Tom Sellers’ new culinary chapter for Stoke Park
Chef Tom Sellers is to open five new eating and drinking sites at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire, purported to be Britain’s oldest country club and now owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia.
The luxury venue near Slough –but more importantly for its clientele within easy reach of both Heathrow and central London –has been closed for renovations since its sale in 2021. Meanwhile its 300-acre estate, designed by Capability Brown and Humphrey Repton, has continued to host the Boodles pre-Wimbledon tennis challenge, while the golf course reopened earlier this summer.
Best known for Restaurant Story in Southwark, Tom will launch the new food and beverage sites next month, led by a 48-cover flagship restaurant called The Penn after John Penn, grandson of Pennsylvania founder William Penn, who developed Stoke Park in the late 18th century.
The Penn will serve a seasonal à la carte menu said to be ‘shaped by British culinary history’, with dishes including a terrine of spiced pig’s head with Scottish langoustine, roast wild sea bass with Orkney scallop, and venison Wellington Rossini. The menu will also showcase produce from Stoke Park’s kitchen garden, which is now run by Kate Manners, former head gardener at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.
Tom’s company HiStory Hospitality will also be responsible for Stoke Park’s Piano Bar, focusing on cocktails; its Terrace & Glasshouse, offering an informal menu including salads, with pizzas and barbecue on the terrace; a Tea Room for morning coffee and afternoon tea; and The Clubhouse for pub classics and Indian meals.
Tom says: “We are thrilled to be opening at Stoke Park, joining the legendary estate at this pivotal point in its history. Creative storytelling through food is inherent to everything we do at HiStory Hospitality, so it is an honour to be writing the next culinary chapter for Stoke Park, and we’re incredibly excited to open the doors and to become part of the story. “.
Sumeet Taneja, head of hospitality at Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate Reliance Industries, said: “The restoration and renovation of this historic estate have been a remarkable journey, undertaken with great care and consideration to honour its rich heritage while enhancing the exceptional experience we offer our guests. We are beyond delighted to be working with Tom Sellers and his team on our F&B collection, bringing our guests from near and far something truly special, whatever the occasion.”
Tom opened Restaurant Story to instant acclaim in 2013, having cut his teeth under top chefs including Adam Byatt and Tom Aikens in London, Thomas Keller in New York and Rene Redzepi in Copenhagen. He followed up with Story Cellar in Soho, and most recently opened restaurant Mor on the Carbis Bay estate in St Ives, Cornwall this summer.
