Second site for Peppermill
A former general manager of a Paul Salisbury pub and an ex-Peach Pub Company head chef have opened a Hampshire pub.
Sam Cowley, previously head chef at the Almanack in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, and partner Gayle Bishop, who worked at Lovely Pubs’ Orange Tree in Chadwick End, near Birmingham, for six years, have taken over the Bird in Hand in Lovedean, Hants.
The Enterprise Inns lease is part of Peppermill Pubs, which also operates the
Hurdles in Broxbridge, Hampshire. The company is run by Sarah Robinson and Gareth Cole, who have
plans to expand the company up to four sites.
The Bird in Hand holds 60 diners. Cowley, whose CV also includes three years at the Orange Tree and Petit Blanc in Oxford, is head chef, with Bishop as general manager.
The menu features rabbit pie (£9.50), ham, egg and chips (£9), roasted squirrel salad (£5), whole roasted bream (£11), arctic roll and peach Melba (£5).
Plans include beer festivals and wine nights.
Cowley said: “We want to keep the atmosphere and character of a pub and don’t want people to be scared off by a gastropub. We are offering traditional pub food, but with a few surprises.”
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