Alex Pole Ironwork at The Forge

Alex Pole Ironwork kitchenware

The Forge Kitchenware

Alex Pole is a British blacksmith making traditionally hand-forged kitchenware and cooking utensils, made in the fires of his Somerset workshop. Forging is the ancient art of shaping metal by heating it in a fire and hammering. It is an art that is full of tradition and folklore but with many modern applications.

Alex has been working as a blacksmith for over 25 years and founded The Forge Kitchenware in 2015. He makes pieces for home kitchens, outdoor cooking and bespoke pieces for cooks, chefs and restaurants including Nathan Outlaw, Christian Stevenson aka DJ BBQ, Gill Meller, Mark Hix and Thomasina Miers. Each piece is individually forged, using local materials, wherever possible, by a small team of skilled craftsmen dedicated to producing the highest quality work. One of Alex’s primary aims is to promote blacksmithing, and the makers movement, across the UK and to show its relevance in the 21st century.

Every piece of Forge Kitchenware, be it a skillet, knife, coffee scoop or an axe, starts as a simple bar of steel, which is heated ad repeatedly hit on the anvil until it is the correct size, shape and style. Heat, strike, repeat! The Forge Kitchenware takes the everyday and redefines it to create beautiful and tactical, yet wholly functional, pieces of work. Each piece is designed with simple form, clean lines and functionality and are made to last a lifetime.

Blacksmith courses and Forge and Feast events will resume in 2021.

Alex Pole is founder of The Forge Kitchenware.

Day to day, Alex’s main role is designing new products, often assisted by the whole team and developing the Forge Kitchenware brand.

“I have always had a fascination with metals for as long as I can remember. From sitting with my mum watching her make jewellery as a four-year-old to casting lead soldiers in my pre-teens, it feels like I've always been drawn to this material.

I started back in 1991 with attendance to art college to first study jewellery making, then architectural ironwork. After that came the wandering years - filled with travel, training, exploration, experimentation and a beer or two.

In 2013 I travelled to Sweden to attend a course at Gransfors Bruks, the world renowned axe making centre, and discovered a great love of tool making.  From then on I moved my work in a new direction - this included knife and axe making, as well as developing a wide range of kitchenware. Blacksmithing is not just a craft to me , but a way of life, and one that gives great satisfaction not only to me but, I hope, others as well.”

Valentine's Day from Will Devlin at The Small Holding and The Curlew

Barbecued lobster, fermented tomatoes, sea buckthorn & chervil butter (Key & Quill)

Valentine’s Day from chef Will Devlin at The Small Holding, Kent and The Curlew, Sussex

Chef Will Devlin has created two special Valentine’s Day menus from his restaurants The Small Holding in Kilndown, Kent and The Curlew in Bodiam, Sussex. Both menus are exceptional dining experiences safely delivered to your doorstep while all the prep and hard work has been done, meaning all that is needed is to add the finishing touches, plate up, and enjoy.

Using the best from the farm, land and sea starting with a bottle of English sparkling the menus include home-cured trout, pickled oysters, lobster and venison and of course, chocolate. Each of these elements come with full and easy instructions from chef Will Devlin.

Each menu is available to pre-order now on The Small Holding’s website, until 5pm on 10 February, for local delivery on 13 February.

Valentine’s Menu from The Small Holding

Bottle of Squerryes 2016
Bacon & onion brioche, cultured butter
Oysters pickled in wild garlic vinegar
Wild venison, salt baked celeriac, preserved vegetables
Barbecued lobster, fermented tomatoes, sea buckthorn & chervil butter
Creedy Carver duck breast, slow cooked leg, roasted squash, seaweed sauce
Miso & chocolate pudding, blackcurrant jam
Arthur Allsop’s Winter Truffle Camembert
£180 for two

Valentine’s Menu from The Curlew

Bottle of Oastbrook Sparkling Rose
Gin cured trout, fennel salami from The Small Holding, kimchi squash dumplings
45-day aged rib of beef, triple cooked chips with smoked rosemary salt, winter salad & Sussex Blue cheese sauce
Double chocolate & salted caramel shortbread, preserved cherries, meadowsweet cream 
£120 for two

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.

www.thesmallholding.restaurant
@the_small_holding_
Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG 

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

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

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

Cooking on the Big Green Egg

Cooking on the Big Green Egg by James Whetlor, Quadrille, April 2021

Cooking on the Big Green Egg
Everything You Need to Know from Set-Up to Cooking Techniques, with 70 Recipes

By James Whetlor, published by Quadrille, foreword by Tom Kerridge
1st April 2021, Hardback, £25

Big Green Egg is the pioneer redefining British Barbecue. With a cult following amongst BBQ experts around the world, Big Green Egg has been helping people discover the true meaning of flavour for over 40 years. Rapidly gaining favour amongst keen home cooks who want to cook restaurant quality food, the EGG is a favourite of celebrities such as David Beckham, Holly Willoughby, James Martin and Meghan Markle, and loved by some of the UK’s best chefs including Tom Kerridge, Gordon Ramsay and Daniel Clifford.

