April at The Small Holding

Seedlings in the poly tunnel at The Small Holding, Kent (credit Key & Quill)

April at The Small Holding

The Small Holding’s farm is a hive of activity in April. Alex and Nick in the Farm Team will usually be found in the potting shed, planting seeds in earnest and playing a never-ending game of Tetrus to find space for more trays of seedlings, giving them warmth and light, ready to plant out into the ground in May. Gardening is only for the patient. The Farm and Kitchen teams planned the whole of the 2024 growing season in October last year, and only now are we starting to see green growth and germination. Favourites for the menu include Broccoli ‘Red Blaze’, Cucumber ‘Passandra’, Radish ‘Viola’, Runner Beans ‘Scarlet Emperor’ and Courgette ‘Midnight’. The team grows harder to come by herbs such as flowering cumin, hyssop, purslane and Summer and Winter Savory, while the double-width polytunnel will house tomatoes, strawberries, fennel, peppers, and aubergines. With the very real chance of a late frost only the hardiest mustards and mizuna have been planted out so far in the beds, but it won’t be long until the whole farm is abundant with new vegetables, fruits and herbs.

April menu at The Small Holding

April can be an even crueller month than March for farm-fresh ingredients. The forced rhubarb is over, but there are larder stores of ‘rhuboshi’, salted and pickled rhubarb, to be served with an oyster cracker on this month’s snack plate, and a croustade of hogget tartare from Bluebell Farm and smoked goats’ curd. A beautiful dish of cuttlefish agnolotti is served with a brown crab bisque, made with the farm’s lemongrass and fermented chilli and finished with pickled fennel and tarragon oil. On the meat courses there is a dish of Wagyu x Sussex Angus beef from Trenchmore Farm in Sussex. The underrated and extremely delicious Denver cut has been chosen, which is a well-marbled and tender cut from the shoulder. To serve, head chef Will Devlin brines the beef in shio koji, before barbecuing and basting with beef garum and beef fat and served with potato terrine, roast and pickled onions and a beef sauce finished with smoked bone marrow, wagyu bresoala and fermented wild garlic.

The April Full Acre menu at The Small Holding

Snacks, Sourdough and Hinxden Butter

Tomato, Wild Garlic, Yoghurt
Asparagus, Preserved Citrus, Coppa

Cuttlefish, Crab, Fennel
Cod, Yoghurt Whey, Douglas Fir

Pork Cheek, Turnip, Apple
Sussex Wagyu, Potato, Alliums

Rhubarb, Buttermilk, Fennel
Chocolate, Chicory Root, Pumpkin

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 housemade soft drinks, kombucha and non-alcoholic wine, beer and spirits.

Senior hire at The Small Holding

New Restaurant Manager Suzi-Mona Milne at The Small Holding

SUZI-MONA MILNE JOINS THE SMALL HOLDING AS NEW RESTAURANT MANAGER

THE SMALL HOLDING
Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG
www.smallholdingrestaurant.com

Suzi-Mona Milne has joined The Small Holding, Will and Matt Devlin’s Green Michelin star restaurant in Kent, as Restaurant Manager. The appointment further strengthens the senior management team with Suzi bringing her commitment to outstanding levels of service for guests, and her passion for wine training and education to The Small Holding; she is currently completing her WSET Level 4 Diploma.

Reporting directly to Will and Matt Devlin, Suzi’s role at The Small Holding includes the smooth running of restaurant operations, in addition to managing budgets, hiring, team development and profit control.

Having studied Applied Linguistics at the University of Portsmouth, Suzi’s career in hospitality began working at high street chains Patisserie Valerie and Cote Brasserie, before progressing to General Manager of the Cirencester site, and then moving to The King’s Arms in Prestbury, a 200-capapcity brasserie and village pub and part of the Raymond Blanc Company estate, as General Manager. In 2021, Suzi’s interest in wine took her to Tofino, Canada to The Pointe Restaurant at the Wickaninnish Inn, a Relais and Chateaux property. She joined the resort as Restaurant Manager, at what was her first foray into fine dining. Taking over several outlets in the Inn, Suzi was responsible for a team of 46 with her role including recruitment, scheduling, budgeting, labour control, developing the team and standards and ensuring guests were accommodated for in any capacity needed.

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 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 Full Acre and Half Acre tasting menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10 feet from the kitchen.

March at The Small Holding

Will Devlin picks wild garlic at The Small Holding

March at The Small Holding

The transition from winter to spring is the longest wait, but with the beginning of March, the seasonal shift is clear to see. Daffodils and primroses line the banks of the entrance up to The Small Holding, but for all the optimism in the air and a hint of warmth in the sun, March is the ‘hunger gap’ in the kitchen. The winter produce is almost gone, and ingredients associated with Spring aren’t ready to harvest yet.

