A fun Christmas everywhere!!

What a great time over Christmas our teams have had. It is tiring work but there are plenty of smiles and fun around the place!! The Bulls Head in Mobberley held its annual Christmas Jumper competition and the judges moved around the pub secretly assessing the best. Pete had won it last year with his ‘snow man number’ so was a favourite again this year.

There were a number of good efforts but I am pleased to say Pete held on to his crown with an ‘elf jumper’ with matching hat!! Well done Pete! There must be someone out there who can out do Pete in 2014??!

The teams as you can see had a good go with our personal favourite being Tom at the Church Inn with his Christmas pudding version!! Thanks to all our teams for making the effort. At the Cholmondeley Arms the ‘Snow Ball’ Drink was re-incarnated by the team and you can see Miya sampling some for the camera behind the Cholmondeley Bar!!!

Thank you to all our customers who have added to the atmosphere at all our pubs. There have been Christmas Carol singers at Cholmondeley and Brass bands at The three Greyhounds Inn at Allostock and The Church Inn in Mobberley as we managed to squeeze them in our newly decorated Church Inn ‘boot room’.

On Christmas eve as the Carol service finished at St. Wilfs church opposite the Church Inn in Mobberley we were on hand to serve the masses (get it!!) with mulled wine on the terrace with warm chimineas  burning away. There were festive nibbles and roasted chestnuts and a lot of good cheer! A very happy Christmas to all!!

Thanks to all our teams for working so hard!!

Humphrey relatives visit the Bulls Head!!

humphAs many of you will know the Humphrey brothers who founded UMBRO the sportswear manufacturer did so here at the Bulls Head in the mid-1920’s.

The two people pictured with Ben are Lisa and Charles Humphreys, who flew out from South Carolina on something of a pilgrimage. You have probably guessed already, but just in case you haven’t, Charles (pictured) is the grandson of Harold Charles Humphrey, and was one of the last members of the Humphrey family to have any involvement at Umbro.

Charles and his wife are now in real estate and Umbro, having been sold by Nike, is now in the hands of American investors.

Charles’ mother lives in Alderley Edge so he has been visiting her and he also visited Shrewsbury where he went to school. We are sure that the highlight of his visit was having his picture taken with Ben at The Bull’s Head, his family’s companies birthplace!!!!

Weird but true…Ben has a habit of meeting ancestors of famous people at the Bulls Head …..Robbie Burns the famous Scottish poet was the great, great uncle of our visitor last Burns night…and Ben had his picture taken with her too. Any guests to the Bulls Head with famous ancestors see Ben!!

T’Ale of the Dark Bull is born!!

Barry and the team here at the Bulls Head really pushed the boat out for the new Bulls Head dark ale competition! The ‘taste off’ was narrowed down to three dark ales from three Cheshire Micro-Breweries namely Wincle Brewery, Dunham Massey Brewery and Coach House Brewery all of whom sent in dark ales for the competition. The badges, as you can see from the picture here, were marked up A,B and C and through Friday and Saturday our local ale enthusiasts and regulars chose their favourite. By 8pm on the Saturday evening the first dark ale was sold out and rightly declared the winner. The 4.3% Dark brown ale from Wincle Brewery was voted the clear winner and for the Autumn and winter becomes our new ‘T’Ale of the Dark Bull’. The competition coincided with Halloween and pumpkins lined the path of the Bulls Head as spooks, Ghouls and spectres visited for a few treats!! The Dark Ale will on this week so come in and try a pint or two!!

 

Cheshire-East-20131101-0049
Tale-of-dark-bull-no-ABV_HR
120

 

Winter Drinks are here!

LUKE OUR WINTER DRINKS CHAMPION

LUKE OUR WINTER DRINKS CHAMPION

Winter is here and so are the winter drinks for enjoying by the fire!!

We have just launched our winter drinks from Barry’s Mulled Cider to Luke’s Luxury Hot Toddy and Ardbeg Malt Coffee.

