February at The Small Holding

Rhubarb sour at The Small Holding (Food Story Media)

Rhubarb sour at The Small Holding (Food Story Media)

Rhubarb, snowdrops and storms

Seedlings, snowdrops and buds are emerging at The Small Holding. Springs feels around the corner, despite Storm Ciara howling through the farm at the weekend pulling down one of the poly tunnels and destroying many of early strawberry plants inside.

February is the ‘hungry gap’ as the cold store produce stocks run low, the game season is over and while we wait for the first Spring greens to appear. It’s a difficult month waiting for the sunshine while dodging the wind the rain; it seems only the Berkshire pigs are having fun in the mud. While it’s cold outside though, the kitchen is a hot bed of activity, making use of the previous summer and autumn gluts with the team constantly inventing and experimenting with an almost empty natural larder.

Named ‘Chef to Watch’ in the Good Food Guide 2020, Will Devlin says, “This is a tough time of year in the kitchen but growing and preserving what we can throughout the year keeps us concentrated on the natural cycle of the land and helps us to create full flavoured and imaginative dishes.”

The February Full Acre sample menu is £60 per head with an optional four or six glass wine flight for £40/60. The Half Acre menu is £30 per person.

February’s Full Acre menu
Fennel, pumpkin, sage
Camembert, seaweed, truffle
Crab, apple, pork
Pigeon, prawn, mooli
Beef, mushroom, potato
Gurnard, leaves, lard
Lamb, carrot, leek
Quince, vodka, meadowsweet
Rhubarb, ginger, egg

About The Small Holding

Will Devlin, 31, is the chef owner of The Small Holding, a kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The 26-cover restaurant was voted the best restaurant in Kent at the Taste of Kent Awards and is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between farm and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with daily changing menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10ft from the kitchen.

Will’s second site, The Curlew, a former 17th century coaching inn in Bodiam, East Sussex will open on 19 February. www.thecurlew.restaurant.

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

Praise for The Small Holding

A group of folk growing amazing things, then pulling them out of the ground, sometimes knobbly and lumpy, then cooking and serving them. It’s perfectly imperfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Grace Dent, The Guardian

“The menu reads like a list of all that is good in a British Larder. Self-sufficiency, careful sourcing, purity of intent and an absolute focus on flavour. It’s easy to fall in love with The Small Holding for the warmth of the staff, its good intent and deft execution.” Tony Turnbull, The Times

“Striding confidently into its second year, Will Devlin’s restaurant shows no sign of slowing down, ‘a truly sensational experience’ is one fan’s heartfelt comment. The level of ingenuity generated by a kitchen on turbo drive, fueled by its own small holding, hen coop and piggery is prodigious.” Will Devlin was named ‘Chef to Watch’ in The Good Food Guide 2020

The Curlew launches in East Sussex from the team behind The Small Holding

Sharing and small plates at The Curlew (Food Story Media)

Sharing and small plates at The Curlew (Food Story Media)

The Curlew, opening on 19 February

www.thecurlew.restaurant

The Curlew, a new restaurant by chef owner Will Devlin, will launch on 19 February. Housed in a former coaching inn, the 46-cover restaurant is in the heart of rural East Sussex. Named by The Good Food Guide 2020 as ‘Chef to Watch’, this is Will’s second restaurant, alongside The Small Holding.

Inspired by The Curlew’s countryside location, while only 10 miles to the South Coast, the menu offers simple and seasonal small and sharing plates from land and sea. Ingredients are sourced hyper-locally from the best producers and fishermen, or are grown or foraged at The Small Holding, just 8 miles away.

Set in picture-postcard Sussex countryside, The Curlew is a Grade II listed former coaching inn with white clapboard façade and views across the fields. The menu will change every few weeks as ingredients and produce from the farm and suppliers, become available. Everything is made in house and the team butcher, bake, pickle, preserve and cure on site.

The kitchen is headed up by chef Will Devlin who will be onsite for the first 6 months. He will split his time between The Curlew and The Small Holding, which opened in April 2018, and where Head chef Harry Fields is in place. Dishes at The Curlew include salt baked carrots with dill seed mayonnaise; cured trout and kimchi; home-made fennel seed salami and chorizo from our Berkshire pigs at The Small Holding; whole brined and smoked roast chicken; whole roast turbot with sea purslane butter and roast rib of Sussex beef.

The drinks menu reflects the rich history of Sussex with beers from local breweries using heritage hops and water filtered through the South Downs and English wines from some of the country’s leading wineries which are on The Curlew’s doorstep.

“This is an exciting time to be relaunching The Curlew. It’s had a great history before us, and we plan to grow and build on its reputation as one of the best restaurants in the South East.” Will Devlin

For more information, press reviews and images please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room PR on hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk or 07730 039361

Address
The Curlew
Junction Road
Bodiam
East Sussex
TN32 5UY
www.thecurlew.restaurant

Enquiries: info@thecurlew.restaurant

Opening times
Wednesday to Saturday: 12-2.30pm (Lunch) and 6-9.30pm (Dinner)
Sunday: 12-3pm
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

Farm & Forage at The Small Holding

Will Devlin at The Small Holding, Kent

Will Devlin at The Small Holding, Kent

Farm and Forage at The Small Holding, Kilndown, Kent
Spring-Summer dates 2020

Go foraging this year with Will Devlin, chef owner of The Small Holding. Starting in May, when everything is green and fresh, guests will discover the rich bounty of nature’s wild larder. From dandelions and wild garlic in Spring to elderflower and wild strawberries in early Summer through to damsons, sloe berries, chanterelles and cobnuts in Autumn, the countryside is full of edible delights; you just need to know when and where to look.

The Small Holding ‘Farm and Forage’ days start at the restaurant at 9.30am with coffee and warm, homemade pastries before pulling on wellies and heading through the gate into the farm. After feeding the pigs and chickens, guests will walk amongst the poly tunnels and raised beds learning about the 200 varieties of fruit and vegetables being grown on site. Then guests will venture down the lane with Will to the woods and fields to go foraging and learn about what’s in season and what is best to eat. By May, Spring will be in full throttle and fully green and guests can expect to find carpets of wild garlic, wild fennel, wood sorrel, yarrow, nettles, sweet cicely, dandelion, chickweed, garlic mustard and maybe even morel mushrooms if they’re lucky.

Returning to The Small Holding, guests will be greeted with a glass of awarding-winning Squerryes’ English sparkling wine before being seated for either a Full or Half Acre tasting menu. Sample dishes might include Asparagus, Lovage and Mustard; Hogget, Fennel and Chilli; Lettuce, Mushroom and Dill; Strawberry, Basil and Elderflower.

The Farm and Forage days are available on the third Wednesday of the month between May and September and is priced at £145 for Farm and Forage and a 5 course Half Acre menu or £195 for Farm and Forage and a 10 course Full Acre menu. Both experiences include a welcome glass of Squerryes’ Vintage Brut, a local and award-winning English sparkling wine.

