BAR FAVOURITES - THE BRIDGE AT NAPTON

The Bridge at Napton, Warwickshire, has been operated by the Gilbert family for the last two and a half years, with father and son, Hugo and Quintin, running the kitchen between them. It is a quaint destination pub that sits alongside the Oxford Canal and caters for all types of customer including walkers, boaters and holidaymakers.

According to Hugo, The Bridge has faced several challenges recently, including poor summer weather, the smoking ban, which has affected 20% of Hugo's custom and the falling price of supermarket alcohol, which is causing people to stay home and drink, instead of going out to their local.

The current menu at The Bridge is restaurant style, or as Hugo describes it, "top end, up-market pub food." "All of our produce is fresh and sourced from local farms, including the Water Buffalo, which we use in our Buffalo and Guinness Pie!" The menu appeals to all ages and especially those with a hearty appetite and a liking for homemade food, with items such as Honey Roast Belly of Pork served with Mashed Potatoes, Pea Puree and Caramelised Onions and Roast Rump of British Lamb served with Roasted Vegetables and Potatoes, drizzled with a Red Wine and Redcurrant Sauce.

The Bridge normally serves food during traditional meal times only but they wanted to trial Bar Favourites from Moy Park Foodservice as it was a great opportunity to see if, by promoting a lighter menu, they could tempt those customers who would normally pop in for just a pint, to order a bite to eat too.

The Bar Favourites menu consisted of "Light Bites" such as Garlic Breaded Mushrooms served with a choice of dips, "Bigger Bites" such as Crispy Coated Camembert on a bed of fresh salad leaves and tomatoes with onion marmalade and "Sharing Platters" including the Chicken Supreme Sharer, with Breaded Chicken Drumsticks, Wings of Fire, Breaded Chicken Dippers and Battered Natural Onion Rings, served with a dip selection and salad garnish.

On a normal day, The Bridge serves about 20 customers with food, an average spend of about £25 per head, including drinks, across lunch and dinner. Of the Bar Favourites menu Hugo said, "Many items were light enough to eat between meals and some customers would order a "Light Bite" when they called in at lunchtime to book a table for later on that evening."

Hugo explains that there were elements of Bar Favourites which had definite appeal and the concept of offering a light menu alongside a regular menu is great; "We will continue to use some items from the Bar Favourites menu such as the Crunchy Chicken Mini Fillets, which are also great for children not able to eat a full meal. The dips that accompany them make eating fun too. The Garlic Mushrooms were delicious; in fact one of the top sellers and the Mini Ring Donuts went down extremely well with customers. Especially after Quintin added his own twist and served them with a raspberry coulis and vanilla ice cream! Preparation and presentation was very straightforward and the products were easy to carry alongside our own menu, although we would think carefully about the number of items we eventually have on the menu as storage space is limited for us."

Hugo has three top tips for other pubs wanting to run a bar menu alongside their normal food offering; "Keep the menu concise as customers may feel overwhelmed with too much choice and storage has to be a consideration. Make it unique as customers like to see something different, especially tourists and holiday makers who like to experience new things whilst on holiday. Lastly, make sure it is easy to prepare as you don't want to be getting behind on main meals because the lighter menu is too time consuming."

To find out more about the range of Moy Park Foodservice products, create your own bespoke menu and to download your free eye-catching POS, visit www.moyparkfoodservice.com or call the Prime Line on 01480 445900.