Tall order: Max Griffin takes the helm in The Victory Inn kitchen

6 August 2026

Max Griffin has started as head chef at The Victory Inn, the Grade II listed pub that has stood on Hamble High Street since 1806. The appointment was announced by owners Lauren Gibbons and Nathan Harrison, who have run the family business for the past few years and saw it named Hamble Valley Pub of the Year in 2025.

Griffin began in professional kitchens at 14 as a pot wash. He worked through every station before reaching the top job. His first full meal, cooked at home aged nine, was spaghetti bolognese, inspired by watching his mum and nan. Becoming head chef at The Victory is the milestone he says he had aimed for over many years.

The kitchen already shows his influence. A recent special of Korean arancini with kimchi mayo sat alongside the popular Victory Burger. His signature approach appears in a three-way bruschetta that pairs Isle of Wight tomatoes with burrata and crispy basil, avocado with basil crème fraîche, and grilled peach with whipped ricotta, hot honey and pink pickled onions.

Local, seasonal ingredients remain central, with Isle of Wight tomatoes singled out as a particular favourite.

Regulars and Facebook followers were quick to notice Griffin’s height. Comments joked that the pub might need a bigger door and that the new arrival looked more like a doorman than a chef.

The banter has been taken in good part and adds a light note to the welcome. Griffin’s longer ambition is to open a restaurant with his fiancée that reflects their shared taste in food and the experience they want guests to have. For now the focus stays on the High Street kitchen, where he says the real hard work has only just begun and he is still learning.

The Victory remains a dog-friendly village pub with a large garden, regular live music and a programme of weekly events. Under Griffin the specials board is expected to keep changing, giving regulars and visitors fresh reasons to return to one of Hamble’s oldest pubs.