A chance to experiment… November 15, 2011

It’s been just over a month since the release of the latest Michelin
guide, so I’ve had a bit of time to settle on the news that we have retained
our star for 2012 – and what a relief it was.

As I mentioned a month or so ago, the credit must go first
and foremost to my team who have faced increased pressure and raised expectations.
I really am thankful for their dedication and enthusiasm.

People have asked me how I felt in the build up, and of
course I was apprehensive. I knew when the announcement was being made – but
most didn’t and that included my family who didn’t find out until an hour or so
before! The guide was out a few months earlier this year which was worrying in
itself. Would 10 months have been the shortest amount of time ever in it?! I
certainly didn’t want to be a flash in the pan (excuse the pun!) and as I’ve
said before, while we don’t work for awards, it certainly is nice to be
recognised for the work we do.

I didn’t write about this straight away as I wanted some
time to collect my thoughts about the year that has gone before. What did the
award do for us in the first place? What does it mean now we’ve retained it?
What next?

In retrospect, perhaps the best thing that the accolade gave
us was the chance to develop the pub experience much more than before. For 6
months our feet didn’t touch the ground and so the extra business meant we
could increase the numbers in our team. More covers meant more front of house
members, which meant a better service all round.

Crucially, it also allowed us the chance to expand our chef
team which meant we could experiment and dedicate more time to creating new
dishes, trying things out and adding the extra touches. As I’ve highlighted in
this blog a few times, we’ve been able to make things like our own ice creams,
our own garnish and the latest – our own bread. Our foray in the bakery has so
far seen loaves such as rosemary, walnut, spelt and olive. The possibilities
are endless.

Indeed the retention of the award will give us more scope to
improve and make peoples visits even better than before. We want to put our
stamp on every part of the dish, and I am thankful that we are able to do this
after only 5 years. Without these nominations, we just simply wouldn’t have had
the manpower or the time to progress as we have this year.

So what next? Well for me, the aim is to improve on the year
we’ve had. Yes it will be tough but we’re up for the challenge. We’ve got a new
check for quality in the kitchen… quite simply we question whether it’s a
bloody brilliant dish that will make your taste buds sing! If it doesn’t, then
it won’t make the cut.

No longer will we just have a soup just for the sake of having
a soup, or equally an elaborate dish that sounds good but lacks punch. If it’s
not inspiring then it’s not on. That’s the aim and that’s what I hope will take
us to the next level.

Customer Expectations October 25, 2011

Whenever you provide a service there is always a degree of customer expectation. But it seems that when others start to take note of your work, expectations similarly increase.

Of course this comes with the territory and something I would never complain about, but it’s fair to say that when you are recognised for what you do, the pressure to keep hitting a high standard increases massively.

I always want to hear how people rate their visit to The Pony and Trap – be it good or bad. I really care about what people think of us because above all, I want all my customers to have a good experience. I love hearing people enjoy themselves and we try and create an atmosphere that allows laughter to pass throughout the pub. Of course, this isn’t what everybody expects when they arrive, but for me, keeping a buzz throughout the place is a key part of our identity.

Let’s be clear – we’re here to make sure people have a good time. We don’t work to give bad service, serve bad food and annoy people, what would be the point in that? But, the problem is that not everybody likes the same thing.

We do try to accommodate for as many as possible, and that is why we have a range of dishes on our menu. It’s why you can have a starter on its own, or a three course meal. It’s why you can turn up for a pint after work in your overalls or an anniversary dinner dressed to the nines. It’s why you can sit in the bar, in the restaurant or even outside with the countryside view. With an ever growing customer expectation we try and do as much as we can to make it the best visit possible, but ultimately, we know we won’t always please everybody.

As I mentioned, I love the sound of a loud restaurant. I like the relaxed approach to dining where people can chat freely and laugh. While I accept that others hate that when eating out, unfortunately, a quiet, formal, reserved atmosphere is not what you’ll find at The Pony and Trap. It’s something I won’t budge on, and while we will try to please in all other areas, we know we can’t make everybody happy.

Yet if we do get some things wrong – and of course we do, then my message to the customer is ”please don’t think we are trying to do it on purpose”. I want to hear when things aren’t good because that’s the only way we can improve the experience. We have a motto in our kitchen that started as a joke but has now become the stock saying. Quite simply, “try harder”. And that is what we’ll do.

