The Duke marching to Sargeant's orders

It turned a lot of heads when Mark Sargeant and Josh De Haan took charge of The Duke William at Ickham, but the pub is now a serious Kent destination, writes Marijke Hall

It’s the laid-back sibling of Folkestone’s lauded Rocksalt with the easy-going charm of your typical younger relative.

And with not a matching piece of furniture in sight and subtly quirky decor, the Duke William couldn’t be more different to its seaside counterpart.

First off, it’s a pub - the first to be opened by Michelin-starred chef Mark Sargeant and business partner Josh De Haan, back in 2015.

It’s your typical country pub, too; 20 minutes outside Canterbury, surrounded by acres of fields and in the centre of the picture perfect village of Ickham.

Underneath its rustic charm, though, lurks an understatedly cool vibe and a posh pub grub menu which elevates what could just be a village boozer into a destination venue.

Food was the main focus when Sargeant and De Haan set out on their quest to open their first watering hole.

This, and creating a place that was accessible to everyone.

It means you’ll see farmers rubbing shoulders with property developers, families, yummy mummies enjoying wine with their cronies (while the kids play in the large garden out back) and, of course, the much-loved DfLs.

Importantly for the team, the locals seem to love it, too.

Manager Sam Vesey, who used to manage the bar at Rocksalt, says it’s no surprise they’re regularly packing out the place.

“The food is great; that was the main focus when it opened - a pub needs food to survive these days,” he explains. “It’s so different to Rocksalt where people go in, dine and leave. Here, they can spend all day if they want. Chilling out, lazing in the garden, having lunch and then maybe even dinner.”

Vesey loves it. In fact, he admits he prefers it to his previous role at Rocksalt.

“It’s my favourite place I’ve worked, it’s so relaxed. That might be down to me, though.

“Just the feel of the place...it makes it a great place to hang out. “There’s a lot of room, a lot of space and we’re getting well known.

“We get lots of locals. We get people from France, Spain and Germany. We’re in the middle of this part of Kent where it’s half an hour to everywhere.

When Sargeant and De Haan opened the pub two years ago, the onus was on providing simple yet good food - a steer away from fine-dining.

The Kentish menu is put together by head chef Adam King, previously of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant Petrus in London, and overseen by Sargeant.

It nods to the traditional and maintains a strong focus on provenance.

On a chalkboard above the open fire, there’s a list of its local suppliers, something it clearly champions.

The menu offers starters including potted Dungeness shrimps, white crab meat on toast with quail egg, or chicory salad with pear, candied walnuts and Kentish Blue.

In the mains section, fish dishes sit alongside typical pub favourites of sausage and mash, ham, chips and egg, and lamb, although perhaps elevated a touch above your average big chain carvery.

Customers can even try their hand at tackling a 1kg Tomahawk steak with peppercorn sauce (this will set you back £58, though).

Those wanting a bar snack will find more than just a bowl of cheesy chips, with mussel popcorn with garlic mayo and grilled steak sandwich among the dishes.

“Food is something we really try to push,” says Vesey. “But again it’s in a relaxed atmosphere.

“People can sit anywhere. We’ve got the restaurant bit, the bar area, the conservatory.

“They’ve all got a different feel. The conservatory feels a bit more relaxed as we open the doors up in the summer. The bar is more buzzy. People all have their preferences.”

From the outside, the size is deceiving.

A large bar area welcomes you, and it keeps going until you reach the conservatory and then the garden, complete with a small play area.

There’s also a gate leading in from the fields behind making the Duke William the perfect rest spot for the weary walker, but Vesey warns us off.

“We used to sometimes have people coming in through the back but we got a letter from the land owner’s attorney so we had to chain our gate up.”

Back inside, Vesey explains how Sargeant and De Haan designed the pub. “They chose all the decor. It’s meant to be completely different to Rocksalt.”

Where Rocksalt is bright and airy, the Duke William is dark and rustic, with green walls, wooden beams and unusual artwork adorning the walls.

There’s an open fire, fur throws over the back of pews and a donkey’s head mounted on the wall, complete with bowler hat.

There’s even a piano just past the bar which Vesey says people “give a good go” despite being out of tune.

The back is brighter and the garden, large and open.

Last month, it was the setting for the pub’s first sausage and cider festival, an event which Vesey hopes will grow to become an annual thing.

During the warmer months, the outside bar can be opened and the team puts on hog roasts.

The odd wedding reception is also held there, although Vesey admits it involves closing the pub, something they are not keen to do regularly.

“We don’t advertise it as we’re not wedding planners. It’s very much, here’s the pub, we’re here to help, you organise the rest.

“We have rooms upstairs too which is good for weddings.”

The rooms are named after Sargeant’s culinary heroes; Ramsay, Stein, Floyd and Pierre White (though it’s not mentioned which one is the biggest...probably for the best).

The pub also hosts music nights once a month, on Bank Holidays and New Year. “There’s not a huge music scene in Ickham,” Vesey laughs.
“We usually get the same people in every month to play and we get bigger bands for Bank Holiday.
“We’ve had a five piece band called Under the Wood in before. They’re amazing. Last time we had them, the whole pub was rammed.”

There are also your typical steak, pie and curry nights to keep the customers flowing in.
Not that getting the punters through the doors is a problem.
According to Vesey, they could easily do 100 covers on a Saturday night, but they don’t.
“We do about 70 or 80, although Sundays we’re always packed, we do about 150.”

If Sargeant wanted to recreate the success seen at Rocksalt, in a different guise, then he seems to be doing it.
And while it may be a little off the well-trodden path, that doesn’t seem to be stopping anyone.