Rising to the challenge

Stosie Madi talks to Amanda Wragg about the success of her Ribble Valley pub

Kathy Smith and Stosie Madi are co-proprietors of the Parkers Arms, in Newton in Bowland, Lancashire, and opened the Enterprise Inns lease in January 2007. They have been a working partnership for almost 20 years, and previously ran a nightclub and restaurant business in The Gambia, West Africa. They also own Weezos in Clitheroe, an award-winning restaurant.

As Madi explains: "We decided to move back to the UK as we wanted a new challenge. Kathy is English and wanted to come back, so we did some research, finding out that the Ribble Valley is one of the highest spending areas in the UK — after Tunbridge Wells. So we opened our restaurant in Clitheroe.

"We wanted to extend Weezos, but didn't get planning permission, so decided to find a casual-dining destination — somewhere to drive out to and have good food. We thought about what a good country pub should be, and heard that the Parkers was on the market, and thought 'if the kitchen's OK, we'll work with it whatever state it's in'."

What are your plans?

We want to create a welcoming, rural English pub — nothing glossy, just functional, robust, and no clutter. The open fires will stay, of course. And it's going to be the kind of place you can bring your dog after a walk on the hills. We want to grow our own vegetables and herbs, and perhaps open an organic farm shop/deli, getting the community involved with their produce. We want this to be a locals pub, as well as somewhere people will drive to. We looked at how Nigel Haworth's Three Fishes at Mitton works, and know that if the food is right, people will come, however remote it is.

What's your food philosophy?

Food must be fresh and as local as possible — diners expect this now. All our suppliers are within a 20-mile range, with a lot of them closer than that. We get our lamb from farmer Martin up the road, and I went to my first slaughter last year of autumn lambs. This area has set the bar high, and we're determined to keep our standards up to it.

Best-selling dishes

These are our traditional ones — Lancashire hot pot, using an old recipe for neck of lamb, slow-cooked, and ox cheek with herb dumplings. Profit-wise, the best dish is our cheese and onion croustade — which will be top of the list when we launch Parker's Posh Pies & Desserts in the near future. In this initiative we will offer pub customers the opportunity to buy a takeaway.

Best investment

Internet marketing — without a doubt. We subscribe to a marketing company that guarantees us front-page presence on Google, and that traffic has brought us most of our business initially. The next-best marketing tool is a review in a local or national paper — people tend to take more notice of something someone independent has written, rather than a paid-for ad, which is always expensive, with very few returns, in our experience. We also run events that get free press coverage, like an egg hunt at Easter, and a Christmas market, alongside fundraising events. Doing things in tandem with the local paper is incredibly useful.

Customer experience

Four boxes have to be ticked: food, service, value for money and drinks range. And they literally have to tick those boxes, because we give every single customer a little questionnaire to fill in after they've eaten, telling us what they thought. It can be anonymous if they choose, but we read every single one. You've got to keep doing your research, to ensure you're getting it right.

Facts 'n' stats

Address: Parkers Arms, Newton in Bowland, Lancashire, BB7 3DY

01200 424478

www.parkersarms.co.uk

Tenure: Enterprise Inns lease

Covers: Between 50 and 100 covers a day

Average spend per head:

£12 — £15

On the menu: Starters: crab fritters with sweet chilli sauce £4.95; Goosnargh corned duck-liver pâté, red onion marmalade £4.95; Mains: cheese and onion croustade £8.75; Lancashire hot pot £9.95; Bowland beef and local ale stew, herb dumplings £9.95; Cowman of Clitheroe's sausages, creamed mash, onion gravy £8.95; Puddings: spiced rice pudding, apricot preserve £4.50; orange and almond torte £4.50