Advice for Pubs, Restaurants and Food Service
British Food: The Basics
A guide for restaurants, pubs, shops and food service companies on how to take part in British Food Fortnight
British Food: Retail and Catering Case Studies
This guide provides case studies demonstrating how retailers and caterers have they used British food to maximise sales and attract new customers; how they sourced British food; how they promoted it; what results they achieved and lessons learnt.
Hot Tips for maximising sales during British Food Fortnight
A handy guide of tips from those who have taken part.
Why Take Part?
Our British Food Fortnight promotion was so successful we increased custom by 300%.
Michel Nijsten, Head Chef, Albright Hussey Manor Hotel & Restaurant
Love British Food has given our hotels the opportunity to celebrate the fantastic British produce available with our suppliers, our customers and our staff, and has resulted in great PR for all three of our hotels.
Sally Turley, Group Marketing Manager, Webb Hotels & Travel
Love British Food has been a resounding success across the Sodexo business. Sodexo is delighted to be Official Partner of Love British Food.
David Mulcahy, Food Development and Innovation Director, Sodexo
Whether you are a large brewery chain, hotel, independent pub or restaurant, or a food service organisation, taking part in British Food Fortnight, the biggest national promotion of British Food, is proven to increase sales.
Hundreds of pubs, restaurants and hotels and most of the largest food service organisations have taken part over the years. All have reported that the promotion helped them to attract new customers, increased spending from existing customers and established a point of difference between their establishment and others.
Promotions during previous British Food Fortnights have proved that it has a serious impact on sales; one hotel restaurant increased sales by an astonishing 300% during the event.
You do not have to restrict yourselves to British Food Fortnight either. By sourcing and promoting British food in your establishment all year, you are showing that you are serious about food sourcing and provenance, and are helping the British economy as well as helping yourselves. The Love British Food branding is available to support your promotions year-round.
We are proud supporters of Love British Food. We believe in supporting British Farmers and produce whenever possible and appreciate very much the hard work that the Love British Food team put into this annual event.
Rebecca Weller, Marketing Manager, Whiting & Hammond pubs
Why it is in your commercial interest to take part
- You will attract new customers.
- The demand for quality, fresh, seasonal and locally-distinct produce is increasing and customers are prepared to pay more for it.
- If you run a pub or restaurant, there are lots of opportunities to use local foods to complement beer and wine sales and to drive menu sales.
- You will differentiate your establishment from the competition.
- Buying British can still be affordable and add real value to your profits.
Advice on sourcing locally
- Contact your existing suppliers to see whether the produce they currently supply you with is British.
- Send current and new suppliers a copy of the menu you would like them to supply British food for and invite them to pitch for the business.
- Larger suppliers can still provide local produce: be specific when talking to them about what you want and don’t shy away from specifying local products as part of your requirements.
- Talk to your suppliers to overcome difficulties that may arise if you are a large caterer trying to work with small suppliers. For example, the Youth Hostel Association used to have a purchasing model that enabled six Peak District farms to supply meat to one butcher who in turn supplied seven youth hostels in the area.
- Buy in-season products that are often available at competitive prices in order to achieve value for money.
Hot tips for maximising sales during British Food Fortnight
- Promote your participation in the national food promotion by displaying POS material using the British Food Fortnight logo or Union Jack on menus and in restaurants.
- Ensure the whole catering team knows about the new products and suppliers and encourage them to communicate this to customers while serving food.
- Use phrases such as ‘seasonal veg’ on the menu that enable you to take a variety of stock from different suppliers.
- Contact your suppliers and ask whether the produce they currently supply you with is British. The Mare and Foal pub in Crediton did this and discovered that the butcher they use guarantees that all the meat it supplies comes from the West Country.
- Use British Food Fortnight as an opportunity to experiment with new dishes on your menu: chefs that do so end up keeping the dish for the rest of the winter.
- Set yourself a target of at least five locally sourced dishes on your menu.
- Make simple dishes special by sourcing British: Soup of the Day and Bangers & Mash are always popular and are easy to localise.
- Challenge chefs to come up with ‘Chef’s Specials’ that highlight local produce. For example, a ‘Steak & Ale-of-the-Day Pie’ draws attention to the range of ales on sale in the bar and a dish that uses a local cheese will stimulate interest in your cheese board.
- Daily menus give you the most flexibility to change dishes according to season and produce available. If changing your menu daily is not possible, use generic phrases that give customers enough information about what they are ordering but still give you flexibility: for example, ‘Chef’s Special’, ‘xyz served with Seasonal Vegetables’ or ‘Seasonal Fruit Crumble’.
- Name producers and farms rather than simply use the term ‘local’ on your menu. If it is difficult to specify producers by name then use generic phrases such as ‘All the meat served comes from within 30 miles of this pub/restaurant.’
- List your suppliers, their contact details and even the number of food miles separately in order to keep the wording on the menu simple and clear.
- Use British Food Fortnight to increase Christmas bookings: pubs and restaurants offering special menus during the event often report an increase in bookings as the Fortnight is an opportunity to give customers confidence in the quality of food they can expect.
- Link up with your local shop. Run a special British Food Fortnight menu that features the produce available in the shop. Produce reciprocal ‘x% off’ vouchers.
- Launch a retail service to complement your menu sales: ready-made meals for take-aways or freezer storage, as has been done with great success by so many pubs and restaurants during covid-19 lockdown.
- Organise an event to which you can invite journalists and that will make you stand out from other pubs and restaurants wanting media coverage. For example, you could offer a cooking demonstration of the dishes on your menu.
- Invest in quality photographs of your dishes to maximise press coverage. Newspapers and magazines are more likely to feature your restaurant and menu if you are able to supply them with quality photographs.
Working with Schools – your customers of the Future
In addition to the commercial reasons for taking part in British Food Fortnight, we invite you to use the national celebration as an opportunity to be proactive in educating young people about British food.
Schools must now incorporate cookery and food-related topics into their curriculum. We advise them to seek help from local chefs to achieve this. So, chances are, there is a school waiting to hear from YOU! The best people to make the young aware of the diverse and delicious food that Britain has to offer are those who work with food every day.
Many caterers organise activities for schools every year during British Food Fortnight. Here are tips for working with schools based on their experiences, and some examples of what some retailers have achieved.
Tips on working with schools
- Offer to give a cooking demonstration or lesson in your local school. Most secondary schools have a fully-equipped kitchen and every primary and nursery school will have cooking facilities somewhere in the building, even if it is only a small oven or microwave in the staff room. You could also take a portable hob into the school. If cooking facilities are not available, then possible alternative sites for the cooking session include the kitchens in your own restaurant or in a local community hall.
- Offer your kitchen facilities to your local school as a venue for a cooking lesson: many pubs, restaurants and hotels host successful school visits so don’t be afraid of inviting children into your kitchen! If you are worried about letting children loose in your kitchen, host a cooking demonstration rather than a lesson.
- Ask your regular suppliers to donate ingredients for the cooking session: this is a good way for your suppliers to share in the publicity you will receive.
- Make your pub or restaurant a venue where children can learn about food: set them a ‘British Food: True or False Quiz’ or give them factsheets about some of the traditional dishes on your menu.
- Think about children when planning your menu promotions: child-friendly promotions will encourage parents to eat in your pub or restaurant. Offer children smaller portions of the dishes on the menu rather than having a separate children’s menu.
- Offer a ‘Try It!’ plate for children.