Fresh ideas

Bar snacks are evolving to keep an increasingly discerning customer satisfied. John Porter reports on the latest trends.

The days when a chef's skills were judged by the quality of his roux sauce or soufflé may be over. In the era of the gastro pub, it's far more likely to be a freshly turned out Scotch egg that makes the critics sit up and take notice, with upmarket bar snacks very much in vogue.

Pioneers of the trend such as chef Ollie Pudney at The Bull and Last in Kentish Town, London, have changed the way customers think about a quick bite with a pint. Not content with Scotch eggs made with premium sausage meat and fresh eggs, the pub's bar snacks menu is regularly refreshed and has included homemade pickles, pâtés and even crispy trotter wontons.

Others have taken up the gauntlet. Earlier this year licensees Tim and Georgie Robinson began making their own crisps and pork scratchings at The Wig and Pen pub in Truro, Cornwall, part of the St Austell Brewery estate.

Having knocked up a batch of emergency crisps to serve in the bar when supplies of the bagged variety ran out, the pub has expanded into a range of flavours including Cajun spice, smoked paprika, garlic and herb, beef and mustard and salt and pepper. The bestseller is a mixed bag of the full range.

Georgie Robinson says: "We buy the potatoes from our local veg shop around the corner – unfortunately being a city centre pub we can't grow our own. We make the crisps in the fryers and then load them up with homemade flavourings. We bag them up in little plain bags and write our own labels."

According to analyst Mintel, the branded bagged snack market was worth £2.47bn in 2010. The average UK consumer spent £55 on crisps and nuts last year, with the figure forecast to climb to more than £80 by 2014.

Crisps make up 48% of sales, with all other snacks, including tortilla chips, popcorn and pork scratchings, accounting for the rest. Recent flavour innovation includes McCoy's latest Iimited edition curry flavours in Mighty Madras and Rogan Oh-My–Josh varieties.

Brand owner United Biscuits UK has linked with the British Curry Club to offer two main curry dishes for the price of one with every pack of McCoy's.

Helen Warren-Piper, marketing director for bagged snacks, says: "McCoy's has grown 8% in the last year, which is in no small part down to the success of the curry promotion we introduced in September last year. The promotion drove £1m in incremental sales, which demonstrates just how well consumers responded to it."

BigD Nuts has added salt 'n' malt flavour peanuts to its range, while Burts Chips has added further interest to the premium crisp category with the launch of pesto chips, a seasonal limited edition flavour.

There is an opportunity for operators to use bagged snacks more imaginatively, believes Richard Thompson, brand manager at Glennans, which supplies vegetable crisps.

"There is still a huge opportunity for premium sharing snacks therefore eating establishments should look at their competitors, keep up with trends and also speak to their chefs and suppliers to get inspiration," he says.

With snack menus becoming more sophisticated and including more sharing options and smaller dishes, there is an opportunity to offer more choice and value. For example, development chef Mathew Shropshall has created snacking dishes for Glennans including niçoise salad sprinkled with vegetable crisps, and these recipes are available online.

Olives are becoming a serious alternative to bar snacks such as crisps and nuts, says Graham Stoodley, category manager for the dell'ami branded Mediterranean food sold by Cheese Cellar. "They not only taste and look good but they bring with them their own personality."

The olives are sourced from small growers and come in a range of colours, tastes and textures. For Michael Caines, food and beverage director of Gidleigh Park, Bath Priory and Abode Hotels, dell'ami has created a combination of bright green crunchy Lucques and sweet Tanche olives with whole sweet garlic to complete the 'Frenchness' of this bespoke mix.

The next step for operators is to offer a range of hot bar snacks. While the Spanish will claim to have pioneered small dishes with its tapas, the concept is being adapted by chefs such as Ashley McCarthy at The White Swan in Wighill, Yorkshire, where Yorkshire tapas such as Grimsby haddock fishcakes and Yorkshire puddings with onion gravy are offered. "People order a selection of dishes each and share," says McCarthy.

Earlier this year McCain Foods looked at the missed opportunities of pub and restaurant operators. Its 'Profi t on a Plate' report suggests that operators are missing out on an additional £400m a year by not having a substantial range and failing to promote their offering.

It says dishes offered for starters and side orders are naturally flexible and suitable for bar snacks. More importantly, they were high margin products.

Tasty, well presented and easy to eat products, plus good value, would encourage consumers to splash out. For example McCain's mozzarella melters, chilli cheese bites and onion rings would offer profitable combo platter opportunities. The company says its new trio of chips initiative would also act as a talking point.

It says 29% of consumers are ordering more sharing dishes than before and the 'theatre' element was appealing.

Aviko has introduced a range called AppetizZzers, which is based on Tex Mex and Mediterranean flavours, that can be served by publicans as individual snacks or as a sharing platter with dips. The range includes breaded onion rings, jalapeño snacks, mozzarella fingers, spicy chicken sticks and squid strips Moy Park Foodservice is also encouraging licensees to take advantage of the growing appeal of sharing platters with its Time to Share range. This includes its signature crunchy chick 'n' mini fillets and wings of fi re, as well as wasabi tempura vegetable mix, Cajun mushroom boats and breaded onion rings.

"A bar visit is often an occasion when friends gather to enjoy drinks – so it makes sense to reflect that in terms of the food offering by featuring sharing platters on the menu," says  marketing manager Jayne Hall. "This also taps into the demand for food to share, which has been driven by the popularity of Thai and Indian food made for enjoyment by a group around the table. Ensuring they offer a sharing platter is one way that bars cater for this demand."