Tag Archives: Garden centre

Secretts Farm Shop

secretts derek cheese_6x9Hurst Farm, Chapel Lane, Milford, GU8 5HU

Upside: Fabulous seasonal produce complimented by a staggering array of culinary ingredients, top notch meat and the best stocked cheese counter for miles

Downside: There is only one Secretts in Surrey but even if it’s a hike its worth a visit!

Flipside: The farm shop is also home to Black Barn Butchers, Eliza’s Tea Room and an ethical clothing and accessory shop Jo’s unLTD.

Today Secretts in run by father and son team Charles and Greg Secrett but they partly owe their success to their fascinating heritage.  The story starts with Charles’s grandfather who chose horticulture from the range of options open to a young man in the early 1900’s. Starting his first growing venture in 1908 he was, by the time he died a legendary figure known for his innovative growing techniques, irrigation inventions and mobile glasshouses. In addition he was passionate about training and education and responsible for igniting a passion for horticulture to those he came into contact with. His great grandson Greg has carried on his tradition for growing and as well as supplying Secretts famous salad leaves to virtually every restaurant in the South East of England he also grows a huge range of speciality vegetables for many top London restaurants. On direct dial to many of London’s most feted chefs (I wouldn’t say no to his contacts list) his veg portfolio has true street credibility. The 100 acre farm whilst having a thriving wholesale business also grows for their own farm shop so while supply is seasonal; its food metres not miles here.

secretts_greg_kale

Entry into the EU in the 1970’s, industrial farming methods and supermarket buying methods all impacted on their original business model. The farm shop opened in 1979 as the family had to diversify their business. In the few years following they added a pick your own service where raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, peas, beans and other English garden classics are available throughout the summer. Recent innovations include poly-tunnels with table top strawberries making them disabled friendly and wheelchair accessible, plus able bodied folk also find this more back friendly too.

secretts cheese of the month 6x9Entering the farm shop you are hit by the cheese counter a visual eye candy moment and a taste of what’s to come when you pass into the inner sanctum of food excellence. With over 200 varieties of cheese it’s beautifully managed by knowledgeable staff – ask for a sample or take advantage of featured cheeses. Membrillo, cheese honey and other complimentary treats top the counter and head on you’ll see the cheese biscuit selection. Thick Stockarns oatcakes, my favourites Peter’s Yard, Millers Charcoal damsels and other cheeseboard must haves are represented here.  To arrive at the deli section you are taken teasingly past the stunning array of biscuits and chocolate products from independents, artisans and bigger brands. Himalayan pink salt, chilli and lime the variety is endless. Past the cake decoration stand where I discovered Uncle Roy’s Commestible Concoctions for the first time (edible flower petals, crystallised rose and violets, marigold and cornflower)

secretts Uncle Roys

my cakes have never been better dressed. The large deli counter is heaving with pies, unusual scotch eggs (I spied onion bhaji last visit) quiches made on site plus free-range ham or salamis. Hillyers of Farncombe supply traditional bread and artisan sour doughs come from The Hungry Guest in Chichester and Farretti in Lodsworth.  Cakes are from Crosbies and Farmhouse Cookery, gluten free options from Mrs Crimbles (plus a free-from section with pasta and other staples).

secretts cheese9x6

 

The back wall is home to sauces, mustards, pesto’s and pickles while further on olives, oils, vinegars can be found. Cous-cous, basmati & Thai rice plus top quality pasta is next while a central island is home to help yourself olives, chillies and other pickled treats. Vintage food tins, designer napkins, cards and other and other gift shop items are also for sale.

Different from other farm shops, Secretts has a huge selection of meat, jams, preserves, herbs, spices, baked goods, and frozen food. There is a help-yourself ethos so you can buy herbs and spices by the gram, frozen berries by the kilo, or even frozen croissants.  A great selection of pre-packed spices from the Seasoned Pioneer, superb Lebanese pomegranate molasses and lots more gourmet ingredients for those dabbling in secretts turnocks6x9world cuisine can be picked up here.

Dotted around the shop are also foodie items that will get the memories flooding back! Tunnock’s retro packs of caramel chocolate treats and oddballs like Fry’s chocolate cream.

