About us

The Merrie Harriers family The Merrie Harriers is owned by Ben and Nicky West and brother in law Gary Neate

East Sussex chef Ben West accumulated his culinary experience of over thirteen years by working in the restaurants of Central London and Sydney, Australia. Ben has more recently enjoyed notoriety as the Head Chef of the celebrated Ram Inn at Firle. In the spring of 2009 Ben and Nicky together with brother in law Gary, decided to pool their resources and create something spectacular. Together they realised a dream of opening a cracking pub and honest restaurant - The Merrie Harriers

Our Suppliers Our Butchers – J.Heath & Sons is an award winning, third generation family butchers located in Old Town Eastbourne. They are the winners of The Sussex Butcher of the Year 07/08 and 08/09.

The beef that they supply to us is locally reared pure bred, Sussex Beef. The lamb is organic Hankham lamb from Montague Farm and the pork is from Tottingworth Farm, Heathfield. Ben loves to use the traditional cuts of meat that have been forgotten over the years – Our Crispy Pigs Cheeks with bread and Pickles is a firm favourite

Our Fishmongers – Southern Head Fishing Co is situated on the beach in Eastbourne, it has been in business for 32 years and all its fisher men are all part of the Responsible Fishing Scheme. The main species caught off Eastbourne and on the menu at The Merrie Harriers are Dover Sole, Plaice, Sea Bass, Skate, Crab, Lobster, Cod, Red Mullet, squid, Turbot and Scallops

Our Game Keepers – Richard and Michael -The game season is a real treat in Cowbeech, we buy or trade with our game keepers. Whether it’s a whole Roebuck deer, pheasant, teal, wood pigeon or Hare, great respect and care is always taken when hunting and preparing the best Sussex game

George Badcock Ben’s great grandfather, George Badcock, was a chef on the Sunny Express. This was an old train line that ran from Eastbourne to Manchester at the beginning of the 20th century. He cooked for the 1st Class carriages. His reputation soon grew and it wasn't long before George was cooking for King George, Queen Mary and the royal children. In fact during the second World War he cooked for Churchill, Eisenhower and De Gaulle. Amazingly George prepared the meal for the alliance leaders on the day they planned the D Day landing, whilst the train was stationary on a sidings in Sussex. Today Ben sees a return to the first class dining experience of his great grandfather by offering bespoke catering for small dinner parties or large events.