Along with the prime cuts needed for steaks and Sunday roasts, the impact of higher beef prices is also affecting the offcuts and trim used in menu mainstays such as pies and burgers.
With fewer cattle coming to market both in the UK and globally, Lynx expects beef to buck the general downward inflation trend this year and into 2016. The issue is spotlighted in the newly-published Spring 2015 edition of the Lynx Purchasing Market Forecast.
Lynx managing director John Pinder said, “As often happens, caterers are getting the blunt end of the price pressure that major supermarkets put on suppliers, which is an international issue and not simply confined to the UK market.
“While customers eating out expect beef to occupy a premium slot at the top of the menu pyramid, there can’t be too big a jump between the mid-price and premium dishes on offer. We’re recommending to our customers that they look at alternatives to beef to deliver the all-important ‘wow factor’ at prices that don’t deter their customers.”
With lamb prices also at a seasonal high, recommendations for main courses on spring menus featured in Market Forecast include:
• Pork – although in higher demand due to the popularity of BBQ dishes, the Russian ban on EU pig imports has increased supply
• Fish and seafood: flat fish including brill and Dover sole, along with lobster and crab from British waters, will be good value over the coming months.
The Lynx Purchasing Market Forecast combines official inflation data with insight from across the range of suppliers Lynx works with. Lynx Puchasing works with more than 2200 businesses including hotels, pubs, restaurants, healthcare and education providers.