You describe your pub as radical. What exactly do you mean by that?
It means we’re brave and we’re honest. It’s not business as normal, it’s business as unusual. We’re out to prove that things can be done differently. Businesses can and should benefit society and the environment. I don’t understand how anyone can run a business in a way that damages society and the environment.
What does The Bull Inn do differently to other pubs and restaurants then?
It’s hard to know where to start because being sustainable is at the heart of everything we do. Our portions are sensibly sized to reduce plate waste, and we don’t serve huge slabs of meat because we all should be eating less of it. We work very hard to find like-minded suppliers. 95% of our menu is organic and we grow the majority of the produce we use on our 150-acre farm. Most of the things within the pub are sourced from local artisans. Then there’s the infrastructure of the building. It’s well insulated, we have a heat retention system in the kitchen and solar panels on the roof which heat the water for the bedrooms. We also have a voltage optimiser which saves us a lot of energy and money.
You don’t shy away from having difficult conversations with your customers either…
People aren’t stupid. They understand we are hitting climate catastrophe. We should embrace the fact that people are thinking about what they eat and their energy usage. At The Bull Inn, we keep the radiators in the bedrooms fairly low. If they want it warmer, they can talk to us about it but sometimes people just need to put a jumper on. We don’t have TVs in the rooms either. In general, our customers buy into it.
How do you communicate to customers about your sustainability credentials?
That’s one of the most complicated things about being a values-led hospitality business. People come here to get away from things and switch off so when we do communicate about what we are doing here we have to make sure we’re not lecturing them or making them feel guilty. It requires nuance. At The Bull Inn, we have our Nine No-Bull Rules To Dine By, which include being supplier led, seasonal and organic.
Tell us about your background
I grew up in a commune in the Midlands with lots of hippies. We grew much of our food and bought fairtrade coffee when it was disgusting but we drank it anyway. That upbringing got me thinking about the impact businesses have on society and the environment. I worked in restaurants and thought they were gross because they didn’t pay their staff properly and threw away all their glass at the end of the night. I started out in 1998 with the Duke of Cambridge (in Islington), which was the world’s first organic pub. The Bull Inn (which launched in 2019) is my fourth pub project and the first to have rooms.
What do you have planned for this year?
We want to do more to connect the farm and the pub. Going from being a restaurateur to being a farmer is completely nuts. We work with independent growers including our incredible market gardener. We commit to buying as much produce from them as we possibly can and are very flexible. It’s a better model than employing people directly as it encourages entrepreneurship. Hospitality has the power to change the face of farming by buying direct rather than through wholesalers, which usually source from lots of different producers. Farmers really need our help at the moment. We’re also planning to launch a pizza place beneath our Albatross Apartment (Singh’s four bedroom self-catered apartment opposite The Bull Inn).
You won the Estrella Damm Sustainability Award at the National Restaurant Awards last year. What advice do you have for hospitality businesses that are trying to be more sustainable?
Switch to a green energy supplier. It’s very simple to do and will make a huge difference. Buying things that are accredited – such as organic – is a good thing because the work has already been done. You don’t need to become an expert. And don’t lie. A lot of businesses start out with good intentions but ultimately end up misleading their customers. It’s very important to tell the truth. It should not be up to us to police ourselves, but the Government is not interested.
Has it become easier to be sustainable over the years as the wider industry and suppliers have looked to lessen their impact?
Yes and no. When I launched in 1998 it was often difficult to find products that had been produced in an ethical manner. I remember not having any mixers because we could not find a brand that aligned with our values. I also remember having a nightmare finding a vending machine supplier that could facilitate us offering organic tampons. Another big difference between then and now is that staff, customers and the press understand what I’m trying to do and why I’m doing it.