Arriving at the final section of the shop holds fresh meat from Black Barn (who also have a retail outlet just outside the farm shop) and the fresh produce section. Fresh ginger, garlic (smoked and regular), lemon grass just hint at the exotics. Grown metres from the shop the salad leaf selection and season permitting golden and red beetroot and carrots, cabbage, salsify, kale, leeks, & parsnips. Dotted in-between are bought in items that supplement own grown. It’s a heady display of local and imported produce.

secretts veg collage

This is more than just a farm shop it’s a family run business with a soulful history. Charles and Greg Secrett have adjusted to the challenges of our political food system and kept the business thriving. The tea room Eliza’s recently taken over by Butter and Cream cakes is brighter with a tasty contemporary menu, the award-winning butcher on site sells rare breeds and free range meats. Even the boutique prides itself on sourcing fair trade jewellery and other items to its stock.

butchers and cheese

Although this review is really about the farm shop this venue has so much more to offer;  and if like me you want to support independents, you’ll find that’s what on offer here is hard to beat.

Tel 01483 520500

www.secretts.co.uk

 

Free range pigs at Joe's farm shop

Joe’s Farm Shop

Joe’s Farm Shop, Elm Nursery, Sutton Green Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7QDEntrance to the farm shop

A delightful family run business with delicious home-reared pork and local lamb and beef  

Go there for: Local beef, lamb, pork, sausages, milk and free-range eggs – and hanging baskets!

Avoid: High expectations: this is a small shop with a limited range of produce.

Is it worth the calories?:  Our rib of beef was heavenly and surely special treats don’t count!

Tips: This is a small farm shop with big plans: support them to make their expansion a reality.

It’s really all about the meat here. The story began 31 years ago when Emma and Kate’s mum wanted a bigger back garden: she acquired a small farm shop and continued to grow and sell their produce. When a large supermarket opened in Burpham they lost all their trade overnight. Forced to diversify, Rita Thorpe bought herself some books on growing plants and Elm Nursery was born. Thanks to Rita’s green fingers, it’s now a thriving business and they offer a friendly bespoke service you can’t get in bigger nurseries. Over filled hanging baskets start at just £20.

The alarm clock, freshly laid eggs and Emma with some free range pigs

Things were ticking over when Joe, a local farmer needing a retail outlet for his small supply of beef, pork and lamb, popped in for a chat, the timing was right so they went ahead. Animals are free-range and slaughtered as A selection of fresh meat for sale needed by a local abattoir using humane methods that don’t stress the animals prior to slaughter. Hung after slaughter for the optimum time, the meat is mouth-wateringly tender and flavourful. Fridges and freezers were installed and they now stock local milk and cheese (Norbury blue, Dirty Vicar and a selection from High Weald) and their own eggs. They grow a small selection of fresh produce on site – next year they want to grow more in their polytunnels.

To complement the core business Emma and Kate also sell a limited range of locally made cakes and preserves. Jams are made by a local lady Tina who gives 75% of her proceeds to a local hospice in Woking and they are keen to expand what they offer in the future.

Joe’s farm shop is a low-key operation, but there’s a lot to like. Maybe it’s the way the chickens wander in the shop, or that Rita, Emma and Kate always offer such an energetic welcome. There is also the added satisfaction that whatever you buy is helping the local economy stay afloat – at prices that are competitive.

Joe’s farm shop and Elm Nursery

01483 761748

Petersham Nurseries Café

Petersham Nurseries Café, Church Lane, off Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey TW10 7AG

The most chic garden centre in Richmond, Surrey with a Michelin star café and perfect karma

Go there for Innovative eclectic food from team of chefs trained by Australia’s Greg Malouf.

Avoid Putting your bag on the floor (which is a traditional earth floor) as you are in a greenhouse. Trying to book dinner: it’s a lunch-time only venue but does have a supper club in the summer.

Is it worth the calories? All of it is worth it!  It’s a yes from me (well Amanda Holden was sitting next to us). Inspiring starters mains and desserts using seasonal thoughtfully sourced ingredients.

Tips: Book in advance for the restaurant. Get there early if you want to park or follow the advice on the nursery website for parking options as its very limited on site.  Leave enough time to peruse the shop and nursery and soak up the atmosphere.

