Lunch by the Lakes

Jamie Daltrey and Will Devlin by the lake at Lakedown Brewing Co (credit Key & Quill)

LUNCH BY THE LAKES

Lakedown Brewing Co beers paired with tasting menu cooked by chef Will Devlin 

Saturday 13 August
Lakedown Brewing Co, Burwash, East Sussex

Reservation link: OpenTable - Choose a time for your experience

@the_curlew | @lakedownbrewingco

Will Devlin, chef and owner of The Curlew and Jamie Daltrey, co-founder of Lakedown Brewing Co. frequently enjoy each other’s cooking and brews, leading to the idea of a one-off collaboration being hashed out over a beer, celebrating local Sussex ingredients and enjoyed in the beautiful setting at Lakedown. 

Lakedown is the scenic, spring-fed lakes that Roger Daltrey of The Who built in the 1970s as a peaceful oasis to escape the mania of touring. It is the location that inspired the family-run, independent microbrewery Lakedown Brewing Co., and home to their taproom bar.

The lunchtime event will take place on the banks of the lakes on Saturday 13th August, with two sittings at 1pm and 5pm.

Chef Will Devlin from The Curlew has created a six-course menu of home-grown and local Sussex ingredients which will be paired with beers from Lakedown Brewing Co. The cost is £85 per person and can be booked via OpenTable - Choose a time for your experience

Dishes shall be based on seasonal produce, but example dishes could include:
Pork Belly Miso Skewers, paired with Lakedown’s tropical, sessionable Vermont Pale
Goudhurst Asparagus, Confit Egg Yolk, paired with Lakedown’s classic and beautifully refreshing Pilsner 
Lakedown Trout, Pickles & Sour Cream, paired with Lakedown’s aromatic Pale Ale
BBQ Monkfish, Fermented Chilli & Red Peppers, paired with Lakedown’s hazy and hoppy full-bodied NEIPA
Mutton, Wild Garlic, New Season Potato, paired with Lakedown’s rich, malty American Red 

Address:
Lakedown Brewing Co.
Swife Lane
Burwash
East Sussex
TN21 8UX

Nearest station: Stonegate

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About The Curlew

Set in picture-postcard Sussex countryside, The Curlew is a Grade II listed former coaching inn with white clapboard façade and views across the fields. The 46-cover restaurant is is part of The Acre Group, led by chef owner Will Devlin, including The Small Holding and Birchwood. Inspired by The Curlew’s countryside location, while only 10 miles to the South Coast, the menu offers seasonal small and sharing plates from land and sea with a Sunday Family Lunch and the entire wine list available by the glass. Ingredients are sourced hyper-locally from the best producers and fishermen or are grown or foraged at The Small Holding, just 8 miles away. www.thecurlew.restaurant

About Lakedown Brewing Co

Lakedown Brewing Co. is a family-run, independent microbrewery and taproom in rural East Sussex, creating modern and traditional beers in can, bottle, keg and cask.

Named after the scenic, spring-fed lakes that Roger Daltrey of The Who built in the 1970s as a peaceful oasis to escape the mania of touring, this rural family farm and fishery is at the heart of the brewery’s story, as the location that inspired Lakedown Brewing Co., and home to their taproom bar. In the ever-evolving world of craft beer, Lakedown Brewing Co. aims to create delicious, honest brews to go back to time and again. The range includes nine refreshing grain-to-glass beers that celebrate flavour, simplicity and quality of ingredients. The team brews with passion, and they brew for everyone.

www.lakedownbrewing.com

Sussex Sparkling wine tasting dinner at The Curlew

Rathfinny Sussex Sparkling wine dinner at The Curlew

SUSSEX SPARKLING WINE TASTING AT THE CURLEW

The Curlew in Bodiam, East Sussex, is hosting a special wine dinner with Sussex vineyard Rathfinny on Thursday 23 June. Hosted by chef Will Devlin and Rathfinny’s brand ambassador, Richard James, the evening is part of English Wine Week (18-26 June) and will pair together Sussex ingredients with Sussex wines.

The evening will commence with a Rathfinny-inspired cocktail, followed by a four-course feast, perfectly paired with four Rathfinny sparkling wines. Brand Ambassador, Richard, will guide guests through the tasting notes of each wine and share an insight into the Rathfinny story.

The Rathfinny Feast costs £120 per person for all food, cocktail and four glasses of Rathfinny wine. The evening offers a chance to enjoy the best food and drink Sussex has to offer.

About The Curlew
Situated in Bodiam, an idyllic countryside village in East Sussex, The Curlew is an award-winning, Michelin-recommended restaurant by chef, Will Devlin. Inspired by The Curlew’s countryside location, while only 10 miles to the South Coast, the menu offers simple and seasonal small and sharing plates from land and sea. Ingredients are sourced hyper-locally from the best producers and fishermen or are grown or foraged at The Small Holding, just 8 miles away.

