The Gin Trap Inn in Ringstead, North Norfolk, has appointed Ashley Williamson as head chef. Williamson joins from Benedicts in Norwich, where he spent 11 years, and returns to the rural Norfolk he grew up in.
Born and raised in the Norfolk countryside, Williamson was part of the team that launched Benedicts in 2015 and rose to head chef. During his time there the restaurant was awarded three AA Rosettes and listed in the Michelin Guide.
At The Gin Trap Inn, owned by pub and hotel group Chestnut since December 2024, he is building on the pub’s established reputation for food. His menus draw on the seasonal larder of Norfolk and the East of England, from locally sourced game and venison to Brancaster mussels, King’s Lynn brown shrimps and other regional produce.
Highlights from the new menu include a game terrine of pheasant, pigeon, partridge and venison, and local venison loin served with celeriac purée, kale and blackberry jus.
Dating back to 1668, The Gin Trap Inn was once a traditional coaching inn. The aim is to elevate the menu while keeping the warmth and relaxed atmosphere of a country pub, where locals and their dogs share the room with diners who have travelled for the food.
“Great hospitality is more than just what’s on the plate. From the moment people walk through the door to the moment they leave, and even breakfast the next morning if they’ve stayed over, it’s about making people happy. I want to walk in on a Sunday lunchtime and see people smiling, gathered around the fire with their dogs by their side, sharing a good roast with a big Yorkshire pudding and a nice piece of beef. That’s what a proper country pub should be, and that’s what I want to bring to The Gin Trap.”
Ashley Williamson, Head Chef, The Gin Trap Inn
Williamson cooked with his mother from a young age, using vegetables grown by his grandfather, and got his first kitchen job at 14. He went on to work at the award-winning pub The Wiveton Bell and at Morston Hall before joining Benedicts.
The Gin Trap Inn is on the High Street in Ringstead, Norfolk, PE36 5JU. It is part of Chestnut’s collection of pubs with rooms and Big House hotels across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex, which also includes The Wiveton Bell, where Williamson worked earlier in his career.
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