Jeremy Clarkson has reportedly banned three popular food and drink items from his Oxfordshire pub.
The former Top Gear host, 64, opened the doors to his Cotswolds pub in August last year, following the success of his Diddly Squat farm shop.
It was claimed he splurged £1,000,000 on the new venture, but since then, The Farmer’s Dog has faced a series of ‘total disasters’.
Not only were they suffering from stolen glasses and unexpected expenses, but Clarkson initially faced immense backlash over prices, when it was revealed that merch was costing up to £60, while pints were £5.50.
It’s now been claimed that certain food items aren’t being sold there, according to a reporter who recently went for lunch.
Birmingham Live’s Emma Gray wrote in her review: ‘The Farmer’s Dog isn’t just a gimmicky experience, the food is really good, it’s well presented and served with pride. I love that everything is produced nearby.’
However, she revealed the pub has a ban on coffee, ketchup and lemonade, and claimed there’s a sign outside explaining they don’t serve the first two and was told about the third when asking for a cider shandy.
Clarkson prides his pub selling local produce, with an announcement on his website reading: ‘I have tried my absolute hardest to make sure that every single thing you consume in The Farmer’s Dog was grown or reared by British farmers. And I have failed.
‘Yes, the pork, the beef, the lamb and the venison are all British. And so is pretty much everything else. The milk, the butter, the eggs, the vegetables and the fruit. We even cook in British oils.
‘But there have been some problems like, for instance, the simple G&T.’
He explains that the quinine found in tonic water doesn’t grow in Britain, saying: ‘Sure, I could have served gin and water instead, but I didn’t think you’d enjoy it very much. Especially as, instead of a slice of lemon, you’d have been given a slice of turnip, or some potato peelings.’
However, the pub doesn’t serve avocado or Coca-Cola, and instead offers ‘British fizzy drinks made with British grown fruit’, as well as British tea and wine.
And certain food items aren’t the only things banned in the pub, after Clarkson made it clear some people are not welcome.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was the first person ‘on the board in the hall to be banned’, Clarkson revealed last year, adding that his former co-star James May and a woman called Maddy Hornby (who requested Tabasco in her Blood Mary) are also on the list.
Late last year, the former Top Gear presenter admitted he was suffering a ‘total disaster’ at the pub and struggling to make profits.
Writing in his column in The Times, he said: ‘It’s galling to see how much effort is required to make so little money on the farm.
‘It’s worse at the pub. The customers are coming. There’s no problem there. But turning their visits into a profit is nigh-on impossible.’
Metro has approached The Farmer’s Dog for comment.
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