Admiral launches top tips for licensees to ‘fire it up’ ahead of National BBQ Week
Admiral Taverns, the UK’s leading community pub company, is encouraging its licensees to ‘fire it up’ ahead of National BBQ Week, running from 4th – 10th July, and take advantage of the great weather, bringing their communities together for a classic British pastime.
In 2021, the UK was once again the leading European BBQ nation, holding the greatest number of BBQs across Europe. BBQ’s have also been named the UK’s number one summer “at-home” leisure activity, with three out of four households owning a BBQ grill. *
Admiral owns 1,600 pubs across the UK and has its own dedicated Catering team who supports Admiral’s licensees across all areas of their kitchens.
Nina Walker, Catering Development Manager at Admiral Taverns has over 30 years of experience in the industry and supports with training, menu development, market research, food sourcing, hygiene, production and much more. Nina commented: “There is no doubt BBQ’s are extremely popular across the UK and National BBQ Week provides a fantastic opportunity for licensees to bring their communities together, enjoy the summer weather and take away some of the stress of cooking.”
“When planning a BBQ, my top tips are to make sure there is something for everyone and be adventurous – go beyond the classic sausage! There are so many options out there – licensees could even look at working with local butchers to see if they could produce a signature flavour for the pub or speak to local musicians to see if they’d be interested in playing to give the event an upbeat atmosphere.”
Admiral has set out further advice for its licensees in this months’ marketing and promotions magazine for planning a BBQ, to help them maximise the opportunity.
Planning tips:
- Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
Pre-cook your food to make service quicker and safer, especially with higher risk meats such as pork and chicken. Don’t forget the kids as well – keeping parents happy will mean customers stay longer. You should also consider an outside shelter if the weather turns on you.
- Have Something For everyone
Diversify your food options – try items like sharing ribs, chicken wings and BBQ pulled pork, and branch out away from the classic plain flavoured bap – you could explore brioche buns, ciabatta bread and sourdough. Vegetation/vegan options, including grilled Halloumi or vegan alternatives should also be considered, but make sure you use separate utensils with a designated vegetarian/vegan area.
- Sizzle Safely
Ensure all frozen food is thoroughly defrosted before cooking and that all meats are kept refrigerated until just before use. Wear protective clothing and keep sanitiser near the BBQ – ensure you are close to hot and cold running water when handling meat which should be aligned with the correct colour chopping boards. (red-raw meat, yellow – cooked meat). Once your BBQ has cooled down give it a proper clean ready for use again and brush all the oils into the grill to clean.
