Is This The Ultimate Farm-To-Table Dining Experience?

11 hours ago

Dine just metres away from where your food was grown at Simon Rogan's Cartmel farm this summer

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Everybody is doing farm-to-fork dining now, but chef Simon Rogan was way ahead of the curve. He opened his now three Michelin-starred restaurant L’Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria back in 2002, pioneering a new trend for ingredient-led, hyper-seasonal cooking. Ten years on, he took that even further by opening his own 12-acre farm down the road, which now plays a part in a unique dining experience called A Day At Our Farm, set to return this summer after two popular runs.

Simon Rogan’s Farm-To-Table Dining Experience Is Back

Available to book on select Mondays from May to September, the experience begins with a farm tour led by head farmer John Rowlands. Guests will be led through the farm’s polytunnels, where you’ll see all the vegetables, flowers and herbs growing – all while enjoying snacks and drinks such as courgette, black garlic and chicken, and chamomile and pineapple weed kombucha. John will share insights on the inner workings of the farm, and the impressive eco practices that led L’Enclume to achieve a Michelin Green Star.

Afterwards, diners will be invited to enjoy a three-hour informal banquet at Our Farm’s sharing al fresco tables, created by head chef Liam Fitzpatrick. Dishes will be cooked on an open flame using ingredients picked just that morning, metres away from the table, alongside produce from nearby Lake District suppliers.

The menu includes dishes like heritage short rib glazed in a fermented runner bean sauce, Duncan cabbage with fennel, ballot kohlrabi, and infused burnt cheesecake for dessert. All this can be paired with wine, beer and non-alcoholic drinks.

Simon Rogan

Guests keen to extend the experience can book an overnight stay in one of the Simon Rogan rooms located in Cartmel down the road – complete with a breakfast box the following morning.

Alongside L’Enclume, Simon runs restaurants like Rogan & Co, also in Cartmel, and Aulis in London’s Soho. He has eateries outside of the UK too, including a chef’s table in Phuket, and Roganic in Hong Kong – all based around his commitment to provenance and traceability of ingredients, sourced from local, organic farms.