So often I’m filled with dread as I meet people who say they have eaten in the pub – and I always expect it their reaction to be negative. When indeed we get the bad review on trip advisor, or a nasty email then sometimes it’ll ruin my weekend and play on my mind for days after. While I’m gradually coming to terms with the fact that not everybody will always have a great time as I’d hope, rest assured my team and I will always “try harder”.

October Madness October 14, 2011

Morning all, sorry i’ve been a bit distant but things have been busy this month for one or two reasons!

I won’t go in to too much detail about it now as i’m short on time, but, as some of you may know, last week we had the fantastic news that we had retained our Michelin Star for the second year running. The 2012 guide was out early this year so as i’ve said before, there’s been no room for complacency. It’s funny to think it’s only been 10 months since the first one – time flies when you’re having fun! All credit to my team though, they have been superb this year coping with some intense pressure and raised expectations (something i’ll expand on soon!), so I just want to say thanks to them for their hard graft. Here’s to another year of it!

This weekend we’ve got the Invisible Banquet which promises to be an amazing charity event with all proceeds going to The Coexist Community Kitchen, “creating educational and recreational opportunities in all things food related”. Glad to do my bit, of which I will try and report back on asap.

In the meantime, I thought i’d share with you this recipe in honour of ‘Chocolate Week’. My pals at Great British Chefs have already been sharing it on their brilliant website and Facebook page so I thought i’d put it up in case anyone missed it. It’s easy and could be a good one to keep in mind for Halloween!

Chocolate and Hazelnut Flapjacks

For 60 portions

Oven Temperature: 180 C

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

455g Butter

455g Brown Sugar

680g Oats

142.5ml Golden Syrup

125g Chopped Hazelnuts

250g Milk Chocolate

Method:

-Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a bowl.

-Add the oats, chocolate and hazelnuts and mix well

-Put into tins and cook, chill, slice, serve

A community success story September 22, 2011

A lot has happened over the last 6 months, but it’s staggering to think that our summer season began all that time ago in April, with our first Tipi Pop Up restaurant. It could have been easy to let the opportunity pass, but my ‘ol mucker Luke Hasell was insistent that we round the summer off the way we started it by getting the tipis out one last time – and I’m glad he persuaded me!

True to form, the Tipi Events team dug out the canvas and timber for one last summer bash, and on Sunday 18^th September, we put on our the second “Secret Sunday Lunch” of 2011. Once again, the impressive Tipi structure was erected to overlook the ever beautiful Chew Valley Lake, and despite a menacing forecast, we had another fantastic turnout of intrepid diners stop by for the afternoon.

Set this time in the grounds of ‘The Community Farm’ on Denny Lane, Chew Magna, the Pop Up Restaurant served as a great way to showcase the amazing progress this valuable community project has made.

A testament to the unity of the Chew Valley and the neighbouring cities of Bath and Bristol, The Community Farm has come a long way since its inception, and now under the direction of an appointed board, the community run farm now grows veg across 24 acres of Chew farmland, employs 15 local people and enlists the help of an army of volunteers.

The first venture of its kind in the UK, the farm seeks to give people an opportunity to get involved in the growing and harvesting of a variety of organic produce. In an age where the supermarket is king, The Community Farm’s success is rooted in the fact that it supplies fresh veg boxes to over 350 homes and businesses, including my own pub, The Pony and Trap.

To celebrate and promote this inspiring project, my team at The Pony and Trap joint forces with ‘the Story’ organic meat Co once more to champion the great work of The Community Farm. As I said in a speech to the Chew Magna Society just weeks prior, it is important that the local community continues to support this unique operation – we really are so very lucky to benefit from such an amazing source of sustainable, local produce.

Very much at the heart of The Pony and Trap’s ethos, local, fresh and sustainable have become my buzz words – but they are the crux upon which we build everything. The latest PopUp was again, a very special event for it allowed us to get simple, locally produced food to people in a setting like no other. With my team serving over 350 roast dinners against the backdrop of the lake, with the music playing and the cider flowing, I felt privileged to be a West-country boy, and hope that all in attendance felt the same.

Here is to The Community Farm, and the Pop Up Tipis. Look out for events with both over the winter months. There are a few exciting plans in the pipeline!

