Pub Food

Batter be good: Pubs capitalise on Shrove Tuesday (Getty/Eleganza)

Pubs sweeten the deal for Pancake Day

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Quizzes, eating challenges and charity events are just a few ways pubs are celebrating Pancake Day today (Tuesday 21 February).

The Morning Advertiser Lock In Podcast 55

Making the most of your roast!

By Ed Bedington

A great roast dinner is the cornerstone of many pub operations, and a cultural touchstone for many - but why is that? And what we are getting right or wrong when it comes to the classic dish. The Lock In team take a deep dive into the world of roasts,...

Unanimous verdict: Mat Follas (pictured) was crowned winner of the 2023 Great Sausage Roll Off

Great Sausage Roll Off 2023 winner revealed

By Rebecca Weller

Previous Masterchef winner Mat Follas, from Bramble Restaurant in Sherborne, Dorset, has been crowned the winner of the 2023 Great Sausage Roll Off.

Exciting role: Tom De Keyser head chef at Tom Kerridge's Hand & Flowers gastropub (credit: Ten Group)

De Keyser: Gov must do more to help sector

By Gary Lloyd

Head chef at the Hand & Flowers gastropub Tom De Keyser acknowledges he is in a lucky position but believes the Government could help the sector more as a whole.

Vote now: how much of your food sales comes from burgers? (Credit: Getty/Kobus Louw)

How much of your food sales comes from burgers?

By Rebecca Weller

Last week saw burgers crowned the most popular new addition to pub menus in Lumina Intelligence’s latest Menu Tracker Tool, accounting for more than half (57%) of new dishes added to menus in Q4 of 2022, while chips/wedges/fries were crowned the most...

New dishes: Burgers most popular and most common addition to pub menus in Q4 2022 (Credit: Getty/Henrik Sorensen)

Burgers most popular new main dish on pub menus

By Rebecca Weller

Main course dishes accounted for the largest proportion of new items introduced onto pub and bar menus in Q4 of 2022, the latest Menu Tracker Tool from Lumina Intelligence has revealed.

Food costs: 69% of businesses raised menu prices last year (Getty/ georgeclerk)

69% firms have hiked menu prices

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Rising food and supply costs are causing major issues for operators, but staffing shortages causing fewer problems than expected, new research has revealed.

Hard work and passion: Stosie Madi (pictured) shares secret to gastropub success

Secrets behind #1 Gastropubs success

By Rebecca Weller

Aspiring chefs need to cook for themselves and never for their ego, according to chef-patron of the 2023 number one Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub Stosie Madi.

Injection of support: keeping hospitality prices low important to reduce inflation (Credit: Getty/Henrik Sorensen)

Gov support 'important' to reduce inflation

By Rebecca Weller

Current levels of food inflation “underline the importance” of Government investment in the hospitality sector, trade body UKHospitality (UKH) has stated.

Award winning: Brook House in Fulham was presented with the Front of House Team of the Year accolade at this year’s prestigious event

Top 50 Gastropubs

Brook House wins top service award

By Nikkie Thatcher

Brook House in Fulham, west London was presented with the Front of House Team of the Year Award at the 2023 Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs.

Business recognition: the Oarsman impressed the judges with its attention to detail

Top 50 Gastropubs

The Oarsman named Newcomer of the Year

By Nikkie Thatcher

Marlow-based bistropub and wine bar the Oarsman was awarded the title of Newcomer of the Year at the 2023 Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs.

Prices hikes for customers inevitable: food inflation is almost a quarter higher than a year ago (credit: Getty/Sigrid Gombert)

Food inflation hits record high 24% at year end

By Gary Lloyd

The CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index (FPI) ended 2022 at record highs, with the food basket almost one quarter higher than December 2021 but including drinks, it ended slightly lower at 22.9%.

Top spot: this year's number one Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub is the Parkers Arms in Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire

Top 50 Gastropubs

New number one Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub

By Nikkie Thatcher

The 2023 number one Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub is the Parkers Arms in Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire, a prestigious ceremony revealed on Monday 23 January.

Celebrating the sector: 10 pubs crowned in list of top UK restaurants

1 in 10 of UK’s top restaurants are pubs

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Ten gastropubs have been credited in SquareMeal’s list of the UK’s best 100 restaurants, heralding from Kent, to Norfolk to Northern Ireland.

Former champion: 2020 Great Sausage Roll Off winner Alan Chilton

Judging panel for Great Sausage Roll Off revealed

By Nikkie Thatcher

The judges for this year’s Great Sausage Roll Off have been unveiled for the competition, which is taking place on Wednesday 8 February at the Red Lion in Barnes, south London.

How are food-led pubs dealing with the energy crisis?

The MA Energy Focus in partnership with Heineken

How food-led pubs are fighting rising energy costs

By Nikkie Thatcher

Operators have been taking a number of steps to reduce energy consumption around their food offer including changing kitchen equipment, menu adaptions and a focus on sustainability.

