Cotswold inn bounces back from fire

An historic Cotswold Inn has re-opened its doors following a kitchen fire in late August of this year.

The fire broke out in the kitchen of the 19th Century The Mouse Trap Inn at Bourton on the Water, resulting in an immediate closure of the rooms, bar, and restaurant.

The catastrophic fire occurred one week after Stephen Davies and Michelle Beesley’s one-year anniversary of being the proprietors of the famous Cotswold destination pub and restaurant.

Michelle said: “With the stresses and strains the hospitality industry continues to suffer under, it has been an incredibly tough first year. The fire was an awful terrifying experience to cap that, but if there is a positive, it has meant that we could look at the business and improve our offering."

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The rooms, bar and restaurant are now back up and running again under the stewardship of Michelle, whilst in the background Stephen continues to map-out the future direction of the Inn, having been involved in the development side of the hospitality industry for over 15 years.

Working on many boutique hotels & restaurants across London and more recently the Cotswolds too, some of his most well-known developments include the Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington, the Vintry & Mercer and the 5* Westin London City.

The relaunch has seen Jordan Pelly join the business as Executive Chef. Jordan has worked for the great and the good in the hospitality industry, inspired by his time under chef and restauranteur - Gloucestershire born Tom Kerridge. Passionate about fresh, local produce, Jordan’s menu sees everything prepared in-house.

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Whilst the building continues to be repaired, the kitchen has been relocated to a temporary pod facility which has provided the Mousetraps Chef’s with everything they need to deliver their new offer.

Michelle noted: “Our latest menu puts a lot of demand on our kitchen team in terms of the amount of careful preparation required to sustain such high-quality dishes and so the temporary kitchen has been such a lifeline in helping us achieve that.”