New £2m restaurant for Oxfordshire
Chef Roger Gorman, who has worked with both Stephen Bull and Gary Rhodes, plans to launch his own restaurant in Burford, Oxfordshire, this December.
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Gorman announced this spring that he was leaving his role as head chef at Bull's Lough Pool Inn in Sellack, Herefordshire, to find his own place in the Cotswolds. He was aiming to open the new venture before Christmas.
Gorman and his wife Helen Patrick expect to finalise the sale on a 14th century, 65-seat restaurant and 14-bedroom hotel in Burford on 10 December, when they will take over the business. They are reluctant to reveal a name until the deal is completed.
Gorman, Patrick and a couple of ‘sleeping partner' investors have agreed to pay in excess of the £2m asked by the current owners who plan to retire after running the property for 20 years.
Patrick said the plan was to double the number of restaurant seats to 100 within six months, and to add a brasserie. There was also scope to build some larger family bedroom rooms above the garage.
But, she added, few changes would be made, even to the menu, until the New Year as Christmas arrangements were already in place.
Patrick, who has spent the last five years as senior sales manager for UK retail at International Wine Services, also plans to create a "gourmet wine experience".