If you were a fan of Chloe’s Horner’s café on the Magdalen Road in Oxford (next to Oli’s Thai and now occupied by Green Routes) you’ll be delighted to hear that she’s relaunching Oxfork with a whole new dining concept based from her home in Charlbury in September.
A few years ago Oxfork was where it was at, us foodies flocking for miles to enjoy its avant garde food at supper clubs and pop-up events in unusual locations across Oxford, before she set up shop permanently in East Oxford. She was always way ahead in terms of street food, seasonality and sharing plates.
But having quit to have kids and move to Charlbury, Chloe’s now back with a whole new communal dining concept using a whole raft of local growers, producers and artisans to help make her food sing!
The first events are scheduled (Covid-permitting) for September and October with Chloe’s super-seasonal supper club where you can expect four delicious courses all using great produce including L’altre Vi wine and Missing Bean coffee.
Chloe is also hosting another local female chef, Ashton Winkler Hughes (aka Bash Bites) who calls on her South American heritage to cook fantastic, authentic Mexican food with a nod to seasonal, local and foraged ingredients. Expect this menu to be vibrantly presented and utterly delicious.
“I want to provide a platform for interesting food experiences here in The Cotswolds,” says Chloe. “I love hospitality and eating out and am keen to provide a unique platform for this. Unlike having a restaurant location I’m able to take a punt on some more unusual events.”
So what took her so long? “After having children, taking a full-time chef role or starting another café or restaurant just wasn’t viable for us as a family, so I went back to the drawing board” says Chloe.
“As a working mother I wanted something that would fit around family life, but also I’ve created something outside of the usual confines of traditional hospitality staffing.
“We moved here from East Oxford after a stint travelling with our children, taking a punt on Charlbury, which is close to where we both grew up. I could sense there was a real appetite for food and eating experiences here.
“This was confirmed when I ran a few pilot events before lock-down which all sold out, and when I made takeaway food over lock-down we regularly send out over 100 meals”.
Future events in the pipeline include wine tastings and further collaborations with other fantastic local chefs, producers and much more.
Here is Chloe’s Oxford events calendar:
September Sunday 5, 10am – 12pm – Sunday/Bunday – Missing Bean Coffee and Cinnamon Buns (no need to book, just turn up)
Friday 17, 7.30pm – Bash Bites’ Amazing Mexican Feasting
Saturday 25, 7.30pm – Chloe’s Supper Club, Hyper-local, seasonal five course dinners
October Friday 1, 7.30pm – Chloe’s Supper Club Hyper-local, seasonal five course dinners
Sunday 3, 10am – 12pm – Sunday/Bunday, Missing Bean Coffee and Cinnamon Buns (no need to book, just turn up)
Friday 15, 7.30pm – An evening of food and wine with L’altre Vi: In Celebration of Catalan Reds. A four course dinner with matched Catalan red wines from Oxfordshire-based importers, L’altre Vi.
All tickets and further information available from www.oxfork.co
Bash Bites: https://www.instagram.com/bashbites/ or https://www.ashtonbaked.com
