Menu masterclass

Mark Taylor looks at how to select the right dishes for a perfectly-balanced menu

Concise menus

Size isn't everything when it comes to writing menus - and the longer the menu, the more the customer will assume that most of the dishes are bought-in and reheated, rather than cooked from scratch using fresh ingredients.

According to Darron Bunn of the Chasers, in Stokeinteignhead, Devon, a short menu offering about six choices is ideal, as it gives plenty of choice without being overwhelming. He says: "If you're cooking from fresh, rather than from the freezer, the menu can't be too big: fresh ingredients have a certain shelf-life that dictates the size of the menu. I always write a six-choice à la carte and a three-course set-lunch - I think that's enough choice."

Ringing the changes

Gone are the days when pub menus were written, laminated and not changed for months or even years. Customers like to see the menu changing on a regular basis - daily, monthly or seasonally. Although very few pubs change whole menus every day, a short menu is easier to manage and it's always possible to use

leftover dinner dishes on the following day's lunch menu.

A menu that changes every season allows the kitchen to add occasional daily specials to keep it interesting for the chefs and for regular

customers who welcome variety.

Balanced choice

If your menu offers six or seven choices for each course, you need to strike a balance. For starters, include a couple of meat and fish dishes, but balance those out with a game dish or terrine, a vegetarian dish and a soup, which can also be vegetarian. For main courses, two meat, two fish, one game and one or two vegetarian options is ample choice, but go with the seasons. Desserts need to include a chocolate dish, a fruitier option and perhaps a lighter dish such as a sorbet selection. Devise the menu to suit your customers and market. If you're running a country pub in the middle of the game season, don't be afraid to put three or four locally-shot game dishes on the menu.

Keeping an eye on the weather

By keeping the menu short and seasonal, it's easier to change things at the last minute. The old adage about cooking dishes that suit the climate is appropriate when considering the vagaries of the British weather. Menus should reflect the weather and temperature. Feature plenty of hearty stews and braises in the winter months, and lighter fish dishes and healthy salads in summer. If you change the menu daily or weekly, it's much easier to make last-minute changes when the weather turns. If your menu is set in stone, you may end up offering your customers beef stew on a sweltering July day and crab salad in January.

Children's food

Since the Jamie Oliver school-dinners campaign, many parents have become more aware of the importance of encouraging their children to eat healthily. Pubs need to bear this in mind and design their menus to offer children

healthier dishes as well as more traditional favourites.

If burgers are on your menu, make sure they are 100% beef - maybe even organic - and why not offer home-made varieties. The Three Fishes in Mitton, near Whalley, in Lancashire, has won awards for its children's menu, available to youngsters under 10 years. It features dishes such as local free-range Gloucester Old Spot chipolatas with mash and onion gravy, and corn-fed breast of chicken with pod vegetables and "real" chips.

Upselling profitable dishes

Some dishes will make you a better gross profit (GP) than others, but to sell more portions of profitable dishes, highlight them on the menu.

Fresh fish has always been one of the most profitable dishes at the Russell, in Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire, but head chef Ben Hars says sales have increased with introduction of a special fish menu. He says: "Our normal menu changes every three months, but we change the fish menu every week - and people love it.

"We use fresh fish - and our customers appreciate our recognition that fish and seafood is seasonal and they look forward to certain fish or seafood coming back on the menu.

"July, for example, is not the season for native mussels - so we don't put them on the menu. People are fine about that decision because they look forward to the time when they reappear on the fish menu."

Catering for dietary needs

Menus need to be designed to appeal to a wide range of customers, some of whom will have special dietary requirements or certain food intolerances. For example, an increasing number of pubs have introduced wheat-free or gluten-free dishes in order to cater for coeliacs.

A nutritional balance can be achieved by avoiding too many deep-fried dishes, and including several dishes featuring fresh steamed vegetables or grilled fish and meat. Use cream sparingly to satisfy modern palates which prefer lighter, healthier sauces or reductions.

Make sure at least one healthy dessert is added to the menu, perhaps featuring fresh fruit as the main ingredient.

The art of side orders

Averaging around the £3 mark, side orders are always an easy way of upselling and increasing spend per head, but it's important to give

customers value for money and also be prepared to offer them something a little bit different.

For years, pubs were well known for serving a standard vegetables-of-the-day selection of limp broccoli, floppy carrot batons and frozen peas, but nowadays savvy customers expect a lot more for their money. Make sure vegetable side dishes are seasonal and as locally-sourced as possible, which should have the added advantage of making them cheaper to buy in.

Take advantage of ingredients such as English asparagus, during its brief appearance in May and June, and then move on to broad beans and peas. In winter, concentrate on a selection of root vegetables and brassicas. Potato side-dishes can often be disappointing in pubs - so think outside the box. Rather than serving up dreary, reheated boiled new potatoes, why not sauté them in olive oil with rosemary and sea salt, or make proper hand-cut chips. Try sides of red cabbage or peas and bacon to add interest. Customers will notice the difference and be more inclined to order side dishes the next time they visit.

Creating specials boards

Most pubs run a specials board alongside their regular menu. This can change every day and is an effective way of using up stock, as well as testing out new dishes on customers or utilising seasonal produce.

Chris Bicknell, head chef at the Wheatsheaf at Grayswood, near Haslemere in Surrey, says: "We always have our normal menu, but we also run a daily specials board which concentrates on produce that is in season at the time.

"The specials board always features five starters, including two soups, and about 12 main courses, including a pie of the day and also a salad in summer. We've found that half the customers order from the specials board and the other half order from the normal menu."

Valuing seasonality

More than ever before, customers' levels of awareness and interest in seasonal food are growing. With the abundance of fabulous ingredients grown in this country, there is no reason why chefs should have to use imported produce out of season.

Buying fruit and vegetables from local growers and producers offers valuable opportunities to tailor a menu to the right season and change it on an almost daily basis.

If a pub is close to a local shoot, it makes sense to ensure that you put lots of game on the menu during the shooting season.

If the pub is situated close to the sea, make contacts with the local fishermen and make a point of adding as much local, seasonal fish and seafood on the menu. This attracts customers' attention and enhances the pub's reputation.