Bunch of Grapes: beer champ brews success

Nick Otley, owner of Otley Brewery and a small chain of pubs, talks take-away beer, solar panels and beer in food with Sheila McWattie.

How I got here: ​

The Bunch of Grapes is an established community pub on the outskirts of Pontypridd. We advertise it as 'Ponty's little secret', as it's in a residential dead-end street. My family has owned pubs for many years, including the Bunch of Grapes, which was purchased in 1983. We now have four pubs in Wales and I run Otley Brewing Company with my cousin and nephew.

I left college at 18 and worked as a pub chef until I was 26, then spent 10 years as a freelance fashion photographer in London, Paris and New York. In 2002, when I returned to run the Bunch of Grapes with my two brothers, it was serving scampi & chips and not making much. Now it's thriving and our mixed customer base gives us plenty of scope.

Business growth​

Having eaten and drunk in some great outlets, I sensed the pub's potential and wanted to make it stand out. The fact that it's hard to define is key to its success. We focus equally on food and ale — it's no good having fresh, locally sourced dishes without great beer. From taking £3.5k to £4k per week we're now making £13k to £14k, winning awards for our food, ale and cider, making 80% of the food ourselves and selling Otley ales. Head chef Sebastien Vanoni now has three chefs working under him. Our deli sells delicious local products, from bread and home-cooked ham to beer. Introducing new ideas encourages customers to remain loyal, with a strong sense of pride in their local.

Business philosophy ​

To be the best we can, working with the best ingredients we can source.

Best business advice given​

Don't doubt yourself or panic if your ideas don't work immediately. Stand true to what you believe and people will believe you.

Standing out from the competition​

By not compromising or cutting corners. Sometimes we'll absorb costs to provide something special, such as an expensive beer for an event or an ingredient, such as 500g of wild morels at £180. We take some risks, giving customers the experience

and chefs the chance to play.

Best events​

Beer Academy: our beer and food-matching, hosted by well-known beer writers such as Roger Protz, Melissa Cole and Pete Brown, is the only event of its kind around here. We also ran a successful evening matching ciders from 20 producers to food, and a popular women-only night with Cole.

Recommended suppliers​

Otley Brewing Company: www.otleybrewing.co.uk

Butcher: WJ George, in Brecon, Powys, has its own abattoir: www.talgarthmeat.com

Dried goods and cheese: Vin Sullivan, Abergavenny, Gwent: www.vin-sullivan.co.uk

Bar talk​

We've been Mid-Glamorgan Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Pub of the Year for real ale and cider; Morning Advertiser Welsh Gastropub of the Year; Best Cask Ale Pub twice. Our wet sales are 60% beer to 40% wines and other drinks. Our best-selling Otley 01 beer outsells everything else three-to-one, at eight to 12 firkins a week. Our nine hand-pumps include two ciders, supplied by Welsh independent producers. Our house white Acacia Tree sells six to 10 cases a week.

Menu philosophy​

We aim to source produce locally; if unavailable, we aim for Welsh; if we can't get Welsh, we go for sustainable. All fish are caught according to our sustainable fishing policy, which our chef started writing about on our website 18 months ago.

Our vegetables come from local customers running community gardens two miles away, who are now collaborating with the pub to plan next year's crop.

We're making our own ice cream a few litres at a time, and trying out beer ice cream and sorbet.

Best new dish​

Organic dippy egg with batons of organic Wye Valley new season asparagus, carrots & spring onions and home-made bread (£5.60). GP: 63% to 64%.

Best-selling dishes​

Starters: Devilled Welsh lambs' kidneys on toasted focaccia (£5); pan-fried cockles, laver bread, leeks and home-cured pancetta on fried bread & charred lemon (£6.20); Wye Valley free-range chicken liver pâté with Otley O-6 porter jelly & toasted soda bread (£5.80).

Mains: char-grilled Breconshire sirloin steak hand-trimmed with confit baby onion & choice of hand-cut chips, leek mash or sauté potato. Steaks are cut to order: 10oz £17.50; 14oz £24.50. Honey-roasted new-season Welsh lamb chump, potato & parsnip cake, watercress & nettle pesto (£17.60); pressed braised Breconshire Ox cheek with Dark-O jus, tarragon mash potato & fresh live oyster (£14.90).

Desserts: Sticky toffee pudding (£5); cheesecake (£5) and crème brûlée (£5) in various flavours attract a strong following.

Most profitable dishes​

Home-made pâté: 74% GP, mackerel: 72%, sticky toffee pudding & ice cream: 70%.

In the know: Service secrets​

It's all about creating the right conditions, planting seeds and giving them a chance to grow. The customer needs to feel they can communicate and be heard and we aim for interaction, but have some way to go. It's sometimes hard to convince staff that you can get somewhere in this trade. We're using WorldHost's training programme and involving staff more fully in developing policies, with an encouraging response.

Staff motivation​

We aim to create an authentic, welcoming, collaborative, respectful environment. It's important to give your team a say in how jobs are done and be a cheerful, positive role-model.

Credit check​

Installing solar panels with a £17.5k Carbon Trust loan is saving us £400 to £500 per month.

Biggest mistake​

Poetry nights — hardly anyone turned up.

Successful marketing and PR ideas ​

Our loyalty card, costing £24 per year, offers 15% discount Monday to Thursday on alcoholic drinks and main meals and has 140 members. Our PR company, Golley Slater, is very effective; my wife, Alexandra, organises our Facebook posts, I run our tweets and we link to our Twitter and Facebook pages for our Beer Academy and the brewery.

Couldn't live without…​

Our Hobart solid-top stove, which cost about £4k 18 months ago — flexible, efficient and an excellent replacement for six gas burners.

On the menu​

Menu philosophy

Our menu is full of the very best produce, cooked well and served simply. There's nothing flash or complicated; we let the food speak for itself. Our meat is home-reared, not organic, as I believe the organic bubble has burst.

Menu offer​

A range of steaks, chops and seafood served with different sauces. Our spring lunch/bar menu includes dishes such as seared scallop, chorizo and grapefruit salad (£9.80); liver and bacon with bubble and squeak (£8) and courgette potato cake with cucumber

raita (£7.80). Sunday roasts, all priced at £9.50, include beef sirloin, pork loin and leg of lamb. The menu changes seasonally.

Best-selling dishes​

Starters: Devilled lamb kidneys

on toast (£6.20); chicken liver and foie gras parfait with toasted brioche and salad (£5.50);

brown shrimps cooked in

parsley butter on toast (£7).

Mains: 8oz sirloin steak (£17.50); monkfish (£17.50); and Gloucestershire Old Spot pork

loin chop (£12.50) — all including mixed seasonal vegetables, a choice of potatoes, and sauce.

Desserts: Chocolate fondant served with cream and fruit (£6); sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce (£6) and tiramisu (£5).

Most profitable dishes​

Ham, egg & chips, and Gloucestershire Old Spot sausage & mash with

onion gravy.

Best food event​

We run a wine club every two months, which is hosted by our sommelier, Tim McLaughlin-Green, with food and wine matching. He recently co-hosted an evening with food and drink writer Fiona Beckett, where they matched 1