DEVELOPMENT KITCHEN
Led by Head Chef Tony French
Crafting Excellence Across All WH Pubs
Tony French's Journey with WH Pubs
Tony first met Brian back in 1992 when they were both working for Pubs Ltd, now better known as Brunning and Price. This long-standing professional relationship would prove to be the foundation of something special.
After running his own pub with his wife, Alison, for 11 years, Tony joined WH Pubs in 2016 as a Head Roving Chef, providing cover and support across all the pubs as needed. His expertise and dedication quickly made him an invaluable part of the team.
After a brief two-year period doing event catering, Tony returned to WH Pubs, this time joining the Development Kitchen as Sous Chef. His passion for excellence and innovative approach to food preparation saw him step up into the role of Head Chef within a year - a position he holds with distinction today.
Under Tony's leadership, the Development Kitchen has become the creative heart of WH Pubs, ensuring consistent quality and innovation across all our establishments.
Leadership & Innovation
Culinary Excellence
Over 30 years of experience in premium hospitality, from Brunning & Price to WH Pubs
Quality Consistency
Ensures every dish meets WH Pubs' exacting standards across all locations
Innovation
Constantly developing new techniques and sourcing partnerships for better quality
Tony's Expert Team
Under Tony's guidance, the Development Kitchen has attracted exceptional talent. Matt, our brilliant Pastry Chef, joined the team and has become instrumental in bringing fresh ideas and innovative methods to the kitchen, working closely with Tony to maintain the highest standards.
Andrea, our ever-reliable kitchen assistant, joined Tony's team in 2020. She's played a crucial role in keeping the kitchen spotless and has since progressed into helping with all aspects of food prep under Tony's mentorship. After taking time off in September 2024 to have a baby, she is now back part-time - a very welcome return to Tony's dedicated team.
Tony's leadership style fosters growth, innovation, and excellence, creating an environment where each team member can thrive while maintaining the exacting standards WH Pubs is known for.
Our Role in the Development Kitchen
Our main role in the Development Kitchen is to support the chefs in our pubs in the best way we can.
What We Do
We produce many of the core desserts, including Sticky Toffee Pudding, our indulgent Double Chocolate Brownie, and gluten-free Baked Cheesecake.
But we don't just make desserts, we also prepare savoury favourites like handmade shortcrust pastry pies with freshly made pastry, also our ever-popular Salmon Fishcakes and Traditional Stews in the winter months.
We also have access to the large American smoker at the Little Brown Jug, which allows us to smoke chickens, beef briskets, pork ribs, and occasionally hot-smoked salmon sides.
Smoking Excellence
Our large American smoker at the Little Brown Jug is a game-changer for our menu offerings. This impressive piece of equipment allows us to create authentic smoked flavours that enhance our dishes across all locations.
From perfectly smoked chickens and tender beef briskets to succulent pork ribs and occasionally hot-smoked salmon sides, the smoker adds a distinctive depth of flavour that sets our cuisine apart.
Handcrafted Burgers
A major investment for us has been our burger press machine, which has transformed how we approach one of our most popular menu items. We now produce all of the company's burgers in-house, creating every patty from scratch in the Development Kitchen.
This ensures perfect consistency across all our pubs while saving valuable time for the chefs on-site.
Our burger patties are made using carefully selected cuts of beef, hand-pressed to the ideal thickness and weight. By controlling every step of the process, from selecting the meat to the final press, we can guarantee that every burger served across the WH Pubs estate meets our exacting standards.
The result is a consistently juicy, flavourful burger that features on every pub menu and has become a real customer favourite.
Quality Sourcing
Another important part of our role is bulk buying to secure the best quality at the best price.
Wicks Manor Farm
We source our British pork and dry-cured bacon from Wicks Manor Farm in Maldon, Essex.
Smokin' Brothers
Our award-winning handcrafted smoked salmon comes from the "Smokin' Brothers" in the Cotswolds.
La Tua Pasta
Most recently, we've partnered with La Tua Pasta for, you guessed it, fresh pasta, which we now supply to all the pubs.
Christmas Tradition
Christmas is always a busy time for us, and we are very proud to say that we make our very own Christmas Pudding from scratch.
The recipe is a special one, originally passed down to me from my Head Chef Robbie Sloane's Mum from the Royal Wells Hotel when I was in training, so we can confidently say it's a recipe with over 100 years of history behind it.
Rich, traditional, and made with care, it's a real taste of the season.
Taste Our Craftsmanship
Experience the dedication and quality that goes into every dish at our exceptional pubs