The Church Inn in Mobberley, Cheshire, has been recognised as the best pub in the UK, after securing the top title at last night’s National Pub & Bar Awards. Read More on the Pub & Bar website
The Church Inn in Mobberley, Cheshire, has won the coveted title of ‘Best Pub in the UK’. The Award was presented by Pubs Minister, Marcus Jones MP, at the National Pub & Bar Awards Grand Final, which took place at London’s iconic BAFTA theatre on Tuesday 24 May 2016.
The Church Inn saw off stiff competition from a total of 94 county pub winners from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. After winning the North West award, the pub went on to be awarded the overall UK title from journalist and food critic, Jay Rayner.
Tim Bird, owner of Cheshire Cat Pubs & Bar and operator of The Church Inn, comments; “This is fantastic news and great recognition of a real team effort. We don’t profess to being perfect all the time, but constantly work to please our guests and offer them a great pub experience. With the trophy safely on our mantelpiece, it’s now back to business as usual, serving well and cooking well.”
The pubs were judged by a panel of experts, who visited the 94 pubs on the list, and were marked on a range of criteria from the quality of service to product range, aesthetic design and the pub’s hospitality.
“The shortlisted pubs each represent all that is great about the modern British pub,” says Tristan O’Hana, editor of Pub & Bar magazine. “It’s been an absolute pleasure to visit such a fantastic variety of pubs across the UK during the judging process – but there can be only one winner and The Church Inn is a very worthy recipient as it offers an exceptional drinking and dining experience. Well done to all involved.”
The Church Inn is owned and operated by Cheshire Cats Pubs & Bars, who have a collection of award winning pubs across Cheshire, Staffordshire and Dorset. Earlier this year were voted the Best Drinks Act in the UK at the prestigious Publican Awards ceremony in London.
Tuesday 24th May is a special day indeed, it’s the official anniversary of the Bulls Head re-opening in Mobberley 6 years ago, remarkably the very same date that the Roebuck re-opened yesterday after three and a half years of being closed and now is the day Simon, our Church Inn landlord and co-owner Tim, headed to London to BAFTA in Piccadilly to see how the Church Inn would do in the National Pub and Bar Magazine Awards.
The Church Inn had already being recognised as the best pub in Cheshire by the magazine a month or so ago.
Judges then had to visit the 94 county winners before the special evening at BAFTA hosted by journalist and Food Critic for the Observer, Jay Rayner.
The Regional Winners were firstly announced before the single National winner was declared.
The Church Inn scooped the Northwest and then as the Pubs Minister, Marcus Jones MP, joined Jay Rayner on stage, a hush fell around BAFTA as The Church Inn from the wonderful village of Mobberley was announced as the overall winner!!
Well done to the Church Inn team!!! Great recognition indeed. We don’t profess to being perfect all the time, but we try really hard and care so much about trying to be perfect every time.. That’s our constant goal, to please our guests!
Co-owner Mary couldn’t be in London because of the Roebuck Inn opening. She was updated via texts as the good news unfolded and rushed to the Church Inn later to let the team know and get them a little glass of bubbly to celebrate their win.
Tim treated Simon to a much deserved meal at the Wolseley after the win.
Now it’s back to Mobberley with the trophy and back to business as usual. Serving well and cooking well!
From The Publicans Morning Advertiser
by Emily Sutherland, 25-Apr-2016
Publican award winner Cheshire Cat Pubs and Bars has opened its seventh site, the Fitzherbert Arms on Lords Stafford’s estate in Swynerton, Staffordshire. Read More….
by Rachel Howarth 7 March 2016
AN historic Mobberley inn is in the final stages of restoration and set to re-open to the public in April.
The Roebuck Inn, a grade II listed building on Mill Lane, has been closed for three years while owners Tim Bird and Mary Mclaughlin restore it to its former glory. Read More
By Ben Winstanley, 14-Mar-2016
A real love of cask ale and drinks in general has propelled one operator to the front ranks of the sector and netted it the title of Best Drinks Offer in the Publican Awards, sponsored by Coca Cola Enterprises.
