Matt is group’s publican of year

ASOUTHPORT man is celebrating after winning the title of Publican Of The Year. Matt Howard, who runs Rueters bar and grill on Hoghton Street in Southport town centre, was presented with his award by Punch Pubs.

He was nominated by Punch Pubs area operations manager Rick Rose-Coultard, who is responsible for pubs across Lancashire and Cumbria.

The ceremony, at The Plough in Alnwick in Northumberland, was sponsored by Carlsberg-Marstons Brewing Company.

Staff at Rueters have benefited from some top class training and support, while the business has made the most of the Government’s Kickstarter scheme to give opportunities to young people.

The venue is also renowned for its excellent functions and entertainment nights.

Matt said: “I was nominated for a few reasons, but mainly for our efforts in planning ahead with events and functions and also our attitude towards team training.

“We have our entertainment nights booked months in advance. Our Christmas parties were pretty much fully booked before we’d even received our paper menus to distribute!

“We’ve done a lot of functions including weddings, birthdays and Christenings. We have various buffet options including hot and cold foods.

“All of our team here have completed CPL online training which covers many different areas including allergen awareness, food safety, health and safety, fire awareness etc. All staff complete this to improve their knowledge and to help keep them safer in the work.

“We have also participated in the Government’s Kickstarter scheme with three people, who were on Universal Credit and between the ages of 18 and 24.

“It provided them with training, skills and helped them build a CV and paid for additional training for qualifications etc.

“We had one in the kitchen as a trainee chef learning new skills and training with myself and Adam, our lead chef. We are both qualified chefs who trained at Southport College

over 10 years ago. Adam is also a qualified patisserie chef.

“We also had two front of house trainee supervisors who have learned various skills including cash handling, stock management and have both passed their qualification to become personal license holders.”

Christmas was also a time when Rueters bar and grill stood out.

Matt said: “We also won Best Dressed Pub at Christmas for our region within Punch Pubs (North of England and Scotland).

“We received a fantastic gift hamper and some free beers towards our Christmas party from our operations director, Mandy Southall. Our dog Kaiser even got dressed up for Christmas – we are dog-friendly.

“It was amazing to win this award as we feel that what we do isn’t anything special, we just do our jobs! But ultimately I wouldn’t be able to do it without my amazing team!’’

Matt Howard, left, who runs Rueters bar and grill on Hoghton Street in Southport town centre, has been awarded the Publican of the Year title by Punch Pubs. He was presented with his award by Punch Pubs area operations manager Rick Rose-Coultard