Behind the Apron: Billy Mantle on Taking Over The Reindeer

julia-brown7

Aug 6

13 min read

Some pubs are simply places to eat. Others become part of a village’s identity.

For generations, The Reindeer has been exactly that for Hoveringham, a country pub overlooking the village cricket ground where locals gather, visitors make the journey for good food and community has always been at its heart. Taking on somewhere with that kind of reputation comes with its own expectations, but it’s a challenge chef Billy Mantle has embraced.

After making his mark at SHIO, Six Richmond House and Local, Billy has returned to familiar surroundings to write the next chapter of The Reindeer. His vision combines exceptional British produce with techniques inspired by his time in Japan, all while preserving the relaxed, welcoming atmosphere that has made the pub such a favourite over the years.

I sat down with Billy just a few weeks after opening to talk about the reality of taking on his first pub, why smaller menus can create better food, the future of SHIO and why, sometimes, there really is no such thing as the perfect time to take a leap.

Five years ago, did you imagine you would be running The Reindeer?

Not at all. It happened completely out of nowhere.

I’ve always known the pub and the area because I grew up in Lowdham, not too far away, and I’ve got family in Hoveringham. The Reindeer has always had a good reputation for food, and the previous tenants did a great job of gaining awards and establishing those foundations.

When I found out it was available, it felt like a really good opportunity. I was ready for a new challenge and for somewhere that would allow me to showcase my own food again.

Having my own restaurant was always on the cards at some point. I kept telling myself I would do it when the time was right, but there is never really a perfect time. Eventually, you just have to jump in.

What has been the biggest learning curve so far?

The front-of-house side has probably been the biggest adjustment.

We signed the lease quite late and wanted to open in time for the summer trade, so we only had around a month to renovate, decorate and get everything ready.

We opened the bar quite quickly, and there were probably areas where we could have done with more training beforehand.

My background is predominantly in the kitchen, where Cameron and I have things running well. The biggest challenge has been making sure the front of house matches the standard of the food.

There are always going to be teething problems when you first open. The important thing is recognising them, dealing with them quickly and learning from them.

Have you made changes as a result?

Nothing drastic. It has mainly been about spending more one-to-one time with the team and giving people the right training.

I know the kitchen side is where it needs to be. Now it is about getting the right people around me and making sure the service is just as strong.

Becca, who worked here previously as a supervisor, has stepped up into more of a management role. She knows the pub inside out, understands the locals and has been here for around five years. I didn’t realise quite how much I needed someone like that until I had her. Without Becca, opening would have been much harder.

We’ve also got some experienced people coming in to help set the standard, including Ben, the pub’s former general manager, and my friend Tyler, who previously ran The Four Bells in Woodborough.

What can people expect from the menu?

We’re deliberately keeping the menu small and concentrating on using the best ingredients we can get.

Our beef comes from Dunwood Farm so we know exactly where it comes from. It’s great-quality, dry-aged beef from their own cattle.

Our fish comes from Flying Fish in Cornwall. They call us the night before to tell us what has been caught and what is available, and that becomes our market fish.

Sometimes we don’t know what we’ll be cooking until shortly beforehand, which keeps things exciting.

This definitely isn’t a finished menu. It’s the first draft, and it will continue to change every two or three weeks depending on the ingredients available and what I’m inspired by.

I live here, so I can wake up, come downstairs and start working on a new menu. Rather than offering something huge, I would rather keep it small and make sure everything on it is right.

There are traditional pub dishes alongside more unusual creations. How do you balance the two?

You can go to pubs across Nottinghamshire and often find very similar menus. I still want people to be able to come here for a good steak and chips or fish and chips, but I’m also keen to offer something different.

The à la carte menu is a little more refined and more representative of me as a chef.

It is designed around snacks, smaller plates and larger dishes. You can come in, share a few things and then have a main course, or you can ignore all of that and order exactly how you want.

I’m trying to move away from the formality of a rigid starter, main course and dessert structure or white-tablecloth service. I want the atmosphere to feel relaxed, while the food and service remain at a high level.

One dish that has already caught people’s attention is the Bluefin Tuna Hash Brown. Where did that come from?

It was something that developed in my head during one of the many nights when I was lying awake thinking about food.

Everyone loves a hash brown. The tuna is caught in British waters and comes to us fresh from Cornwall.

We combine Japanese techniques with ingredients such as English mustard, bringing together those British and Japanese influences.

I’ve always been creatively minded with food. I enjoy trying combinations that are a little different. Not everything works, but when it does, it’s really rewarding.

Where did your interest in Japanese food begin?

I spent some time in Japan just before Covid.

I was living in Hakuba, a beautiful village around 200 kilometres from Tokyo, skiing four days a week and working in Australian-run cafés. Day to day, I was cooking familiar things such as English breakfasts, but I also arranged work experience in teppanyaki and sushi restaurants.

I loved being able to watch the chefs, try the food and see the techniques being used. That experience definitely inspired me.

Japan will always be an important influence, but the food here won’t only be British and Japanese. I want to explore more global flavours and different styles of fusion as the menus develop.

