TIME TO TAKEAWAY - THE ELM TREE

Kelly Crawford has been managing the Elm Tree in Farnham, Surrey, since March this year. It is a community local pub with a wide variety of customers, ranging from young families to senior citizens. As it is her first pub with any kind of food offer she welcomed the opportunity to become a pub expert for Moy Park Foodservice. With the Elm Tree currently only offering a lunchtime menu Kelly was a little apprehensive when it was suggested that she would be an ideal candidate to trial takeaway food and late night menus.

"The most popular dish on our lunchtime menu was sausage and mash but during sporting events we'd put on a limited evening menu such as sausage and chips," explains Kelly. "In the vicinity of the pub there's a Chinese takeaway, a fish & chip shop which closes early and a pizza delivery which is open until late. Usually customers will either leave the pub to get food on their way home or they will phone to get a pizza delivered to the pub. They will then either eat it on their way home or I usually allow them to eat it here as it keeps them drinking for longer."

Kelly ran two trial menus for Moy Park Foodservice; "Time to Share" and "Time to Takeaway" both of which were available all day, right up until half an hour before closing; 11pm weekdays and 12pm at weekends. "Time to Share" consisted of three sharing platters which included various combinations of Crunchy Chick 'n' Mini Fillets, Wings of Fire, Roast Chicken Drumsticks, Cajun Coated Onion Rings, Classic Coated Onion Rings, Garlic Mushrooms and Brie Wedges and the "Time to Takeaway" menu consisted of Chickwich™ Steak Burgers, Southern Fried Chick 'n' Dixie™ and Tortilla Wraps made with Crunchy Chick 'n' Mini Fillets.

Both menus proved popular with customers, especially at the weekend. "We have served over 30 people from both menus during the short trial," Kelly explains. "Our customers have been very supportive, trying the new menus and giving us honest feedback. We had repeat purchases and plenty of positive comments." Consequently Kelly is convinced that she will attract more people to the Elm Tree by keeping the menus from Moy Park Foodservice as a regular feature.

Spend per head increased by as much as £4.50 in the evenings, some of which can be attributed to an increase in wet sales as customers stayed longer to enjoy the late night menu and purchased a drink to go with their food.

The images on the posters and POS material provided by Moy Park Foodservice showed exactly what the customers could expect and Kelly found the products were simple to prepare. "It couldn't be easier! The bar staff all pitched in to help as we don't have a chef but they found it easy and learnt very quickly. We will definitely keep it going"

Following the trial Kelly will continue to use the "Time to Share" and "Time to Takeaway" menus, "Everyone was happy; staff and customers. There was a good price range and the products were just right for my customers. They were quick to cook and get on the plate. We will definitely be buying from Moy Park Foodservice again."

What are Kelly's top tips for pubs wanting to offer food later on in the evening? "Ensure you have good POS to advertise the fact and put some tasters on the bar to encourage customers to try. If you want to try food to takeaway, again advertise with good quality POS, maybe do some leaflet drops in the local area and ensure you have the right packaging for takeaway food"

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 0800 085 2749.