Full of Easter Promise

Easter is late this year, which means you have ample preparation time to devise special promotions and themes that will bring in extra custom. This year's dates are from Friday 21 April (Good Friday) until 24 April (Easter Monday) so there's a long break to cash in on every opportunity.

Simnel Cake, Spicy Plait Loaf and Hot Cross Buns are always favourites around Easter. Silver Spoon has devised a selection of free traditional recipes to tempt customers during their afternoon tea or lunchtime snack.

Liven up Easter menus with dishes such as Chicken with Green Asparagus and Turkey Royale from Pathfinder Foods. Both uncooked, they can demand premium prices by offering a range of serving options. Or there's the Pork Escalope range from Plusfood with a choice of three crispy crumb coatings - Dijon Mustard Pork Escalope, Tomato and Herb Pork Escalope and Sage and Onion Pork Escalope.

Cakes are a must at Easter and with Orchard Farm's new muffin mixes from Watson & Philip they can be made in a jiffy. Available in plain or chocolate, they can be made straight from the mix or you can add other ingredients such as chopped glace cherries, raisins, sultanas or chocolate drops.

Highly original cakes and desserts can be made using Mars Confectionery's well-known brands. For example, M&M's can be used as an ingredient in biscuits and cakes, as well as decorating cakes, muffins and biscuits.

Mars Bar can be used in a dessert, whether it is melted over ice cream or mixed into crispy rice cereal. Celebrations Choc-olate, huge 2.5kg bulk packs, comprising miniature versions of popular confectionery brands, are a good idea as you can add that little Easter something to your customers' coffee for as little as 4p.

At Easter, customers are far more likely to splurge out on a dessert at lunch or dinner and a slice of cake at tea-time. Get the tastebuds going by serving luscious dishes such as Carrot and Orange Cake, Raspberry and Rice Pud-ding, Boston Blueberry, Kansas Chocolate Chunk, Texas Toffee Popcorn and New York Cherry, all from Fairway.

Traditional cakes are always well received such as Iced Bakewell, Fruited Tiffin, Banana Loaf. Ridings, provide an extensive range of cake slices, all pre-portioned with a long shelf life.

Chocolate is de rigueur at Easter time not only Easter eggs but also chocolatey desserts. Callebat's Chocolate Powder can be used to create many different desserts including chocolate mousse, chocolate bavarois, eclairs, profiteroles and ice cream. Get more recipe ideas from Chocolate Passion a new book containing recipes and inspiration from the kitchens of Chocolatier Magazine by Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty (John Wiley & Sons), 946. Recipes include Flourless Bittersweet Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Drizzle.

Dress up your establishment appropriately. Contact companies like Autobar and Brakes for ideas on Easter theming products.

Make sure tables are decked with appropriate material such as the designs from Decor Style, like Daffodil Yellow, Fruit Juice and Ladybird.

Organise some entertainment for customers, especially youngsters, such as an Easter egg treasure hunt or a magician performing tricks with an Easter theme.