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Burns Night... A poetic solution to beat the winter blues Burns Night is without doubt one of the fastest growing calendar events in the foodservice industry and with good reason.  Consumers love traditional celebrations and whilst Burns Night is traditionally celebrated in Scotland in honour of their national poet Robert Burns, more and more eateries across the UK are seizing the opportunity of the celebrating Burns Night to extend sales after a busy festive period and help customers beat the winter blues.  If you’d like ideas, recipes or product inspiration to host your own Scottish Theme Night then simply speak with your rep or take a look around our Google+ page (http://bit.ly/1AEITqx) where we’ve got lots of recipes & ideas. Burns Night is celebrated in various ways but traditionally the evening takes the following format:  Guests are welcomed to the Burns supper with traditional bag pipes. When the guests have all arrived they are welcomed by the host, who gives a brief overview of what Burns Night is about and declares the event open.   All the guest are seated and all join in the Selkirk Grace: “Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, And sae let the Lord be thankit.” The first course is served, usually a Scottish broth or Cock-a-Leekie Soup. Piping of the Haggis… everyone stands as the main course is brought in. This is always a haggis on a large dish. It is usually brought in by the cook, generally while a piper plays. The host then addresses the haggis with the following: “Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, _
Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!
_ Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
_ Painch, tripe, or thairm:
_ Weel are ye worthy o' a grace
_ As lang's my arm. _The groaning trencher there ye fill,
_ _Your hurdies like a distant hill,
_ _Your pin wad help to mend a mill
In time o need,
_ While thro your pores the dews distil _
Like amber bead._ His knife see rustic Labour dight, _
An cut you up wi ready slight,_ _
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
_ _Like onie ditch;
_ _And then, O what a glorious sight,
_ Warm-reekin, rich! Then, horn for horn, they stretch an strive: 
Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive,_ _
Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve_ _
Are bent like drums;
_ _The auld Guidman, maist like to rive,
_ 'Bethankit' hums. Is there that owre his French ragout, _
Or olio that wad staw a sow,_ _
Or fricassee wad mak her spew
_ Wi perfect scunner, _
Looks down wi sneering, scornfu view
_ On sic a dinner? Poor devil! see him owre his trash, 
As feckless as a wither'd rash,
_ _His spindle shank a guid whip-lash,
_ His nieve a nit;_ 
Thro bloody flood or field to dash,
_ O how unfit! _But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
_ _The trembling earth resounds his tread,
_ _Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
_ He'll make it whissle; _
An legs an arms, an heads will sned,
_ Like taps o thrissle. _Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
_ And dish them out their bill o fare, _
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
_ That jaups in luggies: _
But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
_ Gie her a Haggis The haggis is then served with mashed potatoes (tatties) and mashed neeps (A Scottish 'neep' is an English 'swede'). A dessert course, cheese courses and coffee may also be part of the meal. The courses normally use traditional Scottish recipes. For instance, dessert may be cranachan or Tipsy Laird (whisky trifle) followed by oatcakes and cheese, all washed down with the "water of life" (uisge beatha) – Scotch whisky. When the meal reaches the coffee stage various speeches and toasts are given. In order, the core speeches and toasts are as follows. Immortal memory One of the guests gives a short speech, remembering some aspect of Burns' life or poetry. This may be light-hearted or intensely serious. A good speaker always prepares a speech with his audience in mind, since above all the Burns' supper should be entertaining. Everyone drinks a toast to Robert Burns. Appreciation The host will normally say a few words thanking the previous speaker for his speech and may comment on some of the points raised. Toast to the Lassies This was originally a short speech given by a male guest in thanks to the women who had prepared the meal. However, nowadays it is much more wide-ranging and generally covers the male speaker's view on women. It is normally amusing but not offensive, particularly bearing in mind that it will be followed by a reply from the "lassies" concerned. The men drink a toast to the women's health. Reply to the Laddies This is occasionally (and humorously) called the "Toast to the Laddies" and, like the previous toast, it is generally quite wide-ranging nowadays. A female guest will give her views on men and reply to any specific points raised by the previous speaker. Like the previous speech, this should be amusing, but not offensive. Quite often the speakers giving this toast and the previous one will collaborate so that the two toasts complement each other. Works by Burns After the speeches there may be singing of songs by Burns – Ae Fond Kiss, Parcel o' Rogues, A Man's a Man, etc. – and more poetry – The Twa Dugs, Holy Willie's Prayer, etc. This may be done by the individual guests or by invited experts, and it goes on for as long as the guests wish and may include other works by poets influenced by Burns, particularly poets writing in Scots.  Closing Finally the host will call on one of the guests to give the vote of thanks, after which everyone is asked to stand, join hands, and sing Auld Lang Syne bringing the evening to an end. —— Whether you decide to take the formal format or just simply offer a Scottish themed menu for the evening, the emphasis should be on the quality of the food and the drink.  