Elmley Nature Reserve x The Small Holding

Elmley Nature Reserve

Elmley Nature Reserve x The Small Holding

This spring sees a special collaboration between Kent’s Elmley Nature Reserve, and chef patron of Michelin green starred and three AA rosette restaurant The Small Holding, Will Devlin.

Taking place from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th May, Will Devlin and his team will be in the kitchen of Elmley’s Kingshill Farmhouse for the weekend, bringing a taste of the one-acre farm at The Small Holding to the Reserve. The intimate gastronomic experience, featuring a hyper-seasonal tasting menu on the Saturday evening, will be a celebration of spring and its abundance inspired by the Reserve setting, where over forty years of nature restoration has made Elmley one of the UK’s most important sites for wildlife.

Elmley has a restorative effect on all those who visit, and the weekend will be an opportunity to enjoy great food from an acclaimed Kent-based chef, while taking time to slow down, relax and connect with nature.

A small number of guests are invited to join for the weekend in a house party setting, staying in one of Kingshill Farmhouse’s beautifully spacious en-suite bedrooms, designed with a boutique hotel style feel, by interior designer (and BBC One’s The Traitors’ “Faithful Frankie”) Francesca Rowan Plowden. Think big comfy beds, luxurious soft furnishings, bathroom products by natural fragrance brand Verden and expansive views out over the Reserve.

Chef Will Devlin and his team from The Small Holding will be creating and delivering the menus throughout the weekend with dishes inspired by the new season, its bountiful ingredients and Elmley’s unique setting.

Guests will arrive, and a light supper will be served in the Farmhouse dining room on Friday evening at a preferred time for each guest. Breakfast and a picnic-style lunch will be offered on Saturday, when guests will have time to explore the Reserve, enjoy a walk or wild swim, and be taken on a Land Rover tour.

On Saturday evening, a tasting menu with paired wines (or a non-alcoholic option for those who would prefer), featuring ingredients grown and produced on Devlin’s one acre farm, will feature, with wilderness views as a backdrop. A cooked breakfast will see guests on the road on the Sunday morning.

Kingshill Farmhouse sits in the heart of the 3,300-acre private estate and National Nature Reserve surrounded by wildlife. It is usually hired as a whole, for bespoke corporate and private events, and weddings, and this special weekend will offer guests a chance to stay in individual rooms. Each bedroom has its own individual character with spectacular views and are designed as a retreat to make the most of time away, and the restorative power of nature. Downstairs, Kingshill Farmhouse has five beautiful spaces on the ground floor from which to read, relax and enjoy a coffee or aperitif, but there are plenty of reasons to head out onto the Reserve too. There are miles of walking trails, hides for birdwatching, a swimming pond for outdoor swimmers, and weekend guests will be invited to join a wildlife tour with Elmley’s Lead Nature Guide. Wellness treatments can also be arranged.

Elmley director, Georgina Fulton said, “We are delighted that Will and his team will be joining us at Elmley and taking over the Farmhouse kitchen in May for this exclusive and special weekend. We’re so excited for Will to share the Elmley story through his food, and we look forward to welcoming our guests for what is set to be a weekend of fantastic food and wildlife experiences, within the unique nature setting of Elmley.”

Will Devlin said, “Elmley is a wild and inspiring place, immersed in nature and the abundance of wildlife that live on the Reserve. This is a very special collaboration bringing together our innate understanding of wild and seasonal food from nature’s larder and our farm at The Small Holding to a pioneering, 40 year-long nature recovery project, which is a story of hope and inspiration.”

Will Devlin x Elmley weekend (9-11 May 2025) starts from £1376 based on two people sharing a Farmhouse room including accommodation and eight-course seasonal tasting menu and paired drinks.

Editors’ notes:

Elmley National Nature Reserve | Kingshill Farm | Isle of Sheppey | ME12 3RW
01795 664 896; www.elmleynaturereserve.co.uk | @elmleynature

The Small Holding | Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG
www.smallholdingrestaurant.com | @the_small_holding_

Dates: Friday 9 to Sunday 11 May 2025

Will Devlin x Elmley weekend includes two nights’ accommodation, Friday supper, Saturday and Sunday breakfasts, Saturday picnic lunch, Saturday tasting menu with drinks pairing, and Land Rover / wildlife tour. All extras are chargeable.

Check in from 3pm on Friday 9 May and check out by 10.30am, Sunday 11 May. Guests are welcome to enjoy the Reserve from 10am on the day of arrival and stay until 5pm on the day of checkout.

About Elmley

Elmley is the only family owned and managed farm to be designated a National Nature Reserve in the UK. It is 40 miles from London, in North Kent.

Elmley is renowned for its abundant wildlife and conservation successes, particularly with regards to breeding waders such as Lapwing, Curlew, and other ground nesting birds.

Since 2014, it has been possible to stay overnight on the Reserve, allowing guests to fully immerse themselves in the landscape and its wildlife - Elmley is the only National Nature Reserve in the UK where this is possible.

Elmley hosts bespoke corporate and private events and weddings, including on an exclusive hire basis, offering an inspiring setting for gatherings of all sizes.

About Will Devlin and The Small Holding

The Small Holding is a kitchen and farm in one acre of land on a country lane in Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The restaurant is open for dinner on Wednesday evening and Thursday to Saturday for lunch and dinner costing with an eight-course Full Acre menu costing £95 per person and a five-course Half Acre menu costing £75 per person, with the option of a wine flight. A three-course Garden Menu is available on Thursday, Friday and Sunday lunch time, priced £55 per person. The 34-cover restaurant has a Michelin Green Star for Gastronomy and Sustainability, Three AA Rosettes and Three Circles from the 360 Guide.

The Sun Inn Signature Series lineup announced

The Sun Inn announces lineup for Signature Series

The Sun Inn Signature Series

The Sun Inn in Felmersham, Bedfordshire has announced a series of chef collaboration dinners to take place over the year. Hosted by chef landlord Pete Pestell, The Sun Signature Series includes dinners with the much-respected chef and restaurateur Rowley Leigh who is Pete’s mentor, Ben Marks from Perilla and Morchella, Aaron Potter from Wildflowers and Will Bowlby from Kricket. Each chef has a connection to Pete, having either worked or trained together at the Academy of Culinary Arts.

Taking place in The Sun’s Dining Room, each dinner will be a true collaboration between Pete and the guest chef, bringing a taste of their own restaurant to Felmersham and using produce from The Sun’s own 350-acre Wild Berry Farm.

The Sun Inn is no 75 in Estrella’s Top 50 Gastropubs and in The Times and Sunday Times’ Top 100 Best Places to Stay 2025.

The Sun Inn Signature Series line up

Ben Marks, chef owner at Morchella and Perilla
Saturday 26th April
Tasting menu costing £70 per person
One sitting at 7.30pm
Ben Marks co-founded Morchella just off Exmouth Market in 2024, following the success of Perilla, which he opened in Newington Green in 2016 with Matthew Emmerson. His menu features a modern interpretation of classic Mediterranean dishes all emphasizing the use of highly seasonal produce sourced from artisanal Mediterranean suppliers and small independent British day boats and farmers. This thoughtful approach showcases Ben's commitment to elevating traditional flavours while ensuring sustainability and quality in every dish. perilladining.co.uk

Rowley Leigh, restaurateur and journalist
Saturday 3rd May
Tasting menu costing £70 per person
One sitting at 7.30pm
Rowley Leigh is an acclaimed chef, restaurateur and journalist having worked for the Roux family’s Le Gavroche and Le Poulbot in the 1970s and 1980s before opening Kensington Place in 1987. Rowley is widely credited with helping to kickstart the renaissance of London dining.

