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Checking in at Haven holiday parks is set to be a sizzling experience this summer. In an effort to make queuing more pleasurable, Haven are offering delicious BBQ options with a splash of Heinz to up to 1,000 visitors arriving at the gates every day. Walking away from the 2008 TTG Travel Awards as Best UK Operator for the second year and Best Travel Company, Haven has spent the last five years investing in better facilities, new accommodation and beautiful landscaping, and now has seven five star and 21 four star parks.
Owned by Bourne Leisure, which sits in the Sunday Times top 20 UK companies, Haven welcomes millions of visitors to its 35 parks each year. One of its key objectives is finding ways to tempt guests into eating out instead of self catering.
To achieve this, Haven has built up an impressive portfolio of trading units and franchises such as Burger King, Papa John’s and Starbucks over 40 years, as well as its own Aqua lounge-bar-cafés and Mash & Barrel, a minimalist sports bar and restaurant rolled out two years ago. Between 9am and 10pm, these latter ‘in-house’ food operations dish up 1,000 covers or more every day at each unit or 36,000 meals a day served across the chain, from British favourites to global cuisine and salads, healthy baguettes and tasty snacks.
Feeling hot, hot, hot With summer upon us, Haven is offering a great new BBQ menu, allowing visitors the freedom to enjoy themselves while someone else does the cooking. Eddie Lytton from Haven’s retail support
team said, “with the £371m UK barbecue market growing in both barbecue occasions and barbecue food sales, ‘grill fresco’ was a brilliant summer solution for seasonal business. “With such a volume and being very family orientated, you have to find ways of keeping everyone happy and in the holiday mood.”
Heinz BBQ Sauce made its debut at Haven two years ago, richly smothered on its third best selling menu option, the ‘chicken & bacon melt’. This year, the delicious US-inspired, apple-based sauce has continued its starring role on Haven’s dedicated BBQ menu.
“We are using it as a marinade on our grills and home baked ribs, and offering it as a dipping sauce for our BBQ lamb & mint burgers and BBQ chicken kebabs,” said Eddie, who has 25 years experience as a chef and is responsible for food development and training across the chain. “It is a great quality sauce and to have such a strong brand on our menus is important.”
“We work with the family firmly in mind and Heinz gives an impression of ‘safety’. A comfort to people, as everyone uses Heinz from when they were kids.”
HP Steak Sauce, designed to enrich, not blanket the taste, is on Haven’s main
menus for the second season running. It’s served with mixed grills and rump steaks as a dipping sauce in a branded ramekin. “HP Steak Sauce is very versatile,” said Eddie. “Like Heinz BBQ, it’s quick, easy to use and offers that element of trust, which is what our business is all about.”