The Wensleydale Heifer: Going swimmingly

Giant fish & chips is just one of the Wensleydale Heifer's imaginative attractions, as owner David Moss tells Sheila McWattie.

How I got here​

My first serious job was at Longueville Manor on Jersey, where I spent three fantastic years in one of the UK's toughest kitchens. I spent three years as a sous chef at the Crab & Lobster near Thirsk and also worked as head chef at the Crab at Chieveley, near Newbury, all of which had a firm focus on seafood.

In June 2005 the Wensleydale Heifer, in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park, went on sale for £550,000. I'm from the north of England and the Heifer was always close to my heart. It was the perfect size and location for a new seafood restaurant, so with the help of my father, Lewis, I put in an offer straight away. Then came the hard work.

How we achieved business growth​

I took over the pub in September 2005 and quickly put refurbishment plans for the restaurant and accommodation into action. The pub had its heyday in the '70s and needed reinventing. Refurbishment took six weeks, including the £60k kitchen, and we relaunched Heifer Restaurant & Fish Bar in October 2005. In the next nine months we redesigned and refitted our nine letting bedrooms and outside dining areas. In 2007 we received our first AA Rosette, for Seafish Dining Pub of the Year for England, and achieved our second rosette in the 2009 guide.

We've worked hard to make our product as good as possible and create local and national awareness. In the past four years we have increased the Heifer's £3,600 weekly turnover to £25,000.

Our business philosophy​

We use our imagination and try to be wacky without being tacky.

The best business advice we've received​

It's vital to have total faith in your product and ensure that you pay attention to detail.

How we stand out from the competition​

We prepare dishes not available anywhere else — if someone is looking for a lobster dinner, we are the only restaurant in the area that can offer a dedicated lobster menu. All our guest rooms are individually themed, including the Black Sheep, malt whisky, and Middleham racing room. And I believe we have the only chocolate room in Britain.

Bar talk​

The wine:beer split at the Wensleydale Heifer is 80:20. Our best-selling beer is Black Sheep, brewed at the brewery of the same name, eight miles away at Masham.

We have 12 house wines at the same price, all available by the glass, and an extensive wine list. Our GP is around 60% as each wine is selected more by quality than price.

Five best ideas​

• Guest house and holiday cottage referral scheme: Thirty-six guest houses and holiday cottages in the area have joined this scheme. Every time they book a table for their guests they receive a £5 voucher for themselves. Last year this created about £30,000 of restaurant business and generated many accommodation referrals.

• Groovy Gang kids' club: As a very family-friendly establishment, we've created our kids' club and invite all child guests to complete an application form. Each child receiving a badge with our logo is entitled to free drinks and top-ups during future meals. We sent members cuddly cows as Christmas presents and are planning an annual summer party.

•The Mooter Car: "Is it a cow, is it a car?" was a question asked throughout the Dales last year. We set a local graphic design company loose on a Kia Picasso, with the only instruction that it must resemble a cow. We received a lot of press coverage. Every time we pop to the shops we're advertising the Heifer.

• Website: Our most important marketing tool is updated almost daily with menus and special offers. Site visits have increased almost 10-fold since 2007; we receive almost 80,000 visits and three million hits every year.

• Giant fish & chips: We're famous for our fish and chips, which is served on our specially commissioned Villeroy & Boch newspaper plate, The West Witton Times. After we were featured as the Big Eat for best fish & chips in the UK in The Times Saturday supplement, we decided to offer the chance to complete the ultimate gastronomic feat: 1kg of finest Whitby haddock, enough chips to feed a family of five and, of course, a giant bowl of mushy peas.

Each of the relatively few courageous diners who manage to finish the giant meal receives a signed certificate and is entered into our yearly draw to win free giant fish & chips every month for life. Last year 236 people attempted it. Only 45 succeeded.

Pub facts​

Licensees:​ David & Lewis Moss

Tenure:​ Freehold

Website:​ www.wensleydaleheifer.co.uk​

Turnover:​ £1.3m

Wet:dry split:​ 30:70

Wages as % of turnover:​ 30%-32%

Total covers:​ 80

Average covers per week​: 700

Average spend:​ £35

In the know​

Service secrets​

We have a staff meeting before each service and hold weekly management meetings. Staff turnover is low, as this is a career rather than a stop-gap for most.

Biggest mistake​

Last summer we introduced an international beer menu with tasting notes, matching each signature dish to a beer or lager. We spent a long time investigating global beers, but the only result was lots of unsold bottles! Our regulars prefer traditional beers.

Successful marketing​

We haven't used any paid-for advertising as promotions since 2007, as in-house marketing brings better results. Our bi-annual newsletter goes to almost 30,000 homes in North Yorkshire and Co. Durham; we distribute a monthly leaflet to nearby villages and organise special evenings offering different dining experiences.

Staff motivation​

We're firm believers in teamwork and passionate about what we do. The kitchen is motivated by quality produce and constantly changing menus. Staff dedication, loyalty and hard work are key to our success.

Credit check​

Working out staff costs against turnover gives us a weekly percentage to monitor expenditure and helps to fix problems quickly. Don't sign long-term contracts for utilities: by switching suppliers we saved more than £8,000 last year.

Recommended suppliers​

• Inshore Fisheries, Whitby, Yorkshire: 01642 482282

• Richard Wellock Fruit & Vegetables, Colne, Lancashire: 01282 868800

• Country Valley Foods, Hurworth-on-Tees: 01325 720 888; www.countryvalley.co.uk​

Couldn't live without​

Our Rational oven is the best £6,000 investment any kitchen can make — it's like having an extra chef on every night.

On the menu​

Classic treats​

As a seafood restaurant it's important that we include classics such as fish soup, oysters on ice, smoked salmon, fish & chips and fish pie. We use several fish suppliers, ordering the best products from each. Our 12-dish lobster menu is extremely popular.

Menu changes​

Our à la carte menu changes weekly and fixed-price menu daily. As most dishes are calculated on cash margin rather than set percentage, our GP works out at about 60%.

Best-selling dishes​

• Starters: Fish soup, garlic mayo, spiced croutons & Swiss cheese (£7.75); chilli salt squid, marinated fennel, lime & french bean salad, sweet chilli salsa (£8.75); taster platter: all 10 à la carte starters in miniature (for two; £11.50 pp)

• Mains: Warm salad of maple roast Whitby lobster, king scallops, tiger prawns & local cured bacon (£19.50); whole Thai roast sea bass, pickled vegetable salad, buttered new potatoes (£18.75); Blue swimmer crab & brown shrimp crusted halibut fillet, crushed new potatoes & herb cream (£20)

• Desserts: Assiette: all eight desserts in miniature (£13.50); lime & coconut panna cotta, chilli tuilles (£6.50); Valr