Lady Bamford’s £1m pub is stripped of its Michelin star

SHe is the queen bee of the Cotswolds and owns the fabulously upmarket Daylesford Organic empire beloved of the Chipping Norton set.

Carole Bamford, wife of JCB billionaire Lord Bamford, achieved her crowning glory last year when the pub she owns in the idyllic village of Kingham received its first Michelin star. Dubbed the ‘poshest pub in Britain’, the Wild Rabbit sells six chips for £4 and bottles of BatardMontrachet Grand Cru for £590.

However, just a year later, the venue has been stripped of its accolade. The chef Tim Allen, star of BBC’s Great British Menu, has decided to up sticks and set up his own restaurant in Manchester.

‘ She is obviously very disappointed,’ says a friend. ‘He has only been there two years.’

In an interview Allen gave on taking up the job in 2015, he said; ‘I am in no hurry to change everything and then move on.’ Former air

hostess Lady Bamford spent more than a year and £1 million overseeing the renovation of the former Tollgate pub which opened in 2013 and is down the road from the Daylesford epicentre itself .

Michelin stars are highly coveted in the food and drink industry.

Last month, celebrated French chef Sebastien Bras, whose restaurant boasts three Michelin stars, asked to be stripped of the honour because it put him under ‘huge pressure’.

A spokesman for Lady Bamford tells me: ‘Tim Allen joined the Wild Rabbit as executive chef in October 2015 and a Michelin star was awarded in the 2017 Guide.

‘ With the blessing of everyone here at the Wild Rabbit, Tim has left to relocate his family to Manchester, where he will be opening his own restaurant.

‘ In the 2018 guide, of the 14 restaurants which lost stars, the Wild Rabbit was one of eight restaurants which lost their star due to a change in chef.’

Allen’s replacement is to be announced later this week.