Bookings can be made direct via www.thesmallholding.restaurant or by calling the restaurant on 01892 890 105.

May Farm, a beautifully appointed self-catered three-bedroom barn, catered and run by The Small Holding and only a short walk from the restaurant, is also available to book alongside Farm and Forage days.

Farm and Forage 2020 dates: 20 May | 17 June | 22 July | 19 August | 16 September

-ends-

Notes to editors

The Small Holding is a kitchen and farm on a country lane in the pretty village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders.

The 26-cover restaurant has been named as the best restaurant in Kent at the Taste of Kent Awards and is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between farm and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with daily changing menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10ft from the kitchen. Rare breed Berkshire pigs, chickens and ducks roam the farm while The Small Holding’s own bees pollinate and feast on the wildflower beds.

May Farm at The Small Holding
Guests travelling to eat at The Small Holding are now be able to stay at May Farm, a rural country retreat run and catered for by restaurant team. In the heart of the High Weald of Kent and only a short walk or drive from The Small Holding, May Farm is in the blissful solitude of 40 acres of farm and woodland.  Once an ancient farm building, May Farm has been converted into a homely and well-designed space sleeping up to six guests. Dogs and muddy boots are welcome too. Combining country comforts with contemporary flair, May Farm retains the charm of the original threshing barn with wooden timbers and exposed brick walls.

“The menu reads like a list of all that is good in a British larder. Self-sufficiency, careful sourcing, purity of intent and an absolute focus on flavour. It’s easy to fall in love with The Small Holding for the warmth of the staff, its good intent and deft execution.” Tony Turnbull, The Times Magazine

“A group of folk growing things, then pulling them out of the ground, sometimes knobbly and lumpy, then cooking and serving them. It’s perfectly imperfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Grace Dent, The Guardian

For images, more information or for press review stays please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room PR on 07730 039361 or hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

The Small Holding
Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent, TN17 2SG
www.thesmallholding.restaurant
bookings@thesmallholding.restaurant

Telephone: 01892 890105
Instagram: @the_small_holding_

Open Hours

Wednesday to Friday 12pm-2pm; 6pm-11pm
Saturday 12pm-11pm
Food served 12-2pm; 6-9.30pm
Sunday 12-4pm
Food served 12-2pm

May Farm at The Small Holding, Kilndown, Kent

May Farm, new accommodation at The Small Holding

May Farm, new accommodation at The Small Holding

Escape the everyday at this rural retreat in the heart of the High Weald of Kent. Only a short walk or drive from The Small Holding, May Farm offers a beautifully appointed self-catered three-bedroom barn in the blissful solitude of 40 acres of farm and woodland.

Once an ancient farm building, May Farm is both private and spacious and has been lovingly converted into a homely space sleeping up to six guests. Dogs are welcome too. Combining sumptuous country comforts with contemporary flair, May Farm retains the charm of the original threshing barn with wooden timbers and exposed brick walls.

May Farm caters for the comfort of modern living, from a welcoming log burner, Egyptian Cotton bedsheets, underfloor heating, gun and boot room and a large, high-spec kitchen and dining table with a smeg fridge full of Kentish wines, beers and The Small Holding’s own charcuterie and local cheeses.

May Farm lends itself to couples or families with its top floor master bedroom and ensuite and two further rooms, one also upstairs and one downstairs, offering a king and twin beds with a walk-in shower room. Hunker down in winter with the cosy log burner, blankets, dvds and board games; while in the summer enjoy sitting out on the sunny garden terrace or in the hot tub, with a bottle of English sparkling wine, listening to the nightingales and gazing at the view.

Set on the edge of a working arable and livestock farm, May Farm is home to The Small Holding’s pigs and chickens and additional raised beds for brassicas and berry cages. Guests can be left alone as much as they wish or come help collect that morning’s eggs.

Explore the Weald of Kent

Discover pretty Kent villages, rolling countryside, fine dining and family fun within a stone’s throw of May Farm, all set within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. National Trust properties Sissinghurst and Scotney Castle are nearby, while Bewl Water with its woodland trails for walking and biking, pedalo and boat hire is a few minutes away. For those looking for the sea, Hastings is just another 45 minutes from The Small Holding.

May Farm at The Small Holding

Rates

May Farm is available for whole house hire for up to six guests, while also dining at The Small Holding.

Weekday rate £140 (Wednesday and Thursday)
Two-night weekday rate £260

Weekend rate £600 (Friday and Saturday)
Saturday night £300

Breakfast and arrival hampers are available on request to be pre-ordered.

Breakfast hamper at May Farm with homemade and local products from The Small Holding and Kent

Breakfast hamper at May Farm with homemade and local products from The Small Holding and Kent

The Small Holding x Elmley

Kingshill Farmhouse, Elmley Nature Reserve where The Small Holding weekend on 3-5 April will take place

Kingshill Farmhouse, Elmley Nature Reserve where The Small Holding weekend on 3-5 April will take place

Will Devlin from The Small Holding, Kilndown, is collaborating with Elmley Nature Reserve on the Isle of Sheppey, to cook a special dinner at Kingshill Farmhouse.

Taking place over the weekend of 3-5 April, it is a chance for guests to be immersed in nature, but in utter comfort, soaking up wilderness views and soaring skyscapes, whilst enjoying food cooked and served by one of Kent’s best chefs and his awarding-winning team from The Small Holding.

Named in The Good Food Guide 2020 as ‘Chef to Watch’, Will Devlin will cook a bespoke tasting menu in the beautiful kitchen diner of the newly, and lovingly, restored and renovated 18th century, grade II listed Kingshill Farmhouse. Sitting in the heart of the 3,300-acre reserve, the huge glass sliding doors have vast views out across the marshes where it is easy to spot a hare hopping past, wading birds and a barn owl hunting over the reeds. Just an hour from London and 70 minutes from The Small Holding, Elmley feels a world away from the city.

When booking this special weekend, guests will be able to choose one of the five beautiful, individually designed bedrooms by interior designer Francesca Rowan Plowden, each with sweeping views of the reserve. Special touches including roll top cast iron baths, each with views, the gorgeous reception rooms, and the huge kitchen diner make Elmley an incredible place to stay.

Arriving on Friday night, if they wish, guests will have use of the well-stocked honesty bar and charcuterie and cheese boards prepared by The Small Holding using their own house-cured meats and local Kent and Sussex cheeses. Saturday breakfast will be a simple affair prepared by the Elmley team, before cocktails, snacks and tasting menu by The Small Holding in the evening. Saturday dinner and Sunday brunch will be served communally around the farmhouse kitchen table.

