Over the winter when the park was closed I eventually had time to look at the improvements and changes that we made in Duffy's in the 2005 season and see what was successful. Below are few that proved big hits.

Picnics in the meadow were very popular especially throughout the summer holidays. Some customers come back several times for picnics, they were popular as surprises for birthdays - not only have they come and had an enjoyable day out, they also had lunch provided in the meadow where it is so peaceful and private, without having the hassle of carrying the hamper around and clearing it all away, as it is all done by Duffy's staff.

The ice cream trike (as mentioned in my October article) was a winner; children loved it! (and grown ups too). We have some new ice creams being introduced this year - New Forest Ice Creams have a new range called 'Supremes'. When the representative came to show me the new stock she bought some samples and unfortunately I had to try all of them (hard life isn't it). They were delicious, made in Belgium with real dairy ice cream and coated in Belgian chocolate, 5 different flavours, not to be missed. Yum!

The BBQ was also successful again on warm days. Even if you aren't hungry you can't resist the smell of burgers! Especially if the wind is in the right direction and blowing towards the car park so that the hot dogs and burgers are the first thing you smell, before you even enter the grounds.

Looking ahead.

Over the closed season we gave Duffy's a fresh new look, with a lick of paint, new tablecloths/lampshades/curtains (well the old curtains dyed green) and heaters installed which has made such a difference especially with this cold spell we have been having - we find after the 2pm demonstration we are overcome with customers wanting to thaw out with a hot chocolate next to the radiator before they go and watch the last demo!

Soup, lasagne, cakes, and Gemma behind the till

Also over winter we looked through lots of recipe books to gather some ideas for the 'hot dish of the day' for the season ahead. We are limited to what we can do due to the size of the kitchen and also the time in which customers have to eat; people tend to watch the 12pm demo and then all come in for lunch and disappear to watch the 2pm demo. We were after food that we can cook and prep before and serve quickly so people are finished in time to wonder up to the meadow for the next display. So food like meatballs and mash, giant Yorkshire puddings filled with mash sausages and gravy, cottage pie and lasagne so far have proven to be a great success, as have our homemade soups.

We have a large number of members who visit us 3 or 4 times a month (some even more). I therefore wanted to increase the range of foods on offer so that members and customers who visit us on a regular basis notice changes to the menus and have a bit of variety. So introducing the breakfast menu, having a different hot dish on every day, and having a selection of homemade soups etc will hopefully achieve this.

I have really enjoyed my first season in Duffy's. Although I have worked here before, while I was at college a few years ago, this was my first season as manager. It was ever so daunting at first as I knew how busy it gets in the summer and at weekends, and having not only to organise myself but my staff as well, making sure that they were up together with any changes, was really scary for me. But my staff were great and there was so much support from the rest of the staff here at the trust, and also from the members. The winter season for me was fun and gave me time to look at ideas and what I wanted for 2006, but I couldn't wait to open on Feb 11th and start the season off again. Now all I'm hoping for is some warmer weather!!