Summer 2008 – Jamie’s Blog Update

Since my last blog, much has happened at The Boyne Arms, it seems like an eternity since I sat last and pondered my thoughts on all things food and drink.

Where do I start? Well Christmas and the New Year I guess! I love Christmas, I love everything about it, the décor and lights, the excitement, the preparation and the big delivery. I love families getting together, children returning from Uni, relatives packing the car and making the long motorway trips and cosy afternoons and evenings at the pub!     But most of all I love the food and drink!   I always have, with traditional Christmas day lunch being the best meal of the year (well, Paella and tapas in San Sebastian does come very close) 76% of Britain’s agree with me according to the Food Standards Agency, and we can’t all be wrong!

I guess that it goes beyond just the roast turkey and sprouts for me, I remember many years of fantastic Christmas Eve dinner, and Boxing Day buffets, my Mother has never been a fantastic Chef, but a great cook. As a family we have always been quite traditional in our festive feasts, cold hams, huge pork and game pies, trifles, my Grandmother’s and Auntie’s mince pies, huge cheese boards that just went on and on and on getting better and better as the days went by, and there was always so much due to my Fathers “better too much than too little” approach, and as for refreshments, well our house was never dry put it that way ! I think that the bin men used to think we ran a working mans club!! They didn’t mind, they always got a big tip!

As for my professional life, Christmas started of as a bit more hard work. If you have ever had anything to do with a professional kitchen at Christmas you will know what I am talking about, even in the age of the “celebrity Chef” and  the” fly on the wall reality program” I don’t think most people quite understand what we  “cooks” give up and go through in the festive period.

It is carnage from morning till night, the sheer volume of produce that is delivered each day and is carefully prepared and cooked is awesome. My first real kitchen was in the heart of London’s West End and was a  very staunch traditional kitchen ran the classical way by a very big scary classical German chef called Heinrick Boreniok, he was  a great chef and a great man, rising through the ranks at London’s famous Savoy hotel under super chef Anton Edelman, he was Hard.
If you had done something wrong you soon knew about it, he would invite you to his office for lunch with the 2 sous chefs Dave and John (John later became my Head Chef in Hitchin, also a great chef and man) and then hammer you over a ham omelette!!!

Anyway we would be so sick of the site of turkeys, sprouts, smoked salmon, mince pies, plum pudding, that we just didn’t enjoy the greatness and traditions that our nation holds so dear.

I guess that its different now, Christmas parties and particularly Christmas Day have been very proud events for me at the Boyne, I am very conscientious of my work, and am probably my own biggest critic (well again run very close by my Father!) and always want things to go well, I think that it is borne from a sense of wanting people to enjoy themselves and remember the event, a sence of being a good host!

And this last Christmas was no exception; we were packed to the rafters with a lovely atmosphere in the bars full of locals enjoying a pre-lunch “quick one”, and happy smiling faces arriving for lunch. The canapés were plentiful and as the bars emptied we served what I considered a superb lunch.

Boxing day brunch followed then a week of merriment before a great evening of Gastronomy and fine wines with our friend Clive Dickenson of Classic wines direct, with the evening a great success  My wife, the team and I saw in the New Year with the change of seasons to again look forward to.

The cold harsh grey days soon changed into sunnier warmer spring  mornings and as usual , the menu changed, with the team assisted by our trusted suppliers  we lightened the look of the menu , bringing fresher brighter flavours and dishes to the forefront.

Some memorable days and evenings included a couple of very popular curry nights, Italian evening, Tapas and Paella.

As the weather threatened to break into summer, we spent some time in the garden tidying up and making it into a family friendly environment, with the addition of a new Marquee; we were ready for the “Great British Summer”

But alas as last year, the sun has so far evaded this corner of Shropshire, nothing like last years deluge, and overcast but sweaty days have produced a lack of al fresco days in the Boyne’s beautiful garden, with our customers having to settle for lunch in the bar or restaurant instead of in the fresh air.

With the Burwarton show just around the corner, I am hopeful of the re-emergence of the long warm days that we all remember, with the Summer menu proving very popular We are looking forward to a hopefully long awaited Autumn when in my opinion Shropshire and its produce is at its best!

My family, team and I hope to see you at The Boyne Arms at Burwarton very soon, keep an eye on the website for fresh events and offers in the up coming months, and also the new recipe section!

Jamie Yardley Chef Proprietor

All your dishes lovingly sourced & prepared by Jamie & his team

After a year in charge at the Boyne Arms, we have taken some time out to look back on what has been an eventful first year Summer 2006 & 2007/08 to now.

The year began last summer with a very exciting time for our young family; with not only a new business and a new town, but also a new addition to the family: a beautiful baby boy, Xabier Timothy Edward Yardley. Xabier was born on the 19th of September in Shrewsbury Hospital and in no time was home at The Boyne.

In the mean time, Jamie was getting to know his new team and regulars and with the help of Janet Grant (the previous Landlady) who was making the transition period as smooth as possible for all involved.

A new style of food and service soon followed, with the sizeable team being trimmed down to a core of reliable hard workers and the summer turned to Winter.

As the season changed, so did the menu, with our team bringing in fresh local game and fantastic quality vegetables, meat and dairy produce, Shropshire’s promise of a great chef’s larder had not been over stated.

The Christmas period had arrived and with Nere back at the helm in a part time capacity the team was really gelling together, a joyous and festive family feeling was felt throughout December and the New Year, with parties and events most weeks. The family and business’ first Christmas at the Boyne Arms was complete.

The New Year bought changes, not least in the weather; snow, winds and power cuts greeted the Boyne Arms. A memorable 3 days with no power tested the team’s resolve, but the pub stayed open and was a lifeline for many locals, for heat food and of course a drink or two by candle light. With the roads treacherous, deliveries were few and far between but some said they quite liked it!

February also brought about perhaps the biggest change that the pub had seen in many years. The doors were closed on the 10th of February 07 and a rapid refurbishment of the pub was undertaken: new wiring, ceilings and floors were installed, with much work done to the kitchen, toilets, dining room and bar as well as the living accommodation for the family. The décor was re styled using a known local designer and the new Boyne Arms was born.

Throughout this period, the Stable Bar was open for business as usual; providing a cosy drinking hole for regulars and a sporting venue for the televised games. The pub was re opened looking and feeling great, with a new style and a new menu. The Boyne Arms was now a light and stylish place to be, with a classical modern feel, whilst still maintaining all the charm of a traditional Coaching Inn. Customers of all ages flocked to see the changes and sample the cuisine, with all who came leaving impressed.

The spring and summer 2007 followed with Nere back at work as the face of the Boyne Arms and many events and occasions passing. Many were now choosing the Boyne Arms as their preferred venue to drink and entertain; with the new elements of the pub coming together, the reputation was growing.

During the following months the weather was, to put it mildly; awful. The fantastic Boyne Arms garden was empty most days, with rain soaked weeks following rain soaked weeks; culminating in the Burwarton show being cancelled: a massive blow for Jamie and Nere in their first year, with huge revenue being lost. However, not to be beaten, the Boyne Arms was bathed in a little late summer sun and out came the families to enjoy the garden and food.

This brings us to the current autumn/winter season; where the team are busy changing the menu and readying themselves for the festive period, enjoying some charity events and some gastronomic evenings and looking to capture the eye of customers and passers by.

All in all it has been a fantastic year for the Boyne Arms, both in a business sense and a personal one, for Jamie, Nere and family. Now with their feet firmly under the table they are looking to really cement plans to be the finest Country pub and dining room in the county.

Visit us soon...Jamie, Nere & family