During the weekend guests can pre-book in-house holistic therapies, while wildlife tours, hosted by Estate manager Gareth Fulton, who runs Elmley with his wife Georgina, can also be arranged. The charming towns of Whitstable and Faversham are nearby, while some guests may just prefer to curl up with a book in one of the many cosy reception areas and gaze out across the breathtaking views.

This special weekend costs from £400 per person, for two nights, based on two people sharing a room, and includes a tasting menu and paired wine flight on the Saturday evening by Will Devlin and The Small Holding team, and Sunday brunch including a Full English, homemade breads, pastries and jams and of course, lots of fresh coffee and tea. Friday night charcuterie boards, additional drinks, tours and / or treatments are additional extras to be booked through Elmley.

To book please visit https://www.elmleynaturereserve.co.uk/huts/kingshill-farmhouse.

About Elmley

Elmley is an independently owned and managed National Nature Reserve and is a conservation site of international importance, where farming and conservation go hand in hand. As well as being one of the most important UK sites for breeding waders, it is also renowned for raptors, owls, and hares, along with rare bees, dragonflies and flora. Elmley is the only National Nature Reserve in the UK where guests can stay overnight. The property is ideal for staycations and celebrations and can be hired as a private whole house rental, and on select dates from 2020, individual bedrooms will be available on a B&B basis. www.elmleynaturereserve.co.uk Instagram @elmleynature

About The Small Holding
Will Devlin, 31, is the chef owner of The Small Holding, a kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The 26-cover restaurant was voted the best restaurant in Kent at the Taste of Kent Awards and is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between farm and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with daily changing menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10ft from the kitchen. www.thesmallholding.restaurant Instagram @the_small_holding_

“A group of folk growing amazing things, then pulling them out of the ground, sometimes knobbly and lumpy, then cooking and serving them. It’s perfectly imperfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Grace Dent, The Guardian

The menu reads like a list of all that is good in a British Larder. Self-sufficiency, careful sourcing, purity of intent and an absolute focus on flavour. It’s easy to fall in love with The Small Holding for the warmth of the staff, its good intent and deft execution.” Tony Turnbull, The Times

For more information please contact Hannah Blake or Charlotte Allen
Hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk (07730 039361)
 charlotte@elmleynaturereserve.co.uk (07595 881931)

December at The Small Holding

Partridge baked whole in hay and served with squash and sprouts from The Small Holding farm

Partridge baked whole in hay and served with squash and sprouts from The Small Holding farm

December at The Small Holding, Kent

During winter, work on the farm at The Small Holding slows down. Roots such as turnips, celeriac and beetroot are getting a good frost in the ground, which helps turn the starch to sugars, while the leafy brassicas and cabbages are ready for harvest and a welcome hit of green. While it’s cold outside, the kitchen is a hot bed of activity making use of the summer and autumn gluts with the team constantly inventing and experimenting with a diminishing natural larder.

Named ‘Chef to Watch’ in The Good Food Guide 2020, Will Devlin says, “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.” 

The December Full Acre sample menu is £60 per head and includes truffle, turbot, venison, partridge and sprouts. An optional four or six glass wine pairing is £40/60. The Half Acre menu is £30 per person.

December’s Full Acre menu
Artichoke, Mushroom, Truffle
Razor Clam, Eel, Lard
Oyster, Coriander, Ants
Chicken, Egg, Waffle
Turbot, Seaweed, Anchovies
Venison, Celery, Horseradish
Partridge, Squash, Sprouts
Bay Leaf, Pumpkin
Almond, Damson, Goat Milk
Today’s cheese

About The Small Holding
Will Devlin, 31, is the chef owner of The Small Holding, a kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The 26-cover restaurant was voted the best restaurant in Kent at the Taste of Kent Awards and is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between farm and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with daily changing menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10ft from the kitchen. Will took ownership of The Small Holding in January 2018 and opened in April 2018. A former pub, which was run down and neglected, the site has been transformed into an open kitchen and bar with a large decked terrace looking out over the farm and views of the Weald of Kent. 

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

Praise for The Small Holding

A group of folk growing amazing things, then pulling them out of the ground, sometimes knobbly and lumpy, then cooking and serving them. It’s perfectly imperfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Grace Dent, The Guardian

“The menu reads like a list of all that is good in a British Larder. Self-sufficiency, careful sourcing, purity of intent and an absolute focus on flavour. It’s easy to fall in love with The Small Holding for the warmth of the staff, its good intent and deft execution.” Tony Turnbull, The Times

Striding confidently into its second year, Will Devlin’s restaurant shows no sign of slowing down, ‘a truly sensational experience’ is one fan’s heartfelt comment. The level of ingenuity generated by a kitchen on turbo drive, fuelled by its own small holding, hen coop and piggery is prodigious.” Will Devlin was named ‘Chef to Watch’ in The Good Food Guide 2020

Osip by Merlin Labron-Johnson

Osip by Merlin Labron-Johnson at Number One Bruton, Somerset (credit: Maureen M Evans)

Osip by Merlin Labron-Johnson at Number One Bruton, Somerset (credit: Maureen M Evans)

Merlin Labron-Johnson’s new farm-to-table restaurant Osip in Bruton, Somerset has launched, alongside boutique hotel Number One Bruton.

Having grown up in Devon, Merlin has spent the last years travelling around the world and living in London and has returned to the West Country to open his own self-funded restaurant. The name Osip is taken from his own middle name inspired by the Russian poet, Osip Mandelstam.

Osip offers set and a la carte menus that pay homage to the fantastic produce of Somerset, with a focus on organic and biodynamic vegetables over red meat. Simplicity, lack of pretension and imagination define the menu, as well as total dedication to extremely low food mileage. Fruit and vegetables are grown on eight acres of land near Bruton and on an allotment five-minutes-walk from the restaurant. Inspired by nature’s seasons, Merlin’s style is informal and abundant, committed to minimising waste and reintegrating fruit and herb trimmings, animal fats, offal and bones. He grew up in Devon and Osip is the result of a long-held wish to open a rustic restaurant closely tied to his West Country roots.

Other collaborators  include the charity and farm The Husbandry School in Devon, the traditional Somerset cheesemakers Westcombe Dairy and local organic growers such as Charles Dowding and Bengrove Market Garden along with local fine ciders from the likes of Fine & Foster and Pilton. West country cider plays a starring role in Osip’s drinks offering and the initial wine selection will be co-sculpted by talented sommeliers Honey Spencer (formerly of Noma Mexico) and Ania Smelskaya (of Silo).  Merlin has also chosen to work with New Ground Coffee who are a social enterprise roasting high quality coffee who use the business as a vehicle to train and create employment for ex-offenders.

A number of collaborations are visible throughout the restaurant including fashion designer  Studio Nicholson creating bespoke uniforms for the front of house and Bill Amberg Studio on upholstery of the tables along with the work from craftspeople such as Kana Ceramics and Owen Wall .

