Parkers Arms: “We’ve always done things differently, and it works”

The first thing Stosie Madi and Kathy Smith did after collecting the award that named their pub, the Parkers Arms in Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire, as the Gastropub of the Year at this summer’s National Restaurant Awards (NRAs) was look for a quiet spot to reflect on what’d just happened. Unable to find a quiet corner, the pair eventually settled on a disabled toilet. There, away from the hubbub of the awards party, they were able to jump up and down, give each other a hug, and allow the moment to soak in.

“Everyone wants to come and talk to you and congratulate you when you win,” says Madi. “But it’s important to take a step back so you can really take it in and appreciate what’s happened. Parkers is our baby and it’s something very personal to us. And in a room like that, full of all that talent, it is a wonderful feeling to be recognised. It’s very moving.”

“Parkers is our baby and it’s something very personal to us”​

Parkers’ triumph at this year’s NRAs, which also saw it rank at number 12 on the top 100 restaurants list​​, is the latest is a series of accolades picked up by the rural inn, which under Smith and Madi’s stewardship has cemented its reputation as a gastronomic destination and one of the best places to eat in the UK. Back in January, it also claimed the number one spot on the Top 50 Gastropubs list​​ and earlier this summer it was listed on The Good Food Guide​’s Britain’s 100 Best Local Restaurants list.

“People ask if you win these awards does it mean more guests come with exceedingly high expectations? Some do. But we know exactly what we do, and we never deviate from that. It’s about the food and the service, and we deliver bang on.”

Maintaining consistency​

We’re sat in a quiet corner of Bar Termini in London’s Soho the morning after the NRA ceremony. Both Madi and Smith nurse shots of espresso and glasses of grapefruit juice, a testament to the level of frivolity the night before. There’s no sense of alcohol-induced weariness, though; both are still bright-eyed and beaming from their win the night before - the trophy sitting pride of place between them on the table.

Like Madi, Smith is openly overwhelmed by Parkers’ run of success. “We quite often feel fraudulent when we go to awards events as we’re such a small business and insignificant in a way to the industry,” she says. “It’s quite daunting to be in a room like that and all of a sudden, they’re all applauding you.”

The Parkers Arms has long been a fixture of the Newton-in-Bowland landscape, but it wasn’t until 2007 that Madi and Smith, along with Smith’s brother AJ Nolan, took over the running of the pub. In the years since, Parkers has maintained a position on both the Top 50 Gastropubs and NRA lists, with voters bowled over by the combination of hearty pub grub and idyllic countryside setting.

While Madi’s food often garners much of the praise, the Senegal-born chef attributes the pub’s real success to the fact that herself, Smith and Nolan are constants in the business. “We’ve been there since day one and it breeds a sense of familiarity that’s quite rare these days. You have lots of places that open and a few years down the line the proprietorship waters down as they open more places, but we’re constants in people’s lives.

“I’m always at the pass, so the food is always good; the greeting is always the same because AJ is on the bar; and the service is always to the highest standard because it’s being run by Kathy. That is the secret to what we do. I can hand on heart say I don’t know of many businesses that have retained that consistency for such a long period of time.”

A gastropub in the true sense of the word​

Another recent accolade picked up by the Parkers is a gold certificate in the 'Pub Pie Class' category at the British Pie Awards 2023, with the winning gold-standard pie featuring curried mutton and offal baked in a rendered mutton fat pastry.

Madi has long been recognised for her pies, with the now award-winning mutton pie having been a fixture of the menu for more than a decade. “The pies are a labour of love and always will be part of the menu, but we’re more than that,” she explains. “Our focus is seasonal and celebrating Lancashire’s bounty.”

“The pies are a labour of love and always will be ​
part of the menu, but we’re more than that”​

Much has been written in the past about the African and Middle Eastern influences present in Madi’s cooking, with recent dishes including Bowland venison fillet tartare served in a ‘kibbeh nayeh style’. However, from her own point of view, what really drives Madi’s creativity is a firm belief in local sourcing; the rich ‘terroir’ of the Trough of Bowland affording the chef access to a wonderful array of produce. “We’re a gastropub in the true sense of the word as it is about the food where we are. We embrace that.”

All food served at Parkers – including the ice creams, breads, and chutneys – is prepared fresh on the premises, with the menus sometimes changing twice daily depending on availability of ingredients. Other pie options to feature include layered creamed potato terrine pie, and a black pudding and pork turnover (pictured).

Then there are signature dishes including the confit Lancaster mushroom parfait; the braised Bowland beef with vegetables; and Yorkshire rhubarb-cured mackerel. Desserts, meanwhile, can include the likes of a pistachio slice; strawberries, jelly and cream; and apricot and almond croustade with diplomat cream.

