Twist again

PubChef looks at ideas for keeping classic pub dishes fresh on your menu

Take a look at any recent surveys into favourite foods when dining out and you'll find a list full of classic British dishes.

Although the UK's food culture continues to be affected by global influences, according to research 61% of consumers favour traditional meals and 48% want to see more on menus when eating out.

Pub caterers are missing a trick if they

don't include dishes such as pies, fish and chips, steak and chips and sausage and mash on

their menus.

As Ben Maschler, food director at Geronimo Inns, says: "It is important for pubs to remember they are pubs and include classic dishes on their menus and not just focus on fancy combinations. We have dishes such as fish and chips and sausage and mash on our menus. But the sourcing of ingredients is just as important as the cooking, and we put a big focus on this."

Gary Barnshaw, Heinz Foodservice culinary innovations manager, says: "It's about embracing your corner of the market. In a traditional village pub with a roaring fire, you expect to see a hearty steak and ale pie on the menu and would be disappointed if there wasn't such a classic dish on offer."

Martin Lines, marketing director at Nestlé Foodservices, says: "This is a category to nurture, with ongoing recipe development essential to keeping menus fresh and appealing."

Steak and chips

Steak is a great dish for customers to "have it their way". Ring the changes with your steak menu by offering a range of different sauces, salads and potato accompaniments.

At the Revolver at Bishops Tachbrook, in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, steaks are a major focus of the menu and are offered in a range of weights, including 6oz, 8oz, 10oz and 16oz, and cuts, including rump, rib-eye, sirloin, fillet, T-bone and chateaubriand.

All steaks are served with either a sauce, butter, or a mayonnaise, and one potato dish, such as chips, dauphinoise, minted new potatoes, baked potato with sour cream and chives or creamy mash.

Specialising in steak or hosting a specific steak night has proved big business for many pubs. St Austell brewery has capitalised on the popularity of steak with the opening of the Hop & Vine Steak and Ale House in St Austell last April. The pub offers locally-sourced meats along with a range of St Austell ales.

At Mitchells & Butlers' Miller & Carter steakhouse concept all steaks served in the 11 pubs are offered with a proper steak knife and served with parsley butter, a slice of onion loaf, and an iceberg wedge with a choice of dressing, plus either seasoned fries or a jacket potato.

You could also add a twist to your offer by doing something different with the presentation. At the Hand & Flowers at Marlow, Buckinghamsire, chef/patron Tom Kerridge serves bearnaise sauce with his steaks in a small jam jar sealed with a personalised Hand

& Flowers label.

You could also give your offer a twist by serving the meat on hot-stone equipment such as Black Rock Grill.

Licensees Stephanie Todd and Grahame Rickard, at the Atlantic Inn, on the Isles of Scilly, invested in a 30-stone Black Rock Grill rock oven, to bring theatre to the pub's food offer.

The rocks are heated in a specially designed oven to 440°C then placed onto porcelain platters. Food is then placed on top of the stones and taken sizzling to the customers, who enjoy the opportunity of cooking the food themselves at their own table.

Stephanie says: "Whereas before the food offering was limited, now we can offer a range of pub classics such as fillet and rump steaks, mixed grills, vegetable kebabs, fish and seafood, but with a twist as customers cook their food the way they like it.

"Not only does it make for a fun and unique experience, it also means that the kitchen has no returned meals, saving on wastage."

Pies

The daddy of classic pub dishes and an essential for any pub menu, specialising in pies or creating an extensive pie offer has been a winner for many pubs.

Steak and ale, steak and kidney and chicken and mushroom are the most popular pie fillings, but why not get your chef to create his or her own signature pie or a pie of the week to add variety to your offer? You can ring the changes with new fillings depending on what produce is available or link in with special events.

John McKears, pastry supplier Jus-Rol's foodservice sales manager, says: "Keep your recipes simple and see what twists you can bring to the pub classic. Try using unusual or local ingredients such as your local brewery's ale.

"Whatever makes your pies great be sure to let your customers know and promote your home-made pies on a specials board, your premium pie also means a premium price."

Why not offer fillings such as mutton or rabbit? Matthew O'Keefe, licensee of the Royal Standard of England in Beaconsfield, Bucks, recommends that more pub chefs cook with mutton. He says: "Mutton really gives independent pubs a point of difference - the big chains don't have it and neither do the supermarkets. You will be selling something straight from the farm." Visit www.muttonrenaissance.org.uk for more recipe ideas.

British Pie Week is the perfect opportunity for licensees to promote their pie offer. The week runs from 1 to 7 March. Visit www.britishpieweek.co.uk for point-of-sale kits, recipe ideas and the chance to win £500 and a pie expert at your pub for a day.

Making a feature of the potatoes served with your dishes can add value to your offer. Heike Boelk, marketing executive for the British Potato Council, says: "An increasing number of people would like to know more about the variety of potato they are being served and its origin - and this is a great way to add renewed interest to a menu or dish. A simple reference explaining where your potatoes come from or the variety you have chosen to use can have a dramatic effect on sales."

Paul Dickson, group head chef of restaurant chain Deckers Group, has recently introduced "dug today" potatoes to his menu to satisfy the growing customer demand for fresh local produce.

Sausage and mash

The king of comfort food is an essential addition to any pub menu. Tony Goodger, foodservice trade manager for the British Pig Executive (BPEX), says: "Sausages have wide-ranging appeal and this makes them a key addition to any menu. Rather than adding one or two token sausage meals to the menu, we suggest

licensees offer a range of serving options and different varieties to maximise sales and encourage repeat purchases from customers."

At London's S&M cafes 20 varieties of meat and veggie sausages, four different types of mash and three types of gravy are offered, allowing customers the freedom to customise their own dishes.

The cafes keep their mash offer fresh by regularly introducing new varieties such as horseradish and chive. Visit www.sandmcafe.co.uk for more inspiration.

At the Clifton Sausage pub in Bristol a

sausage-tasting plate is offered for £12 including a choice of four different sausages.

The pub also offers a daily special sausage and toad in the hole, made with the customers' choice of sausage.

All sausages are served with a choice of mash or champ and onion gravy.

Chips

Chips are the perfect accompaniment to classic pub dishes and a snack-menu essential, and shouldn't be an afterthought for licensees.

A Mori poll on behalf of McCain Foodservice revealed 80% of people surveyed would recommend a pub if it sells good chips, and 85% of respondents insist having bad chips would ruin the overall meal and restrict chances of returning. According to the research, the perfect chip is crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, preferably thick cut, golden brown in colour and served warm.

National Chip Week 2008 takes place from 11 to 17 February and is a perfect opportunity for pubs to boost profits. From adding new chip recipes to the menu to holding chip-them