‘In Out’ shake it all about!!!

We were very proud when the editor of ‘In Out’ magazine approached us with the view to putting the ‘Chum’ on their front page.

We think it looks rather good and already many guests here at the Chum have run away with their copy!!

As you can see some guests simply settle by the fire in the ‘wing backs’ and have a good read over a pint of fine ale or a glass of Elderflower Prosecco!!

Who is this mystery guest we wonder??!

Bring Inn the Gin

Here at the Cholmondeley Arms we are building a fine reputation for our famous Gin collection. We opened with forty Gins and are rapidly moving to the fifty mark already. The expansion of Gin distilling and the creation of different gin types is growing and already we are planning volume two of our ‘Gin Bible’.

While reviewing our growing Gin collection we all came up with a great idea. We have many customers who like gin, who also like to travel and may find gins we don’t stock on those travels…. so…….we have come up with ‘Bring Inn the Gin’ and here’s what you have to do.

  1. Find a gin and make sure we don’t stock it.
  2. Buy the Gin and keep the receipt, this can be in Sterling, Euros (while they last!!) and American dollars
  3. Bring the Gin to the Inn.
  4. Present the gin and if we don’t stock it already we will pay you the value of your receipt. (The seal on the bottle must be intact of course)
  5. As a bonus we will also give you a £10 Cholmondeley gift voucher for each bottle of gin brought Inn!!
  6. So for the new ‘Gin Supplier’ it’s a ‘win, win’ on the ‘gin, gin’.

So what are you waiting for all you budding gin suppliers!!?? Tim, Steve and Stru are waiting!!! 100 Gins by our first anniversary???

A49 opens at last!!

Firstly a very big thank you to all our customers that have braved the diversions and in some cases rather misleading diversion signs and made a visit to see us since our re-opening following our major investment in to the great Cholmondeley Arms.

We have all been delighted with the response even with the A49 closed!!

Anyway the road has finally opened…!!

The Cholmondeley wins the Pumpkin competition!!!

As everyone knows Mary and Soph acquired 50 pumpkins for the Bulls Head and Cholmondeley Arms of which some became salad, some became soup and some were carved really well by members of both teams. The winner overall for pumpkin carving was The ‘Chum’ with Rob our industrious Kitchen Porter as individual Champ and Steve our second chef at the Bulls Head in second place overall!!

Thank you to all the Ghouls that supported us over Halloween never sold so many spirits!!!

 

 

Girls go Pumpkin shopping!!

Sophie and Mary (pictured) had a great night out shopping last Thursday!!!

Now all you girls(and guys for that matter) may have thought they were off to Manchester city centre or to the Trafford Centre!!

But no they went to Chelford Market to get a supply of pumpkins for both the Bulls Head and the Cholmondeley Arms ready for Halloween.

Fifty (yes 50) pumpkins were bought and already adorn the two pubs ready for certain members of the team to start carving them into various funny and spooky faces for this coming weekend.

How the two of them loaded up the car with all the pumpkins???……….hilarious to see them pull in outside the Bulls Head with a bright orange interior to the car!!!


Pumpkin also features on both menus and may well be doing for some time to come!!

Anyway happy half term and here’s to a great Halloween weekend where there will be more treats than tricks here at the pub.

The Cholmondeley Arms appreciates the recognition!!!

The Good Pub guide have included us in their 2012 edition.

We are very proud of our team who have achieved this success, however the most important thing for the Cholmondeley Arms is to deliver great service consistently year after year and that is our goal. Thank you to our customers for putting us in the book so to speak!!

We will always endeavour to deliver a great experience for all here at ‘the Chum’

Cheer yourself up at the Cholmondeley Arms

The National Institute of Economic & Social Research (NIESR) has warned that the economic recovery will be “the weakest of any since the First World War”, after its first estimate for GDP growth in September suggested that the economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter.

The NIESR warned that GDP is still 4% below its pre-recession peak, which means the recovery will be the weakest of any since the First World War and said that although the UK is likely to have departed the recession, we are in a ‘depression’.

So that should change the conversation here at the pub….the good news? We aren’t in a recession anymore!!! Yippee!!……The bad news?? We are now in a depression!!!

Well for us there is no need for depression of any kind when here at your favourite pub a great pint of cask ale, a glass of warming red wine, home cooked wholesome comfort food and a lit fire await you but most importantly all with a smile!! They say the best tonic has a large gin in it!!

So if your recession has just become a depression pop in a cheer yourself up!!

The British weather is giving us something to smile about this week!!!

You read it here (second) folks, The Telegraph has reported that it will be ‘hotter than Hawaii’ this week! Click here to read the article.

Just after I took in the ‘Summer Drinks board’ and started to plan our winter drinks, low and behold look what happens!!?? I am about to slip into a grass skirt and a coconut bikini for the remainder of the week!!! Girls run for the high ground!!!

Make the most of our Indian summer and join us at the Cholmondeley Arms this week and bask in the warmth of the rarely-seen English sunshine.

