A village pub in the Peak District has celebrated after being named one of the best in the UK.
The Pack Horse in Hayfield, around 50 minutes from Manchester city centre, has become popular for its seasonal, contemporary food and has made it on to the Estrella Damn Top 50 Gastropubs list for 2023. The owners of the pub received a tree bauble and a scroll notifying them of the award just before Christmas.
The pub will find out where it has ranked in the top 50 at a ceremony early next year. Last year, it was revealed at a ceremony in Manchester that the pub had ranked at number 32.
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The scroll sent to The Pack Horse read: "We are pleased to announce that your pub has made it onto the 2023 Estrella Damn Top 50 Gastropubs list. Your position will be revealed in January 2023 through an exclusive event.
"We would love for you to join us for the reveal, for which we will be sending more information by email soon."
Taking to social media to share to the news, the pub's co-owner and head chef Luke Payne said he couldn't "believe" they had made it onto the list after what has been a "challenging" time for the industry. He said: "Genuinely didn’t believe we would make it. Thank you all so much.
"I can’t express how challenging this year has been, impossible to take stock until now. Thank you, we are so honoured to be among our mentors, peers, and friends."
He also retweeted a post shared by the pub itself which thanked their team, as well as guests and locals. It read: "The most immense wave of emotion came across us upon opening this.
"We’ve made the Top 50 Gastropubs 2023!! A massive thanks to our team and our wonderful guests and locals, you make this pub a truly special place. Thank you. "
The pub has been run by self-taught chef Luke Payne and partner Emma Daniels since September 2016, and has been earning rave reviews for several years. in November 2021, The Pack Horse was hailed as "pretty much pub perfection" in a rave review by a national restaurant critic.
The Derbyshire pub wowed The Times reviewer, Marina O'Loughlin, who praised its stunning High Peak location and its "elevated and unexpected" take on pub grub. After singing the pub's praises for its "ambitious" cuisine, she added: "None of this is to say that the Pack Horse has lost sight of what the perfect village pub should be. There are still chips on onion rings; divine, both: crisp, golden and greaseless.."
In 2019, the M.E.N.'s review of the pub described it as being "in a league of its own" and said it had "found the perfect balance between bistro and pub - you can come with muddy boots or in smart shoes and still feel equally as welcome."
The Michelin Guide recommended pub located within the Peak District national park is lead by an ethos of sustainability and seasonality, with food that changes through the seasons and offers "a unique snapshot of the British food calendar'. It works with a range of local suppliers including a butchers just four miles, away, a fishmonger who sources produce from the North Sea and a vegetable supplier that sources only the best from British growers.
Fellow Northern pub, Parkers Arms in Newton in Boland in Lancashire also posted about making next year's list. The pub, which was named the second best gastropub in the country at the awards last year, received another nod this year as well, and will find out its new ranking in January.
Taking to social media, owners of Parkers Arms wrote: " Delighted to have once again made the prestigious @Top50Gastropubs list. Always the loveliest surprise and HUGE morale booster. A prefect preamble to Christmas. Thank you to all our peer & industry folk that voted us in. We love you too x."
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