The EGG is a kamado-style grill that heats up to 1,000°C using NASA inspired ceramics to hold the temperature rock steady, with a burn time of 18 hours of cooking time, meaning anything from slow-smoked brisket to roast chicken, pizza or even smoked oysters are now easy to achieve. As more and more enthusiasts realise what a versatile and practical piece of cooking hardware the EGG is, experts and amateurs alike are looking for recipes to test out their skills and maximise the EGG's capabilities.

Cooking on the Big Green Egg introduces a new range of techniques previously never possible on the traditional barbecue and gives instructions and recipes for everything you'd ever want to cook on it. Award-winning author of Goat: Cooking and Eating, James Whetlor, guides the reader through the basics of using a Big Green Egg, with a full explanation of how to maxmise its cooking potential, including: How does it work? How do I get started? How do I grill, smoke, pan-cook, cook on direct or indirect heat?

With James's advice, tricks, tips and methods, you're ready to cook your way through 70 original recipes including meat and joints, whole fish, vegetables and jaw-dropping BBQ feasts. With this book by your side, you’ll go from beginner to EGGspert in no time, and be cooking, eating and enjoying delicious food with unparalleled flavour.

About the Author

Winner of a James Beard award for his first book Goat: Cooking and Eating (Quadrille, £20) James Whetlor is the founder of ethical meat business Cabrito Goat Meat. He worked as a chef for 12 years in London, before moving back to his hometown in Devon and working at River Cottage. His award-winning business Cabrito now sells goat meat to restaurants, catering businesses and supermarkets, from a network of farms across the country, as well as his own online shop. Goat also won the Guild of Food Writers Best Single Subject Food Book of 2019.

Feature Ideas

-   Things You Never Knew You Could BBQ: From curries to Christmas dinner, keep grilling all year round

-   Playing with Fire: You’ve invested in a BBQ, now here are the 12 essential recipes you need to become a true grill-master

-  Summer Sizzlers: Menu ideas for BBQ season that will please the whole family 

-   Green Grilling: Barbecuing isn’t just about meat, learn the best ways to barbecue vegetables and even puddings

-   The Heat is On: A guide to charcoal, how it affects the grill and where to buy the best coals

Big Green EGG

The Big Green Egg is the choice of top restaurant chefs and enables home cooks to achieve restaurant quality food at home. The charcoal-fuelled, ceramic Big Green Egg uses state-of-the-art patented technology that is ready to cook on in 12 minutes and provides 80+ hours of cooking in one bag of charcoal. The advanced ceramic insulation and airflow vent accurately control the temperature to maximise cooking time for unprecedented ease of use and complex depth of flavour. Walk away for hours in the confidence the EGG’s temperature will remain rock solid and food is cooked to perfection.

For more information about the book, Big Green Egg or James Whetlor, please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room on hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk or 07730 039361

The Small Holding at Home

Duck leg, borlotti beans and chanterelles at The Small Holding, Kent

The Small Holding at Home

The Small Holding at Home is an exceptional dining experience safely delivered to your doorstep from Will Devlin and his chefs at The Small Holding in Kilndown, Kent. The Small Holding team have done all the prep and hard work meaning all that is needed is to add the finishing touches, plate up, and enjoy.

Creating a restaurant quality experience at home is now possible. Using fresh from the ground autumn and winter produce from the farm, The Small Holding team have created three different set menus, with additional bread, charcuterie, cheese plate, wines, beers and soft drinks to choose from, too. The menus will change each week so there will also be a new dining experience from The Small Holding to try at home. Custom from the At Home meals are vitally important as Kent is in Tier 3.

Each menu includes several ready to serve dishes such as home smoked salmon, slow cooked goat terrine or apple and cobnut cake. The main course for each menu has a few elements to be finished at home such as bone in pork chops from The Small Holding’s own rare breed Large Black pigs, hand-dived scallops from Orkney and pan roast venison loin. Each of these elements come with full and easy instructions from chef Will Devlin.

Each menu is available to pre-order for local delivery or collection on Friday or Saturday night and costs from £35 per person.

Will Devlin says, “Our At Home boxes will help us survive this second lockdown but it’s more than that, it’s also about telling a story through the ingredients we grow on the farm and championing the community of incredible suppliers who work with us, such as cheese from Alsop & Walker, cream from Hinxden Dairy, English sparkling wine from Squerryes and craft beers from Cellar Head. We can only get through this if we work together as a community because, together is stronger.”

