DESPITE the rising prices of energy and food, a creative landlord is confident his pub can survive and thrive during the cost of living crisis.

The innovative chef uses wild foraged foods, vegetables and fruit grown on a village patch and simple recipes to reduce costs while retaining the appeal of his imaginative menus. Ben Stevenson devises the menus and cooks at the Leaping Salmon in Horrabridge, supported by his business and life partner Leanne Bray.

He is optimistic their business is in a good place to overcome the inflationary pressures which are hitting the hospitality sector badly and with the British Chamber of Commerce predicting more businesses will close in the coming winter than failed during the pandemic.

The couple’s energy bills are due to rise by three and half times the current rate and he estimates his monthly bills will be about £3,500.

Ben said: ‘The cost of food has trebled in the past ten years and is still rising. Up to now we’ve avoided passing the rising costs of food onto our customers through savings and the result is we’re only just breaking even - and that’s before October’s energy price hike. This means more pubs are at a greater risk of closure. They were already in a weaker situation getting over the pandemic. There’s already been a massive decline in pub numbers because of the big chains under-cutting us which makes it difficult for us to compete. At the moment I worry about other landlords whose electricity costs are higher than their food costs or the rent of the building. You just cannot run a business on that basis.’

He added: ‘For the first time in my life I’m now having to develop dishes and menus that revolve around energy consumption. And although that’s a tough new skill to think about, it has to be good for our environment.

‘I’m pretty confident our customers will understand that there are going to be new constraints to food offerings and that they can’t always have what they want. But it does add a new element to our operating practices.

‘For example, before we got the news about the bills going up we’d just bought a pizza oven so we can offer pizza takeaways to the village. Now I’m experimenting with what else we can cook in the oven so that we’re being mot efficient with power consumption. It’s just a different way of thinking about food.’

Ben said: ‘Our brand is a local village foodie pub, but affordable. The people of Horrabridge and round about will not come back if their food suddenly gets too pricey. We are known for our food, but I don’t want to be thought of an elitist foodie pub.’

He is as sustainable as possible in sourcing food grown in the area: ‘There’s little room for making profits, but we do help ourselves by growing our own fruit and veg on a veg patch that’s managed by a gardener. So, we use the freshest ingredients which are also the tastiest, such as courgettes, runnerbeans, tomatoes, rocket and mangetout. The rocket is the most spicy you can imagine. I also make our own ice cream using our own blackcurrants and forage for seasonal food when available.’

Ben also orders fresh ingredients from suppliers in small amounts and often: ‘I have my regular suppliers who are often organic. I call them weekly and ask what fish is in good supply for instance - like catch of the day - and what quality it is and order only what I need for a couple of days. In that way I reduce waste and guarantee freshness and quality.’

Energy costs are kept as low as possible by reducing the need to freeze large quantities and therefore, only a few freezers and fridges are switched on. Only one deep fat frier is used because of the trebling of the cost of oil, while oven use is minimised in an electric-only kitchen - chosen to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

The couple have a wealth of knowledge between them of the hospitality industry which they hope will help them remain viable against the economic odds. Leanne is a still practising therapist and used to work in London’s East End bars and has a masters degree in psychology. Ben worked for 15 years front of house before training in kitchens, so both have an insight which will help during rocky times.