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