Ever heard of The Kingham Plough? It’s kinda a big thing. In fact, I came all the way from Croydon specifically to see it. I am apparently following in the footsteps of The Hairy Bikers and Tom Kerridge’s Proper Pub Food (neither of which, presumably, travelled from Croydon). Located in the picturesque Oxfordshire village of Kingham, The Kingham Plough has been under the auspices of Chef Emily Watkins and her husband Miles since 2007. And they’ve been doing alright since then…
How about that food then? Head chef Emily’s got an impressive portfolio of work that involves time at The Fat Duck, as a private chef in London and working at a restaurant in Florence, Italy. All of this has presumably come together in the Cotswold gastro-joy you are now reading about. First impression? Proper ‘country pub’, but not ‘country old man pub’. Splendid. Like a pub it does ‘pub stuff’ like quizzes on alternate Sunday evenings and has local breweries on cask. But it’s only a pub in the way that, say, a Monet is ‘only’ art – calling it a pub would be a simplification.
The Plough’s A La Carte Menu is pretty small – 5 mains, 4 starters, 4(ish) desserts with a focus on English cuisine. It changes every month and, like many good restaurants, they source as much stuff locally as they can. Seasonality and rapid change are the themes. When I meet her, Emily is friendly enough and rather distracted. She’s currently got her fourth child in the way (impressive) and has actual work to do here. So I try not to distract her too much with inane questions about living on a milk farm, or what it’s like having Sipsmith’s Master Distiller as a neighbour. All in all it’s a fine stay full of fine company, fine food and…tea. Lots of tea. Also if you like old world wines and you’re in this neck of the woods, The Kingham Plough is probably for you.