Former Grain Store chef buys Michelin-starred Butchers Arms

Chef Mark Block has bought the Michelin-starred Butchers Arms in Eldersfield off a guide price of £750,000.

Block, a former head chef of Bruno Loubet's Grain Store in London's King's Cross and executive chef of Bluebird in Chelsea, was most recently head chef at Benugo's Stephen St Kitchen at the British Film Institute.

He has bought the 30-cover pub near Gloucester with his wife Jo-Anne. They said they were "very excited" about the "great opportunity" of taking on the pub, which was named Michelin's 2016 Pub of the Year.

The Blocks reopened the pub on 9 January. Introducing themselves on its website they wrote: "We are the Block family. My husband Mark is the chef and I Jo-Anne will run front of house. We have two daughters, Audrey and Jasmine.

"The Butchers Arms will continue to serve excellent food in the same style. We aim to continue the good work of James and Elizabeth. We look forward to seeing you soon and will fully update the remaining pages of the website in the near future."

The pub's former chef-owner James Winter and his wife Elizabeth bought the venue in 2007 and plan to take a year off with their family to travel.

Nicholas Calfe, director at Christie & Co's Bristol office who handled the sale, said: "Good quality freehold pubs, particularly those with letting rooms or scope to add rooms have always been in demand, so fewer opportunities available in the market place have created competition amongst buyers, enabling our vendors to achieve maximum price."

The Butchers Arms is crowned Michelin's 2016 Pub of the Year >>

Mark Block named as Bluebird's new executive chef >>

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