We will make sure there is plenty of ice-cold tonic for your G&T, fruity jugs of Pimms & Rose chilled to perfection.

Hope to see you here soon!

Vegetables grow in the Indian summer sunshine!!

When we opened the ‘Chum’ we planted our half barrel planter boxes with baby cabbages, lettuces, beetroots etc. and thanks to the weather they are growing like crazy.

Christian and his kitchen team have already been using them in salads and winter greens. These photos taken today in 25 degrees centigrade tell the story.

The apple tree in the porch as you enter the ‘Chum’ is to be planted in the land to the rear of the pub and will mark the start of our orchard which over the years will grow and grow so the Chum can be self-supporting in terms of certain fruits and vegetables.

 

Lord Cholmondeley Toasts the Arms

LORD CHOLMONDELEY SERVES A HALF OF CHOLMONDELEY BEST TO CELEBRATE THE RE-OPENING OF HIS FAVOURITE PUB!!

It was with great pleasure that the team at the newly refurbished Cholmondeley Arms welcomed The Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley to the Cholmondeley Arms to raise a glass at the ‘official’ opening, after the completion of its major refurbishment.

As part of the opening celebrations Lord Cholmondeley took his position behind the bar and removed the ceremonial ‘old school tie’ from the real ale pumps and served a half of Cholmondeley Best, brewed exclusively for the pub by Weetwood Brewery in Tarporley.

The Cholmondeley Arms has won many accolades over the years, building a great reputation for freshly cooked food.  Its menu is quintessentially English and includes such flavoursome favourites as ‘the Traditional Pub sharing plate’, the ‘Hand crafted Stalkers Venison pie’ or indeed ‘Devilled Kidneys on toast’.

The famous pub has been wonderfully restored by Cheshire Pub entrepreneurs Tim Bird and Mary Mclaughlin who also operate the award winning Bulls Head in Mobberley.

Set in beautiful Cheshire countryside adjacent to Cholmondeley Castle, the Cholmondeley Arms is probably one of England’s most unique pubs.  It sits inside a former Victorian village schoolhouse on Lord Cholmondeley’s estate.  Dating back to 1862 the school was converted in 1988 and it was the first public house for over a century!

The character of the new Cholmondeley Arms is warm and inviting with large mirrors and church candles, fresh flowers, open fire places and interesting ‘old school’ furniture such as the blackboards featuring lunchtime specials.  The pub also has six en-suite bedrooms situated in the ‘Headmaster’s House’ opposite.

Famous too for offering over forty different gins, local ales brewed within a thirty mile radius of the pub and its malts and ports, the ‘new’ Cholmondeley Arms is truly a real pub – ‘Local and Proud’.

“It is very exciting to see the Cholmondeley Arms begin a new era”, said Lord Cholmondeley “and we are thrilled with the refurbishment carried out by Tim, Mary and their excellent team”.

Ainsley Harriott arrives to enjoy our now famous Sunday Lunch!!!!

STRU' NEVER MISSES A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY!!

Sundays are a special day at the Cholmondeley Arms mainly because of Christians Roast Rib of Beef with all the trimmings!!

This Sunday was no exception and who should ‘rock up’ to enjoy the occasion….none other than Ainsley Harriott himself!!

Ainsley enjoyed his beef and spent time swapping foodie anecdotes with the chefs and the rest of our team as well as enjoying the new Cholmondeley Arms with his family.

CHRISTIAN AND HIS TEAM WELCOME AINSLEY IN TO THE 'CHUM' KITCHEN WITH OUR MANAGER STEVE

A49 Closure update!!

Judging by the large amounts of people already coming through the doors of the new Cholmondeley Arms many of you know are open and accessible!!!

We have been on the Council website to get an update  on the A49 closure and how long it will last. Apparently they have hit some ‘snags’!! For more details click here.

Just to reassure our ‘would be’ customers that if you are travelling south on the A49 from Warrington, Tarporley, Bunbury etc. all is completely normal road/journey wise as the road is closed well beyond the Cholmondeley Arms.

If you are travelling from Wrenbury/Malpas all is fine too.

However if you are travelling from Whitchurch then you must follow the diversion signs.

We would like to say a big thank you to an already loyal customer, for posting the only comments about the road closure on the council website, boasting they have the Cholmondeley Arms to themselves (see here). Well you can all come along and share the experience of the new Cholmondeley Arms with our new fan!! We look forward to seeing you.

Our brand new kitchen gets ready for its first Sunday lunch!!

We are exceptionally proud to say one of the biggest parts of our investment in the ‘new’ Cholmondeley Arms has been the kitchen. As you can see from the photos the floors, the walls, the ceilings, all the equipment including our new ‘walk in’ fridge, all the electrics, in fact everything you can think of has been completely re-newed.

It is vital to us that our kitchen reflects our passion for great food, using fresh produce from local suppliers where we can while maintaining the highest standards possible.