Academy of Culinary Arts
ARAMARK
British Culinary Federation
Compass Group
Country Markets Ltd
Craft Guild of Chefs
Enterprise Inns
Master Chefs of Great Britain

National Trust
Orchid Pub Group
Professional Association for Catering Education
Punch Taverns
Sodexo
Women’s Institute
Young’s pubs
Youth Hostel Association

How caterers can take part in British Food Fortnight

• Put British food and drink on your menu during the Fortnight.  Try running special promotions or a British Food Fortnight menu with all dishes sourced regionally.
• Tell your local newspaper and radio stations what you are doing. 
• Decorate your establishment with bunting and display the British Food Fortnight poster (available from the Event Office).
• Monitor customer response.  If well received, run similar activities long term.
• Tell the organisers of British Food Fortnight what you are organising.  To have your restaurant or pub listed on the website and included in information to the media, please contact the Event Office on  

Advice for pubs and restaurants

Advice for food service organisations

Put British food on your menu

• Contact your suppliers and ask whether the produce they currently supply you with is British. 
• Use British Food Fortnight as an opportunity to experiment with new dishes on your menu; chefs that do so end up keeping the dish on there 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 and Mash 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.
• Be open to working with new suppliers.  Your customers may be able to suggest local producers whose produce they would like to see on your menu.

Highlight British food on your menu

• Adapt your existing menu or create a special board focusing on British or local produce.
• Use generic phrases on your menu that give customers enough information about what they are ordering but still give you flexibility to introduce new products: 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 within 30 miles of this pub/restaurant’. 
• List 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 as a catalyst for building long term opportunities

• Use British Food Fortnight to increase Christmas bookings: pubs and restaurants offering special menus during the event report an increase in bookings as the Fortnight is an opportunity to give customers confidence in the quality of food they can expect. 
• Launch a retail service to complement your menu sales: ready-made meals for take-aways or freezer storage.

Tell people what you are doing

• 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.  The media is more likely to feature your restaurant and menu if you are able to supply them with quality photographs. 

Source British food

• Contact your existing suppliers to see whether the produce they currently supply you with is British. 
• Contact the large producer organisations for a list of British meat, dairy and vegetable suppliers that can cater for large food service sourcing requirements.  Contact details on www.lovebritishfood.co.uk.
• 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.
• Don’t be put off by prices that initially may seem higher.  Buying large volumes can make the whole process affordable.
• If you are catering in the public sector, consider forming a partnership with other public organisations to aggregate demand and make savings through bulk purchase.
• 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. 
• Involve your client in the sourcing process.  If they are concerned about increased costs explain that healthy eating is a hot topic at the moment and their employees/customers will expect them to respond to this.  Good food is a corporate benefit!

Accommodating smaller suppliers is possible

• Talk to your suppliers to overcome difficulties that may arise if you are a large caterer trying to work with small suppliers. 
• Make sure that the relevant internal structures are in place.
• If fragmented supply is a problem, encourage producers to form a co-operative that better meets your needs.
• Set up a customer group involving the catering team, suppliers and your clients so that expectations are managed on both sides and problems can be easily resolved.

Promote the Britishness of your menu

• Communicate menus in advance, for example on employee intranets.
• Run a competition or prize draw to highlight the new menu. 
• Display POS material using the British Food Fortnight logo or the Union Jack 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.
• Include a ‘Chef’s Special’ on the menu to give you flexibility in your ordering process.
• Use phrases such as ‘seasonal veg’ on the menu that enable you to take a variety of stock from different suppliers.

More Hot Tips on www.lovebritishfood.co.uk

Examples of how chefs worked with schools during British Food Fortnight last year

[Photography available on request]

• Ian Nuttal, general manager at MoD Andover, arranged for a group of 20 students from Winton School to find out what it means to hold a regimental dinner.  The students prepared the food, dressed the tables and then attended a formal dinner.  Military personnel, in full mess dress, accompanied the students and a military band allowed the youngsters to experience the formalities of regimental anthems. 

• Head chef at The Imperial Hotel, Llandudno, Joanne Williams teamed up with aspiring young chefs at Ysgol San Sior and Ysgol John Bright.  She gave the students a cookery demonstration and lessons in breadmaking. 


• Chef Daniel James, head chef at Raglans restaurant at The Copthorne Hotel in Cardiff, joined Year 8 pupils at Ysgol Gyfun Plasmawr in Fairwater to help them create dishes using ingredients grown in their own back gardens. 


• The Mill Race pub in Walford, Herefordshire, used British Food Fortnight to encourage children to taste new dishes, ask questions and take part in quizzes and competitions on British food. 


• Local chef, Rosemary Moon, taught children at Bury C.E. First School in Pulborough, West Sussex, together with their parents, to make a variety of dishes using locally sourced produce.  The school vegetable patch provided the pumpkin, beetroot, blackberries and apples for dishes including Toffee Apple Jack, Beetroot Muffins with Line Butter Cream, Pumpkin Bread and Lamb and Pumpkin Shepherd’s Pie.  The local media covered the day. 


• Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and English trifle were on the menu in primary schools across Oxfordshire.  Oxfordshire County Council’s school catering service developed special ‘Taste a Bite of Britain’ menu to celebrate traditional food from around Britain.  Over 80% of Oxfordshire’s primary schools took part in the event and the number of children eating school meals doubled in some schools.  Councillor Michael Waine, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement said: “It is great to see so many children enjoying the pleasures of British food.  Schools have an important part to play in promoting healthy eating and events like British Food Fortnight are a great way to reinforce this message.”


• Warwickshire County Council’s catering team served pupils in Nuneaton, Bedworth and North Warwickshire a nationally-inspired menu.  Dishes included pork sausages with creamed potatoes, vegetables, a farmhouse omelette and chocolate and pear sponge and apples and plums for pudding.