In many ways the Full and Half Acre March menus at The Small Holding are some of the most exciting of the year, as Owner Will Devlin and Head Chef James Chatfield call on the well-stocked pantry of preserved, pickled, and fermented foods, while looking to nature herself for wild food. The team makes use of the previous summer and autumn gluts, especially when there is an almost empty natural larder. The clocks will soon change, the evening light will linger just a little longer and wild food such as young nettles and the first wild garlic shoots can be found. Come April and May there will also be wild rocket, sorrel, and elderflower – all of which will be on the menu.

On the March menu snacks plate are the first English asparagus, served with raw scallop in a croustade of smoked crème fraiche, lime kosho and coal oil dressing, smoked roe, and primrose flowers, while the new season tender wild garlic leaves are pureed with buttermilk for fried chicken nuggets and hot honey, made with fermented chilies from the farm. March calls for creativity from the pastry team while waiting for seasonal fruit. One of the desserts this month is an incredible sorbet of fermented Crown Prince pumpkin, sea buckthorn, chicory root crumble and pumpkin seed oil.

The March Full Acre menu at The Small Holding

Snacks, Sourdough and Hinxden Butter

Lion’s Mane, Horseradish, Sourdough
Potato, Onion, Three-cornered Leek

Cuttlefish, Barley, Fennel
Halibut, Mushroom, Purple Sprouting

Lamb, Wild Garlic, Raw Yoghurt
Pork, Cabbage, Apple

Pumpkin, Sea Buckthorn, Chicory Root
Rhubarb, Raw Buttermilk, Honey

ends

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 £75 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.

From April, the price per person of the Full Acre and Half Acre menus will increase to £95 and £75, respectively. This price increase reflects rising prices from the producers and suppliers we work with and our commitment to always pay a fair price to farmers to help protect their livelihoods, while continuing to produce outstanding quality ingredients.

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

February at The Small Holding

Rhubarb at The Small Holding

February at The Small Holding

The green shoots around The Small Holding’s farm and along the hedgerows are starting to emerge. While still in the dead of winter, the start of the growing season is already underway, the farm and kitchen teams have confirmed the growing plans for 2024, and seed sowing has started in the polytunnel. There is much excitement when the seed packets arrive. With relatively limited space, the team maximise every inch of soil with succession, underplanting and companion planting, and grow vertically to extend the season and produce the greatest yield. Flavour is always king, but it’s a balance of so many factors with constant learning, questioning, and tweaking; there are as many mistakes as successes.

On the February Full and Half Acre tasting menus there are some incredible new dishes from Chef Owner Will Devlin and Head Chef James Chatfield. From the plate of snacks to settle guests in for their dining experience, including braised Trenchmore beef croquettes and wild garlic mayonnaise; Chalk Stream trout tartare croustade with spruce brined ikura fish roe, buckthorn kosho and smoked crème fraiche; and pumpkin and sage gougere through to the desserts of Douglas fir sorbet, preserved plums and yoghurt when caramel; and finishing with a woodruff custard tart with rhubarb sorbet, poached sorbet and toast hay anglaise, the February menu is a stunning taste exploration of the season.

The Full Acre menu at The Small Holding:

Snacks, Bread & Butter

Brassicas, Cheese, Onion
Potato, Mushroom, Wild Garlic

Scallop, Beef, Kohlrabi
Cod, Mussels, Leek

Chicken, Chilli, Seaweed
Venison, Squash, Spruce

Douglas Fir, Plum, Yoghurt Whey
Rhubarb, Custard, Woodruff

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.

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.

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.

October at The Small Holding

October at The Small Holding

October is a month we instinctively start to retreat, and crave warmth and comfort. The smell of woodsmoke is in the air and toffee-coloured leaves crunch underfoot, while root vegetables, wild mushrooms, new season mutton, plump scallops and milky cobnuts, arrive on the menu.

The October Full Acre and Half Acre tasting menus at The Small Holding welcomes the new seasons’ ingredients, and starts to look inward to the larder and pantry for preserved oils, vinegars and pickled ingredients, providing points of light and shade on the menu. Scallop, Apple, Gooseberry features a raw Orkney scallop dressed in reduced apple and fennel vinegar with Bramley apple butter, preserved gooseberry and nasturtium oil; while Blackcurrant Leaf, Buckwheat, Elderberry is a sorbet made from preserved blackcurrant leaves, with toasted buckwheat crumble and finished with elderberry balsamic vinegar.

Each month on the menu there is a special focus on one meat, using different cuts in different dishes. This is to showcase excellent meat, but also to reduce any waste across the carcass. Romney Marsh mutton, from nearby Paley Farm, is at its prime in October, after two summers on open grass and pasture, ensuring a rich, full-flavoured sweet and tender meat. On the menu is Mutton ribs, Onion, Wild garlic of slow cooked ribs, wild garlic mayonnaise and pickled onions, before Mutton Loin, Kohlrabi, Tomato with barbecued loin, pickled and fermented tomatoes, black garlic ketchup and creamed savoy cabbage.

