WORLD famous chef Raymond Blanc is set to turn his culinary talents to his first Oxfordshire pub.

The Black Horse Hotel in Thame will relaunch as part of his White Brasserie Company following a ‘desperately-needed facelift’.

It is the first establishment in the county to be taken on by the French-inspired gastropub chain, which is run in partnership with Summertown resident Mr Blanc.

Maureen Ashpole, the pub’s previous landlady, said: “It needed change. The building deserves to be beautified again, I can’t wait to see the final picture.”

The great-grandmother, 52, had been at the helm of the Cornmarket pub for 20 years before owner Punch Taverns sold the lease. She closed on September 9 ahead of the reopening on December 18.

Her daughter Emma Davis wrote on the pub’s Facebook page: “She has given sweat, blood and tears to the place.

“The plans are absolutely stunning and although we’re so sad to leave, it’s exciting for the building to have the facelift it so desperately needs and deserves.”

She said the takeover marked ‘the end of an era’ and said some customers had ‘become family’.

The Black Horse is thought to date back to 1620 and, alongside other locations in Thame, has starred on television detective drama Midsomer Murders.

It sits six miles from Mr Blanc’s two Michelin-starred Great Milton restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, while his other Oxfordshire restaurant is Brasserie Blanc in Jericho, Oxford.

Mr Blanc said: “I am very proud of the pubs we have opened alongside our Brasserie Blanc restaurants.

“They are typical ‘English’ pubs and The Black Horse will have the same rich interior decor, a great bar to lean on with a pint, snugs and cosy spaces and of course wonderful home cooked food.

“The lovely twist is that the pubs borrow some of the very best French dishes and combine those with pub classics such as gammon and eggs or pie of the day.

“It’s an eclectic mix that our guests absolutely love, and we hope the good people of Thame love it too.”

Mayor of Thame Tom Wyse was confident the pub would attract people to the town.

He said: “I’ve known the pub all my life- it was mainly a drinking pub. It’s great it’s staying open. So many pubs are closing and being converted into houses.”

The White Brasserie Company gained planning permission in July to make changes to the Grade II listed pub, including extending the kitchen and using a former stable block as a dining area.