Leisure Media Issue 3 2009 - Leisure Opportunities

A MASTERCLASS IN SIMPLE, CLEAR CONFIDENCE – THE YEW TREE AT HIGHCLEREI’ve never been a particularly bigfan of Marco Pierre White but he hasexperience, knowledge and a trackrecord to envy. I’d never actually heardof the Yew Tree in the ‘HampshireHighlands’ until the other day when Istumbled across it by entirely accident,wet and tired after a long walk in somerather poor spring weather. We didn’tseek it out because of Mr White – itcould have been run by anyone for all Iknew – but we stopped in the car park,changed our soggy boots and enteredwhat looked like a well run gastro pub.From the first greeting: “Of coursewe’ve got a table, which one wouldyou like?” to the last double espresso,everything was customer-focused. Themenu was clearly written, the ingredientsexactly as stated, the wine liststunningly good and the food faultless.It was all offered without the slightestbit of pretention or fuss, as ifoffering simplicity and quality at thislevel was an everyday occurrence.Clearly it is for them – would that itwere so everywhere.The whole establishment was clearlyprofessionally-managed, very busy anddeserving of every positive epithet inthis article. Whoever Marco has managingit deserves a pat on the back.The Yew Tree offered a clearlywritten menu, a stunningly goodwine list and faultless foodIn the current climate, it’s really a question of survive and thrive or curlup and die. If you try to cut corners, you will simply not get through.Putting my moneywhere my mouth isOver the past few years, I’ve offered afair amount of advice in these columns.All of it comes from hard-earned experiencein hospitality and marketing.But am I all mouth and no trousers? Ihave just taken a deep breath, embracedmy own advice that a recession can be agood time to invest and taken ownershipof a very well-established small hotel andexcellent restaurant in deepest Wiltshire,Howard’s House Hotel. I’ve been stayingthere for many years on fishing andshooting trips, and it’s become somethingof a home from home for familyevents and celebrations.With nine rooms, a brilliant walled gardenand a superb chef, it’s perfect forexclusive use occasions. Central Wiltshireis not immune from the economic realitiesfacing the whole country, but it doeshave a discerning market of people whowill continue to expect the best.With Noële Thompson and NickWentworth in place, we have an excellentteam, and I’ll be putting to the test theadvice I’ve so freely dispensed in thesepages. I will let you know how it goes.HOWARD’S HOUSE HOTEL – A WORK IN PROGRESSI’ve stayed at Howard’s House for thepast umpteen years and very muchenjoyed my time there.It’s a beautiful old building – a littlebit of heaven on earth, really. Like allbeautiful old buildings, it needs moneyspent on it, and my task will be toretain its charm while slightly improvingits comfort. I’m blessed in theseendeavours with a marvellous generalmanager and a great chef. They alsohave an in-depth team in every departmentof the operation.My job will be to spend a littlemoney and hopefully apply as much ofmy accumulated hospitality marketingwisdom as I can muster in a way thatmakes sense in the current climate.Our strategy will be to do everything tohelp the hotel fulfil its potential whileretaining the commitment of its longtermand very loyal customer base. ●Howard’s House, a lovely propertythat deserves a helping of TLCISSUE 3 2009 © cybertrek 2009Read Leisure Management online leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 63