A FORMER Michelin-starred chef who quit his job after his food was branded “too poncey” has vowed to put the incident behind him.

Ryan Simpson and his staff left The Goose at Britwell Salome in February after clashing with owner Paul Castle.

The walk-out came just three weeks after the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star.

Mr Simpson, 27, will open a new restaurant near Henley on Saturday.

He said: “I wish the new team at The Goose the very best of luck. I enjoyed my time there. Now it is time for us to move on and put our mark on this new venture.”

Orwells at Shiplake, based in the village’s former White Hart pub, is the new venture.

Mr Simpson, who is joint leaseholder with life partner and sous chef Liam Trotman, said: “We want there to be something for everyone, which may be a little different from how it was at The Goose.

“Our food won’t be too poncey for guests stopping for a good lunch and you may even see a burger. So you can go into Orwells at Shiplake and enjoy a nice pint and a steak pie as well as oysters, mussels, steak tartare, that kind of thing.

“But The Room will offer the kind of food that I have always strived for — personal modern cooking.”

The Brakspear-tied pub, with room for 65 diners, will be open seven days a week.

Mr Simpson: “When it comes to Michelin stars, we’re not ruling anything out. We would obviously like to win one because they are a fantastic accolade for chefs.

“You don’t have to be producing stuffy food to receive a star, the most important thing is the quality of the product.”

He added: “Leaving The Goose has led us to this opportunity and we are excited about the future. We learned a lot in our time there. Whilst the circumstances surrounding our departure were not ideal, I hope that The Goose does well.”

John Footman, 34, who trained under Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, has been appointed head chef at The Goose and said he hoped to offer “something for everybody”.