Life at the angel improves with age
Twelve years ago, when I first came to the Angel, I was accompanied by my great friend Francis Boulonge, who helped me settle in during those first 10 days. I had left Juliet and our three very young children in Bristol because the flat at the Angel was uninhabitable and we had still to sell our house.
Francis came with me to the Angel because he was between jobs and was, I think, wondering what it would be like to run a pub.
In reality, it was very cold and there was very little custom. There were four full-time staff and the place had been run by receivers for nearly six months.
We both worked 18 hours a day, sorting things out. Francis's advice and friendship during those days were invaluable to me, and when he left at the end of it I gave him about the only thing of any value I had not cashed in - a bottle of 1971 Château Margaux. It wasn't going to be much use to me in those early days, anyway, because no one would have known what it was.
I am reminded of those hard times now whenever I see a bottle of Château Margaux in the bar. It reminds me of how lucky I have been and how much the Angel has changed over these past 12 years.
I suppose most good restaurants expect to sell the occasional bottle of first-growth claret, but we sell first-growth and super seconds regularly in the bar as well as in the restaurant.
Last week I came out of the kitchen after a busy night and it looked as though a hurricane had swept through the bar. The staff were frantically clearing tables and after-dinner debris covered the bar. In the middle of it all stood two empty bottles, one Margaux and one Pichon Longueville Comtesse.
"Why have these empty bottles come through from the restaurant?" I asked. "They haven't, boss," said Nick. "They were drunk by the four on lounge corner." (20 years ago someone decided to name the tables rather than number them). "They started with a bottle of Puligny 1er Crus," he added.
Quality choice
Some weeks ago a client drank a bottle of Vega Sicilia with a bar meal. We regularly sell grand crus Burgundies in that department. Why? The answer has to be in our mark up. We mark up all wines to give 60% gross profit but add a maximum of only £7 per bottle.
As a result, most of our wines over £15 per bottle begin to look very good value, and the expensive wines are exceptional value. Frankly I would rather sell a bottle of Palmer '87 for £28.90 than a bottle of Brouilly for £14.50, and yet the cash value of the gross profit is the same.
As a result of this policy we give a great deal of pleasure and sell a lot of wine. In the financial year just finished we sold nearly 19,000 bottles.
As prices from France rise, I am contemplating shipping some of my better-selling wines in quantity, direct from France.
A few weeks ago one of my main house wine suppliers was taken over by a big national company. Almost overnight I lost the source of three of my main house wines. I let this be known in the trade and within days I was deluged with samples. Among them was a brilliant Sauvignon - Huges de Bauvignac VDP Thau. Can anyone help me with the source?