For Friday and Saturday dinner, orders are available for delivery and collection via pre-booked time slots. Order by 12pm for dinner on Friday or by 12pm on Thursday for dinner on Saturday. Diners are also welcome to collect between 12pm-4pm on their chosen day.

The Small Holding at Home

Menu one                                                          
Home smoked salmon, pickled cucumber, fennel & radish salad
Creedy Carver duck leg, bean stew, chanterelles
Apple & cobnut cake, cream cheese icing

Collection £35pp and delivery £45pp.      

Menu two
Slow cooked goat terrine, preserved vegetables & truffled cheese
Tamworth pork chop, potato & sage terrine, red cabbage, cider sauce
Miso mousse and pine marshmallow

Collection £45pp and delivery £55pp.

Menu three
Grilled Orkney scallop, pumpkin, Exmoor caviar
Wild venison, smoked potatoes, swede fondant, salted baked beetroot, bacon & chestnuts  
Sea buckthorn & dark chocolate tart, meadowsweet cream

Collection £50pp and delivery £60pp.      

-ends-

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.

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

The New Meat Project launches

Sushila Moles from The New Meat Project

The New Meat Project is a new online butchery launched by Cabrito Goat Meat co-founder and ex-River Cottage events director, Sushila Moles.

From field to fork, ordering fresh meat online from independent farmers reared in the traditional way, has never been simpler. The New Meat Project is an online butchery service delivering native breed, free-range and grass-fed meat from small farms in the Malvern Hills which have been slow-grown to the highest welfare standard. Delivery is convenient and environmentally conscious from farm to doorstep and is fairly priced for both the customer and the farmer.

Founder Sushilia Moles says, “Our mission is to encourage people to change the way they buy meat, to no longer accept the disappointing industrialised food from supermarkets and instead make the choice to support small-scale, family-run farms. Buying meat online, which is farmed using traditional and high welfare, sustainable practices is often too expensive, which is why we focus on offering a fair price to our customers and the farmers we work with, without ever compromising on the provenance of the meat or our environmental policy. I believe good food should be for everyone and we promise the best quality meat at fair prices for both the customer and farmer, which is better for the health of your family and the health of the planet.”

The New Meat Project only works with small farms in the Malvern Hills which are within 75 miles of each other, and with farmers who rear their native breed animals outdoors and to the highest possible welfare standards. The stretch of land between the Wye Valley and the Cotswolds, taking in the River Severn and the Malvern Hills, provides some of the best farmland in the UK, rich in space and fertile soil and grass. All animals travel no more than an hour from the farm to a local, small and family-run slaughter house.

Pigs
The New Meat Project pigs are traditional native breeds including Hampshire, Large Black and a few Welsh sows that lead a properly free-range life on the farm. The sows and boars all live together, mainly living in wooded and scrub areas where their favourite natural behaviour is to root and forage, which in turn gives life to new grasses and wildflowers the following year. They have a happy life and slowly reach maturity for a superior, deep flavour with excellent texture and covering of fat.  

Cows
The New Meat Project heritage breed beef is 100% grass-fed. The calves are born in the field and live outside with their mothers, all year round, only coming in if the weather is so wet that they can't find enough grazing. The Hereford and Aberdeen Angus are two of the best native breeds in Britain, both with rich, beefy flavour, good marbling and layer of fat. All beef is dry-aged for a minimum of 28 days to develop an extra layer of  flavour.

Lamb
The New Meat Project lamb comes from one farmer who grazes his sheep on pasture at the foot of the Malvern Hills. It has won best in show at the Three Counties Show many times over the years. The lamb is 100% grass-fed and hormone and antibiotic-free and the animals spend their entire lives outside. The meat is hung for 10 days to develop flavour and texture.

Chickens
The New Meat Project chickens are fully free-range and slowly grown to the high standards of the Soil Association. The birds are free to roam from dawn to dusk, scratching, pecking and spreading their wings, while at night they come inside to bed in their sheds. With over 50 years of farming experience, the high-welfare calm lifestyle of these chickens is evident in the taste of the meat. 

Founder
The New Meat Project is founded by Sushila Moles. Having gained a Masters in Food Anthropology and worked in food related businesses all of her life, Sushila has first-hand experience that farming is a force for good in society. Her working life has taken her from Michelin-starred restaurant, Rhodes 24 as head waiter to La Fromagerie in Marylebone, where she could indulge her love of cheese and to River Cottage, where she played a lead role in promoting one of the country’s best known sustainable and ethics driven businesses. Sushila is also co-owner of Cabrito, the multi award-winning goat meat business, run by her partner James Whetlor, that has been at the forefront of changing the UK goat dairy practice of euthanizing unwanted male kids and rearing them for meat instead. These experiences combined have convinced her of the importance of high welfare, low impact meat in our food system, both for our own health, the health of our communities and for the health of the planet.

