Marlow and Marlovians have been praised by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge, who runs three pubs in the town.

The two Michelin-starred chef, who has lived in Marlow for more than a decade, said the people were “amazing” and it was a “wonderful community”.

He said: “Marlow’s great, I’m so happy to be here. It’s my home town.

“It’s beautiful, it’s where I live. My son’s growing up here so what more could you want? Not only is it a beautiful place to live but the people are amazing.

“It’s a wonderful community – it’s family, it’s sport-based, it’s about independent businesses – it ticks so many boxes.

“It’s such a fantastic and amazing place to live.

“For us the three pubs we already have, they are three very different places and they all hopefully help to serve the high street and the community, and I’m very pleased that they’ve welcomed us and I’m happy that we are here.”

Tom, who will bring the second Pub in the Park to the town in May, also spoke about his newest pub venture The Butcher’s Tap, which combines a fully functioning butchers and pub in one.

It operates as a butchers during the day and, from 5pm onwards, transforms into a pub.

He said: “It’s going really well. It was a pub that didn’t open until five in the evening so we thought, ‘how can you make this pub survive’ because it’s very, very difficult. It needed to be a retail space during the day.

“If you think of a traditional butcher and a traditional pub landlord, they’re kind of like the same person, just with a different coloured apron so we thought why can’t it be the same, why can’t we have the best of Britishness in one place?

“We’ve all got used to ordering things online now, which is great and quick and really fantastic but we all love going to farmers’ markets, we love talking to people about their passion and history and heritage in terms of food and that’s what pubs feel like. 

“They’re a part of British history and combining the two, to me, felt like a natural thing to do.”

Speaking about how Marlovians had taken to the novel idea, Tom said: “It’s working really well. More and more people are coming back again and again.

“Andy, the butcher is getting to know the locals and what they like, and the guys behind the bar are getting to know the locals, and it is beginning to build this lovely regular trade.”

The chef also touched on the controversial parking metres planned for the town centre, saying he understood why there was resistance from residents and the town council.

He said: “Marlow’s a really busy and lovely town and it works really well because people can park for an hour on the High Street come in and do their shopping, so I can see why there is resistance from the High Street from people not wanting to pay.”