Pubs stepping up with renewed focus on seasonality, local produce and immersive experiences to attract diners
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Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson, former National Executive Chef for a major national hotel chain and now much in demand as a consultant to the industry, brings us his fresh insights on the state of play in the Aussie pub market as it gears up for the year ahead.
“The industry is undergoing an interesting evolution right now,” Gary tells us. “I’ve been having a look around and hearing from my contacts in the pub sector, and the consensus is we are starting to become a little more bold, a little more brazen in our dining approach moving forward. Looking back over the past few years, the Covid pandemic certainly shook pubs up a little and made us really drill down to the basics – but now we’ve come out of that, we’ve re-established and re-emerged stronger than ever.
“We are starting to become a little more bold, a little more brazen in our dining approach moving forward”
CHEF GARY JOHNSON SERVING UP IN THE BUSY PUB ENVIRONMENT
“The old saying what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger seems truer than ever – pubs have come out the other side of Covid stronger than ever and that’s clear to see. It’s been a lot more difficult in other areas of foodservice – for example, some cafes are struggling; there used to be a dozen within a one k radius of where I live, but we’ve seen more and more folding.”
Top pub dining trends for 2025
Gary says one of the reasons for the pub market’s increased strength is its willingness to embrace change, especially with regard to recognising the need to make hospitality a more attractive job prospect.
“Management incentives are becoming more common now – it might be part of a package specifically for chefs, F&B managers and so on; before you might have had 10 in the kitchen and now you have eight, and while we might have made menus a little smaller to decrease labour requirements, we still have to make sure that those eight are either the best or the employees with the most potential we can find.
“Pub owners and operators have realised the need to attract and retain good people and that you are only as good as the people around you”
“A lot of employers in the pub market have been clever enough to recognise this and position themselves as employers of choice – they’re offering discounts, added extras and better work-life balance, because pub owners and operators have realised the need to attract and retain good people and that you are only as good as the people you have around you.”
On the pub dining front, Gary has identified his top trends as we enter 2025:
“Sustainability is still high on the cards – I’m seeing a lot more focus on this now, and the game has changed to a certain extent in that there’s more emphasis than ever before on eco-friendly practices – such as zero food waste and repurposing of ingredients. I think customers are looking to the market to make sustainable choices: they might be making these themselves at home, but when they’re dining out they want ‘sustainability by proxy’ – in other words, they want to know the venue is acting responsibly in this regard. So they’ll choose a venue which uses bamboo boxes over one which still has plastic containers – the onus for sustainability is being pushed back to business owners and corporates by the dining public.
“Indigenous ingredients are also coming more to the fore. Australian chefs have become increasingly familiar with the use of native ingredients and you see them more and more on the pub menu – from Kakadu plums to finger limes, bush tomatoes and wattleseed. Those First Nations inspired dishes are becoming popular all the way from the bush to the burbs and the beaches.
“Health and wellness as a dining trend is being driven by the Gen-Zers; we still have that constant focus on some flexitarian dishes, but there’s more of a demand now for transparent, nutrient rich menus including organic, gluten free and low calorie. There’s an increasing consumer preference for ‘food as medicine’ – not as a functional ingredient but to meet essential nutrient needs. Hence we’re seeing the rise of fermented foods like kimchi, kombucha and kefir bring featured on menus and praised for their health benefits as well as their unique flavour profiles.”
“There’s an increasing consumer preference for ‘food as medicine’ – not as a functional ingredient but to meet essential nutrient needs”
A focal point which died down a little as a result of the pandemic but is now strengthening again is that of experiential dining, often tied into special events – an area which Gary says the pub market is ideally placed to capitalise upon.
“A lot of pubs are coming up with unique and immersive dining experiences and scheduling them for those quieter nights throughout the week. These can be interactive cooking classes, themed events – they’re all becoming more popular as customers seek out memorable experiences. It’s almost a new paradigm in where to eat – it’s all about the whole experience, from the google search to the menu presentation, the meet and greet, the Instagram promise right down to the quality-price-value-ambience equation, and the list goes on.
“I think it’s our version of nose to tail and it’s reminding people that pubs have always been and still are community hubs – their teams have evolved, their customer base has changed, a lot of factors have influenced their evolution, but this foundation has always stayed the same.
