Last week, the former Top Gear star shut the doors of the Farmer’s Dog in Burford, Oxfordshire, for an evening dedicated to the 170 staff members who help run the venue and its wider hospitality operation.
The guest list included employees from all corners of the business, from parking attendants to bar staff, kitchen teams and shop assistants as well as team members from Clarkson’s Hawkstone Brewery arm.
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Sharing details of the event to Instagram on Tuesday 7 July, the pub said: “We shut the pub for a night and took some time to celebrate with the 170 wonderful people who make it all happen at the Dog, in the kitchens, the pub, Hops & Chops and the Diddly Squat Farm Shop - in the tent as well as in the prep kitchen and the team from the car parks and alongside some of our friends from Hawkstone [Brewery], who we rely on to keep our many bars flowing.
Wonderful team
“We couldn’t be more grateful to this wonderful team for making a visit to the Dog so special.”
In a video also shared to Instagram, Clarkson can be seen thanking employees, describing them all as “superstars”.
“Enjoy the evening. you are all absolute superstars. Thank you. Oh, and also the food’s very good,” he said.
Commenting on the social media post, his partner Lisa Hogan described the event as an “epic night”.
Elsewhere, commenters praised Clarkson for treating his staff and recognising the team’s hard work.
Highs & lows
Local three-piece rock band Young Rosie, who hail from nearby Faringdon, kept guests entertained during the celebrations, alongside saxophonist Sam Sax.
The Who Wants to be a Millionaire? host, who also runs the Diddly Squat Farm and shop in nearby Chipping Norton, first opened the pub in August 2024.
Since opening, the venue has encountered a series of well-publicised challenges, including hundreds of stolen pint glasses and significant financial losses despite being fully booked every day.
The highs and lows of the business have been documented in the Amazon Prime TV series Clarkson’s Farm, which follows Clarkson’s farming and hospitality ventures.
