How Restaurants Can Prepare for Christmas

Book parties early

Christmas parties are big business. Everyone from city bankers to the local Sunday league football team will be planning to head out for food and drinks at some point in December, and they’re willing to spend whatever it takes to have a good time.

Making yourself an attractive proposition to these groups will be key to your festive profits. They’re going to be sounding out different options – so spread the word early that you’re taking bookings for the festive period.

Finalise your menu and send flyers to offices showcasing what you have to offer. Advertise inside and outside with chalkboards that you’re taking bookings for Christmas, and don’t forget to post on social media of your availability.

Call back people who came last year! Keep track of the parties who attend each Christmas, as well as what they spent, and call them to entice them to book with you again. You can give preference to those who spent more. This approach also gives the personal touch and will give a reminder to the group about what a great time they had last year.

Using data and making a quick phone call can play a big part in filling up your front of house early, giving you a clear picture of the amount of staff and ingredients you’ll need over the period.

TIP: A great way to take the stress out of Christmas is making sure you have all the equipment you need. From chef knives and crockery to catering appliances and consumables, our Christmas one-stop shop has everything you need to ensure you have a memorable festive season. 

Local newspapers

Utilising local newspapers is still viable and worthwhile. You can take out a traditional advert across a page for your party, or you can find a way to engineer a story to get yourself in print. Perhaps utilising both methods may work for you.

There are fewer local reporters these days due to cuts in the industry. With the increased workload on regional staff, reporters are always on the lookout for stories to fall in their lap.

Call them up telling them about your Christmas revamp and menu offering, or hire a minor celebrity to turn up to a festive ‘launch’. Or simply just offer to give an interview discussing the restaurant industry and how the market has changed in your area over the years.

The reporter can leave your contact details and the date and location of the party at the bottom of the piece, grabbing readers’ attention.

What equipment do you need?

The reliability of equipment is always going to be at the forefront of your mind, but over the festive period this becomes even more of a priority. It’s the busy season, and you will depend on equipment that gets the job done to a high standard consistently.

Nisbets has all the high quality catering equipment you’ll need to make Christmas a success. Here are some of the most important items you’ll be looking for:

1. Soup kettles or soup warmers are versatile. As well as hot holding soup, you can store and serve any liquid-based food from these kettles - such as curry, chilli, stews and gravy. This makes it great for soup starters as well as Christmas roasts. They'll also be handy for storing mulled wine and cider, sat on the end of the bar.
2. With an increased amount of covers throughout December, make sure you have crockery, cutlery and glassware in reserve to cope with the extra demand. With extra stock you'll be able to keep up with the need for faster turnover between covers.
3. Chafing dishes consist of a dish placed on a rack whilst receiving heat from a lit can of chafing fuel underneath. They are often used in static buffets and have a large capacity. Electric chafers are also available.
4. Bains marie are pans of hot water used for slow heating food in submerged steel containers. They provide heat to dishes from below, and are vital for quick service - suitable for both back and front of house.
5. Electric food warmers are perfect when presenting multiple dishes in a single sitting. They are typically designed to hold one or more gastronorm pans, and keep meals consistently heated from above and below.
6. Bar blenders are great for making festive cocktails. They're always a high margin sale, which customers are usually happy to spend a little extra on - especially on special occasions like Christmas! 

Tips from our customers

Industry writer Jackie Mitchell spoke to Nick Stafford, from The Hare and Hounds pub in Claygate, Surrey. Nick believes the most stressful part of the Christmas period is the sheer volume of customers.

He said: “Pre-orders are essential, as well as trained, smiley staff. The relentlessness of the period is hugely demanding on you and your family. You must have a competent deputy and trust them to run some of the big shifts so you can get a break.”

His tip is “early advertising and planning. If you can get everything booked up by the end of October, you can have a break from it all and this makes December much easier.”

Olivia Byrne from Eccleston Square Hotel, London, plans for Christmas well in advance.

“I work with our executive chef to create our Christmas menus in August. Starting earlier gives us more time to plan marketing campaigns to create interest online, in the press, through social media and our website."

: Extra care needs to go into planning rotas as some staff don’t want to work during Christmas. As an incentive, we offer bonuses to staff who work in the festive season.” – Olivia Byrne, Eccleston Square Hotel, London

Menu

Speak to suppliers to ensure you can source the necessary amount of ingredients. Remember to include options for vegetarians and vegans especially as food trends move increasingly towards greener eating.

You can no longer get away with just having one token veggie item; a significant amount of your customers at any given time will either be vegetarian or vegan, so give them options! They may also dictate where the group goes, so appealing to these groups is the smart move.

