Simon our landlord has been working behind the scenes to bring a new ale to the Church Inn from the Wincle Brewery for the summer months. The ale is a hoppy amber to blonde ale with a refreshing aftertaste. Our Reverend Ian Blay has ‘blessed’ the ale and it features him on the badge.

A Rambling Rector is of course a wild rose climbing plant but the words are very much suited to our rector as he too likes to ramble across the fields of Mobberley and is often to be found in a flowery shirt as the badge reflects!!

Ian is known as our ‘man of the froth’ because of his undying love for cask ale. He has been known to ‘ramble’ after a pint or two in the speaking sense too!! Big thanks to Ian for his support of what promises to become a favourite ale of many.

Four new sherries have arrived here at the Church Inn to help celebrate our ‘Grape’ range. With over 50 wines, 14 Ports, 10 Brandies and now 10 sherries the grape is truly celebrated here. Sherry is back in vogue and can be enjoyed with ice as an aperitif or even at different stages of a meal or you can enjoy sherry in your Bloody Mary instead of Vodka for a far more classic taste.

The first of our new sherries is Pedro’s Fino which is bone dry, the Intense floral character is complemented by almond and fresh apple notes giving a fresh finish. An excellent match for our whitebait nibble or Crayfish Cocktail.

Then we have the Oloroso which is warm and rounded in style. Full-bodied, with a nutty complexity; expansive on the palate. Excellent with rich foods such as our Shepherd’s Pie or our Pot Roast shoulder of lamb.

The third sherry is an Amontillado, the subtle and delicate bouquet, suggests notes of hazelnut on the nose, yet with light reminders of yeast but smooth on the palate giving a fresh finish. This is a dry to medium sherry and would work with our Pork Belly dish or indeed a cheeseboard.

Finally we have a Palo Cortado, a dry sherry from the Palomino grape. This wine combines the richness on the palate of the Oloroso with the delicacy on nose of the Amontillado. From the cellar of Cayetano del Pino, this is a truly magnificent example of the style and would work wonderfully with our Duck main course.

All these sherries from Jerez have wonderful labels that are full of colour and atmosphere. So maybe as the weather gets warmer you can enjoy a cool Fino on the terrace here at The Church Inn!!

Our ‘Nose to Tail’ week celebrates the local Mobberley pig with our Head Chef Lloyd and his kitchen team cooking up some great dishes for everyone to enjoy alongside our normal menu.

‘Ginger’ who is pictured enjoys a very happy life with many offspring at Foden Lane Nursery in Mobberley where visitors are very welcome. Ginger produces pigs for us to enjoy and only one or two make it to the dinner table the rest live happily together with Ginger keeping an eye on them at the nursery.

Hopefully happy pigs will lead to happy customers…

SAYS IT ALL

The team stood proud as the new Sunday Brunch menu was launched this week!! Mugs of coffee and tea were gratefully received with a strong message from the team. Where would you rather be on a Sunday morning?? Starting at 10.30am until mid-day Brunch is served so come and enjoy a relaxing morning with us (see menu below).

Just to let everyone know that Brunch is purely served on a Sunday from now on and is already building up a loyal following…

You can book your table too!

Click here to view menu

They know where they would rather be!!

Our little boot room is the perfect place to change your wellies or walking boots before and after a great walk. There is room to leave your shoes too should you wish. There is even a sink to wash down your boots should you need to.

Recently a well-known local left their shoes behind while taking on the Church Inn pub walk. These shoes were quite a talking point….could the secret local be in pantomime?? Where did they get those gold shoes from? Sadly we couldn’t do a Cinderella story as before we knew it the shoes were gone in a flash…but who is the owner of these ostentatious little numbers….please let us know….might be a boy…

It was a damp chilly morning as the Bury Pork sausages sizzled on the grill and the port and King’s Ginger filled the air of the fire lit bar of the Church Inn. With tweeds and jodhpurs on show as the Hunts riders kept warm by the fire with nibbles and tipples!

The Hounds meanwhile arrived with wagging tails and hot breath!! As the Hunt Master kept them at ease within the pubs cycle park. The team came out to see them off as they ‘clip-clopped’ down Church Lane towards the Bulls Head as a rainbow appeared in the threatening February sky.

There is nothing quite like the spectacle of horse and hound in village life even on a cold winters day….. Click on an image to view lightbox gallery..

THIS CHESHIRE FARMERS 'DRAG' HUNT IS TO EXERCISE THE HOUNDS

THE HUNT MASTERS AND THE HOUNDS TAKEOVER THE CYCLE PARK!!

MARY AND SIMON POP OUT TO HAVE A LOOK AT THE HORSES AND HOUNDS

FOLLOWED SWIFTLY BY THE ENTIRE TEAM

YES YOU CAN TEXT A MESSAGE FROM A HORSE TOO!!

AT LEAST IT STOPPED RAINING

THE BENEFITS OF RAIN ARE THE ODD RAINBOW ACROSS THE FIELDS FROM THE CHURCH INN

Our Head Chef Lloyd and his team of chefs have once again worked exceptionally hard to develop some lovely new dishes for our ‘winter in to spring’ menu….