For more information about The New Meat Project or founder Sushila Moles, please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room on 07730 039361 or hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

The Christmas Box

The Christmas Box from The Small Holding and The Pure Meat Company

A collaboration between The Small Holding and The Pure Meat Company

This Christmas order a restaurant quality dinner box from The Small Holding, Kent. Chef Will Devlin from The Small Holding and farmer Tom Cunningham from The Pure Meat Company have created The Christmas Box, filled with everything needed for the main eating event on Christmas Day. This unique partnership sees Kent’s best farm-to-table chef collaborate with a first-generation farmer, who is committed to rearing meat that is ethical and sustainable.

Filled with farm-fresh and restaurant quality ingredients, The Christmas Box centerpiece is a fully free-range bronze turkey, naturally reared on Tom’s farm in Shadoxhurst, Kent, alongside pigs in blankets and stuffing balls from the farm’s free-range Tamworth pigs.

The Christmas Box starts at £130 serving 2-3 people with a boned turkey breast and a boned and stuffed turkey leg, sausage stuffing balls, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, honey roast parsnips, glazed butter and thyme carrots, braised red cabbage, buttered leeks, redcurrant sauce, bread sauce and roast turkey gravy. All the vegetables are home-grown on the farm at The Small Holding. Diners can choose a larger turkey (up to 8-9 kg) and the option of the bird being whole or having the legs taken off the crown and stuffed and rolled. The medium Christmas Box serves 4-5 people and costs £200 and the large box, serving 6-8 people costs £250.

Each Christmas Box, whether small, medium or large also includes a bottle of award-winning Squerryes Brut 2016 Vintage Reserve, with spiced baked pears on the nose and on the palette an abundance of rich, ripe fruit and a hint of brioche. A perfect bottle of English sparkling wine from Kent to start the Christmas celebrations.

The Christmas Box collaboration between The Small Holding and The Pure Meat Company began in May, when 180 bronze turkey poults were hatched at the farm. From the moment they were born they were nurtured. For the first six weeks of their lives they were nestled up in a warm cosy barn under heaters. Once they have feathered up and can face the weather at around 6 weeks old, they are ready to be properly free-range out in the wildflower meadows. The birds spent their days running, flapping, chasing bugs and pecking grass, slowly growing to full natural maturity at about 7 months. They were fed on a locally milled grain feed with no antibiotics, exactly as nature intended.

The Christmas Box is available to order online from www.exploretock.com/thesmallholding and is to be collected from The Small Holding on Tuesday 22nd or Wednesday 23rd December.

-ends-

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

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.

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

 About The Pure Meat Company

The Pure Meat Company is a first-generation family farm run by two brothers, Tom and Sam Cunningham with a clear purpose; to tread a little more lightly upon the planet.

Tom, aged 22, founded the farm in 2017, with a passionate belief that farming could - and should - be done differently. Frustrated by the fast-and-forced farming methods widely employed by the industry, the brothers knew that there is a better way to produce meat.

The Pure Meat Company farms three hundred acres across the Weald of Kent stitched together by dense hedgerows, deep-rooted trees and a network of pure water courses for properly free-range, native breed cows, pigs and sheep to graze, root and forage. The farmland is made up of permanent pasture, 100 acres of wildflower meadows and ancient woodlands, most of which have never been ploughed. Tom and Sam farm ethically and sustainably and the result is slow-raised meat, reared gently and sustainably in the heart of Kent. www.puremeatcompany.co.uk/shop

The Small Holding at Home

Produce from the farm for The Small Holding at Home

The Small Holding at Home

Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG

#thesmallholdingathome

The Small Holding at Home is an exceptional dining experience safely delivered to your doorstep from Will Devlin and his chefs at The Small Holding in Kilndown, Kent. The Small Holding team have done all the prep and hard work meaning all that is needed is to add the finishing touches, plate up, and enjoy.

Creating a restaurant quality experience at home is now possible. Using fresh from the ground autumn and winter produce from the farm, The Small Holding team have created three different set menus, with additional bread, charcuterie, cheese, wines, beers and soft drinks to choose from, too. The menus will change each week so there will also be a new dining experience from The Small Holding to try at home.

Each menu includes several ready to serve dishes such as hot smoked trout, slow cooked goat terrine or apple and cobnut cake. The main course for each menu has a few elements to be finished at home such as bone in pork chops from The Small Holding’s own rare breed Large Black pigs, hand-dived scallops from Orkney and pan roast duck breast. Each of these elements come with full and easy instructions from chef Will Devlin.

