A letter arrived today confirming the Cholmondeley Arms is the winner of the 2013/14 Countryside Alliance Local Food Award for the Northwest of England!! This is a major win for the Chum and particularly head chef Christian (pictured right) and his team of chefs, Dean (pictured left with Christian), John, Eric and James. This award is the first presented to a rural pub in Cheshire!!

We are all very, very proud indeed and it is real recognition of all the work Christian and the team have put in to our menu with local farmers, butchers, cheese-makers and growers as well as local game suppliers. Bringing the best and the freshest local ingredients to the plates of our customers at Cholmondeley. I am sure Clarissa would have been very proud too.

This award means three in a row for our pubs with the Bulls Head in Mobberley winning Alistair Sawdays Authentic Pub Award for 2013/14 and then the Three Greyhounds Inn winning Best Food Pub 2013/14 at the Heineken Awards and now the Cholmondeley Arms with this recognition from the Countryside alliance.

Thank you to everyone involved with the Chum past and present who have helped us achieve this honour. We now go forth to the National finals with the national award presented at the House of Lords in the Cholmondeley Room no less, on Wednesday 30th April 2014.

Our Head Chef Christian and his brigade of chefs have once again worked exceptionally hard to develop some lovely new dishes for our winter in to spring menu…

New starters include…

A Cholmondeley Local Game Charcuterie Board featuring Christian’s choices of cured and smoked ‘in season’ game which he creates here at Cholmondeley, this is served with pickles, sticky nuts and granary bread

Other new appetisers include…

Salt and Pepper Squid, Yorkshire chorizo, poached rhubarb and ginger or Mr Bourne’s little Cheshire cheesecakes with smoked pear and watercress or indeed Cholmondeley Shot Crispy Wild Rabbit and Clonakilty Black Pudding with Jerusalem artichokes, braised baby gem and poached egg

On the mains we have

• Smoked Chicken, ham hock and treacle suet pudding with parsley mash, greens and mustard sauce
• Christian’s Fish Pie, with cod cheek, smoked haddock and spinach with crispy mash and spiced cauliflower
• Local Lamb ‘Barnsley Chop’ with Devilled Kidneys, Boulangere potatoes and sweet pickled red cabbage
• Slow Cooked Shin of Beef, Stout and Honey Stew with roasted celeriac and English mustard dumplings
• Home Cured Venison Bresaola Salad with blood orange, sticky hazelnuts and liquorice dressing
• Baked Spinach, Mushroom and Perl Las Blue Cheese Pancakes with a simply dressed salad
• And a Prime 10oz 28 Day Aged Ribeye Steak served with homemade onion rings, chips and dressed salad

and for new puddings we have

• Caramelised Apple and Amaretti Pancakes with vanilla ice cream
• Steamed Yorkshire Rhubarb and Ginger Pudding with homemade custard
• Sticky Toffee Pudding with caramelised bananas and clotted cream ice cream
• Milk Chocolate Brownie with peanut praline and chocolate sauce

To look through the full menu click here and the Sunday menu please click here…

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!!

ADAM AT THE CHOLMONDELEY ARMS

ANYONE FOR A SNOW BALL!!

BABY CHAM IS BACK AT THE CHUM!!

MORE FESTIVE SWEATERS AT THE THREE GREYHOUNDS WITH SHAUNAGH AND CHRIS!!

MULLED WINE AT THE CHURCH INN WITH SOPH IN THAT HAT!!

OUR BRASS BAND MANAGED TO FIT IN THE CHURCH INN BOOT ROOM.

SECOND YEAR RUNNING!! PETE DOES IT AGAIN!!

TOM AT THE CHURCH INN WITH MARK

The Cholmondeley Arms in Malpas is the only pub to be a finalist in the Local Food category

Countryside Alliance Awards’ North West finalists announced and Cheshire is riding high.

Cheshire businesses are celebrating after making it through to the regional finals of what have become known as the Rural Oscars.

Cheshire boasts competitors in three of the four categories after the North West received more than 300 nominations from the public for this year’s Countryside Alliance Awards – an increase of 100 from the 2012 awards.

The Cholmondeley Arms in Malpas is the only pub among the five finalists of the Local Food category.

Tim Bird, who owns the pub with his wife Mary McLaughlin, said: “We are a pub up against lovely bespoke artisan shops and that’s what pleases me most.

“The head chef has worked particularly hard with all sorts of people locally to bring different dishes to the table that actually reflect the effort that is going on locally. It is a collective effort.”

Here at the Cholmondeley Arms Head Chef Christian and Sous Chef Dean and the kitchen team have developed a lovely menu for you all to enjoy with starters such as Local Pigeon ‘Kiev’ with blackberry butter, pickled mushroom ketchup and blue cheese salad or Pan-fried Scottish Scallops with curried cauliflower cream and apple crisps or Homemade Handcrafted Venison ‘Scotch’ Egg with Cumberland sauce.

There are heart- warming dishes such as Wild Rabbit, Smoked Bacon and Scrumpy Pie with chervil mash and winter greens or Wild Boar Faggots with cider and puy lentil stew, with smoked bacon and curly kale or Slow Cooked Pork Belly with crackling, sage and onion croquettes and fiery apple chutney.

For seafood fans we have caught Cornish ‘Salt and Pepper’ Squid Salad with poached quince and chilli caramel dressing or Smoked Haddock and Somerset Cheddar Rarebit with curried mussel kedgeree and crispy hens egg.

For Vegetarians we have Beetroot, Walnut and Swaledale Goats Cheese Sausages with wholegrain mustard mash and ‘Cholmondeley Best’ sauce or a main course version of our Westcombe Cheddar Cheese Beignets, Matt’s heritage tomatoes with sesame and roast garlic dressing.

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

We look forward to cooking for you…..