Going East

Cuisine from the Far East continues to be a popular choice for well travelled consumers looking for similar experiences back home. But how can pubs and restaurants best translate this food style in the UK and benefit? John Porter reports.

Oriental cuisine competes with the Great British Pub as the nation’s favourite choice when eating out. Research by Mintel shows the pub has retained its standing as the first choice of venue when selecting somewhere to enjoy a meal out of home. However the onset of the recession has meant that Chinese restaurants have gained as consumers economised.

Ironically, in many cases this was because families were eating Chinese takeaways at home – still officially classed as a meal eaten out – instead of heading for their local carvery or steakhouse.

Even so, there is no denying the increasing popularity and diversity of oriental food. Once universally described as ‘Chinese’, with increased long haul travel, consumers have become more familiar with the diverse flavours pan Asian food encompasses.

In some cases, there’s no need to make the choice between the local and the Far East.

The Orchid Group, which now has almost 300 pubs across the UK, has created the Dragon concept that mixes the best elements of a traditional pub, including foaming cask ale and a sense of community, with an authentic Thai menu.

The two cultures blend perfectly, with Buddhist blessings in the pubs every day including offerings of flowers, incense and food to the statue of Buddha working alongside more conventional rituals such as cleaning the beer lines – and Orchid is now one of the UK’s biggest employers of Thai chefs.

The company is on the expansion trail and has earmarked the Dragon format for further growth, reflecting the increasing popularity of Thai cuisine.

For other pubs, introducing more oriental flavours on to the menu can help to maximise use of produce as well as drive extra sales. Mark Rigby, senior development chef at Premier Foods, makes the point that its Sharwood’s ready to use sauces are freeze thaw stable, “so you can make up a large batch, freeze it down into individual portions and use as required”.

“They can be used to pot roast or slow braise cheaper cuts of meat and as no cooking out is required, they can also be used to flash fry quick dishes, with perhaps leftover cuts of meat from your carvery in dishes such as sweet and sour pork or beef and black bean sauce.

“You can also offer very tasty small portions of food and open up a whole new bar snack style offering, potentially increasing sales by delivering small tasters of the food you do on the main courses. The sauce works great here with meat and vegetables as it will keep them moist, whereas normally if you serve a small portion it can dry out quickly.”

The diversity of flavours in oriental cuisine makes it easy to vary the menu, but it can also make defining your customers’ tastes a daunting prospect. Sally Sturley, product knowledge manager for Brakes, says: “Diners are becoming ever more discerning when it comes to this varied style of cuisine, not least because many are now so well travelled. Customers will often demand authenticity and regional variety when they see Far Eastern cuisine on a menu, and are less likely to settle for a generic, westernised take on this fare.

“Pubs and restaurants seeking to boost profits by adding a pan Asian flavour to their menus can face an intimidating learning curve, due to the huge range of regional dishes, cooking styles and ingredients characteristic of cuisine from countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Japan.”

Sourcing authentic ingredients and specialist cooking equipment can be expensive, especially if you are only testing the waters. Using pre-made dishes will help establish the potential market.

Sturley adds: “Whatever style of cuisine you choose, start by introducing a small number of good quality dishes, and see how your customers respond. Be sure to talk up the authenticity and regional provenance on your menu, as diners will respond well to this.”

Distributor 3G Food Service has a strong track record in supplying pan Asian food, working with clients including restaurant chain Wagamama. Marketing manager Tim Shearer says: “It’s easy to pull in more profits from a pan Asian menu by offering a tempting range of starters. If bought frozen and ready made, they also free up time in the kitchen to prepare the main courses.

“Japanese style torpedo king prawns, Thai fish cakes with sweet chilli sauce, chicken satay or crispy duck spring rolls are all great menu additions for putting diners in the mood for spicy food and encouraging them to splash out just a little more on themselves.

“They can be served as mixed starter selections to share or as individual appetisers. Oriental starters are also ideal for bar snack menus. Offer a mixed platter or a three-for-two deal for groups of customers, or combine them with a special offer on Thai or Japanese bottled beer for a themed menu.”

The theme approach is also recommended by Unilever Foodsolutions. Marketing director Claire Sullivan says: “Caterers can use products such as Knorr oriental sauces, which present a quick and more efficient way of delivering authentic tasting oriental dishes with consistent results.

“In order to maximise the popularity of Far Eastern cuisine, pubs and restaurants can replicate the ambience of the various countries by having themed nights such as Thai nights or an all encompassing oriental night. Operators could also look at tying cuisines in with a special menu or dish served during relevant festivals, such as Chinese New Year.”

Versatility is also key to the appeal of oriental dishes. Jonathan Ashmore, commercial director at The Big Kitchen, says: “Eastern cuisine is ideally suited for pubs and their relaxed social atmosphere; many dishes such as lamb kofta and chicken satay can work well across a variety of menus including light bite, starter and platters. In addition, the speciality nature of ethnic cuisine enables caterers to price their dishes that little bit higher.”

This range of flavours and dishes eaten across Asia means there is still room for product innovation, according to Simon Cliff, general sales manager of Daloon. He says: “There are plenty of recipes, dishes and product concepts waiting to be developed for introduction into the UK ethnic snack food market.”

To add authenticity, Daloon has begun introducing authentic crispy filo pastry across all of its leading pastry wrapped snack products. This process creates a crispness, said to be “as good if not better than handmade filo pastry products coming out of the Far East”.

Words John Porter

This article originally appeared in Eat Out magazine www.eatoutmagazine.co.uk

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