Cheshire Cats Pubs & Bars, who own and operate The Cholmondeley Arms on the Cholmondeley estate, The Bulls Head and Church Inn in Mobberley, the Three Greyhounds Inn in Allostock, the Fitzherbert Arms in Swynnerton and the Red Lion in Weymouth, Dorset, has been voted the company with the Best Drinks Act in the UK at the prestigious Publican Awards ceremony in London.
Cheshire Cats Pubs & Bars beat a number of national chains to the title, drawing high praise from the judges for supporting cask ales from local brewers. The company was also awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ title in the Best Food Offer category.
Each pub within the collection specializes in a particular drink with The Cholmondeley Arms boasting more than 300 gins, the Red Lion offering more than 80 rums and the Fitzherbert Arms offering over 30 Ports by the bottle. Whiel the Bulls Head, Three Greyhounds Inn and the Church have enviable collections of Whisky, Brandy and wine respectfully.
Tim Bird, owner of the unique collection of village pubs and country inns, comments: “These awards are equivalent to the drinks industry’s ‘Oscars’ and it is fantastic that our pubs and our teams has been recognized in this way. The award recognises the hard work that the team puts in and how we work with local breweries, suppliers and food producers to bring a memorable and unique experience to our customers everyday.”
Ed Bebbington, of the Publican’s Morning Advertiser, comments: “This is a company that puts a lot of time and thought into getting its drink offer right, from its superb focus on local, great beers, through to an impressive offer of wines and spirits.”
Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin, owners of Cheshire Cat Pubs & Bars, have already won numerous awards for restoring pubs of great heritage and character and are now focused on the Roebuck Inn, also in Mobberley which after three years of closure is set to open in April.
For further information on Cheshire Cat Pubs and its collection of pubs, please visit www.cheshirecatpubsandbars.co.uk.
Cheshire Cat Pubs and Bars, the north west of England multiple operator led by Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin, is to open its seventh site and first in Staffordshire. The company has taken on The Fitzherbert Arms, which sits on Lord Stafford’s estate in the village of Swynnerton. The 19th century pub will reopen this month following extensive refurbishment work featuring log fires, snug, private dining room and outside summer terrace. It will serve ales from Staffordshire micro-brewers as well as wines and a range of locally sourced, freshly prepared English dishes.
McLaughlin told the Stone & Eccleshall Gazette: “We are very excited to be working with Lord Stafford on this project and look forward to opening the doors to this iconic pub. We have restored the Fitz ensuring its heritage is brought to the fore and that it remains in keeping with the village of Swynnerton and its history, we are very proud to open a pub in Staffordshire.” The company also operates five sites in Cheshire and one in Dorset.
The task was to re-create the sharing plate and all the competitors came up with some brilliant ideas. First up was the Fitzherbert Arms, who added some great elements to their Pub Plate including a wild boar sausage roll with a homemade roasted red pepper and chilli jam.
Next up was the Cholmondeley Arms. Ollie and Leigh decided to recreate the concept of the Pub Plate and made a Cholmondeley ‘Garden Hamper’.
The Three Greyhounds went for a plate that took traditional pub elements and made them into sharing portions.
The Roebuck Inn took a different twist on the challenge and presented a pudding sharing plate—all of the puddings reflected their bistro roots.
All four teams came up with some fantastic ideas. Their imaginative elements will be used on our menus in the future and they were all very creative! It was a very close call but the winners were the Cholmondeley Arms with their Garden Hamper!
Watch this space though, as new pub nibbles will be on all of our menus soon!
A MOBBERLEY pub is celebrating after receiving a trio of awards in one week.
The Church Inn, on Church Lane, found out it has been listed in the Michelin’s pub guide on the same day as winning the ‘most stylish dining experience’ at the Hilden Awards and being crowned the winner of the Mobberley Scarecrow competition. Read full article…