Paul Clerehugh played bass with Geordie punks the Toy Dolls, and with those celebrated headcases John Otway and Wild Willie Barrett before turning his hand to concert promoting. He then taught himself how to cook. This is a peculiarly British approach to a career, and one that is very appealing. Though Paul's mastery of as many as three chords is not in doubt, and his concerts were doubtless famous for freeflowing snakebite, he's now better known as chef-patron of one of the nation's best country gastropubs.
To get to The Crooked Billet, you meander down a twisty green lane towards the village of Stoke Row. This part of Berkshire is deciduously green and decidedly gorgeous. Surrounded by the silver sound of birdsong and bouncy meadows, it is the perfect country pub. Built in 1642, it offers a stunted front door, odd angles and a higgledy roof, all accessorised by flowering plants and lots of lawn taken up by cheerful people eating and drinking. Stooping inside, you find an inglenook fireplace that would be a wonderful place to lose a winter's afternoon, plus scrubbed pine tables, low beams, a wall of wine and a welcoming buzz. The menu reads with all the lovely unflashy things you love to eat. There are bar meals (£13.50 for two courses, £19.50 for three) where you're offered temptations like own-made herby rillettes of pork with pickled cucumbers, and grilled red mullet with chilli-roasted squid.
Inside, the restaurant is two nicely atmospheric rooms, the second of which is the music room. Home-made bread, olives and hummus appear, with the information that the profits from these go towards better kids' meals at the local primary school. Then, a lovely old-fashioned dish of oysters benedict - its delicious ham cured by Richard Woodall in Cumbria. It is pleasure to be served by staff who just enjoy serving you nicely, all the more when they bring you an exceptionally juicy hunk of Aberdeen Angus with bearnaise sauce, snail and garlic butter and skinny chips. British cheeses with Crooked Billet piccalilli and water biscuits is perfectly apt, as is a classic lemon tart with local berries.
The Crooked Billet has no bedrooms, but a 15-minute stagger down the road brings you to Neal's Farm, where Bridget Silsoe has squishy chintzy beds and the type of country breakfast that requires a good lie down after it. Back at the pub, Paul Clerehugh stays true to his roots with the occasional music evening. For a modest cover charge you get an intimate concert by the likes of Hazel O'Connor or Kiki Dee. Salford punk poet John Cooper Clarke also offers a rare performance, where you can look forward to the line from The Bronze Adonis: "hubba hubba yum yum wow/ what a hunk of beef".
· The Crooked Billett, Newlands Lane, Stoke Row, Henley-on-Thames (01491 681048, thecrookedbillet.co.uk). Lady Bridget Silsoe, Neal's Farm B&B, Neal's Lane, Wyfold, Berks (01491 680258, nealsfarm.com). From £25pp per night.
