There are difficult dinner guests. And then there are dinner guests who arrive with their own fangs.

This Halloween, The Sausage Haüs has attracted the attention of a customer with several centuries of dining experience, very particular tastes and absolutely no intention of leaving before closing.

Dracula is coming for dinner. We’re serving bratwurst.

The ketchup situation may require supervision.

Watch the Video

A table for one. No garlic.

You have to feel for whoever takes this booking.

Quiet table. Curtains closed. Absolutely no mirrors. And when the customer says he would like a bite, nobody is entirely comfortable asking him to clarify.

Fortunately, a plate of German sausages gives our guest something else to sink his teeth into.

There is something reassuring about that. Even in a candlelit castle, surrounded by cobwebs and deeply questionable company, a proper bratwurst still looks like a good dinner.

Although we would have a quiet word about the housekeeping.

Watch the video and you’ll see that Dracula approaches his meal with the sort of enthusiasm every caterer hopes for. The table manners could use some work, but we’re choosing to take the appetite as a compliment.

We have not asked him for a review. Getting a photograph is difficult enough when your customer doesn’t appear in mirrors.

Halloween theatre, without a monstrous menu

For pubs, street food traders and event caterers, there is a useful little thought behind the nonsense: familiar food can carry plenty of Halloween character.

A bratwurst in a bun, a generous streak of red ketchup and a suitably daft name can do a fair amount of work. “Dracula’s Dinner” tells the story without requiring the kitchen to learn an entirely new dish during a busy evening.

Frankfurters lend themselves to the same treatment. Keep your usual serving format, give the menu board a seasonal twist and let the decorations provide the drama.

The trick is making the joke obvious while keeping the food appetising. Customers should recognise their dinner before they recognise the crime scene.

And if you are serving in costume, it is worth checking that your elaborate monster hands can actually operate the till. Nothing takes the menace out of a vampire quite like needing help with contactless.

Our own guest has chosen the full castle experience. Most operators can probably achieve the desired effect with a chalkboard and considerably fewer spiders.

Happy Halloween from The Sausage Haüs

To everyone working behind a grill, running a pub kitchen, serving at a Halloween event or trying to stop a decorative skeleton falling into the condiments: we hope you have a busy, enjoyable evening.

May your customers be hungry, your orders straightforward and your last visitor understand that closing time applies to the undead too.

And to everyone watching at home, enjoy our little Halloween dinner. We hope it gives you a laugh, an appetite, or at least a new appreciation for customers who say please and use a napkin.

Happy Halloween from all of us at The Sausage Haüs.

If Dracula asks for seconds, let him. Nobody needs that argument.