22nd October 2007

The Bell Inn's fire and brimstone

 The Bell Inn licensees, John and Trisha Bellinger have won £500 for their chosen charity, the Katharine House Hospice, for a Halloween recipe that was so hot it was scary. The Hook Norton tenants, whose pub is in Adderbury, have won a national competition to create a recipe for a Halloween dinner, which was organised by trade magazine, The Morning Advertiser.

The winning main course was a red hot Chilli Con Carne, served with Pumpkin Seed bread. Included in the ingredients was Hook Norton seasonal ale Flagship, which helped give the dish body and soul. Morning Advertiser's Ed Isaacs said: "This entry really stood out amongst the many others we received.

"The recipe was well laid out and written in an easy to follow format. Our panel of judges were impressed, not only with the way the dish was cooked and presented, complete with cauldron and creepy looking spiders, but also with the clever way the dish was named, linking it to the Halloween theme".

John and his wife Trisha have been tenants at the Hook Norton pub for almost two and a half years, during which time they have received a number of accolades for the quality of their cask ale, but this is the first for their food.

Trisha said: "The quality of our food has always played an important part in the success of our business. It is proving to be a growth area, especially since the introduction of the smoking ban in July, which means customers can now enjoy our popular food, including many of our own recipe homemade dishes in a clean and fresh environment. We don't advertise, we just rely on word of mouth to spread our name."

In addition to the £500 donation to the Katharine House Hospice, the couple will receive 288 pints of real ale, which they intend to use for raising funds for other good causes including the Adderbury Theatre Workshop, who are performing their 30th birthday Cabaret performance this week at the Adderbury Institute.