October Menu at The Small Holding

Snacks, Sourdough & Hinxden Dairy Butter
Cep, Walnut, Thyme
Potato, Leek, Cheese
Scallop, Apple, Gooseberry
Halibut, Celeriac, Cobnut
Mutton ribs, Onion, Wild Garlic
Mutton Loin, Kohlrabi, Tomato
Blackcurrant Leaf, Buckwheat, Elderberry
Beetroot, Chocolate, Cream Cheese

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.

About The Small Holding

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

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

Autumn events at Birchwood

Autumn events at Birchwood, Flimwell.

Autumn events at Birchwood

Autumn is here and so is the new season of events at Birchwood, Will and Matt Devlin’s restaurant in Flimwell, East Sussex. The drinks list at Birchwood is curated as carefully as the food menus and the team always work with producers who celebrate flavour, simplicity, and quality of ingredients.

Brewer’s Spotlight
Lakedown Brewing Co.
Thursday, 19th October 2023
6pm arrival for a 6.30pm start
£35 per person

Brewer’s Spotlight is an evening of specially selected craft beers, charcuterie and cheese plates and a chance to meet the brewer. In this new series, beer maker Jamie Daltrey from Lakedown Brewing Co, a family-run, independent microbrewery, and taproom in nearby Burwash, who make grain-to glass beers, will join the team at Birchwood for a tasting of six Lakedown beers.

On the night, there will be tastings of Silverlake Pilsner, Off the Hook American Pale Ale, Zoot Suit New England IPA, Sussex Pale English Pale Ale and Kicking Donkey Best Better. Included in the ticket price is a half pint of each of the six Lakedown beers and platters of local cheese, charcuterie, nuts, and crisps.

Chapel Down | Wine Dinner
Friday 17th November
7pm arrival for a 7.30pm start
£85 per person

The East Sussex estate of Chapel Down is one of the biggest and best producers of English wine with a multi-award-winning collection of still and sparkling wine. This exclusive wine dinner event at Birchwood offers the chance to try wines that are usually only available to the trade, including the rich and complex Grand Reserve Brut 2018 with notes of ripe apple, fresh red berries, and toasted brioche, to the fresh and elegant Rosé Reserve 2020 with notes of strawberry, cherry, and redcurrant.

The evening will be hosted by Chapel Down’s James McClean with a tasting of four Chapel Down wines, served with a three-course paired menu by chefs Will Devlin and Nick Ryan. Individual bottle and cases of the wines sampled on the night will be available to buy to take home.

About Birchwood

Birchwood in Flimwell, East Sussex is owned and run by chef Will Devlin and is part of the Acre Group, alongside The Small Holding, which was awarded a Michelin Green Star in 2021.

Sitting on the edge of 46-acres of birch and chestnut trees in rural East Sussex, Birchwood is set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Part of Flimwell Park, a pioneering mixed-use centre of coppiced woodland, Birchwood offers an all-day menu for breakfast and lunch, and is open seven days a week, from 8am-4pm.

Environmental, social, and economic sustainability has been at the heart of the construction of Birchwood, with all timber sustainably sourced and weathering steel used for the window bay cladding. Onsite solar power is generated from 300 photo-voltaic cells located on building roofs, cladding, and canopies, with a grid of solar thermal units heating water directly from the sun. The car park SUDS system is made from local stone, geo-textile filtering layers and recycled plastic open-grid surfacing making up the Truck Pav system. Six Tesla charging points have been installed, with two more charging points available for other electric car brands. 

About Filmwell Park

Flimwell Park, a £6 million pioneering mixed use woodland development, is nearing completion after a decade of consultation, planning and construction. A collaboration between property developer Regalmain and architect Steve Johnson of The Architecture Ensemble and a core team of foresters, ecologists and permaculturists to re-purpose the land, the site has been transformed into an inspiring new model for a sustainable woodland community that blends living, working, recreation and learning. www.flimwellpark.com

Grow the Seasons at The Small Holding - new course dates for 2024

Will Devlin at The Small Holding, Kent

Grow the Seasons

Learn to ‘Grow the Seasons’ in 2024 with new dates announced for chef and grower Will Devlin’s horticultural courses at his Michelin green-starred restaurant and farm, The Small Holding. 

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

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

Each quarterly course is in tune with the growing season, including ‘Fresh Start’ in February looking at no-dig beds and planning for the growing year ahead; ‘Planting Out’ in May looking at sowing, planting, support structures, companion and succession planting; ‘Harvest Time’ in August is about reaping the rewards, composting and organic feeds and finally, ‘Winter Planning’ in November, which will cover the end of the growing season, mulching, lifting and dividing and overwintering crops.

Each full-day course costs £195 per person and includes coffee and pastries, lunch at The Small Holding, learning sheets and a practical gift bag to take home.

