Our boutique pub company Cheshire Cat Pubs and Inns celebrated triple success at the hospitality industry’s ‘Oscars’.
Cheshire Cat Pubs and Inns took home three titles on the night down in London, scooping the prize for Best Operations Team, Best Drinks Act and Best Food Act at The Publican Awards 2025.
The awards, organised by leading trade title The Morning Advertiser, celebrate the best in the business and culminate in an outstanding night at Evolution London, bringing together the leading pub and bar operators from across the UK.
Cheshire Cat Pubs and Inns has its base in the village of Mobberley, Cheshire and operates seven village and country pubs, five in Cheshire and two in North Staffordshire. They are celebrating their 15th year this year at their first pub in the Northwest, the Bulls Head in Mobberley. Owners Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin were over the moon with such a great achievement!
“We took our managers and head chefs with us to London and what a night it turned out to be. To win one Publican Award is difficult enough but to win three is frankly amazing….. we are so proud! Our entire team across our seven pubs are the real winners, we are so delighted for all of them.”
The Morning Advertiser editor Ed Bedington said: “Big congratulations to all our finalists and winners tonight, particularly Cheshire Cat for pulling off the impressive feat of winning all three of its categories.
“These awards celebrate the best in the business and recognise operators that are performing at the very top of their game. The pub and bar sector, and the wider hospitality industry, is facing some unprecedented challenges, particularly in vastly increased taxation, but it is good to step back and recognise some of the amazing work that is going on.
“These awards show that despite the challenges everyone is facing, standards are not being allowed to slip and the sector remains committed to operating at the highest possible levels.”
From left to right Cholmondeley deputy manager Leigh, Cholmondeley manager Helen, Cheshire Cat owner Tim, Fitzherbert Arms head chef Connor, Cheshire Cat owner Mary and Fitzherbert Manager Rebecca!
Cholmondeley Arms Manager Helen and Deputy manager Leigh arrived in London to see if the Cholmondeley Arms Team could go one further and win the Northwest region. Great news! The Chum won it! We now have the honour of ‘Best in the Northwest’ back within our Company Cheshire Cat. We held the honour previously with our sister pub the Church Inn back in 2021. Owners Tim and Mary were at the awards to help the teams celebrate!
The Fitzherbert Arms meanwhile had already won ‘Best Pub in Staffordshire’ for the third year running. The Fitz Manager Rebecca and Head Chef Connor headed to London to see if the Fitzherbert Arms Team could go one further and win the West Midlands region. To their complete surprise they went one better and won the honour of the National ‘Best Taste’ Award sponsored by Tyrells Crisps, which recognised most notably the great food performance under the stewardship of Head Chef Connor and his kitchen team and of course the effort of the entire team who make the Fitz the great pub it is today.
Please check out the photo of the entire team at the awards and you’ll notice the enormous bag of Tyrells crisps which has a photo of the Fitzherbert Arms across the front! It was fun carrying that around London after the awards! All in all, it was a great night in London, and we are all very proud of Rebecca, Connor and the entire Fitz team and Helen and Leigh and the entire Cholmondeley Arms team.
With consumer confidence on the rise and hospitality venues continuing their journey on the road to recovery, 94 pubs and bars across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have scooped a prestigious County Winner title as part of the 2022 National Pub & Bar Magazine Awards, including our very own Church Inn for Cheshire and our Fitzherbert Arms for Staffordshire.
The National Pub & Bar Awards aims to put exemplary businesses across the UK in the national spotlight, showcasing the hospitality industry’s diversity, creativity and vital importance to the UK economy.
The announcement of this year’s 94 County Winners shows the level of quality being delivered to pub and bar visitors every day of the week.
The pubs, which have been selected on overall best practice across a number of operational categories, will be officially crowned at a ‘red carpet’ celebration at 30 Euston Square, London, on Wednesday 22 June 2022. At this ‘grand finale’, 15 Regional Winners will also be announced, as well as the esteemed accolade – the overall National Pub & Bar of the Year 2022. An award which has been won twice by our Church Inn in Mobberley in 2019/20 and 2016/17.
“Just from being out and about, you can see how much pubs and bars mean to people across the UK,” says Tristan O’Hana, editor of Pub & Bar magazine, which hosts the event. “With visitor numbers increasing, it’s more important than ever for operators to deliver standout service and product quality during every visit – no matter the business in question. The 94 County Winners are wonderful examples of the brilliance of today’s modern on-trade. If you live near one of these county winners, make sure you pay them a visit!”
The National Pub & Bar Awards is sponsored by Hellmann’s, Kegstar, Kingfisher, Knorr and St Pierre.