Sebastian Snow on his latest venture at The Plough at Kelmscott

My wife Lana and I left London in July 2008 after running Hammersmith restaurant Snows on the Green for 17 years. We put the business up for sale in the February, and two weeks later Lehman Brothers went down. We couldn’t give it away – buyers pulled out, banks cancelled loans. No one could get any credit.

We were then offered The Swan at Southrop through a friend. We had no connection with the Cotswolds at all, but loved it and jumped at the opportunity. Since then we haven’t looked back.

Fortunately, the recession didn’t seem to touch the Cotswolds and from week one it took off. It just got better and better and in 2010, we won the Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year award, beating Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay, which was fantastic.

At the same time as the lease was coming to an end, in August 2012, we were offered The Five Alls at Filkins by Brakspear, who had heard of us and our success at The Swan. We took that on, and that too has been hugely successful, attracting star customers including David Cameron.

We have a long tenancy at The Five Alls but we wanted some security, so when The Plough came up for sale earlier this year on a freehold basis, we were really interested. We bought it this March. It opened on June 24, with just the restaurant operating and we opened the first four of the eight rooms on July 18. We’ve had to do a massive amount of work. It is a 17th-century Grade II-listed inn and we have spent £25,000 on drains alone! It was an absolute mess. We’ve refurbished all the rooms and bathrooms, remodelled the stable block and the dining room, and put in lots of artefacts and art.

I think what really works for country pubs is to offer great food, excellent service, and an electric atmosphere. We have a blend of all three. Good food isn’t enough on its own without good front of house, and good front of house isn’t enough without good food.

The Plough is also a very different offering from The Five Alls, so we are not competing with ourselves. It is smaller and cosier, and serves traditional British pub food, all retro and vintagey, such as fish pie, scampi in a basket and spam fritters, whereas Five Alls has a more eclectic menu, including teriyaki, carpaccio and risotto.

It is in an idyllic setting, just beside the Thames. We have our own mooring, and people can pull up in their boats, then come ashore for a delicious meal and some great beer and wine.

Everyone is welcome too. Lana says, if people ask whether they can bring their dog, that they can bring a horse or an elephant so long as it fits under the table. We’re in the countryside and that’s what it’s all about.

We live halfway between our two pubs with our Goldendoodle Molly and our eight-year-old daughter Isabella and it is just perfect. We’re not interested in getting any stars or awards – we just want people to have a fantastic time.