Introducing Ben Watson, former Sous Chef at Core by Clare Smyth, and his wife Priya, who have re-opened the doors to this rural favourite.
Ben, his wife and their young daughter Lily have left the hustle and bustle of London life for the idyllic countryside setting nestled at the bottom of the Chiltern Hills. Though the area isn’t new to Ben at all as he grew up in Henley and worked in local pubs such as The Five Horseshoes at Maidensgrove, The Crown at Playhatch and he fondly remembers stories about his Grandmother’s pub, The White Hart in Binfield Heath (now Orwell’s Restaurant), so you could say that hospitality is in his blood.
Ben left Henley when he was 18, moved to London and pursued a career in hospitality. During his time in London, Ben worked at Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social & Little Social, Restaurant Gordon Ramsey and Core by Clare Smyth. Priya was front of house at Little Social, The Square, Gymkhana and latterly was Reception Manager at Brigadiers. After their daughter Lily was born, they decided the time was right to work for themselves and they took the plunge.
So now the time is right for Ben and his family to relocate back to his roots and have his daughter benefit from the same opportunity he had of growing up in and around the beautiful South Oxfordshire countryside.
Ben is really keen to build on the great reputation for food that The Golden Ball previously had, being food led, with excellent produce at accessible prices. There will be a small, regularly changing menu which will focus on using the best local and seasonal products we can find.