Each menu is available to pre-order for local delivery or collection on Friday or Saturday night and costs from £35 per person.

Will Devlin says, “Our At Home boxes will help us survive this second lockdown but it’s more than that, it’s also about telling a story through the ingredients we grow on the farm and championing the community of incredible suppliers who work with us, such as cheese from Alsop & Walker, cream from Hinxden Dairy, English sparkling wine from Squerryes and craft beers from Cellar Head. We can only get through this if we work together as a community because, together is stronger.”

For Friday and Saturday dinner, orders are available for delivery and collection via pre-booked time slots. Order by 12pm for dinner on Friday or by 12pm on Thursday for dinner on Saturday. Diners are also welcome to collect between 12pm-4pm on their chosen day.

The Small Holding at Home

Menu one
Hot smoked trout, pickled cucumber & fennel
Large Black pork chop, potato & sage terrine, red cabbage, cider sauce
Apple & cobnut cake, cream cheese icing

Collection £35pp and delivery £45pp.

Menu two
Slow cooked goat terrine, preserved vegetables & truffled cheese
Marinated cod, seaweed mashed potato, broccoli and pickled chilli, lovage & wild garlic sauce
Miso mousse and pine marshmallow

Collection £45pp and delivery £55pp.

Menu three
Grilled Orkney scallop, pumpkin, Exmoor caviar
Creedy Carver duck, smoked potatoes, winter truffle sauce
Sea buckthorn & dark chocolate tart, meadowsweet cream

Collection £50pp and delivery £60pp.

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.

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

Praise for The Small Holding

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

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

New sense of ‘focus and purpose’ at The Small Holding as the award-winning restaurant re-opens on 17 July

The Small Holding (Image Food Story Media)

New sense of ‘focus and purpose’ at The Small Holding as the award-winning restaurant re-opens on 17 July

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

After three months of lock down, The Small Holding in Kilndown, Kent will reopen its doors, large terrace and garden on 17 July with reservations open for July, August and September.

Named ‘Chef to Watch’ in the Good Food Guide 2020, chef owner Will Devlin says, “As with all restaurants, especially independents with no financial backing, the last three months have been tough. However, it’s given me the opportunity to focus on our purpose and reason 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.”

From 17 July, the new menu will be defined by hyper-seasonal 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 will be the main focus.

The restaurant will be open Thursday to Saturday for dinner costing £75 per head and for lunch, with a shorter menu, on Saturday and Sunday, costing £55 per head. A drinks flight including juices, shrubs, wines, beers and kombucha will also be available.

On Wednesday’s the whole team will work on the farm and on research and development.

The Small Holding will continue to sell BBQ and breakfast hampers, vegetable and cheese boxes and the new Wine Club offering which were all launched online during lockdown.

About The Small Holding

Will Devlin, 31, is the chef owner of The Small Holding, a kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The 26-cover restaurant was voted the best restaurant in Kent at the Taste of Kent Awards and is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between farm and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with daily changing menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10ft from the kitchen. There are two poly tunnels, 15 raised beds, pigs, chickens, ducks, beehives and wild flower beds. On site is also the farm’s own alcohol sill, mushroom shed and shipping container with ageing chamber and butchery block.

Will’s second site, The Curlew, a former 17th century coaching inn in Bodiam, East Sussex launched in February 2020 and will reopen on 10 July. www.thecurlew.restaurant.

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

Praise for The Small Holding

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

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

“Striding confidently into its second year, Will Devlin’s restaurant shows no sign of slowing down, ‘a truly sensational experience’ is one fan’s heartfelt comment. The level of ingenuity generated by a kitchen on turbo drive, 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

BBQ boxes, hampers and home-grown vegetable boxes from The Small Holding

BBQ Box at The Small Holding, Kent (credit Key & Quill)

BBQ boxes, hampers and home-grown vegetable boxes from The Small Holding

www.thesmallholding.restaurant/shop/

The Small Holding in Kilndown, Kent has launched a new BBQ box for local delivery, in addition to its home-grown and organic vegetable boxes and stay at home picnic hampers.

Just in time for the May bank holiday, The Small Holding BBQ box is suitable for 2-4 people sharing and includes two of each beef burgers, chicken kebabs, pork sausages and pulled pork plus buns, flat breads and burger garnish. Also included are tubs of coleslaw, BBQ beans, wild garlic pasta salad and pickled red cabbage. This fantastic feast of a box costs £55 while also for sale on the online shop are beers and wines from local Kent and Sussex producers including Squerryes, Greensand Ridge, Chapel Down and Long Man Brewery.

The new BBQ box is the newest offering from The Small Holding team who are also selling weekly vegetable boxes (£35) with produce grown on site at The Small Holding and from local farms. Celebrating the best of the season with local asparagus, strawberries, beetroot, new potatoes, rainbow chard, carrots, herbs, garlic and more.

