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Overall Winner: Perfect Cask Ale Pub
Beer, especially cask ale, is a vibrant, living product brimming with the highest quality natural ingredients. Malted barley, hops, yeast and water form the four notes of brewing. The art and craft of the brewer blends these basic ingredients to create an infinite array of colours, aromas and tastes. However, the secret of perfect cask ale lies in the skill of the pub licensee who must look after the beer with tender loving care until it is ready for drinking. And it is this ability to keep cask beer in its prime that denotes the best from the rest, which is why the Turf Tavern in Oxford was chosen as the nation’s Perfect Cask Pub. According to judge Tim Hampson, Turf Tavern licensee Darren Kent is passionate about real ale and is on a mission to educate the world about the wonders of this beer style.
Overall/National Winner
Turf Tavern, Bath Place, Oxford
Perfect Food Pub
Increasingly, food is the special ingredient that transforms a good pub into a perfect pub. Food can be simple or elaborate, but in the best pubs it is based on the finest, fresh ingredients, is beautifully presented and tastes superb. A bar meal of warm, home-baked breads and local, organic cheeses can rank alongside a gastronomic feast in a Michelin-starred dining room. Whether the menu changes every day or the chef sticks to a proven, winning formula, what counts is an uncompromising commitment to flavour, quality and healthy, honest food. Anthony Worrall Thompson chose the Foxhunter, Nantyderry near Abergavenny for the Perfect Food Pub award. He was impressed by the genuine commitment that owners Matt and Lisa Tebbutt showed for sourcing fresh local produce while preparing imaginative and highly creative dishes.
National Winner
Foxhunter, Nantyderry, nr Abergavenny, Monmouthshire
Perfect Family Pub
As anyone with children knows, a family visit to a pub can be daunting. At the Perfect Family Pub everyone is welcome – babies, toddlers, teenagers, new mothers and grandparents alike. Menus include healthy, appetising choices for youngsters; high chairs are provided; and there is somewhere clean and comfortable to change your baby. And how about keeping the children occupied while you chat? Games, ballpits and safe outdoor play equipment may be part of the mix or perhaps seasonal events, a bouncy castle or children's entertainer. Whatever the facilities, sensitivity to the needs of families is the mark of perfection. Philippa Forrester’s winning pub for families was the King’s Head, Letheringsett in Norfolk. Run by David and Pam Watts, Philippa found that every aspect of the pub was dedicated to helping families have a safe and enjoyable time.
National Winner
King’s Head, Letheringsett, Norfolk
Perfect Pub Host
Like every individual host or hostess, no two pubs are the same. Every host creates their own, distinctive ambience that defines the personality of their pub. The Perfect Pub Host could excel in all manner of ways. It could be their flamboyant style that brings in the crowds or their tireless commitment at the heart of the community. Judge Brian Blessed picked Teresa Axon, licensee at the Star, Lidgate in Suffolk as his winner, simply saying that the atmosphere in her pub was absolutely sensational.
National Winner
The Star, Lidgate, Suffolk
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