Joining Osip from The Conduit in London, Merlin Labron-Johnson has an impressive list of accolades to his name and earned a Michelin-star at the age of 24, nine months after he opened the kitchen at Portland Restaurant. Young and philanthropic, Merlin is inspired by cooking at Refettorio Felix homeless shelter and providing quality cooking for refugee camps in Europe through Help Refugees.

November at The Small Holding

Mushroom foraging at The Small Holding (credit Food Story Media)

Mushroom foraging at The Small Holding (credit Food Story Media)

Oysters, celeriac and preserves

November at The Small Holding

Striding confidently into its second year, Will Devlin’s restaurant shows no sign of slowing down, ‘a truly sensational experience’ is one fan’s heartfelt comment. The level of ingenuity generated by a kitchen on turbo drive, fuelled by its own small holding, hen coop and piggery is prodigious.” Will Devlin was named ‘Chef to Watch’ in The Good Food Guide 2020

A group of folk growing amazing things, then pulling them out of the ground, sometimes knobbly and lumpy, then cooking and serving them. It’s perfectly imperfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Grace Dent, The Guardian

Everything is home-made at The Small Holding, including sourdough bread and butter, yoghurt and ricotta or sourced hyper-locally such as Hinxden Cream which has a herd of pedigree Guernsey and Holstein Friesian cows in nearby Benenden. Ingredients are picked less than 10ft from the kitchen and when there’s a glut, the kitchen preserves, pickles and jars.

The November Full Acre sample menu, with full vegetarian and vegan menus available, costs £60 per person with an optional 4 glass wine pairing at £40 and 6 glass wine pairing at £60. The Half Acre menu is £30 per person.

Cauliflower, Nettle, Truffle
Celeriac, Scallop, Asparagus
Oyster, Kale, Lovage
Beetroot, Cheese, Blueberry
Hake, Bacon, Clams
Hogget, Cabbage, Parsley
Pork, Potato, Egg
Miso, Pear, Pine
Apple, Goat Milk, Brandy

Will Devlin, 31, is the chef owner of The Small Holding, a kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The 26-cover restaurant was voted the best restaurant in Kent at the Taste of Kent Awards and is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between farm and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with daily changing menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10ft from the kitchen.

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

Will took ownership of The Small Holding in January 2018 and opened in April 2018. A former pub, which was run down and neglected, the site has been transformed into an open kitchen and bar with a large decked terrace looking out over the farm and views of the Weald of Kent.

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

 

Fire + Wild Wilderness Retreat in Scotland

Eilean Shona off the west coast of Scotland

Eilean Shona off the west coast of Scotland

Wilderness Retreat
On the island of Eilean Shona on the West Coast of Scotland
12-19 September 2020

www.fireandwild.co.uk

“Heaven on Earth. This is the kind of magic one longs for, looks for and seldom finds.” Kate Winslet

The private island of Eilean Shona, in a remote loch off the west coast of Scotland, is the location for Fire + Wild’s first Wilderness Retreat, taking place on 12-19 September, 2020. Described by Condé Nast as ‘Britain’s most romantic island hideaway’, Eilean Shona is the location which inspired Peter Pan’s Neverland after J M Barrie rented the island in the 1920s, offering 1,300 acres of untouched, raw wilderness.

During this truly unique week of wild adventure, up to 16 guests will experience island life with Fire + Wild’s team of chefs, hunters and foragers, reconnecting to nature with workshops, fire and feasts. The island is a car-free haven and is blessed with an array of magical wildlife where deer roam freely, otters drift through surrounding lochs and eagles circle overhead. Dolphins, minke whales and basking sharks can all be seen in the surrounding waters. Days will be filled with mushroom foraging, hiking, fishing, deer butchery, whisky tasting and wild swimming with lunch on the beach or in the forest. In the evening, multi-course tasting menus will be cooked on an open wood fire, with wine pairing and wild cocktails. Every dish will celebrate the surrounding landscape and capture the flavour of the island with ingredients including red deer, wild mushrooms, coastal herbs and vegetables, freshly caught fish and seafood.

Guests will be met by the ferryman at Dorlin Pier to boat across Loch Moidart to Eilean Shona and will stay in one of a collection of private cottages each set in its own plot of wild paradise on the island, overlooking the loch. Each of the cottages have their own unique style and charm with a high level of comfort and luxury, with Egyptian cotton linen, wood fired heating inside and a fire pit outside. Breakfast with freshly baked bread and pastries will be delivered each morning.

This all-inclusive wild adventure costs from £1625 per person, including luxury accommodation, all food and drink and workshops. The price excludes the cost of travel to island. To book, visit www.fireandwild.co.uk/retreats  | Instagram @fireandwild

About Fire + Wild

“[Fire + Wild is part of] a small but growing culinary movement; call it wild dining. It embraces the best of being in nature - fresh air, stunning landscapes and potent solitude - and enhances it with world-class cuisine.” Financial Times, October 2019

Fire + Wild is a nomadic food and foraging experience hosting outdoor dining events, guided foraging walks and wild camping. Events take place all over the country from Sussex to Scotland, serving hyper-seasonal, restaurant-style dishes cooked over fire.

Fire + Wild was established in 2017 by chef, hunter and forager Mark Andrews. After several chaotic years working in London, he decided it was time for a simpler way of life and returned to his rural roots. The next few years were spent exploring the wild parts of Scotland, Sweden and France during remote camping and canoe trips while foraging wild food, hunting and cooking over fire. Fire + Wild takes a hands-on, hunter gatherer approach to sourcing ingredients. The small team includes expert foragers, trained hunters and a sommelier who work together to gather edible wild plants, berries, fungi, fish and game. Fire + Wild donates 5% of its profits to The Woodland Trust each year and has a low impact, zero waste policy.

For images and more information please contact Hannah Blake on hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk or 07730 039361.

Fire + Wild events for November and December

Fire + Wild Winter events

Fire + Wild Winter events

“A ticket to one of Fire + Wild’s foraging feasts is the perfect gift. A five-course tasting menu outdoors -think of it as a super-luxe, super-delicious barbecue.” GQ Magazine

Fire + Wild is a nomadic food and foraging experience hosting outdoor dining events, guided foraging walks and wild camping. Events take place all over the country from Sussex to Scotland, serving hyper-seasonal, restaurant-style dishes cooked over fire. Fire + Wild takes a hands-on, hunter gatherer approach to sourcing ingredients. The small team includes expert foragers, trained hunters and a sommelier who work together to gather edible wild plants, berries, fungi, fish and game. Recent dishes include squirrel and black chanterelle ragu and truffle gnocchi; wood pigeon, coal roasted squash and pickled blueberries and for pudding, grilled pears, brown butter and elderberry.