The BBQ boxes, vegetable boxes and hampers should be ordered by 5pm each Wednesday for delivery on Friday or Saturday depending on delivery postcode.

For more information, images or to speak with chef owner Will Devlin please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room on 07730 039361 or hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

Notes to editors:

- Orders can be made online at www.thesmallholding.restaurant/shop/

- Image credited to Key & Quill

About The Small Holding

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

Will’s second site, The Curlew, a former 17th century coaching inn in Bodiam, East Sussex opened in February 2020 www.thecurlew.restaurant.

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

Food and Fire at Bristol Fire School

Genevieve Taylor at Bristol Fire School

James Whetlor, founder of Cabrito Goat Meat is joining Genevieve Taylor at Bristol Fire School on 11 May to co-host a Kamado ceramic oven masterclass. 

James is a huge fan of cooking food over fire and is currently writing a book on how to cook with kamado-ceramic ovens. To cook great food over fire you need to know how to light, control and work with the fire. Fire management is fundamental to success and the foundation of getting everything right and dinner on the table. Master these skills and it just becomes cooking.

The popularity of this elemental kind of cooking has risen exponentially and for very good reason, food cooked over fire quite simply tastes better. “Once you master the fire, it just becomes cooking”, says Genevieve. “The barrier to great fire-cooked food is feeling confident with the fire itself.”

On 11 May, students will go back to basics to learn the fundamentals of how kamado ovens work, how to manage and control the temperature before moving on to learn how to make the most of these amazingly versatile pieces of kit. From low and slow meat and classic direct-heat grilling to breads and lots of glorious vegetable dishes, guests won’t leave hungry.

The day can be booked direct through Genevieve Taylor and costs £144 per person which includes hot drinks, soft drinks and lots to eat. The day will start at 9.30 with coffee, before getting straight into lighting the fires. Together, guests will cook, talk and tend the fires until around 2pm when everyone will sit down for a late lunch of fire cooked food and there will be lots of time for more burning questions. 

About Bristol Fire School

Fire School has one overriding aim - to help people Do Fire Better.

After the successes of her bestselling vegetable barbecue book Charred and the meaty The Ultimate Wood-Fired Oven Cookbook, top fire cook Genevieve Taylor has launched the Bristol Fire School in her home town of Bristol.

Genevieve shares the skills and knowledge that have made her one of the country’s best-known flame-focused cooks. Courses will cover everything from perfecting barbecuing skills to getting a handle on that pizza oven, slow-roasting, smoking and open-fire cooking.

About Cabrito Goat Meat

James Whetlor was a chef for 10 years, working at The Eagle and Great Queen Street in London, before returning to his native Devon to work at River Cottage. Always interested in food production, ethics and sustainability, James set up Cabrito Goat Meat in 2012 with a one-sentence mission statement: to put all billy goats born into the dairy industry into the meat industry.

James is the International Director of Goatober, working closely with partners in New York and North America, Europe and Australia. In 2019, there were Goatober events across the UK, USA, Trinidad, Spain, France and Australia. GOAT: Cooking and Eating, James’ first cookbook, was published in April 2018 by Quadrille. It has been widely acclaimed as genre-defining and won the James Beard Foundation Award for best single subject book and the Guild of Food Writers award for best single subject.

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

Gluts & Gluttony supper clubs for 2020

Kathy Slack from Gluts & Gluttony

Award-winning food writer and cook Kathy Slack, founder of Gluts & Gluttony and formerly of Daylesford Cookery School, has announced the 2020 dates for her seasonal pop-up feasts. Taking place every last Friday of the month in Chipping Norton, in the Cotswolds, Kathy’s four-course organic feast showcases the harvests from her own kitchen garden.

Dates for Gluts & Gluttony supper clubs throughout 2020

Friday 28 February | Friday 27 March | Friday 24 April | Friday 29 May | Friday 26 June
Friday 31 July | Friday 25 September | Friday 30 October | Friday 27 November

Every month the menu puts home-grown vegetables, picked fresh and at their most abundant and tastiest, at the centre. It’s not vegetarian, but vegetables are the stars of the show, supported by the seasonal ingredients from local producers. In the Spring months guests can expect seasonal dishes such as Rhubarb and Rose Cured Trout or Wild Garlic Tortellini and Herby Broad Beans while in the colder months there might be Venison, Cabbage and Apple Remoulade and Pickled Berries or Winter Vegetable Pithivier and for pudding, Quince & Panettone Trifle.

