Charlotte and Paul are the dream team behind the sensational venue that is ‘The Olive Branch’ in Marsden. As we are about to embark on a husband and wife team business, we asked Charlotte what the key was to a happy work/life balance, how the Olive Branch has evolved and the best bits about running a successful business in a semi rural location (the quote at the end about Marsden is one to remember)!
I have grown up in this industry, my dad founded the Olive back in ‘93 (although it has been an inn called the Olive branch since 1800!) back then, I was in the kitchen with him as we worked together previously back in Harrogate. Paul came along in ‘94 as an apprentice with my dad, so I could move into front of house, we fell in love and the rest as they say is history (cheesy or what)
Working together as couple handy hint I would say “happy wife – happy life” Paul may have his own take on this though!
Generally he is the visionary and creative one, I am more pragmatic. Yin and yang I think!
We have quite a bit of family history rooted in food, from my dad being a chef his whole career, to a great grandfather who was a cook in WWII to his father who was a liquorice tycoon in Pontefract, photos of whom adorn our walls and furniture of whose we still have in the restaurant, including chairs, clocks and even his old ‘field glasses’
The scallops starter is probably the standout dish, reopening after lockdown 9 out of 10 people ordered them! They have only been taken off the menu once, which elicited several letters requesting their immediate return! (It was in the days before email and google reviews!)
Marsden can be struck with some dramatic weather, we ‘play the course we are on’ from enjoying long lazy days in the garden, where we bask in the sunlight all day, enjoying wide open views of the valley, to cosying up by the fires in winter (spring and autumn- fires usually on 10 months a year here!)
When the snow comes, we put on our wellies and walk to work, our customers do the same, no closing here for inclement weather..
We aim to create a relaxed, warm and friendly atmosphere, underpinned by strong understanding of our products and industry.
We have a fantastic team, we operate a lesser known ‘grow your own’ system! Utilising our own children (they may think of themselves as no longer children per-se!) nieces, and offspring of our friends and customers. We take great pride in teaching great young people some fantastic skills for life – that’s what working in hospitality does, I think builds a set of the most transferable skills!
Some of our team have been with us for 25 and 30 years, some are second generation, who’s parents worked here and went on to do all kinds of varied careers.. it’s one of the things I’m most proud of, watching the next generation find their confidence and growing within the industry and then beyond.
Of course there are a thousand and one challenges every day.. just when I think I’ve seen it all, I can be still surprised, but that dynamism is what keeps me going I think. I just make sure to drown out all the bad stuff with wine – I mean the good stuff! Just have to keep tipping the scales to making it fun, we get to operate every day in a place where people come to have a good time, that makes it so much easier to concentrate on the positives. The moment you can’t do that any more is the moment operators give in.. which sadly so many have had to do recently times.
Going forward I think we will been hosting more celebrations, we have seen an increase in functions of all kinds over the last couple of years, both in house and outside catering.. we love a good party!
We don’t really do much to tempt people in (apart from maybe the epic hanging baskets at the front of the building)
I love it when people ‘find us’ and had no idea what we do or what is hiding inside and out the back of the very unassuming roadside pub frontage. It still fosters a bit of excitement to come across something new (to you) in a very organic way – no expectations from a clever instagram angle – am I just a dinosaur?!?!
I admire all kinds of people who are crazy enough to make hospitality their way of life, from Liv at Devour for creating something new and beautiful from an industrial relic to the Trueloves who not only preserve and maintain the vision of the previous generation, but have had to overcome tragedy and rebuild again. To Lindley’s Manor House for raising the bar?
The experience I want guests to leave with are great memories. You don’t remember every meal out you have, but some really do stay in your mind, of course the food but also memories with people, the connections we make with the person you are dining with, the staff you interact with and other guests too.. life and experiences are all about the connections we make with other humans!
3 things about Hudds:
Amazing countryside
Pennine charm, friendly folks
And like Marsden, it’s seemingly the middle of nowhere, but actually the middle of everywhere!
