June at The Small Holding

Nasturiums on the farm at The Small Holding (credit Claire Winfield)

June at The Small Holding

Green Michelin Star 2021/22/23
60 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

June is a busy and exciting month at acre. Just like the poly tunnel at The Small Holding, which is fit to bursting with seedlings ready to be planted out now or still putting on growth to sow later in the season for a steady succession of produce to harvest, there are exciting new menus to share, the launch of a new three-course lunch menu at The Small Holding on Thursday and Friday lunch (£55pp), events to book including the June supper club at Birchwood, Father’s Day and wellness and holistic therapies from Birchwood Studio, and the launch of acre’s beer collaboration with Lakedown Brewing Co. 

The Small Holding

June is such a glorious month. Every shade of green is available in the fields, forests, and hedgerows and on the farm as the teams harvest new season broad beans, peas, gooseberries, lettuces, herbs and edible flowers, and forage for creamy-white umbels of elderflower. Guests arriving for lunch, or the early dinner sitting, are enjoying a drink on the terrace when the sun is low and golden. There is a stunning new tasting menu this month starting with snacks including a crab tart with herbs and allium flowers and a smoked venison heart croustade; Jersey Royals with elderflower, dill and lardo; barbecued scallop with peas and gooseberries; duck with beetroot, fig leaf and parsley velouté and cherry blossom vinegar, and a beautiful blackcurrant leaf and chocolate dessert where ice cream, sponge, honey, mousse and tuille are infused with the floral herbaceous flavour of the blackcurrant leaves. An unusual and stunning dessert to finish a meal at The Small Holding this June.

The June Full Acre menu at The Small Holding

Snacks, Sourdough and Hinxden Butter

Tomato, radish, broad bean
Jersey Royal, elderflower, lardo

Scallop, peas, gooseberry
John Dory, lettuce, nasturtium

Chicken, onion, Lord of the Hundreds
Duck, beetroot, fig leaf

Strawberry, garden herbs meringue
Blackcurrant leaf, dark chocolate, honey

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.

Book a table at The Small Holding

Full Loop with Lakedown Brewing Co
For Matt & Will Devlin, brewing their own beer had always been on the agenda so the opportunity was welcome to work with Jamie Daltrey and his team at Lakedown Brewing Co, who share the same holistic and sustainable approach to food and drink production. The result is Full Loop,a full-flavoured and approachable pale ale that is a perfect partner for food, without overwhelming or fighting with the food. Available by the can, Full Loop is perfect to enjoy on the terraces at Birchwood and The Small Holding.

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 on 07730 039361 | hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

The Small Holding has been awarded the top accolade in UK edition of the global 360 Eat Guide

The Small Holding has been awarded the top accolade in UK edition of the global 360 Eat Guide

The Small Holding in Kilndown, Kent has been awarded Three Green Circles in the UK edition of the 360 Eat Guide, which awards the pioneers and ground breakers of modern, transparent gastronomy, including restaurants in Norway, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. Three Circles is the highest number to award in what is the first guide to look beyond the plate, considering both the gastronomic experience and sustainability of what’s served.

Chef Owner Will Devlin comments, ‘None of this would be possible without every team member giving it their all every day, being curious, always learning and always questioning. A big congratulations to everyone who works so hard to keep pushing us on.’

From the 360 Eat Guide: ‘Here, the chefs spend just as much time out on the farms — and in the fields and greenhouses — as well as in the kitchen. It’s hard to imagine better conditions for running a sustainable restaurant. But here, it’s not enough that the ingredients are hyperlocal. There also needs to be a deeper meaning to the ingredients that end up on the plate. Whether it’s about relationships with producers or the choice to use seafood with a positive climate impact, curiosity and a thirst for knowledge are what lead the way. This is a restaurant where it all comes together: clear guidelines on ingredients, a sensible approach to biological diversity and soil health, as well as — and, most importantly — the conviction that happy, healthy employees are the foundation of everything.’

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. The drinks list also includes house made soft drinks, kombucha and non-alcoholic wine, beer and spirits. Book a table at The Small Holding

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 

Green Michelin Star 2021/22/23
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

The terrace at Water Lane opens for the summer on 5th June

The summer restaurant terrace at Water Lane

The terrace at Water Lane opens for the summer on 5th June

The summer restaurant on the terrace at Water Lane will open for the season on 5th June.  The covered terrace, under a huge stretch awning looks out on to the walled garden in front of the vegetable and cut flower beds. The idyllic setting is the perfect spot for a long lunch and ice-cold aperitifs, taking in the sensory pleasure of the garden in full bloom with the scent of sweet peas and roses in the air, mingled with woodsmoke from the Portuguese wood oven. On Head Chef Jed Wrobel’s sample menu are fresh peas in their pods and aioli; flatbreads lightly charred in the wood oven and topped with crushed peas, mint and goats’ curd; cucumber, brown shrimp and chervil; wood-fired mackerel and gooseberries; slow roast salt marsh lamb in ras el hanout. While there is another month or so for the soft berries and stone fruit to arrive, Jed is filling the seasonal gap with epic Knickerbocker Glories.

Visitors coming for lunch from further afield will also find Water Lane’s shop with a curated collection of practical and beautiful things for the home and garden, plus chutneys, jams and pickles from the Water Lane Pantry. There is also a small collection of potted herbs and garden plants, freshly cut flowers from the cutting garden and a collection of antique and vintage garden pieces, including time-worn French iron tables and chairs, hand-woven basketry, galvanised planters, and a collection of eastern mediterranean pots and urns, which have been sourced exclusively for Water Lane by Rye-based collectors Soap & Salvation.

“A contender for one of the most charming eateries in Kent, it’s impossible to resist the lure of this restaurant tucked away in a delightful walled garden.” The Good Food Guide

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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.

Water Lane Walled Garden | Hawkhurst | Kent | TN18 5DH
www.waterlane.net | @water.lane

Soap & Salvation launch garden range at Water Lane

Jo and Barrie McPherson at Soap & Salvation in Rye (photo credit Mark Cocksedge)

Soap & Salvation launch garden range at Water Lane

Water Lane, the Victorian walled garden, restaurant and events space near Hawkhurst in the High Weald of Kent, has partnered with Soap & Salvation, to sell a bespoke edit of vintage and antique garden furniture and pieces, which have been exclusively sourced for Water Lane. 

Launching on Friday 29th April at Water Lane, there will be time worn French iron tables and chairs mixing colours and styles for sale, vintage hand-woven basketry in all shapes and sizes, galvanised planters with hand painted blocks of green, cream and egg-yolk yellow, and a collection of beautiful urns from the eastern Mediterranean with naïve hand-painted patterns, half-glazed necks, and simplistic scribed decoration. 

