Not even awards and the unmistakable stamp of the Red Guide can shield quality restaurants from the challenges of today’s economy. Dominic Chapman, a leading name on the British culinary scene, has permanently closed the doors of The Crown, the renowned red-brick gastropub in Burchetts Green.
The Illusion of Awards and the Harsh Reality of the Numbers
“It’s truly sad to have to close The Crown, but in the end, the numbers simply didn’t add up,” the chef admitted candidly. A statement that sounds an alarm for the industry as a whole: accolades — including a place in the Michelin Guide and 22nd position in the Top 50 Gastropubs ranking — are not enough to bridge the gap between rising operating costs and limited capacity.
Taken over by Simon Bonwick’s family in May 2022 — after he had earned a Michelin Star there in 2016 — The Crown quickly won acclaim for its authentic cooking, generous dishes, comforting flavours and carefully curated selection of beers and wines. But the perfect alchemy on the plate did not translate into financial sustainability for a dining room with only a limited number of covers.
From The Fat Duck to Television Success
A fourth-generation member of the family behind the renowned Castle Hotel in Taunton, Chapman has an impressive CV. After training at some of the temples of fine dining, including three-Michelin-starred The Fat Duck and Kensington Place alongside Rowley Leigh, he went on to serve as executive chef at Heston Blumenthal’s The Hinds Head.
His personal success continued in the years that followed: first earning a Michelin Star and three AA Rosettes at the Royal Oak in Paley Street, then launching the Beehive in 2014, before appearing on the small screen in the cult BBC television series Great British Menu.
A New XXL Adventure: The Jack Is Born
If the doors of The Crown have closed, a new and more ambitious challenge has already opened for the British chef, alongside his business partner Nigel Sutcliffe. The pair are now focusing all their energy on The Jack O’Newbury (shortened to “The Jack”), a space in Binfield that has been completely renovated to overcome the structural limitations that affected the previous project.
The new destination for food and hospitality is built around very different numbers and spaces:
- More room: an 80-seat dining room, alongside a cosy private lounge bar known as “The Snug”;
- A truly short supply chain: two acres of private land featuring a dedicated kitchen garden and a spacious terrace;
- Hospitality on every level: 11 bedrooms spread across the main building and a beautifully restored barn.
“Now I can dedicate all my energy to this project, which we care deeply about, and we’re ready to make it take off,” Chapman concludes. A dramatic change of direction that shows how, in today’s market, the recipe for success requires not only talent in the kitchen, but also the right spaces and sustainable business models.
