Pub Food of the Year

This award, sponsored by Pubmaster, recognises the pub that runs the most successful food operation. Judges are looking for how revenue generated by food sales has contributed to the success of this pub. The food must be of a high standard, promoted effectively and provide value for money in a friendly pub atmosphere Bell Inn ­ Horndon-on-the-Hill, Essex John Vereker's links with the Bell Inn go back to 1956 and it hasn't all been plain sailing. As a tenant, he had numerous run-ins with previous owners of the 16th-century inn. He and wife Christine had to put up with electrical wiring that was dissolving in front of their eyes, a large hole in the wall where the wind whistled through, and a notice warning that the pub would be closed if the toilets were not improved within three months. John recalls: "The pub is over 500-years-old and was looking like it." In the 1970s, the Verekers started offering food but were told by Bass that what they did in the kitchen "doesn't increase the barrelage" and therefore they would have to fund any improvements on that front. Their luck changed in 1991 when they bought the freehold after the introduction of the Beer Orders that forced large brewers to sell off parts of their pub estates. And they haven't looked back since. Nowadays, the Bell is a flourishing business that serves an average of 800 main meals per week, gets through more than 600 barrels per year, and has 16 stylish bedrooms ­ most of them in a house next door that the Verekers bought to increase accommodation income. Originally, Christine did all the cooking, but now it is handled by nine chefs. A measure of the Bell's reputation can be gauged not only by the number of awards it has won, listings in the likes of the Good Pub Guide and Good Hotel Guide, and the numerous write-ups in national quality newspapers, but also in the number of chefs that learned their trade at the pub before progressing to top hotels and restaurants in London and Paris. Despite the Verekers' hands-on approach to the business, kitchen staff are given carte blanche over the dishes. Says John: "You should allow head chefs to express themselves. Of course, every dish has got to have flavour and I like to see it looking pretty on the plate, but you have to allow them to try new ideas." This policy was very evident on the day that the MA visited the Bell. The vegetables offered with the main courses were: creamed potatoes; sauté Brussels sprouts; spiced roast acorn squash; and parsnip puree with anchovies. The à la carte menu is changed twice daily and usually consists of six starters, six main courses plus a selection of dessert and cheese dishes. Prices range in price from around £5.10 to £6.95 for starters, with main courses averaging around the £12 mark. There is also a fixed-price menu, with two courses costing £13.95 and three courses at £15.95. All the produce is fresh and sourced locally, if possible, and all meals are cooked to order. The pulling power of the food hasn't diminished the Bell's attraction as a pub where people can call in just for a pint and a chat. John remarks: "I could make it a complete restaurant, but I don't want to do that because the Bell is still a village pub. I love the mix of people we get and still think that going to a pub is for having fun. We have no music blaring away and there are no machines flashing at you ­ it makes people want to talk." At present, 55% of the pub's income is generated by food sales, wet trade accounts for 43%, and the remaining 2% comes from accommodation. There is also a cosmopolitan feel about the pub with France, Italy and Poland represented among the 30 full-time and 12 part-time staff. To ease accommodation worries, the Verekers have five cottages in the village for their staff. Every night, all employees are treated to what John calls "mother's cooking before they start their shift". He adds with a laugh: "Sometimes the place feels more like a grown-up boarding school than a pub." Junction Tavern ­ Kentish Town, London Jacky Kitching and Chris Leech were part of the management team involved in the successful opening of the fashionable Belgo restaurant in London's Covent Garden. Just over two years ago, the duo decided it was time to break free. Chris recalls: "We had been doing it for years for others and we thought it was time to do it for ourselves. We both sold our flats and took on the lease for the Northgate in Islington." Within a short time, they had turned the Punch outlet into an award-winning gastro pub. Last July, the business partners turned their attention to the Junction Tavern. They saw the Kentish Town pub as being ripe for attracting "foodies" from the surrounding and under-served residential area as well as the local professional business folk, who mainly work in the arts and media industries. Jacky says: "Oddly enough, it was the first pub that we looked at, but the guy didn't want to sell. Later, we heard through the grapevine that it was on the market." The duo's offer was accepted, to which Jacky adds: "It was the pub that we were always meant to have." The transformation from a run down, wet-led local into a food pub was achieved by the couple investing £100,000 in a major refurbishment that lasted five weeks. The refurb included the restoration of some of the Junction's original features, such as impressive wood paneling and beautifully-crafted plasterwork on the ceiling and coving. The central servery was also retained but modified. One half now contains the open-plan kitchen, which faces the dining area at the front of the Junction, while the other half of the servery has been partitioned off to become the bar area for the rear of the pub. To market the newly-refurbished pub, 5,000 leaflets were popped through the letter boxes of the local residents within a 10 to 12-street radius. Jacky doesn't see the Junction as a stereotypical gastro pub. "We like to think we are a little bit different. We serve big platefuls and offer good value for money. We also try to keep things casual, so that people feel comfortable and feel free to eat where they want ­ in the dining area, the bar area or in the conservatory." She says the emphasis is on food from around the world but "kept as simple as possible with fresh flavours". The menu is changed daily and includes starters such as sweet potato and lemongrass soup at £4 or goat's cheese, cherry tomato and roast pepper pizzetta at £4.50. Main courses include favourites like char grilled rib-eye steak, chips, rocket salad and salsa verde at £11.50 and prawn and squid linguine with garlic and thyme at £8. At present, the Junction is serving around 500 covers per week with a wet:dry split of 70:30. Chris says he wants the Junction to mirror the success of the Northgate, where the wet:dry split is 60:40, but still retain the atmosphere of a pub. Jacky chips in: "In London, there are a lot of gastro pubs that are really restaurants. We want to keep the Junction as a pub." She adds: "Chris and I have worked in restaurants where they have flogged the staff to death with seven or eight shifts a week. Everyone here, from head chef to kitchen porters and waiting staff, only works five shifts. We give them a decent wage so they can have a life. "We like to be supportive because we have people who have second careers such as a musician and fashion designer." Chris continues: "We want them to come into work and enjoy it. If you treat people nicely, you will get respect back. There is no screaming and shouting from the kitchen ­ we're not like that and we always try to have a laugh at work.