MK Advertiser Blog

Spooners Restaurant are holding a first class seafood buffet on 22 August where you’ll have the chance to also enjoy a drink from their Pimms fountain on arrival. Why not join them and open some crab legs, peel some shrimp, sip some clam chowder and enjoy the wonderful seafood salads, a variety of seafood dishes, vegetables, salad bar and much more. Do not forget to leave room for our mouthwatering desserts. Only £35 per person.

Starters include Mushroom julienne, Fish soup, Smoked salmon and leek tart, Smoked sturgeon bliny, An exotic fruit platter with cassis puree. Main Course (Buffet) includes colossal cocktail shrimp, giant snow crab legs, Russian style dill-poached crayfish, langoustine and poached Lobster, all served with special house cocktail sauce. Salmon poached in a dry white wine and sturgeon kebab served with a tarragon and watercress creme-fraiche sauce. Fresh anchovies in brine and a delicious selection of shell-fish.

From the salad bar you’ll have a choice of mixed green salad, grilled peppers, marinated mushrooms, coleslaw salad, Russian pickles, Seafood salad, sliced tomato, onions and cucumber plus the Chef’s slection of dressings.

Finally from the dessert menu, there is a choice of Chocolate Fondue with seasonal fruits, Baked Camembert with crudities, Napoleon, multi-layered home made puff pastry, filled with delicious home made custard, Baby meringue with seasonal fruit and vodka compote or Home made Tiramisu with filtered coffee to finish.

Please call 01908 584 385 for reservations.

Jonathan Todd, owner of The Plough in Wavendon, had a second reason to celebrate at his restaurant during a black tie dinner for the restaurant’s first birthday celebrations on Wednesday 16th July.

Restaurant Guide publisher, Paul Allen, from the Foodie Square Guide, awarded The Plough Wavendon as ‘Buckinghamshire Restaurant of the Year 2008.’ The annual award - in its sixth year - was bestowed upon the restaurant as voted for by the readers of The Foodie Square Guide.

Paul Allen commented : “The restaurants we feature in The Foodie Square Guide are recommended to us by our readers. Nominations are received from the readers and restaurant goers across Buckinghamshire and beyond - throughout the year, and the annual ‘Restaurant of the Year’ award is announced in July. We are extremely pleased to see The Plough Wavendon achieve this in their first year of trading. We take into account all our customer comments and feedback and this is used to determine the winner of the award. Jon Todd, Grant and his remarkable team have done Buckinghamshire proud with their attention to detail from the food and wine, to the landscaped areas. Congratulations to them on becoming Buckinghamshire Restaurant of the Year 2008.”

Todd commented, “We are extremely proud of The Plough’s latest award. It is testament to the commitment and ideals our restaurant offers the diners here in the Milton Keynes countryside. Grant is passionate about the food and service we deliver. His support for local businesses, and in turn the local economy allows him to further enhance his position as one of the region’s leading chefs: something that I, as a successful Milton Keynes businessman, fully appreciate and support. He can justifiably be proud of this award - it is voted for by the public and is a glowing confirmation of their support in what he does.”

Chef Grant Hawthorne commented “It’s been my ambition to become the best restaurant here at The Plough Wavendon. I have been given an amazing opportunity to do so and I’m extremely grateful for the support of Jon in helping me to achieve this. Our award-winning, fine dining restaurant in Milton Keynes is where my passion and demonstration of the art and craft of cooking is to be found. I’m humbled by the guest’s recognition and respectful of the honour that goes with this Foodie Award. What a wonderful birthday surprise!”

Grant recently launched his 9-course summer Degustation menu, with the added option of having a flight of wines to match each course. He added “The Plough’s complimentary luxury transport, 400 bin wine list and some of the UK’s best dishes are to be found here, 7 miles from Central Milton Keynes. The tasting menu simply adds to our fine dining experience.”

Drop into the Embankment Hotel in Bedford for a bite to eat or a drink and you’ll notice a fair few changes about the place. That’s because Andrew Coath, the new owner of the imposing half-timbered Victorian inn on Bedford’s riverside has already been hard at work with his team trying out some fantastic new dishes on the menu as well as giving the pub a much-need facelift.