Aaron Potter, Executive Chef Wildflowers
Saturday, 19th July
Tasting menu costing £70 per person
One sitting at 7.30pm
Aaron Potter is an executive chef who has worked in Michelin restaurants across London, New York and Sydney. Most notable were his roles at the helm of the kitchen at both Trinity in Clapham under Adam Byatt and Elystan Street in Chelsea under Phil Howard. His food has received acclaim from both critics and peers alike. Most recently Aaron opened his first solo restaurant, Wildflowers, in Pimlico in September 2024.  Inspired by the warm, relaxed dining culture of France, Italy and Spain, it is an expression of Mediterranean cooking with global influences and a focus on seasonality, where elegant yet uncomplicated dishes are paired with European wines in a stylish and laid-back setting. wildflowersrestaurant.co.uk

Will Bowlby, chef owner Kricket
Friday 19th September
Set menu costing £60 per person

Kricket, founded in 2015 by Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell, began as a 20-seat pop-up in a shipping container at Pop Brixton, London and has since evolved into a renowned modern-Indian restaurant group with four permanent locations across the city. The Soho site received a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide the year it opened with dishes such as Recheado Butter Prawns, black pepper & Gondhoraj; Duck Leg Seekah Kebab, peanut chutney & rhubarb thecha and Mangalorean Chicken Gassi, coconut, curry lead & gundu chilli. kricket.co.uk

Reservations are essential and can be booked by emailing bookings@thesunfelmersham.com

Address: The Sun Inn, Grange Road, Felmersham, Bedfordshire, MK43 7EU
Instagram: @thesunfelmersham Website: www.thesunfelmersham.com

About The Sun Inn
The Sun Inn is a quintessentially British Free House in the village of Felmersham, deep in the Bedfordshire countryside, but less than an hour from London Kings Cross. Named by The Times and The Sunday Times as one of the Best 100 Places to Stay 2025, the pub was built in the 17th century and fully refurbished in 2023 including two ensuite bedrooms on the upper floors.  

The pub is part of Wild Berry Farm, a 350- acre estate and traditional mixed livestock farm, producing native and rare-breed, grass-fed Hereford beef, pork, Boer goats and poultry including bronze turkeys and duck. The land boasts lush river meadows, species-rich grassland, woodlands and lakes and is a haven for birds and wildlife. The pub also supports many local businesses, including other farmers and estates, sourcing produce and game such as venison, pheasant and partridge, locally.

The pub was purchased by JJ and Laura Ibbet in 2019 as part of a shared vision between themselves and childhood and village friends, Peter and Conny, a couple of couples sharing a passion for quality produce, warm hospitality and creating memorable experiences. Restoration work began in 2022, and once the structural work was complete, the team embarked on a full refurbishment, with a focus on using natural and sustainable materials, to provide guests with accommodation and dining fitting for the 21st century traveller, fully reopening the restaurant and rooms in April 2023.

The bar is open Tuesday to Sunday, with bar food served from the hatch Wednesday to Sunday, while the Dining Room for the Farmer’s Table tasting menu is open Thursday to Saturday for dinner and for Sunday lunch.

For more information, images, interviews or to arrange a press visit to The Sun Inn, please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room on 07730 039361 or hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

Address: The Sun Inn, Grange Road, Felmersham, Bedfordshire, MK43 7EU
Instagram: @thesunfelmersham Website: www.thesunfelmersham.com

Dining in Plain Sight

New Nomadic Dining Experience launches in Spring

- Four seasonal pop-up dinner events at different off-grid locations throughout the year
- Chef James Whetlor (Ex-River Cottage and Cabrito) is resident chef

Dining in Plain Sight is a new nomadic food experience hosting outdoor dining events, taking place in remarkable locations all over the country, serving hyper-seasonal, restaurant-style canapés and a three-course menu cooked over fire.

Dates are confirmed for the Spring and Summer editions of Dining in Plain Sight. Launching for the season on 23rd April (St George’s Day) the Spring event will run for eight exclusive evenings by the lake at Quarry Wood on the Fonthill Estate, set within nine thousand acres of outstanding natural beauty in the heart of Wiltshire. Disappearing for several months, Dining in Plain Sight will remerge for the summer edition in June and July, located at Featherstone Flowers, a sustainable British flower farm and florist in the beautiful Test Valley, Hampshire.

New locations will be announced soon for the Autumn and Winter events.

Devon based and ex-River Cottage chef, James Whetlor is Dining in Plain Sight’s resident chef for the duration of pop ups. A regular on the events and festival circuit including River Cottage Food Fair, Abergavenny, Ludlow Food Festival, Wilderness, Food Rocks and Meatopia, James is perhaps best known as the founder of ethical meat company, Cabrito. Sample dishes from his food cooked on fire menu include lamb tartare and wild garlic; scallops cooking in their shells, kefir, tarragon and pangrattato; sirloin, Jersey royals and asparagus and for pudding, grilled rhubarb, honey sabayon and toasted seed crumble. A small and exclusive wine list has been chosen by Dining in Plain Sight’s sommelier including a glass of English sparkling wine with canapés, on arrival.

Tickets are £220 per person and can be reserved by emailing reservations@dininginplainsight.co.uk.

Dining in Plain Sight’s Director Rob Mackay and Designer Lulu Beasley comment, “We are very excited to be launching Dining in Plain Sight this Spring. Curating an exclusive seasonal dining experience by elevating the art of dining into a celebration of food and nature with a menu cooked over fire provides the ultimate antidote to our digitally saturated and over-connected culture. We hope our guests make new friends whilst bonding over food and flames and the joy of cooking and dining in the comfort of our custom-built clear glass marquee designed to immerse our guests into the very fabric of the experience. We look forward to a year of wonderful events with Dining in Plain Sight. No sooner than we have popped up we disappear until the next season, leaving no trace other than memories.”

James Whetlor comments, “I have built my whole career on a love of food and fire; there aren’t many ingredients which aren’t made more delicious after a lick of smoke and time on a grill. Living so local to Fonthill Estate means I have trusted supplier connections built over years cooking and supplying restaurants and the hospitality industry. We will be using ingredients from local farmers, growers, fisherman, cheesemakers and vineyards, ensuring all our ingredients are produced by those who share the same values as us.”

Notes to Editors

·        Dinner is served Wednesday to Saturday only and are limited to 66 places per night and are based on a first come first serve basis

·        Tickets cost £xxx each and include a welcome drink, canapes and three courses. Drinks are available to buy at the event

·        Reservations by email only to reservations@dininginplainsight.co.uk

·        www.dininginplainsight.co.uk

·        @dininginplainsight

Spring Edition hosted at:
Fonthill Estate
Fonthill Bishop
Salisbury
Wiltshire, SP3 5SH

Dates: 23 April - 26 April and 30 April - 3 May
www.fonthill.co.uk

Summer Edition hosted at:
Featherstone Flowers
Tithe Barn
Berry Court Farm
Church Hill
Nether Wallop
Stockbridge
Hampshire, SO20 8EY

Dates: 18 - 21 June and 25 - 28 June, 2 - 5 July and 9 - 12 July
www.featherstoneflowers.co.uk

About Lock5
Dining in Plain Sight is the creation of Hampshire based event production agency, LOCK5, whose client portfolio includes Royal Ascot, RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Goodwood Festival of Speed, delivering projects such as major sporting and social events.

About James Whetlor
A regular on the events and festival circuit including River Cottage Food Fair, Abergavenny, Ludlow Food Festival, Wilderness, Food Rocks and Meatopia, James is perhaps best known as the founder of ethical meat company, Cabrito. Launched with a one-line mission statement to put all billy goats born into the British goat milk industry, which otherwise would be euthanised at birth, into the meat industry, James is a true pioneer, having created both the supply and demand for British goat meat, with fans including Jeremy Lee at Quo Vadis, Fergus Henderson at St John and Mark Hix. James’ first book ‘Goat: Cooking and Eating’ (Quadrille, £20) is widely acclaimed as genre-defining and won the James Beard Foundation Award for best single subject book and the Guild of Food Writers award for best single subject and he is also the author of ‘Cooking on the Big Green Egg: Everything you need to know from set-up to cooking techniques, with 70 recipes’ and ‘The DIY BBQ Cookbook: How to Build You Own BBQ and Cook up a Feast’.

Three AA Rosettes and Michelin Green Star for The Small Holding, Kent

Will and Matt Devlin

The Small Holding, Kent has been awarded three Rosettes by the AA Guide and retained its Michelin Green Star for the fifth year in a row

The Small Holding in Kent has been awarded three Rosettes by the AA Guide today, 18th February. Given only to outstanding restaurants that achieve standards that demand recognition well beyond their local area, the award is announced alongside The Small Holding retaining its Michelin Green Star for sustainability in gastronomy for the fifth year in a row.

