Former Goose head chef Ryan Simpson to open new restaurant

Ryan Simpson, the former head chef at the Michelin-starred Goose in Britwell Salome, who walked out in a row over whether or not his food was too ‘poncey' is to launch a new restaurant in Oxfordshire.

Simpson walked away from the Goose in February this year following a dispute with its owner, Paul Castle, just weeks after he won a Michelin star at the venue.

Now he is set to launch a pub/restaurant called Orwells in Shiplake, Henley on Thames alongside business partner Liam Trotman, former sous-chef at the Goose. The new venture is set to open on 1 May.

Simpson and Trotman have taken on a free-of-tie lease with Oxfordshire-based pub company Brakspear for the site, which was previously called The White Hart at Shiplake.

And the offering at Orwells is set to be different to the Goose, with both a formal and less formal setting for diners.

"We have a lovely big garden area so we are going to be offering a lot less formal food than we were at the Goose. But we also have a section which we are going to promote as ‘The Room at Orwells'," Simpson told Caterersearch.

"So you can go into Orwells and enjoy a nice pint and a steak tartare, oysters, mussels, that kind of thing. But The Room is going to offer the kind of food that we got known for at the Goose," he added.

The Goose, which closed briefly following Simpson's departure re-opened earlier this month under new head chef John Footman, formerly the head chef at the Michelin-starred Nut Tree pub.

John Footman to succeed Ryan Simpson as head chef at the Goose >>

Michelin-starred Goose closes after row between chefs and owner >>

Goose's new head chef aims to regain Michelin star >>

By Neil Gerrard
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