A popular Northamptonshire pub is celebrating award success after being recognised for the outstanding support it provides the community.
Richard Gordon and business partner Sonya Harvey received recognition at the recent 2026 prestigious Punch Publican of the Year Awards hosted by Punch Pubs & Co.
The national awards recognise the best publicans and management partners from across its 1,300 venues and dynamic duo Richard and Sonya were winners of the Doing Well, by Doing Good Award for the community-centric projects supported by their pub, The Red Lion, Kettering.
Richard is Director of Greedy Gordons, a group of award-winning venues in Northamptonshire that includes The Red Lion, The Snooty Fox in Lowick and The Pig & Waffle Bistro, as well as the Farm Shop in Grafton Underwood.
He said he and Sonya were surprised and delighted when they were announced as winners: “We didn’t expect to win; it was quite remarkable when they announced it. We are very community focused and are always looking to put back into the communities that support us, it was brilliant to win, really fantastic.
“It was very humbling to be recognised for all the work we do with so many community causes, charities and groups. We are incredibly proud of the diff erence we make to the many organisations we support, which are all very important to us.”
There are numerous community causes for which Richard and the team provide ongoing support, including Home-Start in the Kettering area. Greedy Gordons made it its mission to bring benefi ts of home cooking to families across the county who need it most in its charity collaboration with the Home-Start team. When the charity launched its Taste of Home project and cookbook, aimed at helping families in need to cook nutritious meals for their households to help boost physical and mental health, Richard and the team stepped in to support.
The project has since grown and Richard revealed there is a filming project planned in June, in conjunction with catering students at Tresham College, to provide step-by-step videos for families to follow, ensuring they can cook the recipes in the cookbook, which is given to families along with a slow cooker. It was important to Richard to enlist the help of students studying at the catering college, which was where he first learned his culinary craft.
He said: “The catering college has a big place in my heart, it was where I was a student in the 1980s and I still remember everything they taught me. It is nice to be able to go back and help the students who will help the many families the charity is supporting. We are hoping other local businesses will back this initiative and help provide pots, pans and utensils the families will need, as well as food donations so they can recreate the meals featured in the charity cookbook.”
The Punch Doing Well, by Doing Good award recognises ‘positive performance and putting the needs of people, planet and pub fi rst’ and celebrates pubs that inspire those moments of positive change. It is awarded to those who ‘proactively promote sustainability, support mental health initiatives or enhance the wellbeing of their teams, guests and the wider community’.
Richard said: “The Red Lion is at the heart of our local community. From our ongoing support for community initiatives, from fundraising and our strong focus on sustainability practices and projects, to helping support the wellbeing of our teams and guests, we are proud to be a business with a purpose beyond profit, and embrace opportunities to do good.”
Other noteworthy initiatives have included:
- Providing multiple raffle prizes each year for local organisations
- Sponsoring a quarterly community meal at the village hall to help raise money for a new roof
- A significant investment to repurpose picnic tables which were donated to a local pocket park
- Providing funding for a new oven for a local café project which provides training and development opportunities for young people with anxiety or who are neurodivergent, with a plan to offer work experience or employment opportunities in the future
- Team members taking part in community litter picks and providing refreshments for volunteers
- A new Greedy Gordons’ Walk Guide, including walks to and from The Red Lion, to help support peoples’ mental health which is launching this summer
Richard highlighted how they were also proud to be part of Punch’s Pollinator Pubs initiative with Eden Project Communities which led to them creating a pollinator-friendly Bee Garden, with plants, bespoke signage, bee cups and bee hotels after making a signifi cant investment in the initiative.
These extensive efforts in the project has seen the garden grow, which resulted in The Red Lion being recognised as a Hero Pollinator Pub, which includes an invitation to the Eden Project in Cornwall for further inspiration.
The pub’s partnership with Northamptonshire gin business Warner’s Distilleries has been ramped up and the venue has extended its collaboration to showcase the brand’s Honeybee Gin, which is sponsoring the outside garden this year. Punters will be able to enjoy Honeybee Gin inspired cocktails and drinks, with the tipple also being infused in food being served throughout the summer.
Following an extensive £250,000 refurbishment at The Red Lion, the pub is kicking off its World Cup hospitality, having installed six new 50-inch TV screens so drinkers and diners don’t miss any of the action.
The Red Lion has also launched its Crab and Cocktails alfresco drinking and dining offering, while The Snooty Fox has a new partnership with English sparkling wine producer Nyetimber with the venue hosting tasting events throughout the summer.
For more information visit The Greedy Gordons Group website. Businesses wanting to support the Home-Start cookbook initiative can contact Richard Gordon at richard@gggroup.co.uk
