‘We have a strong community here’
Bianca Rix, co-owner of The Fox and Hounds, Hertfordshire
“The children, now 15 and 13, were born in this house. Usually we share the garden with customers, so it’s actually quite nice to have some garden to ourselves. They are helping with deliveries, washing up and taking orders. My husband, James, is the head chef, and I manage front of house. Our country pub has had a Michelin Bib Gourmand for 10 years, but at the heart of what we do is good food in a nice environment.
It was horrific for the first few days [of the restrictions]. The worst was the limbo, with people told not to go to pubs and restaurants, but we weren’t officially closed down. We quickly moved to takeaways. It was Mother’s Day weekend, so we tried to transfer our bookings to takeaway. We did about 120 meals that day, so we managed to claw back some of the Mother’s Day trade. It was impossible to offer a full takeaway menu with just us and the kids, so we turned to ready meals. Everything is made by James – pies, lasagnes, soups, pasta, curries, Sunday lunch. Good home cooking, nothing too fancy.
We have a pop-up store on the terrace on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Otherwise, people can call and pre-order to collect, or we’ll deliver in Hunsdon and the next village, Widford. Every week, we give our free meal of the week to the vulnerable and elderly. We let them know at the beginning of the week what it’ll be, then deliver to around 15 people in the village.
It’s nice to give people a break from cooking. People don’t have much time on their hands, they’re working, with kids at home. We’re priceconscious, around £5-6 a meal, balancing affordability with making enough to keep ticking over. We have a strong community here, so we felt that it was right to do something.”