RUGBY World Cup winner-turned-chef Phil Vickery will unveil a brand-new café at Birdland Park & Gardens next week.

The former front row favourite at Gloucester, who has since a burgeoning foodie career after winning Celebrity Masterchef in 2011, will be at the Cotswold attraction to endorse the new-look eatery.

The Nest Kitchen and Café officially opens on Thursday, December 7. 

Vickery, a former England captain who played for Gloucester for 11 years, now works for food service company Creed, who will be supplying the café with a selection of hot and cold options. 

There will be a daily selection of sandwiches and salads or for something warmer during the winter months, there is the chance to load your choice of potato or rice with tasty toppings including pulled pork, beef chilli or halloumi.

The café is not the only innovation to be revealed at Birdland next month.

The Bourton-on-the-Water attraction has also created a Changing Places facility, a fully accessible toilet to help visitors with limited mobility.

Birdland general manager Simon Cox said: “We’re always looking to make improvements to make the visitor experience as enjoyable as possible and the newly-renovated café and toilet are great examples of that.

“We are open all year round so we want to ensure that everyone who comes to visit us has a day to remember.”

The Penguin Shore enclosure, which underwent a dramatic redesign in 2022, is home to Birdland’s resident celebrity, Spike the King Penguin.