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

-ends-

“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

Forge, Fire & Food at The Small Holding

Alex Pole at the forge (credit Tim Booth)

FORGE, FIRE & FOOD

Alex Pole Blacksmith x The Small Holding
Sunday 3rd September, 12.30-15.30
£70 pp including knife making demonstration, cocktail and lunch
Reservation link here.

Blacksmith Alex Pole will join executive chef Will Devlin and guests at The Small Holding for an exclusive ‘Forge, Fire & Food’ event on Sunday 3rd September.

Alex Pole has worked as a blacksmith for over 30 years and founded Forge Kitchenware in 2015, making traditionally hand-forged kitchenware and cooking utensils, made in the fires of his Dorset workshop. Forging is the ancient art of shaping metal by heating it by fire and hammering. It is a highly skilled art full of tradition and folklore, and with infinite modern applications.

Alex makes pieces for home kitchens, outdoor cooking and bespoke pieces for chefs and restaurants including The Small Holding, L’enclume and Ikoyi. One of Alex’s primary aims is to promote blacksmithing and traditional crafts to show their importance in the 21st century.

This one-off event at The Small Holding will begin with a knife making demonstration from Alex and his senior assistant Jack Pardoe. Each piece of Forge Kitchenware, be it a knife, skillet or coffee scoop, starts as a simple bar of steel, which is heated and repeatedly hit on the blacksmiths’ anvil, until it is the correct size, shape and style. Some pieces can take hundreds of strikes before it is right. Alex will offer insight into the ancient traditions and techniques of European knife making and the creation of pieces that are beautiful and tactile, yet wholly functional.  

Throughout the demonstration Will and Alex will be talking about his craft and how he became involved in the food world, along with serving snacks and negronis, created with The Small Holding’s own house made Campari-style liqueur, made with foraged bitter botanicals. This will be followed by a fire-cooked family style feast of Paley Farm mutton and produce from The Small Holding’s farm, using Alex Pole’s cast iron skillets.

Will Devlin says, “Alex is a true craftsman and artist and it’s a joy to use his hand-forged pieces in both the kitchen and as part of our tableware service. His pieces combine beauty and function and will last a life-time if treated well and looked after. These values of craft, design and sustainability are fundamental to us at The Small Holding, and combined with food and fire is irresistible.”

-ends-

About The Small Holding

The Small Holding is a 36-cover restaurant and farm set in one acre of land, on a country lane in the village of Kilndown, on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The farm is less than 10 ft from the kitchen, growing nearly 200 varieties of vegetables, fruit and herbs, permitting a unique connection between the land and table. 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 Small Holding was awarded a Michelin Green Star in 2021, and was one of the first seven restaurants in the country to be recognised for its commitment to sustainability in gastronomy and low-impact environmental practices. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with monthly changing ‘Full Acre’ and ‘Half Acre’ tasting menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm and foraged in the nearby hedgerows and woodland.

Run by brothers Will And Matt Devlin, as Executive Chef and Head of Operations, respectively, The Small Holding is part of the Acre Group which also includes Birchwood in nearby Flimwell, East Sussex.

June at Water Lane

Elderflower custard, strawberries and madeleines at Water Lane

June in the garden of England at Water Lane, Kent

Sit under the tented awning on the Water Lane terrace overlooking the walled garden with rows and rows of vegetables, roses, delphiniums, cosmos, orchard fruit trees grown espalier against the walls, and scented sweet pea tunnel. Head chef Jed Wrobel’s new June menu captures the beauty of the season with fennel, strawberries, elderflower, tomatoes, hogget, and mackerel.

12.00 pm - 3.00 pm (weekdays)
12.30 - 3.00 (weekends)

Reservations via www.waterlane.net

June menu

Whilst you’re waiting

Water Lane garden pickles
Marcona Almonds
Gordal olives
Ricotta, chilli, almond and shaved asparagus flatbread
A glass of gazpacho

To start

Padron peppers, mangetout, rocket and romesco
Seabass ceviche, fennel, green strawberry, nasturtium 
A little chicken Caesar

Followed by

Asparagus, crushed butter beans and dukkah
Butterflied mackerel, tomatoes, lovage and spring garlic aioli
Spiced hogget skewer, coleslaw, broad bean tapenade  

With

Punched pink fir with hard herbs
Garden leaves with soft herbs  

To finish

Chocolate soft serve with hazelnut crumb
Elderflower custard with madeleines and strawberries
Ragstone, beetroot chutney and polenta crackers

-ends-

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 small shop of useful and beautiful pieces for the home and garden, select garden plants for sale, a calendar of workshops, talks and events, bi-monthly food markets, seasonal fairs in the Spring, Summer and at Christmas, and a large and productive garden growing vegetables, fruits, herbs and cut flowers.

For more news of Water Lane’s calendar of workshops, talks, and events this season, visit www.waterlane.net or sign up to the newsletter to be kept up to date.

