Clarkson's Farm star Jeremy Clarkson has suffered a blow to his new pub after a customer reportedly tried claiming a payout over a food intolerance. The former Top Gear presenter revealed that he was forced to trawl through CCTV footage to provide evidence after a patron of his Oxfordshire pub, The Farmer's Dog, tried to claim thousands in compensation. Penning a column for The Times, Jeremy lamented on the woes of running a pub, something he says he's learned the hard way – something he likens to his farming endeavours on Clarkson's Farm.
Inspired by Rupert Everett's act to save his own local pub, the 65-year-old reflected on the ups and downs of going into hospitality, admitting that, "it's harder than anything." The TV personality rattled off a slew of experiences he's overseen as the owner of a pub, including damaged property and fisticuffs between patrons. But he fixated on one incident of a woman who attempted to seek compensation from the pub after claiming to be served beer and not cider.
The woman allegedly claimed that after drinking the beer, it upset her gluten intolerance and forced her to cancel the rest of her holiday, which then saw her seek damages from Jeremy. "What happens a lot more are visits from food intolerance enthusiasts who will claim after they left that you poisoned them and that you must now give them 50,000 of your pounds," the presenter wrote.
"Happily, we have her on CCTV not drinking beer, so we are safe on that one. But often landlords aren't so lucky. Many tell me this food intolerance fraud is now an epidemic," he added. But Jeremy's woes didn't end there. He went on to say that after the cider incident, his pub was also hacked a week after and was subsequently swindled out of £27,000.
"We are told similar attacks were launched in recent months on both M&S and the Co-op," he wrote in his column for The Sun. "But no one thought to mention that my pub, the Farmer’s Dog, has been hit too."
In June, Jeremy admitted to The Times that he was "done" with running businesses, saying: "I am not starting another business as long as I live. I don’t understand it and am not motivated by money. I just want a good craic." However, it appears that not all is entirely calamitous when it comes to being a pub owner with the former Top Gear host admitting that running his own pub certainly has its upsides, too.
"Of course there are good days. My pub's called the Farmer's Dog and on a visit last week I sat in the garden, in the sunshine, with a pint of my own beer, chowing down on a pizza made with dough from my own farm, and it was rural perfection."