Different world: Warwickshire pub forced to change opening hours and concept amid soaring costs (Credit: Getty/mauro_grigollo)

'Different world' forces pub to axe hours

By Rebecca Weller

Rocketing food and energy costs on top of staff shortages have forced a Warwickshire based pub to reduce its trading hours and food service.

Salary change: the overall average hourly wage for chefs has increased by 11% (image: Getty/ASKA)

Chefs’ pay jumps by 20%

By Nikkie Thatcher

Average hourly pay for temporary chefs has increased by up to 20% in some parts of the country amid staff shortages, data analysis has found.

Price hike: the oils and fats category reported a 47% inflation rise year on year (image: Getty/Yuji Kotani)

Food inflation exceeds 20%

By Nikkie Thatcher

Foodservice price inflation has reached inflation of 21.5% – a record rate and the 10th consecutive month of double-digit inflation.

Star restaurateur: Andrew Pern warns customers not to give out their details

Phishing scam at Andrew Pern’s York site

By Gary Lloyd

Andrew Pern-operated site the Star Inn The City has warned customers not to give their credit and debit card details to anyone after falling victim to a phishing scam.

Online feedback: the pub responded to the one-star review, suggesting the guest should have brought up issues when they were at the site (image: Getty/Marko Geber)

Pub hits back at ‘watery gravy’ review

By Nikkie Thatcher

A London pub has responded to a one-star TripAdvisor review that criticised its ‘watery gravy’ and the fact it served cabbage rather than “a decent green vegetable”.

Very challenging: food inflation making planning and pricing Christmas menus tricky for pubs (Credit: Getty/Ross Woodhall)

Inflation makes pricing xmas menus 'tricky'

By Rebecca Weller

Managing soaring food prices is going to be “tricky” for operators this Christmas as festive menus announced months ago no longer reflect current costs.

Adapt accordingly: NFU president warns UK food supply chain is under threat due to rising energy costs (Credit: Getty/Instants)

'Communication' key as supply chain 'under threat'

By Rebecca Weller

Hospitality businesses need “clear lines of communication” from suppliers to remain “prepared” as the National Farmers Union (NFU) warned British food supply was “under threat”.

No signs of slowing down: Avian flu unlike anything seen before (Getty/ E4C)

Bird flu outbreak ‘worst in years’

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

The outbreak of avian flu wiping out Christmas turkey stock is the worst seen in recent years, according to the British Poultry Council.

Bleak winter ahead: food inflation continues to rise (Credit: Getty/fcafotodigital)

Winter looks 'bleak' as food prices rise

By Rebecca Weller

Winter looks “increasingly bleak” as food inflation accelerated to 12.4% in November, the highest inflation rate in the food category on record, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) index.

Up-to-date: Revised hygiene guide launched (Getty/ 10'000 Hours)

New catering hygiene guide launched

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

An updated version of the industry guide for catering hygiene standards has been launched by UKHospitality (UKH), the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS).

Bird flu: 60k free range turkeys culled in the Christmas runup (Getty/ E4C)

Bird flu: Half of Xmas turkeys culled

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Half of the free range turkeys produced for Christmas in the UK have been culled or have died due to avian flu, an industry official told MPs.

Get guests onside: responding to more reviews can turn neutral or negatives into positives (credit: Getty/Hispanolistic)

Guest satisfaction rises but pubs can do more

By Gary Lloyd

Customer satisfaction is on the rise at hospitality sites but businesses could still do more when it comes to responding to online reviews, according to a Reputation study.

No respite in sight: food and drink inflation has risen by more than 10% for eight months in a row (credit: Getty/Muhammad Farhad)

Food and drink inflation rises to record-high 18.8%

By Gary Lloyd

Inflation in food and drink prices hit a record high of 18.8% in September 2022 – the eighth consecutive month of double-digit rises – according to the latest CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index.

We're stuffed: Avian flue wreaks havoc for turkey farmers (Getty/ Monty Rakusen)

Avian flu means turkey prices could soar

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Turkeys are expected to rocket in price as avian flu forcers farmers to cull livestock and freeze birds for the festive season.

Going Green: Consumers want to make sustainable decisions when dining out (Getty/ FG Trade Latin)

Brits want sustainability when dining out

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Brits want to make more sustainable choices when eating or drinking out, but according to new research, two-thirds of UK consumers are not able to.

Food trends: Sustainability, cost-efficiency and social media are key to your winter menu

FEATURE

FEATURE: What’s on the menu for food trends?

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Christmas is round the corner. But with a cost-of-living crisis squeezing budgets, there’s little room for festive cheer with 40% of consumers dining out less frequently than usual. Operators can make sure their pub is the place to celebrate this winter...

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Busy location on coastal main road Extensively renovated detached public house Five trade areas (100)  Sizeable refurbished 4-5 bedroom accommodation Newly created beer garden (125) Established and popular business...

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