Restaurant | Graze Willow Tree Inn

Ben Davis

Graze Head Chef

Brought up just outside Bath in Somerset, England in a family of doctors, Ben left school at 17 and worked in various Relais & Chateau Hotels throughout Britain, including Longueville Manor, Jersey and Hunstrete House, Somerset. He then moved to The Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath, and worked his way up to Senior Sous Chef. Looking for his next challenge, Ben left England moving to the South of France taking a role at Les Bories, Gordes en Provence, where he obtained his first Michelin star at the age of 23.

Later returning to the UK to work at Hambleton Hall, a Michelin starred restaurant in Oakham, as Senior Sous Chef. He then took his first Head Chef job in Britain at Calcot Manor, Tetbury, where they held a Michelin star already, and it was retained under Ben’s leadership.

Ben was approached to work for Sir Bernard Ashley (Laura Ashley’s widower) at Llangoed Hall in Wales. He had always wanted a Michelin star for the hotel and this was achieved within the year. While there Ben was lucky enough to be asked to cook for the G8 summit of world leaders, among many other noteworthy names; he acted as Group Executive Chef for Sir Bernard’s hotels in the USA.

In 2006, Ben made the move to Australia settling in Tamworth NSW, where he took up residency as the executive chef at Monty’s Restaurant at the Quality Hotel Powerhouse.

Ben joined The Willow Tree Inn team in 2020 as Head Chef of Graze Restaurant. Leading the kitchen of Graze and providing consultancy to our Colly Creek Pastoral Butcher Shop, Ben is continually developing new menus and butchery recipes that complement our paddock to plate model and whole-body butchery.