“The other thing I’m seeing now is that as a lot of us have more access to AI and data analytics, we’re using these technologies to help our businesses personalise experiences. They say anybody without data is just another person with an opinion … so rather than say, ‘show me the money’ we might say ‘show me the data’ as this informs us when it comes to optimising operations, streamlining costs and maximising inventory management efficiencies.
“This means we can better respond to the challenges and learnings of the past few years – like the tightening economy and shrinking labour pool. I think as a result the pub sector has become a lot leaner and more commercially focused.”
Classic pub dishes return, reimagined
Back to pub food itself, Gary says that with the change of seasons to summer, fusion and rustic cuisine is coming to the fore on pub menus. “We’re seeing pubs embrace more bold, global flavours – Thai-Australian, Korean-Australia, a bit of Filipino – we’re seeing banana ketchup, kalamansi pickle, marinated barbecue skewers, charcoal spit roasts, all those kinds of elements which boast big and bold flavours.
“And here’s where the pub market is able to capitalise on its in-house expertise, because we have a lot of head chefs of all different ethnicities in our pubs and they’re been encouraged to experiment and add dishes from their own cuisine into the specials or the menu.”
At the same time, Gary says there’s a resurgence of the classic pub dishes, albeit elevated. “Chicken parmas and steaks are evolving, thanks to the use of creative sauces, toppings and new cooking techniques such as woodfired grills. Even our burgers are being transformed into culinary showpieces – the comfort food element is still there, but there’s also a little something extra on the menu for those customers adventurous enough to want to try what is coming up. And the use of premium ingredients with these is very important as well.”
Many pubs are also upping their game when it comes to presentation – “especially on midweek nights, we’re seeing elevated dining experiences in terms of more polished presentation,” Gary affirms. “You don’t see so many white plates in the pubs anymore – instead we’re going for pottery platters, wooden boards, the kind of contemporary approach which is appealing to the eye.
“We all eat with our eyes first and the food needs to marry up with that – it’s a casual fine dining approach, as opposed to a handful of chips with a steak on top. The plating has to reflect this so it’s taking another step up – what customers appreciate is simple excellence with quality ingredients, done well. If you can serve that consistently, you’re onto a winner.”
On the beverage side, Gary says with so many local brews now available, beer and food pairings are back with a vengeance. “We’re seeing really good quality craft beers paired with great food – even curated beer tasting events, like degustation nights where you’ll have three or four dishes paired with beers, then finish with a chocolate dessert paired with a dark stout.
Local sourcing and seasonal menus
“I think if you can build your relationships with local suppliers for your menu sourcing, throw in a local craft beer or wine – you can do a degustation night three or four times a year with a seasonal focus, such as focusing on beers in the summer and wine in the winter. They’re always well-received as long as they’re affordable to your customer base.
“If you can put together a selection of courses with a couple of drinks and it’s under $100 a head, you’re assured of an audience. And I like to think these events add a certain lustre to your marketing as well – you can generate some great word of mouth that circulates within the local community.”
“We’re adapting our menus to highlight ... the freshest produce available”
Hand in hand with this trend is the focus on locally sourced ingredients and seasonal menus. “I think the focus on local and even hyperlocal sourcing ties in with the growing emphasis on sustainability, and we’re seeing leading pubs featuring more farm to table produce and artisanal goods like made on premises beverages.
“We’re adapting our menus to highlight not only those ingredients but also the freshest produce available throughout the year, which attracts our customer base and gives them confidence that we’re not only delivered a great experience but trusted value too.
Cocktails came to the fore on pub and restaurant menus alike in recent years and Gary says this is still a strong driver among particular customer demographics. “Now that summer’s upon us, negronis for the guys are quite popular as are pop spritzers and champagne cocktails for the ladies - the 20 to 40 year old set are hitting the cocktail menus and a lot of customers are choosing venues on the basis of the cocktails they serve.
“And we’re also seeing better quality wines being served in our pubs – we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to wine and they’re being landed at pretty good prices right now, so it's the perfect time to be collaborating with local winemakers and sourcing some great drops.”
