Friday 12 December 2014
Our Team
Name: Richard Tuck
Role at The Old Stocks: Deputy Manager
More about me …
I’m originally from Wolverhampton, and worked for several years at a leading training and development company, before teaching drama at Wolverhampton Grammar School. Although I really enjoyed teaching and training, I decided that it was my keen interest in mixology, bartending and cellar management that would be my ‘forever career’. Charlotte and I were approached to run The Old Stocks as we brought a strong sense of individuality to our previous business that you don’t find in chain hotels and restaurants. Obviously, with such a fantastic vision in place for the inn, how could we say no? So now here we both are!
During the refurbishment …
I’m currently working on our drinks menus, liaising with local suppliers to find the most interesting and flavoursome products to stock behind our bar. We really want to offer unique drinks with great history, so we’re getting out to visit the distilleries and farms of some fantastic local tradespeople and suppliers. It’s proving invaluable to understand how everything is produced, and most have a real ‘farm to bottle’ ethos, which fits in perfectly with our plans for the inn. Wine lists and in-room goodies are next on the agenda, as well as sourcing great coffee.
I’m looking forward to …
I think the most exciting thing about reopening is that we’re completely reinventing ourselves. There’s a lot of heritage to the building that we don’t want to lose, but we’re looking forward to bringing a fresh, new approach that marries traditional Cotswolds charm with a modern and unique approach to both hospitality and customer service. This approach means that the inn won’t just be a great place to relax in, but it will be a hotel that people remember for years to come.
The Old Stocks Inn is different because …
The average refurbishment of a high-end pub, restaurant or hotel usually features a grey wall, a brass table, a few wood highlights and some leather seats. We don’t want to be like that. Our new interior design certainly takes a lot of influence from quintessential Britain, but not necessarily from the kind of things you might expect about a country hotel. The new look and feel of the hotel touches on classic elements, but with a lot more style, and we’re looking forward to revealing a bit more about that on our blog as we get closer to opening.
My favourite Cotswolds discovery …
I really like The King’s Head Inn in Bledington. They do some great food, ales and also have a great ice cream hut in the front garden. There’s a little brook that runs past it, and when they have the village fête outside on the green, they do their tug-of-war across the brook. I love stuff like that, and it’s been fantastic to stumble across hidden village traditions like that while I’ve been here.
Foodie heaven …
You can get handmade Scotch eggs pretty much everywhere around here, which is amazing. In Wolverhampton I only ever found dodgy versions in the fridge section of the local supermarket. What I love is that if you bite into a proper Scotch egg made from a local Cotswold egg, the yolk is a really bright yellow, almost orange. It was one of the first things I tried when I came to the Cotswolds, alongside a pint of real ale. It was all the convincing I needed to know I’d made the right choice in relocating here.