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Halloween’s Ghastly Grip on Australia: How Is Your Business Benefiting from Increased Interest in This Holiday?

what restaurants can do for halloween

It’s hard to avoid it. In recent years, the popularity of Halloween has increased a lot as the kids take to the streets in their spooky outfits for their annual haunt. And yet, many of us remain opposed or indifferent at best towards this imported American holiday. You could say someone – or something – was casting a spell on our children. But that would be crazy, wouldn’t it? There’s no such thing as real witches.

Halloween is Casting a Spell on our Streets

Perhaps most of all, it is millennials who are fuelling this increased interest in Halloween as they begin to have children of their own and find themselves with more disposable income than before.

Last year, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on how Halloween is bringing communities in Australia together. Street parties encourage children to bond and families to socialise in a way that they don’t get chance to at other times of the year. In The Herald’s community focus, Halloween is already outranking Australia Day celebrations, so the growth of the holiday in recent years is clearly impressive.

If you’re planning on hosting a street party this year,
stock up on those essential disposable cups, glasses and straws
to make sure no one misses out.

Additionally, if you’re looking for a way to capitalise on this increased interest in Halloween, be open to hosting parties at your venue. After all, we haven’t sheepishly copied the American ‘trick or treating’ obsession of knocking on doors and asking for sweets. Our own celebrations tend to be more events focused. So put yourself ahead of the game and market your venue as Halloween ready.

Bartender serves up halloween drinks

What do you need to ensure you’re ready for Halloween?

Take a look at your glassware. If you’re planning on brewing up a few cocktail concoctions for Halloween, make sure you’ve got the appropriate glasses that will work with your drinks. What’s more, you’ll be stocked up now in time for Christmas.

Have you got an idea for a great Halloween punch or cocktail but don’t know how best to showcase this to your customers? How about taking a simple soup kettle and staging it as a Witch’s Cauldron for the evening? This could work just as well for a party with children, they will love getting involved. Just make sure you hold the rum.

Serving up treats is undoubtedly what it’s all about so have you checked that you’ve got suitable crockery to do so? Some stylish bowls or different display options will be great for getting your customers nibbling away.

Ideas for Your Halloween Menu

Here's a couple of hair-raising recipes for you to consider when putting together your Halloween menu. Got any favourites of your own? I'd love to hear about it in the comments section below.

Death in the Afternoon - Ernest Hemingway Inspired Cocktail 

Taking the name of one of Hemingway’s novels, Death in the Afternoon not only has a malevolent name, but its appearance has a likeness to our notions of the cloudy concoctions of an evil witch.

Hemingway’s own directions read: Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly.”

Serve up with an orange rind on the lip of the flute to give it that extra touch of Halloween colour and your customers will be falling over each other for more. Literally.

Make sure your cocktail presentation is perfect every time for this one and stock up on sparkling Champagne flutes.

Spider's Web Cheesecake - This One's for Everyone


Cheesecake for a restaurant's halloween menu

Ingredients:
500g choc ripple biscuits,
crushed 185g unsalted butter,
melted1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
125g dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup thickened cream
1kg cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt flakes
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups thickened cream


Taken with love and appreciation from taste.com.au.

Directions

Combine biscuit, butter and salt to make the crust. Press mixture into the base and up the side of a 6-7cm deep dish. Refrigerate.

Heat the chocolate and cream to make the ganache, stirring through. When smooth, spread the ganache over biscuit base and sides, reserving 1 – 2 spoonfuls for decorating.

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium speed for 3 minutes or until fluffy. Reduce speed and gradually beat in the sugar and salt until combined. Increase speed and beat for 3 minutes or until fluffy, adding the lemon and beating until combined.

Whisk the cream until stiff-peaks start to form. Whisk half of the cream into the cream cheese mixture and fold in the remaining whipped cream. Spoon the filling into the prepared crust.

Microwave the remaining ganache until smooth but still thick. Pipe a spider’s web design on top of the mixture. Freeze for four hours or overnight if possible. Decorate with a plastic spider upon serving.



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