The Plough, West Hanney

Apparently, the term gastro pub is no longer something that serious chefs or restaurateurs want to be associated with. It's considered by the professionals as a much-maligned term.

Perhaps that's why, having been awarded gastro pub status by The Times, Trevor and Ann Cooper at the Plough, West Hanney, are moving on.

I first visited The Plough a couple of years ago, just three weeks after this hard-working couple had moved in with their family. Ironically, on visiting it again, I discovered that, having turned this lovely little pub into a real winner, they are moving out any moment now to another pub in the village.

The Plough is a 16th-century thatched inn which stands virtually opposite the church on the main road that runs through West Hanney. Surrounded by fields and apple orchards, and with an amazing redbrick Queen Anne Manor house next door, you couldn't ask for a more picturesque setting. I believe I described it as a quintessential English pub last time, even though there was much that needed to be done to bring it into the 21st century at the time.

Well - the interior is everything you could wish for now. Without making too many drastic changes, Trevor and Ann have managed to give it a modern look, whilst retaining enough informality to encourage locals to sit round the bar enjoying one of the four real ales available - White Horse's Village Idiot, Abbot Ale, Brakspear Bitter and Timothy Taylor's Landlord, a classic strong pale ale that's won more awards nationally than any other beer. Apparently, these brews change frequently as Trevor's a beer enthusiast who prides himself on offering a good variety of real ales.

The couple had spruced up the patio and walled garden area too. The day we called, it looked really lovely, with the blue blossom of a ceanothus shrub adding a vibrant splash of colour.

As promised when I first visited this pub, the menu boasted a considerable number of locally-sourced ingredients, including a delicious black pudding made by Jane Bowler, of nearby Dews Meadow Farm Shop. This was topped with a fried egg as a simple starter at £3.95. Dews Meadow Cumberland pork and sage sausages set in a Yorkshire pudding provided a gourmet toad in the hole at £7.95.

I chose the lamb Hanney at £9.95, a shank of local lamb slow-roasted overnight in redcurrant and rosemary, and served on a bed of herb mash in a redcurrant gravy. It came with a dish of fresh local vegetables, including carrots and cauliflower, and white sauce. It was delicious.

My colleague Chris predictably chose scampi, which was certainly not local, but seemed to satisfy his need for fried fish, though he could have had fillet of salmon (£9.95) or cod and chips (£7.95).

The very professional manner in which we were served, and, indeed, how everyone around us was served, impressed us greatly. It was polite, yet friendly.

Sitting at the far end of the little dining area, we were able to watch the way other customers responded to Trevor's polished approach to their needs. A really happy buzz of animated conversation filled the air as the tables began to fill.

I didn't ask the couple if they believed that the term gastro pub was losing its clout, due in part to the many so-called gastro pubs which have succumbed to serving frozen ready-prepared-meals.

The Oxford Dictionary defines gastro pub as a pub that specialises in serving high-quality food. Well, that's exactly what we got at The Plough Inn, so perhaps the term is not quite finished yet. I wonder if it will live on when Trevor and Ann take over their next pub?

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