For every luxury hot toddy sold we will donate 20p to the Bees for Development Charity assisting beekeepers living in poor and remote areas of the world – lifting them out of poverty through beekeeping.

Bees are essential to our lives and we feel it vital to encourage beekeeping everywhere. The honey for our Hot Toddy comes from Alderley Edge beekeepers and honey makers Mike and Ruth.

As for the Ardbeg Malt coffee we serve this with a sprinkle of Bollington Chocolate and a couple of chunks of the chocolate too. Whisky and chocolate go really well together and with the warmth of the coffee you will be in heaven!!

Our other popular hot drinks like The Woolly Bully and Winter Pimms are also on the list. So pop in and get warm by the fire.

lukedrink

IMG_1913

Our Autumn and early winter menu is here!!

firesideHere at the Bulls Head our Head Chef Steve and Sous Chef Andy and their kitchen team have developed a lovely menu for you all to enjoy with two or three dishes that can be enjoyed as a starter or main course such as ………

  • Roasted Pumpkin seasoned with sage on a winter leaf salad with toasted pumpkin seeds, fig and Burt’s Blue Cheese or …
  • Steve’s “Rarebit Smokey” with naturally smoked haddock topped with Lancashire cheese and ‘blonde’ ale rarebit finished with warm cherry tomatoes and fresh basil or……

Other new starters include…….

  • Hand pressed Duck Terrine with toasted nutty bread and ‘Gamekeepers’ Spicy Orange Chutney
  • Open Tart of Pan-Fried Pigeon Breast, Clonakilty Black Pudding and Mushrooms with a redcurrant and orange sauce
  • Kipper Fish Cake with crispy bacon, a fried hens egg and HP sauce

There are heart- warming main courses which include ………

  • Steve’s Slow Cooked Game Stew with herb dumplings and creamy mashed potatoes
  • Slow Roasted Duck Leg with spring onion mash, red cabbage and a Port wine gravy
  • Cheshire Pork Belly, with apple mash, winter root vegetables, scrumpy gravy and a spiced apple sauce
  • Slow Braised Shoulder of Lamb with a redcurrant and rosemary gravy, creamy mashed potato and red cabbage

For seafood fans we have caught …..

  • Grilled Sea Trout with lemon and peppercorn butter on sautéed new potatoes with green beans
  • Seafood Crockpot of by-catch fish, prawns and salmon in a warm creamy dill and white wine sauce served with Green Beans and nutty bread

For Vegetarians we have a…

  • Delamere Goats Cheese Hash with a spiced apple sauce and winter salad as well as a daily special

There are dishes for everyone. To view the full menus click here.

We look forward to cooking for you…..

Mobberley Seven (Eight) of the year 2013!!

cruella2From Good Friday through to the final sunny weekends of September and maybe October if the weather holds up, the legendary Mobberley Eight bike rides have become an institution!! The tradition is to cycle (or walk) the 8 pubs of Mobberley where a drink or more is enjoyed in each pub.

In fact the true Mobberley eight no longer exists as the true historic Mobberley pubs are the Bird in Hand, The Church Inn, The Bulls Head, The Roebuck, The Plough and Flail, The Chapel House and the Railway inn.

Cyclists add the Frozen Mop or the Stag but nowhere in the history of Mobberley are these two pubs mentioned mainly because they aren’t in Mobberley!!

Maybe the bike ride should be called the Magnificent Mobberley Seven!!

We have decided to recognise what we feel to be the most magnificent Mobberley ‘seven’ cyclists of 2013 and they are the 101 Dalmatians and Cruella de Vil!!! They are pictured below. Well done to all of them and as far as we are concerned they are the best Mobberley ‘Seven’ riders of 2013 as voted by all our teams at both our Mobberley Pubs!!!!

We will be arranging a cup presentation and each year at the end of the Mobberley Seven season we will recognise the best dressed and best behaved Mobberley Sevens!!

cruella