On the supper club night, guests will be welcomed with a seasonal cocktail and nibbles at 7:30pm. At 8pm, everyone will sit down at the communal table to a meal piled high on sharing platters full of vibrant colours and flavours. Throughout the evening Kathy will talk about the food - how it’s grown and cooked - and guests will leave around 10:30pm.

Kathy says: “What I like about the supper club format is that it’s just the right balance between catching up with friends and meeting new people. If you’ve booked as a group, you’ll be sat together but on the communal table, so you’ll have a chance to chat to new people if you want. Plus, everyone’s there to enjoy the same thing so it’s an ideal way to meet like-minded folk.”

Venue: The Tea Set Café, 24 High Street, Chipping Norton, OX7
Time:  7:30pm - 10:30pm
Price:  £50 per person including welcome cocktail and four courses. BYO
Booking:  Essential. Online ticket sales via www.glutsandgluttony.eventbrite.co.uk

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

About Kathy Slack and Gluts & Gluttony

After 12 years as a brand strategist for London advertising agencies, the fun had been had and the rat race was taking its toll. Kathy quit, with no idea what to do next. Rural life beckoned and, as well as starting her blog, Gluts & Gluttony, she took a job growing vegetables at Daylesford organic farm in Kingham, Gloucestershire and later worked in the cookery school. Three years, several placements and lots of training later, G&G has grown into a full-time venture with Kathy teaching private cookery classes, hosting supperclubs and cooking at festivals and events such as River Cottage, Borough Market, Wilderness Festival and Big Feastival. She also writes for publications such as delicious magazine, Waitrose Food, The Simple Things, The Independent and develops recipes for brands including Sharpham Park and Organic UK. Kathy is 41 and lives with her husband, Paul, and their springer spaniel in the Cotswolds. 

Dinner, conversation and sustainability at Coombe Farm Organic

Cabrito Goat Meat at Coombe Farm Organic

An evening of food and discussion with sustainability champions Cabrito Goat Meat and Billy Tannery at Coombe Farm Organic, Crewkerne, Somerset

Price: £60 per person for four courses and welcome drink
Booking via: www.coombefarmorganic.co.uk

On 3 April, James Whetlor from Cabrito Goat Meat and Jack Millington from Billy Tannery will host a dinner of British goat meat alongside Ben White, General Manager at Coombe Farm Organic, a beautiful farming estate in the Somerset countryside. All three partners are united in their passion for sustainability, the welfare of animals and reducing the waste in this part of the dairy system.

Very often the connection between meat and leather is forgotten. Independent producers, Cabrito Goat Meat and Billy Tannery, the UK’s first goat leather micro tannery, are working together, and with restaurants and farmers, to change this.

Certified organic by the Soil Association in 1998, Coombe Farm started out as a dairy farm and has a long and trusted reputation for exceptional diary produce. Now, they also rear organic grass-fed beef, lamb and pork and work with local farmers for organic free-range venison and poultry. Since February 2020, Coombe Farm has also been supplying goat meat (kid and nanny) from Cabrito, which comes from farms less than seven miles away on the Somerset/Dorset borders.

Ben White from Coombe Farm Organic comments; “Working with James from Cabrito Goat Meat complements our philosophy of sustainable farming really well. It yields truly remarkable meat that would otherwise get wasted. Whilst nanny/female goats are reared for replacements in a goat dairy herd, billy/male goats are surplus to requirements. We feel strongly that letting meat go to waste is unacceptable in an age when so much is already wasted and so many go without eating balanced, nutritious produce. Working with Cabrito, who in turn works with the brilliant Billy Tannery to use the goat hides, we have the platform to see that the billy and older nanny goats raised in out from our local area is used responsibly. The goats we butcher and sell come from a farm seven miles away from us on the Somerset/Dorset border and is a truly delicious and versatile ingredient to cook with.”

Billy Tannery is the first leather brand of its kind in Britain, with a vertically integrated supply chain from hide to final product. Co-founded by friends Jack Millington and Rory Harker, Billy Tannery’s goal is to put an end to the thousands of British goat hides wasted every year.

Jack Millington says, “Despite the clear link between meat and leather, the topic is often uncomfortable and rarely discussed. For us at Billy Tannery, leather and leathercraft play a vital role in the reduction of food waste - it takes the dairy and meat by-products and creates unique and sustainably tanned goat leather. It’s great to be on the farm with Ben and the Coombe Farm Organic team to showcase our British goat leather.”

Guests going to Coombe Farm Organic for this special evening will be welcomed with an organic apple martini and nibbles before sitting at 7pm for a short talk from James Whetlor and Jack Millington and hosted by Ben White.

