Frugal but flavoursome by JOHN PORTER
Liberation Group’s venison faggots. Venison can offer great value for money
It sounds simple – cash-strapped consumers are looking for good value from pub menus in the early months of the year, so that’s what pubs need to serve up. Where to start, though? We asked some experts used to being at the sharp end of pub food.… “The first thing I do in January is phone my butcher,” says Ashley McCarthy, co-owner of the multi-award-winning Ye Old Sun Inn, in Colton, North Yorkshire. “We discuss what he’s got available. Offal is usually really good value at that time of year – lamb’s liver, calves’ liver and so on. It might be frozen, but I know that, from my butcher, it’ll be good quality. “Although there’s a lot of talk about dieting in January, we find that when people have decided to come out to eat, they don’t skimp on the comfort food. They might skip dessert, but they want something substantial for the main course. “So, we find that more traditional dishes such as liver and bacon, steak and kidney pudding, and ham and pease pudding, are very popular. We can put those on at a price that appeals to customers, and still make a decent GP. Nothing’s cheap anymore, but you can still offer good value.” Alice Bowyer, head of food at The Liberation Group, which includes pubs on the Channel Islands as well as Butcombe Pubs & Inns in the South West, says: “We have a number of VFM dishes on our menus all autumn and winter, always stating the provenance and quality of the ingredients used.” These include Castlemead chicken leg, heritage squash and butter bean cassoulet, pine nut and sage crumb. “We often use
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