Andrew is something of an expert when it comes to opening great pubs serving outstanding quality, fresh food and drink in friendly and relaxed surroundings. His two other pubs in the area - The Black Horse in Woburn and The Swan in Salford - have both helped put good food firmly on the map locally and given everyone a warm welcome to everyone who steps foot inside. Andrew has picked up a number of awards along the way, including being named Food Pub Manager of the Year 2007 and winning the British Institute of Innkeeping’s Licensee of the Year Award, making him officially the best landlord in Britain last year.

Now he’s looking forward to creating another lovely place to eat, drink and stay in Bedford. “The Embankment’s got so much going for it, being in such a great place overlooking the river and just a stone’s throw from the town centre” he says. “Already we’ve transformed what’s on the menu; we’ve raised the quality of the food, bring in fresh, simple dishes made by chefs with the best seasonal produce we can buy. We’ve introduced delicious afternoon teas and morning coffees and some great new wines, ales and beers. And that’s just a start; later in the year we’ll be joined by a new head chef who trained with the Roux brothers who’ll be bringing even more exciting ideas to the menu. We’re also planning to complete a revamp of the pub as well as every one of the 20 hotel rooms, so by early 2009, it’s all going to look quite different!”

Work will commence on the refit later in 2008, with the new Embankment Hotel officially launched in February next year. Until then, Andrew wants to make sure as many people as possible know about the positive changes at the pub.

“We’re working hard to create a really wonderful place to relax and enjoy great food where people can feel really at home” adds Andrew. “We believe that our place should be your place and want to give the people of Bedford the kind of home they can be truly proud to call their local.”

Andrew is one of the Directors of the award-winning Peach Pub Company, who have a small group of pubs renowned for great quality food, drink and service across the midlands and the North Home Counties. Peach is one of the brightest companies in the pub world and is run by people who love food, like to have fun, and care about the planet.

South Lodge, a new boutique bed and breakfast accomodation to Milton Keynes looks absolutely fabulous. The MK Advertiser received some fantastic testimonials from people who had stayed there, and we were naturally delighted when the owners expressed an interest in highlighting their business on our website.

South Lodge offer something quite unique, giving you the perfect opportunity to impress your guests, whether it be for a special occasion, social event or business gathering where you will be able to have the house, and all the fantastic gardens to yourselves. Click here to find out more about South Lodge, a place of luxury where you will feel special and will almost  certainly want to return.

Youth charity The Prince’s Trust is launching an appeal for volunteers to support unemployed young people in Milton Keynes. These youngsters want to move forward with their lives, building on the confidence and skills they have gained from recently completing the Prince’s Trust course.

The role will require a commitment of one hour per week for six months. Offering support, advice and encouragement to explore training, education and employment options the mentor will help them to achieve success by working towards idtentified goals.

Mentors will develop a meaningful relationship with young people who are unemployed and often educational under-achievers, care leavers or ex-offenders. Volunteers are the back-bone of the Prince’s Trust with more than 6,000 nationally. A three-day training course will be provided along with support from the Prince’s Trust Staff.

Mentors typically find the experience greatly rewarding and challenging with an opportunity to share in the feelings of success. Michael Pearson, 48, from Eastbourne, has mentored two young people over the past few years. Michael heard about the charity after he and some colleagues visited a Prince’s Trust Team course and decided then that he wanted to become a volunteer mentor.  

Michael said “Im lucky that my life is good and my children are also happy. However, I know that for some young people life is a real struggle. It’s easy for me to give some time to these young people, and when you see them succeed it’s a real rush of adrenalin. The investment you put in is so little in comparison to the output and the changes you see in them and their life, so I would definitely recommend becoming a mentor.”

The Trust has a high success rate in the UK with 75% of all young people supported last year moving into employment, education or training. This can be partly attributed to the high quality mentors the Trust has, who are prepared to give up their time for free.

Gill Day, Prince’s Trust Volunteer Executive said “Due to an increase in our activity throughout the counties, we now have a considerable number of opportunities available for new mentors. If you feel you could guide a young person to overcome disadvantages, we would love to hear from you. By sharing your advice, you could make a real difference.”

