Driving new food business: Step outside

Cooking and eating outdoors is a big attraction, and can help pubs to drive trade across the summer.

Given that most customers will have grilled a sausage or burger for themselves, Hugh Judd, foodservice project manager for EBLEX, advises that when planning for summer differentiating your barbecue offer will be crucial for success.

Hugh recommends that chefs also look to innovate with other beef and lamb cuts this summer, in order to generate maximum interest and custom in the difficult economic climate. He says: "It doesn't take much to make a really special barbecue event and contrary to popular belief, it needn't come at an increased cost."

Making the most of in-season ingredients will help manage costs, while marinades - which play a vital role in locking flavours, colour and succulence into red meat on the barbecue - are a great way to offer customers variety while using the same cuts and specifications of meat.

The best advice from Hugh is to speak to suppliers and find out what cuts are in plentiful supply and if there are any price promotions currently on offer. Don't forget that diners are increasingly keen to know the origin of their food - and in particular meat - particularly if you are supporting local producers, so make sure this information is available on menus. It adds a real point of difference.

Tim Shearer, marketing manager for 3G Food Service and Seafood Solutions, says: "There's always the opportunity to diversify and make menus stand out by developing a particular area of expertise that you can become famous for."

One 3G customer, the Burning Kitchen in Liverpool, has created a gourmet burger offering in addition to its traditional pub menu.

The menu includes burgers such as wild boar and bison, and 3G has also launched ostrich burgers and chicken & crocodile burgers. These offer pubs a great way to add a touch of the exotic to barbecue menus and specials boards, with something most customers will definitely not have tried before.

A selection of condiments and sauces also helps to add variety. "By offering a complete range of condiments, dressings and sauces operators can offer a huge variety of tastes so customers keep coming back for more," says Rachel Neale, marketing manager for AAK, which supplies the Lion range.

For example, hot piri piri sauce, featuring chilli, garlic, oregano and paprika flavours, is ideal for basting chicken wings, while Thai sweet chilli will perk up chicken and fish perfectly.

For the really intrepid, hot chilli sauce adds a kick to burgers and chicken, while flavours such as American smokey BBQ, sticky BBQ and hickory BBQ all add an authentic touch.

As Tim suggests: "Instead of presenting customers with the same old choice, enhance the meal with a choice of more unusual accompaniments for customers to jazz up their favourite meat or vegetarian barbecue dish."