FEW friendships stand the test of time in the cut-throat world of gastronomy — especially when your best friend pal bosses you around for a living.

But for better or for worse, Andrew Scott and Ben Bullen have stuck by one another.

It all began 16 years ago when Andrew took college fresher Ben under his wing, and just like that their fates were sealed.

Their version of events varies widely, but they both agree on one point: “I haven’t been able to shake him off.”

Reunited under one roof once more, but thankfully toiling away in two separate kitchens, the duo are the new force to be reckoned with at Sudbury House Hotel.

As Sudbury’s executive chef and the man behind the rebirth of its exclusive eatery Restaurant 56, Andrew is master and commander, and Ben is his right-hand man, the head chef at the newly opened Magnolia Brasserie.

Andrew was just 14 when he got his first job at the local Whately Hall hotel and soon got his new friend a small job in the kitchen. Ben stayed at the hotel for a year after graduating, before stints at Gee’s in Oxford as a salad chef and at Jesmonds of Highworth, under William Guthrie.

It took very little to persuade him to join Andrew, then a sous chef at the Michelin star Mallory Court.

Once more they were sharing a kitchen, but Andrew, who was soon promoted to head chef, had final say over all matters.

“He was a lot tougher on me than anyone else,” says Ben.

“He knew what I was capable of and the friendship had to be put aside.” “It was tough for Ben,” concedes Andrew. “The guys there were looking at me to treat Ben the same way as everybody else and I guess I treated him a bit harder.”

They parted ways in 2011. Ben left for a junior sous chef post at The Feathers in Woodstock in 2011 before another spell at Gee’s. Andrew took the helm at the Michelin star restaurant, The Curlew.

When the latter was enlisted to breathe new life into Sudbury House’s kitchen, he jumped at the chance and spearheaded the launch of Restaurant 56.

A few months later in April 2014, when time came to transform the hotel’s dated carvery into the high-end Magnolia Brasserie, a slick and spacious place with an eclectic menu of pub classics with a twist, he called his trusty friend to get the job done.

For once though Ben was not immediately convinced. Sudbury House Hotel was, for all intents and purposes, a building site.

While Restaurant 56 was more or less up and running, the brasserie would take another year to be fully refurbished.

“Andrew showed me around when it was still a Best Western when he started here and I said ‘What have you done?’. I was amazed he had taken the job,” admits the 31-year-old.

“But I guess he saw the bigger picture. He said ‘we will be working here together, Bullen’. I didn’t believe him.

“A couple of months later the chef handed in his notice and Andrew asked if I would like to put my name forward. I got the job but it was a bit of a gamble.”

Andrew adds: “I thought he was wasted where he was. It was a great place but there was no way for him to move up. The brasserie is his platform to do what he wants.”

Compromises had to be made, particularly when the brasserie temporarily moved to the first floor during the renovations.

“When I started nothing had been touched, it was still the old carvery,” recalls Ben. “I had to put a lot of trust in Andrew. It was under construction for a year and we still had to function as a brasserie. We never stopped operating.”

Officially inaugurated in the summer, the Magnolia Brasserie boasts a varied menu blending old pub favourites such as burgers and steaks and an array of more inventive dishes, packed with intriguing flavours including juniper cured salmon with lime potato mousse and key lime pie served with blueberry compote.

Diners are also invited to taste Ben’s unique take on pizzas, complete with crispy thin crust and reminiscent of German Flammekueches, baked in the eatery’s wood oven.

“I love the relaxed feel of it and of the food,” adds Ben. “Every chef has his niche. I prefer things you could make at home but you don’t. Sometimes people don’t have the imagination to do something a bit different. We have burgers and steaks, and we play around a bit more with starters and desserts.

“We are trying to entertain everybody and serve things a businessman might want to have in the evening or people coming for dinner on Saturday night.

“It’s elegant, fresh, executed properly. And the flavours do the talking. It’s clean with that great finish. If it’s not good enough it doesn’t leave the kitchen — it goes in the bin.

“Andrew oversees everything but he has given me free reign. He is letting me go out on my own.”

Like most friends, they squabble — frequently. But profuse apologies are never far behind.

Ben once drove to Andrew’s house in the dead of night to apologise for “ruining” a dish by insisting on adding a dollop of Worcestershire sauce to the concoction.

“Working with a friend is easier,” insists Ben. “You just have to know when a laugh is a laugh and when you have to be serious.

“And I can read the signs: if he is in a bad mood I stay out of his way and let somebody else take the brunt of it.”

Andrew adds: “We know each other inside out. From the age of 16 we’ve grown up together. I can tell when he’s upset and I step in and he’s like that too. We spend so much time together. Sometimes we fall out and then an hour later it’s back to normal.”

Guided by a common goal and perfectionists to a fault, they are determined to make a success of both ventures and reinstate Sudbury House on the gourmet map.

“I’m in it for the long haul,” declares Ben. “I would love to achieve two Rosettes. I would be happy with one, because it would be something I’ve achieved myself, as head chef. Andrew is the same. We want to make a name for ourselves here, move forward and upward.”

“It’s all based on trust and it’s a team game,” says Andrew with a broad grin. “It’s important to have that bond. It’s like being in the military. You are a tight team and you face everything together. You can’t do it on your own.”

The Magnolia Brasserie at Sudbury House Hotel is at 56 London St, Faringdon, SN7 7AA. For more details go to www.sudburyhouse.co.uk or call 01367 241272.