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By Matt Furnell, 12/04/2011 1:30 pm

Enjoy the Taste of Suffolk with Greene King

St Edmunds Real Beer & Food Festival at Greene King
Saturday 21st May & Sunday 22nd May
Greene King Brewery Gardens, Bury St Edmunds

The food & drink event of 2010 is back!

If you are interested in quality food and drink and want to sample a true taste of our fantastic region, you will love the “St Edmunds Real Beer & Food Festival”. Now in its second year, the Festival attracted over 4,000 visitors last summer, and organisers at Greene King are expecting even more success this May.

A wide range of top quality local food and drink producers will be joining the Suffolk brewer to promote their wares, offering opportunities to sample as well as to buy.  Among the delights will be locally produced smoked cheese, cured beef, jam, chutney, whisky, cider, premium sausages, seafood, ice cream, fudge – and of course, the finest real ales in the world!

There will also be live music in the gardens, food demonstrations, tutored tastings and beer master classes over the weekend. Families are welcome and we even have activities for the children, so get these dates in the diary!

Stand holders include Jimmy’s Farm, The English Whisky Company, Rodwell Farm homemade cheese, , Powters Newmarket Sausages, the Chilli Company, Yum Yum Tree Fudge, Pinneys Oysters of Orford and many more.

The ‘Festival’, which is being held in the Greene King brewery gardens in Bury St Edmunds takes place on the opening weekend of the Bury St Edmunds Festival, and is open Saturday 21st, 10am-6pm and Sunday 22nd May, 10am-5pm. Tickets are £3 each and are available from the Greene King Visitor Centre on 01284 714297, or from the Apex in Bury St Edmunds. Car parking is available for £2.

Join up to the ‘St Edmunds Beer’ Facebook group (www.facebook.com/stedmunds) for regular updates and announcements. For more information please email realbeerandfoodfestival@greeneking.co.uk.

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By Matt Furnell, 20/10/2009 1:55 pm

This week saw the Lass O’Gowrie pub become the cream of Manchester’s pubs after winning Pub of the Year at the esteemed Manchester Food & Drinks awards 2009.  The award was handed to the pub, famous for its pies and pints, by the Hairy Bikers duo, Si and Dave.

Licensee of the 170-year-old traditional boozer, Gareth Kavanagh raised a glass to the recognition, “It’s fantastic news.  We may be small but it shows size isn’t everything, it’s what we do that counts and now I know the nine real ales on the bar and our famous home-made pies really do stand out from the crowd.  We’re all absolutely thrilled”.

Operations Director for Greene King, Andy Spencer said, “Gareth and his team really deserve this award.  They’re innovative and passionate about the business and this really shows when you go to the pub, it’s a real jewel in the crown”.

The bikers, who ditched their usual leathers for the occasion, said: “We dusted down the dinner suits and what a great night we had. It is wonderful to realise what a wealth of food treasure we have in the north west. The food festival has been one of the best – we can’t wait for next year.”

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By Matt Furnell, 06/10/2009 3:03 pm

Lyn Walker and Yvonne Mallinson have become the latest “Public Housewives” to take on a pub with Greene King, the Star in Rolvenden near Cranbrook.  The duo who run their own catering business and local café, the Bread o f Life in Dulwich, London SE22 decided to take over the pub and transform it with their skills and a woman’s touch.

 Speaking about their new venture, Lyn said, “We’d visited the pub when it was thriving and then not, so that’s why we decided we could take the leap into the pub sector and put this real pub for real people back on the map.  Through Greene King’s support we’ve been able to transform the business and create somewhere really special for the locals”.

 The Public Housewives campaign launched by Greene King is aimed at encouraging more women to take the plunge and run pubs as their own businesses.  Caroline Hollings, recruitment and training director for Greene King says, “The impression people get when thinking about running a pub is that there has to be a man behind the bar and nothing could be further from the truth.  We have some really successful women running our pubs of which Lyn and Yvonne are definitely two.  We need to change the perception and get more women who are business minded and great managers looking to this industry as a self employed business option”.

 Lyn and Yvonne have revamped the pub with a new paint job and signage and replanted the gardens, welcomed back the darts and football teams and introduced a good home cooked pub food menu alongside an ever popular Sunday Roast.

