Legendary chef, Shaun Hill at The Walnut Tree Inn - PR and profile raising

Shaun Hill is the legendary chef behind the Michelin-starred The Walnut Tree Inn, near Abergavenny in Wales. Shaun is 74 and still working in the kitchen every day, he began his career working for Robert Carrier in 1966 and became renowned as the chef who put Ludlow on the food map with the opening of the Merchant House. 2022 marks 14 years at The Walnut Tree. He has no plans to retire!

The Walnut Tree has been a food-lovers' destination since the early 1960s when it was owned and run by Franco Taruschio. It is now part of a family-owned group of businesses which includes The Angel Hotel, in Abergavenny, The Angel Bakery, The Art Shop and Chapel and Caradog Cottages. There are two self-catering cottages on the site of The Walnut Tree and another nearby for guests to enjoy a relaxed overnight stay while visiting the restaurant.

I was due to start work with The Walnut Tree Inn in March 2020 just as the Covid-19 Lockdown began and the owners put the project on hold. To support them through the challenging few months that followed, I offered pro bono PR support to the Welsh and UK national newspapers and trade press. I secured interviews for Shaun Hill on the ever-changing situation in prominent places such as BBC News, BBC Wales, The Caterer, The Telegraph, BBC Wales and Wales Online.

In November 2020 as hospitality opened up and travel became possible we launched the campaign in full. The restaurant has a strong reputation and a loyal audience including many influential restaurant writers and journalists but had not done any proactive PR for five years.

PR activity has focussed on reviews and travel pieces:

• Profile pieces for Shaun Hill, one of the longest-serving chefs in the country securing interviews in media including The Telegraph, Wales Online, The Caterer, Chef magazine Code Hospitality, National Geographic Food.

• Restaurant reviews in The Week, The Telegraph, Conde Nast Traveller

• Recipe placement - The Guardian Feast Magazine, Staff Canteen, National Geographic Food

• Travel destination/restaurant with rooms - The Telegraph, The Times, Waitrose Magazine, MailOnline

• Opinion-pieces / business news - focussed on issues including continued lock-downs and staff shortages - BBC News, BBC Wales, Wales Online, The Telegraph, The Caterer, Big Hospitality, Staff Canteen.

The Walnut Tree Inn >

The Walnut Tree Inn

Coverage highlights

• The Guardian - Chefs’ Tips and Foodie Breaks

• The Telegraph - Shaun Hill’s favourite places in Wales

• Chef magazine - Shaun Hill 4 page feature (print)

• Wales Online - Shaun HIll interview

• National Geographic Food - Michelin Star Restaurants in Wales (print)

• BBC News - Impact of Covid-19 closures

Lisa Goodwin Allen at Northcote - Restaurant PR

Northcote is a luxury, independent boutique hotel located in Lancashire. The restaurant  has held a Michelin star for 20 consecutive years. Northcote’s kitchen is led by Executive Chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen, who took up the reins in October 2017 when co-founder Nigel Haworth stepped back to become Chef Ambassador. 

• Raise Lisa Goodwin-Allen's profile with interviews, profile pieces and recipe placement.

• Secure opportunities for Lisa to appear at trade and consumer shows like the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show.

• Announce the line-up for Northcote's annual gastronomic event, Obsession, and manage press invitations to the London launch as well as the month-long event.

• Report monthly on coverage achieved.

Restaurant PR

Andrew Sheridan, Sosban - Great British Menu PR

Chef Andrew Sheridan of Sosban in Llanelli in South Wales, was one of three Welsh chefs competing on Great British Menu on BBC Two this autumn. Great British Menu branded Andrew as the ‘maverick chef’ for his bold style turning traditional dishes like chicken soup and rice pudding upside down with his own unique spin.

This year Great British Menu is paying tribute to 70 years of the NHS and tasking 24 chefs from around the UK to create exceptional dishes for a banquet as a thank you to NHS heroes from around the country. Andrew went head-to-head against Chris Harrod from The Whitebrook in Monmouthshire and Jason Hughes from Chateau Rhianfa, Anglesey. The chefs were tasked with preparing a starter, fish course, main course and desert judged by a veteran chef Paul Ainsworth. Andrew was in the lead on points when he and Chris Harrod went through to the regional final on Friday to be judged by Andi Oliver, Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton OBE. The judges loved Andrew’s dishes and two of them scored his Apple Rice Pudding 10 out of 10, but at the final reckoning they picked Chris Harrod to go through to the banquet.

We developed and implemented a media campaign for the national, regional Welsh and trade media with the aim of not only creating a buzz around his appearance, but also building awareness of him as a chef to watch and Sosban as a destination restaurant. We continue to work on securing national coverage for Andrew including other broadcast opportunities.

The brief for Great British Menu was to thank our NHS heroes and Andrew tackled the brief by not only celebrating the Welsh founder of the NHS, Nye Bevan, but also his great grandmother who worked as nurse in Liverpool until the grand old age of 82! Andrew said “Rebecca worked for 62 years in the NHS - a lifetime’s commitment and a true inspiration to me when I was designing my dishes!”

He said of the experience of the competition “it was intense but also incredibly rewarding! I met some amazing people and it has also made me release how far I have come in my career.”

www.sosban.wales