Only 10% of the restaurants and hotels within the AA Restaurant Guide have three Rosettes and above. To achieve this the cooking must be underpinned by the selection and sympathetic treatment of the highest quality ingredients, while timing, seasoning and the judgment of flavour combinations is consistently excellent. The award is also supported by intuitive service and a well-chosen wine list.

The Small Holding was one of the first restaurants in the country to receive a Michelin Green star in 2021. Now with only 35 restaurants in the country who have achieved the award, the star recognises restaurants with a focus on environmental practices and is only awarded to those which hold a Plate, Bib or Star distinction. Many, like Will and Matt Devlin at The Small Holding work directly with growers, farmers and fishermen, forage in hedgerows and woodlands and grow their vegetables and rear animals. Other recipients of the Green Star include Black Swan, York; Coombeshead Farm, Launceston; L’Enclume, Cumbria; Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham and Silo, London.

Will Devlin, chef owner of The Small Holding, commented, “What an incredible feeling! Achieving three Rosettes and retaining our Green Star in the same week is a huge boost for our team and a recognition of everything we strive for daily at The Small Holding in our never-ending quest and drive for sustainability. These awards are for everyone on our team, in the kitchen, on the floor and on the farm who all work so hard and really deserve this, I’m so proud.”

www.smallholdingrestaurant.com
@the_small_holding_

Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG

About The Small Holding

The Small Holding is a Michelin green-starred kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. Run by brothers Will and Matt Devlin, as Chef and Head of Operations, respectively, The Small Holding is part of Acre, which also includes Birchwood in Flimwell, East Sussex.

The 36-cover restaurant and farm is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between the land and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with monthly changing tasting menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10 feet from the kitchen.

The Small Holding is open Wednesday to Sunday with an eight-course Full Acre menu costing £95 per person and a five-course Half Acre menu costing £75 per person, with the option of a wine flight. A three-course set Garden Menu is available on Thursday, Friday and Sunday lunch time, priced £55 per person.

For more information, images, interview or to visit The Small Holding, please contact Hannah Blake hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk | 07730 039361

Springtime events at Gravetye Manor

Garden Designer Jo Thompson will discuss her new book at Gravetye Manor

Floral and creative workshops at Gravetye Manor, West Sussex

Tulip Block Printing Cushion Cover Workshop with Molly Mahon
Tuesday 25th March 2025

Join printmaker Molly Mahon at Gravetye Manor for a one-day workshop.

Use Molly’s newly carved wooden tulip blocks and palette of eco-friendly paints, to experience the joy of block printing, designing and creating a 40 x 30cm cushion cover to take home and cherish. Embellish cushions with Molly’s fabulous array of cotton threads. Adding simple French knots or back stitch, monogramming over the top of designs to add depth, texture and an even more personalised touch. Places are £180.00 per person, that includes tea/coffee and pastries on arrival, a two-course lunch with wine, the workshop and all materials required. The workshop is suitable for all levels with no experience necessary. For more information and to book, please click here.

Jo Thompson, The New Romantic Garden
Thursday 24th April 2025

Gravetye Manor is thrilled to welcome one of the UK’s leading garden designers, Jo Thompson, to talk about her latest book, The New Romantic Garden (Rizzoli, £40). Known for her exquisite, timeless planting, well-proportioned English-style gardens and a deep commitment to biodiversity, Jo will share her love of romantic gardens and provide inspiration to all gardeners who want their garden to feel not merely well planted, but truly alive and atmospheric.

Tickets are £165.00 per person, that includes tea or coffee on arrival, a three-course lunch with drinks, the talk and a signed copy of the book. For more information and to book, please click here.

Bex Partridge, Living Spring Wreath Workshop
Wednesday 7th & Thursday 8th May 2025

To celebrate the launch of her new book Crafting with Flowers, Bex Partridge will be highlighting some of the beautiful projects that fill its pages. During the workshop, Bex will guide you through the art of creating a living wreath full of spring bulbs and pretty living flowers. Spring foliage and dried seedheads will be used to compliment the living plants. The wreaths created will last for four to six weeks. Once the bulb plants begin to fade, they can be planted into the garden.

Places are £170.00 per person, which includes the workshop, tea or coffee and pastries on arrival and a two-course lunch with wine. For more information and to book, please click here.

Flower workshops with Gravetye Manor’s Head Florist
Join Head Florist, Sharon Coote, for Gravetye’s spring and summer flower workshops. Each workshop will use sustainable techniques and repurposed vases guests can take home to reuse for years to come. Places are £160.00 per person, which includes the workshop, pastries and refreshments on arrival and a two-course lunch with wine. Group sizes will be kept small to ensure maximum attention from Sharon.

Wednesday 16th & Thursday 17th April - Easter Tulips
Sharon will expertly demonstrate how to create a stunning vase arrangement using Gravetye Manor’s famous homegrown tulips from the garden.

Tuesday 10th & Wednesday 11th June - Summer Entertaining
Sharon will demonstrate how to create a variety of beautiful table arrangements for summer entertaining.

Wednesday 9th & Thursday 10th July – Meadow Box
Sharon will teach how to create a beautiful garden meadow style arrangement using a mixture of seasonal flowers gathered from our gardens.

For more information and to book, please click here.

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About Gravetye Manor

Gravetye Manor is a hotel and restaurant with four Red Stars, four Rosettes and one Michelin star and two Michelin Keys, in West Sussex on the Kent/Surrey/Sussex borders. The Elizabethan manor house looks over 35 acres of stunning world-renowned gardens, walled kitchen garden, orchard, glasshouses and Peach House set within a further 1000 acres of woodland. The gardens are considered amongst the most influential in English horticultural history, made famous by previous owner and influential gardener William Robinson, whose preference for the ‘wild garden’, mixed herbaceous borders and hardy perennial planting broke with the formal Victorian style of the day, and his radical approach remains as popular as ever with gardeners today.

For more information, please contact
Hannah Blake on 07730 039361 or hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk
Sarah Jones on 07775 582497 or sarah@wildernesspr.co.uk

Address:  Gravetye Manor, Vowels Lane, West Hoathly, Sussex, RH19 4LJ
Tel:  01342 810567
Website:  www.gravetyemanor.co.uk
Instagram:  @gravetyemanor

Grow the Seasons at The Small Holding

Grow the Seasons at The Small Holding, Kilndown, Kent

Grow the Seasons

Learn to ‘Grow the Seasons’ in 2025 with new dates announced for chef and farmer Will Devlin’s horticultural courses at his Michelin green-starred restaurant and farm in Kilndown, Kent, The Small Holding.

Led by Head Gardener Alex Cairns, Grow the Seasons is for people of all skills and ages who are interested in gardening, growing and how our food goes from plot to plate, as well as giving a behind-the-scenes experience of the day-to-day running of a Michelin green-starred restaurant.

Each full-day course starts with coffee and pastries on The Small Holding’s one-acre farm, and is a balanced mix of hands-on practical and theory learning, as guests discover and share in the team’s knowledge on seasonal vegetable and fruit growing, ‘No Dig’ principles, soil health and composting, and how to take sustainable practices home to their own gardens, plots and allotments.

Each quarterly course is in tune with the growing season, including ‘Fresh Start’ on 12th and 26th February looking at no-dig beds and planning for the growing year ahead; ‘Planting Out’ on 14th and 28th May looking at sowing, planting, support structures, companion and succession planting; ‘Summer Abundance’ on 9th and 23rd July is about to successionally sow and plant to ensure continual harvest and also how best to manage pest control, while ‘Harvest Time’ on 10th and 24th September is about reaping the rewards of a successful growing season and looking at the best and easiest ways to harvest crops and what to sow in the Autumn for for Winter and Spring harvests. Each full-day course costs £195 per person and includes coffee and pastries, lunch at The Small Holding, learning sheets and a practical gift bag to take home.

Shorter courses include ‘Farm Mornings’ which are a focussed two-hour deep dive into a specific seasonal aspect of gardening, such as ‘no dig’ or ‘orchard pruning’.

