Who Runs The Walnut Tree Inn Now? Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares Update

Part 1 — Season 1, Episode 3 Aired May 11, 2004

The Walnut Tree Inn stands in the countryside at Llanddewi Skirrid, near Abergavenny, Wales, and was the third episode of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, which Channel 4 aired on 2004-05-11. The Caterer reported on 2007-05-17 that Franco and Ann Taruschio had founded the restaurant more than 30 years earlier and that Francesco Mattioli and chef Stephen Terry took it over in 2001. Wikipedia's article on the restaurant says it won a Michelin star in 2002 and that Terry left in 2004, after which the star was lost.

In the episode, according to Wikipedia's summary of the series, Mattioli was the owner and the kitchen had no head chef. Food was expensive and uneven in quality, local interest had faded, and prices were judged too high. Ramsay helped recruit a new head chef and worked on a more reasonably priced menu. The summary mentions no change of name or decor. The relaunch was a dinner marking the restaurant's 40th anniversary, attended by Franco Taruschio.

A return visit in the same episode, per Wikipedia, found the Michelin star gone but the food better and more customers coming, with prices still very high. The follow-up episode, "Walnut Tree Revisited," aired on 2005-06-28; Wikipedia says customer numbers were then at their lowest and Ramsay pressed for lower prices.

The Caterer reported on 2007-05-17 that the inn had been taken into receivership earlier that year and had been sold, through the agent Edward Symmons Hospitality & Leisure acting for the receivers Begbies Traynor, to the Welsh hospitality firm Caradog Hotels, which hoped to reopen it later that year. A second Caterer report, which carries no date in the copy read, said the inn had reopened under Caradog with Shaun Hill, formerly of Merchant House, as culinary director. Wikipedia dates the reopening to early 2008 and says the restaurant regained a Michelin star in 2010.

The inn's web address now redirects to House of Caradog, whose page for The Walnut Tree, checked on 2026-10-19, carries a 2026 copyright, calls it a Michelin-starred restaurant in Abergavenny, lists lunch and dinner service Wednesday to Saturday, and promotes menus for December 2026. The Angel Hotel in Abergavenny, which The Caterer linked to Caradog Hotels in 2007, also appears among House of Caradog's houses.

Part 2 — Season 2, Episode 6 Aired June 28, 2005

"Walnut Tree Revisited," the sixth episode of the second series of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, aired on Channel 4 on 2005-06-28 and went back to the Walnut Tree Inn at Llanddewi Skirrid, first shown on 2004-05-11. Peacock's episode listing says Ramsay returned to see whether the owner had followed his advice.

According to Wikipedia's article on the series, customer numbers had fallen to their lowest, and main courses averaged more than £60. Ramsay devised a dish at half that price that would still make a profit, but the owner declined and said he would sooner close than cut prices. Ramsay told him the inn would close unless he changed course and then left.

The original episode, per the same article, had shown an inn with no head chef, expensive food and fading local interest, followed by a new head chef, a more reasonably priced menu and a dinner for the restaurant's 40th anniversary. The Caterer reported on 2007-05-17 that the inn had since been taken into receivership and sold to Caradog Hotels, which hoped to reopen it later that year.