Food Pub 21/10/09 15:58 Page 38
38 Monday 26/10/09 thePublican Book your tickets today at www.thepublicanfda.com
The finalists
FOOD PUB OF THE YEAR
THE SANDROCK
THE FACTS
Wrecclesham, Surrey
Carol Haime
• Type of pub: Wadworth
tenancy
• Style of outlet: Village
The Sandrock is a semi-rural pub situated off the beaten track just outside pub
Farnham. As it has no car park, the pub has to work hard to market itself to • Wet/dry split: 30/70
customers from the local area and from further afield. • % of produce sourced
locally: 70
Please describe your food offer • Advised wait for main
Food is served throughout the two bar areas and a covered patio garden course: 20 minutes
outside. There is also a separate dining room. Carol took on the pub seven
years ago and has since evolved the menu into a concept designed to reflect
the pub’s traditional feel. The menu is divided into three sections: Indulge
Yourself; Healthy Options and British Pub Classics. These are available six
days a week. On Sundays, the Sandrock offers a choice of seven roasts.
How do you source products?
The pub has developed a close relationship with the local butcher, and THE SOMERSET ARMS
although Carol regularly checks out the competition, he cannot be beaten
on price or quality. The butcher supplies a variety of game and cheeses.
Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire
Vegetables, chutneys, pickles and breads come from the local country
Lisa Richards
market supplier just a few miles away. Fish comes from a supplier in Milford,
but customers sometimes bring in what they catch.
The Somerset Arms is a food-led Wadworth pub with a main bar, a dining
How do you market your food to customers? room, a larger dining area and several letting bedrooms. The pub grows its
The pub is successful at winning editorial coverage for its events and awards own vegetables in its extensive garden, which acts as the backdrop for barbe-
– it was recently given a gold award from Eat Out Eat Well, a local campaign. cues and al fresco dining. Tenant Lisa Richards is a former food critic.
Word-of-mouth is also a vital marketing tool, but the pub’s diverse real ale
offer brings in drinkers who also like to eat. Please describe your food offer
There is an air of perfectionism about the Somerset’s approach to food.
Nothing is pre-prepared; all food is cooked fresh to order using carefully-
sourced local ingredients, and menus change regularly with seasonal influ-
ences. Dishes are frequently prepared from ingredients brought in by
customers, and this can include locally-caught sea bass from Weymouth,
THE FACTS
mackerel, crab, or game shot nearby in the winter.
How do you source products, maintain good relationships with
• Type of pub: Freehouse suppliers and ensure a high standard of product quality?
• Style of outlet: Lisa says her priorities are quality and provenance. She strives to strike
Traditional ale house a balance between hitting target GPs without ever sacrificing quality.
• Wet/dry split: 71/29 Chicken, for example, is always free range and corn-fed, even for sand-
• Website: wiches. Suppliers are found through word-of-mouth and by scouring the
www.thesandrock.com local consumer and food press. A staff outing was organised recently to a
local wild boar farm.
How do you measure customer response to your food offering?
Staff are encouraged to interact with customers, who have described the
enthusiasm of table staff as ‘infectious’. The pub has a comments book and
an online database of several hundred customers which acts as a marketing
tool for events.
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