Village SOS August 19, 2011

Hopefully some of you may have seen our national cameo
on Wednesday night’s BBC 1 show ‘Village SOS’. We were asked to give some
pointers and advice to The Barge Inn, a community run pub that was set-up in
Honeystreet, Wiltshire.

Picked to be given assistance by the The UK-wide Village SOS Active campaign, the guys from the
Barge came to visit us a few weeks back. The project was launched by the Big
Lottery Fund (BLF), and included a £5m funding pot that aims to help people in
rural communities to tackle revive their area. The campaign was launched
alongside the BBC Village SOS TV series that began last week on BBC1, and last Wednesday’s
show was the second in the series. You can watch the episode here (Look out for us on 39 mins
28 secs!)

When approached about the project, we were all too happy to lend a hand as we are fully aware of how
demanding this industry can be – particularly for a new pub, in a rural area, in a flagging economy.

Make no mistake about it, when we opened the Pony and Trap doors back in 2006 we were pretty much walking
in to the unknown. It wasn’t easy starting out and we’d often get people walk
in, look at the menu and walk out. During those uncertain early times there is
always an element of concern in your mind. At the end of the day, you are
taking a risk. But as I said to the guys on the show last night, you have to
stick to your guns and believe you can make your ideas work.

You need to make sure you are on top of your craft and like I said, if you’re offering a Ploughmans on
the lunch menu – you need to make sure it’s the best damn Ploughmans in town!
Make the pickle, make the coleslaw and make sure you are putting the best stuff
in it! A dish can only be as good as the fresh produce you are cooking with.

I really wish the team at The Barge Inn all the very best for the future and hope that things go
to plan for them. It is important we work to safeguard the future of our
valuable village life and these community run projects will be very important
in ensuring the great British pub has a bright future.

The group was awarded a grant to buy a 20 year lease on the pub, and with a bit of graft, a bit of luck and a bit of support,
I’m sure it can be a strong community venue for that period and beyond.

‘Honeystreet’, Village SOS, aired on BBC 1 on Wednesday 17^th August
at 8pm. You can catch the episode on iplayer here.

Recipe: Apple Sorbet August 18, 2011

Following my last post about my new ice cream maker, a few people have been in touch asking for a recipe for the apple sorbet! In keeping with the Great British Chefs ‘Apple Week’, here is a copy of the simple apple sorbet recipe I used… Hope you like it!

 

Recipe Name:

Apple Sorbet

Number of Portions:

30 Scoops

Oven Temperature:

n/a

Cooking Time:

n/a

Ingredients:600ml Water 300g Sugar Juices of 1 Lemon 100g Glucose Juice 10 Granny Smith Apples 5.5g Tartaric acid 2 Egg Whites or Sorbet Stabiliser

Method:  – Boil the water, sugar, lemon and glucose and chill – Juice the apples and add to the chilled sugar stock – Add the tartaric acid and egg whites if using stabiliser follow guide lines – Blend with hand blender and churn in a ice cream churner – Note: Once the apples have been juiced you have to be quick or they will lose their colour

Sweetcorn Ice Cream?! August 16, 2011

Hi all, I know it’s been far too long since my last post but unfortunately there just do not seem to be enough hours in the day. I keep having thoughts while driving about in the van and say to myself “I’ll put that in the blog”, but by the time it comes round to it, something else pops up and it’s gone.

So it’s time for a change of tact. I’m going to go for short and sweet entries for a while and see if that helps matters. When I have a thought, I’ll make a note and write it up as soon as I get the chance.

So here goes. When the Pony and Trap were picked out by the Michelin guide back in January, Mark Taylor asked me in the Bristol Evening Post what it was that I thought got us the accolade. I speculated that it was partly due to the fact we had been raising our game over the year prior by making small but consistent changes doing things like churning our own butter, making our own black pudding and rearing our own pigs that we eventually slaughtered and constructed an 8 course menu from.

Over the past 7 months we’ve continued to make alterations and try and improve the experience in new ways. A good example came last week when I finally took the plunge and bought myself an ice cream maker.

I have wanted to invest for a while but costing a fair few thousand for a top spec bit of kit, I could never really justify it. However, when I stumbled across a small and cheap machine earlier in the month, I couldn’t resist. Buying on impulse, I had bought it with the mind to experiment and try a few things out. I thought that after a spell getting used to it I’d hopefully be able to put some flavours on the menu.

