Head chef to open Ei gastropub after £200,000 investment

01-Jun-2017 - Last updated on 02-Jun-2017 at 10:32 GMT

Great example: Head chef takes on new pub

An established head chef with 35 years’ experience has teamed up with Ei Publican Partnerships to open his first pub following a joint investment of £200,000.

Peter Brown, who has worked as head chef at a number of restaurants and hotels, plans to use his skills and knowledge to turn the White Horse, Upper Poppleton, York, into a community pub that champions local produce.

Brown, who was “born and bred” in the area, said: “I’m passionate about cooking and wanted to give something back to the community I grew up in.

“Ei Publican Partnerships shared my vision for the pub and helped invest the money needed to put the White Horse on the map as a gastronomic destination.

“My wife and I were both born and raised in the village, with my strong background in food and my wife’s front-of-house experience, we’ve played to our strengths and transformed the pub into somewhere the community can truly call their local.”

Dreams into reality

Brown’s menu will showcase local meat produce from Yorkshire Dales Meat Company, and vegetables and cheeses from Simon Baynes.

Ei Publican Partnerships regional manager Greg Smith said: “Peter is a great example of the calibre of publicans in our estate and demonstrates that you don’t need to have a background in running pubs to take on a pub and turn your dream into reality.”

The pub officially reopened on Friday 26 May, the same weekend as Upper Poppleton village fete, which saw more than 1,500 locals pass through the village and stop for a pint at the revamped pub.