Ashley Palmer-Watts returns to the industry with multi-faceted Surrey restaurant project
Billed as a ‘unique collection of openings’, The Garden Cobham will incorporate a 35-seat high-end restaurant with additional seating on a garden terrace, a 52-seat wine bar, a café, and a bakery, all set around a courtyard.
The first phase of the project - which is described as new culinary and lifestyle hotspot in Surrey - is expected to launch in Spring next year with luxury guest accommodation set to be added to the offering soon after.
Work is already on the way, with the outside space currently being restored to create an extensive kitchen garden, all set within an historic, two-acre landscaped walled garden.
“I can’t wait to be back in the heart of the industry, drawing on all my experience of opening various restaurants at different levels within The Fat Duck Group,” Palmer-Watts says.
“It’s an incredible location, and with food history being of such interest, particularly in recent years, to be able to bring life back into the walled garden and reimagine it with a collection of food experiences is a dream come true for me. I look forward to sharing further details of the project as we near completion of the work.”
Palmer-Watts left Blumenthal's The Fat Duck Group in 2020 after almost 20 years.
The Dorset-born chef began working as a sous chef at The Fat Duck in Bray in 2001 during the restaurant’s ascendancy to three Michelin-star status.
He became head chef in 2003 aged just 25 and oversaw the opening of London’s Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in 2011, which went on to win two Michelin stars.
Palmer-Watts has spent the past few years creating and launching high-end coffee business Artisan Coffee Co., which will be showcased throughout The Garden Cobham.
