Merrett and Etridge in joint venture

Michelin-starred chef Paul Merrett is going into business with gastropub entrepreneur Tom Etridge at his latest London venture, the Farm in Fulham.

	!
	Merrett: more sites planned

The new bar and restaurant is expected to open in mid-August and will be the first of several joint projects planned by the duo. "Tom and I are collaborating on the Farm and hope to build towards a partnership involving other sites in the future," said Merrett. Etridge said the pair planned to open another two to three sites similar to the Farm over the next couple of years. Merrett, who has won Michelin stars in the past, will run the kitchens at the Farm, taking a step away from his fine-dining history. He left Marlon Abela's one-Michelin-starred Greenhouse restaurant in Mayfair at the end of February Etridge said the restaurant would combine what they had been doing in the past. "It will be more brasserie style than fine-dining, but maintaining the quality." A £750,000 conversion of the pub, which had stood empty for two years, started in February this year (Caterer, 26 February). Etridge's second new project, the Running Horse in Mayfair, is expected to open in early 2005 following a £500,000 redesign as a 48-seat, fine-dining restaurant. Etridge's other businesses are the Waterway in Maida Vale, and the Ebury in Chelsea. He sold the Wells in Hampstead to partner Beth Coventry at the beginning of April. *Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 17 June 2004*