GREAT TASTE AWARDS 2011

In addition to our awards over a number of years this year we won one Gold Star for our Mint Sauce. Judge’s comments “This very pleasing, sharp and minty sauce is looking for some salt marsh lamb to complement it. Good vinegar and excellent taste.") and one Gold Star for our Roasted Pepper Salsa (Judge’s comments “Good colour, nice smell and great kick. Good taste of red pepper. Initial roasted peppers are strong, then the heat kicks in, and there are good roasted tones").

Customer Profile

The Royal Oak, Ramsden. Oxfordshire.

This is our local pub and one of our first commercial outlets. The pub is situated on the old Roman Akeman Street in the picturesque village of Ramsden and faces the war memorial. It is built of Cotswold Stone and Stonesfield slates and at one time was a temperance hotel!

For many years we used the other village pub (The Stag & Hounds, now converted to a private dwelling) for refreshment, as The Royal Oak had a reputation for being cold and inhospitable. This all changed in 1987 when John and Jo Oldham moved to Ramsden.

Jon had experience in catering and management and was seeking a place of his own to extend his skills in wine and food. Very quickly the pub became a place of warmth, conviviality and good service. Jon also worked hard to develop an interesting and attractive menu – good food, without pretensions!

This success led him later to appoint two chefs (allowing Jon to expand his interest in wines), Fred and Salvador, who have continued to raise the quality of food at The Royal Oak to such levels that it has become not only popular with locals but also visitors nationally and internationally! In recent years barns at the rear of the pub have been converted for accommodation and these and the staffing of the pub are admirably organised by Jo.

Jon is also keen to use local produce and a majority of what is used in the kitchen is sourced locally or is carefully vetted by Jon for quality and consistency. Our products are used in the kitchen; our mustards are also available in the restaurant as condiments and to purchase. He has also been generous in offering to sample our new products and give objective and useful comments.

In late 2010 The Royal Oak was awarded 2011 Country Pub of the Year by The Good Pub Guide and to honour this accolade we made a Celebration Mustard for Jon and Jo and the Royal Oak team. Future plans include organising special events and importing wines from the South of France where Jon has an interest in a vineyard.

We are extremely fortunate to have such a fine pub only a short distance from our farm. Jon and Jo run a very successful business; take pride in keeping some excellent draught ales, producing food of a consistently high standard, keeping an interest in local and national events (comments displayed each day on the blackboard by the entrance) and giving a warm welcome to all those who enter the bar.

More information about the pub can be found at their website: www.royaloakramsden.com