Pub Food Roundtable: The great debate

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Taking part in the debate, held at The Publican's office in Blackfriars, London were: Tim Bird, operations manager, EP PubsPaul Drye, catering...

Taking part in the debate, held at The Publican's​ office in Blackfriars, London were:

  • Tim Bird, operations manager, EP Pubs
  • Paul Drye, catering development manager, St Austell Brewery
  • Paul Farr, head of food, Spirit Group
  • Chris Hayles, sales director, chain accounts, Unilever Foodsolutions
  • Ann Mills, general manager, Barracuda Group
  • Jason Radbourn, menu development manager, Spirit Group
  • Paul Robbins, food development manager, McMullen & Sons
  • Martyn Smith, catering manager, Barracuda Group

Smoking

From whatever side of the bar you look at it, the smoking ban will have a huge affect on pubs up and down the country. While it has been positioned by some people as a potential problem, others have proclaimed it an opportunity. But on the front line, what will the affect be? How much extra food business is genuinely out there? And how can pubs make the most of the opportunities?

The consensus was that wet-led local pubs that currently do not offer food would struggle post ban to gain food business, but that apocalyptic scaremongering is way off the mark.

Tim Bird said: "I just can't see local pubs in certain areas doing great business from more food." Paul Robbins agreed, saying: "For the traditional pub, there is a real danger."

This could be compounded by a perceived lack of information relating to the smoking ban, and confusion over the legislation governing it. Tim Bird said: "We just don't know any rules. This is the big issue. Trying to build something in anticipation could be costly."

Most agreed that there was a danger of overreacting in anticipation of the smoking ban, and that it might cost licensees more money than it need to. Paul Robbins said: "There is a danger you could put all this effort in and it then causes you to lose focus on having the best pint of beer possible. You could spend a lot of time trying to get the Holy Grail and you could get caught."

For pubs that might struggle to do business from food, it was recommended that the best way for pubs to protect themselves going forward would be to concentrate on improving existing areas of expertise.

Jason Radbourn said: "It's about doing what you already do well. People will still want that." Table service was identified as an opportunity for pubs to generate further food sales post ban. Ann Mills added: "Table service will play a big part. It will take a major leap forward following the smoking ban." Radbourn agreed: "Service will become the key driver."

Despite the recognition that the smoking ban would seriously impact some pubs, there was the suggestion that it wasn't at the top of the agenda of some pub companies.

Jason Radbourn said: "The issue of town centre drinking is more of an issue for us than the smoking ban."

Paul Drye expressed the view that the smoking ban will negatively impact the industry. "I think we will see pubs close" he said.

Extended hours

Extended hours brings with it extended opportunities. From breakfast and morning coffee to afternoon tea and late night takeaways - can pub food fill the gaps in trade generated by longer opening hours?

Almost everyone agreed each site would have to be looked at in isolation when considering offering services like breakfast or takeaway food, because of local tastes and preferences.

Martyn Smith said: "It's about identifying opportunities on an individual basis, and has a lot to do with location."

Ann Mills agreed: "We've found the breakfast idea doesn't work well everywhere."

Tim Bird mentioned services which had not worked across different sites. "It is so site specific and very unpredictable," he said. "It never ceases to amaze me."

One of the biggest obstacles, it was suggested, was a mental block in people which prevents them from viewing the British pub as a viable place to get breakfast or late night takeaways.

Paul Farr said most people would not consider buying breakfast from a pub on their way to work because of time considerations: "On a Monday or Tuesday morning, people are probably not going to go to the pub for breakfast" he said.

Paul Drye agreed. He said: "I'm wondering whether there's a slight obstacle to overcome. People don't feel comfortable walking into a pub at that time in the morning."

It was suggested much of the public perception of what pubs are like comes from a misinformed representation in the media.

Martyn Smith said: "The image portrayed in the media of pubs is of either binge drinking or Betty in Coronation street. We've got to be able to up the ante and say that's not what modern pub life is like. Then we might be able to make use of extended hours and alternative services."

Coffee, which is already becoming more popular in pubs, was suggested as a product with potential for good sales out of traditional pub hours. However, most people think of coffee specialists like Costa Coffee before a pub for their morning hit, and that pub coffee is of a poor quality."

Tim Bird said: "We have to educate the masses. In Starbucks the coffee is crap but no-one knows it yet. People think, 'I can't drink coffee in a bar!"

Paul Robbins suggested the challenge was to raise the quality of coffee in pubs to try and draw the crowds away from specialists, while making the most of extended hours.

This isn't the only impediment. The panel suggested the appearance of pubs, in that they often appear dark from the outside in the mornings, puts many people off.

Closing on very quiet days was also suggested as an opportunity to use extended hours to keep staff fresh.

Paul Robbins said: "Maybe we have to make use of extended hours to keep everybody fresh. Maybe we should shut some pubs on Monday to let the managers have the day off."

Tim Bird disagreed: "It's another mental mind shift. Do away with closing in pubs!"

Local sourcing

Locally sourced pub food, like many a good book, tells a 'story', members of the roundtable agreed. Customers, now fascinated more than ever by having healthy, traceable food, will only be won over by genuine, high quality food, they said.

More often than not, locally sourced food means simplicity. "We have tried to be all things to all men over the last 10 years," said Paul Robbins. "To start delivering real food, we need to bring it right back down to steak and chips."

Complicated menus are a definite no go, according to Paul Farr "Customers don't want 'Daisy was killed two hours ago in a field down the road.'"

Not only is local food defined geographically, so is its importance to pub business. Some areas of the country are very picky about where their food comes from, others less concerned whether what's on their plate came from the other side of the world.

Paul Drye, said he had noticed people in some towns like to think they are doing their bit for local farmers and fishermen. As an example of an area in which local food was crucial to the pub menu, he picked out Yorkshire and its famous puddings. Other counties, though, don't have a dish perceived as their own, he said.

Using ingredients with local provenance can elevate a dish to the specials board. But all too often specials are special only in name, said Tim Bird.

St Austell has made a success out of locally sourced specials. Paul Drye believes it is a question of quality, and that specials only satisfy the term if they are bespoke.

St Austell has engineered its supply chain to allow local sourcing, a process which Paul describes as "time consuming but it means we have nicer things on the menu".

Also posing a problem for achieving good quality local food is staff skills. Although the roundtable concluded that a menu framework should usually be set at a head office level, Tim Bird suggested: "It's about training smarter and better. People don't want to be grill jockeys all their lives. What do we do with these guys? The answer is to give them the skills

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