However, little did I know that after one afternoon playing about, the team and I would have created an array of home-made ice creams and sorbets that would be put on the menu that night! We were constructing flavours out of anything we could get our hands on, and after a pretty suspect sweetcorn ice cream, we actually surprised ourselves with some absolute beauties!

In a little over 3 hours we had managed to come up with 7 icy creations including a nice little Strawberry and basil number, a gingerbread treat and a cracking apple sorbet. It was a really creative session and has already added another dimension to our menu. It’s no secret that I want to make as much of what we serve on the menu from scratch and this is another welcome addition to the Pony and Trap.

Ship Shape Glasto Fashion July 8, 2011

So here I am, on only my 3^rd blog and somehow it’s crept in to July already! Unbelievable really. It seems like only yesterday that the start of the summer was on the horizon and now here we are with the Wimbledon champions confirmed (congrats to Djokovic – awesome)!

Of course, they say time flies when you’re having fun and while I have been manic as ever of late with umpteen services, weddings and planning other events, I did manage to take the usual few days off in late June to take in the mighty Glastonbury Festival (my first holiday since last years Glasto!)

I’ve been going with the same group of close friends for a few years now and I really do love everything about it. It’s like travelling 20 miles down the track to find yourself in a different world and there is always something fantastic on be it music or food! Come rain or shine, people I speak to always have an amazing experience and the event really is a credit to the Westcountry.

However, it is fair to say that the place gives me a headache from time to time – of course I often have a headache after a cider or two and I struggle as half my staff request time off, but what really pains me is thinking about the organisation of it all! The vastness of the place never ceases to amaze me and having organised my fair share of events over the years, in a professional capacity, I doth my cap to the Eavis family and his team.

Often I sit on the Pilton site and find myself thinking about just how daunting a prospect it must be to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. Where do you begin? Infrastructure, access, police, health and safety, the residents, the music, not to mention the food!

As is natural, I take great interest in considering things from a caterers point of view. As some of you may know, I run an outdoor catering company from the Pony & Trap called ‘Food For Thought’ and have recently built a new service kitchen on the back of the pub property specifically for this side of my business. In earlier years I did consider pitching for a stall at the festival, but after consideration and a stint helping out a friend at Shambala festival a few years back, I decided that i’d stick to enjoying Glasto as a punter!

Again, I have nothing but admiration for the guys that run kitchens at Glastonbury and without them the festival would simply not function. There is so much great food on offer there and every year I look forward to seeing what will be served up. For me, the eating is an essential part of the experience.

In previous years, I know my good friend Vince of Castellano’s has regularly run a stall and has spoken of his love for playing a part in this fabulous festival. For 5 days it seems that Glastonbury becomes the centre of the world for so many and it is great that local restauranteurs get the chance to showcase their talents to such a widespread audience. Flying the flag this year were many friends of mine running great cafes such as ‘the Story’ organic burger kitchen, the treehouse, the thali café and Lahloo tea and I had the pleasure to visit all of them as I waded through the mud. They all did a great job and should be very proud that they all played their part in the region’s greatest show.

Reality bites…Back to the grind! June 1, 2011

Following on from last week, I thought you might like to
hear what life has been like at the Pony & Trap since we were awarded our
Michelin Star back in January.

I’ve gotta say there was no real “penny dropping” moment  where what we had achieved sunk in – to be
honest there just wasn’t the time to stop and enjoy it. From the day news broke
we were in the guide, the phone was red hot. In fact the phone was so hot it blimmin
broke the system and we had to get a new one that could cope!  Honestly, the first few weeks were chaos and
it really tested us.

All of a sudden we were going from steady lunch services to
flat out rammed, the odd quiet evening service to busy right through. It was
literally all hands on deck from the word go but all of the staff were great in
helping us get through the worst of it until we could get more people on board.
In the space of 4 weeks, we had 3 extra front of house staff and an extra full
time chef. Until then the same crew had been sharing the shifts and after a
month of it we were all broken!

With a raft of new staff in, everybody had to get up to
speed quickly. As anybody in the trade knows, it often takes time for people to
get used to the way you work… Unfortunately, the new guys were given none of
this! They were chucked straight in at the deep end, but thankfully came out
swimming.