Soap & Salvation was founded by Jo and Barrie McPherson; they source from the heart, mixing antique, vintage and 20th century design finds to create their modern rustic style. The partnership at Water Lane brings their passion for sourcing and collecting unique treasures, with a joint reverence for functional everyday objects that combine beauty and solid craftsmanship. 

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, a weekly produce market and quarterly fairs.

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

Spring at Water Lane

6000 tulips and bulbs have been planted at Water Lane

Spring at Water Lane

Water Lane Spring Fair 4th and 5th May
All About Tulips and Designing a Border workshops with Jo Thompson
The Cutting Garden, Season by Season workshops with Ian James

Spring at Water Lane sees over 6000 bulbs burst into bloom, along the borders, cutting garden and the incredible Melon House border that runs nearly 30m long and 3m deep. Designed in collaboration with one of the country’s best garden designers and plantswomen, Jo Thompson, the planting scheme with its peach, pink, purple and mauve palette, starts the new season with Fritillaria, Narcissus, Crocus and Alliums, culminating in a show of Tulips including ‘Black Hero’ and ‘Rococo’.

Water Lane Spring Fair

The Water Lane Spring Fair is on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th May, for what is sure to be a brilliant weekend of food, flowers, and friends. Taking place all weekend, and across the whole walled garden site, the fair will host stalls from makers and creators for great shopping, food stalls, textiles, and craft. Shop naturally dyed homewares and accessories from Natural Dye Works; lighting and mirrors by Charlotte Packe; wooden chopping boards by Tim Plunket; French tableware and homeware from Norse Vintage; photographic prints by Katya de Grunwald; folk-inspired textiles from Susie Petrou and Turkish home textiles from Luks Linen; Scagliola bowls and vases by Paul Hale; sustainable and recycled jewellery by Alba Jewellery; pressed flower art by JamJar Edit; fresh flower bouquets and accessories by Bloom & Burn and Spring-time flower crowns with Sasha from Amongst Us.

Stallholders from Water Lane’s regular Saturday Produce Market will be at the fair on both days including Halstead Bakery, LAM, Zak's Kombucha, Basil's Funghi Farm, Cold Blow Coffee Roasters, Nightingale Cider and Water Lane’s own produce stands.

All About Tulips
With Jo Thompson & Ian James
Wednesday 24th April 10.30am to 12.30pm
Tickets £55 includes light refreshments and a bunch of tulips

A workshop to celebrate the tulip! Led by Water Lane's flower grower, Ian and garden designer and tulip lover, Jo Thompson, this morning session will look at 'all things' tulip and include a bunch of freshly cut tulips from the garden to take home.

The end of April is peak tulip season at Water Lane and the workshop will start with a guided tour of the cutting garden, with over 4000 tulip bulbs and the Melon House Border with over 2000, before sitting down in the Pelargonium House with Ian and Jo to share their knowledge of growing tulips for cutting; from where to source your bulbs, interesting and unusual varieties to look out for and different options for planting, as well as tips for harvesting. Jo will discuss some of her favourite tulip varieties and planting combinations, how to choose tulips and other spring bulbs for the border, pots, and containers.

Designing a Flower Border with Jo Thompson
Friday 21st June 10.30am to 3.30pm
Tickets £150 for the day including refreshments and a light lunch

If you have ever wondered how to go about designing the planting for a flower border in your own garden, enrol for one-day workshop, where Water Lane’s Garden Designer, Jo Thompson will be taking us on a journey through planting design, explaining methods and offering tips and tricks as well as sharing border designs she has worked on over the years. Jo has created some of RHS Chelsea's most memorable and award-winning show gardens over the last decade. This one-day workshop will use The Melon House border at Water Lane, that Jo designed and planted in 2023, as a resource and point of inspiration throughout the day.

Topics covered will include starting from scratch, reworking an existing border, position, aspect as well as soil conditions. There will be exploration of structure, seasonality, and plant selection, including shrubs, perennials, annuals and bulbs well as one of Jo's favourite topics - the use of colour. 

The Cutting Garden, Season by Season
Early Spring - 15th March 10am to 4pm
Tickets £55 including drinks and light lunch

A series of workshops throughout the year led by Water Lane’s Ian James about growing flowers for cutting, offering a practical guide to what’s to be done in the cutting garden to give you a flower filled garden, using the Water Lane cutting garden as a resource.  The series consists of 5 workshops held throughout the year; Early Spring, Late Spring/Early Summer, Mid-summer, Late Summer/Early Autumn and Winter.

From advice on seed sowing, taking cuttings and looking after your soil to harvesting and seed collection as well hints, tips and resources that give you the tools to create your own cutting garden. 

Each of these sessions (3.5 hours morning tutorial based and 2 hours practical in the afternoon) are intended for those who are new to gardening or new to growing flowers for cutting. Each session will be practically based and allow you to follow the progress of a cut flower garden throughout the year. Those attending are also invited to join a practical gardening session in the afternoon following the morning tutorial.

Subjects covered in the Early Spring session include - Planning for the year ahead, bed preparation and seed sowing, plant types to grow, Spring bulbs, Planting out, Dahlia cuttings.

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About Water Lane

Water Lane is an idyllic walled garden with a vinery and Victorian glasshouses on the Kent/Sussex borders. A long-term project over many years to come, the site is being sympathetically transformed into a productive walled garden, by custodians Nick Selby and Ian James, with the help of Garden and Landscape designer, Jo Thompson, with vegetable beds, cut flowers, restored vinery, outside spaces and a pavilion for dining and events. The Grade II Victorian glasshouses date back to the 1800s, including a Melon House, Cucumber House, Pelargonium House and Peach Case and a Vinery, on what was once the Tongswood Estate. Water Lane’s restaurant opened in 2021, alongside select garden plants for sale and a small shop. There is a weekly food market on Saturdays, workshops and events and seasonal fairs in Spring, Autumn, and Christmas.

Garden Photography masterclasss with Jason Ingram at Water Lane

Water Lane, the Victorian walled garden in Kent, is hosting a garden photography masterclass with the internationally acclaimed photographer Jason Ingram. Taking place on 20th September, this is a chance to learn from one of the best in the business with the gardens, glasshouses, vegetable, and flower beds of Water Lane as the participants’ studio. Jason has photographed gardens all over the world and his work is regularly published in books and national magazines. This exclusive workshop is full of practical advice and will dramatically improve your garden and plant photography skills.

The day starts with an inspirational illustrated talk by Jason who will demonstrate the many techniques he uses, show you how to select good subjects, frame effectively and make the most of the light conditions. Using your own SLR camera and equipment, Jason will offer advice and guidance and will give informal feedback on your work. This full day workshop includes refreshments and a light lunch.