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

Summer terrace restaurant opens at Water Lane

Clams with fregola, peas and coriander on the May menu at Water Lane

May menu on Water Lane’s restaurant terrace

The opening of the terrace restaurant heralds the start of summer at Water Lane. Opening the season on Wednesday 24th May, the terrace restaurant has a new menu from Head Chef Jed Wrobel, bringing sunshine and Mediterranean warmth to this corner of Kent.

On the menu is Sussex asparagus with ajo blanco and nasturtium capers; squeaky fresh radishes and their leaves and lovage butter; flatbreads cooked in the wood oven with peas, goats curd and mint; summery crab and sorrel salad; clams served over Sardinian pasta in a spiced light broth with peas; bavette with creamed chard and onion rings; punched potatoes with rosemary, thyme and garlic. While the soft berries and stone fruit from the walled garden are a little way off, there is Jed’s legendary tiramisu, plugging the seasonal gap, and a tart and fruity rhubarb and toasted almond fool.

The full menu:

- Asparagus, ajo blanco and nasturtium capers
- Pea, goats curd and mint flat bread
- Radish and lovage butter
- Chicken livers, rhubarb ketchup and thyme crumbs
- Crab and sorrel salad
- Clams, fregola, peas and coriander
- Farinata, golden beetroots, feta and chickpeas
- Bavette, creamed chard and onion rings
- Rhubarb fool
- Tiramisu

-ends-

March at The Small Holding

March at The Small Holding

Green Michelin star restaurant in Kent
Chef owner Will Devlin

Ranters Lane, Kilndown, Kent
www.thesmallholding.restaurant
@the_small_holding_

Green Michelin Star 2021/22 | Number 25 in Harden’s Top 100 UK Restaurants, 2022 | Number 10 in Square Meal’s UK’s Top 100, 2022 | Good Food Guide 2023 | Kent Chef of the Year 2022 | Best Restaurant in Taste of Kent Awards 2022

”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

The March menu

Snacks
Parsnip, Cured Egg Yolk, Nasturtium
Cheese & Onion Tart
Rosti, 100-day-old aged Beef Tartare

Bread & Broth
Sourdough bread and butter
Potato, asparagus, wild garlic

Farm
Beetroot, kohlrabi, sumac

Fish
Squid, seaweed, lemongrass
Monkfish, rhubarb, spring onion

Meat
Hogget, tomato, sea radish

Sweet
Barley, plum, milk
Chocolate, Mushroom, Caramel

Cheese
Cornish Yarg, Eccles Cake, Chutney

Sweet Treat
Apple and Cobnut Cake

Named ‘Chef to Watch’ in The Good Food Guide 2020 and awarded a Green Michelin Star in 2021 and 2022, 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 including Birchwood in Flimwell. The Small Holding opened in April 2018. As a former pub, the site had been 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 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.

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 formal menu at The Small Holding. 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, homemade charcuterie and zero waste animal cookery from the farm’s own livestock is the focus. The Small Holding works directly with growers, farmers and fishermen 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. The Green Star encompasses everything about The Small Holding and the teams’ drive for sustainability.

The restaurant is open Wednesday to Saturday for dinner costing £85 per head and for lunch, with a shorter menu, on Saturday and Sunday, costing £65 per head. 

Eating at The Small Holding

Everything is home-made at The Small Holding, or sourced hyper-locally, except fish and seafood which comes from the South Coast or Scotland. Ingredients are picked less than 10ft from the kitchen and when there’s a glut, the kitchen preserves, pickles and jars.

The menu starts with home-made kombucha or broth and breads and sourdough and fresh butter, made on site with the rich yellow cream from a local herd of pedigree Guernsey and Holstein Friesian cows in nearby Benenden.

-ends-

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
 

The Exmoor Forest Inn

The dining room at the Exmoor Forest Inn

The Exmoor Forest Inn, Simonsbath on Exmoor sits in an idyllic valley surrounded by wild and beautiful moorland. Built in the 1850s, the recently refurbished pub with eleven ensuite rooms and three cottages, is part of the Exmoor Forest Estate, an organic traditional hill farm, producing native breed, grass-fed beef and lamb, and home to several hundred red deer.

In May 2021, the Inn was acquired by three brothers, Edward, Freddie & Alexander Greenall, who have since embarked on a full refurbishment to provide guests with accommodation and dining fitting for the 21st century traveller.

Welcoming and cosy, guests will find tucked away snugs with comfortable sofas to sink into, a bar full of friendly locals and farmers, and a beautiful dining room with soft armchairs next to wood burning stoves. Head Chef Ben Ogden cares deeply about quality sourcing and seasonality, the menu conveys a real sense of place - it is representative of Exmoor, its climate, its seasons, its altitude, its farming, its animals and its coast.

Food

The pub is an integral part of the Exmoor Forest Estate. The menu offers organic beef and lamb that has been farmed, finished and aged on the Exmoor Forest farm, fish from the Bideford day boats off the North Devon coast, just 8 miles from the pub, venison and other game from the surrounding 6000 acres of moorland, British cheeses and locally foraged mushrooms, plants, herbs and berries.

