The Chef & Brewer collection is a group of more than 150 countryside pub-restaurants in the United Kingdom, owned by Greene King. The venues typically offer a menu of traditional pub food alongside seasonal specials, cask ales, and other drinks, with an emphasis on relaxed, rural settings.
History
The leisure, manufacturing and property conglomerate Grand Metropolitan, which later became part of Diageo, sold the estate that formed the Chef & Brewer business to Scottish & Newcastle in 1993 in a part-cash, part-debenture deal worth £708 million.1 In 2003 Scottish & Newcastle auctioned the Chef & Brewer business, which was acquired by the Spirit Group. In 2005 the Spirit Group was itself acquired by Punch Taverns.2 Following its demerger from Punch Taverns in 2011, the Chef & Brewer chain became part of the newly formed Spirit Pub Company plc. Spirit was subsequently acquired by Greene King in June 2015.3
The pubs have featured in Tesco Clubcard promotions and are part of the Blue Light Card scheme for emergency services personnel, the NHS, the UK teaching community, social care sector workers and the armed forces.4
Locations
A number of Chef & Brewer venues are based in historic public houses or former inns:
- The Riverside, Branston Burton on Trent is a flagship Chef & Brewer hotel and restaurant.
- The Barley Mow, Clifton Hampden, Oxfordshire, dating to 1352.5
- The De Trafford Arms in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, dates back over 200 years.6
- Hutt in Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire, was built in 1400.7
- The Cross Keys in Guisborough, North Yorkshire, became a coaching inn in 1800.
- The Traveller's Rest in Nottingham served as a half-way house for herders of the Goose Fair.8
- The Ferry Inn in Wilford, Nottingham, serving the namesake ferry crossing chartered by Edward III that served the city for centuries.9
- The Unicorn in Cheshire dates back over 100 years.
- The Romper in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, dates back 450 years.
- The Blundell Arms in Horwich, Greater Manchester, dates back to at least the 17th century.10
- The frontage of the Nags Head in Burntwood, Staffordshire, dates back to 1650.11
- Gatwick Manor in Crawley, West Sussex, dates back to the 15th century.12
References
References
- Helen Kay. "Bottom's up for Grand Met with shift in focus to potent brands". The Independent. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- "120, pp. 2–19". Brewery History. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- "Popped corks as Greene King-Spirit pub partnership gets green light". City A.M. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- "Clubcard". Tesco. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- Sherwood, Jennifer; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1974). The Buildings of England: Oxfordshire. Penguin Books. p. 550. ISBN 0-14-071045-0.
- "De Trafford Arms Chef & Brewer - Alderley Edge Cheshire". Pub Explorer. 19 February 1910. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- "Ashfield District Council: Annesley and Ravenshead". Ashfield District Council. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- "Travellers Rest in Nottingham, Chef & Brewer". Chef & Brewer. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- "Ferry Inn in Wilford, Nottingham, Chef & Brewer". Chef & Brewer. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- Historic England. "Blundell Arms public house (Grade II) (1067323)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
- "Food review of Nag's Head, Rugeley Road, Burntwood WS7 9HA". Express & Star. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
- "Gatwick Manor in Lowfield Heath, Crawley, Chef & Brewer". Chef & Brewer. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2016.