A NORTH Oxford pub has made it into the foodies’ bible, after a five-year transformation by its owners.

The Anchor in Hayfield Road has turned from back-street boozer to the toast of Michelin Guide judges since Jamie and Charlotte King took on the lease in 2006.

Now it has been awarded a prestigious Bib Gourmand in the 2012 guide for serving “good food at reasonable prices.”

The couple took on the under-performing pub after running The Star Inn at Sulgrave, near Banbury.

And after pouring £110,000 into the premises, they have steadily built up a reputation as a thriving community pub serving top-quality food.

Mr King said: “Ever since the refurbishment, we have been pushing to try to get this recognition. It has been our natural goal and it is fantastic to have achieved it.

“Above all we try to be consistent. If somebody comes here to spend their hard-earned keep, we want them to feel they know they will get a consistent quality of product.”

The menu which caught the judges’ attention included old pub favourites such as sausage and mash and steak and kidney pudding, as well as more adventurous fare.

Many of the ingredients are sourced locally, including lamb from Wytham, flour from Shipton-under-Wychwood, asparagus from Osney, and vegetables from nearby allotments.

Mr King said that despite the new accolade, The Anchor remained very much a pub, with beer on tap and a saloon bar for locals popping in after work.

It offers takeaway fish and chips on Tuesday nights, runs a monthly book club, and a weekly coffee morning for parents of children at nearby St Aloysius’ and SS Philip and James’ primary schools on Fridays.

He said: “The locals are thrilled. We are able to provide a community-based pub that offers good food and nice beer.”

The pub joins The Magdalen Arms in Iffley Road and The Mole Inn at Toot Baldon as Oxfordshire gastropubs awarded a Bib Gourmand.

In Chinnor, the Sir Charles Napier has been awarded its first Michelin Star a year after Chris Godfrey took over as head chef.

He said: “We are absolutely over the moon. It was certainly a shock. It is really good to get this sort of recognition after all the hard work put in over the years.”

Elsewhere in the county, Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons kept its two Michelin stars, and The Nut Tree at Murcott retained its star.

But The Carpenters Arms in Fulbrook, The Masons Arms in Swerford and The Kingham Plough in Kingham all lost their Bib Gourmands.