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Food

30th Aug 2024

Jeremy Clarkson hits back at complaints about prices in his new pub

Harry Warner

He released a menu for his new pub last week.

Jeremy Clarkson has hit back at complaints about the prices in his new pub.

Since the former Top Gear presenter got stuck into the world of farming, Clarkson has been steadily growing his exploits around his farmstead in Oxfordshire.

After attempting, with much struggle, in recent years to open a restaurant on his farm where he could sell local produce, the 64-year-old has opened a new pub, called the Farmer’s Dog.

Hundreds of people gathered in Asthall, Oxfordshire, for the grand opening of the new boozer last Friday (23 Aug) with a video of the now pub landlord saying all were welcome except James May and Keir Starmer.

Customers looking for a bite to eat can expect British classics such as sausage and mask, steak pie and a Lancashire hotpot, while on the weekend a carvery is served between midday and 9 pm.

Clarkson shared the comprehensive menu on the Farmer’s Dog Instagram page which led to users collectively being unable to hold back their criticism of the pub prices, or rather lack thereof.

Many commenters suggested that the absent prices suggest elevated prices compared to other pubs in the area.

One user embodied this idea taking to Instagram to comment: “You know it’s expensive when they don’t include the prices.”

Another person said: “No prices. Always a worry.”

Meanwhile, another user put on X (formerly Twitter), “I bet you’ll need to remortgage once you’ve bought a round” to which Clarkson responded, “It’s £5.50 a pint.”

In a short ‘about section’ for the pub online, the presenter explained that everything was locally sourced from the meat to the vegetables to the beer and wine, however satirically apologised for the quinine in the tonic which had to be imported.

Upon opening the pub Clarkson said: “The menu changes, it’s whatever we’ve got. There’s no Coca-Cola, no coffee, other pubs do coffee. Cornish tea. We do British food.

“Everything that you consume in here, every single thing, even the black pepper and the sugar, is grown by British farmers.”

He added that some of the produce comes from his farm, Diddly Squat, while lots of the rest comes from local farms in the area.

As reported by the Daily Mail, the prices for main dishes start at £15 for the vegetable and cheddar crumble and rises to £19 for the Lancashire hotpot.

Meanwhile smaller plates such as the garlic mushrooms with a poached egg priced at £8 and the chicken liver pate with onion chutney set at £9

As for the desserts, the apple crumble and the cheesecake of the day costing £8 and the strawberry meringue costing a pound more.

The pub also sells a range of merchandise centred around the presenter’s show Clarkson’s farm.

Upon being asked why he opted to open a pub Clarkson said it was the next best thing after the council famously shut down his plans to open a restaurant on his farm.

“We wanted to have that restaurant on the farm last year and we couldn’t, and pubs, they are all for sale,” the Grand Tour presenter said.

“So, we thought instead of building a restaurant we would buy a pub.”

For fans of Clarkson’s farming show, they will be well familiar with the circumstances around the rejection by Oxford County Council.

Speaking about his new role as a pub landlord, he explained that running a pub was “terribly stressful” and said there are many inconveniences that “you don’t think about”.