Find out more and book for February, May, August and November 2025

www.growtheseasons.com

Sunday roast at Pearly Cow, Brighton

Sunday roast at Pearly Cow, Brighton (credit Lateef Photography)

New Sunday lunch menu launches at Pearly Cow, Brighton

Launching on 12th January is the new Sunday lunch menu at Pearly Cow Brighton from Head Chef Andrew MacKenzie. Serving a choice of roast meats, including Sussex Wagyu Beef Topside from Trenchmore Farm and Rolled Porchetta with roast apples and fennel from Woodhouse Butchery, with a Nut Roast option for vegetarians and vegans, the Pearly Cow roast is traditional with modern touches and served with all the classic trimmings, including Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower cheese, red cabbage, roast potatoes, greens and gravy.

Step in from a bracing walk straight from the seafront in front of the iconic Brighton West Pier and start with an enlivening Sussex sparkling wine aperitif or a classic or twisted cocktail at the bar, created by mixologist maestro Josh Williams.

For starters, choose Pearly Cow’s signature tacos such as lobster, apple and fennel or opt for a plate of Lindisfarne, Jersey or Whitstable oysters and freshly baked bread with salted beef dripping butter.

Finish with difficult decision of which dessert to choose, from the mascarpone crème brûlée and sour cherry sorbet; raspberry trifle, pistachio and white chocolate; British cheese with walnut and raisin bread crackers or a rhubarb and apple crumble to share served with custard & milk ice cream.

Served every Sunday from 12:30 - 7:30pm
Two courses: £34 | Three Courses: £40

For more information or to book, please visit www.pearlycow.co.uk/pearly-cow-brighton

About Pearly Cow

Pearly Cow is Brighton's hottest new restaurant. Sat directly on Brighton’s seafront and spread across four Georgian & Regency townhouses, the restaurant is opposite the iconic West Pier and serves an eclectic menu of fantastic dry-aged steaks, fresh fish and seafood from south coast day boats which are cooked simply on open-flame or served raw on ice.

Leading the kitchen brigade is Executive Chef Andrew MacKenzie who has worked and travelled in restaurants and hotels all over the world, from Gleneagles to Goodwood Hotel to Soho House, and worked with hospitality greats such as Nico Ladenis and Paul Heathcote. Andrew is a Brighton-boy through-and-through; he loves the city and being able to cook and work so close to the sea. Over the years Andrew has developed and nurtured closed one-to-one relationships with an amazing roster of Sussex producers, including seafood from Brighton & Newhaven Fisheries, Brighton; wagyu Beef from Trenchmore Farm, Horsham, West Sussex; pork and chicken from Woodhouse Butchery, Haywards Heath, West Sussex; fruit and vegetables from Munneries, East Wittering, West Sussex; eggs from Orchard Farm Sussex, Forest Row, East Sussex and cheese from The Cheese Man, Brighton.

December at The Counter by Robin Read

December at The Counter

December is a time for celebration and reflection and what a first six months of operation at The Counter by Robin Read in Tunbridge Wells it’s been. This is the first festive season and Christmas at The Counter, and the restaurant is looking beautiful with twinkling decorations, candles, good food and wine and of course, time with friends and family.

December is a month for great produce from the land and sea of the British Isles to the warmer climate of Italy for citrus, radicchio and other bitter leaves. On the menu this month is stunning trout from the crystal-clear chalk streams in Hampshire which is lightly cured and served with finely sliced red moon radish, bitter leaves and Scots pine oil; Dover Sole from Cornwall is simply poached with a white wine and tarragon velouté, while local venison from the Eridge Park Estate and aged Sussex rump cap take the menu to a whole new level of richness and umami. A new offering each month is a palate cleanser made this month with fragrant and aromatic Sicilian pink grapefruit and Buddhas Hand Lemon in a refreshing thyme tea, before heading back to the comfort of an oozing chocolate fondant and Chiddingstone Dairy cream.

Diners have a choice of three-, five-, eight-course menus, costing £40, £60, £96 respectively, which are shorter versions of the ten-course menu. Three or six-glass wine pairing is £36 or £70, while the eight-glass pairing is £96 per guest and a three-glass non-alcoholic pairing is £32. The ten-course tasting menu is reserved exclusively for guests sitting at the pass overlooking the kitchen and gives diners an interactive experience watching Robin and his team of chefs cook and plate up at the pass; the menu is more experimental, taste-testing dishes that are in development for the next month’s menu.

Open days and hours:

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: Lunch 12:00 – 14:30, Dinner 18:00 – 23:00
Saturday: 12:00 - 23:00 

A new chapter for Birchwood

Will Devlin (l) and Matt Devlin (r)

A NEW CHAPTER FOR BIRCHWOOD

Birchwood, Matt and Will Devlin’s East Sussex restaurant is relocating in 2025 from its current home at Flimwell Park.

The current lease at Flimwell Park had a break clause and if not activated it would mean staying for the foreseeable future.

In a joint statement Matt and Will Devlin comment, “Birchwood was born out of excitement and innovation, and we have a responsibility to constantly build upon this. Our aim is to build a bigger, bolder and better Birchwood, with our new location in the works. We will grow our events, build our hub for food and drink and grow and retail our own produce. As ever at Acre we don’t like to sit still, we are constantly dreaming of ways to improve and push ourselves and increase our impact. Relocation is a hugely exciting step and an opportunity to take Birchwood to the next level.”

The last day of service at Birchwood Flimwell will be on 23 March 2025.

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About Acre Group

Will Devlin is the founder of Acre, a family of restaurants and hospitality event spaces in Kent and Sussex including The Small Holding which has a Michelin green star. He runs the business with his brother, Matt Devlin, who is Head of Operations.

For more information and images for Matt & Will Devlin and Acre Group, please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room 07730 039361 | hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

Anthony Raffo joins The Small Holding as Sous Chef

Anthony Raffo in the kitchen at The Small Holding (credit Ashleigh Britten)

Anthony Raffo has joined The Small Holding in Kilndown, Kent, as Sous Chef. Having worked in the hospitality industry for over 20 years, after spending time in France and the Channel Islands and working in some of the best Michelin starred restaurants in London, including Pied a Terre and Texture, Anthony is perhaps best known as the creative force behind Anglo in Farringdon. Under Anthony, Anglo achieved 3 AA rosettes, ranked 21 in the Harden’s Guide, had a Michelin plate and was one of the first in the country to be awarded Two Green Circles in the 360 Guide.

Anthony joins a strong team at The Small Holding, which has a Michelin green star and Three Green Circles in the 360 Guide, working with Head Chef James Chatfield and Chef and Founder of The Small Holding and Acre, Will Devlin.

Will Devlin comments, “Anthony has a real passion for British seasonal produce ​and to create interesting and unique dishes using ancient and modern techniques, which reinforces the work we do on the farm at the restaurant​, and introducing new and varied fermentation and preserving techniques to the team and our guests.”

About The Small Holding

The Small Holding is a Michelin green-starred kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. Run by brothers Will and Matt Devlin, as Chef and Head of Operations, respectively, The Small Holding is part of Acre, which also includes Birchwood in Flimwell, East Sussex. 

The 36-cover restaurant and farm is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between the land and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with monthly changing tasting menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10 feet from the kitchen.

The menu is defined by the farm’s own produce. Vegetables and fruits are harvested within hours of guests arriving; while charcuterie, sourdough and cultured butter and zero waste animal cookery from the farm’s own livestock, are made on site. The kitchen team works directly with growers, farmers and fishermen who share the same core values, and the team forage in the nearby hedgerows and woodland.

The Small Holding is open Wednesday to Sunday with an eight-course Full Acre menu costing £95 per person and a five-course Half Acre menu costing £75 per person, with the option of a wine flight. A three-course set menu (from the full acre menu) is available on Thursday and Friday lunch time, priced £55 per person. The drinks list also includes housemade soft drinks, kombucha and non-nlcoholic wine, beer and spirits.

December at The Small Holding, Kent

A snowy Decmber day at The Small Holing, Kent

December at The Small Holding

Green Michelin Star 2021/22/23
360 Guide Three Green Circles 2024
Number 69, Harden’s Top 100 Restaurants
Number 89, Square Meal’s Top 100 Restaurants
Good Food Guide 2024 and shortlisted for best Farm to Table restaurant

December

The December menu at The Small Holding, Kent finds partnership in the soft, earthy and comforting flavours of root vegetables, brassicas, mushrooms, cream and fat tempered by the tartness of ferments, vinegars and pickles. Now is the time for the larder to shine, stacked high with Kilner jars, to brighten these cold, thin days providing a burst of invigorating colour, taste and texture for the plate and palette.

