the quality of food. So I would say it's more of a case that we are moving towards better quality food in general.

This is especially visible at the higher end of the pub market where there is a trend towards half portions or what I call small adult portions because at the end of the day that's exactly what a child is.

This is exactly what we do here at the Stag. We have one menu and everything on it is available in half portions for children. This means children can enjoy what their parents are eating, for example, chicken in herb mayonnaise or a fish finger sandwich. Automatically they are better than burgers, nuggets and chips.

There will always be pubs who prefer not to cater with children in mind who take the 'pile it high sell it cheap attitude', and offering a healthy option for kids is not usually in their marketing mix.

However, I would say it's actually cheaper to make a lasagne that feeds 10 than to buy a frozen one. And it's far better to cook from scratch as you can control what goes into each dish and make them healthier and lower in fat, salt and sugar. At the end of the day it is a matter of keeping your customers in sight and your food as healthy as possible.

Just remember, eating out is a treat and an educational tool to experience good food and good dining.

For further information about the Craft Guild of Chefs, contact 0208 948 3870.