TIME TO SHARE - THE BOOT

Roger Clarke, and his partner Diane, have been running The Boot, a traditional, English country pub, for just over 4 years. In Chipperfield, Hertfordshire, Roger describes The Boot as "a traditional English pub which was built in 1610. It is a listed building, in a conservation area, with a large garden, so we appeal more to the 35+ age groups and families but we do try to appeal to everyone in the village by trying out new things all the time." As a Punch Tavern, Roger receives support for his ideas and gets advice when he needs it, which is always welcome, as this is his first venture as a publican.

We spoke to Roger last year and when asked about the challenges he faced then, Roger cited the smoking ban as having had a big impact on his wet sales, "We lost about 40% of our wet sales when the smoking ban came in and have been working very hard to replace that business by being more creative with our food offer." This year we spoke to him and things are pretty much the same. "About 75% of our business is wet-led and we are still trying to improve our food business to attract a higher spend per customer, which is why I wanted to participate in the Time to Share trial from Moy Park Foodservice," explains Roger.

Roger, Diane and their chef, Vinnie Weston, maintain a very traditional English pub menu but always try to come up with new concepts. For example, if you visit The Boot on some Saturday nights, be prepared to be Roger’s guinea pig. He will often ask his customers to try out new products in exchange for much valued feedback. It was in this way that they discovered that, despite trying several different brands of chip, in blind tastings customers at The Boot prefer Vinnie’s hand cut ones every time!

In addition, they serve traditional fish and chips on Thursdays, (Vinnie prepares fresh fish in his own recipe beer batter, with hand cut chips, served in paper), authentic Cornish pasties on Wednesdays and hold gourmet food nights twice a month.

"Our most popular dish on the menu is without doubt, ham, egg & chips, with ham from our local butcher, but I wanted to try the platters from Moy Park Foodservice to add something a little different to our existing food offer. All of the Time to Share elements can be served with minimum fuss - ideal for groups of people that just want a snack and so much more interesting than crisps and nuts."

Feedback on the Time to Share platters from customers was very positive; the quality was said to be 'excellent' and the price was ‘more than acceptable’. Roger explains, "The kitchen said that each element of the platters was very quick and easy to prepare and the customer comments prove that you can feature pre-prepared food without detracting from your normal quality."

Roger found that Time to Share platters were most popular in the evenings but especially during the recent round of Six Nations rugby matches, which were screened in the bar. "Normally we put on buffet style food around big sporting events, such as sausage rolls and mini sausages but the Crunchy Chick 'n' Mini Fillets and Wings of Fire have proven to be a big hit with our customers."

Roger suggests that if you want to add value to your food offer, you must ensure the products you choose are easy to cook, quick to serve and give the customer something a little out of the ordinary.

To find out more about the range of Moy Park Foodservice products and to obtain free "Time to Share" POS, log onto www.moyparkfoodservice.com or call the Prime line on 01480 445900.