The Small Holding

As winter tightens his grip, The Small Holding’s December menu moves from ‘just picked on the farm’ to the preserves of the pantry, where the most important ingredient is ‘time’. Barbecued Orkney scallops are dressed with yuzu vinaigrette, preserved wild garlic and smoked scallop roes; beef sirloin is paired with black garlic purée, nasturtium flower vinegar gel and dried calendula and finished with a beef sauce made with smoked bone marrow, while one of the two desserts this month is Douglas Fir, Plum, Yoghurt Whey where plums are fermented with plum brandy and served with toasted buckwheat and a foraged Douglas Fir sorbet.

Book a Table at The Small Holding

The December Full Acre menu at The Small Holding

Snacks, Sourdough and Hinxden Butter

Brassicas, cheese, tomato
Jerusalem artichoke, walnut, gherkin

Scallop, squash, wild garlic
Bass, celeriac, mushroom

Turkey, bread, sprouts
Beef, potato, cabbage

Douglas Fir, plum, yoghurt whey
Chocolate, chestnut, chicory root

Cheese (optional)
Sweet Treats

The Small Holding is open Wednesday to Sunday with an eight-course Full Acre menu costing £95 per person and a five-course Half Acre menu costing £75 per person, with the option of a wine flight. A three-course set menu (from the full acre menu) is available on Thursday and Friday lunch time, priced £55 per person. The drinks list also includes housemade soft drinks, kombucha and non-alcoholic wine, beer and spirits.

About The Small Holding

The Small Holding is a Michelin green-starred kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. Run by brothers Will and Matt Devlin, as Chef and Head of Operations, respectively, The Small Holding is part of Acre, which also includes Birchwood in Flimwell, East Sussex. 

The 36-cover restaurant and farm is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between the land and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with monthly changing tasting menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10 feet from the kitchen.

The menu is defined by the farm’s own produce. Vegetables and fruits are harvested within hours of guests arriving; while charcuterie, sourdough and cultured butter and zero waste animal cookery from the farm’s own livestock, are made on site. The kitchen team works directly with growers, farmers and fishermen who share the same core values, and the team forage in the nearby hedgerows and woodland.

“Growing our own produce on the farm brings an understanding and honesty back to the kitchen, and vital freshness. Making the most of our harvests when the ingredients are at their prime - whilst also preserving and conserving them to use throughout the year, keeps us concentrated on the natural cycle of the land and helps us to create full flavoured and imaginative dishes.” Will Devlin 

For more information and images for The Small Holding, Will Devlin and Acre, please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room 07730 039361 | hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

Introducing Pearly Cow Brighton

Pearly Cow Brighton

Pearly Cow Brighton

Pearly Cow is Brighton's hottest new restaurant with the doors opening on 4th November for soft launch, and 22nd of November for public bookings. Sat directly on Brighton’s seafront and spread across four Georgian & Regency townhouses, the restaurant is opposite the iconic West Pier and will serve the most indulgent cuts of meat and the freshest fish in gorgeous settings.

Leading the kitchen brigade is Executive Chef Andrew MacKenzie. Despite having worked and travelled in restaurants and hotels all over the world, from Gleneagles to Goodwood Hotel to Soho House, and working with hospitality greats such as Nico Ladenis and Paul Heathcote, Andrew is a Brighton-boy through-and-through; he loves the city and being able to cook and work so close to the sea and having one-to-one relationships with the amazing roster of Sussex producers and suppliers.

“Pearly Cow is about treating yourself. It's a break from the everyday. It’s the feeling of finding a pearl in an oyster shell. It’s a bit of magic. Oh, and our chips will change your life.” Andrew MacKenzie

Lunch and dinner celebrate standout, seasonal ingredients from the countryside and coastline, skilfully and playfully brought to life with classic interpretations, sharing dishes and desserts. On Sundays, the Pearly Cow roast comes with all the traditional trimmings, but with modern touches. The eclectic menu of fantastic dry-aged steaks and the freshest fish from south coast day boats are cooked simply on open-flame or served raw on ice.    

There’s more to Pearly Cow than the food though – the drinks deserve equal billing. Peruse the cocktail menu with a signature classic or twisted cocktail from mixology maestro Josh Williams and start with snacks while you wait such as lobster, apple and fennel tacos; wagyu beef and mustard soy glaze skewers or a plate of Lindisfarne oysters and freshly baked bread with salted beef dripping butter.

For starters choose from the small plates menu or dishes on ice, such as scallop cured in yuzu and cucumber; 45-day aged fillet of beef tartare, Exmoor caviar, oyster cream and charred sourdough; chargrilled octopus and romesco sauce or garlic roast ceps on toast and poached hens’ egg.

Fire takes centre stage for the main courses with 45-day salt-aged steaks with a choice of sauces or butters, wood fired lobster with parsley and dill butter or wild mushroom risotto with British truffle.

A standout section of the menu are Pearly Cow’s sharing dishes, including the soon-to-be signature Seafood Platter with lobster, mussels, langoustine, soft shell crab, wood fired scallop and seaweed aioli; a celebratory 36ooz salt-aged Côte de Boeuf with bone marrow butter or a quarter rolled Suckling Pig.

For a final flourish to a sensational feast, finish with a wonder-filled sweet treat with classics such as rice pudding with caramelised cobnuts and poached sultana; egg custard tart and nutmeg ice cream; a killer banoffee soufflé with toffee ice cream that will soon become a non-negotiable order for many dining at Pearly Cow, or a plate of perfectly kept Sussex cheeses served with walnut & raisin bread and chutney.

Ready to tuck in? We are.

Notes to editors

The Pearly Cow story

Pearly Cow is an independent collection of restaurants created by three brothers, Tristan, James and Tom Guest. Together, they have a love of creating wonder-filled dining-destinations with never-tried-before dishes, sure to make an impression. They created Pearly Cow in 2022, with the first Cow of the Herd launching in York, followed by Margate in 2023 and now Brighton in 2024. Pearly Cow Brighton is set within No.124 by GuestHouse, a newly opened 32-room boutique hotel, including three suites, lounges, games room, winter garden, vinyl library, pantry and terrace and the multi-level FieldTrip Spa, hidden away in the hotel through a wildflower flanked entrance. guesthousehotels.co.uk

Pearly Cow Lunch
Friday and Saturday - 12 - 3:30pm
Sunday - 12 to 5pm

Pearly Cow Dinner
Monday - Saturday - 5 - 9pm
Sunday 6 - 8.30pm

Pearly Cow, Brighton
124 Kings Road
Brighton
BN1 2FY

brighton@pearlycow.co.uk
0330 055 4531
Instagram @pearlycowbrighton @pearlycowuk

TikTok @pearlycowuk

A Damm Good Dinner at The Sun Inn with Estrella

A Damm Good Dinner at The Sun Inn with Estrella

On Wednesday 6th November, The Sun Inn is hosting a special dinner event in collaboration with the masters of beer from The Damm Brewery, for a five-course Spanish feast paired with Estrella’s outstanding Catalonian beers.

Costing £60 per person the dinner will introduce diners to a range of Estrella Damm beers from the light-bodied Rosa Blanca with its characteristic stone fruit and citrus aromas to be paired with Head Chef Pete Pestell’s Grilled Cheltenham Beetroot with Ajo Blanco to the hoppy bitterness of Complot Session IPA paired with Bedfordshire Quail with Celeriac Purée, Prunes and Sherry. Pudding is the intriguing combination of the classic Crème Catalana paired with Estrella’s Damm Lemon, full of Mediterranean lemon and lime.

Reservations are essential and can be booked by emailing bookings@thesunfelmersham.com

The menu

Estrella Damm
Anchovy Toast and Jamón Croquettes
Estrella Damm with its notes of fresh spices accentuates the savoury umami flavours in the anchovy. Its subtle carbonation cuts through the richness of the jamón, while its cereal aromas complement the toast and croquettes. Estrella has a dry, slightly bitter finish and acidity which provide balance to the salt in both dishes.

