'How I bought the pub where I learned to speak English'

He came to Ludlow for what-he-imagined would be a few weeks.

Cedric Bosi visited the picturesque south Shropshire market town to catch up with his brother, the world renowned chef Claude, at Hibiscus Restaurant, in Corve Street. He worked at the Michelin-starred restaurant as a waiter.

But whenever he visited the kitchen, he'd only ever speak in French.

"I couldn't speak a word of English," he said. "When Claude and I spoke, it was all French, French, French."

When Cedric finished his shift, he'd go to The Church Inn, in the centre of Ludlow, for a pint. There he'd relax and listen to the conversations of the locals. He got on with the then-landlord Floyd Wilson-Lloyd, a former town mayor with a penchant for striped blazers and large cigars.

And then he hit on a plan.

"I thought that if I worked behind the bar I'd get talking to all of the locals and that would help me to improve my English."

So he asked Floyd for a job. But it was a job with a difference. "I asked if I could work for him for free because being behind the bar would help me to learn another language."

Floyd, unsurprisingly, agreed. And the arrangement worked so well that he soon started paying him. During the week, Cedric would work as a waiter for his brother, serving Michelin-starred dinners. Then on Sundays he'd be behind the bar at The Church Inn, pulling pints.

Last week Cedric realised a dream. He's gone from being the guy who pulls pints on a Sunday for free to having his name above the door.

Together with his brother, Claude, and their respective wives, the Bosi brothers have bought one of Ludlow's most popular and successful pubs.

They've given the Church Inn a complete revamp and introduced a dash of style to a pub that had fallen on hard times.

Cedric has spent the past couple of months cleaning the venue, forging a partnership with Ludlow Brewery to create a new beer cellar and working with his brother on a new menu that has style and pizzazz.

"But don't you write anything about this being a gastro pub," laughs Claude. "It's not. There won't be any Michelin stars here. We're a pub that does food, not a restaurant or a gastro pub.

"We've got a good menu, with great soup, scotch eggs, chilli dogs, steak and chips, fish and chips and faggots with mash. There are pies, loaded potato skins and delicious puddings. And, of course, I've been spending time in the kitchen with the boys, making sure everything is up to scratch.

"But the menu isn't fancy. It's down to earth, it's a real selection of pub grub. It's the sort of food that people like to snack on when they come in for a drink or to catch up with friends."

The Church Inn completes the latest stage of a series of acquisitions for Cedric and Claude. They bought an historic hotel in the town around two years ago when they successfully made a bid for The Townhouse. The venue, in Ludlow's historic Broad Street, sits behind De Grey's and provides lodging in historic rooms.

Cedric and his wife, Amy, also own The Charlton Arms, at Ludford Bridge, and they have earned a place in The Good Food Guide for serving exceptional food that showcases the best of local producers.

The brothers Bosi aren't done yet, either. "We have other plans," says Claude. "But let's take things one step at a time. We need to make sure The Church Inn is successful before we do anything else. And now that we've spent money refurbishing the place, we need to make sure that we're getting customers in and doing a good job."

Ludlow is enormously important in the story of the Bosi brothers. It helped to propel Claude to world renown, after providing him with his first head chef job, his first Michelin star and also his second Michelin star. His daughter still attends school in the town while he has strong connections with friends and family. Cedric is equally fond.

"Ludlow is very important to us," he says. "When we were growing up, in Lyon, our parents owned a bistro. It was a great place. It inspired our love of food and hospitality. Claude was always very good in the kitchen but I preferred to be out front, with my father, where I'd help to serve the customers.

"Our guests would come in not just for the food, they would also come in because they liked the atmosphere and enjoyed the bonhomie. They would know the guy behind the bar and always be up for a chat. And that's what we're trying to create here at The Church Inn. We want a great sense of community where people know who we are and know that they're welcome. It's the way things used to be back home."

The Bosi brothers have come a long way since Claude first arrived in Ludlow in 1998. Back then, he was a sous chef, having learned his craft in some of the best kitchens in France. At Overton Grange, just outside Ludlow, he was promoted to head chef and told he had to win three AA rosettes within six months or face the sack.

He went for dinner with another local chef, Shaun Hill, at The Merchant House, and was inspired by his food. "Shaun had won Michelin stars and he was a good guy. I decided I had nothing to lose. So I took the head chef job and, thankfully, I'd won three AA rosettes within four months."

Claude kept his job and the rest is history. He opened Hibiscus, in Ludlow's Corve Street, winning a Michelin star and then a hard-to-earn second Michelin star. Soon after, he moved to London where he made a success of things in Mayfair. His restaurant won back their two Michelin stars before Claude decided to call time on that venture earlier this year. Next year he will be back as the business partner of Sir Terence Conran at Bibbendum, the iconic restaurant in Fulham Road.

The Bosi brothers have certainly found a recipe for success.