Unusually for a Michelin-starred restaurant, Petersham is such an unusual location that we have to talk about that first, and the food second! This venue has it all. It’s in a unique setting, it oozes shabby chic and the moment you enter this calm, celestial oasis, a sense of wellbeing ensues. There are many nurseries and garden centres that offer a café along with shopping and furniture but none match this.  It’s clear that the people behind the business are well-financed and travelled and ooze style. Dotted around the nursery are statues from Asia and other atmospheric props like large ceramic pots, barrows and sculptures. The chairs and tables in the café are antiques from Indonesia. It’s a quirky yet glamorous with a unique charm.

When the nursery came on the market Francesco and Gael Boglione decided to buy as it was at the bottom of their garden and they feared what developers may do. After a restoration programme it is now a successful business, selling a stunning selection of garden plants, Italian glass, gardening equipment, home décor, crockery and shabby chic furniture. The des res location in Richmond means regulars include local celebrities, yummy mummies and the well heeled.

Opening an award-winning restaurant was not part of the original plan but to offer a proper cup of coffee and cake was.

So it’s perhaps ironic that it’s the restaurant that gets media attention. Skye Gyngell opened the kitchen, and a Michelin star and several cookbooks later she has now moved on. She set the bar high but her replacement, chef Greg Malouf, equals her reputation.  The ethos remains: dishes are made with seasonal organic produce and it’s the simplicity with which they are served that make them so endearing.

On my first visit with Skye Gyngell cooking we were served crisp flatbreads with olive oil. The starter was a Carpaccio of smoked haddock with a lemon and olive oil dressing and a salad of shaved fennel, chilli, lemon and parsley.  Stewed oxtail served on velvety mashed potatoes followed. This was cooked to perfection, the meat falling from the bones with just a nudge. For dessert we shared a pannacotta with fresh rosemary and honey, which was rich, subtly scented and a perfect finish. Our meal lived up to expectations and I am glad that we ate here before this talented chef moved on.

Award winning chef and writer Greg Malouf had already done a few guest shifts at Petersham and was looking for a new culinary adventure so agreed to come for spring and summer season and he left in 2012 as planned. However the team he bought with him from Australia have stayed on and are tweaking the menu with their own innovative twists. With its fantastic reputation, fairytale setting and proximity to London combined there is always a queue of talented chefs keen to cook here.

A return visit was hastily added to see if the magic was still at Petersham. Our waiter assured us that Greg Malouf was in the kitchen and we went in to lunch with high hopes. Fresh white bread and a small dish of Zisola olive oil came with our drinks.This single estate oil is made especially for the nursery from a blend of four different varieties of olives; it’s quite delicious and on sale at £16.50 for a 500ml bottle. The bread was good but looked commercially made to me and on enquiry the waiter was happy to say that it came from the Flour Power City organic bakery in London. We shared a starter of summer bollito misto salad with salse verde dressing. This take on a classic Italian mixed poached meat was delightful: the poultry was perfectly cooked, the beef was rare and tender. The leaves wrapped around the mixed meats and were coated with salsa verde. The portions here are generous so sharing courses is a possibility without feeling left out.

For mains we had plaice coated in chickpea flour (ceci) and sesame batter served with a cabbage salad and tartare sauce with preserved lemon and a double lamb chop with Persian aubergine and organic chickpeas. The lamb was pink and cooked to perfection, the aubergine had been roasted and pulled from the skin and worked really well with the large, mouth-wateringly soft chickpeas. A large red chilli nestled in the dish, which gave a hint of heat to the sauce. The lamb was fantastic and won first prize on this visit: the plaice although delicious, couldn’t compete . Pannacotta with vanilla, comice pears and rose petals was beautifully plated and lived up to its image but for me had a little too much gelatine: I prefer a bit more of a wobble in a pannacotta.

Fixed price menus are priced at £24 for 2 courses / £28 for 3 or you can eat a la carte with starters and desserts from £8 and mains from £20.

Just to be clear there are two places to eat in Petersham Nurseries: the Teahouse and the café. The teahouse offers wonderful light meals, extravagant and interesting cakes and coffee – and you don’t need to book. In the summer seating extends outside to a range of mismatched tables. The café is the restaurant and you must book to guarantee a table. You can be lucky though and I rang up on the morning (31st May 2012) and got a table from 12-2. Perfect.

www.petershamnurseries.com

0208 940 5230