The British Larder eyes more success with exciting next chapter

Acclaimed foodie innovators The British Larder have sold their award-winning gastropub in Suffolk at the end of its most successful year. Why?

Because the demands of running a busy and successful gastropub and a highly acclaimed and hugely popular recipe website left The British Larder co-founders Madalene Bonvini-Hamel and Ross Pike with a very tough choice – they had to choose to concentrate on one or the other.

Their first thought was to close down the recipe website, but because of the worldwide popularity of www.britishlarder.co.uk, their design agency wouldn’t let them. The decision to heed the agency’s advice set in motion a chain of events that has led to The British Larder owners making the momentous decision to let go of the gastropub and take the brand down a new path.

The exciting next chapter of The British Larder will see the business taking advantage of its many opportunities in areas such as retail, food and chef consultancy, food safaris, food publishing, food photography and food journalism. The development and re-launch of its website will be a priority.

“The choice had to be made between running the pub and developing the other aspects of our business. Ross and I were working 90 hours a week in the gastropub and, as a result, we weren’t able to give the other opportunities the attention they deserved”, explains Madalene.

“It was a very difficult decision to let go of our thriving pub and the relationships we have built with our customers and local suppliers – we have a great fan base and have won a raft of awards recently – but it is the other areas of our business that have got us really excited. We’re not ruling out doing something similar again but at the moment we know where we want to take the British Larder”, adds Madalene.

The British Larder’s unique offer is based on the extensive foodie know-how of Madalene and Ross Pike,who boast a wealth of food industry expertise and experience spanning the restaurant, pub, food-service, food development and event catering sectors.

The British Larder website hosts a massively popular online recipe resource and founders Madalene and Ross have written a cookbook, The British Larder: A Cookbook For All Seasons, and regularly contribute articles to leading publications, including Waitrose Food Illustrated, Homes and Garden and The Caterer.

The British Larder also provides food and chef consultancy services to clients across the food industry spectrum, from well-known national food manufacturers and major pubs and restaurants to small independent producers across the UK.

“Our goal now is to build the other areas of our business and to continue to expand our client base. That’s what we are pouring our energy, experience and enthusiasm into”, explains Madalene.

For more information about The British Larder, go to www.britishlarder.co.uk/about. A new website will be launched soon. Madalene and Ross can be contacted through the website.