Fire + Wild events in November and December www.fireandwild.co.uk/events

Explore: wild boar: a nose to tail feast
Saturday 23rd November, 10-4pm, priced £150 per person
Location: a woodland just outside Lewes, East Sussex

This special event is focused on a truly iconic beast - the wild boar. During this off-grid event, the Fire + Wild team will guide 24 guests through the process of butchering and cooking wild boar over fire, understanding how to make use of the entire carcass, as well as learning about the animal’s behaviour, history and the fundamentals of its meat. Following the butchery session, everyone will head to a wood-fired kitchen in the forest for a five-course banquet, paired wines and wild cocktails.

Lock, stock and barrel: a festive forest feast
Saturday 7th December, 10-4pm, priced £150 per person
Location: a woodland outside Lewes, East Sussex

This is the final Fire + Wild event of the year. Focusing on game, the event will begin with a guided clay pigeon shooting session, demonstrating how to shoot moving targets and explaining the processes used to harvest wild meat in this way. Following the shoot, the group will head to secret woodland location for a five-course tasting menu of duck, partridge and rabbit, cooked over fire. Each course will be paired with festive wild cocktails, paired wines and port. 

About Fire + Wild

Fire + Wild was established in 2017 by chef, hunter and forager Mark Andrews. After several chaotic years working in London, he decided it was time for a more simple way of life and returned to his rural roots. The next few years were spent exploring the wild parts of Scotland, Sweden and France during remote camping and canoe trips while foraging wild food, hunting and cooking over fire. Fire + Wild donates 5% of its profits to The Woodland Trust each year and has a low impact, zero waste policy.

www.fireandwild.co.uk | Instagram @fireandwild

For more information, images or an interview please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room.

Fire + Wild

Fire and Wild (credit Daisy Saul)

Fire and Wild (credit Daisy Saul)

Forage and Feast with Fire + Wild

Fire + Wild, which hosts off-grid outdoor dining with hyper-seasonal ingredients, fire-cooking and foraging experiences is a new client at The Dining Room. Run by chef and forager Mark Andrews, Fire + Wild is everything I want in a client - brave, interesting and most of all, delicious.

I went along for the recent Forage and Feast event on Ashdown Forest which started with a guided mushroom walk through the woods with mycologist Jesper Launder. We found over 100 mushroom varieties including 30 edibles such as porcini, hedgehog, parasols and amethyst deceivers. Despite the challenging weather conditions Mark and his team created a beautiful candlelit dining table under the trees with fire pits for warmth. After the forage we arrived at the forest camp for a glass of sloe gin fizz and wild canapés of gin-cured trout croustades and crispy rabbit bruschetta around the campfire.

Next followed a five course menu - wild mushroom butter with charred flatbreads, gorse-smoked scallops with wild boar bacon jam, squirrel and black chanterelle ragu with fried truffle gnocchi, wood pigeon with pickled blueberries and elderberry jus and grilled pears basted with brown butter served with mascarpone, hazelnut crumb and wood sorrel. Pudding was paired with an appropriately autumnal Sloe Gin Sour.

Follow Fire + Wild’s adventures on instagram and sign up to their newsletter for new events.

Fire and Wild dinner at sunset (Daisy Saul)

Fire and Wild dinner at sunset (Daisy Saul)




Kent chef collaboration dinners

On the pass (credit Food Story Media)

On the pass (credit Food Story Media)

Two of Kent’s best chefs are collaborating to cook together on consecutive nights in each other’s restaurant.

On Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th November, Robert Taylor from The Compasses Inn, Crundale and Will Devlin from The Small Holding, Kilndown will cook an 8-course menu together, preparing 4 courses each in their own style.

Both chefs are recognised as being at the top of Kent’s restaurant scene. The Compasses is listed as one of the UK’s Top 50 Gastro Pubs and won Best Food Pub in the Country in the John Smith’s Great British Pub Awards. Will Devlin from The Small Holding has won Kent Chef of the Year and Best Restaurant in the Taste of Kent Awards. The Small Holding and The Compasses are both in the Michelin Guide and in the Good Food Guide 2020.

This unique collaboration is £80 per person with the option of an additional paired wine flight.

Snacks

Cheese and onion bun, venison croquette and damson ketchup

Menu

Celeriac, asparagus, cheddar (Will)

Caramelised cauliflower and crispy Winnie’s Wheel (Rob)

Scallop, lovage, apple (Will)

Soused herring with dill mayonnaise and shallots (Rob)

Pork, cabbage, tomato (Will)

Stout glazed ox with mushroom and English mustard clotted cream (Rob)

Apple, cobnut, pine (Will)

Chocolate and salted caramel macaron (Rob)

Coffee and sweets

Pineapple weed jelly, preserved orange and chocolate fudge

-ends-

For more information, interview requests or images please contact Hannah Blake

The Dining Room PR on hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk or 07730 039361 

 

Notes to editors:

Monday 11th November at The Compasses Inn
Sole Street, Crundale |Canterbury | Kent | CT4 7ES
Reservations to www.thecompassescrundale.co.uk

Tuesday 12th November at The Small Holding
Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG
Reservations to www.thesmallholding.restaurant

Goatober 2019

James Whetlor from Goatober on the beach cooking goat vindaloo in a Netherton Foundry pan  (picture credit Neil White)

James Whetlor from Goatober on the beach cooking goat vindaloo in a Netherton Foundry pan
(picture credit Neil White)

It’s that time again. The first of October is the start of Goatober, a month-long goat meat celebration which started in New York in 2011 with Heritage Foods USA and came to London four years ago as a late night text conversation of ‘can we start Goatober in the UK?’

Turns out we could and now Goatober is an international food festival with events all over the world including the UK, USA, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean bringing together dairies, farmers, NGOs and individuals who are passionate about ending food waste in the goat dairy system. 

So many events to look forward to but kicking off with the London launch at Brigade Bar + Kitchen with Karan Gokani, Calum Franklin, Gizzi Erskine and Pete Denhart and then special Goatober residencies at Carousel throughout October.

Follow @goatobernews on instagram and visit www.goatober.com for more information.

October at The Small Holding

Pigs at The Small Holding (credit Food Story Media)

Pigs at The Small Holding (credit Food Story Media)

October at The Small Holding

“A group of folk growing amazing things, then pulling them out of the ground, sometimes knobbly and lumpy, then cooking and serving them. It’s perfectly imperfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Grace Dent, The Guardian

“Striding confidently into its second year, Will Devlin’s restaurant shows no sign of slowing down, ‘a truly sensational experience’ is one fan’s heartfelt comment. The level of ingenuity generated by a kitchen on turbo drive, fuelled by its own small holding, hen coop and piggery is prodigious.” Will Devlin was named ‘Chef to Watch’ in The Good Food Guide 2020

Now the days are getting shorter and there’s woodsmoke in the air, the kitchen is preserving as much of the summer gluts as possible. There are autumn raspberries and damsons and blackberries from the hedgerows and woods. Wild mushrooms and cobnuts have been found and are on the menu. Rare breed Berkshire pigs, chickens and ducks roam the farm and sheep for hogget and mutton graze less than half a mile away. 