To become a personal mentor for the Prince’s Trust, please contact Gill Day on 01753 502 302. Volunteer mentors are subject to criminal records bureau check and undergo a three day training programme.

Angela Sherman, professional copywriter from Content Creation, highlights the key things to remember when writing articles…..

Writing articles is one of the most powerful parts of your marketing toolkit. A good article can last long into the future, help you drive more traffic to your website and send clients to your door. They’re easy to write, they’re low cost and they set you up as an expert in your field. Plus, by offering good value in your articles, you build trust and credibility.

1. CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC. Your article might convey news about something to do with your business. Or you might write a useful ‘top tips’ article offering the reader a solution to a problem. Alternatively, focus on a topical issue, a recurring problem for your readership or a perennial question in your reader’s mind. Include interesting insights or helpful solutions. Pick up on things your clients say, observe the things people do - and then address common myths or misconceptions.

2. USE YOUR ARTICLE IN PRINT AND ON THE WEB. Whatever your topic, make the most of your article. Print it, upload it to your website, use it on your blog, send it to online publishers, include it with your proposals, use it as a handout, use it in a newsletter, email it to your clients and contacts, submit it to a magazine, post it on an ‘articles’ website (see Top Tip 10), send it to your alliance partners for inclusion in their own newsletters…..there are all sorts of ways to make an article your best marketing friend!

3. RESEARCH WHAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR - AND WHAT THEY REALLY WANT. In business people often want to read something useful and practical - something that speaks their language. By writing articles like this, you become their trusted advisor. Scour the trade press, search engines, relevant blogs, forums and newsgroups, etc. On the web, what ‘keywords’ will people use to search for the topic in your article? Make sure you include these words in your article. Do your research.

4. BRAINSTORM IDEAS AROUND YOUR TOPIC. If you’re not sure where to start, try this: Use an egg-timer or other time-limiting device. Write down words related to your topic - just words. Keep writing - don’t stop. Then expand each word or idea with other single words or phrases and then explain those words with additional ideas or phrases - and so on. All ideas are good! Now decide what your key issue / argument is and put your thoughts into some kind of numerical order.

5. CREATE A TITLE OR HEADING. Your title is CRITICAL both for humans and search engines. The title gets your article read by both. If writing for the web, include an appropriate search engine keyword in your title. Example: if you’re an image consultant, the title “10 easy ways to look great and win your next promotion” is good for human beings, but the title “Corporate attire for men - 10 easy ways to look great and win your next promotion” is much better for search engines, because it is more specific and would be picked up by people using the keywords “corporate attire for men.”

6. DRAFT YOUR INTRODUCTION. Why this topic? Why now? Tell your reader what you’re going to tell them and highlight the key insight you’ll explore. Perhaps start with an anecdote. Imagine you’re talking to a friend - that will set a good conversational tone. Add your name and position between the heading and the introduction, e.g. “Jo Smith of ABC Co. Ltd explains….”

7. WRITE YOUR BODY TEXT AND BREAK IT UP WITH SUBHEADINGS. Take the points you’ve brainstormed, develop them and take the reader step-by-step through your article. Keep it punchy. Add keywords, as appropriate. Perhaps use a quote from the relevant person, perhaps one of your peers or a client or an acknowledged expert in your field. If you’re writing for the web, link to a specific page of your website to help generate traffic. The content of your article must be interesting enough for someone to click on the link - so make sure you use a good keyword as the link text. If you’re sending your article for someone else to publish, check how many words they need. Leave the reader wanting more. If you’ve written a long article, could you break it up into a series of shorter ones? That would be ideal for a blog or for a magazine.

8. MAKE IT READABLE. Use more “you” words than “we” or “I”. Vary the pace by varying paragraph lengths and sentence lengths. Use one idea / subject per paragraph. Read it aloud to check that it flows.

