Chef creates ‘Petworth pudding’ to mark pub’s 430th anniversary

Creative culinarian Mark has added special secret ingredients to the established recipe to come up with ‘Petworth puddings’ to accompany the pub’s hugely popular roast dinners.

The inspiration for Mark has been the 430th anniversary of the establishment, with first recorded mention of an inn on the site in the town dating back to 1591.

He said: “When I heard that the pub had such a rich, long and colourful history I knew I had to somehow mark what is an astonishing anniversary.

“The puddings are subtly different to the traditional Yorkshire puddings and we have dubbed them Petworth puddings and we served them with our roast dinners – and I have to admit the response from our diners has been brilliant.

“I won’t say exactly what the mystery ingredients are for now as we are having great fun with customers who are trying to tell us what they think once they have done the taste test.”

Pub manager Gemma McNally has supported Mark in his creativity and says she is planning some other celebratory events throughout the summer to mark the anniversary.

She said: “I was simply stunned when I discovered that the earliest mention of the pub dates back to 1591! I’d love to know the price of a pint back then that’s for sure!

“I am continuing to research the history of The Star but, for sure, we will hold a couple of events soon – there is no way we want to let this momentous anniversary pass without being properly celebrated.

“At first, I thought we may even be one of the oldest pubs in Britain but we are actually way off, which really surprised me. It seems The Old Ferry Boat Inn, in St Ives, has a strong claim to be the oldest UK pub as booze has been served on the site since 560!”