Becky's diary: week four

As the opening of the Old Queen's Head in Penn, Buckinghamshire, fast approaches, Becky and David Salisbury discover that there's far too much to do and not nearly enough time to do it in.

Week 4: Two weeks to opening​

Oh, thank God! We've not only managed to hire a head chef for the Old Queen's Head, but he's turning out to be everything we were looking for - and then some.

Al Maudhoo cooked up a storm during his test shift so we hired him on the spot. Then he told us he could get out of his current position early, so we said "great - you start tomorrow".

What really impressed us - and we ain't easily impressed - was how he went away and devised the new menu from scratch. Obviously we could have done it ourselves, but it's great that Al and his new team will now go live with their own menu.

Best of all he was available for our training weekend with the rest of the OQH team and really made a difference, pulling everyone together during breaks in the proceedings. So he's not only a great cook, he's a manager too.

We did the training weekend on site at the pub and it really helped to communicate the Salisbury Pubs culture to everyone and make it real. Our new buzz phrase is now "spread the lurrve", which translates as "let's all work together", but is much more catchy.

One of our new recruits took me to one side and remarked that it was nice to see words put into action for a change and that she was glad we weren't bullshitters. I took that as a compliment.

Elsewhere, the pub is really starting to fulfil its potential and we are gradually getting on top of all the little niggles that have been rearing their ugly heads. Like our main wine fridge blowing a compressor - only £500 to replace, but it's £500 we didn't want to spend right now. Or the three Victorian-style sinks that turned up - great news, except that there were supposed to be four of them. And of course the saga of the new kitchen - that delicious thorn in my side - now nearing completion despite a mountain of emails and endless phone calls to smooth ruffled feathers between various parties.

Plus, in the middle of all this we have to act as homemakers by helping move two of our chefs into the new staff house down the hill in High Wycombe.

So it's all go and it's only going to get worse because I've just remembered that February is a short month. I could really have done with those three extra days. But at least everything's going in the right direction.