12th April 2013
Autumn 2010: Fast forward
The run up to Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year for chefs therefore in the first of a series of forecasts to help planning ahead, Stockpot reports the experts’ predictions about fish and meat for festive menus.
No one knows what Santa will bring for the hospitality industry this Christmas. Leading up to the festive season last year, there was an air of cautiousness in recognition of budget cuts and higher food prices. Will this year be any different?
Analyst Mintel’s annual flagship report: British Lifestyles, released in August, says consumers spent £31.5bn in 2009 on eating out and takeaways, which meant on average each person in the UK spent around £10 per week out of home. However, it says, while eating out has traditionally been a high growth sector, the recession has taken its toll.
When it comes to fish at Christmas, Mike Berthet of M&J Seafood says “don’t get caught out”. “Chefs are understandably meticulous and passionate about planning menus in advance and put their food orders in early to guarantee the best quality produce will arrive as arranged.
“For most produce, a couple of months lead time won’t make much difference to the produce that suppliers can provide during Christmas – we are forewarned in advance of a poor vegetable season or a meat crisis for example.
“Fresh seafood and fish orders on the other hand are a completely different entity. A drastic catch shortage can take place the day before an order is due. This can be down to a myriad of reasons such as inclement weather stopping boats going out, or a sudden price increase due to high demand and poor supply. It means we can’t always ensure that fresh seafood choices will end up on a menu.
“We urge chefs not to leave it to chance when it comes to ordering this Christmas. Plan menus carefully and always have a back up plan.”
Berthet says by working closely with suppliers, chefs will know what’s in season, price points and crucially the availability for the busy Christmas week. “Make sure they are honest with you, or do some research on the produce you want which will help you ask the right questions.
“Take for instance monkfish, lobster and crab. These are big menu favourites for 2010, yet all are high priced, out of season catches. Look out for lobster from the Eastern Canadian Offshore Lobster Fishery, as it is the first in Canada to gain Marine Stewardship Council certification, making the catch a sustainable and well managed shellfish option.
“Mackerel, sea bass or rainbow trout are well known sustainable alternatives. However coupled with good front of house briefing notes from your supplier, customers will be willing to try more unusual species. Mahi mahi for example has a flaky texture and sweeter flavour compared to its closest tasting Jack, Trevally and Kingfish. The flavour stands out on its own, or is great with fruity or spicy flavours. While enjoying the net cost per portion, think of the kudos for taking a chance and putting it on your menu. Otherwise, always have store cupboard options.
Black Pearl scallops and super frozen tuna are frozen at sea within four hours of catch and preserve their taste, colour and texture as if they were fresh. They are the ultimate standby.
“There are ways to keep informed about the catches due in with the British Skippers Blog, which provides daily updates. This information can quickly be relayed back to your customers by front of house.”
To find out what is landing now on Britain’s shores, he adds, visit the British Skippers Blog on www.mjseafood.com.
Both EBLEX and BPEX are offering early advice on seasonal menus that will maximise returns. EBLEX foodservice project manager Hugh Judd says: “I can’t imagine not having a winter of discontent because of the austerity measures coming in, so there’s never been a more important time to work with your butcher and look at different cuts and ways to cook them. Don’t take the cheap option from cowboys – it’s false economy.”
Judd says a lot of lamb was exported this time last year and it still is, and with a weak pound and the fact that Europe love our lamb for its quality means prices will remain high over the festive period.
“Red meat is a big money item on any procurement agenda and has higher risk. It’s a natural product and you have to try and get it as consistent as you can. Premium beef cuts like ribs, sirloins and roast cuts are always expensive at Christmas but rump drops in price and people aren’t aware of this.”
A copy of EBLEX’ meat cutting guide is available to Craft Guild members free of charge by calling 0845 491 8787 or visiting www.eblextrade.co.uk – “it will give different ideas, a choice of cuts and will help chefs when negotiating on trim,” he says.
BPEX foodservice project manager Tony Goodger is challenging chefs to use more of the pig. He says shoulder of pork will be good value at Christmas and heads will definitely be a good buy. “As a top tip, chefs should be buying more pig heads and making terrines, brawn and using the cheeks. It’s ridiculous that we grow the whole animal and harvest only half the table meat from it. I also think we need to be mincing more heart into minced meat. It’s very rich in iron, and if you add 20% heart to the mince mix, you would bring down costs. Chefs have to be more creative with what they’ve got.”
Seriously, he says, chefs should be talking to butchers and securing prices now. “Contract caterers are pressed by clients to guarantee prices for the next six months. It’s difficult to say at Christmas: I want to order it now and give me a price. What happens then is that the price of legs of pork go up because of the demand for ham, which means the rest of the animal stays the same or comes down in price. So I would say shoulder and loin should be good value for money.
Are much higher prices on the way as the national press regularly claim? Goodger believes so. But he says while they will go up on pork, it doesn’t mean individual cuts will go up. While loin prices will rise more steeply because the market likes it, there is less demand for other parts of the animal and these won’t go up, he says. Explaining why the price of pork rises, he says 70% of the cost of a pig is in the price of feed, which is made up of 40% wheat and barley, 40% soya, and 20% minerals and vitamins.
He says BPEX is looking at reducing the amount of soya it imports to bring costs down, and is trialling feed with more peas and beans. BPEX has brought out a new leaflet entitled: A Chef’s Guide to Pork in the Christmas Season, that provides advice and inspiration to help chefs.