Everything is home-made at The Small Holding, including sourdough bread and butter, yogurt and ricotta or sourced hyper-locally such as Hinxden Cream who have a herd of pedigree Guernsey and Holstein Friesian cows in nearby Benenden. Ingredients are picked less than 10ft from the kitchen and when there’s a glut, the kitchen preserves, pickles and jars.

The October Full Acre sample menu is below, with full vegetarian and vegan menus available and costs £60 per person with an optional 4 glass wine pairing at £40 and 6 glass wine pairing at £60. The Half Acre menu is £30 per person. 

Cauliflower, Nettle, Truffle
Beetroot, Cheese, Lovage
Squash, Walnuts, Sage
Hake, Leek, Chard
Celeriac, Scallop, Ants
Partridge, Carrot, Rhubarb
Pork, Potato, Chard
Miso, Apple, Cobnut
Plum, Yogurt, Oats
Blackberry, Buttermilk, Brandy

For interview requests with Will Devlin, images, commissioned press reviews or to visit The Small Holding for a Farm and Forage tour please contact hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk or 07730 039361.

Goatober launch at Brigade Bar + Kitchen

Braised goat shoulder, potato and onion pie, caramelised cauliflower puree and goat gravy by Calum Franklin from Holborn Dining Room

Braised goat shoulder, potato and onion pie, caramelised cauliflower puree and goat gravy by Calum Franklin from Holborn Dining Room

GOATOBER London launch with Wild Beer Co.

Goatober, the month-long goat meat celebration held every year in October, is an international food festival bringing together dairies, farmers, NGOs and individuals who are passionate about ending food waste in the goat dairy system.

Wild Beer Co. is the exclusive drinks partner for Goatober and will be pairing beers at London events including Brigade Bar + Kitchen, Carousel and Native. Throughout October, Wild Beer will be pairing beers with goat dishes with a specific focus on Modus Operandi; an oak matured wild beer, aged for many months in Bourbon and Red Wine barrels tasting of sour cherries, toffee and dark chocolate. 

On 1 October, Gizzi Erksine; executive head chef of The Holborn Dining Room Calum Franklin and Karan Gokani, director of Sri Lankan restaurant Hoppers will cook at Brigade Bar + Kitchen with head chef Pete Denhart to create a special goat menu. This special one night only event is £65 per person and includes a charity donation to Beyond Food Foundation.

“Goat is not only absolutely delicious, it’s probably one of the most sustainable of all meats. I believe we should be trying to eat less, better quality meat and using the whole animal.” Gizzi Erskine

Smoked goat, goat fat focaccia, labneh, chimichurri, pomegranate and pickles by Pete Denhart from Brigade Bar + Kitchen

Goat ragu with fresh tagliatelle by Gizzi Eskine

Goat Buriani with a goat offal pickle and smoked aubergine raita by Karan Gokani at Hoppers

Braised goat shoulder, potato and onion pie, caramelised cauliflower puree and goat gravy by Calum Franklin from Holborn Dining Room

Pete Denhart, Head Chef at Brigade, commented: “Wild Beer have a big focus on beer and food pairings. It is a natural partnership to work with them for our Goatober menu as the ethical and sustainable nature of the event reflects the brand’s ethos and the way in which they brew. The diversity and range of flavours in our menu from Gizzi, Calum and Karan reflects Wild Beer’s attitude to creating great beer.”

For more information on Goatober visit www.Goatober.com and follow @GoatoberNews on Instagram. Find out more about Goatober 2019 drinks partner on Wildbeerco.com and follow @wildbeerco

Tickets from Design my Night.

 

Will Devlin... one to watch

Will Devlin at The Small Holding (credit Severien Vits)

Will Devlin at The Small Holding (credit Severien Vits)

Will Devlin at The Small Holding has been named Chef to Watch in The Good Food Guide 2020

Will Devlin, chef owner of The Small Holding in Kilndown, Kent has been named Chef to Watch in The Good Food Guide which has announced its list of top restaurants in the country and award winners.

Owned by Waitrose & Partners, the Chef to Watch award was chosen by the Guide’s editor Elizabeth Carter and is given each year to one chef who has shown excellence in their field and exceptional talent.

Elizabeth Carter says, “With a number of young chefs cooking to such a high standard, the Chef to Watch award was a tough judging assignment this year. But, ultimately, Will Devlin won our hearts. His is a simple formula: an instinctive feel for food, a refreshing down-to-earth approach with the emphasis on seasonality and quality - ingredients are grown in the restaurant’s own small holding or sourced locally.”

Will Devlin comments, “I am blown away to find out I am in the Guide as this year’s Chef to Watch. It’s an award that has been won by so many amazing chefs and people I really look up to. It’s great to have this kind of recognition in The Good Food Guide, I’m genuinely honoured.”

The Small Holding has been given a cooking score of 4 in The Good Food Guide. The entry says, “Striding confidently into its second year, Will Devlin’s restaurant shows no sign of slowing down, ‘a truly sensational experience’ is one fan’s heartfelt comment. The level of ingenuity generated by a kitchen on turbo drive, fuelled by its own smallholding, hen coop and piggery, is prodigious. There’s a feel for proper flavour in thoughtful assemblages of halibut with a classic beurre blanc sauce, Dexter beef tartare perfectly balanced with a slow-cooked duck egg, and in virtuoso desserts such as a strawberry and basil tartlet or a pear and miso combo. The whole show is fleshed out with brilliant bread, engaging service and a wine list that is gleaned from hands-on organic producers.

For more information about The Small Holding, interview requests or press reviews please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room PR on hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk or 07730 039361

Press enquiries regarding The Good Food Guide to Hayley Soper at Waitrose & Partner on Hayley.soper@waitrose.co.uk or 01344 824896

 

Notes to editors:

The Small Holding | Ranters Lane | Kent | TN17 2SG

Everything is home-made at The Small Holding, including sourdough bread and butter, yoghurt and ricotta or sourced hyper-locally such as Hinxden Cream which has a herd of pedigree Guernsey and Holstein Friesian cows in nearby Benenden. Ingredients are picked less than 10ft from the kitchen and when there’s a glut, the kitchen preserves, pickles and jars.

The September Full Acre sample menu includes dishes such as sweetcorn, mushroom and egg; beef, fennel and nasturtium; and plum, yoghurt and honey. There are full vegetarian and vegan menus available costing £60 per person with an optional 4 glass wine pairing at £40 and 6 glass wine pairing at £60. The Half Acre menu is £30 per person.

