Three East Berkshire pubs named among the best in the UK

Three pubs in East Berkshire have been nominated for a prestigious national award, recognising them as the best in the country.

The Great British Pub Awards event celebrates the best of pubs across the country and the ‘incredible number of entries’ and ‘rigorous judging process’ means only a few are lucky enough to make it as finalists.

Heston Blumenthal’s Michelin-starred The Hinds Head in Bray High Street is nominated for ‘Best Pub for Food’.

Meanwhile, The Loch & the Tyne by Adam Handling on Crimp Hill in Old Windsor is up for ‘Best Sustainable Pub’ and The Swan in Clewer has been nominated for ‘Best Community Pub’.

Hinds Head executive chef Peter Gray said: “Last year, as finalists, I really didn’t realise what it meant to us until we set off for the awards; as a team, we are so wholly committed to working together as such a tight unit that it wasn't until we were sitting on a minibus and chatting about what might happen that it hit me.

“It made me realise just how important recognition is – everyone in our team was so proud to be finalists and that buzz and excitement is back again but bigger.

“It would mean a huge amount to us if we were to win this award not just for the Hinds Head but the extended group and our customers – they are all behind us.

“It would certainly be a memorable achievement for us all, cementing the recognition this amazing team deserves for their continued hard work.

“Heston's creative vision is the driving force behind the Hinds Head offering.

“It goes without saying that our customers come here because it’s a great pub with great food and also because we are always striving to add something that’s a little bit different.”

Restaurant director for the Adam Handling Group, George Hersey said the ‘nomination means everything for the team that works tirelessly all year round to work as sustainably as physically possible’. 

He said: “We’re constantly training our entire team on our approach to sustainability and the methods we use. Each year, we set ourselves new goals and try to better our sustainability platform and we’ve definitely seen an increase in that this year with a team that’s in massive support of what we’re doing and truly believes in our goals.”

The Swan director Richard Allen said it previously won the Keeping The Community Entertained category in the 2020 Great British Pub Awards but couldn't attend the awards ceremony due to COVID restrictions.

He said this year is a 'bigger category' as Best Community Pub is 'quite a hotly contested category across the country', adding: "It seems a bit more special this time so we're really pleased about it."

Now the team are waiting 'on nervous tenterhooks’ for a judge to visit the premises as a 'mystery shopper' between now and mid-August. 

"We're confident that whenever they come, they'll get a warm welcome and see some of the special things The Swan is getting a reputation for," Richard added. 

"We're quite diverse in our community activities and they're not all aimed at making lots of money. They're just aimed at giving people the opportunity to come and get involved in something.

"It really is about trying to stop the epidemic of loneliness that's plaguing communities."

The Mill Lane pub freehold was purchased by Swan Clewer Community Interest Company in 2019 and has a sixth form school onsite.

"It's mainly for kids who have fallen out of mainstream school so that makes [The Swan] quite unique - they run the pub every Thursday and do events themselves and that teaches them vocational and social skills," Richard added.

He said the award nomination 'ties in quite nicely' with The Swan's fifth birthday under new management on July 19. 

This milestone celebration will be marked with a 'Christmas in July' event where Christmas dinner will be served on the barbecue and attendees will receive a guest appearance from Santa Claus. 

"Micky, our pub manager has a flair for unusual events," Richard added. 

The winners of the Great British Pub Awards will be announced at a ceremony at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester on September 17.