Our third famous ‘Pie week’ once again went down extremely well with all our customers and thank you for visiting us. The favourite pies of the week where 300+ pies were served as main courses were….

Our now legendary Steak and Ale pie still at number one!!!

Followed swiftly by our unique ‘chunky lamb’ Shepherd’s pie, Lloyds Cottage Pie, our Game pie, the steak and kidney pie and finally our Seafood Cumberland Pie featuring Haddock, smoked mackerel and salmon topped with mashed potato and local melted cheddar cheese made up the top six best sellers although all pies were appreciated especially our vegetarian pie which sold out twice!!

All our pies are homemade in our kitchen by Lloyd and the team and have been handcrafted with pride.

Watch out for our next pie week in March 2012 in recognition of British pie week….a national celebration of a great British favourite.

Our ales that sold quickest during the week were Mobberley Wobbly Ale, Bulls Head Bitter, Blonde Bull, Cholmondeley Best and the Dunham Massey ‘Green hop’ beer. Well done to everyone who sampled the ale with their favourite pie.

Fast on the heels of our success of being included in the Good Beer Guide for 2012 and being recognised as the ‘Turnaround Pub of the Year’ 2011 the Team from CAMRA arrived at the Bulls Head to complete the ‘hat-trick’ as we were awarded LocAle Pub of the Area for our commitment to supporting LOCAL Cheshire brewers.

A great night was enjoyed by all and Macclesfield and East Cheshire Branch of CAMRA enjoyed a few anecdotes from Tim as well as listening to Ray and Phil talk about their Mobberley Fine Ales Brewery which has just opened in Mobberley…..our nearest Brewery.

We wish to thank CAMRA for the recognition and our team for making it happen and our customers as always for their tremendous support!!!

We are so proud to announce that after only 15 months of trading , the ‘new’ Bulls Head team has been recognised for our commitment to only serving local micro-brewery ale from Cheshire Breweries within a 30 mile radius.

Our intention was always to support local businesses whether it be Ale or food.

To be acknowledged by the Good Beer guide this early in our journey with the Bulls Head is hugely satisfying.

However success is a journey not a destination and so we must work even harder in the future to ensure consistency over many years to come.

Thank you to all our loyal customers for enjoying our ale with us and here’s to many more pints being enjoyed in the future.

A very special guest visited our newly opened Cholmondeley Arms, (www.cholmondeleyarms.co.uk ) to enjoy the ‘Headmasters’ Steak Sandwich!!!

Shane and a few members of the Bulls Head team arrived to have a good ‘nosey’ at their ‘sister’ pub.

The Cholmondeley Arms opened on Saturday and we are very proud to welcome the pub and the team to our ‘family’. The ‘Chum’ is a unique building having spent most of its life as the village school!!

But like the Bulls Head is a favourite location for walkers, cyclists and car club enthusiasts as well as people simply out for a drive in the beautiful Cheshire countryside.

We have six guest bedrooms situated in the Headmasters house for those on a longer journey or those who simply want to make more of their visit to the ‘Chum’.

Shane has already booked his room!!

Here at the Bulls Head we have always felt exceptionally humbled by the great response we have had from our many loyal customers since we opened in May 2010. We have always worked hard to ensure our customers enjoy everything the Bulls Head has to offer whether it be fresh home-cooked food from our chef Lloyd and his team or a pint of local Cheshire ale from our bar served by Shane, Jen and the front of house crew. We simply wanted to create a proper pub that you can walk the dog to, go for a country walk from, sit by a fire and read the paper in and of course chat with friends you haven’t seen for ages.

It gives me great pleasure to tell everyone that we have been recognised by the ‘Publican’s MA’ Industry Magazine as the  ‘Best Turnaround Pub’ in the Northwest for 2011. We are delighted for the team and thank each and every one of them as they made it happen.

One word of thanks must go to all our customers old and new. Your support and enthusiasm for what we are trying to build at the Bulls Head is so appreciated. Thank you all so much and please don’t worry our feet are firmly on the ground still.

Steve and Stru’ from the Cholmondeley Arms and Shane and James from the Bulls Head all got together to enjoy a wine tasting to sample proposed wines for the new Cholmondeley wine list and forthcoming Autumn wines for the Bulls Head list too.

In all 30 wines were sampled from three suppliers and the team made some great choices guided by Mary to ensure that vital feminine touch was observed!!

The good news is that some of the great wines already enjoyed at the Bulls head will be travelling across to Cholmondeley…no point trying to ‘re-invent the wheel’!!

Some wonderful new additions feature as well.

We look forward to getting open soon to share our choices with you!!

Each month our Tom will be revealing his ‘Tipple’ of the month here at the Bulls Head and for the month of September 2011 Tom is recommending his version of the classic Brockman’s G&T.

Take a 25ml shot of Brockman’s Gin in a tall 10oz glass add ice and the tonic and a slice of fresh juicy orange!!!!

Brockman’s themselves recommend fresh blackberries because of the botanicals and fruits of the forest infusions but NO Tom has declared the fresh orange is far better.

So G&T lovers what are you waiting for!!!??? Tom’s ‘tipple’ awaits!!

Next time you are in just ask for Tom!!

Thank you to all our customers old and new for supporting our ‘Seafood and Wine’ week which was launched, not only for you all to enjoy great Seafood on lazy summer days, but also to highlight Hugh Fearnley Whittingstalls ‘Fish Fight’ campaign (please see below).

Whether it was scallops or a fine Seabass, the week was enjoyed by all, especially the inclusion of a glass of wine matched to each meal with our compliments!!! We are now looking at including one or two of our Seafood Specials on the next menu due to ‘go live’ at the start of October.

We have been working within the Pub business at all levels for the last 28 years and have been supporting the Great British Pub tirelessly throughout our careers. We are therefore acutely aware of the difficulties village pubs (all pubs) face today and feel that by reducing VAT to 5% for the whole of the hospitality industry the Government has a great opportunity to create jobs, improve its VAT revenue in the long term and “kick-start” the economy.

An extensive study by French Lobbyist and entrepreneur Jacques Borel, strongly suggests that 5% VAT could generate up to 320,000 new jobs in the Hospitality sector and additional revenues from higher sector turnover, income tax, national insurance payments, higher corporation tax receipts, less avoidance of VAT and savings in unemployment benefits. It would also have the added benefit of dealing with the gap between alcohol prices in pubs and supermarkets and encourage responsible drinking in a supervised environment as opposed to elsewhere.

It’s clear the Treasury must listen to reason. After all they are dependent on our taxes for revenue – taxes that are continuing to decline as more and more pubs and bars fail and contribute to the steady rise in unemployment.

The campaign for 5% VAT for our industry is a long term goal which we can and must win.

In support of this campaign an inspiring video by singer songwriter Will Francis has been put together by Venners our national stocktaking firm and we would encourage you to watch it and share it with fellow pub lovers via your own social media in support of your local village pub.

The further we spread the word the more support we can rally for the cause. After all we need our village pubs to survive, they are part of our heritage and a great place to meet friends as well as eat and drink.