Letting off Steam - Sharing Food

Letting off steam - Do you think sharing food is a trend that more pubs should be focusing on?

Kieron Daniels, chef/proprietor, the Fox and Hounds, Christmas Common, Oxfordshire and the Three Tuns, Henley-On-Thames

"Definitely. Pub/restaurant dining is moving away from conventional three-course meals and towards smaller, more varied, dishes. Obviously I'm not condoning those processed platters that many serve up, but offering platters to share, gives people the opportunity to try more unusual flavours and dishes in smaller portions. I'm all for educating peoples' palates."

Amanda Hodge, head chef/proprietor, the Pie Mill, Threlkeld, Cumbria

"Increasingly, people are demanding platters to share, especially tourists. Customers are looking for a mixture of flavours, rather than being restricted to one dish. We find that there is a particular demand for this type of food from the lunchtime trade; a mixed-fish platter being a popular choice."

Adrian Walker, head chef, Staunton Arms, Staunton-in-the-Vale, Nottinghamshire

"Food is all about combinations of flavours and in my experience, customers do want variety. We have a lot of couples who order a main course each and then swap half-way through their meal. A sharing platter would be ideal for them, although I'm not sure how well it would work with main course dishes. I think this style of eating is more suited to starters and desserts."

Eddie Simmonds, chef/proprietor, Houblon Inn, Oasby, Lincolnshire

"Everything I do is cooked fresh to order. We often get people saying they want starters or desserts with two plates. A lot of people can't get through three courses because of the size. We work from a blackboard, not a printed menu so it's a lot easier for us to do something like that; if you work from a printed menu it's not so easy. Sharing platters will be a trend like anything else. Lots of phases come and go. I think this will be one of them."