The kitchen garden on the farm supplies soft fruit and vegetables to the pub restaurant while Ben and his team regularly forage for seasonal treats such as wild garlic, sea purslane, sweet woodruff and pineapple weed, while local wild mushrooms are something of a house speciality.

Start with a generous serving of house sourdough with roasted yeast butter to start and a creamy hummus of yellow split peas from British growers Hodmedod’s served with crisp local grown crudites and meltingly tender slow cooked beef nuggets with homemade pickles or grilled Withycombe asparagus, Whitelake goats curd and wild garlic. There are pub classics, done well, like Middle white sausages and mash and expertly cooked local game; tender slices of Venison haunch are paired with salt baked beetroot, a paean to local ingredients, or braised North Devon cuttle fish, Cornish Earlies and rock samphire. For pudding, try English black fig and Somerset cider cake with clotted cream and a superb sticky hogweed pudding with milk ice cream, both of which confirm Ben’s commitment to finding the best ingredients and his capabilities at preparing them. Late Spring will see the addition of a new meat ageing chamber, charcuterie fridge, wood fired oven and asado grill.

Food is served every evening and is open for lunch Wednesday to Sunday. A full seven days a week offer will launch from 1st May.

Sleep

The Exmoor Forest Inn has recently undergone a total refurbishment and offers a choice of eleven newly renovated en-suite rooms, three holiday cottages adjacent to the pub, sleeping up to four guests and Limecombe cottage, sleeping up to 10 guests, which is in a remote, wild and unspoilt moorland location on the Exmoor Forest organic hill farm, on the edge of Simonsbath, and it is perfect for those wanting to immerse themselves in nature.

All rooms are individually and beautifully decorated, with pocket-sprung beds, deep baths and big showers with excellent water pressure. Each room has hanging space, storage and somewhere comfortable to sit.

Well behaved dogs are welcome in most of the guest rooms for a small charge.

The Farm

The pub is part of the Exmoor Forest Estate, a 6000-acre farm producing organic, grass-fed, traditional and native breed cattle and sheep, and red deer. The cattle and sheep are born, raised and eaten on one farm.

The farm runs two beef herds - one of purebred pedigree Galloway cattle and the other of crossbreeds produced from Aberdeen Angus or Shorthorn dominant cows. About 100 cattle a year are finished on the farm, including the surplus heifers (females) and steers (males) from the Galloway herd. At around 28-34 months of age, those cattle go to a tiny, local cottage abattoir in Combe Martin, which has the highest welfare standards, about 12 miles away, before returning to the pub for dry-aging and eating.

The farm runs a flock of 1200 Scottish Blackface ewes, a traditional breed that have thrived on the estate for generations. Half of the flock are put to Scottish Blackface rams to produce purebred lambs and half of which are put to Blueface Leicester rams to produce a Scotch Mule.

The wild red deer living on the estate are considerably larger than Scottish red deer. In the spring, the stags shed their antlers (known as horns on Exmoor) and then re-grow new ones, which start off with a furry surface (known as velvet) when the horns are growing. The ‘rut’ is the mating season in October, when the stags fight over the hinds and can be heard roaring loudly as they establish their territory.

The whole Exmoor Forest Estate is run with biodiversity, flora and fauna as the guiding lights. Three hundred acres of species-rich grassland and traditional hay meadows are managed traditionally, with no cutting until after 1 July, and grazed by native breeds. The estate has two farms, one at Simonsbath Barton, behind the pub on the edge of the village, and the other at Cornham Farm, a little further west on the Barnstaple Road.

-ends-

Water Lane Menu Series Two - Simon Hopkinson

Marmalade sponge pudding and blood orange custard by Jed Wrobel

Water Lane Menu Series Two – Simon Hopkinson

www.waterlane.net

During the early months of 2023, Water Lane’s head chef Jed Wrobel is writing the Carnation House menus by drawing inspiration from some of his favourite cookery writers. The series launched with sunny warmth of Claudia Roden; for the second menu in this series, he looks to the honest, nostalgic and anecdotal words of Simon Hopkinson. ‘A classically trained chef with the heart of a home cook’, his writings transport the reader to the comforting and enlivening experience of food and flavours. Often hailed as the ‘food writer’s writer’, his critically acclaimed books include Roast Chicken and Other Stories and The Prawn Cocktail Years, which demonstrate his natural understanding of ingredients, his practical approach to cooking, and his love of good food. Seasonality is at the core of his recipes, and the Water Lane menu celebrates his influence alongside what the garden has to offer in March. Simple cooking with the best possible ingredients.

