LUX Winter 2018

LUX - Winter 2018 23 Blending Food and Fun into One “Within the bar, we have worked hard to only create the best cocktail recipes for a wide range of customers. Our signature cocktail must be our Strawberry Daiquiri, which is frozen and hand blended using only our best Rum and fresh fruits. On a number of occasions, we have been told that we have the best daiquiri there is around. All of our bartenders are trained to the same professional high standard, enabling them to deliver perfect cocktails and drinks to all of our customers.” With the bar and restaurant industry constantly evolving, Blend ensures that it stays up to date with the necessary technology, utilising this to provide the best experience it can for customers. Rebecca informs us of the most recent and up to date technology which Blend has introduced. “In all of our venues, we use touch-screen tills which are easy to use for all of our staff, ensuring quick service for all of our clients, and no confusion with prices. Recently, adaptations in technology have led us to update to contactless card machines, including Apple pay to fasten service and cater to every customer’s needs. “Blend has always tried to stay up to date within the business and what our customers expect of us. We hold an online reviewing system across multiple different platforms, meaning we always keep our staff in touch with these reviews, enabling us to guarantee that we are improving at all times, both with food and drink service. Excitingly, the venue holds extreme amounts of five star reviews online which give the staff confidence, keeping them happy. In addition to this, we try to advertise wherever we can on social media, delivering up to date knowledge and information on our bar and restaurant to customers online.” Making sure that staff are always in the best position to provide excellent service, Blend trains employees with the specific incentive that the restaurant should be treated like home. Rebecca goes into a bit more detail on staff’s training regime. “Staff training, mixed with the help of independent professional training from our associated companies who provide wine, spirits, coffee and food is conducted to the highest standard. Subsequently, we feel that every guest that enters can rest assured their service is personal, professional and most importantly served with a smile. “Moreover, our staff are allowed creative freedom to inspire growth within the business, as we encourage them to suggest ideas on improving the business. By taking on these suggestions, we feel we can stay up to date with the needs of the venue, and this way of working is what we can attribute our weekday lunch menu to. Customers asked for a light bite on their way through to the local train station and we obliged, creating a menu for this, and it has been wonderful to see growth from something which we did not suggest.” Ultimately, looking to the future, there are exciting times ahead for the venue. The brand of Blend will continue to increase, with new venues arising around the country, and Blend will endeavour to continue delivering the best quality food for the best competitive price around.