Rosa Blanca
Grilled Cheltenham Beetroot with Ajo Blanco Sauce
Rosa Blanca has a characteristic stone fruit and citrus aroma and flavour which adds brightness to the earthy grilled beetroot and amplifies its harmony with the garlic and vinegar notes in the ajo blanco sauce. The beer is light-bodied, with a refreshing lively carbonation that refreshes the palate, making this pairing reminiscent of dining al fresco at the seaside during the height of summer.

Inedit Damm
Fideuà Negra with Cornish razor clams
Inedit Damm is a blend of wheat beer and pilsner – the cereal notes and mild bitterness of the pilsner complement the fideuà pasta, while the fruity esters of the wheat beer provide a contrast with the mild brininess of the razor clams. The addition of orange peel, coriander, and liquorice in the beer amplifies the symmetry of the dish, highlighting the seafood flavours.

Complot Session IPA
Bedfordshire Quail with Celeriac Purée, Prunes and Sherry
The hops take centre stage with Complot Session IPA, including the Nugget variety grown in Prades not far from the brewery. The hop bitterness is a great match with the richness of the quail, while the pine and floral notes provide balance to the creamy peppery celeriac purée, and the tart sweetness of prunes and sherry.

Damm Lemon
Crema Catalana
Damm Lemon adds a whole new flavour element to this classic dessert, by adding an invigorating citrus kick of tart Mediterranean lemon and Caribbean lime. The sweetness of the lemon dances on the taste buds with the caramelised sugar while the rich custard is complemented by the beer’s effervescent bubbles, leaving you ready for another bite

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About The Sun Inn

The Sun Inn is a quintessentially British Free House in the village of Felmersham, deep in the Bedfordshire countryside, but less than an hour from London Kings Cross. Built in the 17th century and refurbished for the twentieth century traveller with two ensuite bedrooms on the upper floors.  The Sun Inn is an historic rural pub and offers the warmth of traditional hospitality and great food that is home-reared and locally produced.

The Pub is part of Wild Berry Farm, a 350- acre estate and traditional mixed livestock farm, producing native and rare-breed, grass-fed Hereford beef, pork, Boer goats and poultry including Bronze turkeys and duck. The land boasts lush river meadows, species-rich grassland, woodlands and lakes and is a haven for birds and wildlife. The pub also supports many local businesses, including other farmers and estates, sourcing produce and game such as venison, pheasant and partridge, locally.

The pub was purchased by JJ and Laura Ibbet in 2019 as part of a shared vision between themselves and childhood and village friends, Peter and Conny, a couple of couples sharing a passion for quality produce, warm hospitality and creating memorable experiences. Restoration work began in 2022, and once the structural work was complete, the team embarked on a full refurbishment, with a focus on using natural and sustainable materials, to provide guests with accommodation and dining fitting for the 21st century traveller, fully reopening the restaurant and rooms in April 2023.

The bar is open Tuesday to Sunday, with bar food served from the hatch Wednesday to Sunday, while the Dining Room for the Farmer’s Table tasting menu is open Thursday to Saturday for dinner and for Sunday lunch.

For more information, images, interviews or to arrange a press visit to The Sun Inn, please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room​ on 07730 039361 or Hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

Address: The Sun Inn, Grange Road, Felmersham, Bedfordshire, MK43 7EU
Instagram: @thesunfelmersham Website: www.thesunfelmersham.com

Christmas at Water Lane

Christmas at Water Lane

Bloom and Burn x Water Lane
5th, 6th, 7th and 8th December
10.30am-12.30pm
£85 per person

Enjoy these festive morning sessions creating your own Christmas wreath. Using dried flowers, seedheads and other fresh and foraged materials harvested from around Water Lane, you'll create a stunning, naturalistic wreath under the careful guidance of Graeme Corbett, floral stylist at Bloom and Burn, perfectly complemented with a luxury velvet ribbon. Graeme will guide you through the process and help you create your own unique design from the cornucopia of materials made available to you. Tickets include a festive drink and mince pie.

Water Lane Christmas Fair
Make a date for Water Lane’s Christmas Fair on Friday 29th November (evening only) Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December, from 10am to 4.30pm. All around the site, and in the glasshouses, will be stalls from craftspeople, makers, creators and artisan food producers. There will be festive food and hot mulled drinks, to keep the chill off, available throughout the day, and the Water Lane Christmas Pantry will be fully stocked in the shop, alongside gifts and potted indoor bulbs.

Festive dining
From 28th November - 22nd December, private events and parties from eight to fifty guests will be offered Water Lane’s new festive menus, to be shared by the table, available for lunch and Friday and Saturday night supper. Plates might include Radicchio, Graceburn, clementine and roast shallots; Sonny’s Smokehouse smoked salmon, horseradish and seeded loaf; Mushroom pithivier and creamed cavolo nero; Porchetta, stuffed with chestnuts and cranberries or Turbot, brown butter sprouts and lemon mayonnaise. Christmas dining at Water Lane.

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About Water Lane

Water Lane is a walled garden on what was once the Tongswood Estate in Hawkhurst, in the High Weald of Kent. A long-term restoration project, led by custodians Nick Selby and Ian James, there is a restaurant, a large and productive garden growing vegetables, fruits, herbs and cut flowers, a small shop of useful and beautiful pieces for the home and garden, select garden plants for sale and event spaces for workshops and private celebrations.

For more information about Water Lane, interview with Nick Selby and Ian James, high resolution images or to visit the walled garden, please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room on hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk | 07730 039361

October at The Counter by Robin Read

The Counter by Robin Read, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

October at The Counter by Robin Read

“The Counter is delicious and charming… treating the inner Veruca Salt in all of us with pure imagination.” Grace Dent reviewing The Counter for The Guardian

“This new venture… is the best news for Tunbridge Wells. It has the makings of a destination – a relaxing neighbourhood restaurant with a big-city attitude” Good Food Guide

The fires are lit, the heavier and more complex red wines are poured, the curtain is pulled to and the menu at The Counter by Robin Read reaches for luxe comfort this month. Robin and the team have been foraging locally in the nearby woods for mushrooms allowing for a snack of Tunbridge Wells Cep Tart with Smoked Eel, before diving into a tasting menu of Autumnal treats including Cornish Monkfish, Pumpkin & Sage; Aged Sussex Rump Cap with swede & black pepper purée, girolles and beer braised shallot, before a new addition to the menu, a palette cleanser of Sorrel, Morghew Honey & Amaro Tea and for dessert, Mascarpone mousse, fig and linseed, served with an optional glass of Muscat de Beames de Venise ‘Solera’ Domaine de Coyeux.

Diners have a choice of three-, five-, eight-course menus, costing £40, £60, £96 respectively, which are shorter versions of the ten-course menu. Three or six-glass wine pairing is £36 or £70, while the eight-glass pairing is £96 per guest and a three-glass non-alcoholic pairing is £32. The ten-course tasting menu is reserved exclusively for guests sitting at the pass overlooking the kitchen and gives diners an interactive experience watching Robin and his team of chefs cook and plate up at the pass; the menu is more experimental, taste-testing dishes that are in development for the next month’s menu.

Vision and suppliers

Robin’s vision of a modern-day restaurant is that of a responsible and sustainable one with seasonal cooking, few food miles and using every part of an ingredient. He seeks out and nurtures a strong network of small, independent farmers, growers, and producers from farm to sea and takes great care and pride to meet all his suppliers, visiting their farm, forest, river, warehouse, or barn across the country. This ensures he has first-hand knowledge of the produce, and relationships with the people whose hands create, grow, or farm them.

Suppliers at The Counter include Kentish fruit and vegetables from T H Brown & Son, fish from Chapmans in Sevenoaks, meat from Fullers Butchers in Eridge and charcuterie from Beal’s. The wine programme is headed up by Greta Boccia and is a curated edit of English and European wines alongside several English spirits, such as Hepple gin and vodka and Vault vermouth and botanical spirits, on the list.

The restaurant features original artwork on display, and for sale, by Venezuelan artist RAA, a close friend of Robin and his former sous chef. The multi-media works combine acrylics, oil pastels, colour pencils and spray paint in bold and graphic shapes.

Open days and hours:

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: Lunch 12:00 – 14:30, Dinner 18:00 – 23:00
Saturday: 12:00 - 23:00 

Gravetye Manor awarded Two Michelin Keys

Gravetye Manor has been awarded Two Michelin Keys

Gravetye Manor awarded Two Michelin Keys

Gravetye Manor has been honoured with the prestigious distinction of Two MICHELIN Keys by the MICHELIN Guide, reaffirming its status as one of the top hotels in the UK.

