IT sounded like a question one of the candidates would be asked on The Apprentice.

“Are you ready for success?”

It was not asked by Lord Sugar, rather it was asked by a hotel inspector seven years ago to John Bradley, who runs the Dunkery Beacon Country House Hotel on Exmoor with his wife Jane

“He told me to think about it and chew it over,” said John.

“At the time I failed to realise what he meant. Then it slowly dawned on me - it is very easy to fail but to succeed takes hard work.

“Not only are you trying to grow your business but when you do, you increase the traffic coming to your business.

“This then increases staffing, expectations and the need to maintain your standards and the hotel and that successful level.

“It does mean, to a degree, more pressure and the pressure you put on yourself. I do not think anyone is ever ready for success. What you have to do is make success happen.”

And success has certainly happened through hard work and dedication of John and Jane.

Recently, the hotel has been as selected as the Editor’s Choice in the 2019 Good Hotel Guide and also named Somerset Food and Drink Hotel Restaurant of the Year in the Somerset Life Awards.

It has been an interesting journey which has brought John and Jane to Exmoor.

When he was a teenager, John was all geared up to join the fire brigade.

His parents were in the fire brigade and he grew up in a fire station, so it seemed natural to follow the family tradition set by his grandparents.

John was accepted to do an apprenticeship but due to government cut backs the scheme was scrapped before he got his chance to go on it.

His headmaster told him he knew the head of the catering college and maybe John would like to become a chef.

Not only did he do the two years of the course but stayed to do his advanced exams.

It was after this he literally hit the road and went off around the world, travelling for three years.

To pay for his trips, John worked in a variety of places and different countries including the Channel Islands, Australia and New Zealand.

It was while on his travels he met his wife to be Jane, while staying at a youth hostel in New Zealand.

Their travels took them to Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal and India, before returning to the UK in 1996.

When he returned, John started working for a catering company - and soon become the manager.

He ended up doing this role for 14 years before deciding he wanted to return to the world of cooking.

What the couple wanted to find was a property within their budget, one not too far from the sea but in the country.

When they found their property in Exmoor they knew this was the perfect location for them.

It was already a bed and breakfast establishment but was, in John’s words, in need of ‘TLC’.

He said: “The previous owners were attracting people in their 70s and 80s and what we wanted to do was give the place a freshen up .

“We refurbished the bedrooms and made everything more cosmopolitan and more of a country style so we had wider appeal. Now we are attracting people from their 30s up to their 70s.We had to do this in order to make it work as a business and we also introduced the Coleridge restaurant.”

The restaurant can be used by residents stay at the hotel but it is also open to the public. If you are a non-resident it is best to ring up to book a table to see what is available.

John is delighted to be back in the kitchen and said: “I am enjoying being a chef/manager.

“What this area is rich in is local produce and we like to source the best.

“We tried a number of sausages and we asked one had we tried these sausages made by a local farmer. Once we had tasted them we knew that was it.

“A lot of the food we get and serve is seasonal such as venison or the oysters from Porlock Bay or pheasants.

“A lot of the dishes are my own creation, they have a certain twist. But all the food compliments each other and I have a very good understanding of seasonal availability.

“I am very pleased with what we have achieved and I am always looking to refine the dishes. I never used to make our own ice cream but now I do, so by getting the awards, it means we are heading in the right direction.

“What I like to see is people really enjoying their food and enjoying something traditional but with a modern twist.”

This modern twist attracts people from around the globe to Exmoor including visitors from Holland, Austria, Germany, Italy and also from the USA and Canada.

John and Jane are waving a flag for all which is good about West Somerset and aim to keep doing it to ensure they are always ready for success.

The Dunkery Beacon Country House Hotel and Coleridge Restaurant is situated in Wootton Courtenay, near Dunster, TA24 8RH.

For more, visit dunkerybeaconaccommodation.co.uk or call 01643 841 241.