What was strange though was that I noticed I was beginning
to question myself a lot more than before. Whereas before I had free reign to
do what I was thought was best in my own mind, now there was a new sense of
pressure coming with everything I did. Was that starter bang on? Did the steak
hit the mark?

Gradually though we’ve found our rhythm and I’m now getting
used to dealing with the new expectation that is there. I’m aware that we’ve
got a tag now but I don’t want that to get in the way of our creative streak. I
felt we built a good name on consistency and simple flavours, but we’ve never
been afraid to take on risks.

While I do keep spot-checking myself every now and then, I’d
be cheating myself if I stopped now and played safe. I’ve always wanted to try
new things and do new events and I’m committed to doing so.

In the past few months we’ve ramped up the weddings, put on
tasting nights such as “The Evening with the Chefs” and also commissioned events
such as the unique “PopUp” Restaurant experience. I’ve enjoyed doing these and
will be looking to do more in the future to complement my day job at the Pony.

A Michelin Star for 2011 May 15, 2011

As some of you know already, my name is Josh Eggleton and I am the Head Chef and co-owner of the Pony and Trap, a country pub and restaurant situated in Chew Magna – a small country village sandwiched between Bristol and Bath.

In January this year – “The Pony” (as the pub is known to our regulars) was awarded a Michelin Star in the Michelin Guide 2011. As a result, I have decided to take the leap into the murky world of “blogging” so that I can keep some record of this rollercoaster year and also to give you an insight as to how we got here. Undoubtedly, the past few months have been some of the most exciting, challenging and downright surreal that I have ever experienced and it only seems right that I should get some stuff written down before it becomes a distant memory.

Thinking back to the moment I heard we had been named in the Michelin Guide, the feeling was of pure shock. It was a strange moment. People often ask “did you know?” to which I can honestly respond, “No, I was the most surprised of everyone!”

The truth is, I had always confided to my family and close friends that I did not think it was possible to get a Michelin Star at the Pony and Trap. While I had been pleased with the progress we had made at the pub since taking it over in 2006, a Star was something I envisaged for the future. Maybe in a restaurant in Bristol or Bath? For the Pony, it certainly wasn’t something that I expected after only 5 years. The good thing is, I really have so much more that I want to do with the place before I believe it will be anywhere near the finished article.

While the day of the announcement remains somewhat of a blur, I do remember the night before pretty clearly. I had been on a trip to London with my old school friend Guy Winter along with Jonray and Pete Sanchez-Iglesias of Casamia, who were attending the inaugural Michelin awards that night. Ironically, having been deservedly given their own star a year earlier the boys had privileged access to the event as only recipients of the award could attend.  After some memorable food at the Greenhouse in Mayfair, Jonray and Pete made their way to the exclusive event, while Guy and I went to the pub. Sat there with my pint I remember thinking, that one day it would be nice to go to the event myself!

The next morning back in Bristol, I was up for prep as usual feeling a bit worse for wear. At the back of my mind, I knew the Michelin Guide was out that day as Jon and Pete had been saying on the train that they thought the Pony would be in with a shout. As I say, being a country pub at heart with little emphasis on formality, I personally did not think getting a star was possible.

By 11.30, service was a little under half an hour away and I wasn’t loving life – all of a sudden Tim and Domhnaill (Chef & Bar manager) came bounding down the stairs proclaiming “we’ve done it, we’ve done it!”… Naturally, I had no clue what the hell they were on about, and then it hit me! Surely not? At first I thought they were both taking the mickey, but I rushed up the stairs and there it was, sitting on the computer screen. I could feel the blood drain from my face and had to sit down. Unbelievable.

From there on it was a blur. I had to sit out the service, turning into a jibbering wreck. I wasn’t fit to chop a carrot let alone send out 50 covers! The phone rang all afternoon and by 5pm that day I had BBC Points West filming me live in the kitchen… It really was crazy – and to think I was still struggling from the night before!!

Later that evening, the word had spread and lots of my family and friends came to the pub to celebrate. It was a great night and the response and support I had that day was something I’ll never forget. The whirlwind day had come to an end and I was knackered. I enjoyed a few drinks with everyone but little did I know that it would be the last quiet pint I would have for weeks to come. The madness had begun!