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Jeremy Clarkson gave a telling answer to a question about his struggling pub, The Farmer’s Dog, when he appeared on Good Morning Britain on Friday.
His boozer, which opened its doors last month, only uses produce from Great Britain— including even the less obvious seasonings such as pepper and salt — all in the hopes of further supporting British farmers.
However, this has left the former Top Gear presenter in a bit of a pickle as he quickly discovered the significantly higher costs for home-grown products.
And it appeared The Grand Tour host was not up for discussing the recent challenges because when showbiz correspondent Richard Arnold enquired about it, he shut the conversation down with one word: ‘Don’t.’
Alongside his motoring pals James May and Richard Hammond, Jeremy, 64, admitted that before opening the establishment, he was warned not to do it.
Jeremy Clarkson gave a telling answer to a question about his struggling pub, The Farmer’s Dog, when he appeared on Good Morning Britain on Friday (Pictured L to R: James May, Jeremy, Richard Hammond and Richard Arnold)
His boozer, which opened its doors last month, only uses produce from Great Britain — this includes even the less obvious seasonings such as pepper and salt — all in the hopes of further supporting British farmers
Fellow presenter James said: ‘It’s making money, isn’t it? And it’s easy to run,’
Jeremy then quickly retorted and revealed the sage advice he ignored from friends such as James Blunt and Guy Ritchie.
He said: ‘No. It’s properly difficult. He said not to get one. He said “I’ve got one, don’t get one,” and I got one. James Blunt also told me not to get one, Guy Ritchie told me not to get one.’
It comes after he confessed he is likely losing ‘£10 per customer’ at his new pub in the Cotswolds because of his strict business model.
The TV star said he hoped to make a success of The Farmer’s Dog but added using only British produce meant that profit margins would be much lower.
He said using pork from his Diddly Squat farm would cost 0.74p to turn into sausage to be sold at the pub.
But if he used imported pig meat it would be 0.18p.
‘It costs us 0.74p to get a sausage into here, but if I buy imported pig meat it is 0.18. There is something wrong with the food system in this country.’
And it appeared The Grand Tour host was not up for discussing the recent challenges because when when showbiz correspondent Richard Arnold enquired about it, he quipped ‘Don’t’
Alongside his motoring pals James May and Richard Hammond, Jeremy, 64, admitted that before opening the establishment, he was warned not to do it
It comes after he confessed he is likely losing ‘£10 per customer’ at his new pub in the Cotswolds because of his strict business model
The TV star said he hoped to make a success of The Farmer’s Dog, but added using only British produce meant that profit margins would be much lower
As well as his financial woes, Jeremy revealed he has created a VIP bar at the pub, but it is just for farmers.
The former Top Gear presenter said that only agricultural workers were allowed in the ‘upstairs bar’ at his boozer, called The Farmer’s Dog.
Speaking last week, Jeremy — who runs the 1,000 farm Diddly Squat in nearby Chadlington, just 12 miles from the pub — said staff found it easy to recognise who was a farmer and who wasn’t.
He said the ‘guys at the upstairs bar’ had no problems with knowing who their punters were, adding: ‘Only farmers (are) allowed in here.
‘Many asked how we’d be able to tell… you just can.’
He said, however, that when the pub opened its doors for the first time last month, he quizzed a bloke trying to get into the upstairs VIP bar.
Writing in The Sunday Times last week, he said: ‘On the morning of our soft opening, someone whose wardrobe was pretty convincing did go up the stairs.
More than 400 people waited hours to be the first to enter Jeremy’s new pub
A board placed outside The Farmer’s Dog stating that everything inside Jeremy’s new pub is grown and raised in Great Britain
‘His shoes, though, were wrong, so I asked him “What’s glyphosate?” he said “Weedkiller”, and I let him past.
‘But Kaleb (Cooper) still wasn’t convinced. “How many acres are there in a hectare?” he asked, the man replied “Er twelve?” — “Out”, Kaleb ordered.’
There are 2.47 acres in a hectare.
People waited patiently for a taste of his £6 pint of Hawkstone beer or the chance to tuck into an £18 plate of sausage and mash at the opening.
However, one disgruntled Instagram user slammed the prices as ‘sick’ and said: ‘Really necessary to charge those prices? Absolutely ripping people off because it’s on TV.’
But Jeremy defended the prices and said: ‘Every single thing was grown by British farmers, even the black pepper and sugar!’
But buying directly from local producers and guaranteeing fair pay for British farmers means an increase in price for pub customers.
Hawkstone IPA, Hawkstone Premium, Hawkstone Hedgerow Cider, and Hawkstone Cider all come in at £6 a pint, a half-pint will set punters back £3.10.
Soap on sale in The Farmer’s Dog
A wide variety of Diddly Squat Farm products were on sale at a pop-up shop in the grounds of The Farmer’s Dog pub
Hawkstone Session Lager comes in at the fractionally cheaper cost of £5.50 per pint, which is the same price for a Hawkstone Pils, Hawkstone Breeze, and cask ale — halves of which are £2.90.
The pub also sells cans of alcohol-free Hawkstone Spa lager for £3.10.
Along with steak pie and mash (£19), other main courses include gammon steak (£19), sausages and mash (£18), as well as a vegetable and cheddar crumble (£15).
Puddings cost around £8 with both apple crumble and cheesecake on the menu.