8 minute read
Coral Island Blackpool family arcade and dining complex geared for growth.
RIDE OF A LIFETIME
Under the watchful eye of Mark Fox, Blackpool’s Coral Island family arcade and dining establishment is geared up for nothing but highs in 2022.
With almost 40 years of catering experience, including nine years as a Royal Air Force chef, Mark Fox describes his time as a caterer as a “roller-coaster ride” - a very appropriate description, given his current role as senior food and beverage operations manager of Coral Island, Blackpool’s largest entertainment and dining venue, and Europe’s biggest arcade.
“I joined Coral Island 22 years ago now. There have been plenty of ups and downs but it’s been great,” Mark says. “I love the diversity. No two days are the same.” Part of what makes life so exciting at Coral Island is the array of different dining venues on the site which vary from smart tableservice restaurants to family-orientated snack bars and fi sh and chip shops.
THE LOWDOWN
CORAL ISLAND, BLACKPOOL
Outlet Coral Island, Central Promenade, Blackpool Format Dining and entertainment venue Established: 1978 Caterer Mark Fox, Senior Food and Beverage Operations Manager Time as catereer 39 years
PEGGY'S
CAPTAIN JACK'S
“We have seven different food and drink outlets, including three fi sh and chip shops. We offer takeaways, a nightclub and three different restaurants, each offering a different style of experience,” explains Mark.
“We have Peggy’s which is a very busy family-orientated cafeteria style operation that seats 300 diners. Food sits under hot lights and diners pick what they like. It’s very budget-focused and one of its key USPs is that a family of four can eat for just £11.
“There is signifi cant demand in Peggy’s for our range of kids meals, especially as ‘Kids Eat Free at Coral Island. That’s a big part of our USP and we give away over 100,000 free meals to kids each year!”
All of Mark's curries, pies, lasagnes and braised steaks are made fresh. The business buys the ingredients from Booker and produces the dishes by hand inhouse, helping set Coral Island apart from competitors.
“Then we have Captain Jack’s, a higher end table-service operation with more of a steak and rib focus and 60 covers," continues Mark. “However, our busiest outlet is The Buccaneer Family Bar and Restaurant which does 380 covers.
“It’s more of a pub-style operation and it’s styled like a Captain’s library, featuring walls adorned with sculpted pirate portraits and treasures hidden in the fl oorboards. Diners queue to get in every day during the summer months. It requires very careful management and we have to be exceptionally organised in our kitchens
MARK'S SPECIAL BOARD
SLICK AND QUICK
We believe speed of service will be key in 2022. We aim to get food out in under 20 minutes.
HOME COMFORTS
Homemade dishes can really set your venue apart and is one of our key USPs.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
We have removed a number of extra toppings and complications to help simplify things for our serving and kitchen staff in 2022.
to keep the wait on food and queues at the door down.”
Mark’s military background helped him implement a rigorous management style that was put to good use in 2021 when lockdown rules were finally eased and cooped-up British holidaymakers flocked to Blackpool.
“2021 was an incredible year considering the challenges," he recalls. “We couldn't get going again until May but still had a phenomenal year. We are anticipating an extremely busy 2022. Even with restrictions relaxed I don’t believe holidaymakers will have the same levels of confidence travelling abroad that they did pre-pandemic, so many will still choose to holiday in the UK."
To streamline the business to cope with growing demand, Mark and his team undertook a lot of work to make things run more smoothly and take the pressure off the kitchen teams. “Staffing has been a challenge and in 2021 we undertook a forensic analysis of menus and operations to continue delivering the highest levels of service and quality despite the difficulties," he explains. “The big thing for us was to get rid of things that added time and complexity. So we stopped up-selling and removed a number of the optional extra toppings on things like burgers and fries. There are a number of reasons, chief of which is that upselling slows transactions down and we just want to turn as many tables as possible.
"The second main reason was to simplify things for our kitchen staff. Huge menus and optional extras mean there’s an hour wait on food because the kitchen staff can’t turn it all around."
Mark says the business will carry these learnings over into 2022. "For us," he says, "2022 will all be about getting the food from fridge to kitchen to plate in the most efficient way. We are currently working to get the food out in under 20 minutes. We have to remember that our diners are here on holiday and having fun, it’s crucial that they go away with a positive feeling. For the amount of meals that we serve, which is more than 1,000 a day in the Buccaneer alone, plus a further 800 on a Sunday when we do a carvery, we do a pretty amazing job."
Getting all these plans in place now will be crucial to the success of the business in 2022, believes Mark. And the changes don't stop there. “We’ll also be making a number of changes to our menus, including the removal of certain dishes such as loaded fries," he says. "It sounds odd to take something off that sells, but there’s no doubt that it will help to take pressure off the kitchen."
Additionally, Mark doesn't envisage changing the menus once the season gets into full swing: "We are aiming to have all the menus prepared for the end of March, which is when Blackpool starts to get busy again, and they will stay more or less the same all season. In high season we expect
Mark on business
to be far too busy to offer any new specials.”
Booker’s continued support will certainly play a key role in Mark’s quest for perfection. “Booker is our biggest supplier," he comments. "The vast majority of our food and drink products come from Booker. We take at least three pallets a day, including all of our frozen chips. We’re on 300 cases a week plus 300 sacks of fresh potatoes for the chip shops.
“I have two CDMs who look after me and are invaluable. If there’s ever a problem, I know I can ring them and it
1000
meals served a day
RULES OF ATTRACTION
CORAL ISLAND
Getting ready for a sizzling summer
As one of the UK’s premier holiday destinations, the seaside town of Blackpool benefits from a huge seasonal trade. In fact, 18 million people visited the town in 2019 and thanks to a £1m investment by the local council to “kick-start tourism” post-lockdown, footfall on the seafront during July and August 2021 was more than 60% ahead of pre-pandemic levels. With views on the VisitBlackpool website currently 1.2m ahead of 2019, catering venues such as Coral Island are anticipating a sizzling summer of sales in 2022.
Coral Island is implementing several initiatives to streamline its operations ahead of the summer season in a bid to offer diners the highest possible levels of service and quality.
gets sorted. That gives you tremendous peace of mind. I also buy a lot of fish from Booker for the fish and chip shops. I buy ‘Shatter Packs’ which are frozen at sea and offer great quality." Mark says that fish and chips is probably the best-selling item across the whole site. Peggy’s snack bar alone sells 18,000 portions a year!
Mark’s focus for 2022 will remain fixed on “stabilising the business,” honing it to its streamlined best. However, plans are afoot for exciting developments in 2023. “Next year the plan is to extend a couple of restaurants,” he concludes.
“We’d like to increase the size of Captain Jack’s threefold. It had a great 2021 but it’s only 60 covers and we want to take it to 180 and run it 12 months of the year. It will be no small feat but we think it will be well worth it.
“Fortunately, I work with a great team and together with them and the support of Booker I’m sure we’ll make a great success of it. It will certainly be a great ride!”