Jason works with international garden designers and travels widely photographing gardens. His work features regularly in top garden publications. Over the past year, Jason has got to know the garden at Water Lane as he undertook a project with garden designer, Jo Thompson for Garden's Illustrated. He has been awarded Garden Photographer of the Year by The Garden Media Guild six times and Features Photographer of the Year three times.

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, a weekly produce market and quarterly fairs.

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

January at The Small Holding

THE SMALL HOLDING

Green Michelin Star 2021/22/23
Number 69, Harden’s Top 100 Restaurants
Number 10, Square Meal’s Top 100 Restaurants
Good Food Guide 2023

January

Despite the bitterly cold weather, there is something deeply cleansing and restorative about January; the thin, cold blue light, frozen ground and the beauty of skeleton trees huddled on the horizon. And of course, the food. While the farm is cold and quiet, it’s a hotbed of activity in The Small Holding kitchen. New Head Chef James Chatfield and the team make full use of the summer and autumn gluts and are constantly inventing and experimenting when there’s such a diminished natural larder. There’s fermented wild garlic stored to add deep umami funk to dishes, and pickled summer currants to add some welcome acidity.

The Full Acre menu at The Small Holding:

Snacks, Bread & Butter

Kale, Sea Beet, Cheese
Potato, Girolle, Leek

Scallop, Gooseberry, XO
Trout, Celeriac, Butter

Game Sausage, Quince, Chilli
Partridge, Parsnip, Plum

Rhubarb, Yoghurt, Sweet Cicely
Chocolate, Cherry, Meadowsweet

The Small Holding is open Wednesday to Sunday with an eight-course Full Acre menu costing £85 per person and a five-course Half Acre menu costing £65 per person, with the option of a wine flight. The drinks list also includes housemade soft drinks, kombucha and non-alcoholic wine, beer and spirits.

Grow the Seasons at The Small Holding

Now is a great time to get out into the garden and learn some of the fundamentals about soil health, the principles of ‘No Dig’ and planning for the growing year ahead. Learn to ‘Grow the Seasons’, a series of horticultural courses held on The Small Holding’s farm. The day-long courses are for people of all skills and ages who are interested in gardening, growing and understanding more about how 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.

Find out more and book for February, May, August, and November 2024 www.growtheseasons.com

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 Michelin Green Star for sustainable gastronomy recognises restaurants with a focus on environmental practices; it encompasses everything about The Small Holding and the teams’ drive for sustainability.

May at The Small Holding

Turbot, white asparagus, nasturtium (credit Key & Quill)

May at The Small Holding

Green Michelin Star 2021/22/23
Number 25, Harden’s Top 100 Restaurants
Number 10, Square Meal’s Top 100 Restaurants
Good Food Guide 2023

“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.” The Good Food Guide

Named ‘Chef to Watch’ in The Good Food Guide 2020 and awarded a Green Michelin Star in 2021/22/23, Will Devlin, is 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 Small Holding is part of the Acre Group which also includes Birchwood in Flimwell, East Sussex. Will opened The Small Holding, in April 2018, alongside his brother Matt, as Head of Operations. As a former pub, the site was run down and neglected, before being transformed into an open kitchen and bar with a large, decked terrace looking out over the farm and views of the Weald of Kent.

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.

Over 180 varieties of vegetables and fruits are grown including Broccoli ‘Red Blaze’, Cauliflower ‘Graffiti’, Cucumber ‘Passandra’, Radish ‘Viola’, Runner Beans ‘Scarlet Emperor’ and Courgette ‘Midnight’. Native breed Large Black pigs, chickens and ducks roam the farm and sheep for hogget and mutton graze less than half a mile away.

The menu is defined by hyper-seasonal ingredients with a focus on the farm’s own produce, but undefined by the number of courses or choice. There is no traditional menu; instead, guests are offered a multi-taste dining experience featuring the best ingredients on that day from the farm and local suppliers. Vegetables and fruits from the farm, harvested within hours of guests arriving, charcuterie, sourdough, and cultured butter and zero waste animal cookery from the farm’s own livestock are key. Will also works directly with growers, farmers and fishermen who share the same core values, and the kitchen team forage in the nearby hedgerows and woodland.

The Michelin Green Star for sustainable gastronomy recognises restaurants with a focus on environmental practices; it encompasses everything about The Small Holding and the teams’ drive for sustainability.

The restaurant is open Wednesday to Sunday with an eight-course Full Acre menu costing £85 per person and a five-course Half Acre menu costing £65 per person, with the option of a wine flight and non-alcoholic pairings. 

“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 

May Menu
Snacks, Bread & Butter
Asparagus, Mushroom, Cured Egg
Wild Garlic & Potato
Scallop, Apple, Lovage  -  Full Acre
Turbot, White Asparagus, Nasturtium
Pork Cheek, Plum, Yarrow  -  Full Acre
Pork Loin, Apple, Cabbage
Milk, Honey, Bee Pollen  -  Full Acre
Chocolate & Mushroom
Cheese  -  15pp Supplement

Half Acre Menu 65
Full Acre Menu 85

“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

Lunch by the tulips at The Bell in Ticehurst

Spring tulips at The Bell in Ticehurst (credit Saltwick Media)

The Bell in Ticehurst, East Sussex, has arguably one of the finest pub gardens in the land. Designed by RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medal garden designer Jo Thompson, who lives in the village, there is year-round interest, which is particularly splendid right now with the Spring bulbs.  Before or after lunch, why not take a walk around the Bell’s garden to admire the tulips. A riot of colour, texture and form, the garden sings with jewel-bright colours from magenta and violet to buttery yellows and acid greens with Tulip Menton, Tulip Merlot, Fritillaria Imperialis, Narcissi, Anenome and Allium Miami.

The longer and increasingly warmer days bring a new, lighter menu to The Bell in Ticehurst. The seasonal menus created by Head Chef Mark Charker have been designed to celebrate the start of British Summer time with new season English Asparagus, Jersey Royals, young cheeses, and soft herbs. The rich and varied produce from Sussex suppliers include Burwash Rose cheese, Spurs Farm free-range eggs, Fletchers Flock lamb and Maynard’s berries.

Launching on 26th May is The Bell’s Garden Kitchen BBQ. Come for alfresco delights on the grill every Friday and Saturday throughout the summer, until 28th August.

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For further press information please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room PR on hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk | 07730 039361

About The Bell

For centuries, The Bell has been at the very heart of Ticehurst village, geographically and emotionally. After closing in 2008, The Bell underwent painstaking renovation, opening in November 2011 welcoming locals and visitors from further afield.

The Bell’s design is eclectic in the truest sense of the word - the building looks as if an eccentric nobleman has travelled the world and filled his house full of curiosities from his travels. The result is quirky and utterly charming. The eleven guest rooms offer a highly individual design, with features, including silver birch branches (a nod to the derivation of Ticehurst’s name, which is “the wooded hill where goats graze”), huge copper bathtubs, upside-down tiles and randomly placed light features. Eschewing room numbers, each of The Bell’s guest rooms has its own distinctive name, from “The Benefit of the Doubt” to “Smiles of Memories.”

