catering Makro Foodservice is a “one-stop-shop”.
Cash and carry to roll out foodservice
CASH and carry giant Makro is set to roll out its foodservice offer to 16 of its stores, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, before the end of the year following a trial in four outlets down south. Described as a “one-stop- shop” for trade customers, Makro Foodservice offers access to the full Makro range of over 30,000 lines across the food, non-food, beers and spirits, and cleaning solutions categories. Orders are delivered direct to customers’ premises, with next day delivery and a range of payment options available. The firm ultimately hopes to have extended the service to its full network of 30 stores by early 2011.
Denise Dent, head of Foodservice at Makro, said it aims to offer a total solution for professional caterers. “Our foodservice offering is attractive as it gives customers the chance to buy everything from one place, therefore saving precious time by eliminating the need to deal with several different suppliers,” she said. “Our aim is to ensure we cater for the needs of a full spectrum of caterers, from pubs and restaurants to hotels and caterers. We’re built on providing solutions that best suit our customers and fooodservice naturally complements our store network and Drive outlets, and will open up our excellent tailored professional offering to a new audience.
“The competition is fierce in the marketplace but we know we’ve got the best choice, best range, best price and best one- to-one service already. We’re just taking it on the road to customers who prefer to have their products delivered and who haven’t previously visited Makro due to business time constraints.” Confirmation of the roll-out of Makro Foodservice came as Makro launched a new website (
www.makro.co.uk).
36 - SLTN - November 11, 2010
A recipe for festive success
Keeping it simple can pay dividends during Christmas rush T
RADITIONAL favourites are what customers want at Christmas so
roast turkey should be at the heart of any Christmas menu. That’s the advice from Ben Bartlett, food development manager at Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company, who reckons the traditional theme should run through all menus, with different levels of complexity and menu detail applied depending on the type of outlet. It’s a strategy he has adopted for S&NPC’s estate. Bartlett has identified five main types of pub and created menu options for each in a bid to inspire individual lessees. He’s also added various twists to each dish, depending on whether the outlet has a limited or sophisticated food offer already in place.
But coming up with creative festive
Work on timing, look at dishes and whether they have too many components, and identify what you can do in advance.
dishes is only half the battle, according to Bartlett, who urged operators to consider how long each dish takes to prepare and serve.
“With any functions or banquets
where you are serving a large number of people you want dishes that are quick to produce,” he said. “The actual eating time for a three- course meal is 22 minutes so you also have to be able to get all the dishes out on the tables within 15 minutes for each course. “Work on timing, look at the dishes and whether they have too many components and identify what you can do in advance. For example, prepare your potatoes well ahead; keep them in water with a slice of bread in the top of the pan to absorb the starch and preserve their life.”
Style of service can also make a big
difference at Christmas, according to Bartlett.
Running a carvery-style operation,
where the chef carves meat for customers and they help themselves; and family-style service, where a large vegetable serving dish is put on the table for people to help themselves,
Traditional Christmas favourites, like roast turkey, should be at the heart of any festive menu, according to S&NPC’s Ben Bartlett. However, he warned chefs and operators to consider how long each dish on a festive menu takes to prepare and serve.
can help speed up service. Butler service, where the meat is plated and customers help themselves to vegetables brought round by staff, is “very popular” and “gives a personal feel”, he said.
Whatever service and menu options operators choose, Bartlett said it’s important to plan ahead. “Christmas is a great time to build business for the year ahead because you get so many new customers coming in,” he added. “Try to capture their details so you can send them bounce-back offers to attract them back in January and February.”
DBC Foodservice agrees that time is of the essence for operators over the busy festive season. For this reason, the firm has launched a range of Christmas products designed to help operators meet the demands of catering for festive parties. Its Christmas Essentials range includes everything from smoked salmon and festive patés to fresh turkey and sage and onion stuffing; a range of frozen buffet and finger food has also been launched.
DBC Foodservice marketing
director Michael Barrett said the Christmas products are designed to
help operators “maximise profits and footfall” during the festive season. “While the number of meals served in pubs has fallen by 14% in the last three years, consumers will have money in their pockets to spend over the Christmas period,” he said. “It is therefore imperative that on- trade establishments have the right menu to ensure that consumers visit their venue as opposed to the Dog & Duck down the road. “Our new buffet finger food requires minimal kitchen equipment and can be prepared quickly by anybody, allowing for high turnover of tables. “Managing costs is the best advice we can give our customers in the run-up to the festive season and these products have been designed with this in mind.”
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