Making Mother's Day Special
From a caterer’s point of view, it’s a busy day. Larger than normal tables with a mixed demographic of customers from grandparents to young children. It’s a day when a lot of families may try out a new restaurant, they’ve never been to before but want to give it a try for the special occasion. It’s great for the caterer as it is our chance to make them happy, retain them as customers and add them to our following. Done right, it’s an easy win.
For the customer, it is a day to celebrate with family, something that can often end up being few and far between with everyone leading such busy lives. Captivating this audience who are willing to travel and celebrate together – and usually spend a little bit more than they normally would, is important for all businesses. The day is fun and enjoyable for all, so what about the food? The food needs to fit.
Like all we do, it starts with a menu. Getting your menu out there for your customers to see is so important. Making sure it is on your website, social media and dining areas for pre-existing customers to see; you don’t want to forget to market to those loyal customers too! The demographic of customers for Mother’s Day is wide so think about that when writing your menu, remember ‘Grandma doesn’t eat spicy food’, not in my house at least! This day is different, it’s a big table, lots of people to please – most will want to read the menu before booking and decide what amazing dish they’re going to have.
It’s a Sunday lunch, let’s build it around the centrepiece, a great British roast. Do we have beef, chicken, lamb or pork? That’s up to you. I always like a couple of options as a roast, the customer loves a choice. Build around these with some other classics like pie; this could form your vegetarian or vegan option with a clever twist on cauliflower cheese – especially with these vegan sauces. This occasion is about generating sales that you wouldn’t normally gain, whilst keeping everyone happy. And don’t forget about the desserts, people are going to be treating themselves and we all love trifle and sticky toffee pudding, don’t we?
Mother’s Day is great for us as caterers to be busy. Clever menu planning for the customers coming through the door, food that is amazing to eat but simple to execute in volumes and quick to get out. Remember that little children won’t want to wait which in turn puts parents on edge.
It’s a lovely day let’s all enjoy it.
Kindly contributed by Steve Midgley Consulting Development Chef, 30 years’ experience in fine dining, creating fantastic experiences at Michelin star restaurants. For more articles like this visit Fairway.
