STACK ATTACK - THE OLD COCK INN WITH JULIA SAUNDERS

Julia Saunders has been head chef at The Old Cock Inn, Droitwich for the last two years and with 25 years experience under her belt she knows what customers want to eat! The Old Cock Inn is a typical local village pub serving a wide-range of home-made food to its varied customer base, ranging from young people in on a Friday night, to families and the elder residents of the pretty spa town of Droitwich.

The challenge for The Old Cock Inn in this economic downturn has been trying to get customers through the door to spend their money, and with 60% of sales being generated through the food side of the business, Julia has been focused on coming up with new opportunities for the pub. She has tackled this head on by offering a take-away service, including sandwiches for office workers at lunchtime, and keeping the menu fresh with frequent changes. So the Stack Attack trial from Moy Park Foodservice came at a great time; not only did it give customers a new menu option, but Julia also benefited by listening to what customers wanted, giving her fresh ideas for future menus!

Julia commented: "Before the Stack Attack trial, burgers were a top seller, along with lasagne, steaks and seafood. Our burger offering consisted of homemade beef burgers and the Moy Park Foodservice Spicy Bean Burgers, which we kept on the menu after another successful Moy Park Foodservice promotion which ran last year - I always used to make my own bean burgers, but I tried the Moy Park Bean Burger and they tasted as good as home-made so I have served them ever since!"

Capitalising on the current trend of stacking burgers, seen in high-street burger chains, the aim of the Moy Park Foodservice Stack Attack trial was to provide pubs with an opportunity to increase profits, attract new customers and drive food sales. It was a hit with the younger customers in the pub with burger sales up 20% and at least half of them indulging in one stacker option, again, the Spicy Bean Burger proved popular, being the next choice, behind the traditional beef burger. Customer feedback was good, with regulars enjoying the ability to customise their burgers with the tasty Stacker options. It wasn't just the customers who were happy; Julia was also delighted with the ease of preparation and presentation of the Stack Attack menu: "It is very easy, you just follow the instructions and you can't go wrong."

The Moy Park Foodservice Spicy Bean Burger remains a staple on The Old Cock Inn menu, and the Stack Attack trial has also given Julia some new suggestions for the pub menu: "I'd like to offer some of the Stacker options in a slightly different format, using the Tempura Vegetables on a platter menu and the Cajun Mushrooms with dips as a starter."

Julia's Top Tips for pubs wanting to maximise food sales are:

Talk to your customers and listen to what people want
Be prepared to change the menu to give customers what they want, and not what you want them to have
Try something different, e.g. a take-away service or lunchtime sandwich orders from local offices