Diddly squat restaurant.

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 20:05 (last edited on Sun 24 Jul 2022, 20:07)

Open Table. But rather you than me. I can see it might appeal as an "experience" to families and to fans, but it had a stinking review from the restaurant critic of the Daily Mail, usually a newspaper that supports JC.

It is currently operating on a temporary licence. JC would have to satisfy much more stringent conditions if he tried to make it a permanent fixture. And I doubt very much that WODC officers would be deterred from acting by bad publicity. It is either legal or it is not. 

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 19:54

Choices - some people smoke , some people drink , some people gamble and others spend fortunes on festival tickets !  If there is a supply , the resultant demand will provide a balanced view and confirm viability! Common sense will prevail and i am sure it will be a success 

How does one book a table - sounds fun 

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 17:23

This is rapidly heading for the debate section!

My feeling is:-

He applied for permission and was refused - democracy in action

He appears to have found a way to proceed without the need for planning - a perfectly legitimate move

He farms beef - so it is a restaurant serving beef. If I were a vegetarian I would know that it is not a destination aimed at me.  As a meat eater, I do not go to a vegetarian restaurant and demand to be served meat. Not all farmland is suitable for arable.

We do not live in a communist state - some people can afford to eat out more than others - they pay more tax as well. Since when did the fact some people have more resources mean that they should not enjoy the fruits of their labours in the way they choose - some people can go on holiday, buy new cars etc etc - I have no problem with this if they pay their taxes. The exchequer will be benefitting from the VAT and duty on food and drinks in his restaurant..

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 16:58

Now, would you vocally critisize if JC was a Russian Oligharch? Because it all a classic example of PANF.

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 16:58

A new dining option for the 1% only at those prices in these times.

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 16:39

This is quite comic. Our Jeremy has engineered exactly what he wanted - free publicity!

We must acknowledge that Mr Marmite has out-manoeuvred WODC and that any enforcement action that they take is going to look petty and, therefore, increase popular support.

The man must be chortling into his lager. We must recognise his popularity and embrace it.

Can we not admit that his profile brings good effects to our district?

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 15:33 (last edited on Sun 24 Jul 2022, 15:58)

Good for them, the planning refusal was a joke. Genuinely petty behaviour to object to something that adds a further dining option in an area lacking in them. ‘Light pollution’ was the reason 😂

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 15:18

If planners can't be open minded enough to permit a larger carpark to save the verges being ruined by thoughtless customers ignoring cones, it is not Mr Clarksons fault. I wonder how Daylesford started out? 

Mr C is like marmite you either love or loath. Let's have fair play. 

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 14:38

The restaurant menu changes each day, but focuses on meat (beef mostly, it seems), with no provision of vegetarian or vegan options, so not that great an example of how "to eat seasonally and locally" -- especially since many visitors burn huge amounts of petrol or diesel to get to there.

Going to the loo involve hopping on board the tractor that ferries customers between the shop and the restaurant: there are four portaloos located some 250m from the restaurant (alternatively a quad bike can be used).

I think Jay Rayner got the pricing wrong: £49 (outdoors, beer extra) or £69 outdoors for the (very) select few (free bottle of wine included). Also, the restaurant only takes bookings for parties of 4 or more.

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 13:34

Or an alternative place to enjoy a meal 

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 10:38 (last edited on Sun 24 Jul 2022, 13:21)

Katie, *nothing* that character does would surprise me. I hope that the council will investigate and regulate him as necessary ... and charge him for their work, if applicable.

And regarding the comment that "going to the lavatory isn’t as easy as in your local pub", does this mean that "customers" are expected to do what bears are coloquially said to do (trying to avoid getting too graphic here!)? 

I think we should be told...

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 08:44

Or perhaps - A great example of how to eat - seasonally and locally, minimising food miles, processing, and waste……

Sun 24 Jul 2022, 08:13

This from Jay Rayner's Observer column today:

"Jeremy Clarkson says he has found a loophole in planning regulations which means he can now open a restaurant on his Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire, despite having had an application turned down by the local council earlier this year. The ‘alfresco diner’ will be overseen by chef Pip Lacey of Hicce in King’s Cross and will attempt to use only ingredients from the estate, featured in his Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm. There’s no menu, but according to the blurb on booking site OpenTable, ‘It’s small, mostly outdoors and very rustic. Ordering a beer and going to the lavatory isn’t as easy as in your local pub and we don’t cater to the faddy.’ The set menu costs £69 a head."

Clearly he is intending to ignore the planning rules and decision in favour of controversy and profit. No change there, but can anything be done to enforce the decision?