A five-star Devon hotel is taking guests behind the scenes to see the sustainable origins of its fine dining dishes after launching tours of its new kitchen garden.
Bovey Castle, the award-winning 60-bedroom historic manor in Dartmoor National Park, is giving guests a first-hand insight into “fork to fork” eating – the concept of growing and appreciating locally grown produce – with twice weekly Kitchen Garden tours now up and running.
Its 3 AA Rosette Great Western Grill and 1 AA Rosette Smith's Brasserie are both served by the 1400 sq m facility, which opened in the spring and supplies the kitchen with herbs, vegetables and specialist seasonal ingredients such as edible flowers as chosen by its chefs.
The garden, which is managed by Kitchen Gardener Erin Welch and overseen by Estates Manager Ian Speare, features market garden-style vegetable beds, cut flowers, potager and tiered beds with perennials and soft fruit. As well as a pair of greenhouses and polytunnel for propagation, with tours taking guests through the entire gardening process from sowing to harvesting.
Recent vegetable harvests include mixed varieties of heritage and F1 tomatoes and an assortment of lettuces such as Lollo Rossa and Flashy Butter Oak.
Perpetual spinach, tree spinach, beetroot, mixed-colour carrots, mangetout and peas are grown in the garden, as well as sweet basil, lemon basil, coriander flowers, parsley, sage, mint, lemon verbena, lemon balm, fennel, sorrel and summer savory, as well as both lemon thyme and creeping thyme – with all finding their way into dishes prepared by the chefs.
Edible flowers such as viola and borage also add vibrant colour while calendula offers a unique flavour profile to dishes. Chinese forget-me-nots and cornflowers are used to enhance visual presentation in salads or desserts.
Erin, who moved to Devon in 2020 to work in horticulture and previously worked at RHS Rosemoor, said: “I think promoting fork-to-fork eating is so important as it helps educate people on where their food comes from and appreciate each ingredient’s journey as it not something you’d normally consider in many restaurants.
“As well as having great sustainability benefits in terms of cutting down food miles and carbon emissions, it shows guests where the dishes they are about to eat come from – and I think that’s something people are really starting to value. It’s important to recognise the fundamental connection between the wellbeing of the soil and habitat, and the mental and physical health of the people, and that is something we are trying to tap into by encouraging people to visit the Kitchen Garden.”
The hotel, which is part of the Eden Hotel Collection, is one of Devon’s premier tourist destinations.
Alongside the 65-bedroom manor house and 22 private lodges, the venue boasts an array of activities ranging from archery and air rifle shooting, through to 4x4 off road driving and a championship golf course.
Tours can be arranged by calling the hotel on 01647 445000.