SHIO has also found a permanent home in The Reindeer’s garden. How does that fit alongside the pub?

Having SHIO here makes perfect sense.

Inside, we want the restaurant to feel relatively intimate and booking-led. We’re not trying to push as many covers through the door as possible. Once the restaurant is full for lunch and dinner, that is enough for us. There’s no point adding more tables if it risks affecting the food or service.

SHIO gives people another option outside. It takes some pressure away from the main kitchen and creates a more casual space that is great for families, people watching the cricket or anyone who simply wants to sit outside with some food and a drink.

What can people order from SHIO?

SHIO is centred around a Japanese grill.

There are skewers, yakitori, grilled meats and rice bowls, alongside dishes such as teriyaki beef and our signature Korean fried chicken.

The menu will change regularly, potentially every week, depending on what ingredients we can get and what people are enjoying.

The villagers might be here several nights a week, so we don’t want to offer exactly the same thing every time. There should always be something new to try.

Will the themed food nights you became known for make a return?

Definitely.

We wanted to get the main restaurant open and establish what we could realistically manage before adding anything else, but I’d like to bring back some of the special evenings I previously ran at Six Richmond House.

That could mean monthly ramen nights, steak nights, smash-burger evenings and other one-off menus.

The Reindeer is a community pub, so keeping local people engaged and giving them different reasons to return is really important.

How involved is the local community in the pub?

The response has been great. Everybody wants it to succeed and the locals have really supported us, sometimes by spending more time at the bar than they probably should!

It is my pub and I have to stick to what I know and what I believe will work, but I also want the community to feel involved. We listen to feedback, and when lots of people are telling us the same thing, we’ll take that seriously and act on it.

You can’t please everybody, but the support so far has been incredibly positive.

Is The Reindeer still somewhere people can visit simply for a drink?

Absolutely.

One of the things we were really keen to do was separate the bar from the restaurant. Previously, tables in the bar were sometimes laid for dining and included in the bookings.

We are no longer taking restaurant bookings in the bar area. We want to keep that space free for people who simply want to come in, have a drink and enjoy their local pub.

It is still dog-friendly throughout, too. My parents’ French bulldog, Boris, is the current pub dog.

What role does the cricket club play?

We have a really good relationship with the cricket club. They play at weekends and sometimes during the week, including women’s fixtures.

We need them and they need us, so it works well for everybody.

When cricket isn’t being played, we also have the opportunity to use the land for functions, weddings and other events.

Are events going to be a big part of the future?

We’ve already hosted an engagement party, despite only having been open for a very short time.

The terrace can hold around 80 people, with additional space inside, and outside of the cricket season there is the potential for people to use the cricket field.

We can cater for all kinds of celebrations. I’d also love to organise street-food events with several different traders joining SHIO outside.

We’ve talked about bonfire events and live music as well, my brother is in a band and has played here previously so there’s a lot of potential here; we just have to introduce things at the right pace.

Dare I utter the C word…Will you be open at Christmas?

Traditionally, The Reindeer has opened on Christmas Day, and after speaking to locals, I think it is important to continue that.

I don’t think we’ll serve food. I’ll probably have my own family here for dinner, but we would like to open the bar for drinks.

Then, for New Year’s Eve, we’ll hopefully put on a proper party!

I’m not entirely sure when I’m going to get a break!

Do you miss the quieter life you had before taking on the pub?

The first six months were always going to involve a lot of work. I live here, so it is day in, day out. There have already been nights when I haven’t slept because we’ve gone straight through into the next day.

I don’t miss living in Nottingham city centre, though. I went back recently for a haircut and couldn’t believe how busy and chaotic it felt.

Here, I can wake up every morning and look out at the surroundings. It’s peaceful, picturesque and tranquil. That was one of the things that made me fall in love with the opportunity.

What did you take from your time at Local?

I miss the people, and I’ve got a lot of respect for Tom.

He gave me a platform and taught me a lot about business, as well as food. We’ve stayed in touch, and he has been checking in to see how things are going.

Local seems to be thriving, which is great to see, but I was ready to do something of my own.

Where do you eat when you return to Nottingham?

There are so many brilliant restaurants in Nottingham, and the food scene is doing really well. Marcus at Raymond’s and Everyday People to name a couple.

Typically though, I don’t go for many formal sit-down meals in the city, but one of my favourite places is Lanzhou Noodles on Market Street.

I’ve been going for around 12 years and know the owners well. Sometimes I’ll walk in while they’re having their own lunch and they’ll let me join them.

It is a small Chinese noodle restaurant with fresh noodles and brilliant broths. It’s my go-to place for a quick lunch.

Are you conscious of the other pubs and restaurants in the area?

I wouldn’t say I’m worried about competition. I’ve got a lot of respect for the pubs around here and many of them are doing really well.

I’m just trying to offer something a little different.

People will still be able to have their pub classics, but the à la carte menu will be more “cheffy”, more refined and more representative of my style.

You learn very quickly that you can’t please everybody. I have to stick to what I enjoy cooking and trust that enough people will enjoy eating it too.

How did you first become a chef?

