‘PLACE ON A PLATE’ Using Local Food to Promote your Business
What is ‘Place on a Plate’?
Who is ‘Place on the Plate’ for?
What’s in it for me?
The purpose of ‘Place on a Plate’ is to encourage you to adopt an ethos of offering fresh, locally sourced, seasonal food on your menu and just as importantly, make sure you are telling your customers about it!
This ethos can be embraced by any business serving food;
The reason is simple: research has shown that in recent years experiencing local foods and beverages, which express the identity of a destination through food culture and heritage, has become a sought after travel experience for both domestic and international visitors.
Embracing the ethos of ‘Place on a Plate’ is an opportunity for your business to benefit from the growing trend of consumers looking for, and willing to spend more, on locally sourced dishes whilst on holidays. So it could;
Taking the first step is also simple – you can start with just one dish…
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Café
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Pub
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Hotel
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Restaurant
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Bistro
It doesn’t matter – just start with one dish… A lot of food providers are using local food already. Use our top tips and business supports to make sure you are capitalising on all the great things you are doing.
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Increase visitor spend
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Attract more customers
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Increase satisfaction
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Create a platform for producers and providers to work together
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Raise the profile of your locality
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Bring increased business to your area
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Benefit the local economy.
Four ingredients of ‘Place on a Plate’
Unique and Distinctive
Promoting locally produced Irish food which is reflective of our image as a natural, unspoilt destination
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Consumer Focused
Understanding visitor expectations and placing those needs at the heart of all developments
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Local and Regional
Providing for a broad spectrum of ‘food experiences’ which provide access to local/ regional foods
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Quality and Value Assured
Profitability and Sustainability
Communicating and delivering upon quality and value promises
Supporting initiatives which help to deliver long term growth and sustainability
How can I make it work for me?
How can Fáilte Ireland help?
Have a look at the four ingredients of ‘Place on a Plate’ and think about this in the context of your business:
We have a wide range of business supports and workshops which have been tailored to help you implement ‘Place on a Plate’.
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Are you making the most of the locally produced food available in your area? Do you know what is available? Do you really understand what your customer wants? Would they like to see more local food available? What can a visitor get to eat in your business that they can’t taste in the rest of the country? Do you consistently offer quality and value? Have you asked your customers what they think?
These include: •
Up-skilling your chefs in the latest culinary trends
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Up-skilling your front of house staff
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Using your menu to drive food sales
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Creating value from a consumer perspective
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Profitable kitchen management
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Enhancing your web marketing and use of social media
How can I get started? ‘Place on a Plate’ helps you think differently about the food you offer. We have business supports to help but some things you can do to get you started include;
Top Tips •
Find out abou
t the local food
traditions and specialties in Don’t assume your area. that local food is more expensiv producers. Kn e. Get to know ow what they your local food offer and whe n it is availabl • Start wit e. h just one dish on your menu made from lo • Make sure cally sourced your front of produce. house staff kn you serve. They ow the recipe s and source of should also be the food aware of the the region. food history an d traditions of • Encourag e your staff to suggest dishes customers. made with lo cal food to yo ur • Look crit ically at your menu – are yo u telling your homemade it customers ab ems on your m out enu or any re traditional reci gional specialt pes used? y produce, • List the na mes of local su ppliers that yo them into the u use or, even names and m better, incorp enu description orate map of your ar s in dishes or ea. identify them on a • Bring your staff to meet your local prod the produce. ucers so that they can get a feel for • Get invo lved with loca l food initiative s. • Sign up fo r Bord Bia’s Ju st Ask! campa efforts. ign and get re cognition for your •
Why is food important for your tourism business? To s t art…
Ire land is we ll k no w n in te r n at ion all y f or t he quali t y or our ingre die n ts… more so t h an our cuisine . Close to €2 billion is spe n t by v isi tors on f o o d and dr ink while h olidaying in Ire land. In f ac t, €2 ou t of e ve r y €5 t he y spe nd is on f o o d and dr ink .
Mainl y be c ause…
Of fe r ing quali t y, se ason al , f re sh, loc al f o o d, t radi t ion al re cipe s or re gion al spe ciali t ie s cre ate s opport uni t ie s f or your busine s s to g ain ne w v isi tors and m ake s your of fe r ing more unique . Bord Bia h as f ound t h at more t h an f our in f i ve dine rs be lie ve i t ’s import an t t h at re s t auran ts use loc al pro duce . By e ng aging w i t h loc al pro duce rs, you w ill support t he loc al e conomy and promo te your loc ali t y, he r i t age and cul t ure to v isi tors.
To f inish…
C onsume rs remain ve r y f ocuse d on bo t h t he v alue and t he quali t y of t he i r f o o d e x pe r ie nce .
How well does your business give visitors a ‘taste’ of the region? Rate your business…
On a scale of 1 - 4 (4 being high), rate yourself on the following statements:
no/never
a little
I know about the local food traditions and specialities in my region?
1
2
3
4
2.
I know my local suppliers?
1
2
3
4
3.
I use local / regionally sourced producers?
1
2
3
4
4.
I have dishes on the menu made from locally and regionally sourced produce?
1
2
3
4
5.
My front of house staff have knowledge of the source of produce, provenance of dish, history of food traditions in the region?
1
2
3
4
My staff tell customers about our homemade items or any regional food specialities and traditional recipes used?
1
2
3
4
7.
I identify local/ regionally sourced food and food producers on menus?
1
2
3
4
8.
My food offering provides visitors with a sense of uniqueness to the locality?
1
2
3
4
9.
I bring staff to meet our local producers so that they can get a feel for their produce?
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1.
6.
FI/11784-12
10. I believe that local and regional food can be a unique and distinctive selling point?
a lot
yes/constantly
Add up the numbers you circled to give your score
SCORE:
0 - 20 Your business currently reflects very little of the ‘Place on a Plate’ ethos. By engaging with some of Fáilte Ireland’s supports, and using the top tips you could greatly improve your customer experience.
21 - 34 Your business does reflect elements of the ‘Place on a Plate’ ethos, but there is more you can do to actively promote it. Look at our top tips, identify the gaps and with the help of Fáilte Ireland’s supports you can easily improve your food potential.
35 + Well done, your business already strongly reflects the ‘Place on a Plate’ ethos. Keep up the good work and let us know about the interesting things you are doing that sets you out from the crowd, to maximise your marketing and publicity opportunities.
For futher information please contact:
foodtourism@failteireland.ie