9 minute read
DINING OUT ...and on the subject
The Crown in UPPINGHAM
Reopening The Crown in Uppingham in May 2020, Laura Totten was looking forward to her first year running her pub... it’s been an usual first year to say the least, but nothing will prevent her and her team making a success of the place!
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Words & Images: Rob Davis.
“You just can’t fake a warm welcome.” Many wise words have been spoken, but few as succinctly as those. Laura Totten is in her Uppingham pub, The Crown, on the town’s High Street. In ordinary circumstances it would be buzzing with diners and those enjoying a decent pint. For obvious reasons though, it’s not.
Our visit during mid-November sees the hospitality industry once again curtailed pending full reopening, hopefully as Pride goes to press. It is certainly not how Laura imagined her first year in business but given how long she has waited to run her own place she’s not going to let a few bumps and lockdowns get her down.
Laura says she fell into the hospitality trade by accident. We say it was destiny. Having attended university in Liverpool to study towards a distinctly un-hospitality related English, French & Psychology degree, Laura found herself working in pubs and bars to fund her study, eventually returned to the area and worked in Leicester’s Barceloneta on the city’s Queens Road.
The plan was to work abroad and teach English as a foreign language, but she was offered a management position at the restaurant and the rest is history. After a long and varied career in hospitality management Laura took up a position with
Everards, finding great future business owners and helping them find a pub business they can call their own.
Everards has 187 premises and Laura is full of praise for the way that the company works to support its business owners, she says her partnership with the brewery gives both the freedom to build her own independent business whilst also providing support from the central ‘home team’ if needed. A support that has been invaluable during this time with Everards doing everything within their means to put their pubs and publicans first even while work on their brand-new brewery at Everards Meadows was put on pause.
It wasn’t long before Laura was itching to get back into business herself and when the pub she’d coveted – Uppingham’s Crown –became available, she leapt at the chance. Unfortunately, five days before she was due to start her new chapter, hospitality Armageddon ensued, and the first lockdown put everything on pause until she was able to pick up the keys at the end of May.
meet the MANAGER
CALLUN LOOMES MANAGER, THE CROWN
The Food: “We’re lucky to have a great team who are all on the same page in respect of the food here. Our chef Dan Carrington has spent 15 years working in London and Spain, he has worked in some really prestigious restaurants and wants to bring quality and relaxed dining together.” The Philosophy: “We don’t think you can go wrong offering a warm welcome and bright, fun, vibrant food that makes you feel good.” Food Heaven: “We love the fact that our dishes are tapas-sized, which makes them versatile enough for grazing, sharing for light lunches and banqueting with friends. That versatility is matched by big flavours and satisfaction!” Food Hell: “Bad children’s menu food. Kids are valued customers too and they have a right to good food!” n
Brunch menu smashed avocado with soft-boiled egg.
Classic paella with prawns, squid, clams, chorizo and chicken.
>> “Uppingham needed somewhere that didn’t mean a compromise on the quality of wine in order to get a great pint of real ale and offered something between fish ‘n’ chips and pheasant. A place that provided a warm welcome for all of the family, including the dog.”
“You have to offer a point of difference, a unique selling point if you’re starting a new business, something that stands you apart from the rest of the local market, for us its our small plates menu and hand stretched sourdough pizzas ”
The concept behind The Crown’s cuisine is small dishes drawn from across the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East. That means around 20 tapas-sized options which provide sufficient adaptability to serve as grazing dishes over real ale or a glass of locally distilled Multum Gin Parvo or turn into banquet dining if you and friends find yourselves unencumbered by lockdown and are able to meet. Local suppliers to The Crown include Nelsons Butchers and
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Pub Open: 11am to 10pm, subject to national restrictions. Dining, Mon - Thurs: 12 noon to 9pm. Dining Fri/Sat: 9am to 9pm. Dining Sunday: 12 noon to 5pm.
Bubble waffle with chocolate and strawberries.
Bisbrooke Artisans, and each dish is created in house from scratch, meaning The Crown provides quality as well as flair and flavour.
“First and foremost we’re a pub, which means providing a warm welcome, great customer service and quality products in a relaxed and comfortable environment but if you’re going to run a really good pub, there are a few things I think you have to remember.”
“Firstly, it is a customer led business, and you have to provide what the customers want; something unique and something really good, something they will come back for time and time again. Secondly, and as this year has illustrated very clearly, it is a business and a business in a fast moving industry, you have to be able to adapt to changing business needs as well as customer desires.”