These are the first ever Keys awarded in the UK and focus on five universal criteria for selecting hotels: excellence in architecture and interior design; quality and consistency of service; overall personality and character; the value in relation to the price; and a significant contribution to the neighbourhood or setting.

The award recognises Gravetye Manor’s commitment to delivering an exceptional guest experience, combining luxury accommodation and service within 35-acres of world-class gardens and exquisite Michelin dining from Executive Chef George Blogg and team. Known for its intimate and elegant atmosphere, Gravetye Manor offers guests a unique blend of luxury and natural beauty, positioning it among the finest hotels in the UK.

Director of Sales and Marketing, Celine Leslie said: "We are absolutely thrilled with the two key recognition from Michelin. It sits nicely alongside our one Michelin star and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team at the property. We are hugely grateful to all those that support us, guests and suppliers alike, as we strive to provide unforgettable experiences to all those that visit us.”

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About Gravetye Manor
Gravetye Manor is a hotel and restaurant with four Red Stars, four Rosettes and one Michelin star, in West Sussex on the Kent/Surrey/Sussex borders. The Elizabethan manor house looks over 35-acres of stunning world-renowned gardens, walled kitchen garden, orchard, glasshouses and Peach House set within a further 1000 acres of woodland. The gardens are considered amongst the most influential in English horticultural history, made famous by previous owner and influential gardener William Robinson, whose preference for the ‘wild garden’, mixed herbaceous borders and hardy perennial planting broke with the formal Victorian style of the day, and his radical approach remains as popular as ever with gardeners today.

Will Devlin cooks at Nordelaia, Italy for international chef pop up series

The chefs at Nordelaia, Piedmont, Italy

Will Devlin cooks at Nordelaia, Italy for international chef pop up series

Will Devlin, chef owner of The Small Holding, Kent will be cooking a series of pop-up dinners at LORTA, the farm to fork restaurant at boutique hotel Nordelaia in the Monferrato hills of Piedmont, Italy.

The seasonal dinner, in collaboration with Resident Chef Charles Pearce is a one-off seasonal menu that will be served at LORTO for only two nights on 18th and 19th October 2024.

Will and Charles share the same philosophy for using hyper-seasonal, local produce as well as championing small artisanal producers, and will bring their own distinct style to the LORTO kitchen. Autumn in Piedmont offers an abundance of native herbs, vegetables, and flowers to work with including, of course, mushrooms and truffles. The dinner will start with a welcome drink on the terrace overlooking Piedmont’s rolling hills, before an introduction from Charles and Will discussing their inspiration for the evening ahead. The menu, taking place in the height of the Piedmont truffle season offers eight courses, priced 150EUR per person, including wine pairing. Dishes include Pumpkin, Vinegar and Sage; Mushroom, Hazelnut and Truffle; Ravioli, Prawn and Chanterelle and Goat with Piedmont condiments.

LORTO, translated as ‘The Vegetable Garden’, serves predominantly vegetable-based dishes taken from the restaurant’s abundant kitchen garden and producers in the area, both of which provide constant inspiration to Charles and his small team of passionate, like-minded chefs

Other chefs in the pop-up series include Jacob Kenedy from Bocca di Lupo and Roberta Hall McCarron from The Little Chartroom in Edinburgh.

ends

About Nordelaia

Nordelaia is an independent hotel in the Montferrat area of Piedmont, Italy set in five hectares of agricultural land and with its own vineyards. Comprising 12 guest rooms and suites, Nordelaia combines destination dining, a spa, and activities that allow guests to discover the best of the area. Easily accessible from Milan, Genoa and Turin, the hotel is the perfect base to discover one of Italy’s most sophisticated and enchanting destinations.

About The Small Holding
The Small Holding is a Michelin green-starred kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. Run by brothers Will and Matt Devlin, as Chef and Head of Operations, respectively, The Small Holding is part of the Acre Group which also includes Birchwood in Flimwell, East Sussex. The 36-cover restaurant and farm are set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between the land and table. Growing, foraging, and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with monthly changing tasting menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10 feet from the kitchen.

The menu is defined by the farm’s own produce. Vegetables and fruits are harvested within hours of guests arriving; while charcuterie, sourdough, and cultured butter and zero waste animal cookery from the farm’s own livestock, are made on site. The kitchen team works directly with growers, farmers and fishermen who share the same core values, and the team forage in the nearby hedgerows and woodland.

The Sun Inn, Felmersham

The team at The Sun Inn -JJ and Laura, Pete and Conny.

Country pub for Autumn and Winter breaks

The Sun Inn is a 17th century thatched roof pub with rooms, in the chocolate box pretty village of Felmersham, deep in the Bedfordshire countryside. An historic rural pub, The Sun offers the warmth of traditional hospitality and great food that is home-reared and locally produced. Less than an hour from London Kings Cross, The Sun is a quintessentially British Free House and an ideal base for long country walks, summer afternoons in the cottage garden and evenings by the fire on winter nights. 

Built in the 1600s, the pub, with two ensuite bedrooms on the upper floors, is part of Wild Berry Farm, a 350- acre estate and traditional mixed livestock farm, producing native and rare-breed, grass-fed Hereford beef, pork, Boer goats and poultry including Bronze turkeys and duck. The land boasts lush river meadows, species-rich grassland, woodlands and lakes and is a haven for birds and wildlife. The pub also supports many local businesses, including other farmers and estates, sourcing produce and game such as venison, pheasant and partridge, locally.

The pub was purchased by JJ and Laura Ibbet in 2019 as part of a shared vision between themselves and childhood and village friends, Peter and Conny, a couple of couples sharing a passion for quality produce, warm hospitality and creating memorable experiences. Restoration work began in 2022, and once the structural work was complete, the team embarked on a full refurbishment, with a focus on using natural and sustainable materials, to provide guests with accommodation and dining fitting for the 21st century traveller, fully reopening the restaurant and rooms in April 2023.

The farm and the pub

Childhood friends JJ Ibbett and Pete Pestell grew up knowing one day they wanted to work together. Their families and careers took them in separate directions – JJ worked widely in the farming sector and on the family farm, while Pete worked in kitchens notably under Chef and Restaurateur, Rowley Leigh, who remains a mentor and friend, and as the personal chef to the Duke of Bedford. Together with their wives, Laura and Conny, the foursome have brought new energy to the pub and to the riverside community of Felmersham.

The Food

Two monthly changing menus are offered in the Dining Room, showcasing the best each season has to offer.  ‘The Farmer’s Table’ is a five-course tasting menu offering a genuine farm to fork dining experience with the majority of the meat coming from the pub’s own farm; while ‘Greengrocer’s Table’ is a vegan menu, where the vegetables are grown exclusively for the pub in the village. Meat, notably native breed beef and pork and from a herd of free-to-roam Boer goats, reared by JJ and Laura, comes from Wild Berry Farm less than 10 minutes from the pub and is finished and aged on site. Slaughter is at a local abattoir before the whole carcass is brought back to the pub’s own butchery to hang in house. Local growers in the village supply seasonal vegetables, herbs and soft fruit to the restaurant, while Pete and his team regularly forage for ingredients such as wild garlic and mushrooms.

Start with a generous portion of sourdough bread, house churned butter and chicken salt before choosing from plates such as Longhorn Beef Mince, Onions and Hash Brown; Savoy Cabbage, Curried Goat and Pickled Damson; Middle White Pork Belly, Butter Beans and Confit Duck Stuffed Shallot; Roast Darne of Hake with Partridge Sauce, Cavolo Nero and Beurre Blanc and Kouign Amann with Custard and Soy Sauce Ice Cream. As you’d expect in a proper pub, Sunday Lunch is a full-on affair with Roast Rib of Hereford Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, Roast Potatoes, Vegetables and Horseradish Cream or Slow Roast Mutton with Roast Potatoes, Vegetables and Mint Gravy.

The bar is open Tuesday to Sunday, with bar food served from the hatch Wednesday to Sunday, while the Dining Room for the Farmers Table tasting menu is open Thursday to Saturday for dinner and for Sunday lunch.

