Event ideas: Poultry Week and Pig Out Mondays

The Gloucester Old Spot, Horfield, Bristol​

Website:​ www.theoldspotbristol.co.uk​

Twitter:​ @oldspotbristol​

The idea:​ To offer a deal to customers on quiet nights, with Monday being the Pig Out Mondays food offer.

How it works:​ Customers can buy a home-made burger, chips and a drink for £10. Foster’s, Butcombe Bitter, a glass of house wine or a soft drink are available as part of the deal. The full menu also runs alongside the promotional offer.

Marketing:​ Website, social media, Twitter, posters in the pub, table-talkers and chalkboards are used to promote the event.

Be prepared:​ An extra member of staff is required to work in the daytime on Mondays to make the fresh burgers and set up. “Because we have run this for a few months, we know how many roughly to expect,” says licensee Amy Devenish.

Pay-off:​ Monday trade has been building up, especially with the good weather. There are more than 50 customers in the pub on Monday evenings.

Key benefits:​ It has brought in new customers and the offer has helped to give people a reason to come into the pub on quieter Monday nights.

Advice:​ “Make sure any food event is costed properly,” advises Devenish. “It has to be worked out correctly, so you know how much you are going to make. When we first launched, we only offered the burgers on a Monday, but that didn’t work for us. You need to have a deal on, but offer the rest of the menu.”

Best outcome:​ Drives trade at a quiet time by offering a good deal. There is also the chance to up-sell because people will have a dessert and another drink.

Poultry Week​

Milestone, Sheffield, South Yorkshire​

Website:​ www.the-milestone.co.uk​

Twitter:​ @TheMilestone​

The idea:​ A six-day, poultry-inspired menu.

How it works:​ The menu ran alongside the pub’s regular offering, from the early May bank holiday Monday through to the Saturday. Featuring domestic fowl including chicken, duck, guinea fowl and quail, dishes were individually priced. Menu offerings included crispy chicken skins with kitchen garden pesto (£2.50), roast breast of guinea fowl (£14.95), five-spiced duck breast served with salt-baked roots (£17.95) and chicken Ramen (£12.95). A duck egg custard tart with slow-roasted rhubarb was also available for dessert, priced at £5.95.

Marketing:​ The menu was promoted via e-flyers to the pub’s database, through social media, in-house and at sister site, the Wig and Pen, in Sheffield city centre.

Be prepared:​ The kitchen team was briefed to create a challenging, locally sourced menu that differed from the pub’s gastro offering. Poultry was supplied by local butcher, Owen Taylor & Sons, in Derbyshire, which purchases the majority of its products as livestock from local ‘farm-assured’ sites.

Pay-off:​ Customer feedback was positive. It fits with the pub’s ethos and allowed chefs to demonstrate their skills and passion.

Key benefits:​ Boosted sales for the week and encouraged repeat trade.

Advice:​ Jon Church, general manager of the freehold pub, says: “Ensure that events reinforce the business’s ethos. Plan well ahead and allow a big lead time for promotion.”

Best outcome:​ Approximately 500 poultry menu meals were sold.