Host a menu tasting session in advance to give people a chance to sample different options. This will give you more data and insight into what your customers are looking for. You can discard what isn’t working and focus on the more popular choices, and you’ll also likely win over those who have shown an interest by turning up.

Staff levels

To ensure your standard of service is high, you’ll need more staff to deal with an increased number of bookings and likely bigger party sizes. If you need to recruit more staff, target local students who study away from home during term time. This is a smart tactic throughout the year because you’ll always have out-of-term cover once they’re home for a month or two.

This will be especially handy at Christmas and ensures you’re prepared for the rush. Another benefit of student help is they won’t be expecting a high salary – they’re just happy for the quick cash!

As well as bonuses, consider offering time off in the new year for people who work over the busy festive period. You’ll be surprised how many people will be willing to work more in the short-term to get the benefit further down the line. This will help staff feel their time and effort is valued, and by pitching in together there will be a greater harmony and team spirit in the group.

Social media

Promoting on social media is becoming increasingly critical to your marketing success.

Social media has connected people far and wide faster than ever before, and allows you to be visible to people who may not have even heard of you. It allows people to see what others are saying about you and – crucially – enables you to publicly reply. It’s seen as authentic – with genuine reviews from genuine everyday customers carrying more weight than normal advertisements.

Your social media page can host your address, brand imagery, interactive posts (such as daily specials), customer reviews, photos of dishes and much more.

You can use your social channels to let people know you’re available for festive bookings and give them more information on menu options, party sizes you can cater for etc. Encourage people to share your content, perhaps by offering a lucky sharer (drawn randomly) a free meal for two. This opens you up to the friends of those already interacting with your page – increasing the chances of festive bookings.

To be easily searchable on Google, you need to make sure your restaurant is listed on online maps. When people go online to research what restaurants are in their vicinity, you need to make sure you’re listed with your location, contact details and website info all available.

Food delivery services

While many people will be looking for places to book, there’s also those who are staying home and fancy treating themselves. Food delivery services are a great way to generate additional sales and profit on top of your floor space, as your serving potential goes from X amount of covers to whatever your delivery team can handle.

Another benefit of delivery is you don’t have to worry about table turnover time. Lingering customers is a major obstacle to hitting turnover targets, so without this worry you’re able to serve a wider range of customers without the pressure of having to move people on. Less pressure, more profit!

You also open yourself up to a wider range of people who would prefer to dine in the comfort of their own home. Delivery services have seen rapid growth in recent years, and they can be profitable for you all year round. Consider offering your Christmas menu throughout December to boost sales. As well as the potential for Christmas Day sales, it's easy to imagine offices ordering in on their last Friday before Christmas for a team feast.

To put this into practice you can either set up your own delivery team or do business with one of the many food delivery companies around such as Deliveroo and UberEATS. While these companies of course take their fee, they already have the infrastructure in place. It'll save you time on hiring staff as well as savings on wages, insurance etc. Of course, this also means you give up control of how the food is delivered. If any customers aren't satisfied for whatever reason, it is the delivery company that takes the hit rather than you, but ultimately your reputation can suffer. 

Another positive aspect is you might just put a smile on the face of someone who is lonely over Christmas. The interaction with the delivery person plus a heartily cooked meal can offer some contentment to people for whom Christmas may not always be the happiest time of year!

Make it feel like Christmas

It’s a special time of year and people want it to feel different than when they usually visit. Therefore you’ll need to make changes to front of house to make it cosy and Christmassy.

Music helps generate atmosphere, so create a Christmas playlist to get people in the mood. You'll be sure to put a smile on your customers' faces as they walk through the door and are greeted by the sound of festive music. It'll also help them relax and possibly increase spending if the great atmosphere encourages them to stay for that dessert! Mixing up old classics and newer hits is a great way to keep it fresh for your customers and staff alike. Take time to work out the appropriate volume so people can enjoy the music while still talking with friends and family.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a tree and decorations, and ambient lighting will always promote a cosy atmosphere. Twinkle lights will add to this. You can change other aspects of your front of house too – such as napkins, curtains and tablecloths – to something more seasonal.

Think about your customers. Do they want to feel like they're in Santa's grotto? Or would they prefer the subtle approach? There's likely a balance to be found, but everyone will be expecting you to have made an effort during the most wonderful time of the year!

Don't forget the basics

While it’s important to make the necessary changes to be a viable place for people to celebrate Christmas, it’s imperative you adhere to the basics.

Treat your customers (and staff) with respect, and make sure food is cooked (and served) to perfection. Greet customers with a smile and thank them when they leave.

Remember, this is your chance to impress a lot of new customers. Do your best to give them a great evening and you can be sure they’ll remember you next time they plan to dine out!