Laura Ibbett, co-owner and Director of The Sun Inn, says, “Our two families are so closely intertwined – our children are all friends together at the village school – and our relationship goes far beyond the pub and the farm. As fourth generation farmers, the pub is a brilliant opportunity to be at the centre of the community while also having a direct to market outpost for the meat we produce and creating the opportunity to constantly evolve our family farm. The fact we get to work alongside our friends, Pete and Conny, to achieve our vision of a thriving rural pub that is genuine, honest and down to earth, makes a good thing even better.”

The Bedrooms

The upper floors of The Sun have undergone extensive restoration to convert the living spaces into two newly refurbished bedrooms. Honouring the pastorale beauty of the surrounding farmland the rooms have been carefully designed combining luxurious comfort while championing natural and sustainable materials, tactility and craftsmanship. 

Dawn is a large suite split over two floors with a super king Hypnos bed, free-standing copper bath, separate bathroom with walk in shower, living room and dining area with Samsung Artframe TV, Nespresso machine and Hypnos double sofa bed and kitchenette with mini bar and fridge. Conveying a strong sense of the building's architectural history, traditional fittings combine with modern elegance and British eclecticism. The original stone walls exude character and history, while tongue and groove panelling, antique brass, sisal, honey toned wooden floors and cork complement the earthy palette of shell pink, soft cream and mustard from sustainable paint company, Graphenstone. Sleep soundly in the eves after a deep bath in the freestanding copper tub using Bramley products, before a restful night’s sleep, cocooned by the paired back and natural interiors.

Modest in scale but mighty in comfort, the smaller suite, Dusk showcases that magical palette of restful dusky hues enjoyed at twilight. Recline and rest in this pretty dual aspect room decorated top to toe in the most serene green for a cosy and restorative night’s sleep.

For more information, images, interviews or to arrange a press visit to The Sun Inn, please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room 07730 039361 or Hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

Address: The Sun Inn, Grange Road, Felmersham, Bedfordshire, MK43 7EU
Instagram: @thesunfelmersham Website: www.thesunfelmersham.com

Autumnal floral events at Gravetye Manor

Autumnal colour in the long border at Gravetye Manor

Floral events this autumn at Gravetye Manor​

Gravetye Manor, the country house hotel, Michelin starred restaurant and historic gardens in the rural Sussex countryside is hosting a series of floral events this Autumn.

Dried Flower Workshop with floral artist Bex Partridge
Tuesday 1st October and Wednesday 2nd October
Join Bex Partridge, floral artist, for a morning of nature inspired creativity. Bex will guide guests to create one of her signature half-moon wreaths, built upon a natural woven wreath base. Working with rich autumnal tones, in greens, reds, oranges, pinks and purples, she will show guests how to weave fresh and dried stems to create a beautiful everlasting wreath. Autumn is the best time to work with dried flowers, with bountiful blooms, seedheads and leaves being gathered throughout the summer to dry and create with. £160.00 per person, tea/coffee and biscuits on arrival, two-course lunch, wine, and workshop, inclusive.

The Tulip Garden with Polly Nicholson
Tuesday 8th October 2024
Specialist flower grower and tulip expert, Polly Nicholson, will talk about her latest book The Tulip Garden: Growing and Collecting Species, Rare and Annual Varieties, which offers an introduction to growing and collecting tulips alongside expert tips and advice for gardeners. With powerful imagery, Polly will take guests on a journey to Blacklands, her beautiful, six-acre English country garden. Gravetye’s Head Gardener Tom Coward will join the end of the talk for a Q&A with Polly. £160.00 per person, including tea/coffee on arrival, the talk, three-course lunch, drinks and a signed copy of the book, inclusive.

Flower Workshops with Head Florist Sharon Coote
Wednesday 9th October and Thursday 10th October
Two flower workshops hosted by Gravetye’s Head Florist Sharon Cootes who will expertly demonstrate and teach guests how to make and create an autumnal display, using a mixture of seasonal flowers from the garden. Hosted in the oak framed in the Little Garden. £155.00 per person, tea/coffee and biscuits on arrival, two-course lunch, wine, and workshop, inclusive.

Gravetye Book Launch
Saturday 16th November
Discover the spectacular new edition of Gravetye Manor: 20 year’s work round an old manor house by William Robinson with new colour images and a foreword by Head Gardener, Tom Coward. The event includes a talk from Tom and the chance to purchase the book at a special price. £160 per person including an aperitif, talk, three-course lunch and wine, inclusive.

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About Gravetye Manor
Gravetye Manor is a hotel and restaurant with four Red Stars, four Rosettes and one Michelin star, in West Sussex on the Kent/Surrey/Sussex borders. The Elizabethan manor house looks over 35 acres of stunning world-renowned gardens, walled kitchen garden, orchard, glasshouses and Peach House set within a further 1000 acres of woodland. The gardens are considered amongst the most influential in English horticultural history, made famous by previous owner and influential gardener William Robinson, whose preference for the ‘wild garden’, mixed herbaceous borders and hardy perennial planting broke with the formal Victorian style of the day, and his radical approach remains as popular as ever with gardeners today.

Notes to editors
Address: Gravetye Manor, Vowels Lane, West Hoathly, Sussex, RH19 4LJ
Tel: 01342 810567
Website: www.gravetyemanor.co.uk
Instagram: @gravetyemanor

September at The Small Holding

Alex, senior gardener at The Small Holding on the farm

September at The Small Holding, Kent

Green Michelin Star 2021/22/23
360 Guide Three Green Circles 2024

September is one of our favourite months at acre and it’s all about the harvest. At The Small Holding, it’s a whole-team effort preserving the summer gluts, and preparing both the farm, and the larder, for the leaner months ahead and creating new layers of flavour for winter. The last of the late summer tomatoes, sweetcorn and sweet red peppers are enjoying the sunshine and the Uchiki Kuri squash are pushing on to full ripeness and flavour for this month’s menu. It is also the start of the autumnal plums, apples and mushrooms.

The Small Holding

The September menus bridge this golden hour in the season; dishes become richer and more deeply flavoured as the season starts to turn. The first squashes from the farm are ready and see their way to chef James Chatfield’s menu paired with smoked sheep’s cheese, pumpkin seed, charred kale and herb pesto, while everybody’s favourite sweetcorn is cooked down into a smooth cream and served with meltingly soft braised pork cheek and barbecued chicken of the woods mushroom. For one of the two desserts on the September menu, there is a woodruff baba cake soaked in plum brandy with plum sorbet, woodruff ice cream and smoked pumpkin seed praline. 

Book a Table at The Small Holding

The September Full Acre menu at The Small Holding

Snacks, Sourdough and Hinxden Butter

Tomato and chilli
Squash, sheep's cheese, kale

Trout, cucumber, radish
Cod, crab, agretti

Pork, sweetcorn, mushroom
Hogget, aubergine, pepper

Apple, lemon verbena, yoghurt
Plum and woodruff

Cheese (optional)
Sweet Treats

The Small Holding is open Wednesday to Sunday with an eight-course Full Acre menu costing £95 per person and a five-course Half Acre menu costing £75 per person, with the option of a wine flight. A three-course set menu (from the full acre menu) is available on Thursday and Friday lunch time, priced £55 per person. The drinks list also includes housemade soft drinks, kombucha and non-alcoholic wine, beer and spirits.

About The Small Holding

The Small Holding is a Michelin green-starred kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. Run by brothers Will and Matt Devlin, as Chef and Head of Operations, respectively, The Small Holding is part of Acre, which also includes Birchwood in Flimwell, East Sussex. 

The 36-cover restaurant and farm is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between the land and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with monthly changing tasting menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10 feet from the kitchen.

The menu is defined by the farm’s own produce. Vegetables and fruits are harvested within hours of guests arriving; while charcuterie, sourdough and cultured butter and zero waste animal cookery from the farm’s own livestock, are made on site. The kitchen team works directly with growers, farmers and fishermen who share the same core values, and the team forage in the nearby hedgerows and woodland.

“Growing our own produce on the farm brings an understanding and honesty back to the kitchen, and vital freshness. Making the most of our harvests when the ingredients are at their prime - whilst also preserving and conserving them to use throughout the year, keeps us concentrated on the natural cycle of the land and helps us to create full flavoured and imaginative dishes.” Will Devlin