The landlord of an independent pub and restaurant is in the running to win Licensee of the Year.

Andrew Fishwick from The Truscott Arms in Maida Vale has been named as one of the six finalists in this year’s awards, held by The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII).

The pub has received several accolades since Andrew took over its running three years ago. It was named as Sustainable Pub of the Year 2015 by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, and the nationwide Best British Roast Dinner 2014.

The landlord runs the pub with his wife Mary Jane believes it is their commitment to providing an exceptional and interesting experience for customers that marks them out from the competition.

He said: “We are always looking for new ways to engage our customers, and whatever we do, we ask ourselves if this is something we would enjoy – this ensures our customer is at the heart of every decision we make.

"Internally, we have an ethos that everything should be handpicked, joyful and quality, and measure every drink, dish and event against this.

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“We also pride ourselves on being at the heart of our local community, as this is where we believe a pub belongs. We regularly hold events for those in the area, including baby yoga on a Monday, and children’s drama sessions on a Tuesday, and host meetings for our nearby CAMRA division and PTA committee.”

Before taking over at the The Truscott Arms, Andrew worked as a theatre producer for 15 years and helping to build Park Theatre in Finsbury Park.

His creative flare is best seen when the pub holds its seasonal Eating Sound dinner event. It sees the pub’s chef works closely with a composer to create a five-course tasting menu with a matching score, which is then performed live by a chamber orchestra during the meal.

After their initial written submission, the finalists have already been through audits on food hygiene ratings, independent social media audits and mystery customer visits and also welcomed the judging panel to their premises for a full site visit and in-depth interviews.

They will now face a panel judging day in May where they will be quizzed by industry experts. All finalists will be presented with trophies at the BII Summer Event on June 7, when the overall winner of Licensee of the Year 2016 will be announced.

Andrew added: “To win the BII License of the Year Award would be mind-blowing. It’s the single biggest accolade in the pub industry, judged by those who know the sector inside and out.

"This is our first time entering the awards but we are confident that our offering stands out from the crowd; we aim to excite with everything we do and the feedback we’ve had from customers has been exceptional.”