True brit

As our nation’s home grown food and drink takes centre stage during British Food Fortnight, caterers can take pride again in backing Britain. Sheila Eggleston reports.

Now in its 10th year, British Food Fortnight (BFF) is well established and a focal point for caterers to go to town and be patriotic about British produce. This year it runs from September 17 to October 2 and expectations are high despite the shaky economy, with around 8,000 pubs expected to take part.

The organisers say around £15m is the estimated increase in sales of British food during the fortnight, proving how profi table it can be when served to today's more discerning consumers. Pubs and restaurants have reported sales uplift after previous BFF events, including one that claimed a 300% increase in sales.

Analyst Mintel's recent report on food provenance shows one in five consumers actively search out British food – one of the reasons why in the run up to the BFF, 42,000 shops, restaurants and pubs are provided with information on sourcing and promoting regional food and drink to use on menus.

"The fortnight gives a boost to British suppliers and helps eating out establishments to promote the local and regional produce on their menus," says James Armitage, marketing director at Brakes, which is again sponsoring the event. "Our recent survey of the profit sector revealed that provenance and traceability are now massively important for chefs and owners/managers of restaurants. Of those interviewed, 82% said local and regionally sourced produce would be an important feature of their menus in the year ahead."

This year Brakes teamed with John Lewis and brewer Shepherd Neame to run two competitions for BFF, where chefs had to come up with innovative menus using British ingredients. Winners of the John Lewis competition will see their recipes on menus at the restaurant in John Lewis' new Stratford City store, close to next year's Olympics venue, while winners of the Shepherd Neame competition will see their recipes feature on the pub chain's special boards during the fortnight.

3663 is supporting BFF and encouraging its customers to source more British produce and promote specials on their menus throughout this period. "With recent statistics from Menurama noting that the top three British dishes are full English breakfast, sausages and mash, and fish and chips, you could be forgiven for thinking that these dishes form part of many menus when eating out of home. But, having the opportunity to ensure these dishes are quintessentially British, made using British ingredients, is where the celebration of British Food Fortnight really comes into its own," says senior marketing manager Vanessa Millard.

Duncan Marsh, general manager for Bernard Matthews Foodservice, says the fortnight offers greater potential this year.

"With the Olympics around the corner, it's the perfect opportunity to trial run menus and prepare to show visitors what Britain has to offer. Organisers suggest contacting suppliers to ask whether products are British, and adapting existing menus or creating a specials board focusing on British produce.

"In terms of provenance, we are proud of our heritage and are proud to supply quality British turkey products which offer natural appeal and huge margin opportunities all year round."

Craig Hennessey from The Queen's Head Inn in Askham, Cumbria, who is Jus-Rol Professional's 2011 pub pie champion, says one of the reasons for switching to British turkey right now is price, as it is cheaper than other meat but can command the same price on menus. "My pies of the week have included everything from British roast turkey and ham hock pie to turkey and smoked bacon pie, a very cost effective move for pubs when they are paying £2.30 for a free range chicken breast."

As the London Olympics is an international event, serving ethnic dishes could also pay dividends as long as a firm eye is kept on British provenance. Hennessey's ethnic successes include creamy turkey curry and Thai turkey in tempura batter.

The provenance and sustainability of produce is increasingly important for many caterers, says Donna Rowbottom, marketing manager at McCain Foods. "McCain is committed to sourcing 100% British potatoes for its chips and works with more than 250 growers from Co.Durham to the Isle of Wight, in many cases McCain's association with them spans three generations, to produce top quality potatoes for our products.

"It purchases around 750,000 tonnes of potatoes every year, which makes it the single biggest buyer of British potatoes and means great chips are the perfect accompaniment to the great British pint during the fortnight."

'British food bundles', where consumers can select combination meals completely made up of British brands can be a successful marketing tool, says Matthew Orme, director at bottled water supplier Wenlock Spring.

"British bottled water should be an integral part of the drinks offer and a vital component of such combination deals. It is well worth a little thought when describing the water on a menu, as it is usually an incremental sale in addition to alcohol in the bar/restaurant sector and also to hot beverages in the café environment. With water that is responsibly bottled at source, such as Wenlock Spring, the consumer can see exactly what they are paying for and know the mineral content in it."