“Being able to turn on a penny and react to the ever changing guidelines and recent restrictions placed on hospitality businesses has enabled us to take this year in our stride and within a matter of days of this lockdown we have become a takeaway with click & collect functionality meaning we can make ends meet while looking after our customers.”
“Way above and beyond both of these though, you have to really, genuinely enjoy people, meeting new people, getting to know customers, having a laugh or just taking time to listen. There is nothing better for me than knowing that I have made someone smile, even something as simple as knowing exactly how they like their drink, going completely off menu to accommodate their child’s wants or just taking time to talk can make a difference to someone’s day and there aren’t many jobs where you can do that over and over again every day”
During our visit, Laura and the team were mid renovation of the dining room of the pub, having taken advantage of the first lockdown to refurbish the main bar area, now boasting a smart yet relaxed and cosy look.
With its pub area to port and relaxed dining area to starboard the team hope to bring another facet to the business catering to a wider customer base by offering a casual dining experience as well as a cosy pub.
“I’m really lucky to have a great town in which to trade. When normal trading resumes, I’m looking forward to welcoming in families looking for a relaxed and informal meal whether it be straight from school, before evening clubs or just somewhere to have a great family meal without the fuss.”
“We’re also running our Sunday lunch menu, which again has a ‘small dishes’ twist, allowing you to choose your preferred meat then add or share side dishes according to your preferences, which also helps us minimise waste, no one wants to see great veg go uneaten. With all of these elements, along with a brunch menu and awesome coffee and loose-leaf tea from local roasters Two Chimps, we’re aiming to provide a place to enjoy all day, every day.” n
on the MENU
SAMPLED FROM THE CROWN’S CURRENT MENU
Pizzas
Hand-made hand-stretched sourdough pizzas from Margherita to Frutti di Mare, from £9.95 - £12.95.
Tapas
Antipasti, comprising chorizo, salami, serrano ham, olives and feta £7.95.
Chicken and chorizo skewers with mixed peppers £5.95.
Frito Misto; clams, mussels, squid, and prawns in a light batter, with dip £7.50.
Calamari, breaded and served with dip £7.50.
Halloumi fries with zataar and harissa spice £5.25.
Stuffed pepper with herbed rice and feta on a bed of spinach and tomato £5.95.
Classic paella with prawns squid, clams, chorizo and chicken £7.50.
Desserts
Bubble waffle with chocolate and strawberries.
NB: Featured dishes are subject to change.
n The Crown Inn, High Street East, Uppingham, LE15 9PY. Call 01572 822302 or see www.crownuppingham.co.uk.
In the KITCHEN
The warming taste of nutmeg and just a hint of rum both feature in this feel-good cake perfect for winter. Enjoy it mid-morning with a cup of coffee!
FESTIVE SPICED LATTE CAKE
Preparation time: 25 minutes. Cooking time: 50 minutes. Serves: 10. Ingredients: 250g melted unsalted butter, 300g self-raising white flour, 1 tsp baking powder 250g light brown soft sugar, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, plus a pinch more, ¼ tsp salt 1 tbsp instant coffee powder, plus 1 tsp, 75ml whole milk, 275g low-fat fresh vanilla custard 3 medium free range eggs, beaten, 4 tbsp golden caster sugar, 2 tbsp dark rum, 200ml whipping cream
Preheat the oven to 180˚C, gas mark 4. Use a little of the butter to grease a 23cm springform tin, then line the base. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the light brown soft sugar, a pinch of nutmeg and the salt. Mix well with your hands to smooth any lumps in the sugar, then make a well in the middle. In a cup, mix 1 tbsp coffee with 1 tbsp hot water. Stir into the melted butter with the milk, 175g custard and the eggs; whisk into the dry ingredients until smooth. Pour into the tin and bake for 50 minutes, until risen, golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. While the cake bakes, mix 1 tsp coffee with 2 tbsp caster sugar, 1 tbsp water and 1 tbsp rum to make a syrup; set aside. Place the cake, in its tin, on a wire rack to cool. After 30 minutes, poke lots of holes into the top using a cocktail stick and brush with the coffee syrup. Once cooled completely, remove from the tin and put on a plate. Make a frothy topping by whipping the cream with the remaining 2 tbsp caster sugar and 1 tbsp rum until very thick, then fold into the remaining 100g custard. Spoon and spread the topping onto the cake, then use a fi ne sieve or tea strainer to dust with the remaining ½ tsp nutmeg.
