A STALWART of one of Penarth’s most popular pubs has been rewarded for his years of loyal service.
If you thought it was to be all change when the Pilot announced new owners, there’s a bit more to the story than that. In fact, it’s more a story of rewarding loyalty.
It takes a lot to move to a new country and pursue a career in your passion, however that is what Francois Commeureuc-Cherot did, and now he has been rewarded by becoming joint owner of the Pilot along with business partner Serge Luceau.
Mr, or perhaps it should be Monsieur, Commeureuc-Cherot has done the long hard graft at the Pilot, having held the post of general manager since 2015.
Now, he, along with experienced chef Monsieur Luceau, can put their stamp and their vision on one of the institutions of Wales’ best seaside towns.
When we met Monsieur Commeureuc-Cherot and Monsieur Luceau (we’ll call them Serge and Francois from here, just to save a few letters…) they wanted to emphasise nothing will change at the Pilot.
The loyal customers don’t have to worry that change of owner means a change of the Pilot. It’s staying much the same, with a couple of tweaks. French tweaks.
Serge wants to introduce some French cuisine influences in an interesting fusion using local Welsh produce.
For example, Serge will be doing a savoury tart de tan and, in a British classic – beef brisket – he’ll be adding a bit of continental class with a Bordelaise sauce.
Front of house, Francois wants to introduce a couple of fine French wines to the Pilot’s already excellent selection and also he wants to push quality local ales – when we were there, we had to try some of them including Seren from Vale of Glamorgan brewery (VOG) based in Barry, which was delectable.
On his promotion, Francois, just 36, said it’s going great and it’s exciting, although he’s having to do a little more number crunching...
Serge and Francois’ partnership is one forged in years of hard graft.
Serge brought Francois across from their native Brittany. As soon as Francois touched down he was working in restaurants in Cardiff Bay while getting a crash course in English, the only way you can learn English – through Welsh tongues.
Serge was part of the team that opened Woods and the Pilot.
A no-nonsense chef, Serge insists on keeping it simple and doing things right.
He explained to us that at the Pilot there won’t be any QR codes to scan or screens to order your food from.
He said if you don’t already know about the Pilot (shame on you!) give them a call over some old thing called the telephone, come to the pub, enjoy the fine beer, the good food, warm yourself up by the stove and admire the stunning views of Cardiff.
The Pilot is open now and taking orders (as if it was ever closed!) It will also be showing all the Six Nations games, so get down there, congratulate Francois and enjoy the rugby!
Did you know, the Pilot is now open on Tuesdays! From February 6, the Pilot will be open midday to 2.30pm for lunch and 5pm to 9pm for dinner. See more details on their Instagram page pilotpenarth.
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