Paul Welburn to lead the team at The Swan Inn, Islip as chef patron

Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

Deputy Editor

Paul Welburn will be the chef patron at The Swan Inn in Islip, Oxfordshire, as the pub and restaurant reopens under new ownership in the summer

Registered in February and led by local resident Nina Grey, Migg Inns Ltd has taken on the site and appointed Paul Welburn as the chef patron to relaunch it as a public house and fine-dining restaurant.

Refurbishment of the former pub, restaurant and B&B is set to start "imminently," aiming to open this summer.

Paul Welburn, the former executive chef at one Michelin-starred, 3 AA Rosette restaurant The Oxford Kitchen - which was renamed '215 Kitchen & Drinks' to reflect a new, more casual offering, adapted to reflect the realities of the pandemic - stepped away from his role in September last year.

At the time, he emphasised that he didn't want to rush into a new project, but would take as long as he needed to find the right opportunity for the next step in his career, to "pick up where I left off and go again," and to "create something special that hasn't been done in that area."

It appears The Swan Inn is exactly what he had been looking for, as, he said: “It has long been my ambition to be there at the start of a project, with a blank canvas. I am very much looking forward to offering a first-class experience for diners, as well as a place for local people to meet and spend time together.”

Nina Gray said that the idea to take on the Swan Inn had been in the pipeline "for some time" with the idea of making it "a great destination pub and restaurant," but that they had been waiting to find the right person to lead the project.

"Meeting Paul when we did was perfect timing. We are now working with Paul on the re-fit so that it is in accordance with our combined vision," she added, within the confines of restoring a historic building.

"We are looking forward to bringing the Swan Inn back to life!”

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