THE CHURCH INN CROWNED DINING PUB OF THE YEAR
The Church Inn, in Mobberley, has won the coveted title of Cheshire Life Magazine’s Dining Pub of the Year. The award, presented at Carden Park Hotel, saw the team pip their sister pub The Cholmondeley Arms in the final of the Cheshire Life Food & Drink Awards 2017.
The Church Inn scooped this year’s title after judges visited the pub and were blown away by the quality and taste of the food as well as the ambience in which it is served. The food, described as Modern British, includes a selection of exceptional seasonal specials as well as the favourite dishes you would expect from a quintessentially English village pub. All dishes are regularly changed to match what’s in season and available from local producers.
The kitchen also prepares a special tasting menu for Saturday evenings and for private diners in the pub’s George Mallory dining room, a room that pays homage to the local villager and famous mountaineer who died on Everest in 1924. There is also an extensive wine list that includes 80 different wines, 15 of which are available by the glass, that have been carefully selected to provide a balance of ‘old’ and ‘new’ world wines.
Tim Bird, owner of the Church Inn comments; “It’s fantastic to be recognized in this way and for the team to rewarded for all the hard work they put in, day in day out. We have sought to develop dishes to suit each occasion whether it be a light lunch or a special supper and we’re also proud to celebrate this recognition with all our local producers.
The Church Inn is one of seven country pubs (five in Cheshire, one in Dorset and one in Staffordshire) that are owned and operated by Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin’s Cheshire Cat Pubs & Bars group. The group has had an extraordinarily successful year receiving a flurry of awards including; Best Casual Dining Pub, Best Food Offer in the UK, Sawday’s Favourite Newcomer, Pub & Bar’s Best Pub in the North West as well as being recognised in the Northern Bar and Restaurants Top 50 Companies.