The latest article from The Publican draws attention to the fact the landlords need to be thinking about offering their customers more than just packets of crisp and peanuts to snack on.

The article suggests a snack menu of ‘mini food’ – smaller versions of pub meal favourites like sausage rolls, fish fingers and pies – or homemade, luxury snacks to tempt customers.

Read the full article for more advice.

While it’s obviously important to provide pub customers with a diverse range of food, the Morning Advertiser has recently drawn landlords’ attention to the fact they should also be placing value on the way they actually present their menu.

The latest article from the Morning Advertiser is packed with clever ideas for increasing food orders. Ideas include personalising menus by naming dishes after the pub (or even staff members) and adding extra information about where the dish has come from to emphasise that produce is fresh and locally sourced.

Read the full article for more hints and tips.

Restaurateur and landlord Angelo Colao has been awarded with an Admiral Taverns Achievement Award for his work at the Dog Inn in Peppard Common.

Angelo, who has been in the restaurant business for over 18 years and runs Italian eatery Ruchetta in Wokingham, has created a second branch of the restaurant within the pub, which he took on in 2008.

He’s invested over £70,000 in fitting a new kitchen, ceiling and floor, re-plastering and redecorating the interior of the pub and improving the garden area.

Angelo has worked extremely hard to transform The Dog Inn into a thriving restaurant. His years of experience in the food trade have meant he’s been able to create a venue that’s both a popular watering hole for locals and an authentic eatery.

If you’d like to try a career in the pub trade, contact our recruitment team.

We’re giving you the opportunity to learn about the benefits of offering food at your pub through a series of special events held in partnership with Booker wholesale.

The food presentation events will give you the chance to meet with the Admiral Food Team who’ll be providing useful help and advice on improving your food menu.

You’ll also be able to watch live food demonstrations, test products and discover how you can arrange to print menus and promotional material through the mypubsuperstore website.

The food presentation events will take place in Derby (3 February), Kingswinford (22 February), Barnsley (24 February), Haydock (1 March) and Chester (3 March).

Book your place by contacting the food team on 0844 800 6671 or emailing food@admiraltaverns.co.uk; pre-book your place and you’ll receive a goody bag and £100 of vouchers.

The start of a new year brings with it new opportunities and a chance to start afresh. If you’re thinking of introducing food for the first time this year or want to refresh your menu here are some top tips from Admiral’s food team to help get you started.

New to food

Taking your first steps into catering can seem like a daunting prospect, but with the right guidance and support it’s easy to get going and find the right solution for your pub. Your first port of call should be the food team on 0844 800 6671. They can help with all aspects of starting a food in your pub, from training and supplier selection, through to menu creation and the food launch.

Steven Gilmour, Admiral’s development chef, provides on-site training to landlords, so you get hands-on learning and an opportunity to talk through your requirements and options with an expert.

Don’t be put off if you don’t have a kitchen, there are options available even if you have limited space. The Admiral food team website www.mypubfood.co.uk is packed full of ideas suitable for pubs of all sizes.

Things to consider…

Scope out the competition

Do your research and find out what your competitors are offering, at what price and how they are marketing it. It’s always important to establish your point of difference from the competition and the best way to do that is by knowing what is already on offer.

Planning is key

Don’t rush into it. Take a measured approach and do your homework. Depending on the level of offer you’re planning to launch there are a number of considerations that need to be made, such as staffing, training, costs and equipment. Researching each element of the process will enable you to minimise costs.

Speak to your customers

What food would your customers like to see on the menu? What are they willing to pay for a pub meal? Where do they regularly go to eat and why? By speaking to your customers you can gain some fantastic insight and get a feel for what will work with your regulars.

Promote your offer

Once you’ve decided on your menu, the key to generating sales is by vigorously marketing your menu to existing and new customers. Food opens your pub up to a whole new audience, particularly families, so think about how you can make them aware of your food offer and entice them into the pub.

Changing your menu

It’s important to keep your offer fresh to keep customers interested and encourage repeat business. What better time to do it than the start of the New Year.

Looking at your menu also provides a perfect opportunity to review suppliers and the price you’re paying for products. Are there cheaper alternatives available? Can you strike up a deal with a local butcher or greengrocer? Are you taking advantage of Admiral’s links with key suppliers?

