Rock the week
What do fish, sausages, British food and red squirrels all have in common?
You'd be wrong if you thought they were all great additions to the menu - it was the grey squirrel that hit the headlines last
year by making a guest appearance on Sir Terence Conran's Butlers Wharf Chop House menu.
The correct answer is that all four have their own national weeks coming up. It's doubtful that there's much profit to be made by encouraging customers to celebrate Red Squirrel Week with you, but there is potential to boost sales by getting involved in British Food Fortnight, Seafood Week and British Sausage Week.
We've got some hints and tips from the organisers of these key events of the kitchen calendar to create some excitement for your customers and drive your pub's sales.
British Food Fortnight 2006: 23 September - 8 October
There has never been a better time for pubs to use regional food as a moneyspinner, according to the organisers of British Food Fortnight (BFF).
The demand for quality, fresh seasonal produce is increasing, with pub customers willing to pay more for it, while Food from Britain, regional food groups and regional development agencies are all investing in publicity and promotions to raise consumer awareness.
The fortnight's theme this year is "Are You Cooking It?" to place caterers at the heart of the national activities.
One pub preparing for this year's BFF is the Mare & Foal in Crediton, Devon. It will be running a fixed-price menu, with special offers to encourage repeat custom during the two weeks.
The Mare & Foal is a rural pub and found its regular customers, many of whom are farmers and butchers by trade, came out of the woodwork in the run-up to the fortnight last year. Customers now supply the pub with organic vegetables and sausages.
The pub also saw the fortnight as a successful test-run for a new local baker and used its "Steak and Ale of the Day Pie" to highlight the different regional ales sold at the bar.
Alexia Robinson, organiser of BFF, says: "Taking part in the British Food Fortnight event is certainly a proven way of attracting new customers to your establishments and definitely helps to increase spend per head."
BFF, in association with Food from Britain, has released an updated edition of the Britain's Regional Food & Drink - Advice for Retailers & Caterers guide.
BFF claims that last year's guide helped regional food and drink sales rocket. The 2006 version highlights sales-boosting opportunities for both caterers and retailers during the two-week event and beyond.
It contains case studies of pubs that ran successful fortnights last year, information on regional food groups and advice on how to maximise regional media coverage.
For a copy of the guide or more information about the event, call British Food Fortnight on
0207 840 9292, email vasb@oevgvfusbbqsbegavtug.pb.hx or visit www.britishfoodfortnight.co.uk. class="bold">Tips for a successful British Food Fortnight
• Create a British Food Fortnight specials board concentrating on regional food and stating the origins of the produce, suggests the event organiser
• Don't get obsessed with using the term "local" on the menu, as naming the producer and farm is much more imaginative and inspiring
• Match up regional foods with regional beers, ciders and wines. Visit the Camra (Campaign for Real Ale) website on www.camra.org.uk and check out English wine producers at www.englishwineproducers.com for other useful snippets of information to help you with preparations
• Produce discount vouchers to be used for the fortnight and distribute them in local shops and markets. It will help get people talking about your event
• Remember regional cheeses for your cheese board - Britain produces more than 400 types of cheese made from cow, goat, ewe and even buffalo milk
Seafood Week 2006: 6-13 October
Seafood Week is the biggest celebration of seafood in the UK, with a track record of boosting industry sales by up to 65%, according to organisers, the cross-industry seafood body Seafish.
Pubs, restaurants, fish wholesalers and fishmongers have already signed up for the week, which is running with the new "2 a Week" theme, a campaign fronted by celebrity chef James Martin.
Seafish chief executive John Rutherford says Seafood Week, which is now into its sixth year, is getting bigger and bigger.
"Seafood is growing in popularity as consumers recognise its health benefits," says John. "This year's theme reinforces the Food Standards Agency's recommendations to eat seafood twice a week and Seafood Week is the perfect platform for communicating its health values.
"We are encouraging everybody in the industry to get behind our new campaign and help show how easy it is to cook seafood, contributing to making the event an even bigger success than ever before."
To help pubs support the campaign, Seafish has produced promotional PoS kits, with bunting, balloons, posters and an ideas sheet.
Contact organiser Peeks on 01202 489489, visit www.peeks.co.uk or email fnyrf@crrxf.pb.hx and quote SEAFOOD2AW to get your kit.
Tips for a successful Seafood Week 2006
Organiser Seafish has come up with the following to put the fizz into fish sales:
l Tempt diners with a buy-one-get-one-free offer on all seafood dishes
l Enter customers into a free prize draw when they purchase any seafood meal
l Reward the 100th customer each day with a free seafood starter
l Incentivise staff with gift vouchers for selling the most seafood dishes each day
l Encourage chefs to develop new recipes using lesser-known species. Learn about its origin so your customers can be assured of its provenance
l Enlist the support of your wine merchant and offer customers a free glass of wine with any seafood meal purchased
British Sausage Week 2006: 30 October - 5 November
The British Pig Executive (BPEX) is on the hunt for the Supreme Sausage Sarnie to use as the centrepiece of British Sausage Week 2006.
The week is into its ninth year and, as well as promoting the sausage sarnie - whether it's a twist on the traditional breakfast favourite, a lunchtime hand-held snack or served as a gourmet evening meal - there are also the crowd-pulling sausage and mash nights.
BPEX and the British Potato Council have teamed up to produce a comprehensive guide to help pubs run their own special theme
evenings.
Download the free Running a Successful Sausage & Mash Night guide from www.britishmeatfoodservice.com by clicking on "What's New?"
British Sausage Week 2005 went with a bang for the Ye Olde Bell
& Steelyard Inn, Woodbridge, Suffolk, which ran a gourmet sausage-and-mash menu with a different sausage and mash dish every lunchtime and evening, and the Clifton Sausage in Bristol had a specials board filled with bangers from around the country.
BPEX has produced special PoS kits for pubs and restaurants taking part in British Sausage Week 2006, which are available by contacting Karen Eaton on 01908 844114.
To download an entry form for the Supreme Sausage Sarnie competition - the closing date is 2 October - or for more information on British Sausage Week 2006, visit www.britishsausageweek.com class="bold">Tips for a successful British Sausage Week
BPEX, with a little help from the British Potato Council, has come up with the following handy hints for making the most of British Sausage Week:
l Introduce different varieties of sausage, including regional variations, and new sausage dishes to the menu. Try far
