Tom Kerridge hopes Jeremy Clarkson will flag pub challenges

Clarkson revealed at the weekend that he paid “less than £1 million” for The Windmill, at Asthall Leigh near Burford.

He will sell his own Hawkstone lager as well as produce reared on Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington.

Jeremy Clarkson has bought The Windmill at Asthall Leigh near Burford (Image: Google)

Kerridge, who owns The Hand and Flowers in Buckinghamshire, the first pub with two Michelin stars, said he hopes Clarkson will highlight the challenges that face the hospitality industry in the same way he did with farming when he started his reality show Clarkson’s Farm.

The chef told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “It’s very, very difficult operating a pub. Even if it’s busy and packed on a Saturday night, the profit margin is very, very small, particularly when you’re a wet-led (drink-led) pubs.

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“It’s going to be very difficult. I’m very pleased that Jeremy’s taken that on because what he did for British farming, he showed actually how difficult it was and how hard it was to make it work.

“This will be another opportunity for us and the rest of the UK to see how difficult is it to run a pub because he will come up against the issues and the problems that there are and talk about it and use his voice for good reason.”

Tom Kerridge said Clarkson had highlighted challenges for farming (Image: Mike Egerton/PA)

Kerridge has called for a cut in VAT for hospitality to help those struggling in the industry, following the temporary cut during the Covid pandemic.

He said: “That made a huge difference for the hospitality industry, that was the key to survival and it was massive.

“There are thousands and thousands of restaurants shutting every single year, and pubs, the hospitality industry is really under pressure.

“A 10% reduction in VAT would be the sort of thing that would make the difference between survival and closure.”