Restaurants opt out of first paperless Tennerfest

The fixed-price menus are now available only online. And the numbers have dropped.

The Guernsey Press last printed the menus in 2016, when there were 69 establishments involved. In 2015 there were 77.

But this year there are only 37 restaurants taking part across the Bailiwick. And three of these are only offering set drinks menus, rather than food.

Last year there were 107 menu options on offer across Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney and Sark, with some restaurants offering two or three menus, which are counted separately.

This is down to just 68 menus this year.

In recent years the organisers have printed the menus themselves and sent them out in the post.

Tennerfest organiser Ollie Robilliard said they were still offering good value.

Restaurants were charged about £400 to take part.

‘All that has changed is the media we are using. We listened to restaurants and to diners who said they would be happier with less print and a better online experience and that’s exactly what we are delivering,’ he said.

Old Quarter restaurant is running its own set menu for October, having previously taken part in Tennerfest.

Owner Paddy Scally said it was easier and cheaper to run his own online menu.

‘I’ve done my own Oktoberfest menu. I’m doing a set menu all year long anyway,’ he said.

‘Basically I’m not paying £400 to take part if it’s gone paperless, so this year I decided to do it off my own back.

‘It was cheaper to take part this year, but a lot of people are questioning where the paper is and if Tennerfest is on.’

Mr Robilliard said he understood that not everyone would find the new digital format easy.

‘We recognise that not everyone may be digitally inclined and encourage those who are, to help others in browsing through all of the fantastic menus.’

Mr Robilliard said they would look at the feedback at the end, but would not comment on whether the paper menus might come back in years to come.

‘Numbers are not too dissimilar to last year. We have new entries taking part and have lost a few older ones.’

La Perla has taken part in Tennerfest almost every year since it started, but decided to drop out this year.

Owner Dinarte Fernandes said they already had a lot of bookings, even though they are not in Tennerfest.

‘We realised we already have a very competitive menu with prices, and we did not want to pay extra [to take part in Tennerfest],’ he said.

Randalls, which owns the Rockmount, La Reunion and the Slaughterhouse, took part last year but not this year. Instead it is doing its own set menus.

The Liberation Group’s six eateries, including Dix Neuf and the Deerhound, are also no longer taking part, having taken part in previous years.

Both companies declined to comment on their reasons for not participating.