The Good Food Guide is compiled by coupling reader feedback of eateries up and down the country with anonymous inspections by a team of experts. The Good Food Guide is published by Waitrose & Partners on 12th September, available in Waitrose & Partners shops and online. RRP £17.99.

September at The Small Holding

Radishes at The Small Holding

Radishes at The Small Holding

September at The Small Holding

In early September, The Small Holding’s farm in Kilndown, Kent, is in full production with gluts of courgettes and tomatoes, and new season sweetcorn and beetroot.  There are autumn raspberries and damsons and blackberries from the hedgerows and woods. The first chanterelle mushrooms and Kentish cobnuts have been found and are on the menu. Rare breed Berkshire pigs, chickens and ducks roam the farm and sheep for hogget and mutton graze less than half a mile away.  

Everything is home-made at The Small Holding, including sourdough bread and butter, yoghurt and ricotta or sourced hyper-locally such as Hinxden Cream who have a herd of pedigree Guernsey and Holstein Friesian cows in nearby Benenden. Ingredients are picked less than 10ft from the kitchen and when there’s a glut, the kitchen preserves, pickles and jars.

The September Full Acre sample menu is below, with full vegetarian and vegan menus available and costs £60 per person with an optional 4 glass wine pairing at £40 and 6 glass wine pairing at £60. The Half Acre menu is £30 per person.

Sweetcorn, mushroom, egg
Hogget, cabbage, cheese
Onion, blackberries, seaweed
Cod, lettuce, lovage
Monkfish, tomato, parsley
Beef, fennel, nasturtium
Pork, radish, courgette
Apple, ginger, juniper
Plum, yoghurt, honey
Raspberry, tarragon, potato

For interview requests with Will Devlin, images, commissioned press reviews or to visit The Small Holding for a Farm and Forage tour please contact hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk or 07730 039361.

Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG

www.thesmallholding.restaurant
@the_small_holding_

The Dining Room at Squerryes

Native lobster from Cornwall

Native lobster from Cornwall

The Dining Room is a new restaurant in Kent focusing on a menu of British fish and seafood married with seasonal ingredients from the Squerryes estate and local and artisan producers.

Launching on 4 October 2019 for lunch and dinner, The Dining Room is set within the 2,500-acre Squerryes estate in Kent, combining a restaurant, tasting room, open terrace and a beautiful shaded pergola, overlooking the vines.

Situated in the Garden of England, at the gateway from London to Kent, Squerryes is a vineyard and winery producing award-winning sparkling wine. Reflecting the rich heritage and terroir of the North Downs, Squerryes signature Vintage Brut Reserve is made in the traditional method, using classic Champagne varietals. The resulting wine is fresh and clean with a rich intensity of orchard fruit and buttery brioche and is an ideal pairing for seafood and shellfish.

Small and large plates at The Dining Room include Cornish monkfish skewer, spider crab and garlic butter; pickled Jersey rock oysters, celery and dill and line caught John Dory, spelt risotto and sauce vierge. All fish is sustainable, seasonal, straight from the boat.

Many of the other kitchen ingredients come from nearby producers and suppliers such as Winterdale Shaw cheese and Pierce Mill cherries. Wild ingredients such as elderflower, cobnuts and blackberries are foraged fresh on the estate.

Estate Executive Chefs Chris Reeves and David Marsaud source seafood for the menu direct from boats that fish the British coastal waters. Oysters come from Whitsable and Colchester while native lobsters, brown and spider crabs, mackerel, bass and turbot come from Wild Harbour in north Cornwall, which supplies only sustainable and traceable fish and shellfish direct from the fishing community. The menu also includes vegetarian and vegan options including roast golden and choggia beetroot, goat’s cheese, radish and shallot.

For more information, images or a press visit to The Dining Room and winery please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room PR hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk or 07730 039361.

Squerryes Winery
Beggars Lane | Westerham | Kent | TN16 1QP
Reservations  01959 562345 | celebrations@squerryes.co.uk

Open hours
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for lunch from midday to 4pm
Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 6.30pm-11pm

Goatober 2019

Three international chefs will cook a week long residency each at Carousel, London.

Three international chefs will cook a week long residency each at Carousel, London.

Events and dinners using goat meat in London, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Melbourne and Trinidad and Tobago

London launch night at Brigade Bar + Kitchen with Pete Denhart, Gizzi Erskine, Calum Franklin and Karan Gokani
International chef residencies at Carousel, London from New York, Melbourne and Belgium
Dinners and events in the UK including London, Newcastle and Cornwall
International events across the world

Goatober, the month-long goat meat celebration held every year in October, has become an international food festival bringing together dairies, farmers, NGOs and individuals who are passionate about ending food waste in the goat dairy system. This October, there are events and dinners all over the world with one aim: put more goat meat on the menu and put all male goats born into the dairy system into the food system.

James Whetlor, founder of Cabrito Goat Meat and International Director of Goatober says, “Goatober spreads the word that goat meat is delicious, ethical and sustainable. The hope is to move goat meat into the mainstream with the goal that all billy goats born into the dairy system, anywhere in the world, will go into the food system, rather than being wasted. Goatober now has events in the UK, USA, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean. There is also interest from chefs in India and Brazil to get involved. It’s amazing and hugely satisfying to see what can happen when dairies, suppliers and chefs work together to try and solve the food waste issue in this part of food system.”

Goatober London launch night at Brigade Bar + Kitchen on 1 October
On 1 October, four chefs will work together to create a goat meat menu at Brigade, a social enterprise restaurant set in a Grade II listed, former fire station on Tooley Street, London. Joining Brigade’s Head Chef Pete Denhart to each cook a course is chef and food writer Gizzi Erksine; executive head chef of The Holborn Dining Room Calum Franklin and Karan Gokani, director of Sri Lankan restaurant Hoppers. This special one night only event is £65 per person and includes a charity donation to Beyond Food Foundation.

Central to Brigade’s ethos is the idea of ‘good food doing good’. Through its partnership with Beyond Food Foundation, Brigade’s chefs work with members of the local community, using food as a catalyst to break the cycle of homelessness by helping vulnerable adults in London who have been at risk of, or experienced homelessness into meaningful and sustainable employment in the hospitality sector. Together, Brigade and Beyond Food have trained hundreds of apprentices into jobs and given thousands of homeless people new skills and their current cohort of apprentices – who are undertaking a two-year, fully qualified training programme at Brigade - will work alongside the chefs on the night of the London launch. www.thebrigade.co.uk

Pete Denhart, Head Chef at Brigade, commented: “Brigade’s menu centres on the best locally and sustainably sourced produce, cooked over woodfire and chargrill, so goat meat fits very naturally into that approach and we’re big fans of it. Plus, by buying in whole billy goats, butchering them in house and cooking a range of different dishes, we’re providing vital skills to our team. Being involved with events such as the Goatober London launch and having the opportunity to work alongside well-known chefs such as Gizzi, Calum and Karan is hugely inspirational and beneficial for our apprentices.”

