Jeremy Clarkson has opened a new pub near his Oxfordshire farm and has shared some of the challenges he has faced since he decided to venture into the hospitality industry
Jeremy Clarkson has disclosed that his co-star Kaleb Cooper ejected a patron from his pub, The Farmer’s Dog, on launch day after asking him a single question.
Fans have loved watching Clarkson and Kaleb tackle the many challenges of running Diddly Squat Farm on his acclaimed Amazon Prime programme.
In 2024, the former Grand Tour presenter chose to open a new pub near his Oxfordshire farm.
In his latest book, Diddly Squat: The Farmer’s Dog, the 65-year-old revealed that the establishment had a bumpy start even before its official launch.
Clarkson explained that the finishing touches were hampered by setbacks, red tape, and costly blunders, reports Wales Online.
From deciding whether to fit a defibrillator behind the bar to navigating fire safety rules for a chrome vintage tractor intended to hang from the ceiling, Clarkson admitted the process was full of unforeseen difficulties.
When The Farmer’s Dog finally opened, Clarkson had devised a distinctive approach—an upstairs bar reserved exclusively for agricultural workers.
“Only farmers would be allowed in here,” he declared. “Many had asked how we’d be able to tell. Ha. Because you just can.”
However, that rule was quickly tested.
During the trial opening, a man who looked the part ventured upstairs.
“His wardrobe was pretty convincing,” Clarkson wrote. “But his shoes were wrong.”
Clarkson decided to interrogate him. “I asked him, ‘What’s glyphosate?’ He said, ‘Weedkiller,’ and I let him past. But Kaleb still wasn’t convinced.”
Kaleb, known for his straightforward approach, challenged the alleged farmer with a decisive question: “How many acres are there in a hectare?”
When the man hesitated and guessed, “Er… twelve?”, Kaleb was quick to respond: “Out,” he commanded.
That unlucky guest wasn’t the only mishap of the day. Clarkson revealed that shortly afterward, “the water had run out, the power was flickering again, and cooking had stopped. It was our opening day, and it wasn’t an opening day at all.”
Things have since improved, but Clarkson warned future patrons to manage their expectations. “Your lunch, if it arrives at all, is costing us a lot more than it’s costing you. So please be kind.”
The pub, formerly known as The Windmill, is located in Asthall, near Burford in Oxfordshire, and was reopened by Clarkson on August 23, 2024.
Clarkson stocks his own Hawkstone lager at the venue and aims to source all produce from British farmers.
In a statement on the pub’s website, he acknowledged that some ingredients, such as quinine in tonic water, cannot be grown in Britain but stressed that they are “doing all we possibly can to support British farming.”
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