9. CONCLUSION / SUMMARY. Tell them what you’ve told them and leave your key point or key question in their minds. Include a ‘call to action’, i.e. tell people what to do next. This encourages people to contact you and shows them why it’s worthwhile. Add your credentials and contact details at the end. If your article is for the web, include a link to a specific page on your website and always include “http://” if you’re mentioning your actual URL. Alternatively, use your best keyword as a link. Once you’ve written your article, sleep on it. Then cut down the number of words and get someone else to read it!

10. CONSIDER POSTING YOUR ARTICLE ON FREE ‘ARTICLES WEBSITES’. Write a useful article and post it on an articles website. These are essentially directories of articles on all sorts of topics. Articles posted on these sites will show up in general search results for your topic, as long as you’ve included the appropriate keywords. Link the article to a specific page or your website or blog - or to a separate sales page if you’re promoting a specific product. Then send your article to just a few articles websites initially (see below) - and measure the results! Browse some of the following sites* and see who else is writing in your field and how they structure and link their articles:

www.ezinearticles.com    www.articledashboard.com    www.articlecity.com    www.buzzle.com    www.ideamarketers.com

*Content Creation and the MK Advertiser does not endorse any of these websites and is not responsible for any of the content on any of these sites.

If you’d like some help creating powerful articles to drive traffic to your website and clients to your door, contact Angela Sherman at Content Creation on 01908 582 231 or visit her website to find out more.

Our sister site MK Reviews has only recently launched yet there are plenty of reviews already online to view and we also have a fabulous prize to give away which includes food, ice cream and bowling for 4 people at City Limits. Many people have already commented that the website should come with a warning…..”This site will make you hungry!” If you like food, you’ll love this website.

 Take a look and find recently added reviews for The Black Horse, Woburn, Fugu and Frankie & Benny’s. Why not tell us what you think, not only of your experiences at these restaurants, but feel free to comment on the reviews themselves. Do you think they are fair or have we rated someone too highly who you feel might over hyped? Let us know by leaving your feedback via the MK reviews website. Click here to find out more.

Ray Ripnar of Spooners, is enjoying the challenges that running a restaurant bring. It’s now 3 months since Spooners was sold to himself and his partner Mili. Their new Chef, Vitali is now firmly established in the kitchen where the flavours of Russia mix comfortably on the menu alongside old favourites like Henry Marshall and Bread & Butter Pudding.

Spooners in Woburn have several upcoming events and here are some to consider. Father’s Day (Sunday 15th June). A 3 course luncheon and coffee at £19 per head (children up to 12 years half price). Every father will have a chance to win a prize.

New for the summer - wine and dine lunches. Why not try the new set menu at £12.50 for 2 courses or £15.50 for 3.  These are ideal for special ocassions, business lunches or just relaxing with friends.

From Russia With Love (20th June). A special evening where Spooners will bring the atmosphere and flavours of Russia to you. A 3 course meal, coffee, with a traditional drink and canapes on arrival are charged at just £35 per head. There will also be a quiz on the evening with a prize for the winning table.

With the arrival of summer and hopefully the weather to accompany it, Spooners are offering special summer culinary treats so why not try cooked lobster and exotic salads at this premier establishment?  

Click here to find out more about Spooners.

goclubclass.com enjoy offering a service, that’s what drives them (pardon the pun!). Every job is tailored around your own individual needs and is priced accordingly.  If you want to treat yourself, or spoil the family and start your holiday in style, goclubclass.com have a wide range of cars available for airport transfers at competitive prices. Whether you’re looking for a personal chauffeur, or are travelling to a sporting event, you’ll be surprised how affordable luxury travel with goclubclass.com can be. Click here for more info. 

In 1984, Martin and Susan Spooner created a thriving and successful restaurant business called “Spooners” from a derelict Victorian and Edwardian terrace. They recently sold the business to the delightful Ray and Liudmila Ripnar. The couple are determined to continue with the fine Spooners tradition but are adding an extra Soviet twist with a fine selection of exotic Russian Cuisines.

Why not click here to find out more about Spooners, who were recently reviewed by MK Reviews. If you feel tempted to visit this delightful establishment in the near future, why not look to visit on Friday 20th June, when, accompanied with live musical entertainment, they will be holding a special Russian Cuisine evening.