2 Courses £27 (starter & main or main & pudding)
3 courses £32 (starter, main & pudding)

To start
Beetroot soup with a horseradish dumpling
Eggs mayonnaise with anchovy and chive
Chicken livers, parsley salad with garlic dressing

Followed by
Risotto Milanese, grilled leeks and almonds
Smoked haddock fishcakes with sauce messine
Mutton shoulder with fennel dressed in plum and Pernod
Plat du jour – Whole plaice, winter greens and three-cornered leek butter (£6 supplement)

With
Carrot, raisin and parsley salad £4.50
Potatoes and Winnie’s Wheel £5.50
Garden leaves with garden herb dressing £4

To finish
Coffee granita with cream
Marmalade sponge with blood orange custard
Stilton, pickled pear and hazelnut crumble

About Water Lane
Water Lane is a walled garden with a vinery and Victorian glasshouses on the Kent and Sussex borders. A long-term project, the site 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.

During the Winter months the restaurant is in the heated Carnation glasshouse. In the summer, it moves to the outside terrace, overlooking the vegetable and flower beds. The menu at Water Lane reflects its sense of place in the English countryside with a short and often-changing seasonal menu by head chef Jed Wrobel. Much of the restaurant produce is grown in Water Lane’s vegetable beds or sourced from organic and biodynamic farms. Meat is from pasture raised herds and day boat fish is from nearby Hastings and Rye. 

-ends-

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

Cookery writer Winter menu series at Water Lane, Kent

Clam, haricot and green garlic at Water Lane, inspired by Claudia Roden

New Winter Series with menus inspired by the writings and recipes of some of Water Lane’s favourite food writers and cooks

Water Lane walled garden, Water Lane Hawkhurst, Kent, TN18 5DH
www.waterlane.net | @water.lane

Water Lane has launched a series of set lunch menus inspired by the writings and recipes of some of Head Chef Jed Wrobel’s favourite food writers and cooks. The series has launched with recipes from Egyptian-born British food writer, Claudia Roden. Best known for her Middle Eastern cookbooks including A Book of Middle Eastern Food and Arabesque - Sumptuous Food from Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon, Claudia’s food is full of warmth, sunshine and flavour. In the heated Carnation House at Water Lane, try Burnt leeks and cobnut tarator and Taramasalata, farinata and radishes before Clams, haricot and green garlic or mutton meatballs, kalettes and orzo. For pudding, blood orange flan and poached rhubarb or spiced rice pudding and butter baked bramley apple.

Next in the series is British food writer and chef Simon Hopkinson. Hailed as the ‘food writer’s food food writer’, Simon led the kitchen of Terence Conran’s Bibendum in the late 1980s, before leaving the restaurant trade to concentrate on cookery writing, notably Roast Chicken and Other Stories, which was declared ‘the most useful cookbook of all time’ by Waitrose magazine. Jed’s take on Hopkinson’s classic Southern French cooking includes dishes such as Beetroot dumplings with horseradish cream, Grilled pork belly and chicory gratin, Seabass and fennel a la Grecque and Junket pudding with rhubarb and vanilla. 

Two courses for £27
Three courses for £32
Lunch is served Wednesday to Sunday, 12-3pm.

About Water Lane
Water Lane is a walled garden with a vinery and Victorian glasshouses on the Kent and Sussex borders. A long-term project, the site 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.

During the Winter months the restaurant is in the heated Carnation glasshouse. In the summer, it moves to the outside terrace, overlooking the vegetable and flower beds. The menu at Water Lane reflects its sense of place in the English countryside with a short and often-changing seasonal menu by head chef Jed Wrobel. Much of the restaurant produce is grown in Water Lane’s vegetable beds or sourced from organic and biodynamic farms. Meat is from pasture raised herds and day boat fish is from nearby Hastings and Rye. 

-ends-

The Stables by Mark Charker launches at The Bell in Ticehurst

Head Chef Mark Charker at The Bell in Ticehurst at the launch of The Stables

The Stables by Mark Charker launches at The Bell in Ticehurst

“The Stables tasting menu deserves a Michelin star or two - superb.” Guest, Autumn 2022

“The flavours were amazing, the presentation of the food was beautiful, an incredibly warm welcome from the team and service impeccable. Wonderful evening and experience, thank you.” Guest, Autumn 2022

The Stables by Mark Charker at The Bell in Ticehurst has been transformed into a fine-dining experience. Having launched for the first time in Autumn 2022, the menu has been created by Head Chef Mark Charker. Launching on Wednesday 8th February, and available on Wednesday - Saturday, the five-course tasting menu is offered alongside paired wines and bespoke cocktails.

This special occasion menu will take guests on a journey from the sea to the best lands in Sussex and the garden of England, including locally sourced meat, fantastic day boat fish, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and cheeses. It’s a surprise menu on the night but to whet the appetite, sample dishes might include Lamb with Jerusalem Artichoke and Hen of the Woods and Caramelised Milk Chocolate, Toffee and Fig Leaf Milk Sorbet. 

Suppliers include local crab, scallops and halibut from Chapmans, Wagyu Sussex beef from Trenchmore Farm, goat meat from Cabrito, free-range eggs from Spurs Farm and a bespoke chocolate made from scratch, using fresh cocoa beans, from J.Cocoa in West Sussex.

