A pub in the heart of Astley Bridge is bringing food back after finding the ‘perfect’ chef.

Francesca Marone from Bolton took over the running of The Pineapple Pub from her dad Gino in May last year, with him moving on to other projects, including reopening The Railway in Bromley Cross.

After selling houses with her dad for a period of time, Francesca and her partner Lindi Muho decided to join Gino when he took over The Pineapple.

She said: “My dad just felt like his time was done at The Pineapple and he wanted to change another pub like he did with this one.

 

The Bolton News:

“And I thought I could do more with the pub and so the pub changed hands.

“I feel like I have walked into this career without realising.

“I have always been a part of this pub’s journey and the pub means a lot to us.”

After their previous chef moved on after a year or so, Francesca says that they wanted to spend some time to find the right person for the kitchen.

And after around three weeks, they have now brought in chef Al Roland who comes with 27 years’ experience.

Francesca said: “Everything we were looking for Al was able to offer.

The Bolton News: “It’s high standard food, and Al makes everything from scratch, including the desserts.

“Al isn’t happy unless the food is freshly made.

“We used to be the place to be for food and there were no seats because it was that busy because of the food.

“It’s really exciting, but nerve racking.

“I just want people to try the food one time because they will want to come back because of how good it is.”

Al’s Kitchen will officially open on Friday and will be open from Thursday to Sunday from 12pm until 8pm.

The pub has undergone a small refurbishment, which has included repainting the pub, making the floor level in the smoking shelter outside, a feature flower wall, and new leather seats.

Punters can also enjoy watching the game on a big screen projector now.

Francesca added: “It looks much better now and the floor where the smoking shelter is has been releveled.

“We want this to be a place for everyone from and bring different customers in from all ages.”

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