The menu:

• Coombe Farm ex-dairy cow bresola

• Cabrito kid goat kibbeh nayeh with herbs and lemon

• Cabrito goat kebabs with romesco

• Marinated Cabrito kid leg and shoulder with preserved lemon and bay

• Tomato and cabbage pilaf

• Lemon posset and shortbread

Throughout the evening samples from Billy Tannery’s range of goat leather products will be available to view and purchase as will copies of James Whetlor’s award-winning book ‘Goat: Cooking and Eating’ which includes recipes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Gill Mellor and Gizzi Erskine.

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

About Cabrito Goat Meat
www.cabrito.co.uk

Cabrito has a one-sentence mission statement: to put all billy goats born into the dairy industry into the meat industry. Devon based James Whetlor worked as a chef in London for ten years and at River Cottage in Devon. He founded Cabrito Goat Meat in 2012 and was soon supplying top restaurants and butchers around the country.

Cabrito Goat Meat won an Observer Food Monthly Award (2014) for Best Ethical Producer, Good Housekeeping’s Champion Meat Producer (2016), Young British Foodies Meat Award (2016) and was a finalist in the BBC Radio 4’s Food and Farming Awards 2017.

James is the International Director of Goatober, working closely with partners in New York and North America, Europe and Australia. In October 2016, James brought the month-long goat meat celebration, Goatober, to the UK. Originating in New York in 2012, James has been instrumental in turning Goatober into an international campaign bringing together dairies, farmers, NGOs and individuals who are passionate about ending food waste in the goat dairy system. In 2017, James hosted Goatober events in London, Bristol, Manchester, Somerset, Northern Ireland and Amsterdam. In 2019, there were Goatober events across the UK, USA, Trinidad, Spain, France and Australia.

GOAT: Cooking and Eating, James’ first cookbook, was published in April 2018 by Quadrille. It has been widely acclaimed as genre-defining and won the James Beard Foundation Award for best single subject book and the Guild of Food Writers award for best single subject.

About Billy Tannery
www.billytannery.co.uk

Billy Tannery is the first leather brand of its kind in Britain, with a vertically integrated supply chain from hide to final product. It was founded by childhood friends Jack Millington and Rory Harker, both from the Midlands. Jack and Rory’s goal is to put an end to the waste thousands of British goat hides by tapping into the rich leather heritage of the Midlands area.  In 2017, Billy Tannery launched a range of luxury goat leather bags and accessories that are designed and handmade in Britain using entirely British goat leather in their small batch tannery in the Midlands.

February at The Small Holding

Rhubarb sour at The Small Holding (Food Story Media)

Rhubarb, snowdrops and storms

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

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

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

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

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

About The Small Holding

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

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

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

Praise for The Small Holding

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

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

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

Farm & Forage at The Small Holding

Will Devlin at The Small Holding, Kent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Notes to editors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Telephone: 01892 890105
Instagram: @the_small_holding_

Open Hours

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

The Small Holding x Elmley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About Elmley

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

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

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

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

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

December at The Small Holding

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

December at The Small Holding, Kent

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

Named ‘Chef to Watch’ in The Good Food Guide 2020, Will Devlin says, “Growing our own produce on the farm brings an understanding and honesty back to the kitchen, and vital freshness. Making the most of our harvests when the ingredients are at their prime - whilst also preserving and conserving them to use throughout the year, keeps us concentrated on the natural cycle of the land and helps us to create full flavoured and imaginative dishes.” 

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

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

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

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

Praise for The Small Holding

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

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

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

November at The Small Holding

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

Oysters, celeriac and preserves

November at The Small Holding

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Growing our own produce on the farm brings an understanding and honesty back to the kitchen, and vital freshness. Making the most of our harvests when the ingredients are at their prime – whilst also preserving and conserving them to use throughout the year, keeps us concentrated on the natural cycle of the land and helps us to create full flavoured and imaginative dishes.” Will Devlin

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

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

Kent chef collaboration dinners

On the pass (credit Food Story Media)

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

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

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

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

Snacks

Cheese and onion bun, venison croquette and damson ketchup

Menu

Celeriac, asparagus, cheddar (Will)

Caramelised cauliflower and crispy Winnie’s Wheel (Rob)

Scallop, lovage, apple (Will)

Soused herring with dill mayonnaise and shallots (Rob)

Pork, cabbage, tomato (Will)

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

Apple, cobnut, pine (Will)

Chocolate and salted caramel macaron (Rob)

Coffee and sweets

Pineapple weed jelly, preserved orange and chocolate fudge

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

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

Notes to editors:

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

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

October at The Small Holding

Pigs at The Small Holding (credit Food Story Media)

October at The Small Holding

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Goatober launch at Brigade Bar + Kitchen

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

GOATOBER London launch with Wild Beer Co.

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

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

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

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

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

Goat ragu with fresh tagliatelle by Gizzi Eskine

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

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

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

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

Tickets from Design my Night.