One of the challenges for Mark Flynn when he joined the Vine Inn pub in Dunham Massey, near Altrincham, nine months ago, was how to attract more diners on a Tuesday evening, as business was so slow.
He decided an Indian theme night would be a good idea, so started doing some research. "I knew I wanted to offer authentic freshly cooked food - none of this 'boil in the bag' stuff," he said.
He saw various Indian products in the Fairway Foodservice catalogue, 713, and so worked with Sue Oxley from Lloyds Food Service on the development of The Vine's Authentic Indian Menu. "We buy Fairway products from Lloyds Food Service," he explains.
The pub started running the Indian evening in April on one Tuesday a month, but it proved so successful that the themed evenings are held weekly on Tuesday evenings. On average, the evenings attract 40 to 50 people. All items on the menu are individually priced. "We didn't want to offer a package price - a curry and a drink for a set price - as we thought that was too commercial," he says.
The evenings have been so successful that Mark is looking at the possibility of introducing Oriental themed evenings. "It's in the pipeline," he says. "I would say that you need to do a lot of research before you go ahead with promotions like this to see if the market is there."
Food at the pub is served from 12 noon to 2pm and from 6pm to 8pm, with Sunday as the busiest day. There are three rooms off the main bar which seats about 80 people, although the pub does have a large beer garden for a further 80 people, which does a tremendous barbecue trade in the summer.
"As we're in a small village, we get a lot of regulars and word of mouth works wonders," he adds.
Mark buys in the Indian Gourmet Selection from Fairway, 714, including mini bhajis and samosas; the Indian Appetiser Selection such as chicken korma parcels and jalfrezi chicken parcels, as well as items like pilau rice, Thai coconut rice and naan bread.
All the curries are made from scratch; Mark marinates the meat on the Monday using Uncle Ben's marinades like tikka madras and balti marinade from MasterFoodServices, 715, and the curries are made on the Tuesday such as Beef Madras and Chicken Tikka Masala.
Mark's meat supplier is J.S. Bartons, 716, which supplies lamb, steak, chicken, beef and liver, while fruit and vegetables come from Readyveg, 717. "The quality is excellent from both these suppliers," adds Mark.
Fish is purchased from C&G Neve, 718, which supplies a full range of fish including haddock and salmon. "I'm looking at the idea of roast cod with butterbeans," says Mark. "At the moment, we don't have a problem sourcing any species of fish."
Desserts are bought in from Fairway Foodservice, 719, such as Treacle Sponge, Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch, Chocolate Fudge, Chocolate Truffle Torte and Bramley Apple Pie.