“When you get to the higher
volumes, you start to talk walk-
in fridges and freezers and large
combination ovens,” he explains.
“They serve as a guide but they are
not set in stone because they are not
new-builds. If you’re doing new-builds
you’ve got the benefit of building that
kitchen to a template.”
The aim is to ensure layouts are
efficient as possible so that licensees
can deliver quicker service without
having to increase staff. Simple
touches, such as making sure grills are
above fridges, can save thousands of
steps over the course of a year.
“If you can cook multiple items
without having to traipse up and downSTAR BOOSTS SUPPORT FOR LICENSEES WITH MINIMAL KITCHEN FOOTPRINT
Star Pubs & Bars is making its Just
Add Talent (JAT) managed operator
food menus available to its leased
and tenanted licensees, enabling
them to benefit from the negotiated
discounts and food insight support
that it provides to its managed
operator businesses.
Aimed at the company’s
community pubs, which make up
around three-quarters of the estate,
Star is passing on the food benefits
its JAT pubs receive to licensees
following successful trials in a
number of leased pubs.
Those who want it will have
insight-based menus, allergen
information and the substantial
discounts negotiated for JAT sites
with Brakes and crockery suppliers.
Licensees can choose from three
menus — one aimed at pubs that
might not have done food in the
past or which have a smaller kitchen
footprint; a central core offer; and
a step-up from the mainstream
which includes sharing boards and
charcuterie.Licensees are also ableto offer the managed operator
children’s menu and an edgier
millennial friendly ‘Indecent Burger
Proposal’ wings and burger menu.
Mark Teed, head of food for Star
Pubs & Bars, said: “At last year’s
forums, licensees asked for our help
reducing their food costs. Using
the JAT menus enables them to
leverage our purchasing power. We
have a library of menus to choose
from. As our BDMs have detailedknowledge of the pubs in their
postcodes, they can ensure that
there is differentiation between pubs
close to one another.
“We are not making any margin
on this and are completely
transparent; we are passing all
savings on directly to licensees. The
intention is to help our licensees
grow their food business, ensuring
those businesses are sustainable in
the long-term.”
The fully costed menus are
devised on the back of research
into food trends on what and when
people are eating. They include
allergen information and are
updated frequently.
Licensees will also have access
to support for some of the biggest
food occasions of the year like
Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and
Christmas as well as targeted
seasonal promotions such as ice
cream summer sundae & or on-
trend burger festival menus
with guidance on how to
promote and execute events.the kitchen from one side to the other
that is far more efficient.”
He says the key to overcoming any
design challenges lies in being creative
and innovative. “We will have small
kitchens in London on the third floor,
but we will have to evolve an offer
around that. If we can’t extend the
footprint we need to create an offer
that is fit for that footprint. It might
involve charcuterie, it might involve
cheese or it might involve
cold food, because we can’t literally
change a third floor kitchen in London.
We are happy to use one-off pieces of
equipment for that as well.”
Star prides itself on equipping
pubs with the cooking platforms and
hardware they need from the outset,
underlining Teed’s philosophy that you
should ‘do it once and do it well’.
And it endeavours to make decisions
with the future in mind. “We always
build in capacity for longer term
growth, and give them the space and
equipment to grow their offer.”Under the JAT model, licensees
can access the kit they need to
deliver a full pub menu offer.http://www.foodserviceequipmentjournal.com August 2019 | Foodservice Equipment Journal | 17
COVER STORY