It’s a slightly clichéd answer, but my dad got me into cooking. He’s a brilliant cook, and I was always in the kitchen with him growing up.

We used to go fly-fishing and bring salmon home to cook, so food was always part of family life. My uncle, who lives in the village, is also food-mad.

I never grew up definitely knowing that I wanted to be a chef. I was studying music events at university in Bristol, but I wasn’t enjoying the course and came home without really knowing what I wanted to do.

My dad suggested that I get a job at a local pub. I started washing pots and gradually worked my way up. I essentially fell into being a chef, but I wouldn’t still be doing it now if I didn’t love it.

Who has supported you most along the way?

My mum and dad, Louise and David, have always supported me. They’re here all the time helping with anything they can.

My girlfriend, Katie, has also been incredibly supportive. Taking on the pub has been a huge change for both of us. Before this, life was fairly relaxed and we were able to eat out and do things together much more often.

We both know that, for now, I need to get my head down and work. Hopefully, the rewards will come later. We’d like to make sure we still have a couple of holidays each year and something to look forward to.

My brother Richie has always been there for me too. Having that support from the people around me gives me the drive to keep going.

Which chefs have influenced you?

Laurence Henry has been a big influence and is also a good friend of mine. He’s now doing a great job at Martin’s Arms.

I worked with him around the time he appeared on MasterChef, helping with the pop-ups he was running. He really taught me discipline in the kitchen, alongside a lot of techniques that I’ve taken forward into my own cooking.

A lot of my development has also come through trial and error. I’m constantly trying things. Some don’t work, but when something does, it feels even more rewarding because I’ve worked it out for myself.

Is The Reindeer a long-term project for you?

We have a nine-year lease with a break point after three years.

The initial plan is to give absolutely everything to the first three years. If it’s going well, there is no reason we wouldn’t continue for the full nine.

But this isn’t the end for me. It feels like the beginning.

I’d eventually like to have multiple businesses, and I still think there is a much bigger future for SHIO. We previously had the Derby site, which didn’t go as planned, but that hasn’t changed my belief in the concept.

For now, SHIO’s home is here while we establish The Reindeer. In time, I could see us having four or five SHIO sites in some form, provided we have the workforce and can maintain the quality consistently.

Are awards, including the pub’s previous Michelin Bib Gourmand, part of the ambition?

We definitely want to strive to be the best we can and, in the future, awards are something we would like to achieve.

But I’m not opening the pub thinking only about retaining a particular accolade.

A Bib Gourmand is about good food and value for money, and hopefully inspectors will return, enjoy what we’re doing and recognise that.

However, I don’t want us to become too focused on chasing one particular award. We need to concentrate on doing what we do best. If recognition comes as a result, that would be brilliant.

Finally, how would you describe The Reindeer right now?

Picturesque.

The setting is one of the things that convinced me to take it on. I can wake up every morning, look outside and know that I’m building something of my own.

It feels like I’ve come home.

Quick Fire Round:

Which ingredient could you not live without?

Butter. It makes everything better.

Is there anything you refuse to eat?

Avocado. I just don’t understand the hype. It doesn’t give me anything!

Katie loves going out for brunch, whereas I’d rather skip breakfast and go for Chinese food at 11:30.

So no, you probably won’t be seeing avocado or a brunch menu here anytime soon.

Favourite kitchen hack?

Dry aging.

What's your biggest kitchen fail?

I once ruined 20kg's of confit chicken thigh working for a certain chef and had to run up to the butchers at the top of Victoria Centre and carry it all back with me to start again!

Is there another pub dog in The Reindeer’s future?

We’ve talked about getting a whippet and calling it Dasher.

It would definitely need a reindeer-related name!

What advice would you give your younger self?

Trust yourself.

Listen to your own instincts, do your best and try to block out some of the noise from outside.

It is easy to become distracted by what other people are doing or saying. If you can focus on your own vision and what you believe is right, you’ve got a much better chance of being successful.

What would be your death row meal?

I’d start with a crab and sweetcorn soup, I love Chinese food, so that’s an easy choice.

For my main, it’d have to be the braised beef from Lanzhou Noodles in Nottingham. I’d probably ask them to throw in some potatoes and vegetables too, even though they don’t normally serve it that way!

Dessert’s a bit less fancy. Give me a Cadbury Dairy Milk with Crunchie pieces and I’m happy. Nothing extravagant, just the things I genuinely love eating.

If we walked into your kitchen during a busy service, what would be playing?

Definitely drum and bass. Not the really heavy stuff though, I like the more dancefloor side of it, something with a good rhythm that keeps the energy up without being too much. Music’s always been a big part of my life. I actually went to university to study music events before I became a chef, so it’s never really left me.

These days I don’t have much time to make music, but I still love going to festivals whenever I can. Good food, good music and good people, that’s a pretty perfect combination.

The Reindeer is currently open from Wednesday to Sunday, offering relaxed drinks in the bar, restaurant dining inside and SHIO’s Japanese-inspired food in the garden.

For Billy the message is simple:

“Come and try it. Support us, enjoy the surroundings and hopefully discover something you wouldn’t find at every other pub.”