View from the top

Christoph Brooke, managing director of Hillbrooke Hotels, which runs Wiltshire's Bath Arms, leased from the Longleat Estate, shares secrets of success with David Hancock

Hillbrooke Hotels has refurbished the Bath Arms and opened rooms in Longleat Estate's lodge, with views down a sweeping drive to the impressive stately home.

Why my food business is a success

I feel passionate about fresh, local, seasonal produce. Food at the Bath Arms focuses on sourcing top-quality raw ingredients from suppliers and producers within a 50-mile radius of the hotel and keeping the menu and dishes well-balanced, simple and affordable. We're not looking for Michelin stars or a stream of rosettes. We make everything - bread, ice cream, stocks, sauces and pasta - and ultimately we want to go direct to the source for quality produce, such as our beef and lamb, which comes from Stourhead, and our pork, which we buy from Cranborne Park, in Dorset.

Our menus

Our menus are flexible, offering good value to suit our broad clientele, which includes locals and Longleat visitors calling in for a bar meal and residents looking for a three-course set-dinner menu.

Too many places charge £17 to £20 for a

main course, and our daily-changing set dinner menu, with four choices per course, has proved popular at just £27.50. Our short bar menu also changes daily and features some classic dishes, such as ploughman's (£8.50) lamb hotpot (£10.50), braised beef (£11.50) and sticky toffee pudding (£5.25). We also offer a simple set-lunch menu: two courses for £12.50 or three courses for £15.50. A typical set lunch includes Caesar salad, calves' liver with onion gravy or baked salmon with pesto salad, and chocolate tart for pudding.

My best-selling dishes

Surprisingly, crayfish cocktail is our most popular starter, and as we're in the country and have local farmers dining here regularly, our main-course Stourhead rib-eye steak always sells well. When visitors from London see it on the menu they always want to try it, and the roast Cranborne pork is extremely popular at Sunday lunch. If you add our best-selling sticky toffee pudding, all our favourites are classic retro dishes, such as our version of prawn cocktail, steak and chips and Black Forest gateau. People like their simplicity and the big flavours on the plate.

How I recruit and motivate staff

Although we are a hotel/inn, we make sure we let guests know that we have no reception and the whole place is very informal and relaxed. I employ staff who are great with people and I actively encourage informality. The staff like that attitude, as long as it's backed by strong discipline and they know what they're doing. They must be confident at the table when serving wine and presenting food, for example. The local labour market is good and most of my staff live in the village or in the nearby towns of Frome and Warminster.

Best investment in last 12 months

The best thing we've done is to increase the number of bedrooms from nine to 14. This works well with our business margins as our rural location means that most residents also eat here. Our refurbishment of the bedrooms has also worked well, and I'm delighted that Lord Bath likes what we have done, especially the Kama Sutra room. We have also refurbished a lodge on the edge of the estate, which is proving very popular with guests.

Marketing and PR

I approach marketing and PR from three angles. Mary Rudd, who worked with me when I helped set up the Victoria at Holkham, in Norfolk, organises our national marketing in newspapers and other media. She understands our passion for everything fresh, local and seasonal, and is even involved with some of our suppliers. Our mention in The Independent's Top 50 Hotels and travel articles in The Guardian and Daily Mail came through Mary's PR agency.

With regard to magazines and guidebooks, I only pay for adverts in the local Horningsham News and to have my rooms inspected by and included in Alastair Sawday's hugely-respected pub, inn and hotel guides.

Most important for direct business is our link with Longleat estate. We're the first recommended hotel on its website and I work hard to develop and improve our relationship with the estate. I think the quality of the Bath Arms is an asset for Longleat. We're on its doorstep and recommend Longleat's many attractions to customers - we even sell tickets for its attractions over the bar.

Plans for the future

We want to build a small group of hotels in association with rural estates, visitor destinations or rural attractions. Small hotels/inns close to big stately homes would be ideal. We're looking for a 20-bedroom hotel and plan to take on five or six in the next few years.

I'll be developing this kitchen garden and it would be good to work towards self-sufficiency in terms of salads and vegetables. It will develop from a hobby as my skills and knowledge improve. As we grow, we may develop a smallholding to supply the hotels with fresh produce. That's my ultimate goal.

My top tips

I recommend keeping things simple, from booking-in to food on guests' plates. Don't offer more than you can deliver - live within your capabilities. Fresh, local, seasonal food may sound clichéd but it's so important.

Pubs and hotels should ensure that they offer vegetables, such as asparagus, and soft fruits on their menus when these items are in season locally, as well as meat reared on local farms - this encourages people to shop at their local farm shop.

Facts 'N' Stats

Owners: Longleat Estate, leased to

Hillbrooke Hotels

GP food & drink: 68:68

Covers per week: lunch 200, dinner 250

Food:drink:accommodation split: 25:25:50

Turnover: projected tripling of turnover within first year

The Bath Arms, The Longleat Estate, Horningsham, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 7LY; 01985 844308; www.batharms.co.uk