A menu of traditional Scottish food is paramount and as well as those listed above could include bacon broths, gammon tartlets and pork and cider pie; making the food offer as varied as possible will attract those who don’t like haggis. If you don’t have a wide selection of Scottish whisky then it may be worth looking at investing in some and making them a key element of the evening.  It’s essential that all staff know who Robert Burns is and why you’re celebrating it… and dressing everyone in kilts on the night can only add to the success of the evening.  Hiring a bag pipe player and a local theatrical performer to act as the host are expensive options, but could make your Burns night event one that customers will remember for a long time to come. #tfsMenuInspiration #MenuInspiration #tfsBusinessTips #January #BurnsNight #Scottish #Haggis https://plus.google.com/107243509942555646923/posts/gGdZcBMq9RU

Twitter… and how it can work for your catering business Fast Twitter Facts: 44% of companies have acquired a customer using Twitter* 21% of the world’s Internet population use Twitter every month* Nando’s is the most followed brand in the UK* Whatever the size of your business, from a chain of restaurants to a sandwich delivery service, a small café or an events catering company, marketing is vitally important to stand out from the competition and ensure you have a constant stream of new customers. One of the newest and most hyped forms of marketing is Twitter. Everyone is doing it… celebrities, MP’s, big consumer brands and ordinary people like us, and whilst the media give it a bad press, it can be a great way to build loyalty, offer instant promotions and demonstrate how you’re different, all in 140 characters.  So if you’ve not yet taken to flight and twittering away, here are some things to take into consideration when Who are you? Keep in mind that your business name or brand on Twitter is associated with your twitter name so choose it carefully. Your chosen name will appear beside all of your tweets and it is how people will identify you on Twitter. The profile you set up is equally important. Make sure to tell people where they can find you by giving them enough information about your business such as your location, your website and a little overview about who you are and what you do. Your Twitter profile photo is a square photo that appears next to every tweet you send so it should represent your brand (if your company is just you as an individual than use a personal photo, if it is your company logo, you can use that).  Your Twitter profile header is very similar to a Facebook cover photo and should help tell the story of your business, whether it’s a photo of your premises, your food offering or your staff. Make sure to complete your profile completely.  Who to follow… and be followed A good starting point is to follow people that you know are already on Twitter and are your customers. Follow your suppliers, your retailers, your contractors and anyone who deals within your industry… even your competition. Trade and professional organisations for your industry and trade magazines are great to follow too as they may tweet something interesting that you want to re-tweet to your followers.  When you send a tweet, or reply to one it is going out into the public domain, so be very measured about what you say. Don’t say anything that is likely to damage your businesses reputation or indeed your own.  You can mention someone using the @ symbol before their twitter name if it is something of interest or of credit to them. Retweeting (RT) is a message that another twitter user has created and sent but you are allowed to share it with people who follow you and you deem that message is relevant to them. You can send private messages if you need to using the DM (Direct Message) function.  What should I tweet? Twitter is a platform for sharing just like all social media. Use this platform to tell your story, your history, where you’re going so your followers can join you on your journey.  You can use it to announce daily specials, discounts and deals, or even simple things about a slight change in your opening hours. The trick is to keep the tone of voice as ‘chatty’, as though you’re having a conversation with a friend.  You can tweet just about anything… links to your website, menus, press cuttings, your blog or even photographs of your delicious cakes… or if you’re feeling brave, you could add links to video content on your website of you preparing a special dish!  Twitter is also a good place to get feedback from your clients. Encourage questions and client tweets about their experiences with you so their followers also hear and read about you. What’s a #hashtag? Hashtags are used to identify a common topic or theme and people search for them on Twitter. A good example is #GBBO which is easily recognised as the Great British Bake Off! However, more common terms such as #catering are also searched for finding relevant content. You can create your own unique hashtag for your own marketing purposes and to help people find your company as well as any conversations about it. Give people information that is useful to them and relevant. Information that will answer their questions and give them tips. This will make you a valuable tweeter and a member of their community - an important first step to winning a new customer. Once you gain confidence using Twitter you can begin to start measuring your Twitter performance results and focus on building your Twitter community. Social media is a great way to communicate with your current client base as well as potential customers.  Handy tip: If you’re very busy during the day, you can schedule your tweets using the app TweetDeck – check it out at www.tweetdeck.com * Source www.phewinternet.co.uk #twitterforcatering   #tfsBusinessTips https://plus.google.com/107243509942555646923/posts/eLY8HTtLkbB