Quirky touches continue in the public areas, from bowler hat lights and a floor-to-ceiling book pile in the main pub area, to mismatched vintage-style wallpaper and Wagner Tubas for urinals in the gents. Each room offers the curious visitor a feast of visual surprises, not least a fine collection of art by Tracey Emin, Henry Moore, Banksy, Graham Sutherland, and Picasso. The neon sign in the aptly named Stable with a Table, a dining room with a unique sunken oak table for groups of up to 18 feasting friends or family, fondly observes “I will always love you my friend”, summing up the sense of constancy yet originality awaiting visitors to The Bell.

Samphire, a Kentish bistro in Whitstable

Valhalla raw prawn crudo, grilled heads and trout roe by Mark O’Brien at Samphire, Whitstable

Samphire
A Kentish bistro in Whitstable

Samphire is an unfussy, rustic bistro in the heart of Whitstable, with a chalkboard menu dedicated to local fish, meat and seasonal vegetables, served in a relaxed dining room. Being just metres from the sea, there is a strong emphasis on oysters, crustaceans and seafood, plus nose to tail whole animal butchery and creative vegetarian options. Focaccia, chutneys and preserves are made in house and all prepared with produce sourced from well-respected local farms, fishermen, gamekeeper and foragers in Kent and the South-East.

Head chef Mark O’Brien, originally from Dublin, is particularly passionate about live fire cookery and whole fish and animal butchery. Previously at The Dairy and Zebra Riding Club in London, with restaurateur Robin Gill, Mark regularly cooks live fire demonstrations at barbecue festivals Meatopia and The Big Grill. These influences make their mark on the Samphire menu with rubs, smoking and low and slow barbecuing techniques, where Mark fires up the Portico Grill with lumpwood from Kent Charcoal, made with wood only from local sustainable woodlands.

Samphire’s owner, George Begg, trained as a chef in Australia in the 90s. Following a stint in London as an Executive Chef, George moved to Whitstable in 2004 and took on the lease of an empty shop just a short walk from the beach. Samphire was born and became Whitstable’s first bistro to be open all day, every day using the best Kentish produce. Suppliers include The Wonky Parsnip in Chatham for unusual organic vegetables, Sevenscore Asparagus near Sandwich, slow-grown, free-range chickens from Laughtons in Faversham; British cold-water farmed prawns from Valhalla, Stour Valley game, lamb, pork and goat meat from Oink and Udder and vegetables from Mallards Farm.

An early-spring lunch might include smoked cod croquettes with crab mayonnaise; raw prawn crudo, trout roe and grilled heads, followed by Creole mussels with Holy Trinity sauce and smoked prawn butter followed by aged beef porterhouse for two, with beef fat salsa verde.

The British cheese selection is well worth exploring, as are traditional desserts such as Bramley apple and frangipane tart and warm honey cream or rhubarb baked Alaska.

SAMPLE MENU

Rosemary & Roast Garlic Focaccia | 1/2 Dozen Maldon Oysters Juniper mignonette | Aged Beef Tartare Jerusalem artichoke | Grilled Radish radish top pesto, pickled golden beets | Smoked Cod Croquettes crab mayo | Grilled Kohlrabi green harissa, apple | Valhalla Prawn Crudo trout roe, grilled heads | Samphire's Fish Pie Mallard's farm greens | Butter Bean & Tomato Cassoulet polenta, roast shallot | Creole Mussels Holy Trinity sauce, smoked prawn butter | Butternut Squash, Spinach & Pine Nut Pithivier cauliflower purée, pickled wild mushrooms | Aged Beef Porterhouse beef fat salsa verde | House Sausages grilled January King, pickled salad | Dayboat market price

-ends-

Notes to editor
Samphire, 4 High St,
Whitstable, Kent, CT5 1BQ

T: 01227 770075
E: info@samphirewhitstable.co.uk

Mon-Fri: 12pm - 21:30pm
Sat & Sun: 9am - 10pm

For more information, images or to arrange a press visit please contact Hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk | 07730 039361
 

Spring Fair at Water Lane

Spring Fair at Water Lane on 1st and 2nd April, Hawkhurst, Kent

Spring Fair at Water Lane

Saturday 1st April and Sunday 2nd April
10am - 4.30pm
Water Lane Walled Garden, Water Lane, Hawkhurst, Kent, TN18 5DH
Free entry on foot or bike, or £5 per car

Water Lane is hosting its first fair of 2023 on Saturday 1st April and Sunday 2nd April.  There will be great shopping from independent makers and producers, spring plants, ceramics and gardening accessories and takeaway food from the sea container or a light lunch in the Carnation House.

The fair will be spread across the whole Water Lane site. Underneath the open awning on the terrace of the walled garden, creatives and makers will set up stalls selling their original, handmade, and vintage items for the house and garden, that are both functional and beautiful. Elsewhere on site is the Water Lane shop in the Vinery, the Pelargonium House will be full of crafts, art and ceramics while Craft in the Field will be painting Easter eggs with children.

The fair has been co-curated with Sussex based Gina Portman, a former costume designer, who now runs workshops, produces homeware collections, and puts on art sales. Stall holders include Two Sticks Forge who make Japanese inspired knives from their studio in Ashdown Forest; organic natural skincare from Wilder Botanics, natural dyed fabrics and homewares by The Natural Dyeworks, everyday workwear clothing from Pajotten, traditional and contemporary willow baskets and designs from Sussex Willow and curated finds by Norse Vintage from visits to French Brocantes. Regular stallholders at the Water Lane food markets, Blackwood Cheese, Tillingham Wines and LAM, selling pasture raised meat and free- range eggs will also be at the Fair. There will be bunches of spring flowers from the Water Lane cutting garden, potted plants, garden accessories from Japanese brand Niwaki, and seasonal jams and preserves from the Water Lane Pantry.

Notes to editors

Water Lane is a productive garden, restaurant, shop and pantry within a Victorian walled garden in Hawkhurst on the Kent and East Sussex border.

It is an ongoing restoration project in the hands of custodians Nick Selby and Ian James who bring with them a wealth of food and horticultural passion. A long-term project over many years to come, Water Lane is being sympathetically transformed into a working kitchen garden with vegetable beds, cut flowers, restored vinery, outside spaces and a pavilion for dining and events.

