03.09.2021

BII Menu Matters: September

For our September edition of Menu Matters, Oliver Kay development support chef Martin Eshelby looks at how you can evolve your menu for autumn as customers turn to more hearty dishes as the weather grows colder. He also offers some tips on choosing sustainable seafood and recipe ideas using meat and poultry…

BII Menu Matters: September
As the weather changes, Oliver Kay development support chef Martin Eshelby, looks at autumn dishes to helps drive pub food sales

Autumn is a time for menu changes, as the lighter dishes of summer give way to the more substantial fare needed to see us all through shorter days and cooler weather. Think pies, stews, and roasts – hearty meals accompanied by a pint of cask ale or a glass of red.

With British Food Fortnight running from 18th September to 3rd October, and Sustainable Seafood Week taking place this year from 10th to 17th September, there’s plenty of opportunity for pubs to capitalise on consumer interest in seasonal produce.

This autumn, a focus on seasonal fare and British produce will also make more sense than ever as suppliers work to deal with higher distribution costs. Pubs that can build flexibility into their menus and specials boards will be able to benefit from the best fish and seafood, meat and poultry, and fresh fruit and vegetables, as availability changes.

Meat and poultry
With prime meat cuts often in high demand, dishes that make the most of better value cuts are a great way to keep customers happy while also keeping profit margins healthy. A regular ‘Pie of the Week’ on the menu is a useful way to switch between different cuts. Add ale and stilton to beef, apple and leek to pork, or mint and potato to lamb, and you’ve got a hearty pie.

Duck is a great dish for autumn, and is good value on menus as an alternative to chicken in a wide range of dishes – anyone for duck au vin? Duck matches wonderfully with the flavours of late summer and early autumn fruits like blackberries. It’s also worth pickling berries for future use and using up the plentiful hedgerow supply. One of our latest recipes is ‘Spiced roast duck with hay baked celeriac, pickled blackberries, port sauce & duck liver toastie.’
https://www.oliverkayproduce.co.uk/food-info/seasonal-recipes-ideas/387-spiced-roast-duck

Partridge is also in season across the autumn, has a wonderful flavour, and is a genuine special that will engage the interest of customers who may not have tried it before. This recipe for ‘Roast partridge, savoy cabbage, bacon & chestnuts, with a celeriac fondant, puree and red wine sauce’, makes full use of autumn flavours.
https://www.oliverkayproduce.co.uk/food-info/seasonal-recipes-ideas/110-roast-partridge-savoy-cabbage-bacon-chestnut

Fish and seafood
Fishcakes are a useful way to make the most of the high-quality offcuts left over when fish are filleted, as well as supporting the industry’s sustainability drive by using a range of the great tasting fish species landed around the coast by the UK fishing fleet.
Direct Seafoods offer fresh and frozen fishcakes in a variety of flavours, such as; Thai style, smoked haddock and spring onion, salmon and asparagus, and many more. Fishcakes are popular as a starter, a main course served with seasonal veg, or for buffet and function catering.

For Sustainable Seafood Week, consider menu ideas that encourage customers to look beyond the most familiar species. Hake is a white fish that is caught all around the British coast, with a delicate, fresh flavour. Pan fried hake with a crab and prawn croquette, and a saffron and mussel sauce, has strong menu appeal. Your fish supplier should be able to trim the fillets to size to get the best value.
https://www.directseafoods.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Hake-recipe-from-Direct-Seafoods.pdf

Hearty vegetarian fare
Autumn sees hearty vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and swede in good supply, all of which can combined with spices and sauces to create appealing vegetarian dishes. There’s also no need to wait until Halloween to break out the pumpkins, as this recipe for ‘Munchkin pumpkin, cracked wheat, baby turnips, pumpkin gnocchi, sage & black garlic crust’ shows.
https://www.oliverkayproduce.co.uk/food-info/seasonal-recipes-ideas/298-munchkin-pumpkin-cracked-wheat-baby-turnips

Whatever your menu style this autumn, stay in touch with specialist suppliers to make sure you’re getting the best from seasonal produce in terms of quality, value and availability.
www.oliverkayproduce.co.uk/
www.directseafoods.co.uk
www.campbellbrothers.co.uk

12.04.2024

BII Licensee of the Year 2024 Semi-Finalists Announced

The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) is delighted to announce their 12 Semi-Finalists for this year’s Licensee of the Year competition.

In partnership with Sky Business, the Licensee of the Year competition is widely regarded as the most rigorous and hard-fought award for individual licensee operators in the UK.

Since the launch in January this year, licensee operators have been entering the competition, showing the judges evidence of how they have been building their businesses and communities, with a focus on their resilience, sustainability, diversification and commitment to their teams.

This year, the entries and Quarter-Finalists have been of a particularly high standard, making it even more difficult for the team of judges to decide who made the Semi-Finals.

Selected from a field of over 300 entrants, the 12 Semi-Finalists have reached this far in the awards based on their exceptional entry forms, social media and web presence audits as well as mystery customer visits, courtesy of HGEM. Head Judges, Amanda Hemming FBII and Ashley McCarthy CBII, will be making their way across the country over the next few weeks to meet all of the Semi-Finalists in person to experience their businesses first hand.

