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Author Topic: Great Western Railway: on-board catering, buffets, Travelling Chef, Pullman - ongoing discussion  (Read 629305 times)
broadgage
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« Reply #345 on: April 28, 2013, 14:41:27 »

Correct times now on FGW (First Great Western) site.
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A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
Southern Stag
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« Reply #346 on: May 16, 2013, 19:30:20 »

The Pullman breakfast menu is now available to view on the FGW (First Great Western) website, but still no mention of the additional restaurants on the page yet.

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Your-journey/On-board/Pullman/Pullman-Breakfast-Menu

The menu appears to be very similar to the Travelling Chef breakfast menu.
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bobm
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« Reply #347 on: May 16, 2013, 21:59:58 »

I notice they now have two brands of champagne on the breakfast menu.  There is now a cheaper option at ^43.   Grin
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bobm
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« Reply #348 on: May 16, 2013, 22:34:09 »

Not seen this on Journeycheck for a while.

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JayMac
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« Reply #349 on: May 17, 2013, 00:53:17 »

The Pullman breakfast menu is now available to view on the FGW (First Great Western) website, but still no mention of the additional restaurants on the page yet.

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Your-journey/On-board/Pullman/Pullman-Breakfast-Menu

The menu appears to be very similar to the Travelling Chef breakfast menu.

Major differences being the addition of the Smoked Kipper and the fact that Standard Class passengers on the 0655 from Plymouth, and stops to Taunton inclusive, can break their fast in the comfortable surroundings of a First Class coach. Subject to space.  Wink
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thetrout
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« Reply #350 on: May 17, 2013, 06:27:29 »

As a Veggie, I'd be rather disappointed to pay ^18.00 for Eggs on Toast and potentially some cereal

Why can't they offer the Vegetarian Breakfast similar to the ^7.00 Option from Travelling Chef?

Oh... And the cost of Eggs on Toast in Travelling Chef is ^4.50

That's bad... Just a marginal 300% Markup there! Undecided Lips sealed Roll Eyes Shocked
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Grin Grin Grin Grin
broadgage
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« Reply #351 on: May 17, 2013, 08:58:59 »

Looks good, I doubt that I will patronise it because I very seldom use the train question.
Hopefully others will enjoy the breakfast.

IMHO (in my humble opinion), ^18 is not bad for a full breakfast of several courses served at the table, I would certainly use it IF traveling at that time of day which is unlikely.

I remain very impressed with the evening restaurant service, each of the 3 menus contains fillet steak which is my favourite.

Does anyone know if the present menu is to stay more or less indefinatly ? or will it change with the seasons ? as previously.
I would be happy with it all year round, though something different or special for the Christmas season would be nice.
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A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
Southern Stag
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« Reply #352 on: May 17, 2013, 15:16:49 »

The details of the new restaurants are confirmed in the new compete FGW (First Great Western) timetable book, but still not mentioned in the online timetables.
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broadgage
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« Reply #353 on: May 17, 2013, 16:20:56 »

The details of the new restaurants are confirmed in the new compete FGW (First Great Western) timetable book, but still not mentioned in the online timetables.

The Pullman section of the website gives the breakfast menu, but not details of on which train this is served.
No mention either of the re-instated Pullman on the 12-06 from Paddington.

edit to add, this was true when posted, but the FGW website DOES now list all 6 services


« Last Edit: May 22, 2013, 10:02:52 by broadgage » Logged

A proper intercity train has a minimum of 8 coaches, gangwayed throughout, with first at one end, and a full sized buffet car between first and standard.
It has space for cycles, surfboards,luggage etc.
A 5 car DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) is not a proper inter-city train. The 5+5 and 9 car DMUs are almost as bad.
ChrisB
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« Reply #354 on: May 17, 2013, 17:41:46 »

Changes are afoot to the EXpress Cafe offerings too....from a staff brief supplied to the Customer Panel