Opening Hours: Wednesday - Saturdays 8am - 5pm | Sunday 10am – 4.30pm | Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Chef’s Table launches at Tallow, Kent

Chef Rob Taylor at the new Chef’s Table at Tallow in Southborough, Kent

Chef’s Table launches at Tallow, Kent

Rob and Donna Taylor, chef owners of Tallow in Southborough, Kent, have launched a new Chef’s Table in the upstairs dining space of the restaurant. The bespoke chef’s station seats eight guests for a seven-course tasting menu cooked by Rob Taylor, in addition to snacks and a bread course, with the further option of a tailored wine flight. Prices for the full tasting menu start at £100 per person.

The intimate dining experience will appeal to those who love the theatre of cooking and enjoy watching and talking about food as it’s cooked in front of them. Currently the Chef’s Table experience is only available on Friday and Saturday evenings, with one sitting at 7.30pm.

The December launch menu is full of wintery and festive ingredients such as Jerusalem artichokes, confit duck, gingerbread, chocolate and clementine mousse, spiced fruit, and blue cheese.

‘This is my kind of fine dining’ Grace Dent, The Guardiantheguardian.com/food/2022/may/06/tallow-tunbridge-wells-kent-grace-dent-restaurant-review

About Tallow

Tallow launched in November 2021 and is open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday to Saturday. Sitting on a village green in Southborough, in the leafy surrounds of Tunbridge Wells, there are 26 covers downstairs in the main restaurant with space for a further eight upstairs at the Chef’s Table.

The menu showcases chef owner Rob’s unpretentious style where good ingredients are elevated with a sharp attention to detail, using modern techniques and bold flavours. The monthly changing menu has three starters, three main courses and three desserts. The menu is available as a la carte or as a tasting menu.

Notes to Editors

Prior to Tallow, Rob and Donna ran the award-winning Compasses Inn in Crundale, Kent, which had a Bib Gourmand and was in the top 10 ranking of the Top 50 Gastropubs for 8 years. After only a year of trading, Tallow has already achieved acclaim from national restaurant critics, visits from the Michelin Guide and was awarded 91st place in the National Restaurant Awards of the top 100 restaurants in the UK.

Website for reservationswww.tallowrestaurant.co.uk
Email info@tallowrestaurant.co.uk
Address 15a Church Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 0RX
Opening times Lunch and dinner Tuesday – Saturday

Meet the Makers at Water Lane Christmas Market

Meet the makers at the Water Lane Christmas Market

Saturday 3rd December and Sunday 4th December
10am - 4.30pm
Water Lane Walled Garden, Water Lane, Hawkhurst, Kent, TN18 5DH
Free entry on foot or bike, or £5 per car

@water.lane | www.waterlane.net

The Water Lane Christmas Market is on the first weekend of December and will showcase a diverse and eclectic range of items for the house, garden and kitchen that are original, handmade or vintage, including ceramics, clothing, jewellery, wooden and willow crafts, bread, cheese and wine. The stalls have been carefully curated valuing quality over quantity, function and beauty, with a slower paced and small production ethos.

In addition to the home and garden stalls are some of Water Lane’s favourite food producers selling artisan breads, cheese, eggs, charcuterie and handmade chocolates, natural wines and Water Lane’s own produce table laden with local vegetables, honey, jams, chutneys and preserves, olive oil and sauces, shrubs and cordials, apple juice, Pump Street Chocolate and Christmas puddings. Christmas trees from Hole Park will also be on sale at the Market, which go on sale from Saturday 26th November.

The stalls

Norse Vintage | Rae Lifestyle | Torsten van Elten | Jumping Mouse Goods | Bloom & Burn | Sughanda | Melanie Ostler | Bear and Born | Phoebe Connolly | Josephine Doolan |
Running Stitches | Glass House | Havelock Studios | Common Clay | Sussex Willow | Craft Basketry | Kitty Clogs | Evie May Adams

Food stalls

Tillingham | Blackwood Cheese | L.A.M | Indi Farmer
To the Rise Bakery | Rowdy and Fancy Chocolate

@water.lane | www.waterlane.net

Meet the makers

The Water Lane Christmas Market will showcase a diverse and eclectic range of items for the house and garden that are original, handmade or vintage. Visitors will be able to browse and buy from stalls offering ceramics, clothing, artisan food and wine and vintage homeware. Read on to find out more about some of the stall holders.

LAM Food & Fibre will be bringing their eggs, meat and sheep skin rugs to the Market. LAM is a project established by a farmer and fashion designer to create a regenerative food, fibre and fashion system on their small-scale, mixed farm in the AONB North Downs of Kent, rearing native breeds of cows, sheep, pigs and chickens. They are making the link between farming and fashion, utilising the whole animal to produce meat and eggs, as well as wool fibre for that is yarn dyed with flower pigments.

To the Rise Bakery is an artisan and European style bakery in Eastbourne. Founded by three sisters they specialise in 100% sourdough bread using carefully sourced, organic and local ingredients. Get to the market early because these baked goods, such as sourdough loaves, sausage rolls, focaccia, almond croissants, stollen and pear and frangipane tarts, will sell out fast!

Rowdy and Fancy handmade chocolates are our new favourite treat. Based in their Forest Row workshop, the team are passionate about top quality ingredients, unique and delicious flavours – and keeping our planet green. The chocolates are hand-tempered and hand-wrapped in Rowdy and Fancy’s unique Adam and Eve packaging.

Rae Lifestyle is a bricks and mortar store in our favourite town of Rye. Alexa has curated a beautiful collection of homewares sourced in the UK and Europe, for the home and daily life. At the heart of Rae’s collection are rustic vintage interior pieces, complemented by a selection of modern independent maker collections, as well as Rae's own in-house label. All brands are carefully selected with Rae’s focus on ethical and sustainable products as well as loving what they do. 

Jumping Mouse Goods is a maker of bespoke leather goods and will be coming all the way from Devon to the Market. Designed and made by Adam Kelsake these everyday use leather goods, such as satchels and day bags, are simple yet beautiful.

Running Stitches sells an extensive range of vintage kantha quilts and homewares. Based in mid-Wales, Tanya’s love of fabric started with training in textiles, before travel to India ignited a life-long love affair with Kantha. Each item is unique and responsibly and sustainably sourced, offering the very best in quality and craftsmanship.

Melanie Ostler is a Sussex based jewellery designer. After a career in commercial jewellery buying, Melanie is now settled in the South Downs, where she designs and makes her own pieces. Drawing inspiration from an eclectic mix of ancient jewellery, and textures found in nature and everyday objects, Melanie loves to work with silver and gold, often combining the two in the same piece along with precious and semi-precious stones to create simple yet beautiful jewellery.

Havelock Studios is the design practice in Kent of Jack Havelock Bailey, specialising in high quality furniture, products and objects rooted in concept and purpose. Jack believes that the enjoyment of life can be improved with simple, beautiful and functional design and uses both traditional and modern manufacturing techniques, embracing and developing manual crafts as well as digital. He will be bringing turned wooden pieces, such as bowls, plates, chopping and serving boards to the Market.

