Unbelievable, This Dish Is Back At Jeremy Clarkson’s Restaurant After ‘Storm’ Of Requests From Customers.
Jeremy Clarkson Finally Lifts Pub Ketchup Ban After Huge Customer Demand
After months of refusing to serve one of Britain’s most popular condiments, Jeremy Clarkson has finally given in. The Clarkson’s Farm star has confirmed that tomato sauce will now be available at his Oxfordshire pub, The Farmer’s Dog, following overwhelming customer demand — but with a Clarkson-style twist.
When the 64-year-old opened The Farmer’s Dog in August 2024, he famously declared the establishment a “no ketchup zone.” His reasoning? The pub would serve “exclusively British food,” and since most ketchup is made with ingredients grown overseas, it was off the menu.
The decision sparked countless requests from punters — thousands, in fact — all asking him to reconsider. Clarkson initially stood firm, even reportedly putting up a sign telling people to stop asking for it. But behind the scenes, a plan was forming.
The breakthrough came when Kent-based condiment company Condimaniac developed a ketchup using only British-grown ingredients. Clarkson’s team immediately reached out to secure the sauce for both the pub and his nearby Diddly Squat Farm Shop.
Condimaniac’s founder, Kier Kemp, revealed in an Instagram video that creating a 100% British ketchup was no easy task.
“Making a fully British ketchup after Jeremy Clarkson pointed out there wasn’t one was very hard,” Kemp explained. “It turned out to be really hard.”
The finished product is made from Isle of Wight tomato passata, apple cider vinegar from Hampshire, salt from Essex, plus sugar and onions grown entirely in the UK. To overcome the absence of a purely British tomato purée, the team added carrots and onions as natural thickeners.
The first batch — just 1,700 bottles — will be sold at The Farmer’s Dog, Clarkson’s butcher and bottle shop, and the Diddly Squat Farm Shop in Chipping Norton starting Friday, 15 August.
The ketchup U-turn marks a rare concession from Clarkson, whose opening menu rules for the pub were famously strict. In addition to banning ketchup, he refused to serve coffee or Coca-Cola, telling customers: “Other pubs do coffee. We do British food.” Every ingredient on the menu, he insisted, would be sourced from British farmers — “even the black pepper and the sugar.”
Clarkson bought the Asthall-based pub, formerly known as The Windmill, for under £1 million. Its launch featured in Clarkson’s Farm and quickly drew attention not only for its bold menu choices but also for its lack of visible prices. That absence sparked speculation that dishes would be more expensive than average for the area.
When one person joked on social media that they’d have to remortgage their home to afford a round of drinks, Clarkson sharply replied: “It’s £5.50 a pint.”
While the no-ketchup policy may have made sense for Clarkson’s British-only ethos, it quickly became one of the most talked-about quirks of his new venture. The reversal is likely to please fans — and perhaps attract even more customers curious to try Britain’s first Clarkson-approved ketchup.
For Condimaniac, the collaboration is a big win. The small-batch sauce maker is known for its creative, handcrafted condiments, but this project may be one of its most high-profile to date. In Kemp’s words, it was a challenge worth taking on: “Jeremy wanted it as soon as possible. So we made it happen.”
It’s not the first time Clarkson has courted controversy — or publicity — with a stubborn stance, only to later make a dramatic pivot. But as with many of his ventures, there’s as much entertainment value in the decision-making as in the product itself.
Whether the ketchup will become a permanent fixture at The Farmer’s Dog remains to be seen. But for now, Clarkson’s fans — and perhaps even a few doubters — can finally enjoy their chips the way they want them.
