Front of House Team 2009: Ye Old Sun Inn, Colton, North Yorkshire

Ye Old Sun Inn in Yorkshire relies heavily on the skills of its front-of-house team to deliver its award-winning food, especially with the extra complication of a regularly changing menu. But such is the high quality of both the food and the service that the pub has built up a strong loyal following.

Front-of-house personnel are also sufficiently flexible to move between bar work and food service tasks in order that customer service levels are maintained at peak dining periods. This is essential, according to Kelly, who says: "The majority of staff will be serving food and taking orders but they are flexible enough to jump in at all stages."

The constantly changing food has, in fact, proved to be a major help in maintaining a focus on service levels as it prompts ongoing training of the team. This involves a monthly menu meeting when employees are given a tasting session of new dishes and also any wines that have been added. They also receive the benefit of regular monthly visits from a wine merchant.

This is integral to their knowledge, which can then be communicated to customers. "They get to know about suppliers and ingredients and this gives them confidence as well as pulling them in and keeping them focused," says Kelly, who constantly monitors their performance.

The focus on training begins with a rigorous induction programme and is then followed by the use of a 'buddy' system whereby new recruits shadow an experienced member of the team. Although there is no formal training for part-time staff, Ye Old Sun Inn's two full-timers are pursuing the relevant NVQs.

At the end of 2008, Kelly introduced a more documented training system and this enabled weaknesses in individual team members to be spotted more quickly and corrected. This has given the team greater confidence and has improved customer service at Ye Old Sun Inn.

This training and the extensive product knowledge given to the team has been seen to directly affect the bottom line, because when it has been combined with incentives for extra sales of desserts and coffees there has been a marked uplift in take-up by customers. Wastage has also been reduced as a result of better training as fewer pints of beer now have to be replaced.

The smooth running and professionalism of the front-of-house team has enabled Kelly to commit more time to developing the business, which has involved taking over the freehold of Ye Old Sun Inn, adding accommodation via a cottage next door, and recently adding a second pub to the growing empire.