Christmas at Water Lane

Christmas Wreath at Water Lane designed by Bloom & Burn (photo credit Bloom & Burn)

Christmas at Water Lane

‘Tis soon the season and there’s much to sparkle at Water Lane in the coming months.

Christmas Market
Make a date for Water Lane’s Christmas Market on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th December, from 10am-4.30pm. All around the site and in the glasshouses will be stalls from craftspeople, makers, and artisan food producers. There will be festive food and hot mulled drinks, to keep the chill off, available throughout the day. Entry is free to people arriving on foot or bike or £5 per car to park.

Water Lane shop
Festive gifts and products in the shop have been curated by Water Lane custodians Nick Selby and Ian James, and shop manager, Pia Carpenter. Their combined intent is to champion the local, the artisan and the small-scale.

Festive gifts and products in the shop have been curated by Water Lane custodians Nick Selby and Ian James, and shop manager, Pia Carpenter. Their combined intent is to champion the local, the artisan and the small-scale.

Stoneware ceramics hand made by Eleanor Torbati, Intricate botanical porcelain tea light holders and lamps by Chrissy Silver; Bold hand painted tableware and wool throws from Casa Cubista; Cosy knitwear made by Rove Knitwear; Candles and home fragrance from The Botanical Candle Co; Wax Atelier; Ethical and natural skincare by Dr Jacksons; Pelegrims; Norfolk Natural Living; Trusted Japanese gardening tools and accessories by Niwaki; Unique illustrated stationery from Hadley Paper Press; Harriet Watson; Studio Wald; Hand bound books by Seagull Bindery; Garden-inspired Italian silk scarves by Rory Hutton; A hand-picked selection of books and magazines on the garden, food, flowers and stories for children; Fine chocolates and treats made by The Chocolatier Aneesh Popat; Melrose and Morgan; Warming drinks from Prana Chai; Cold Blow Coffee; Postcard Teas.

There will also be Water Lane Kitchen mince pies, puddings, jams and chutneys for sale; Christmas cards, concertina garlands, recycled paper decorations, woollen stars, decorations, Christmas trees, festive foliage and wreaths made in association with floral styling studio, Bloom and Burn.

Water Lane is a proud member of 1% for the Planet | @1percentftp and the new Water Lane online shop, with nationwide shipping, is now receiving orders.

Winter dining and festive menus
The colder weather means that dining at Water Lane has moved from the outdoor terrace and into the heated Carnation House. Summer salads make way for heartier dishes such as bavette with celeriac gratin, chestnut soup or harissa roasted squash, cracked wheat, apricot and dukka. From 1st-24th December, private events, and parties of over eight guests will be offered our new festive menus, to be shared by the table. Plates might include duck rillettes and pickled prunes; radicchio, cranberries, winter chanterelles and stilton or venison braised in port and chocolate. And for dessert, the Water Lane Christmas Pudding, which will also be on sale in the shop, as individual puddings to take home.

Winter Wreath making courses
Bloom and Burn x Water Lane
1st, 9th, 10th & 11th December

Enjoy this morning session creating your own Christmas wreath in time for the festive season. Using dried flowers, seedheads and other fresh and foraged materials harvested from around the Water Lane garden, 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.

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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.

Discover Water Lane with Jo Thompson and Ian James

Dahlias and cosmos in the border designed by Jo Thompson at Water Lane, Hawkhurst, Kent (credit Maria Bell)

Discover Water Lane in Hawkhurst, Kent and spend a morning with Jo Thompson and Ian James

Saturday 5 November, 10am-12pm
Tickets are £10 and include a welcome drink and cookie
Book Tickets

On Saturday 5 November, garden and landscape designer Jo Thompson will be in conversation at Water Lane, in Hawkhurst, Kent. Listed by House and Garden and Country Life as one of the country’s top ten garden designers and plantswomen, Jo Thompson is one of the key partners working with the Water Lane team to develop the historic site into a garden for the 21st century.

Jo will be in conversation with Ian James, one of the custodians of Water Lane, as they explore Jo’s plans for the transformation of the two-acre walled garden. Their joint ambition is to create a garden for all, combining recreation, dining, experiences, and education. During the event on 5 November, Jo will share the approach she and her team have taken to the brief of ‘making the garden fit for the 21st century whilst respecting its history of being a productive garden’. She will also lead a tour of the garden, along with Ian James, to highlight how the changes to the garden will take effect over the coming years.

Ian James from Water Lane says, “We are thrilled to be working with Jo Thompson and her team. She brings a sympathetic and holistic vision that marries with our plans for Water Lane, slowly bringing back the garden to its original purpose of growing fruit and vegetables. Water Lane is not a pastiche of a Victorian walled garden. We are respecting its roots, but we want the garden to be accessible to all and have many different functions. Our aim is to create a democratic place where people can come and learn and where skilled teachers can share their knowledge around horticulture, floral design, any kind of artisan craft and food.”

Jo Thompson says, “The extensive and long-term restoration vision for Water Lane, led by Nick Selby and Ian James, is a garden designer’s absolute dream. I am excited to peel back the layers of this historic site and truly understand its history as a horticultural masterpiece.  This is not just any restored walled garden project but a chance to re-imagine Water Lane the ‘place’, respecting its past glory as well as making it an inspirational and welcoming garden for the 21st century and beyond.”

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Address: Water Lane Walled Garden, Water Lane, Hawkhurst, Kent, TN18 5DH
Instagram: @water.lane
www.waterlane.net

About Water Lane
Water Lane is a two-acre walled garden with a vinery and Victorian glasshouses. A long-term restoration project over many years to come, the site is being managed by custodians Nick Selby and Ian James, who previously created and ran Melrose and Morgan, a grocery store and kitchen in North-West London. The site of Water Lane is a historical horticultural masterpiece with 13 Grade II Victorian glasshouses dating back to the 1800s on what was once the Tongswood Estate. Working alongside Jo Thompson Garden Design and RX Architects, the whole site is being sympathetically transformed into a productive garden with 72 no-dig vegetable and cut flower beds for the restaurant and wholesale to local florists, stock and trial beds, restored vinery, outside spaces and a pavilion for dining and events.

The plans will progress in phases and will include a rose ‘orchard’ with bulb meadow; a quince tree avenue through the green gates of the pedestrian entrance; perennial and stock beds in the south quadrant; follies and wall borders, a fruit cage pergola; children’s natural play; a forest garden and sculpture trail, nuttery and educational spaces.

