Pub of the week: The White Bull, Gisburn, Ribble Valley

This week’s pub is situated in the north east corner of the Ribble Valley and has recently brought in a new head chef.

The White Bull in Gisburn serves up classic pub dishes to visitors from far and wide with double rooms available from £90 a night.

Firstly, we spoke to Liz Bennett, who works front of house.

What’s the atmosphere like?

We have a great local clientele including the Gisburn locals that religiously drink here. We’ve got a big farming community here as well with the agricultural market so some farming families have been coming for decades.

I’ve worked across a lot of pubs in the area and this is the best.

Do people come from far afield to stay?

Yes, we’ve got a lot of wedding venues nearby, so lots of people stay here to go to those celebrations. We also get people coming from Yorkshire and the rest of the Ribble Valley to try our food and just visit for the day.

What's Gisburn like?

We're your classic Ribble Valley village, but we've got a huge farming community like I said with a big market that's famous in the area. But yeah, it's a really nice tight-knit community.

The beer garden (Image: The White Bull) What’s the best thing about the pub?

Our friendly atmosphere: we welcome anyone from anywhere that's the best thing and have a dedicated team of staff that are close-knit and provide high-end service.

What’s the draught selection?

• Timothy Taylor’s Landlord

• Timothy Taylor’s Knowle Spring

• Inch’s cider

• Old Mout selection of ciders

• Guinness

• Birra Moretti

• Cruzcampo

• Beavertown’s Neck Oil

• Fosters

After speaking to Liz, we spoke to the head chef, Hubert Ziemba, who at the tender age of 28 runs the kitchen.

The pub's steak (Image: The White Bull) Tell us about the new menu

We’re a countryside pub so when I was creating the menu we tried to keep to the classical side, by that I mean pies, fish pies, and burgers. Then we have the more fine dining end of the menu that’s got smoked salmon starters and a lamb shoulder dish, we’re basically trying to keep it from straying from the classic pub dish side of things but keep it at a high level.

I’ve been a chef for 10 years and I’m trying to put across all the things I've learnt, so far it’s received good feedback.

The pub's accommodation (Image: White Bull)What dish are you most proud of?

The lamb shoulder. It’s a very simple dish but very effective, it has got a combination of simple ingredients and it’s done in a simple way, but to a high level.

Is the food locally sourced?

All of our food is made fresh and we use local suppliers, it’s my belief that you’ve got to use what’s around you!