New starters include…

• The Church ‘sharing’ Seafood Plate of Scottish smoked salmon and pickled cucumber, crayfish Marie Rose, Whitby scampi with fresh tartare sauce, warm Cornish crab and leek tart, salt and pepper whitebait, potted Devon crab with granary toast easily enough for two or three to share as a starter.
• Or we have Grilled Pear and Cumbrian air dried ham salad with soured cream, truffle honey and radicchio leaves
• or a Salad of wild rocket, spinach and toasted pinenuts, with crumbled Anglesey feta and rye bread thins.
• Duck Liver and Cognac Pâté, roasted Bramley apple compote and hot toasts
• Cumbrian Pig Cheek slow cooked in Welsh Ty Gwyn cider, served with braised barley, a fresh herb salad and brown butter vinaigrette

On the new mains we have..

New Tavern Favourites

• Chunky Lamb Shepherd’s Pie topped with Winchester Cheese mashed potato and served with pickled red cabbage
• Ty Gwyn Cider battered Market Fish and Chips with Yorkshire garden peas and homemade tartare sauce

Other main meals include

• Pot Roast Shoulder of Lamb, cooked with red wine, glazed with pomegranate molasses and thyme, served with root vegetable mash.
• Roast Breast of Goosnargh Duck with cherry and red wine sauce, chicory and shallot tart, wilted kale and creamed celeriac
• Grilled Hake with a herb crust, tarragon and white wine sauce, sautéed new potatoes and creamed Yorkshire peas
• Roast Breast of Cumbrian Chicken with celeriac dauphinoise, wild mushroom sauce, braised shallots and buttered kale
• Ricotta, basil, lemon and chilli stuffed flat cap mushroom, sautéed new potatoes, saffron and white wine cream sauce

and for new homemade puddings we have…….

• Classic Spotted Dick and custard
• Sticky Date Bread and Butter Pudding with rum and raisin ice cream
• Baked Egg Custard, finished with fresh nutmeg and poached vanilla rhubarb
• Sticky Date Bread and Butter Pudding with rum and raisin ice cream
• Warm Bollington Chocolate and Pear Cake, with Dunham Massey Vanilla ice cream

To look through the full menu click here and the Sunday menu please click here…

The Mobberley Chefs have put together a new Monday –Saturday menu as well as a new Sunday version and new Light Lunches through the week for everyone to enjoy!!

Please click on the links to see each of the menus and we look forward to seeing you soon!!

Main Menu

Sunday Menu

Light Lunches

What a great time over Christmas our teams have had. It is tiring work but there are plenty of smiles and fun around the place!! The Bulls Head in Mobberley held its annual Christmas Jumper competition and the judges moved around the pub secretly assessing the best. Pete had won it last year with his ‘snow man number’ so was a favourite again this year.

There were a number of good efforts but I am pleased to say Pete held on to his crown with an ‘elf jumper’ with matching hat!! Well done Pete! There must be someone out there who can out do Pete in 2014??!

The teams as you can see had a good go with our personal favourite being Tom at the Church Inn with his Christmas pudding version!! Thanks to all our teams for making the effort. At the Cholmondeley Arms the ‘Snow Ball’ Drink was re-incarnated by the team and you can see Miya sampling some for the camera behind the Cholmondeley Bar!!!

Thank you to all our customers who have added to the atmosphere at all our pubs. There have been Christmas Carol singers at Cholmondeley and Brass bands at The three Greyhounds Inn at Allostock and The Church Inn in Mobberley as we managed to squeeze them in our newly decorated Church Inn ‘boot room’.

On Christmas eve as the Carol service finished at St. Wilfs church opposite the Church Inn in Mobberley we were on hand to serve the masses (get it!!) with mulled wine on the terrace with warm chimineas burning away. There were festive nibbles and roasted chestnuts and a lot of good cheer! A very happy Christmas to all!!

Thanks to all our teams for working so hard!!

ADAM AT THE CHOLMONDELEY ARMS

ANYONE FOR A SNOW BALL!!

BABY CHAM IS BACK AT THE CHUM!!

MORE FESTIVE SWEATERS AT THE THREE GREYHOUNDS WITH SHAUNAGH AND CHRIS!!

MULLED WINE AT THE CHURCH INN WITH SOPH IN THAT HAT!!

OUR BRASS BAND MANAGED TO FIT IN THE CHURCH INN BOOT ROOM.

SECOND YEAR RUNNING!! PETE DOES IT AGAIN!!

TOM AT THE CHURCH INN WITH MARK

As temperatures rise and we actually have the summer we deserve (at long last!!) it is important that we let new potential customers know the wonderful outside space we have here at the Church Inn. To the side we have our terrace opposite St Wilfrid’s Church which gets shade as well as sun. When the Church bells ring you could be in a little square in Italy with a cool Aperol Spritz!!#

To the rear of the pub we have our ‘Wisteria Garden’ which is a sun trap and gets the sun late in to the evening, moving down the step from here is the shady beer garden as the path meanders down to our beautiful bowling green. The views from the rear of the pub across the Cheshire fields are breath-taking. Whether you want sun or shade, atmosphere or views the Church Inn has a little of everything.

We do some great yesteryear cool drinks like the Dubonnet Spritzer as well as the now famous Aperol Spritz. Long and cool in the summer sunshine….there’s nothing better!!

A little shade on the terrace

A perfect view of the Church

Oak Benches on the terrace

Our beautiful bowling green

The Shade of the small beer garden

Wisteria Garden to the rear