Inventive revolutionises food offering
The menu, which forms part of the next chapter of Inventive’s £7m investment in its Evolution project, will capitalise on the group’s 12 per cent year-on-year growth in food sales by giving customers a greater choice.
It is supported by the appointment of Mark Rush as Revolution’s new executive chef, joining the business from Bramwell Pub Company.
“We know from customer feedback that the quality of the food was already good,” said Rush. “However, we wanted to evolve the current menu by making it even more innovative and to take the quality to the next level, befitting the calibre of our high-end bars.
“This new menu perfectly complements the Revolution brand and style, while also capitalising on the huge trend for casual dining.”
Customer feedback
Inventive Leisure’s research unveiled that the Revolution brand’s female following preferred smaller plates, so a selection has been included on the new menu, featuring dishes such as crispy goats cheese bonbons, panko fried chicken strips and katsu king prawns.
The menu also capitalises on the increased demand for American cuisine sweeping the UK, with sliders, pulled pork, a wide variety of burgers and ‘The Dirty Dog’ hot dog which features a premium bockwurst sausage in a 10-inch brioche roll with chipotle pulled pork, French mustard, ketchup and crispy onions served with skin-on fries.
Customers will also find a selection of dishes offering an ‘edgy Eastern’ flavour, such as ‘Revolution Noodles’, featuring a bowl of ramen broth with shitake mushrooms, sugar snap peas, red pepper, spring onion and bok choi, plus chicken Katsu curry with sticky jasmine rice served with a house salad. Those looking for healthier choices can opt for a selection of lighter bites, salads and a choice of wraps and flatbreads instead of sandwiches.
Rush, who also previously worked at Pizza Express, added: “We’ve really placed the customer at the heart of this menu – they’re very engaged with the brand, love that we ask for their feedback and in turn give them choices.
“To give you an example, we asked our database what they’d like to have as a side accompaniment to their burgers – coleslaw or gherkins. A massive 67 percent of respondents opted for coleslaw, so of course we added it to the menu.”
Americanised offerings
The unveiling of the new menu from Inventive Leisure comes shortly after Fayre & Square, the family pub offering from Spirit Pub Company launched its own more Americanised menu which features dishes such as the All-American Hotdog, Double-Chicken Waffle Burger and Onion Ring Stacker.
And in October, fellow pub operator Fuller’s opened the doors of its new ‘raw and exciting’ concept in Putney, with an American diner theme that could be rolled out to other venues if successful.
Inventive, which employs 2,500 employees and has a turnover in excess of £110m, believes ongoing engagement with its customers is the key to Revolution’s success.
A dedicated microsite with a ‘food trucks’ theme has therefore been set up to entice customers to view the individual dishes under their relevant categories: ‘Kitchen Revolution,’ ‘Burgers & Dogs,’ ‘Healthy’ and ‘Small Plates & Sharing’.
To launch the site, customers have been given the opportunity to enter a competition to win one of 7,000 prizes, plus free meals for a month. In the four days since the microsite was launched, 15,000 customers have signed up the initiative.