However you want to change your offer, speak to the Admiral food team for inspiring ideas and practical help.

Things to consider…

Customers would always rather see less on the menu knowing it will be good than a huge list of food. It’s much easier to deliver a compact, well thought out menu.

Don’t over-complicate the menu. Keep things simple that way you will always deliver them well.

Be aware of portion size and base you costs accordingly. Every time you put a few extra chips on a plate your profit suffers- if you want to serve big portions make sure your selling prices reflect this.

Offer a balanced menu. Don’t repeat ingredients too many times, offer a range of dishes and of course as a pub there are certain dishes that should be on there like fish or scampi & chips and a good pie. Sandwiches, baguettes and jacket potatoes are an ideal lunch time offer but might devalue your main courses and make them look expensive if you continue to offer them in the evening.

Think about the presentation of your menu. Most pubs don’t suit leather bound menus with gold tassels - a simple A5 or A4 format is fine - have a look at the www.mypubfood.co.uk print creator, there are menus, leaflets, posters, table talkers and loyalty cards available for you to personalise at very reasonable prices. Items are printed by a professional printer and delivered to your door.

For more information contact the food team on 0844 800 6671 or visit www.mypubfood.co.uk

Pubs could be missing out on sales by not offering its customers a big enough range of snacks, according to a new article from the Morning Advertiser.

Annual sales of snacks are currently growing by 4.5% per year, and landlords who offer customers a wealth of choice and tempting promotions - like ‘buy one get one free’ – could increase their profits significantly.

Once you’ve got your extra stock in, don’t forget that crisps and snacks need to be visible to customers; they should ideally be positioned above the bar and within 6ft of the till point to maximize sales.

Read more on how to boost your snack sales on the Morning Advertiser website and Admiral Taverns’ landlords should check their latest copy of AGENDA to find out what products we can offer.

We’ve already offered up some tips on preparing a Christmas menu, but don’t forget how important it is to make your pub feel truly festive in every way this Christmas.

Where possible, use new Christmas decorations - if you have any tatty or worn decorations, bin them, as they’ll look dowdy rather than cheerful. If you have fairy lights, make sure they work properly and safely and, if you are having a Christmas tree, ensure it is erected properly without being a hazard to your customers.

Christmas can bring in lots of extra custom, too, so ensure that the pub is up to scratch in general – keep your toilets clean, think about adjusting your table layout to ensure customers can get to the bar easily, and keep the bar well stocked. 

It may not even be November yet, but it’s time for landlords to start thinking about their Christmas plan.

The Publican has put together a helpful guide on festive food that’s a great starting point if you’re looking for inspiration.

You should also think about your drinks offering – how about adding mulled wine or egg nog to the menu, or putting together some special seasonal drinks offers?

For further advice, Admiral Taverns landlords can visit the Mypubfood website.

It may only be October but we’re already looking forward to British Pie Week, which takes place from the 7th to 13th March next year.

It’s a great chance for our pubs to bring this British staple to the forefront of their food menu (and a good excuse to sample plenty of delicious pastry!).

In addition, this year pub chefs with a passion for pies can enter the Pub Pie Champion 2011 competition by submitting their recipes online.

Customers can also nominate their favourite pubs to receive the award.Find out more about British Pie Week and enter the competition on the British Pie Week website; Admiral landlords who want to get involved can contact our My Pub Food team for advice on how to make the most of their menu.

A pair of Admiral landlords from Old Glossop are celebrating after their self-invented sausages received a national food award.

Bob and Irene Skupham from The Wheatsheaf pub have won the National Pub Sausage of the Year competition with their Dark Peak sausage, which was co-created with local butcher JW Mettrick and Son.

The pub is now in the running for the National Sausage of the Year title, competing against sausages from throughout the catering industry for the top prize.

Bob said: “It was Irene’s idea for us to make our own sausage to serve up in the pub. We went to JW Merrick, and they helped us come up with a unique recipe that uses the Dark Peak ale which is brewed at the Howardtown Brewery round the corner from the pub.

“JW Mettrick make the sausage exclusively for us, and they’re the ones who submitted the recipe for consideration.”

Irene said: “The Dark Peak sausage has always been a big hit with our customers, but we’re delighted that it’s now received national recognition. Now we’ve just got our fingers crossed, hoping we might win out overall!”