Hanging alongside The Stables is a limited edition signed print by Francis Bacon. A triptych in a riot of reds and oranges, the magnificent work is a guaranteed conversation starter.

The Stables tasting menu costs £65 for five courses and £35 for the wine flight pairing, per person. Reservations can be made via thebellinticehurst.com or by calling 01580 200300.

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.

Food
Head Chef, Mark Charker, cut his culinary teeth at Ockenden Manor Hotel, working under their Michelin Star chef. At just 23, he was the youngest successful candidate for the Roux Scholarship. Mark believes in cooking for the guest, not the chef, and promises a creative menu of essentially British cuisine with French influences at The Bell.

-ends-

Notes to editors

Room rates from £165 - £325, including breakfast

01580 200300 or www.thebellinticehurst.com @thebellinticehurst

The Bell in Ticehurst, High Street, Ticehurst, Wadhurst, East Sussex, TN5 7AS
Instagram: @thebellinticehurst

Birchwood Studio Launches

Isobel Spence natural dye workshop at Birchwood Studio

Introducing Birchwood Studio

Feeding the mind, body, and spirit.

www.birchwoodrestaurant.com

Birchwood Studio is a new space at Flimwell Park in rural East Sussex. With offerings focusing on crafts, mindfulness, exercise, education, food and drink, Birchwood Studio hosts like-minded local brands and businesses for courses, events and workshops, with the primary aim of improving and nurturing our sense of self and well-being.

Birchwood Studio overlooks 46-acres of birch and chestnut woods with far reaching views over the High Weald and is part of the Acre group including Birchwood, a restaurant and private dining space, and The Small Holding, which has a Michelin Green Star for sustainability and gastronomy. The Acre group is led by brothers Matt and Will Devlin.

Saturday 4th and Saturday 25th February: ‘Functional Breathwork’ and ‘Conscious Connective Breathwork’ with Nina Carter
Bodywork therapist and energy practitioner, Nina Carter, works with clients who have reached a transitional time in their lives, whether that is feeling lost, restricted or maybe something much deeper. Within her embodied practice she uses science backed techniques combined with the art of breathwork to release and integrate, which can help bring people back to their most authentic and optimum self.

Saturday 11th and Saturday 18th February:
Yoga with Flock Yoga, 8.30-9.9.30am, £12 per session
Flock Yoga has been a certified and practicing yoga studio since 2018 blending lyengar, restorative, yin and vinyasa styles. These one-hour sessions in the Birchwood Studio are orientated towards alignment and flow yoga, breath work and mediation, in addition to stamina, strength and balance. There is limited availability for these classes.

Sunday 26th February: ‘Introduction to Plant Dyeing’ with Curious House
Working with forager Isobel Spence, this workshop will introduce how to dye fabric using colours extracted from local flora and fauna. The day will explore the joys of this slow, sustainable craft that results in a slightly different natural hue every time. Students will learn which plants and trees create what colours and how to prepare the cloth to absorb the dye and how to ensure it stays. At the end of the day, participants will go home with a beautiful naturally dyed silk scarf and the enthusiasm to carry on experimenting. The day is £135 per person, which includes refreshments, a light lunch and all materials.

Every Thursday: ‘Allergy Testing’ with In the Clear
Clinic with Adele Rogers for all well-being needs for allergies, anxieties and trauma for ultimate physical and mental health.

-ends-

Grow the Seasons - new courses at The Small Holding

Head Gardener Jenny Huddart and chef Will Devlin at The Small Holding at the launch of Grow the Seasons

Chef Will Devlin launches ‘Grow the Seasons’ courses at The Small Holding

Learn to ‘Grow the Seasons’ on a series of new horticultural courses at Will Devlin’s Michelin Green Starred farm and restaurant, The Small Holding, in Kilndown, Kent. 

The hands-on courses are led by Head Gardener Jenny Huddart and her team, for a behind-the-scenes experience. Each full-day course will include a mix of practical and theory learning, as guests discover and share in the team’s knowledge on seasonal vegetable growing, ‘No Dig’ principles and how to be sustainable in their own gardens. 

Each course will be relevant to the season, such as making the most of Harvest in August, reaping the rewards of your hard work and making organic compost and feeds. In November’s Winter Planning course learn how to make the most of the end of the season by mulching, lifting and dividing the perennial plants and the last chance to sow overwintering crops.

The full-day courses cost £125 per person and will run throughout the year, in tune with the four growing seasons and include a relaxed lunch, using ingredients from the farm.

Find out more and book now for February, May, August, and November 2023 www.growtheseasons.com.

About The Small Holding

Will Devlin, 34, 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 34-cover restaurant has a Michelin Green Star and was voted the best restaurant in Kent 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.

www.thesmallholding.restaurant
@the_small_holding_

Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG

“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