Rooms to grow: Robin Hutson on his Budding Entrepreneurs training scheme at the Pig hotels

It is the perennial problem of every expanding hospitality company. Where do you go to recruit the key members of staff required to drive your business forward?

This was one of the key concerns of Robin Hutson as he contemplated the expansion of the Home Grown Hotels' collection of Pig properties, back in 2012.

It was a year after the successful launch of the first Pig in the heart of the New Forest, near Brockenhurst, Hampshire. The then new concept - serving fresh produce from the kitchen garden within a relaxed environment and featuring cosy, shabby-chic interiors designed by Hutson's wife Judy - was an instant hit with critics and guests alike.