The hospitality industry may be about providing food, drink, accommodation and service, but sometimes you have to go the extra mile to pull customers in. If you’re stuck for ideas on how to make your business more appealing take a look at what others are doing for inspiration.
Beer flights
Kinloch Lodge on the Isle of Skye has started offering beer flights to match dishes on the Michelin-starred restaurant's menu. Sixteen beers, 15 of which are from Scotland, have been selected by manager Tom Eveling to provide guests with 'a wide and gastronomically appealing list' and to run alongside the restaurant's established wine flights and malt whisky flights. Pairings include Innis & Gunn Blonde with Kinloch's seafood dish Fruits from the Loch and Ola Dubh with the restaurant's cheese course - Strathdon Blue, with prune and orange mousse, Perthshire honey jellies and savoury cinnamon syrup.
Whisky and food matching
The Monachyle Mhor Hotel has teamed up with the nearby Glengoyne Distillery to offer a range of whisky and food-matching experiences. Hosted by chef Tom Lewis and Glengoyne's Stuart Hendry, the events showcase seasonal ingredients from the Mhor Hill Farm, cottage garden and shooting estate, all paired with rare Glengoyne whiskies. The highlight is a nip of Glengoyne 40 Years Old.
Seven Michelin stars
From 6 April, the Pass at South Lodge Hotel is drafting in seven Michelin-starred chefs to head up its open kitchen. Chefs participating include John Campbell (on Friday) and Michael Wignall (Saturday). Pass head chef Matt Gillan will head up the kitchen on Sunday. Tickets are £125 per person per night, including dinner, wine flights and food demonstration.
Pie and a pint
To celebrate British Pie Week, Renaissance Pubs are offering customers pie and a pint for £10, saving them £5. Pie fillings include wild boar and chocolate; Middlewhite pork, mustard and cider; butternut squash, spinach and goat’s cheese and steak and ale and beers include Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Battersea brewed Wandle Ale and Doom Bar. The promotion will run from 1 to 14 March in The Avalon, The Stonhouse and The Abbeville in Clapham, The Bolingbroke in Battersea and The White Hart in Kennington.