About Rathfinny
Established in 2010 by Mark and Sarah Driver, Rathfinny produces Traditional Method vintage Sussex Sparkling wines that are a true expression of their terroir. Produced from hand-harvested grapes that are whole-bunch pressed and patiently matured on lees and in bottle to develop rich, autolytic notes, with a low dosage that emphasises the purity of the fruit.

The Rathfinny Feast

Gooseberry & Tarragon Focaccia
Smoked Cod’s Roe Mousse
Croquettes, Fennel & Ham
Chimichurri Cured Monkfish
Chive Flower Oysters

Crispy Duck Leg, Farm Salad
BBQ Lamb Belly, Mint Sauce
Courgette Salad, Lardo
Offal Kebabs, Honey Glaze

Turbot, Sea Buckthorn & Sage
BBQ Monktail, Crispy Cheeks, Curry Sauce
New Season Potato, Anchovies
Globe Artichokes, Summer Savoury
Carrots, Prawn Floss & Nasturtium
Potato Terrine, Thyme & Chicken Skin

Strawberry & Meadowsweet Terrine
Sweet Treats

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

Notes to editors

Address

The Curlew
Junction Road
Bodiam

East Sussex
TN32 5UY
www.thecurlew.restaurant

info@thecurlew.restaurant

Opening times

Wednesday 6-11.30pm (Dinner)
Thursday to Saturday 12-3pm (Lunch), 6-11.30pm (Dinner)

Sunday: 12-2.30pm
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays

The Small Holding and The Curlew reopening on 19 May

The Small Holding, Kilndown, Kent

The Small Holding and The Curlew are opening on 19 May

After a year in lockdown, reservations are open for tables at chef-owner Will Devlin’s restaurants, The Small Holding in Kent and The Curlew, East Sussex.

www.thesmallholding.restaurant | www.thecurlew.restaurant

The Small Holding was awarded a Green Michelin Star in January, while The Curlew will reopen after first launching in February 2020 and being in lockdown, just three weeks later. The Curlew will offer small and sharing plates such as a whole rib of beef from Paley Farm, pork and kimchi dumplings or Tenterden new potatoes with Hinxden Dairy crème fraiche and caviar.

The menu at The Small Holding has evolved and Will has used the time during lockdown to refine the dining experience. The new menu is defined by hyper-seasonal and sustainable ingredients with a focus on the farm’s own produce, but undefined by the number of courses or choice. There will be no formal menu at The Small Holding. Instead, guests will be 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, foraged ingredients, homemade charcuterie and zero waste animal cookery from the farm’s own livestock is the main focus.

The new style menu starts with home-made kombucha or broth and breads and fresh butter, made on site with the rich yellow cream from a local herd of Guernsey and Holstein Friesian cows. The menu falls into themes such as ‘The Farm’ with raw peas, elderflower and radishes; ‘The Glut’ with Kohlrabi, green apple and yarrow; ‘Preserves’ of fermented roots and smoked bacon broth; ‘Cured’ with homemade fennel salami and sourdough; ‘Fish’ with oyster, chive and pickle; crab, chamomile and fennel; lobster and tomato and ‘Sweet’ with gooseberry, honey and cream; carrot, cream cheese and hogweed; strawberry, meadowsweet and basil.

The restaurant is open Wednesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner costing £75 per head and for Sunday lunch. A drinks flight including juices, shrubs, wines, beers and kombucha will also be available.

Will Devlin says, “Lockdown gave me the opportunity to focus on our purpose and to remember what The Small Holding is about, which is the deep connection between the farm and kitchen and a sense of place. We nearly lost it all and we need to remember what we’re fighting for. Lockdown has been a massive opportunity to realise that.”

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www.thesmallholding.restaurant
@the_small_holding_

Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG

About The Small Holding

Will Devlin, 32, is the chef owner of The Small Holding, a kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The 26-cover restaurant was voted the best restaurant in Kent at the Taste of Kent Awards and is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between farm and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with daily changing menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10ft from the kitchen.

Will’s second site, The Curlew, a former 17th century coaching inn in Bodiam, East Sussex opened in February 2020 and is 8 miles from The Small Holding. www.thecurlew.restaurant

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

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

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

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

Praise for The Curlew

“I must tell you about The Curlew, a restaurant by Will and Matt Devlin, the same brothers who opened The Small Holding in Cranbrook on the Kent-Sussex border last summer… They deserve a bit of smoke blown up their trouser legs for everything they and their excellent staff have achieved in the past 12 months, too. It’s not easy to do clever, complex, locally sourced dining in rural places without coming across as overly earnest and saintly, offering the locals lovely things without a jot of pretension. Almost as lovely as this job gets” Grace Dent, The Guardian

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

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

The Curlew, opening on 19 February

www.thecurlew.restaurant

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enquiries: info@thecurlew.restaurant

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