About Jo Thompson
Jo’s designs are wide ranging - from residential family gardens, historic landscapes, public spaces and country estates to restaurant roof gardens, rooftop terraces and urban boltholes. Other current projects include working with Iford Manor in Wiltshire and the restoration of Highgate Cemetery in London with Gustafson Porter + Bowman. Jo Thompson is a member of the RHS Gardens Committee and Garden Advisor for RHS Rosemoor, an RHS judge, as well as being a member of the RHS Show Gardens Selection Panel. She lectures both nationally and internationally and is a visiting tutor at the London College of Garden Design.

The Counter ~ pop up by chef Robin Read at Daily Bread, Rusthall

The Counter at Daily Bread (credit Key & Quill)

THE COUNTER

The Counter is a new pop-up residency by chef Robin Read at Daily Bread in Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells.

Launching on 20 October through to 24 December
From £60 per person
www.thecounterhomeedition.com | @the_counter_tw

The Counter is a pop-up residency by chef Robin Read to be hosted at the award-winning Daily Bread in Rusthall, near Tunbridge Wells. Each dinner service from 20 October to 24 December will offer guests a seasonal six-course tasting menu, using the best local, wild and foraged produce. 

Robin is a passionate supporter of artisan farmers, growers and producers and a strong advocate of naturally sourced produce, especially from the British Isles. He takes great pride in having met all his suppliers and ensures he visits the farm, river, warehouse, barn wherever across the country to make sure he has the best knowledge of the produce and its maker. The Counter menu is full of the best local products such as venison from Eridge Park and wild porcini mushrooms from the woods around Rusthall and Langton Green. Home-made sourdough bread, blackberries, scallops, Sussex cream and dairy all feature on the menu, and fish is caught off Rye harbour.

There will be one sitting for dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays from 20 October 2022 to 24 December 2022. Some tables are communal, and others are twos and fours. Drinks from 7.30/7.45pm to sit for 8pm.

Price 
6 courses £60 per person 
6 glass wine flight £60 per person
3 glass wine flight £30 per person 
A small wine list is available

Opening Hours
Dinner only, Thursday – Saturday
20 October to 24 December 2022
Daily Bread, 27-29 High Street, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells, Kent

About Robin Read
Langton Green based Read has been a chef for over 25 years. He trained and worked with some of the greats in the hospitality industry, including Albert and Michel Roux, Nico Ladenis and Marco Pierre White. For the last 16 years he was Group Executive Chef of the Firmdale Hotel Group in London, overseeing the Soho Hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel and Ham Yard Hotel, amongst others, and launched six new openings, a bakery and a chef’s academy. Robin hopes that one day The Counter will have a permanent bricks and mortar site in the Tunbridge Wells area. 

Sample menu
Porridge and Porter Sourdough, cultured butter
Rusthall foraged cep broth, Beal’s Farm pancetta, parsley oil  
Eridge Park venison tartare tart, egg yolk, pickled beet, Berkswell  
Cured line caught mackerel, autumn squash, white wine, yuzu and wild garlic capers
Champagne and seaweed poached brill, mussel, caviar, lemon butter  
45-day aged Sussex sirloin of beef, celeriac purée, roast onion, red wine sauce   
White Chocolate Parfait, mascarpone ice cream, pickled elderberries, fig leaf oil, honeycomb crumb
Sweet Treats

-ends-

@the_counter_tw
www.thecounterhomeedition.com

For more information about The Counter or Robin Read, please contact Hannah Blake at
The Dining Room on 07730 039361 or hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

Water Lane x Jo Thompson Garden Design

Jo Thompson (credit Rachel Warne)

Water Lane is partnering with Jo Thompson Landscape & Garden Design for the next phase of the historic walled garden

Water Lane, a Victorian two-acre walled garden near Hawkhurst in the High Weald of Kent, is partnering with RHS award-winning Jo Thompson Landscape & Garden Design, to further develop the historic site into a garden for the 21st century, combining recreation, dining, experiences, and education. Jo Thompson has established a worldwide reputation for creating beautiful and sustainable landscapes. Listed by House and Garden and Country Life as one of the country’s top ten garden designers and plantswomen, Jo has won four Gold and five Silver Gilt medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and in 2017 she won the People’s Choice award at the first RHS Chatsworth Flower Show.

Water Lane is a walled garden with a vinery and Victorian glasshouses. A long-term restoration project over many years to come, the site is being managed by custodians Nick Selby and Ian James, who previously created and ran Melrose and Morgan, a grocery store and kitchen in North-West London. The site of Water Lane is a historical horticultural masterpiece with 13 Grade II Victorian glasshouses dating back to the 1800s on what was once the Tongswood Estate. Working alongside Jo Thompson Garden Design and RX Architects, the whole site is being sympathetically transformed into a productive garden with 72 no-dig vegetable and cut flower beds for the restaurant and wholesale to local florists, stock and trial beds, restored vinery, outside spaces and a pavilion for dining and events.

Ian James from Water Lane says, “We are thrilled to be working with Jo Thompson and her team. She brings a sympathetic and holistic vision that marries with our plans for Water Lane, slowly bringing back the garden to its original purpose of growing fruit and vegetables. Water Lane is not a pastiche of a Victorian walled garden. We are respecting its roots, but we want the garden to be accessible to all and have many different functions. Our aim is to create a democratic place where people can come and learn things and where skilled teachers can share their knowledge around horticulture, floral design, any kind of artisan craft and food.”

The plans for Water Lane will progress in phases and will include a rose ‘orchard’ with bulb meadow; a quince tree avenue through the green gates of the pedestrian entrance; perennial and stock beds in the south quadrant; follies and wall borders, a fruit cage pergola; children’s natural play; a forest garden and sculpture trail, nuttery and educational spaces. This summer’s planting palette includes soft purples, pinks, raspberry and apricot tones from plants such Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Apricot Lemonade’; Dahlia ‘Penhill Watermelon’; Phlox drummondii ‘Crème Brulee’; Gladiolus papilo ‘Ruby’; Althea cannabina; Erigeron karvinskianus and Ammi visnaga.

Jo Thompson says, “The extensive and long-term restoration vision for Water Lane, led by Nick Selby and Ian James, is a garden designer’s absolute dream. I am excited to peel back the layers of this historic site and truly understand its history as a horticultural masterpiece.  This is not just any restored walled garden project but a chance to re-imagine Water Lane the ‘place’, respecting its past glory as well as making it an inspirational and welcoming garden for the 21st century and beyond.”

Tongswoods Gardens
Water Lane was previously known as ‘Tongswood Gardens’. It belonged to the Tongswood estate, its name deriving from the Old English ‘Twang’ or ‘Tang’ meaning ‘fork of water’ in reference to the two streams of the river Rother which ran through the estate. Having passed through many families, the estate was bought by Mr Charles Gunther in 1903. In its heyday the two-acre walled garden employed nine gardeners who tended the 13 Victorian greenhouses, including a vinery, peach house, melon house, fern house, fruit house and carnation house. The garden produced beautiful flowers, fruit and vegetables providing ample for the main house, the house in London and even a van of surplus for the local hospital.

