THE team behind a pub near Wellington famed for its roasts and homemade pies let their hair down to celebrate 18 years at the helm.

Best known for its food offering, the Anchor Inn at Hillfarance closed its kitchen for the evening so staff could let their hair down, dance the night away to a live band, and enjoy a team-themed bespoke cocktail menu.

The night was “full of laughter with a real sense of celebration” and included a scavenger hunt and a slideshow of pictures which took the team and customers on a trip down memory lane.

Landlady Laura Magee was just 25 years old when, alongside her husband Steve and parents Alan and Linda, purchased the Freehold of the Anchor Inn back in 2006. 

They arrived full of dreams of running their 17th century country inn and Laura, coming from a PR, branding and marketing background, and had big plans for developing events alongside a fantastic local food and drink offering. 

Within the first few months of taking on the business, the UK smoking ban came into force which changed the shape of the drinking pub trade dramatically. The following year in 2008 brought the recession - the worst the UK had seen since the Second World War. 

“It certainly feels like we’ve climbed a few mountains in our time here,” said Laura. “But being faced with those challenges, especially in the early years, gave us a resilience and fighting spirit that formed the basis for our whole outlook here at the Anchor and has stood us in good stead, certainly in recent years.”

The Anchor quickly established itself as a foodie-pub, which Laura explained was supported by the change in trade after the smoking ban. She puts the roots of their successful food offering firmly down to her mother, Linda, who led the kitchen in the early years and is now retired from the business. 

Laura added: “She is a brilliant cook, everything is homemade, there is no wastage and she is fabulous with flavours. She taught me how important these three elements are when creating a menu and that is the foundation of every menu we’ve put out since”. 

The Anchor is probably most famous for their Sunday roast and homemade pies, both of which were developed by Linda and who’s original pie recipes are still used today, passed to each new chef who joins the team.

It was their roast dinner that won the Anchor its first awards back in 2013 and 2014, consecutively, for Somerset’s Best Sunday roast, followed quickly by other awards including Somerset’s Pub of the Year, customer service awards and multiple Taste of the West Gold awards over the years for their dedication to using local suppliers.

Laura added: “We are constantly trying to improve what we do at the Anchor, from our food and drink offering, our customer service, to the atmosphere we create. We set ourselves the absolute highest standards to make sure our customers enjoy their visit.

“I’m so proud of the business we have created.”