Explore Cooks Calendar, your guide to seasonal ingredients and upcoming food celebrations. Plan your menus with ease for the months ahead!
As summer gives way to autumn, September is the perfect time to refresh your menu with comforting flavours, seasonal British produce and hearty customer favourites. It's a month that celebrates quality ingredients, from organic produce and artisan sourdough to mushrooms, lamb and late-summer blackberries. With customers embracing cosier dining experiences, there's plenty of opportunity to introduce warming specials, showcase locally sourced ingredients and take part in fundraising events that bring communities together. Whether you're adding a limited-time dish, promoting seasonal bakes or creating a themed menu, September's food awareness days are a fantastic way to keep your offering fresh, drive footfall and inspire customers to try something new.
With blackberries at their seasonal best, National Blackberry Day is a great opportunity to showcase this quintessential British fruit. Add them to crumbles, cheesecakes, pancakes and pastries, or use them in cocktails, mocktails and homemade sauces. Their sweet yet tart flavour also pairs beautifully with game, pork and rich cheeses as autumn approaches. Fresh, colourful and packed with seasonal appeal, blackberries are an easy way to add a taste of the countryside to your menu.
Macmillan Coffee Morning is a brilliant opportunity to bring your local community together while supporting a fantastic cause. Offer homemade cakes, traybakes, cupcakes or afternoon tea, with proceeds or donations going towards the charity. Limited-edition bakes, coffee and cake deals or fundraising raffles can help encourage participation while driving footfall. It's a simple way to create a welcoming atmosphere, engage with customers and demonstrate your support for an event that's become a much-loved fixture in the UK's calendar.
World Dumpling Day is the perfect excuse to celebrate one of the world's favourite comfort foods. From steamed gyozas and Chinese dumplings to Polish pierogi and Nepalese momos, there's endless inspiration for limited-time specials. Offer sharing platters with a variety of fillings and dipping sauces or create a global dumpling tasting menu to encourage customers to try something new. Vegetarian and vegan fillings can help broaden your appeal, while bold flavours and eye-catching presentation make dumplings ideal for social media and sharing occasions.
Discover Summer's boldest flavours! Explore in-season ingredients that are perfect this time of year to use in menu’s and delicious culinary creations by using our seasonality calendar.