Hampshire destination pub focuses on quality, with proper food and proper coffee
The Exchequer in Crookham, Hampshire is a real destination pub. Out on its own, with lovely walks by the nearby river and canal, customers that want to go there need to drive. And they do, in big numbers, attracted by the ambiance, the attractive decor and the great food. The pub has 90 covers and on special occasions, such as Mother’s Day, it can serve 365 meals – most of them three courses.
When a pub is that busy, it needs equipment that delivers quality and is easy to use. Owner Kate Stewart recently upgraded her coffee machine to a Gaggia LC/D. Not only does it make great coffee, the pub also uses it to make the tea!
Kate and husband Tom Stewart moved in to The Exchequer in May 2011 and completely refurbished the pub, opening at the start of August. “We’re now very much a food pub,” she says. “We offer a big menu and we attract a wide range of people – OAPs, families with young children, couples. Weekday lunches tend to be about the grey pound – we offer an £8.95 menu – and we usually serve to 40 to 70 a day.
“What’s different about us is the quality. Take our fish and chips: we don’t use frozen, we buy our fish fresh and we make our own batter. We also make our own stocks and sauces – a lot are gluten-free. It’s not fancy food, it’s proper food.”
With equipment, Kate Stewart says the biggest factor, again, is quality. “It has to do its job. We had a bean to cup coffee machine that simply wasn’t up to it, the coffee wasn’t good and it was never hot enough. So we contacted our machine supplier, Rich Coffee, and they suggested changing to Gaggia.”
The Gaggia at The Exchequer is a LC/D two group model, capable of serving up to four shots of espresso at once. “It’s in use all the time – we turn it on in the morning, then off again last thing at night. As with any new equipment we had a few teething troubles, but once we got used to the way it works it’s been no trouble. In fact, the hot water is so hot we can use it to make tea, too.”
The pub’s coffee menu features espresso, cappuccino and latte. The Stewarts had picked the original bean to cup machine for ease of use and consistency. “I’ve worked with espresso machines in the past and had problems with quality, because they’ve been complicated. But I have to say the Gaggia is easy to operate, even with things like frothing the milk. We have several different members of staff operating it and the coffee is very consistent, no matter who makes it.
“It’s great.”
The Gaggia LC/D
The LC/D is suitable for cafes, bars, restaurants and canteens. Typically it will be used in sites serving up to 500 cups of coffee per day, but also has the capacity to cope when a rush hits. It features push-buttons to control the number and size of shots per group and a gauge displaying boiler pressure and pump pressure, for when an espresso is being brewed. A traditionally-designed espresso machine, it delivers Gaggia engineering and build quality and is backed by a comprehensive after-sales support package including a full two-year warranty.