Richard Turner launches pre-pay 'Ticket' system

Chef Richard Turner of Turners Restaurant in Harbourne, Birmingham is to this week launch a pre-payment facility that will allow guests to pre-book their meal and save over 20%.

There is often a high perception of Michelin dining to be expensive but with high overheads, attentive service and often small venues, margins are tight and diners not always turning up means costs do remain high.

Richard said: “Being a Michelin restaurant can be considered to be a bit of a double edged knife, diners expect the best in service, food and the highest quality fixtures, fittings and of course tableware, but often don’t choose to dine at such restaurants as they perceive them to be expensive.

“But to service the demands of customers we need to keep ahead of the game and maintain high staff levels to attend to their needs at every service, and being one of the smallest Michelin Restaurants in the UK with just 28 covers our costs remain high - then if they decide not to turn up without letting us know, it can make the difference between a profit or loss on certain services.”

So to help solve this problem Tuners have adopted the American ‘Ticket-System’ of booking. Diners can book early at their chosen time by visiting the restaurant’s ‘Turners Ticket’ website page direct and can save over 20% on the Simply Turners a la carte menu – normally 5 dish a la carte menu for £55, will be just £45 per person on a Thursday night.

With the Simply Turners menu guests will enjoy dishes such as Ceviche hand dived scallop and salt baked beetroot, line caught John Dory with roast langouistine, and Richard’s renowned rhubarb crumble soufflé.

The system was first trialled in Chicago at renowned 3 Michelin Star restaurant and has now resulted in no shows being reduced and customer value increased.

Richard said: "UK diners have a different approach, so I thought we would trial it for a few weeks until the end of May - I guess you could say it’s a 'pop-up' trial offer"

“We may upset a few people with this Thursday Pre-pay system, but I’ve never been one to make decision lightly and at Turners it’s all about the food, but to make the perfect omelette you have to crack a few eggs.”

More information visit www.turnersrestaurantbirmingham.co.uk Twitter @TurnersRestBrum