Alford Arms

Owners: Becky & David Salisbury. The Alford Arms is part of Salisbury Pubs, which includes the Royal Oak, Marlow, the Swan Inn, Denham, and the Old Queen's Head, Penn.

Head chef: Justin Flodman

Covers: 70

Covers per week: 800 to 1,000

Best-selling dishes: Bubble & squeak with oak-smoked bacon, poached egg and Hollandaise sauce (£5.75); rabbit and veal shepherd's pie (£12.75); caramelised rice pudding (£5).

On the menu: Baked black pudding on panhaggerty potatoes with caramelised russet apples (£5.75); baked Taleggio cheese on sweetcorn fritter with tomato chutney (£6); rabbit and veal shepherd's pie with baby turnips and carrots (£12.75); baked quiche with Cornish Yarg, nettle and creamy leeks on purple sprouting broccoli (£11); baked herb-crusted Grimsby haddock on Stilton boxty potato cake with warm beetroot dressing (£13.75); blackberry, pear & pecan crumble( £4.75); Bakewell tart with local damson jam (£5.25).

Three things that make your pub stand out from the crowd: It's still a pub - so many gastros aren't pubs any more; customers are welcome to eat as much or as little as they want - not necessarily a three-course meal; quality real ales and relaxed atmosphere - customers are welcome to pop in with the dog for a pint if they want to.

Best-selling beer and wine: Rebellion, Marlow; Bordeaux Graves Sauvignon Blanc.

The Alford Arms Frithsden, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 3DD, 01442 864480 www.alfordarmsfrithsden.co.uk​

Recipe​

Rabbit and Veal 'Shepherd's Pie'

Ingredients

1 Wild or tame Rabbit, skinned and jointed

250g minced Veal

250g minced Beef

2 Carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm dice

1 small Onion, finely diced

1 small Celeriac, peeled and cut into 1cm dice

100g frozen Peas

100ml Red Wine

100ml Veal Jus

1 tin Plum Tomatoes

1 Tblsp Tomato Puree

1 Sprig Thyme and Rosemary, chopped finely

1 Bayleaf

1 head Garlic

GooseFat or Olive Oil, enough to cover 1 jointed Rabbit.

Salt and Pepper

Method

1.Firstly, cover the jointed rabbit with the oil and aromatics and cook in the oven on the lowest heat, until the meat falls from the bone. This method of cooking prevents the rabbit meat from becoming dry.

2.Sweat the onion, carrot and celeriac in a little oil, with no colour for five minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the chopped herbs and cook for a further two minutes.

3.Add the veal and beef mince and turn the heat up so as to colour the meat. Cook the mince, stirring continuosly so as to prevent the meat sticking.

4.Deglaze with the red wine and reduce by half.

5.Add the tomatoes and the tomato puree along with the veal stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 1 hour.

6.Shred the cooked rabbit from the bone, and chop into bite size pieces. Add to the veal mixture.

7.Check the seasoning. Add the peas and cook for a further five minutes.

8.Decant the pie mixture into a baking dish, or individual bowls and top with creamed mashed potato. Bake in the oven at 200oC until golden.