Quote
EXPRESS CAF^ NEW RANGE
A new range of products will be arriving in your Express Caf^ very shortly. Most of the new items will be
available from Wednesday 29th May while a few more will filter through to you over the following week or
so.
The overall objective of the new range is to strengthen our links to the parts of the country we travel
through by using suppliers and ingredients from around our routes, to give our customers a reason for
buying their drinks and food on board by differentiating our products from what is available at or near the
station, and to make sure that what we do offer is appealing and of high quality. We have also
exchanged some products for alternatives where we have been able to get better value and thus
increase our margin, and we have made some price increases where our prices have not kept pace with
inflation in the costs of some products to us, thus improving the viability of our catering offer.
We have retained the basic range of Walkers crisps, Coke, Kit Kat, etc , but have made changes and
additions to much of the rest of the range. We have used feedback that has been gathered from you
and your colleagues and a customer host and an on board manager helped us make most of the final
selections. See what you think^.
Fresh food
We have retained the perennially popular bacon baguette. Waste of fresh food represents a huge cost
to us, so in order to try and control this better we have reduced the range of sandwiches and will now
only have two cold choices available. In order to have variety we will, however, have three different
selections which will rotate on a two weekly basis and the specification is very high quality. Each
rotation will have one meat and one non-meat choice, one in farmhouse bread and one in a roll, and only
one with mayonnaise. Many of the ingredients are from within the regions we serve. We are reducing to
one hot sandwich, in addition to the bacon baguette, focusing on the most popular type, which is ham
and cheese, and are introducing a Croque Monsieur toasted sandwich.
We are also providing a bit more interest in the range with a delicious pork pie from a small farm in
Devon, and a tasty hot savoury brioche style bread with a melted cheese and pickle topping, using
cheese from the region.
Not available for the launch on 29th May, but coming in over the next few weeks or so, we will have
Somerset cheese or a jar of p^ from Berkshire presented in a box with crackers and chutney which will
be lovely at any time of day, but particularly nice with a glass of wine.
Following comments from customer hosts, we are offering a fresh apple as a healthy snack, or to
complement our fresh food. We will, however, monitor quality and waste with this product as that has
been a problem in the past.
Baked products
We have improved the quality of the croissant, which now has a higher butter content and is delicious
and crispy when baked in the oven, and will be sold with Bonne Maman preserves. It will also be
available cold, without jam, but it must not be sold at the uncooked price and then put in the oven for the
customer, as VAT (Value Added Tax) is charged on hot food.
Various different muffins were tried, but the ones we have currently still came out as the best, but you
will see them in slightly different packaging to enable them to be displayed more effectively. A blueberry
muffin will replace banoffee. The recipe of the muffin has also been improved.
Several types of flapjack were also tasted, again our existing choice came out best, Handmade cakes is
also a regional supplier, based in Maidenhead. An addition to the range is Tregroes toffee waffles from
Wales which are sumptuous if placed on top of a hot drink, allowing the steam to melt the filling a little.
We have changed the fruit cake to one similar to the first class complimentary cake, which is baked in
Somerset, which has been going down very well with our first class customers. It is the same weight as
the current one, but contains more fruit so may appear smaller, but is more tasty and moist.
Crisps and nuts
You will see Planters nuts replacing Sun Valley. They have a better taste, the packaging is more eyecatching
and we have achieved a better margin.
We retain Walkers salt and vinegar and cheese and onion crisps, and Quavers which are especially
popular with children, but we are also listing Tyrrell^s ridged, salted crisps, a more premium product from
a regional producer.
Popcorn has become very popular as a lower fat, lower salt and fun alternative to crisps so we are trying
a sweet and salty version from Proper Popcorn which is a small company fairly recently created by a
group of young people.
Sweets
Based on feedback from yourselves, we will be carrying smaller bags of sweets, and trying some new
varieties, aimed at families with children who don^t want a large bag.
We also have some very nice mints in some robust, tamper evident packaging, again following a lot of
requests. We have taken Twirl out of the range as sales are not consistently high and we cannot
achieve a good profit margin on this product. If customer feedback tells us that we need a pure
chocolate item, we will source something to meet this demand more competitively.
Soft drinks
We have a new brand of juices, again at an improved margin and with a better taste. The Fruit Shoot is
still in the range, popular with children, but we have de-listed Lucozade as, similar to Twirl, sales are not
great and the margin is poor.
Alcoholic drinks
We have made a lot of changes to our drinks range, mainly improving quality, partly just to give variety,
and also to improve margins. We have individually selected new wines, you will see we no longer just
have the two brands, with some really attractive ones for our customers to enjoy. When we had Absolut
vodka due to a temporary supply problem with Smirnoff, many of you said how that seemed to be more
popular, especially with young people, that will now be a permanent replacement.
Market analysis shows that where two ciders are listed, overall cider sales has grown, so Bulmer^s will
be available alongside Strongbow, as appealing to a slightly different customer base. And although
Arkell^s has its loyal customers, sales of this beer are low and will be replaced by Wadworth^s 6X, also
from Wiltshire, to accompany St Austell^s Tribute.
Our two lagers will be changed for Kronenbourg 1664 and Carling, as our premium and non-premium
choices. Research among lager drinkers shows that these are regarded as comparable to Stella and
Carlsberg, this change gives us variety and a slightly better margin.
Overall, we have tried to select a more interesting and appealing range of products, to offer something a
little different from what is available in the station, and to emphasise our links to our region. Prices have
also been raised, pretty much across the range, reflecting increased costs to ourselves.
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #355 on: May 17, 2013, 20:32:45 »

Thanks for posting that useful briefing, ChrisB.

Quote
And although Arkell^s has its loyal customers, sales of this beer are low and will be replaced by Wadworth^s 6X, also from Wiltshire, to accompany St Austell^s Tribute.

Excellent news!  Grin

Quote
Prices have also been raised, pretty much across the range, reflecting increased costs to ourselves.

Hmm.  Not so excellent.  Sad
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Southern Stag
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« Reply #356 on: May 17, 2013, 23:06:31 »

No mention either of the re-instated Pullman on the 12-06 from Paddington.
The 1206 does get a mention in the complete timetable. In the changes section at the front of the timetable details of the two new restaurants are given and the restaurant symbol is displayed in the actual timetable.
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ellendune
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« Reply #357 on: May 19, 2013, 20:31:40 »

Never come across Bulmers Original?....Far, far nicer

No I must look out for it!
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #358 on: May 19, 2013, 22:45:28 »

... and that is why I prefer to be presented with the much simpler choice: Wadworth's 6X or St Austell's Tribute?  Wink Cheesy Grin
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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
bobm
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« Reply #359 on: May 19, 2013, 22:50:57 »

... and that is why I prefer to be presented with the much simpler choice: Wadworth's 6X or St Austell's Tribute?  Wink Cheesy Grin

I had the 'privilege' of being at the St Austell brewery last week and tried a new brew of theirs - Royal Albert - named after the bridge. Well worth a try!
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