Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey opens new Staffordshire pub
The actor’s new pubco Morrissey Slingsby Waddington (MSW) Pub Company oversaw a £400,000 refurbishment of Punch Taverns lease the Plume of Feathers, in Barlaston, Staffordshire.
A VIP preview took place on Thursday 5 March ahead of the opening.
Morrissey said: “[The last two weeks] have been hectic. I feel great, we had a great VIP preview last night and then we had the locals in and the place was absolutely buzzing.”
Menu
The Plume of Feather’s food offering includes British pub classics as well as a focus on steaks and various vegetarian options curated by head chef Gary Peill, whose wife Kate is taking on a managerial role.
Some of the dishes on offer include Shropshire blue cheese with red onion marmalade tart, Asian spiced tofu with glass noodles and slow roasted shoulder of lamb.
Morrissey added: “The standard of food is incredibly good. The idea was just to have a rounded menu and also not to forget that we are a pub – we don’t want to be Tom Kerridge.
“The point of it is that everything’s fresh – the only thing that’s frozen here is our peas and our ice. And obviously, like the beer menu, [the food offering] will evolve with people’s tastes.”
Plans for the future
Morrissey said the Plume of Feathers could be the “pilot” for more MSW acquisitions, but that he wanted to proceed slowly and find appropriate locations to suit their requirements.
He said: “What we want to do is get this one right first. We want to make sure systems and everything work first, but we are ambitious and we will want to look elsewhere.”
Morrissey registered MSW Pub Company with Richard Slingsby and James Waddington in 2014.
Several of Morrissey’s previous ventures into the hospitality industry ended prematurely, including his business with celebrity chef Richard Fox, Morrissey Fox Inns, which folded in 2009.
