22 | restaurant | September 2010 | www.bighospitality.co.uk

In Association with

www.shelleysandzer.co.uk

Net profitsThe British Larder

Two experienced chefs turn a successful online brand into bricks and mortar with the help of an established pub group

It typically happens in reverse. Businesses are increasingly realising they’d be better off closing physical premises and moving into cyberspace. But Madalene Bonvini-Hamel and Ross Pike are bucking the trend with a bricks-and-mortar spin-off of a foodie website.

Both experienced chefs, the pair set up www.britishlarder.co.uk in March last year as an outlet for their recipes. It’s been a great success and spawned numerous consulting opportunities, but their most recent brand extension has seen a community pub in Bromeswell, Suffolk, turned into an upmarket food-led pub.

South African-born Bonvini-Hamel started her career at London’s Kensington Place before working for Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) as a chef de partie for six years. Latterly, she worked in contract catering and product development. Business partner Pike also has a cooking

» WhereBromeswell, Woodbridge, Suff olk, IP12 2PU» Web britishlarder.co.uk» OpenMonday to Saturday 11am-11pm, Sundays 11am-10.30pm» Job enquiries01394 460310

ON THE MENU✜ Butternut Squash Soup; Polenta Herb Muff in £4.75✜ Orford Smoked Mackerel Salad; Fennel & Cured Tomatoes £5.75✜ Upsidedown Beetroot Tart, Broad Bean Cream £5.50

Mains✜ Warm Pearl Barley, Butternut & Pecan Salad with Lemon Crème Fraiche £11.00✜ Dingely Dell Honey Baked Pork Belly with Hill Farm Rapeseed Oil Mash & Buttered Broccoli £15.00✜ Braised Claydon Reared Chicken Breast, Salt Baked Beetroot & Griddled Leeks £14.50✜ Sautéed Grey Mullet with East Coast Samphire & Warm New Potato & Broad Bean Salad; Sea Vegetable Vinaigrette £13.50

Sharing Platters✜ The Orford Smoke House Experience: Smoked Prawns, Smoked Salmon, Butley Oyster & Garden Pickles £10.00 per person

Sides✜ Rosemary and Sea Salt Roasties, Roasted Aspall Cider Onions, Peas & Wilted Spinach, Leafy Summer Salad, Glazed Carrots with Garden Herbs All £2.50

background in hotels and restaurants and most recently worked for contract caterer BaxterStorey as executive chef.

This latest project is a 50:50 partnership between the couple and Hertfordshire based pub operator Oakman Inns & Restaurants. Founder and CEO Peter-Borg-Neal currently runs three high-turnover gastropubs, and is set to open another pub this year. “We know one of the investors at Oakman well,” says Pike. “We were looking at buying a pub by ourselves, but we soon realised that we didn’t have enough capital. We got laughed out the door by our bank.”

The pub – formerly the Cherry Tree – is held on a Punch Taverns lease. “We’re tied on beer and soft drinks – which is not so bad as the wet:dry split is currently 20:80 in favour of food. Because we’re big on local sourcing, Punch is allowing us to buy local even if it breaks the tie.”

Bonvini-Hamel’s GRH background shows through on the pub’s concise, seasonal menu. “I hate the term gastropub. It’s carefully sourced, carefully cooked food. It’s not fancy, but I might do a foam or use sous vide if it’s appropriate to the dish.”

The latter technique is essential to the smooth running of the pubs diminutive kitchen, which accommodates just four chefs. “Waterbaths are great for us,” she explains. “They take the pressure off during service and allow us to slow-cook big

pieces of meat overnight.”So why Suffolk? Unlike the neighbouring

counties of Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, it’s not in easy striking distance of London. While most would see this as a disadvantage for an operation that is seeking to establish itself as a destination venue, it means that there is little in the way of competition.

It’s also a good place to be from a supply perspective. “Suffolk is – in my view – the best place in England for produce. We have access to some incredible suppliers such as Orford Smoke House and Dingley Dell Pork, and we also have direct contact with the people who make the products.”

The pair have big plans for the pub and the British Larder brand as a whole. In January, the pub will close for a month and an extension will double capacity to 100. Concurrently, a barn will be converted into a cookery school and private dining room. But it’s not just the pub that’s set to expand.

The pair see huge brand-equity in British Larder, and hope to set up similar businesses around the UK. “We think it’s a brilliant brand name and concept, and we’d like British Larders elsewhere.”

To aid expansion, the couple hope to create a partnership model similar to that of Peach Pub Company. Experienced professionals who lack the funds to start their own businesses contribute capital to a site, operate it and share in the profits.

“We hope to find like-minded people who have been working for someone else and who can’t quite afford to branch out themselves, much like our situation before we found Oakman. A lot of very talented people can’t afford to go it alone.”

Words

Joe Lutrario

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