Jo Thompson
Jo’s designs are wide ranging - from residential family gardens, historic landscapes, public spaces and country estates to restaurant roof gardens, rooftop terraces and urban boltholes. Other current projects include working with Iford Manor in Wiltshire and the restoration of Highgate Cemetery in London with Gustafson Porter + Bowman. Jo Thompson is a member of the RHS Gardens Committee and Garden Advisor for RHS Rosemoor, an RHS judge, as well as being a member of the RHS Show Gardens Selection Panel. She lectures both nationally and internationally and is a visiting tutor at the London College of Garden Design.

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Quince launches in Westgate-on-Sea

Quince is the new restaurant by chefs Ben Hughes and Rafa Lopez, in Westgate on Sea, north Kent

Quince is the new restaurant from Goods Shed alumni Rafael Lopez and Ben Hughes opening in Westgate, north Kent, on 27 May

Reservations via www.quincewestgate.co.uk
Instagram @quince_westgate

Quince is the new restaurant by chefs and co-owners Ben Hughes and Rafael Lopez. Having spent years working together at The Goods Shed in Canterbury, this is the duo’s first restaurant launch.

Launching on Friday 27 May, Quince is on Westgate’s Station Road, just 10 minutes from the north Kent Coast and within 15 minutes of many of the restaurant’s produce suppliers. The bistro-style restaurant has 32 covers and will serve British ingredients, mostly from Kentish farms, with a southern Mediterranean flair, alongside a small list of English and other world-class wines, curated by Clive Barlow, Master of Wine.

Ben and Rafa have known each other for years, having spent the last five years working together at The Goods Shed, which under Rafa as its Head Chef for twenty years, became one of the pioneers of the farm to table movement in the UK. This market and ingredient led philosophy will continue at Quince, with the team working closely with day boat fisherman on the Kent and West Coast for seafood and fish, the Quex Estate Sussex beef and lamb, Longland Farm duck, sourdough from Staple Stores, and local farmers for vegetables and fruit.

The strong kitchen team are joined by Ben’s wife Portia heading up Front of House and by recruits in both back and front of house from The Goods Shed and Sargasso, in nearby Margate.

The menu is a happy marriage of north and south European ideals and food; Rafa will reach for the olive oil, while Ben the butter, resulting in a menu that feels comfortingly familiar and is full of Mediterranean warmth.

Sample launch menu

Oysters, rhubarb and dill
Staple Stores sourdough and butter

Braised cuttlefish, hazelnuts, lovage
Sevenscore asparagus, black truffle, hollandaise
Pork, wild garlic and liver terrine, toast, fermented wild garlic
Herb, beetroot and apple salad, crisp duck egg

______

Wild bass, fennel gratin, anchoïade
Longland Farm duck, cos lettuce, PX and lentils
Lamb, courgette, mint & aioli
St George mushroom gougère, asparagus and Lord of the Hundreds

_______
Raw cream, strawberry, elderflower & lemon balm
Valhrona chocolate mousse, raspberries, tuille
Goats curd parfait, honeycomb & rhubarb
Cote Hill Lindum, quince, crackers

-ends-

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

Notes to editors

Opening hours:
Wednesday: 18.00 - 21.00
Thurs – Saturday: 12.00 -1500 and 18.00 - 21.00
Sunday: 12 -15.00

Reservations via www.quincewestgate.co.uk Instagram @quince_westgate

Will Devlin cooks at The Chef’s Table at Wilderness Festival 2022

Will Devlin from The Small Holding cooking at Wilderness 2022

Will Devlin cooks at The Chef’s Table at Wilderness Festival 2022

Tickets HERE.

Over the years, Wilderness has cemented its impeccable reputation for creating unique and memorable dining experiences filled with Michelin-starred heavyweights, globally renowned chefs, home-grown favourites, and the hottest, emerging talent on the food scene right now.

This year Wilderness presents an all-star line up of chefs who will showcase inspired menus that spotlights equality, zero waste, sustainability, seasonality and a whole platter of epicurean cuisines and styles critical to all diets and lifestyles.

Food For The Future – Zero Waste

Thursday: Will Devlin (The Small Holding)

Friday: Niklas Ekstedt (Ekstedt)

Saturday: Adam Handling (The Frog)

Sunday: Skye Gyngell (Spring)  

Overlooking the majestic Lake Superior, this year’s pioneering Chef’s Table focuses on food for the future, delivering a decadent menu whilst embracing a zero waste kitchen ethos in the field. It’s here, at The Chef’s Table, these innovative chefs will cook a 7 course tasting menu using the freshest ingredients before your eyes, at a spectacular intimate restaurant under canvas.  

Will Devlin, chef patron of The Small Holding, comments, "I'm really excited to be cooking at Chef's Table this year. The way we cook at all our restaurants in the acre group is about making the most of every part of the ingredient from nose to tail, root to flower. We rear our own animals and grow most of the vegetables and soft fruit we use at The Small Holding; when you've nurtured something from seed or bottle fed a sick lamb and put so much effort and graft in, it's impossible to even consider the tiniest wastage. Zero waste is in vogue, as it rightly should be, but for us it's just something we've always done out of sheer respect for the commitment it takes to put food on people's plates.”

The Small Holding named Restaurant of the Year

Freshly harvested beetroot at The Small Holding (credit Key & Quill)

The Small Holding has been named Restaurant of the Year in the Taste of Kent Awards 2022

The Small Holding in Kilndown, Kent has been crowned Restaurant of the Year at the Taste of Kent Awards run by Produced in Kent. The restaurant, led by brothers Will and Matt Devlin was described by the judges as “an unforgettable rural delight”. The award is given to a restaurant actively using Kent produce where and when available and demonstrating this commitment in menus and marketing.

The Small Holding has retained its Michelin Green Star for the second year and was also listed at number 25 in the Harden’s Top 100 Restaurants.

Floortje Hoette, chief executive of Produced in Kent, said, “the judges and I were blown away by the exceptional food and drink we have in Kent, and it’s wonderful to see support for buying local hasn’t faded post pandemic. This year’s winners and finalists have shown innovation, diversification, sustainable practices and immense talent within their specialist fields.”

Will Devlin, chef owner of The Small Holding, commented, “We’re really thrilled. This award is for everyone on the team, in the kitchen, on the floor and on the farm who all work so hard and really deserve this, I’m so proud.”

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www.thesmallholding.restaurant

@the_small_holding_

Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG

About The Small Holding

Will Devlin 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 38-cover restaurant is number 25 in Harden’s Top 100 Restaurants in the UK and has won best restaurant at the Taste of Kent Awards. 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.

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