Thu 28th Sep 2017 - Greene King launches first joint-venture concept as it partners with Tom Kerridge Greene King launches first joint-venture concept as it partners with Tom Kerridge: Brewer and retailer Greene King is to launch a joint venture with chef Tom Kerridge with the opening of The Butcher’s Tap in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The project marks the first of Greene King’s joint-venture concepts, an innovative new programme for its Pub Partners division that will see the company team up with the “best entrepreneurs and innovators that have the courage to be bold and try something new”. The Butcher’s Tap, which will open in November in Spittal Street, will function as a butcher’s shop and bar until 5pm when the space will operate a simple meat-led food offering with beer on tap, wine and spirits as well as community nights. Kerridge is working with friend and butcher Andy Cook, who has been providing produce for the chef’s two-Michelin-starred pub the Hand and Flowers for almost ten years. The Butcher’s Tap’s menu will feature braised faggots and hot pots, homemade pies, scotch eggs and sausage rolls. The bar will stock a selection of real ale, lager and spirits, with a small but ever-revolving choice of wine. Kerridge said: “We want The Butcher’s Tap to be the heart and soul of Marlow, somewhere you can pop in every week for your usual order that we’ll have ready for you but also a place you can have a pint and a hot pork pie straight out of the oven.” Greene King Pub Partners managing director Clive Chesser added: “We aim to work with the best in the business and are thrilled the next step of our ongoing partnership with Tom Kerridge also marks the start of what we hope will be a major development in our Pub Partners division. The Butcher’s Tap is the first of our innovative new joint-venture concepts and our partnership in Marlow combines a world-famous chef with two Michelin stars alongside a first-class butcher with huge experience and Greene King’s brands and retail expertise. We have enjoyed a long and rewarding partnership with Tom Kerridge that has seen the Hand & Flowers in Marlow go from strength to strength and I cannot think of a better partner with whom to launch our joint-venture programme. These concepts will see us working with innovators in the industry to come up with new ideas to expand the potential of a pub and enhance even further the role it plays in a community.”