News

On Tuesday 10th March our owners Tim and Mary headed off into Manchester to the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show (NRB). Tim was a keynote panellist at the event, talking about the success of ‘No and Low’ alcoholic drinks within Cheshire Cat. Then later in the day our company was recognised for the 10th time in a row in the Kuits/NRB Top 50 Northern Hospitality businesses. But there was a surprise in store as our company was also awarded one of the prestigious ‘NRB High Achievement Awards’ for 2026 recognising our team’s efforts over the years. Three awards are presented on the day and Mark Birtshall the 3 Michelin star head chef of Moor Hall and the team behind Nell’s Pizzas in Manchester both sharing the stage with Tim and Mary.

Tim said “we are so delighted with this award. It is an honour to have been in the Top 50 Northern Hospitality businesses for 10 years in a row, but to be recognised with a ‘High Achievement Award’ is the icing on the cake and great testament to our wonderful team’s hard work and dedication. This is their award and recognises their tremendous efforts over the years. We are a big family really and together we will toast this award and ensure we remain consistent in everything we do for our guests and customers.”

 

 

At the National Pub and Bar Magazine Awards held in London on Tuesday 24^th June, the leaders of the Hospitality industry came together to vote for their top pubs in the UK, and we are delighted to announce that our Church Inn pub came in at number 7!

 

This is really great recognition for Stewart and the Church Inn Team. We are all delighted for everyone concerned. Well done!

 

The Church Inn is rubbing shoulders with some top pubs with the winner at number 1 being the well-known Devonshire Arms in London.

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 15^th 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.”

Our pub company Cheshire Cat Pubs and Inns, owned by Tim and Mary, is celebrating again after two of their pubs achieved great accolades at the Pub and Bar Magazine Awards in London on Wednesday 26th June 2024. The Cholmondeley Arms and the Fitzherbert Arms made the journey to the awards having been chosen as County winners of Cheshire and Staffordshire respectively.

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.

We are exceptionally proud to announce that Pub and Bar Magazine has chosen the Church Inn as their ‘Best Pub in Cheshire’ for the third year running. The awards could not take place in 2020, for obvious reasons. The Church Inn is the current Pub and Bar Magazine’s Best Pub in the UK, having won the top prize for the second time in May 2019.

This comes on the back of the Church Inn’s 6th ‘Michelin Plate’ in a row, awarded back in January 2021, the only such award in Cheshire. Add to this the pubs inclusion in the ‘Good Beer Guide 2021’ for the second year running and you have a fine treble!

The Church Inn team are absolutely thrilled. It has been a challenging 16 months, but the Church Inn has remained as consistent as always.

Well done to the team and as always a massive thank you to all our very loyal and supportive customers.

Lets hope we can go on and scoop the Northwest!

We are proud to announce we have achieved a ‘Foodie Treble’! In December just before ‘lockdown 3’ the Cholmondeley Arms was chosen by the Good Pub Guide as ‘County Dining Pub of the Year 2021’! This was a really fantastic achievement for the Cholmondeley Arms kitchen team led by Andy. It is the third time the ‘Chum’ has won this award 1996 and 2001 and now 20 years later we’ve achieved the honour again!

In January 2021 the Church Inn was chosen by Michelin for their Pub and Good Food Guides with a Michelin Plate for 2021. This is the sixth year in a row that the Church Inn has collected this distinction and remains the only pub in Cheshire with a Michelin Plate. Richard and his team, like the Cholmondeley Arms team, have worked through a difficult year with great commitment and culinary excellence. We are very proud of this consistent performance.

Now in March 2021 the Roebuck Inn has been chosen in the Estrella Damm Top 100 Gastro Pubs 2021. The Roebuck is the highest ranking Cheshire pub and this award underlines an amazing year, where the Roebuck Inn has remained open through every lock down and made a great name for itself as a ‘Pub Hub’, serving the community with ‘Just Heat’ Meals and great Fish and Chips every Thursday and Friday. Andy and his team have maintained a very high standard of cooking during lockdowns and of course when open too. This award comes on the back of Head Chef Andy’s nomination at this year’s Pub industry ‘Oscars’, for the ‘Outstanding Industry Contribution Award’ recognising Andy’s lockdown efforts at the Roebuck Inn Pub Hub. The Hub Team have already been presented in February 2021 with a ‘Covid Community Hero Award by our MP Esther McVey. Great recognition for a year of great effort keeping the hub open for our local community!

We are very proud of all the teams, for their amazing achievements over the last few months of very challenging times for us all.

Well done everyone! Good luck Andy!

 

A PUB in Mobberley has been recognised as one of the of the best in the British Isles, for the sixth consecutive year.

The Church Inn has once again been awarded a prestigious Michelin Plate and will feature in the Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland 2021, the only pub in Cheshire and Greater Manchester to do so. Read full article in the Knutsford Guardian….