A city financier turned superchef has been recruited by Kent-based brewers Shepherd Neame to beef up menus at the company's tenanted pubs.

Carol Haime, who worked as a foreign exchange dealer before a change of career saw her take on her first pub in 1995, has been appointed to the newly-created post of development chef for tenancies.

She will offer expert advice to licensees looking to add a successful menu to their established drinks trade, as well as to those who want to develop their existing food operation to attract new customers.

Carol is an award-winning licensee and is well qualified to offer advice.

She ran the Sandrock pub in Farnham, Surrey, for 10 years. It featured regularly in industry awards, winning honours including Pub Food Innovation of the Year for its Guest Chef nights. This year Carol was named 2012 Pub Pie Champion.

Carol said: "Food is now very much a core part of British pub culture. Every pub is unique, so I'll help each licensee I work with to develop a bespoke menu that fits both their ambitions for the business, as well as the expectations of their customers.

"Some will be ready to appoint a chef and offer a full menu, while others may just want to initially test the water with a few tasty bar snacks."

Licensees working with Carol will also have access to products from Shepherd Neame's network of food suppliers, as well as the StarChef recipe costing and menu planning software used by the company’s award-winning managed pub business.

George Barnes, Shepherd Neame's property and tenanted trade director, said: "We recognise that food is essential to the success of the pub trade, and that commitment saw our managed pub business win Best Food Offer at The Publican Awards 2012.

"We have a very diverse range of tenanted businesses, from award-winning restaurants with a Michelin star, to successful traditional pubs where licensees want to develop the food offer.

"We wanted to give our tenanted pubs access to the same levels of expertise that our managed businesses enjoy. This will help talented and entrepreneurial licensees improve their businesses.

"Carol's appointment as development chef gives those licensees who would like more support for their food offer a direct line into our head office expertise. Her appointment complements our existing specialist direct support for licensees, which includes wine, cellar management and beer quality, and professional services."