While the food very much has a refined, restaurant quality that goes well beyond the conventions of traditional ‘pub grub’, Madi and Smith have always gone to great pains to ensure that Parkers functions, quintessentially, as a pub. “The thing is, you can always walk in and just have a drink,” says Madi. “We only take a certain number of diners as we can only cater for a certain amount, so we always have tables for people to sit and enjoy a drink, as well for those wanting either a snack or a meal. It’s always been important to have that dual dynamic because we don’t look like a restaurant, and we’ve never tried to.”

Out of (West) Africa​

Madi and Smith met years before their acquisition of Parkers, a world away from Lancashire on a beach in Gambia. “We first got chatting over a beer,” remembers Smith. “Stosie had come home as her family were expats there; and I was travelling to Australia, supposedly.”

The pair quickly became friends, throwing ‘big, wild parties’ at Smith’s house. “People told us that we should do it for a living. So, we thought why not give it a go?”

Madi, who is of Lebanese and French heritage, was raised in Gambia and brought up in a hospitality family, helping her father run hotels and restaurants when she was young. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be part of the industry, but was keen to do so on her own terms. Partnering with Smith, who previously had a career in the insurance sector, was an opportunity too great to ignore.

“I don’t think there’s anything that Kathy doesn’t know,” she says with a fond smile. “There isn’t anywhere she hasn’t been. She’s a hive of information and was the perfect person to go into business with.”

The pair eventually established three popular restaurants in Gambia, achieving coverage in Lonely Planet​, as well as national and international newspapers; and catering for the American Embassy and the British High Commission.

As well as being close friends and business partners, Madi and Smith also share adoption of a daughter who is Gambian by birth. In another world, you get the sense they may have stayed in West Africa. However, the country’s increasingly fraught political landscape eventually compelled them to leave with their daughter in the early 2000s, returning to where Smith originally came from in the Ribble Valley. Having sold their business in Gambia, they arrived in the town of Clitheroe where they initially bought the freehold to a 30-cover restaurant. When they acquired it, the plan was to build the business and extend the dining space, but they struggled to get planning permission. And so begun the hunt for a larger site, which eventually led to them to the Parkers Arms.

“I remember saying that if I liked the kitchen, I would do it,” recalls Madi. “The place had been abandoned by its previous owners (“It was covered in grease and shit, a real mess,” says Smith), but the space was massive, airy and you could see the countryside through the window. We’d never done a pub before, but I thought: how difficult can it be.”

Overcoming challenges​

Both Madi and Smith make no bones about the struggles they’ve faced since taking on the Parkers. The early days saw them confronted with the impact of both the smoking ban and the 2008 financial crash, as well as difficulties enticing local diners with its more elevated food offer. “We’ve weathered many storms,” says Smith. “That’s why it’s emotional.”

Larger long-term challenges have included troubles with staffing, which have been further exacerbated by the pub’s remote location. “Brexit really scuppered us, which is a big problem with growth,” says Madi. “We could have grown Parkers a lot more and a lot quicker. Instead, it’s been slow and organic, because to be bigger you need a big team, and it’s hard to get that where we are.

“We’ve weathered many storms. That’s why it’s emotional”​

“There’s no public transport in Newton-in-Bowland; and no other bars or shops here. It’s just us. And most people looking to grow in hospitality will want more. We used to have a lot of couples come to work for us, but Brexit ruined that.”

Despite the difficulties with recruitment, the duo are clearly proud of the close-knit team they’ve brought together – who they both credit as being integral to the pub’s ongoing success. They include Vlad, Madi’s ‘right-hand man’, who joined as a pot washer and has worked his way through the kitchen. “He’s been with us for five years now and I hope he’ll stay with us for a long time to come. We’re like a family. We always work together and support each other.”

Doing things differently​

At one point in our conversation, Smith jokes that she’s tried to retire several times in recent years. “I’d never stop completely, but I would like to less hours. When you’re in hospitality, you never retire. And I’m not someone who could do nothing.” A pause, and with a chuckle, she adds: “And I’m sure Stosie will come up with another hair-brained scheme along the way.”

“I have a few,” interjects Madi. “But I never have the staff or time to really consider them properly. But my dream for Parkers is that a couple come and take it on one day and carry on the legacy. That’s what I really want. No one has made a success of that site before us. And it would be criminal if it was lost.”

Indeed, the sad truth is that more and more pubs are shutting up shop. Recent data obtained by Price Bailey shows that pub closures reached the highest quarterly figure in more than a decade in the second quarter of 2023, with 223 pubs entering insolvency, up from 200 in the first quarter of the year.

Furthermore, 729 pub businesses went bust over the past 12 months, representing an 80% increase on the 2021/22 figure of 405.

“I can’t believe how many pubs have closed,” says Smith. “It’s so sad. Every day someone closes near us.”

With high energy, labour and wholesale food and drinks costs squeezing the sector, the long-term outlook for hospitality looks gloomy. But with Parkers clearly firing on all cylinders, Madi and Smith are hopeful that their future remains prosperous.

“There are not really any pubs near us now, which are individually owned,” continues Madi. “If you come to us, you’re coming for something different. Parkers is a proper pub. We’ve always done it differently, and it works.”