The 2024 Licensee of the Year Semi-Finalists are as follows:
Andrew Goodall – Rose & Crown, Severnstoke – WR8 9JQ
Benjamin Bullman – The George IV – W4 2DR
Chris Michaelas – The Dartford Sports Bar – DA1 2DJ
Emma Harrison – The Three Hills – CB21 4PW
Harry Seccombe & Nicholas Humphrey – Chaplin’s & The Cellar Bar – BH1 4AG
Helen Paterson – The Cherry Tree – ML2 0BP
Justine Lorriman – The Royal Dyche – BB11 3BW
Max Shaw & Kelly Deary – The Castle Inn – DE74 2PP
Paul Dexter – The Old Swan – NN6 0NA
Sarah Godwin – The Lamb Inn – BS26 2AP
Steve Banks – The Woodman, Ruislip – HA4 7SE
Victoria Williams & Zac Williams-Wolfe – Fletchers Arms – M34 6EG

Steven Alton, BII CEO commented:
"Our Licensee of the Year Award is the most prestigious & hard-fought award, showing the excellence in our sector; our Semi-Finalists are of a fantastic standard.

“We are proud that the awards process this year, more than ever, is offering a value-added experience to all those involved with business insight and the chance to evaluate your business available at every stage. In addition to the mystery customer visits, facilitated once again by HGEM, we have this year been supported by useyourlocal who have been promoting our entrants to consumers across the whole of the UK. With Cask Marque auditing cellars in addition to the visits from our Head Judges, Amanda and Ashley, the competition this year will provide more value to contestants than ever before."

Following the judging visits, the finalists will be announced in mid-May.

All six finalists will be presented with a trophy at the BII Summer Event on 18th June, where the overall winner of Licensee of the Year 2024 will be crowned.

To learn more about the LOYA Semi-Finalists, see here.

If you would like tickets to the event of the summer to see the best operators in the UK being recognised and network with 900 industry friends and colleagues, you can view our Summer Event page here

The BII would like to thank everyone who has entered the competition this year. Keep your eyes peeled for another opportunity to enter in January 2025.

11.04.2024

50 Hospitality Leaders take on a 230KM Cycle across North Devon's Rolling Hills in the Return of Pedalling 2 Pubs: UK Edition

After the incredible success of the debut Pedalling 2 Pubs ride in 2023, the epic industry bike ride and sibling fundraiser to Pedalling for Pubs, is returning for another year, having raised over £25k so far for two vital industry charities; Only A Pavement Away and the Licensed Trade Charity. This year’s Pedalling 2 Pubs team will set off in just over a month, with 50 hospitality professionals cycling 230km across the rolling hills of North Devon from the 16th – 18th May 2024, all for a fantastic cause.

Pedalling 2 Pubs launched last year, with riders tackling the Yorkshire Wolds and raising an incredible £80k.

This year’s UK ride follows the incredible effort of the Pedalling for Pubs team, which saw 30 riders from across the hospitality sector take on the mammoth 400km cycle across rugged terrain in Kenya, from Nairobi to the Masai
Mara last month.

Through the united effort of Pedalling for Pubs and Pedalling 2 Pubs, organisers have set the impressive target of raising over £350k for the two charities this year. Adding to an astounding £670k already raised in the first 2 years since the challenge was founded in 2022.

Commenting on this year’s Pedalling 2 Pubs, Steve Alton, Lead Rider and CEO at the BII said “Alongside the fantastic and incredibly tough challenge recently undertaken in Kenya, organised and led by the inimitable Katy Moses, I am delighted to be leading the UK edition of this fantastic charity initiative. We have 50 fantastic fundraisers signed up to cycle over 230km across North Devon in May, with some tough climbing of over 3,300m which is higher than the 3 peaks combined! All of the riders are passionate about the life changing impact of the two critical sector charities that we are raising vital funds for, as well as being able to refuel and recover at some great British pubs along the way.”

Chris Welham, CEO of the Licensed Trade Charity added “It’s brilliant to be involved in this year’s Pedalling 2 Pubs ride. It’s an initiative that’s great at bringing the industry together and is so effective at raising vital funds and awareness for the Licensed Trade Charity, both of which are critical in enabling us to help even more people across our industry that need it most. Good luck to my fellow riders and thank you to all who have already donated.”

Greg Mangham, Founder and CEO of Only A Pavement Away said “I’m beyond grateful for all those who are taking part in this year’s Pedalling 2 Pubs, and to those who have donated so far. Both these rides really are a testament to how our industry comes together year on year to help those who need it most. The funds Only A Pavement receives from this campaign enables us to reach more people facing homelessness and provide them with a pathway into a stable career in hospitality. It really does change lives, so thank you to all our riders, sponsors and supporters.”

To find out more about the challenge or to donate, please follow this link: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/pedalling2pubs2024

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BII CEO Steven Alton - "Recovery is being significantly undermined by trading revenues"

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Summer Trading - Results of September 2021 Survey

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New Hospitality Council Announced