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Alison Baker looks at more business-enhancing concepts

Organic kitchen garden

Where: Felin Fach Griffin, near Brecon, Powys, Wales, www.eatdrinksleep.ltd.uk

The idea: A certified organic kitchen garden and market produce stall.

How it works: After a two- year conversion period, the pub's 400sq m kitchen garden has officially been certified as organic.

Owners Charles and Edmund Inkin, having been raised on a diet of home-grown fruit and vegetables, always intended to have a kitchen garden at the pub and believe its organic certification makes it the first of its kind in Wales. The garden meets much of head chef Ricardo van Ede's salad and vegetable requirements, and includes 20 different salad leaves, broad beans, garden peas, Jerusalem artichokes, purple sprouting broccoli, five potato varieties and dozens of herbs. It also provides summer fruits such as strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries.

Customers enjoy produce that is picked and immediately carried less than 50 paces to the kitchen.

"There really is no comparison in taste and goodness with modern supermarket or mass-cultivated produce," says Edmund.

Business benefit: Now in its fourth year of planting, the pub is beginning to see the kind of yield from the garden that justifies all the Inkins' hard work and investment. Coinciding with a period when prices for fresh produce are rising fast, they have managed to protect their margins.

During the summer, customers will be able to buy salad packs and other fruits and vegetables directly from a small market stall at the pub, which will also sell the pub's famous soda bread, jams and other edible items, depending on what is on in the kitchen at the time.

The stall, located on the pub's lawns, will be managed by the head gardener.

Top tip on making the idea work:

Be patient. "A kitchen garden involves an enormous amount of effort, cost and

worry, but it's all worthwhile in the end," says Edmund.

Mix 'n' match roasts

Where: the Fountain Inn, Clent, Stourbridge,

West Midlands

The idea: Mix 'n' match roasts. The Fountain has been offering mix 'n' match roasts for the last three to four years, ever since a customer asked to have a selection of meats with their meal.

Owner Richard Macey was quick to realise the concept could work as a regular menu offering and now the idea runs alongside single meat roasts as an integral part of the Sunday lunch menu at the Fountain Inn.

How it works: Customers can opt for two, three or four meats from a choice of sirloin of beef, outdoor-reared loin of pork, leg of lamb and crown of turkey, plus quarters of roasted duck for an additional charge.

All meats are locally produced, cooked on the Sunday morning and hand-carved onto the customer's plate.

Business benefit: Many customers enjoy the flexibility of this menu option and about 25% of the roasts sold at the pub are mixed. "We find that at least one person on most tables will order it," says Richard.

Top tip on making the idea work: Charge more for the mix 'n' match roasts in order to achieve your GP.

House coffee

Where: the Highwayman, Burrow, Kirkby Lonsdale, Lancs, www.highwaymaninn.co.uk

The idea: Own-blend coffee. As part of Ribble Valley Inns pub group, the Highwayman has a strong commitment to local produce and regional food heroes.

Proprietors Nigel Haworth and Craig Bancroft have strived to ensure that their coffee is always delivered at a high standard and decided to create a unique blend for use initially at Northcote Manor.

It is the first product in their recently launched retail brand, Food with Roots.

Sales and marketing director Kaye Mathew says: "Coffee is an important delivery - get the coffee wrong and they can leave with a negative at the end of the meal. Creating your own blend gives you confidence that you are offering a good product you believe in."

How it works: Chef Nigel Haworth

developed the blend with supplier Mark Smith of the Exchange Coffee Company in Clitheroe, Lancashire, who supplies Northcote Manor.

Mark co-ordinates all the packaging for coffee in his own shops, so it was a very easy step for Ribble Valley Inns to package their own blend and start their retail venture off with this product.

Both Northcote Espresso and Northcote Special retail at £3 per 227g bag. The coffee is promoted on the group's menus, via their website and at the coffee stations in each establishment.

At present, the company is not marketing its retail products aggressively, so sales tend to reach approximately 50 per month. Increased marketing is planned at a later date, with the aim of introducing a local food shop at each of the pubs.

Business benefit: As perfectionists in

everything they tackle, Nigel and Craig hope that by offering a locally blended product they will underline their commitment to investing time in creating what they feel is an excellent product.

Top tip on making the idea work: "Remember to focus on the coffee and beyond by making sure you have the right equipment and the right grinder. It's also vital to pay attention to the water and pressure and to cleaning the equipment.

"Every three months all our staff undergo training to ensure they are looking after the equipment and grinding and preparing the coffee correctly."

Crab menu

Where: the Millbrook Inn, South Pool, near Kingsbridge, South Devon.

The idea: Crab menu. As the new owners of this 16th-century village inn, Ian Dent and his partner Diana Hunt were keen to make their mark on this already successful pub by specialising in a local delicacy - crab.

"We wanted to avoid the predictability of so many menus," says Ian. "The Millbrook has been famous for its crab sandwiches for many years and as we are situated on the banks of South Pool creek, crab seemed the obvious choice."

How it works: Ian and Diana have devised a special crab menu which includes the pub's famous crab sandwiches, potted crab and crab linguine, as well as crab salad, wraps, bruschettas and crab cakes. The crab is sourced from nearby Start Bay, with the kitchen using about two kilos every day.

"We use a lot of brown crab, but at the moment we are also being supplied with the sweeter Start Bay spider crab," Ian says.

Business benefit: Uptake of crab specialities has been good and Ian and Diana are hopeful that trade will increase over the summer.

At high tide, boats from Salcombe can reach the inn's moorings, so the summer months will see an influx of tourists and customers from the boating fraternity.

Top tip on making the idea work: Use freshly caught crab wherever possible and stick to simple, easy-to-prepare dishes.