Best Pub Employer - Brewhouse and Kitchen

In the face of the pandemic, judges were impressed with how Brewhouse & Kitchen not only put its arm around its team with its excellent range of wellbeing support, but also continued to deliver strong innovation as an employer, with strong benefits to team members delivered from a wealth of impactful initiatives including around training and team engagement.

Judges were struck by the brilliant job the company, which has 465 staff, has done as an employer across a breadth of areas in the past challenging year, with its innovative ‘Brewing Happiness’ staff ethos and cultural training programme, positively underpinning the ‘team first’ key decisions and actions taken by B&K’s leaders through the pandemic.

Brewhouse & Kitchen’s proactive approach to supporting its team in the past year has focused on a range of fun virtual activities and training including its ‘Five Pillars of Wellbeing’ webinars covering strategies around financial, mental, physical, career and social wellbeing. 

The company also has a very personal approach to helping staff experiencing difficulties, including mental health and financial issues, with a culture created where people feel they can approach senior leaders for support. 

The operator, which has 23 sites, has remained passionately committed to staff training during the pandemic, with more courses than previous years completed and an excellent range of new programmes introduced, including engaging virtual training sessions. 

There has been no hibernation of its apprenticeships in the past year, including its award-winning brewing apprenticeship, which the company pioneered, and which continues to have a positive impact not just on its business but for other brewers.

Celebrating excellence

Ed Bedington, editor of The Morning Advertiser​, which organises the awards, said: “This year’s event has certainly been different, going from a gathering of 1,500 in Battersea to an online ceremony in the virtual world, but the ethos remains the same – celebrating excellence and there’s plenty to celebrate.

“Many companies, having faced the challenges and disasters of 2020 could be forgiven for pulling down the shutters and sitting the crisis out. Our finalists tonight, and many others in the sector, did the exact opposite of that, rose to the challenge and did some amazing things.

“We wanted to continue with the awards this year to recognise those businesses that made sacrifices and strove to not just keep going, but to improve and thrive in the teeth of a brutal storm.

“Here’s to next year when companies can get back to doing what they do best, providing outstanding hospitality experiences for their guests.”

• Check out the full list of winners from the 2021 Publican Awards ​here​​