Fast-forward to Christmas

By Fiona McLelland

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Cheese

A Christmas Dinner
A Christmas Dinner
Christmas is coming and the goose is just beginning to fatten, but preparation time for the biggest event of the year is already short. Fiona McLelland thinks ahead

Summer may only just be on the way out, but office workers, groups of friends and families are beginning to organise their Christmas outings.

Alex Duxbury-Watkinson at the Hare and Foal, Devon, received her first Christmas menu request in the middle of August from the local operatic society.

"Christmas brochures from suppliers all started to come through at the beginning of August and now is the time when we really have to get organised.

"If you fail to prepare now, you're in danger of missing the boat. Christmas is an opportunity to line your coffers before the traditional down-time in January and February."

The menu is the predominant selling tool for the Christmas season, says Alex, so it is important to spend time getting it right.

"We plan to have our menus and pricing structure in place by the end of August. In glorious sunny weather, I'm thinking about Christmas - it's awful, but it has to be done.

"People organising Christmas parties are co-ordinating their menus now - if you don't have yours ready to join the pile, you won't attract the custom. It's that simple."

Alex hopes the pub will be fully-booked for Christmas before November's out.

She knows the Hare and Foal will attract repeated custom from last year, but is also taking out some "gentle reminder" adverts in the village magazine, advising customers to book promptly.

"This is also a time when you are getting new customers through your doors, and if you make their celebrations memorable you will encourage them to return throughout the year,"​ says Alex.

"Christmas is an extremely competitive time of year, and preparing for it is not a five-minute job - if you take your time to get it right, the rewards are great."

Dave Howarth, trading director at Woodward Foodservice, agrees: "As Christmas is the most competitive season, chefs and publicans should think about making their establishment stand out from the rest and promote their businesses as early as possible.

"Think about the target audience and send flyers to local businesses that may be looking to make arrangements in early autumn for their Christmas parties. 'Early-bird' discounts are a great way to entice customers and guarantee revenue."

Dave says his team of experts out in the field always advise chefs to be creative with their Christmas menus while keeping things simple. "Pub chefs might want to think about offering an overall winter menu alongside a set menu for parties and conferences. The winter menu can include a wide range of warm starters and mains as well as tasty desserts with a festive edge,"​ he says.

"Tastes are changing - customers are moving away from roast turkey with all the trimmings and they want additional menu choices. Game is popular in winter and works well as an alternative to turkey."

Woodward's fresh meat service has started delivering a range of winter-warming game, including wild duck and venison, pheasant, partridge and Guinea fowl.

However, turkey is still the festive favourite. Fortunately, producing a beautifully cooked bird to order this Christmas has just got simpler.

After more than a year of rigorous trials, British Turkey has developed new cooking times more suitable for today's ovens. It wants the scorched, dry, impossible to carve turkey wiped off the menu.

The organisation says stick to the following calculations for succulent results: for birds weighing 4kg or more, cook for 20 minutes per kg then add 90 minutes cooking time; for small birds and joints, such as crowns, weighing less than 4kg, cook for 20 minutes per kg and add 70 minutes cooking time.

Finally, when people celebrate Christmas, they're attracted to a bit of razzle-dazzle or that cosy, warm seasonal feel. Creating the right atmosphere and providing a memorable occasion will help sell your pub for the rest of the year and is as essential as providing the turkey and all the trimmings.

A golden opportunity​A third of out-of-home Christmas meals are eaten in pubs - a golden opportunity to fill tables, says Brakes channel marketing manager Fiona Wells, who offers advice to attract happy customers from late November

Menu​Traditional food is the favoured option, so don't forget the majority of your customers expect turkey with all the trimmings. Don't offer too many choices on your menu - four or five options should be the limit. To save on waste, encourage all customers to choose in advance.

Put on a meat-free option that is either seasonal or a little different, such as Brakes' mushroom, parsnip & cranberry rösti tart. Most veggies don't fancy vegetarian lasagne for their Christmas treat.And remember to choose easily-prepared products that will help keep costs down and service levels high, such as Brakes' stuffed turkey fillet with prune and apple stuffing.

Service​Christmas might be the first time many customers eat at your establishment and you don't want it to be their last. Staff need to be happy and service needs to be sharp and accommodating. Decorations, crackers, party poppers and festive music are a must.

Groups of friends having a good time may become a bit boisterous, so if this is likely to cause concern, place restrictions on the size of a party booking.

Cheese draws​The Coastguard Pub & Restaurant,St. Margarets Bay, Dover, Kent.Tel: 01304 853176

The Coastguard won the Cheeseboard of the Year in 2005. Almost all its cheeses are unpasteurised, and diners order their board at the same time as starters and main course to allow the cheeses to come up to temperature.

According to Sam Wydymus, chef and co-owner, it's vital to integrate cheese into the full menu. "We're quite a small operation and can have up to 25 cheeses in the fridge. My advice is not to stick to a cheeseboard - serve Stilton as a starter or add it to butter to go with steak, or use it in a lunchtime sandwich," says Sam.

For the cheeseboard, pick the best cheese available - if that means only offering two or three, that's much better than 10 nasty plastic ones. Try good Cheddar - I like Isle of Mull and Celtic Promise - a blue, like Blue Vinny from Dorset, and a nice soft type, like Flower Marie, a sheep's milk cheese from Sussex.

Sam's top cheese for Christmas...

Barkham Blue from Buckinghamshire is a melt-in-the-mouth blue cows' milk cheese, fairly strong but not at all sharp.

Lord of the Hundreds, made in East Sussex, is an unusual hard ewes' milk cheese with a mellow flavour and an almost grain-like texture.

Harbourne Blue is great goats' milk blue, made on the Sharpham Estate in Totnes, Devon - it's creamy, melting and definitely blue!

The Nobody Inn, Doddiscombsleigh,nr Exeter, Devon. Tel: 01647 252394

Nobody Inn licensee Nick Borst-Smith often stocks more than 50 varieties of cheese.

He says: "Cheese can be great at the end of a meal or as a bar snack in its own right."

Nick's tip for putting together a cheeseboard for Christmas is to limit the selection: "Three well-chosen and completely different cheeses is far better than 10 standard cheeses."

He adds: "It's unfortunate that tradition insists on serving cheese at the end of the meal. Having cheese after the main meal gives customers the chance to finish their wine before moving onto something sweet."

Nick's top cheese for Christmas...

Beenlieigh Blue is a ewe's milk cheese that goes well with a glass of port or a sweet wine.

Quickies Mature Cheddar is a great choice for traditional Cheddar.

And Sharpham is a Brie-style cheese, which goes particularly well with Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and New World Pinot Noir wines.

Pub chefs reveal their top food tips:SPROUTS

Tom Kerridge, Hand & Flowers, Marlow, Bucks

Cooking tip: Use baby sprouts, which are very

light green, rather than dark green. Blanch in hot salty water until they're just al dente and refresh in

iced water.

Serving idea: Re

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