Chalking up food success

A village pub has been named one of the best 50 in the country.

The Waggon and Horses in Halam has been included in a book of the best pubs and inns in England and Wales and was featured in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday.

The pub appears in the Best For Food section of food critic Alistair Sawday’s Special Places: Pubs and Inns of England and Wales.

The tenants, Mr and Mrs Roy Wood, took sole charge of the pub in March last year. They scrapped the paper menu in favour of a blackboard to display their ever-changing list of meals, using locally sourced food.

Mr Wood, a former chef at Café Bleu, Newark, said they changed the menu daily.

“Everything is bought in season,” he said.

The local ingredients used by the pub include bread from a bakery in Farnsfield, meat from a butcher in Newark, dairy products from Newfield Dairy in Hockerton, and vegetables from Maxey’s Farm in Kirklington.

Mr Wood’s fish and seafood, which come from Grimsby, and game dishes are singled out in the book for their quality.

Braised monkfish wrapped in parma ham with seared scallops and saffron linguine is given particular mention, as is the pub’s venison loin with grilled polenta and marinated pears.

The pub has already been included in the Michelin Guide and won an award in January for the best catering newcomer in a national competition run by Thwaites Brewery.

Mr Wood said their success was down to hard work, listening to what customers wanted and keeping their menu simple.

They have also changed the interior of the pub to give it a more contemporary, clean look.

Mrs Laura Wood (26) with her husband, Mr Roy Wood (30) at The Waggon and Horses, Halam, named one of the best pubs in the country. - 070508MW1-1