Pub food: business boosters

By Jo Bruce

- Last updated on GMT

Doughnuts: profitable additon to menus
Doughnuts: profitable additon to menus
Ideas for boosting food sales at your pub including adding doughnuts to dessert menus and and cooking hog roasts.

Doughnuts on dessert menus

Where:​ the Bell & Bear Inn, Rowley Regis, West Midlands

The idea:​ National Doughnut Week was the perfect reminder of how pubs can cash in on one of the nation's favourite treats. Licensee Stephanie Corcoran trialled Moy Park's mouth-watering, profit-making doughnut range, including choc mini doughnuts and large cinnamon doughnuts for two weeks. "The new menu was a great success, proving quick and easy to prepare, with outstanding quality results."

What we needed:​ Moy Park Food Service offers all the necessary sweet-trolley PoS on its website, such as menus, posters and flyers. Pubs can register at www.moyparkfoodservice.com​ or call 0800 085 2759 for free tailored PoS via Moy Park's Menu Makers.

Business benefits:​ Adding Moy Park's doughnut range to your desserts menu offers great profit-making potential. The basic cost of a doughnut platter for four was £2.54, while menu price was £7.95, giving a potential profit of £5.41; an almost 70% increase. Corcoran explains: "Customers particularly liked the idea of sharing desserts, as people are often too full to have a whole pudding. The bite-sized doughnuts are perfect to liven up popular puddings and were a huge hit, especially when served with a hot drink."

Top tip:​ Encourage staff to push the donut menu, and promote it with eye-catching PoS.

Why do it:​ Easy to make and great for sharing so encourages extra spending.

Hog roasts for outside cooking

Where:​ the Camelot, South Cadbury, Somerset, www.thecamelotpub.com

The idea:​ Owner David Catton says: "Hog and lamb-roasting is the most economical way of catering for large numbers. It has that 'wow' factor and creates a great talking point. "We offer both an outside and on-site catering service, from cooking and carving only, to everything-supplied; meat, sauces, stuffings, salads, desserts."

What we needed:​ "We have built up such a good reputation that most of our enquiries are the result of recommendations. However, our website generates about half a dozen bookings a year, and hog-roasting is mentioned in our general pub advertising. Set-up costs totalled around £5,000, which include the roaster, good quality knives, a mini marquee for cooking in inclement weather, and a trailer for transportation. Ongoing costs include consumables, gas and staffing costs for larger events, although it is mainly a one-man show. I also have a fully qualified butcher as a stand-in if required."

Business benefits:​ "We started offering hog roasts more than 12 years ago. We cater for 35 to 40 roasts a year, which generates about £25,000 gross income. This could be increased, but we tend to turn down jobs outside our 'catchment area' as we still have a pub to run. We also attract a number of customers to the pub as a direct result of serving them high-quality food at a hog-roasting event."

Why do it:​ Offers an economical approach to event catering.

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