One of the UK’s most talented chefs will return to the restaurant scene early next year with a unique
collection of openings based in the picturesque village of Cobham in Surrey.
In spring 2024, Ashley Palmer-Watts, who shot to prominence during a 20-year career with The Fat
Duck Group that saw the Dorset-born chef earn two Michelin stars at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at
the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, will launch the first phase of a new culinary destination.
Plans to transform the former site of The Garden Cobham are well underway. The destination 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 beautiful courtyard. In time, luxury guest accommodation
will be added to the offering.
Alongside the varied dining options, the outside space is being restored
to its former glory, with an extensive kitchen garden, all set within an historic, two-acre landscaped
walled garden.
Under the leadership of Palmer-Watts, The Garden Cobham is set to become a new culinary and lifestyle hotspot in Surrey, and will also be available for weddings and private events. Palmer-Watts,
who launched Artisan Coffee Co two years ago, will be showcasing the coffee products throughout the
business.
Palmer-Watts comments: “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. 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.”
