Wild about game

Related tags Chef Mark

Lucy Britner talks game to head chef and proprietor Mark Gough at his pub the Tollemache in Buckminster, Leicestershire Mark Gough shot some of the...

Lucy Britner talks game to head chef and proprietor Mark Gough at his pub the Tollemache in Buckminster, Leicestershire

Mark Gough shot some of the pheasant on the pub's menu, but admits he's better at cooking than shooting.

"Lots of game on the menu comes from the Buckminster estate. I'm not a great shot but I managed to bring a few birds home," he says.

Game is big business in rural Leicestershire and as well as serving up local pheasant, partridge, woodcock, pigeon and venison, Mark feeds the shooting parties.

This is Mark's first venture into the pub world and despite spending many years cooking game for monied restaurant-goers at Rutland's Hambleton Hall, he's just as excited about being able to add pigeon to the Tollemache's menu.

"For a long time, game has tended to be associated with the upper-middle classes and some people still think that it has to be expensive. Some is - a woodcock can cost me about £9, but then some of the local lads will bring in five pigeons and swap them for a pint, so it evens itself out."

The pub is an impressive 19th-century stone building with a small bar and lots of dining space. Customers often ask Mark whether it is a pub or a restaurant.

"I always tell them that it's whatever they want it to be.

"On a Friday night, when there are 25 to 30 customers in the bar, it's a definitely a pub. But on a Tuesday lunchtime when we're full of "ladies who lunch", it becomes more of a restaurant.

"It doesn't really matter to me what we call it - as long as customers like what we are doing," adds Mark.

Business background

Telephone: 01476 860007

Website: www.thetollemachearms.com

Tenure: leasehold with Buckminster estate

Turnover: Projected £300,000 for 2007

Wet:dry split: 30:70

Average spend per head: £15

Average covers per week: 220

Total covers: 45-50, but the layout can be changed for parties

Food GP: about 68%, depending on the game season

Chef's CV

Now proprietor/chef of the Tollemache, 40-year-old Mark became a chef at the age of 16 and took up an apprenticeship at a Crest hotel in Cardiff. Formerly chef at Restaurant Pierre Orsi, Lyons, France; Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Oxford; Hambleton Hall, Rutland and head chef at Hart's, Nottingham, from 1997-2004.

Balancing the budget

Mark buys his own fruit and veg from local markets in Melton Mowbray, Grantham and Leicester. "We have our own salad and herb garden and use what's in season. In the winter, that's just thyme and rosemary."

Mark also keeps chickens and uses the free-range eggs in the kitchen. "We have plans to rear a couple of sheep on the land round the back of the pub - that will give us enough meat for a couple of weeks. Like the locally shot game, it's all organic and we can tell customers exactly where it's from."

Gross profit on dishes at the Tolly varies enormously. Mark scrimps on some to make room for his more extravagant creations.

"As we get pigeons more or less free, we make about 90% GP on dishes such as Buckminster pigeon breast on crispy toast with onion marmalade (£7.50). But a hare costs me £4 and we only get two portions from a loin, so peppered hare loin with grilled goats' cheese at £8 works out at about 60% GP."

Although it's not his favourite ingredient, Mark bought in grouse in response to a customer's request. "It cost me £9 a grouse and I could hardly put it on the menu at £45. So we had to bite the bullet and charge about £20, then make up the margins somewhere else.

"I'd rather that customers have what they want, keep the menu appealing and attract repeat custom. Part of being a chef is being creative with your ingredients so it isn't a hassle to make up margins in other areas."

Mark's chef pedigree attracts big spenders, but the pub's village location also brings locals who pop in to enjoy a sandwich and a pint.

"Diners who know I used to work at places such as Le Manoir come in to spend upwards of £40 a head on food and even more on wine. But at the next table, a couple of villagers will be spending less than £10," says Mark.

The best-selling dish, apart from Sunday roast beef, is partridge, in season.

Outside Inn

Mark also runs an outside catering company. A nearby house - worth about £3m - is let by its owner for "unique weekends", and Mark does a lot of catering for the house guests.

"On Friday nights we cook lasagne or shepherd's pie with crusty bread, charge £10 a head and serve it at the house. On Saturdays our menu is à la carte," he says.

He estimates the catering business will turn over £90,000 to £150,000 by the end of 2007. The catering company is booked every weekend from mid-May through September.

Staff motivation

"We employ local people - I have nothing against employing people from outside the area or from abroad, but this is our way of maintaining community spirit. And it suits the staff as they don't have far to travel," Mark explains.

"The restaurant manager came from Hart's and we have chefs from Hambleton, including my pastry chef, Emily Prestage. The local bar and restaurant staff earn extra at weekends working with our outside catering company.

Looking ahead

"I've worked in some great places and I try to bring what I have learned with me to the Tolly. Like most chefs, I go to the pub anyway and I don't just want to be offered a cheese sandwich," says Mark.

He plans to grow more produce, keep livestock and develop the menu in line with customer demand.

The pub appears in the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs guide, Egon Ronay's Guide to the Best Restaurants & Gastropubs in the UK and the Good Food Guide 2006, and Mark makes extra money from its five letting rooms.

Game Gourmet - Mark's first recipe book - is available from the pub, the Tollemache's website and the Olive Branch in Rutland, and includes recipes from the Tollemache menu, as well as pastry chef Emily Prestage's pudding recipes.

Mark adds: "I like the mix of a country pub, local produce and haute cuisine - and I hope our guests feel the same way."

Recommended suppliers

Amphora Wines

01664 565013 www.amphora-wines.co.uk

Rungis Market Direct

0116 2461387 www.rungisinternational.com

Grainstore Brewery Oakham

www.grainstorebrewery.com

On the menu

Set menu

Two courses £10 or three courses for £14

Warm chicken liver salad