THE WHEATSHEAF, PLUMMERS PLAIN

Published on 1st December 2024
The Wheatsheaf in Plummers Plain has re-opened with Horsham chef Chris Cunningham at the helm. With support from partner India Andrews and her mum Anita, the new team hope to transform the pub into a family-friendly destination. AAH met them to find out more…
Chris: I have been a chef at leading restaurants, but my career plans dramatically changed during Covid. I was Head Chef at the Ivy Collection, where I spent five years, firstly in Cobham before moving to the Covent Garden restaurant. I also spent a winter season at a resort in the French Alps. However, hospitality ground to a halt during the lockdown. I couldn’t afford to wait for the world to return to normal, so I established my own business, Chris’ Gourmet Kitchen.
Chris: As nobody could go out for a meal on Valentine’s Day, a couple of friends asked if I could cook them a meal instead. So, I did and they posted photos of the dishes on social media, which triggered more requests. That is how Chris’ Gourmet Kitchen grew. Initially, I worked from my flat, before moving to The Venue at Broadbridge Heath FC, where I served food for players and supporters while also running my takeaway service. Needing more space, I moved to Horsham Indoor Bowls Club, where I ran the kitchen in a similar way, but demand for the Gourmet Kitchen continued to grow. So, we invested in a catering trailer which we parked at Tesco in Broadbridge Heath five nights a week, becoming one of Horsham’s top-rated takeaway outlets.
India: Chris has always worked hard, often preparing takeaways until late at night after catering all day too. As well as the Gourmet Kitchen, he established another business, Chris Cunningham Private Dining & Events, cooking at events or at a customer’s own home, and I help him when we take the trailer to festivals and other events. Chris has become especially renowned for his gourmet burgers with hand-cut chips, which now feature on the pub menu.
Chris: I have always wanted my own restaurant. I think that if I had carried on with takeaways, it would have taken a long time to make that next step. So, when an opportunity came up at The Wheatsheaf, we decided it was worth the risk and invited Anita to join us, as she has experience of working in pubs.
Anita: About 10 years ago, I ran The Fountain in Rusper Road, Horsham with my mum. We were there for three years until Hall & Woodhouse sold it for development. Prior to that, my parents ran The George and Dragon in Dragon’s Green for 16 years, so our family has always been in the pub trade.

Anita: When we first arrived The Wheatsheaf, the doors had been closed for two months. The current owner bought the pub from the brewery before the pandemic and it has been a free house ever since. Several tenants have come and gone in quick succession and during this unsettled time, the pub has often been closed. Previously, the pub has served pre-prepared meals and unfortunately that has impacted its reputation. The first thing Chris did was to chuck out all the microwaves in the kitchen!
Chris: I remember the days when this was a great pub. When I was young, we used to come here as a family in the summer. It would be so busy that you would have to find a table at the bottom of the garden and gradually move your way up towards the pub as the day went on! We want to bring back those days. The pub has a wonderful garden and we hope that by summer, we will have restored the children’s play area and be ready to host barbecues, making this a family-friendly pub again. We still have our catering trailer and we’ll be looking at ways to utilise that too!
India: The pub needed a lot of work, so we cleaned the carpets, had the chimney swept and painted the walls. The garden had been neglected too and it took three hours to mow! We worked long hours every day for two months, calling on friends and family to help us. But the pub does have some beautiful features, such as the painting of Sire de Grugy (trained at nearby Cisswood Stables) winning the Champions Chase at Cheltenham, and the wooden bar and furniture, all cut from a single tree. We had a wonderful opening night on 15 November which attracted a few locals keen to see the work we’ve done.

Chris: Our menu consists of pub classics. Chris’ Gourmet Kitchen is well-known for gourmet burgers and we offer several varieties here too, including the bacon and cheese burger, BBQ pulled pork burger and crispy buttermilk chicken burger. Our burger patties are hand-made, using beef from Handcross Village Butchers to our own recipe. They are served with hand-cut chips, with a fresh batch prepared every day, as well as our special mayonnaise. We also serve beer-battered cod, home-made cottage pie and a 28 day-aged sirloin steak, along with a selection of sandwiches and paninis. Our bread and burger buns come from a bakery in Ardingly and we source fresh vegetables, meat and fish locally too.
Chris: A good country pub needs to serve a good roast and I think ours is going to prove very popular. Everything is fresh, with lamb and beef sourced directly from farms in Rusper and Cranleigh. We also have home-made Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and gravy. The prices are reasonable too, with a cheaper lunch menu reflecting slightly smaller portions. Our slow-roasted ham, egg and shops costs £11.99 at lunch and beer-battered cod only £13.50. We have a children’s menu too, so hope to attract locals as well as families visiting attractions such as Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens.
India: On draught we serve Amstel, Birra Moretti, Neck Oil (Session IPA), Guinness, Inch’s cider, Harvey’s Best and Hawkstone lager. We hope to introduce guest ales on another pump too. Chris and I are big fans of Clarkson’s Farm, so when they started brewing Hawkstone, we thought it would be great to serve it in our pub. Chris called the brewery and they’re delighted to support our free house. At the moment, there are very few pubs in Sussex serving Hawkstone, so we hope that will attract visitors. It took only two days to sell out of the first barrel!
Chris: This is a country pub and we want to represent the best of the farming community through our food and drink. Because of our rural location, we need to draw people to us. You can’t just walk round the corner to eat here, so we need to give people a reason to visit and hopefully in time, The Wheatsheaf can regain its reputation as a destination pub.
WORDS: Ben Morris / PHOTOS: Alan Wright
Further information:
Tel: 01444 400472. You can also email the pub at: theteam@thewheatsheafhandcross.uk