Meet the Experts...

Making more from screening sporting events

David Hancock has been running the Red Lion with his wife Nicola for 6 years. Built in the 1700's and located 7 miles from Peterborough, in the village of West Deeping, The Red Lion is mainly a food-led destination pub with separate bar and restaurant menus. David and Nicola support locally produced food wherever possible using British beef from a local butcher etc. they also see the importance in buying-in high quality pub favourites, which deliver consistently good results again and again. What's more David shows occasional sporting events on a big screen to their varied customer base. That's why the Red Lion turned to Moy Park Foodservice and its Easy Pickings Menu.

Since June 2007 the Red Lion has felt the squeeze from the 'credit crunch' but David says that the smoking ban hasn't really had a negative effect on them as their food sales are up 2%, despite wet sales being down on the same time last year. Customers at the Red Lion like the traditional menu offering; firm favourites are homemade steak & kidney pie and carved Wiltshire ham served with two free range eggs and chips, but some are looking for more modern food solutions and that's why David wanted to trial the Easy Pickings menu as it contained popular combo favourites and easy-to-eat light bites such as Southern Fried Mini Fillets, Buffalo Wings, Tempura Mixed Vegetables and the much-loved Hot & Spicy Chickwich and the Spicy Beanburger.

"It was very popular with our customers, with 30-40 trying it during the short trial" David explained. Some customers chose main meal items but the greatest success was the choice of 'Pick Your Team' combos as they were being ordered as a sharing starter before ordering something else from the bar menu. "As we don't currently serve starters in the bar, this had the effect of increasing spend per head by up to £3.50."

The most popular item on the Easy Pickings menu was the All American Combo which was favoured by couples between the ages of 18-50 but the Southern Fried Chicken Wrap, made with Crunchy Chick 'n' Mini Fillets, was also very popular with 18-30 year olds. The menu appealed to both males and females, whether there was a game on or not. "We had plenty of positive compliments from our customers who said they would order from it again as it was easy to use, straightforward and explained clearly what was on offer." The kitchen, run by Nicola, found preparation of the Easy Pickings menu very simple and orders were quickly turned around in just a few minutes. "The presentation of the food looked great on the plate too," said David.

David thinks the Easy Pickings menu was a success because it offered something a little different to his regular menu. He will continue to use Moy Park Foodservice products and is intending to include them on his next menu re-vamp. David explained why: "The Moy Park Foodservice products are of a better quality than some others that I have used in the past. For example, the Onion Rings tasted and looked homemade."