Goatober at Carousel, London
For three weeks in October three international chefs will take up residency at Carousel showcasing how they cook goat meat in New York, Australia and Belgium, respectively. The open kitchen at Carousel in Marylebone, London, is home to an ever-changing line-up of talented chefs from around the world who share the same philosophy of amazing cooking, friendly service, a relaxed environment and a shared experience from one table to the next.

carousel-london.com  |  @Carousel_LDN
71 Blandford Street, Marylebone, London W1U 8AB
020 7487 5564

8-13 October at Carousel, London
TJ Steele, chef owner of
Claro, Brooklyn, New York was born into an Italian family in New Jersey where he grew up cooking next to his mother and grandmother. He attended The Culinary Institute of America and moved to New York City in 2002. Within three years, at the age of 25, he was made Executive Sous Chef at Danny Meyer's landmark, award-winning Union Square Cafe. In 2012, TJ went to Oaxaca, Mexico to study, eat, and travel in the hopes of marrying his love of seasonal, farm-to-table cooking, with his love of Mexican gastronomy. In the summer of 2017, he opened Claro, a Oaxacan influenced restaurant in Gowanus, Brooklyn with an emphasis on seasonal cooking using corn, barbacoa, consommé and mezcal. Steele makes everything by hand, including the cheeses, chorizo and moles and masa. He is planting corn on his land in Oaxaca as well as working directly with Oaxacan farmers to source and import non-GMO heirloom corn.

Since opening, Steele has been awarded a Michelin star for Claro, named StarChefs Rising Star Chef and the reader’s choice winner for Eater Chef of the Year as well as Chef to Watch by Plate Magazine. The New York Times listed Claro as one of its top 10 restaurants of the year.

15-20 October at Carousel, London
Jesse Gerner, chef owner of a group of restaurants in Melbourne, Australia
draws from a Spanish culinary influence after an inspiring six-month European road trip. Working in London, Jesse worked at Moro and River Café and immediately fell in love with Spanish and Muslim Mediterranean flavours. Upon returning to Australia, he opened Añada in 2008. Jesse has since launched Bomba Tapas Bar and Rooftop, Park Street Dining, Nómada Café y Tapas. A regular visitor to Spain, Jesse has cooked in some of its finest restaurants. Whether cooking alongside the chef at Barcelona’s Michelin starred Monvinic or celebrating 150 years of culinary heritage with the ancient Mutriku Gastronomic Society near San Sebastian, Jesse has honed his Spanish cooking techniques from the best chefs in Spain.

22-27 October at Carousel, London
Hendrik Dierendonck is one of Belgium’s best butchers and a meat connoisseur suppling some of the best restaurants in the Netherlands and also his own restaurant, Carcasse. His farm-to-table knowledge is behind Carcasse's Michelin star, which was awarded for Dierendonck's tender, flavourful main courses and imaginative, often surprising, side dishes. Craftsmanship, passion, terroir and 'nose-to-tail' are what’s important to Hendrik.

For more information on Goatober events including dinners at Palatino, 1251 and Bank Heist in London, Nancarrow in Cornwall, Broughgammon Farm in Northern Ireland and Cook House in Newcastle, visit www.Goatober.com and follow Goatober on Instagram.

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About Goatober
Wherever there are goat dairies around the world there are unwanted billy goats with a grim prognosis. Many are killed at birth.

Goatober originated in New York in 2011 and has grown in eight years to have events and participants all around the world, from London to Melbourne, from Amsterdam to Trinidad and Tobago. What started as a small campaign to prolong the lives of billy goats and to put a delicious, ethical meat on the menu has grown into an international campaign bringing together dairies, farmers, NGOs and individuals who are passionate about ending food waste in the goat dairy system.

In 2011, Erin Fairbanks had an idea. While working for Heritage Foods USA in Brooklyn, she and renowned cheesemaker Anne Saxelby wanted to end the practice of euthanising young male goats that the dairy industry had no use for. From this senseless waste Goatober was created and with it a month-long celebration of putting goat meat on the menu of New York restaurants. The campaign had quick success and now there are over 100 restaurants involved in Goatober from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Heritage Foods USA is the largest distributor of rare and heritage breed meats in the USA dedicated to supporting a network of over 50 family farmers who raise their livestock humanely, outdoors, on pasture and never with antibiotics or growth hormones. Its founder, Patrick Martins is also the founder of Slow Food USA and Heritage Radio Network.

Goatober was introduced in to the UK in 2016 by James Whetlor from Cabrito Goat Meat and into mainland Europe in the following year. There are vibrant dairy industries across the UK and Europe who want to change the practice of euthanising and Goatober is part of the solution. The campaign aims to put a goat dish on restaurant menus and to encourage people to try cooking goat at home themselves, for all or part of October.

For more information about Goatober or for an interview with James Whetlor
at Cabrito Goat Meat please contact Hannah Blake
hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk or 07730 039361

Goat meat is on the menu for Goatober.

Goat meat is on the menu for Goatober.

August at The Small Holding

Trout, cucumber and horseradish on the August menu at The Small Holding

Trout, cucumber and horseradish on the August menu at The Small Holding

The Small Holding​ is​​ a kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The 26-cover restaurant was voted the best restaurant in Kent at the Taste of Kent Awards and is set in one acre of land​ with raised beds, poly tunnels, pigs, ducks and chickens less than 10ft away from the kitchen. The restaurant’s own sheep, for hogget and mutton, graze less than half a mile away. The beds are heaving with lettuces, chard, beans and ​peas​, tomatoes, courgettes, raspberries​ and​ blackcurrants​.

Everything is home-made at The Small Holding​ for the Full Acre and Half Acre tasting menus​, including bread and butter, yoghurt and ricotta or sourced hyper-locally such as Hinxden Cream which has a herd of pedigree Guernsey and Holstein Friesian cows in nearby Benenden. Ingredients are picked fresh before service and when there’s a glut, the kitchen preserves, pickles and jars. 

The August Full Acre sample menu is below, with full vegetarian and vegan menus available and costs £60 per person with an optional 4 glass wine pairing at £40 and 6 glass wine pairing at £60. The Half Acre menu is £30 per person.

[Images by Clare Winfield]

Cuttlefish, cauliflower, wild garlic
Courgette, yoghurt, chilli
Liver, onion, bacon
Trout, cucumber, horseradish
Oyster, kale, purslane
Tomato, ricotta, yarrow
Mutton, lettuce, potato
Buttermilk, bay, blackcurrant
Meadowsweet, raspberry, apricot
Cherry, fennel, woodruff

Cherry, fennel and woodruff; Liver, onion and bacon; tomato, ricotta and yarrow on the August menu at The Small Holding