We are delighted to let everyone know that Tim our Deputy manager at our Fitzherbert Arms has successfully passed his Beer Sommelier assessment exam on Friday 28th November in Sheffield. Well done, Tim! You are now officially an accredited Beer Sommelier!
We are so proud of Tim, he has been through some tough training and exams over the last year but passed with flying colours.
Tim joins an elite group at the Guild of Beer Sommeliers which is operated in association with Cask Marque, who visit our pubs regularly to assess the quality of our Cask Ale, which is at the heart of our drinks act. Cask ale is the most sustainable pint on our bars because we work with local micro-brewers from within 35-mile radius of each pub….supporting local business and employment. It is the freshest pint on the bar and the most reasonably priced pint too with a mass of styles, colours and flavours. A pub is not a pub without cask ale…it is woven into our heritage!
Tim is a great ambassador and long may he pour pints with pride!
What a great day we had at the Fitzherbert Arms on Saturday 18TH October. 16…YES SIXTEEN competitive teams arrived to do battle with each other including two past champions and one runner up! All arrived to drive the country lanes of Staffordshire that surround our lovely pub. The competitors had to take photos, pick up 40 clues and answer some car and pub specific questions too.
Everyone was back in good time and enjoyed a few complimentary nibbles while Rebecca and Mary marked the papers!
As pictured, in third place were Team MX-PLORERS, well done to them! They had completed a different treasure hunt at our Bulls Head pub the previous week! They were knocked into third by Team NISMO. In first place were the Goonies who did a very good round to pick up the cup and become Fitzherbert Arms Treasure Hunt Champions 2025! This is the second time the Goonies have triumphed having picked up a win in 2023. The winning team also picked up some Guinness goodies too from our Fitz treasure hunt sponsors Guinness 0.0%, as well as the main prize of £200 Gift Card to use in our pubs also generously supported by Guinness 0.0%.
Well done to the winners and indeed to all the teams that took part. Thank to Guinness for their sponsorship support at the Fitzherbert Arms. We raised a further £175 for the Air Ambulance, which means over the three Treasure Hunts held in September and October at our Cholmondeley Arms and Bulls Head, as well as the Fitz, we have raised £675.00 for the Air Ambulance in total! A great effort by everyone. Thank you!
See you all in October 2026!
On Tuesday 24th June, in London, our Fitzherbert Arms pub was crowned Best Pub in Staffordshire for 2025 at the Pub and Bar Magazine awards. Up against excellent opposition the Fitz triumphed for the fourth year running. We are all very proud of this achievement
Manager Rebecca and Head Chef Connor were away on holiday, so our most senior chefs Nathan and Andy travelled to London together and joined up with our sister pubs from Cheshire the Cholmondeley Arms and the Bulls Head who were also up for awards. The great photo shows Nathan and Andy showing off their award before taking the trip back to Swynnerton!
Manager Rebecca said….”what a true honour this is for the Fitzherbert Arms team and for Nathan and Andy to accept the award on the pub team’s behalf was so appropriate too! No one would deny the Fitz the title of the Best Pub in Staffordshire when so much hard work has gone in to our lovely village pub, cooking great food, serving cracking local ales, a fine collection of ports, log fires in the winter, lovely terraces in the summer, but most importantly a great team of people serving our loyalist customers, who have supported the Fitzherbert Arms over the years since it was rescued from closure….and of course our must remember our local suppliers too. A winning combination! Well done to everyone!”
