Hope springs eternal at the Magdalen Arms
Florence Fowler, licensee at the Magdalen Arms, Iffley, talks to Lesley Foottit about bringing a bit of London to east Oxford. The S&NPC leasehold achieved a Michelin Bib Gourmand last month for good food at moderate prices.
How we got here
When this pub came up my partner, Tony Abarno, and I knew we had to have it. Between us we've had 20 years in the industry in London alone. I have worked in the trade since I was 14 and I helped out in my dad's restaurant. I've always been front-of-house and Tony is a fantastic chef.
We met about 11 years ago and later worked together at the Anchor & Hope in Waterloo. A few years ago we reached the stage where we knew we were ready to leave London.
We took on this Scottish & Newcastle tied leasehold in October 2009 in partnership with the Anchor & Hope's manager Robert Shaw and head chef Jonathan Jones. Last month the pub achieved a Michelin Bib Gourmand award.
The pub
Oxford is an affluent, educated city, but there isn't much in the way of gastropubs. The Magdalen Arms has a similar ethos to the Anchor & Hope.
The staff can all wear what they like, within reason, but they must all wear blue and white striped butchers' aprons. The walls are the same blood red colour and the ceilings are cream. The pub is filled with rustic bric-a-brac — none of the furniture or plates match.
My dad is an antiques dealer, so we get things from him and I go to a car boot sale every weekend. If I see something nice, I'll buy it.
We sell a lot of boar so the next thing I want is a big stuffed boar's head like some of the restaurants in France have. We already have deer heads and feet (to hang coats on) on the wall.
We have 50 reservable seats that we can screen off at the end of the room with a curtain. The Magdalen Arms is a very big pub — barn-like big — and it's very shabby-chic.
Standing out from the competition
There is more competition now where we are in east Oxford.
There are several traditional English pubs nearby and a huge Asian-style cuisine culture. But we have had massive support from the locals who eat with us regularly.
I think our food stands out because Tony makes everything himself, from the bread to the ice cream. He also does all of the butchering in-house.
Two great ideas
• We picked up a 1950s cake stand and display home-made cakes and tarts on the bar. The cakes change every day. We might have a Victoria sandwich, chocolate brownies, lemon polenta cake or meringue. It costs £1 to £2 for a slice and we have paper bags so people can take them away if they want.
The cakes are very popular, especially on Saturday afternoons. We sell around
20 slices a week. We also do home-made sausage rolls (£1.50) and they sell like nobody's business. If we bring them out at about 5pm they will all be gone by 8pm. Olives and spiced nuts are available all the time.
• Fizz of the Day at the top of the daily menu. It is usually a flavoured Prosecco, for example, using quince, which is similar to a pear or apple. We poach them with vanilla and sugar because they are very tart to eat raw.
A bit of the flavour goes into a Champagne flute and we add Prosecco. It tastes delicious. Other flavours we have used with Prosecco include clementine, rhubarb and pear.
They are incredibly popular with our customers and we sell around 20 to 30 a night. Usually, at least one person on nine out of 10 tables will order one, and sometimes the whole table will.
They call me "the queen of Prosecco". But, as I said, I can't claim credit for that, because it has been done at most places I have worked.
Menu philosophy
I would describe our menu as British with Italian influences — rustic, daily-changing, innovative and beautiful. Everything is home-made. We change at least 50% of our menu twice a day and serve food from noon to 2.30pm and from 6pm to 10pm Monday to Saturday. On Sundays we serve from noon to 3.30pm. Some of our dishes are from Jonathan Jones at the Anchor & Hope and some are Tony's. He is Italian so that has inspired many of his dishes. It means our menu is a mixture of old-fashioned British with a dose of Italian.
Tony has always cooked. He makes home-made focaccia bread that we give for free to every table with mozzarella and vinaigrette. On every table there is always bread, water and a menu. If people want more bread, a second basket is £3. Tony's mother comes in three times a week to create our home-made pasta and help with general preparation.
Recommended suppliers
I use three fantastic butchers — Gabriel Machin of Henley, Oxfordshire (www.gabrielmachin.co.uk) John Lindsay at the covered market in Oxford and Tom Jones of Jones the Butcher in Lampeter, Ceredigion, west Wales (www.jonesthebutcher.co.uk) — a young farmer who provides sublime beef of very, very good quality. We also use a couple of independent suppliers including a fantastic artisan supplier — Dave Wharton from Wharton Hall Farm Park in Kidlington, Oxfordshire. He supplies the zaniest vegetables. Tony likes to use Italian produce and Dave is going to grow some for him this year, including baby cavolo nero, which is a type of black cabbage, and cardoon, which is similar to a long stick of celery, and is used for
braising vegetables.
Couldn't live without...
Tony, my business partner, and his bread. He's a genius in the kitchen — just so natural and very hard-working. There is some crossover between our roles. I have worked in the kitchens when I'm needed, although I'm mainly involved front-of-house and look after the accounts. Tony has often helped me serve on the bar when it has been
too busy.
Best new dish — Two-way roast saddle of venison served rare with black cabbage, bacon and steamed venison suet pudding on the side (£16.80).
Best-selling dish — Slow-cooked neck of lamb served on the bone for two to share (£26).
Most profitable dishes — Tony's home-made pasta dishes are very popular with the customers. They include orecchiette, chilli, garlic, parsley and sprouting broccoli (£12); potato and ricotta ravioli, cep ragù and truffle oil (£11.80); and pappardelle with hare sauce and Parmesan (£9.60).
In the know — Business philosophy
We never advertise — I like to do things the old-fashioned way. On our launch night we invited a few people, but other than that we have built up our business purely through word of mouth.
I do check TripAdvisor to see what people are saying — it's good to check on what people think. We take it seriously, but not personally.
Best piece of business advice
Learn from your mistakes and do it with love — you have to enjoy the business to do it well. Before we took on our own venture we had both been lucky enough to have worked with amazing people and that gives you confidence that you can do it on your own. My business experience with Robert and Jonathan really stands out, but I have always worked for good people who knew what they were doing.
Biggest mistake
I have never made a big mistake but it's usually the little daily things that you learn from. If you start buying at the top end of the market then you have to maintain it to keep standards high — and it can be hard to commit to if the climate changes.
One idea that didn't work
We tried to bring in a toast morning. We thought it would be lovely if we opened at 9.30am instead of 11am and offered tea, coffee and toast and it would bring people in. We had the blackboard out and it ran for four months. In that time we served about four people — it just didn't take off.
Bar talk
We have a good wine list of 35 varieties, from £12.50 to £36, and sell tonnes of Prosecco, which is £4.20 by the glass and £25 for a bottle. We do four
ales, three draught lagers, one draught cider, two bottled ciders and three bottled lagers. We have an artisan juice selection with home-made lemonade and orange juice, which is freshly squeez