 Adding Yvonne said, “You have to have dedication and work hard if you take on a pub but seeing a happy face on the other side of the bar and knowing you are providing something the community wants makes it all worth while”.

 Even Lyn’s husband, Mick, is happy even though it has taken some getting used to, he says, “I must be the only man who goes out to work all day whilst my wife’s down the pub!”.

 More information about the Public Housewives campaign can be found on http://www.publichousewives.co.uk/.

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By Matt Furnell, 02/10/2009 3:00 pm

DRIVING FOOD BUSINESS 

OVERVIEW

A one day intensive training course developed and delivered to ensure regional managers are up to date with the latest food trends and expertise to develop food opportunities with their licensees in their pubs.

Delivered by independent food consultants the food masterclass ensured regional managers could advise licensees on: 

• The mechanics of a meal deal
  • Costing
  • Size
  • Times
  • Market
  • Price
     
• Identifying your target market
• Costing an overall menu
• Developing a food menu
• Conducting successful competitor analysis
• Following the latest trends in food

 30 Regional managers attended the training 

Pub Partners continues to focus on employee training to ensure their business support is the best in the industry

The training supports the Food Made Easy package for licensees on Greene King PubPartners.net online extranet for licensees.  This includes: 

• Menu design options
• Menu templates
• Dishes bank
• Costing and wastage tables
• Health and Hygiene advice

 Alongside their buying partner, Pelican, Pub Partners are developing more menu packages with food suppliers

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By Elaine Beckett, 25/09/2009 11:26 am

New landlords, Jim and Tracy have brought back to life the Stanhope Arms pub in Brasted near Westerham, making it the centre of the village once again.

Closed for over six months, the pub has been redecorated throughout with a brand new kitchen installed so a traditional English home cooked menu can be introduced.

Speaking about their new venture, Jim said, “So many pubs have gone stale and this is what happened to the Stanhope Arms.  We’ve changed that and have re-created an old fashioned family pub with locals’ bar and separate dining, restaurant area.  A pub should be the centre of its community and we aim to make the Stanhope that again”.

 egional manager for Greene King Mike O’Connor said, “It’s brilliant what Jim and Tracy have done to the pub. It is now certainly back on the map and a welcome addition to the village again”.

Jim and Tracy have installed new furniture and soft furnishings within the pub as well as redecorating throughout.  They are soon to begin on the exterior.  Home cooked food is being introduced and will be served all week.

 Ends

Press Contact: Elaine Beckett, Public Relations Manager, Greene King Pub Partners, Tel: 07974 132844

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By Elaine Beckett, 24/09/2009 4:33 pm

Renowned multiple licensee Ted Docherty has got another “pizza the action” by taking on his third pub with Greene King Pub Partners under his tailor made concept.

Ted already runs four successful food pubs, two with Greene King and is now launching the Kings Arms in Litton near Bath under the tailor made pizzas and tailor made fish banners.

Speaking about his new venture Ted says, “Our concept works because people have their favourite foods and what tailor made invites them to do is build their own dish just the way they like it, so you choose a pizza base and the rest is up to you. If you want plain cheese and tomato or sausage, squid and pineapple you can have it. The same goes for the fish dishes, choose the fillet, the size and weight, how you want it cooking and away you go. Our fresh counters display the food customers can choose to eat – they make the decisions not a faceless chef”

Ted first brought his tailor made steak and burger concept to the area at the Warwick Arms in Clutton only last year following his success at the Greene King pub, the Percy Arms in Guildford.

Adding he said, “It’s all about satisfying the customer and not keeping to a rigid menu. Customers are being far more adventurous these days and so tailor made enables them to create something different or just enjoy one of their old favourites. The result is, everyone’s happy”.

Operations director for Greene King, Steve Worrall said, “It’s brilliant to be able to work with Ted on another pub. His passion for food and customers makes every venue he opens worth a visit and we’re extremely happy that his new site is from our quality pub estate”.

The Kings Arms opens on Monday 8th June and there’s 50% off every meal for the whole of June.

Ends

Press Contact: Elaine Beckett, Public Relations Manager, Greene King Pub Partners, Tel: 07974 132844

Pub Contact: Ted Docherty, Tel: 07748 305052, http://www.tmsteaks.co.uk/