Fresh New Start for Country Pub

An experienced chef and hotelier has taken on The White Lion in the picturesque village of Selling, near Faversham.
 
Nick Steinmetz has officially reopened the Shepherd Neame pub, following a month-long joint refurbishment project with the brewery. The father-of-two, 38, grew up in Kent, attending St Edmund’s School in Canterbury then Dover College, and was taught cooking by his late father Rolf Steinmetz, who ran the Bow Window Hotel in Littlebourne.

After school, Nick worked at the Bow Window for around 12 years, progressing to general manager, before his parents retired and he began a security consultancy business.
 
Nick said:

My six-year-old son Reuben attends Selling Primary, so I regularly drove past the White Lion, and kept thinking that it would be a fantastic pub to run. I had recently been considering getting back into the hospitality trade, as I absolutely love cooking and really missed it, so when I saw the pub was available, it seemed the perfect opportunity.

The traditional pub boasts a host of original features including oak beams and two inglenook fireplaces. It has seating for 40 in the main bar and snug, and another 40 in the separate restaurant, with additional seating available in the large garden.
 
A total of 10 staff, both full and part-time, have been taken on by Nick to help with the kitchen and front-of-house duties at the pub.
 
Nick is working as the pub’s head chef, and has introduced a brand new menu to cater to all tastes. Food is available from 12noon to 3pm and 6pm to 9.30pm, Monday to Saturday, and from 12noon to 5pm on Sunday. A range of bar snacks is available, including homemade sandwiches, a White Lion Ploughman’s Special, and a charcuterie board sharing platter for two. There is also an á la carte menu, with signature dishes including pan-fried devilled chicken livers, pork steak with apple and Calvados sauce and smoked salmon and prawn parcels.