Make sure you're ready for Christmas
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
MenuTraditional 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.
ServiceChristmas 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 drawsThe 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: Reheat in a pan with butter and freshly-peeled chestnuts, add a little chopped parsley and serve.
Alternative Christmas dish: Bacon and chestnuts can be added and the sprouts can be reheated using bacon fat rather than butter.
Yann Martin, Ring O' Bells, Thornton, Bradford, West Yorkshire
Cooking tip: Clean and peel the sprouts straight away, score across the bottom and put into salted boiling water. When they're al dente, put them into ice-cold water to keep their bright green colour.
Serving idea: We reheat them in a steamer with a little bit of oil or butter - they have such a strong flavour they don't really need much else.
Alternative Christmas dish: Use as a garnish with other dishes, mixed with bacon.
Matthew Mason, Jack In The Green, Rookbeare, Exeter, Devon
Cooking tip: Cut the sprouts into quarters and nip out the core with a turning knife. When they're tossed through the other vegetables they almost fall apart, but retain enough of their shape to give a little bit of bite.
Serving idea: Take off the outside leaves, blanch and refresh, then brush with a little olive oil and use them as a garnish for venison or other game dishes. We use the centres as part of our panache of vegetables.
Alternative Christmas dish: Prepare a stir-fry with sprouts, pancetta and chestnuts and serve with sea bass.
TURKEYTony Robson-Burrell, The Wheatsheaf, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
Cooking tip: Cook the breasts on the bone, and take the legs off and bone and roll them, which helps to decrease cooking time and gives a better portion yield. Stuff the legs with cranberry forcemeat, which is also rolled and cooked separately.
Serving idea: Slice the dark meat with the stuffing in it, which gives a nice roundel of stuffing in the middle. The day before it helps to portion up, put it on a tray with a little bit of turkey stock and reheat in the oven - that keeps it nice and moist.
Alternative Christmas dish: Turkey and cranberry sausages.
Olivier Certain, The Woods, Dulverton, Somerset
Cooking tip: Bone out the turkey legs and stuff with sausage meat, chestnut and sage, steam them and then heat them up in a turkey jus. Preparing the breasts in an escalope style prevents the meat drying out.
Serving idea: I'm French and we cook turkey with chestnuts, and I like to remove the first leaves of the sprouts and wilt them down separately.
Alternative Christmas dish: In France, we cook turkey in a fricassée with chestnuts and bacon.
Mark Winter, Horse and Groom, Rushlake Green, East Sussex
Cooking tip: Use free-range turkeys, which have a good flavour. Take the legs off and bone and roll them. Cook the crown separately, pack the top of the crown with wet paper towels and cover it with silver foil so it doesn't over-cook. Use a home-made stuffing of sausage and chestnut.
Serving idea: Serve with bread sauce and a little tartlet with satsumas, cranberries and proper gravy. Serve the sprouts with pancetta and almonds or chestnuts.
GOOSEMatt Waddington, The Punchbowl, Crosthwaite, Cumbria
Cooking tip: Roast in the oven and keep basting it. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper, but as goose is quite fatty, avoid adding more fat. Stuff with sage and apples.
Serving idea: Bone the leg out, put stuffing in the middle and roast it off with the crown. Serve with a couple of slices of breast and slices of leg.
Blair MaCann, The Garrison, London, SE1
Cooking tip: When the whole bird is being cooked, it's best to add strips of streaky bacon to keep it moist. Cook it very slowly and increase the heat at the end, just to colour it. Stuff with an apple and date mixture.
Serving idea: Serve with bread sauce and a gravy made from the roasting juices, sprouts, broccoli and roast potatoes.
Alternative Christmas dish: Confit the legs and roast the crown. Serve with creamed cabbage, bacon and bread sauce.
l Simon Bonwick, Black Boys Inn, Hurley, Berkshire
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