Featuring recipes using Red Tractor pork, the leaflet includes dishes such as boneless rolled pork roast with baked red apples and apple sauce.
For further details, visit www.porkforcaterers.com
Words - Sheila Eggleston
Analyst Mintel’s annual flagship report: British Lifestyles, released in August, says consumers spent £31.5bn in 2009 on eating out and takeaways, which meant on average each person in the UK spent around £10 per week out of home. However, it says, while eating out has traditionally been a high growth sector, the recession has taken its toll.
When it comes to fish at Christmas, Mike Berthet of M&J Seafood says “don’t get caught out”. “Chefs are understandably meticulous and passionate about planning menus in advance and put their food orders in early to guarantee the best quality produce will arrive as arranged.
“For most produce, a couple of months lead time won’t make much difference to the produce that suppliers can provide during Christmas – we are forewarned in advance of a poor vegetable season or a meat crisis for example.
“Fresh seafood and fish orders on the other hand are a completely different entity. A drastic catch shortage can take place the day before an order is due. This can be down to a myriad of reasons such as inclement weather stopping boats going out, or a sudden price increase due to high demand and poor supply. It means we can’t always ensure that fresh seafood choices will end up on a menu.
“We urge chefs not to leave it to chance when it comes to ordering this Christmas. Plan menus carefully and always have a back up plan.”
Berthet says by working closely with suppliers, chefs will know what’s in season, price points and crucially the availability for the busy Christmas week. “Make sure they are honest with you, or do some research on the produce you want which will help you ask the right questions.
“Take for instance monkfish, lobster and crab. These are big menu favourites for 2010, yet all are high priced, out of season catches. Look out for lobster from the Eastern Canadian Offshore Lobster Fishery, as it is the first in Canada to gain Marine Stewardship Council certification, making the catch a sustainable and well managed shellfish option.
“Mackerel, sea bass or rainbow trout are well known sustainable alternatives. However coupled with good front of house briefing notes from your supplier, customers will be willing to try more unusual species. Mahi mahi for example has a flaky texture and sweeter flavour compared to its closest tasting Jack, Trevally and Kingfish. The flavour stands out on its own, or is great with fruity or spicy flavours. While enjoying the net cost per portion, think of the kudos for taking a chance and putting it on your menu. Otherwise, always have store cupboard options.
Black Pearl scallops and super frozen tuna are frozen at sea within four hours of catch and preserve their taste, colour and texture as if they were fresh. They are the ultimate standby.
“There are ways to keep informed about the catches due in with the British Skippers Blog, which provides daily updates. This information can quickly be relayed back to your customers by front of house.”
To find out what is landing now on Britain’s shores, he adds, visit the British Skippers Blog on www.mjseafood.com.
Both EBLEX and BPEX are offering early advice on seasonal menus that will maximise returns. EBLEX foodservice project manager Hugh Judd says: “I can’t imagine not having a winter of discontent because of the austerity measures coming in, so there’s never been a more important time to work with your butcher and look at different cuts and ways to cook them. Don’t take the cheap option from cowboys – it’s false economy.”
Judd says a lot of lamb was exported this time last year and it still is, and with a weak pound and the fact that Europe love our lamb for its quality means prices will remain high over the festive period.
“Red meat is a big money item on any procurement agenda and has higher risk. It’s a natural product and you have to try and get it as consistent as you can. Premium beef cuts like ribs, sirloins and roast cuts are always expensive at Christmas but rump drops in price and people aren’t aware of this.”
A copy of EBLEX’ meat cutting guide is available to Craft Guild members free of charge by calling 0845 491 8787 or visiting www.eblextrade.co.uk – “it will give different ideas, a choice of cuts and will help chefs when negotiating on trim,” he says.
BPEX foodservice project manager Tony Goodger is challenging chefs to use more of the pig. He says shoulder of pork will be good value at Christmas and heads will definitely be a good buy. “As a top tip, chefs should be buying more pig heads and making terrines, brawn and using the cheeks. It’s ridiculous that we grow the whole animal and harvest only half the table meat from it. I also think we need to be mincing more heart into minced meat. It’s very rich in iron, and if you add 20% heart to the mince mix, you would bring down costs. Chefs have to be more creative with what they’ve got.”
Seriously, he says, chefs should be talking to butchers and securing prices now. “Contract caterers are pressed by clients to guarantee prices for the next six months. It’s difficult to say at Christmas: I want to order it now and give me a price. What happens then is that the price of legs of pork go up because of the demand for ham, which means the rest of the animal stays the same or comes down in price. So I would say shoulder and loin should be good value for money.
Are much higher prices on the way as the national press regularly claim? Goodger believes so. But he says while they will go up on pork, it doesn’t mean individual cuts will go up. While loin prices will rise more steeply because the market likes it, there is less demand for other parts of the animal and these won’t go up, he says. Explaining why the price of pork rises, he says 70% of the cost of a pig is in the price of feed, which is made up of 40% wheat and barley, 40% soya, and 20% minerals and vitamins.
He says BPEX is looking at reducing the amount of soya it imports to bring costs down, and is trialling feed with more peas and beans. BPEX has brought out a new leaflet entitled: A Chef’s Guide to Pork in the Christmas Season, that provides advice and inspiration to help chefs.
Featuring recipes using Red Tractor pork, the leaflet includes dishes such as boneless rolled pork roast with baked red apples and apple sauce.
For further details, visit www.porkforcaterers.com
Words - Sheila Eggleston