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Times
20 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- Times
The UK's best kitchen gardens worth planning a foodie trip around
There's something rather thrilling about seeing a perfectly plump strawberry on top of a pile of meringues and cream at dinner, knowing it was plucked just outside. Especially when you bite into it and it's sweet as can be. And then there are wonderful homegrown broad beans, asparagus, courgettes and more. The UK's kitchen gardens are a fabulous bunch, and now is the best time to see them — when the days are longer, the weather is better and there's a bounty of beautiful fresh produce. Here are seven of the best, all with a great place to stay. William Robinson was one of the most progressive Victorian gardeners and is responsible for the classic English country garden. In 1885 he bought Gravetye Manor, which became the greatest example of his work with his trademark naturalistic aesthetic. Today it's a grand country house hotel with 17 elegant rooms and a Michelin-starred restaurant. The ecliptic kitchen garden is designed to get the best growth from the site, and gardeners focus on less common crops, such as unusual tomato varieties, heritage carrots and baby beetroots (three courses from £128pp). Garden tours run three times a week from April to October for hotel and restaurant guests (from £25pp). Stay overnight for a breakfast that includes juice squeezed from the orchard's apples and the chance to explore some of the other beautiful gardens nearby, including Sissinghurst, Borde Hill and pretty Perch Hill farm. Details B&B doubles from £400 ( • Gravetye Manor hotel review: Michelin-starred food and exquisite gardens in West Sussex The details are what elevate the tasting menus at the chef Tommy Banks's Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms. Strawberries are picked right before service so they retain the warmth of the day's sun and corn is removed from the cob just before plating, to retain sweetness. Book a garden tour to learn about what's grown in the two-acre kitchen garden, including red Russian kale, chives and beetroot, much of which is preserved so it can be used year-round (lunch tasting menu with a tour from £135). You're on the fringes of the North York Moors, so you can enjoy a good walk before retiring to one of the cosy rooms with a rolltop Half-boarddoubles from £545 ( • Read more about what to do and where to go in Yorkshire Every dish at Pythouse includes at least one ingredient from the three-acre garden year-round, thanks to smart fermenting and preserving techniques. For lunch, this could be chalkstream trout with purple sprouting broccoli and parsnip hash browns; for dessert it could be almond cake with poached rhubarb (mains from £22). Make a long weekend of it and you can kick back in the wood-fired sauna or opt for one of many workshops; 'Fill Your Boots' includes the chance to create a bug hotel and harvest plants for the kitchen and botanicals for home remedies (£105, including a two-course lunch). Don't miss the large pick-your-own flower area either, where guests can grab a bucket and a pair of secateurs after lunch to take a bunch of blooms home. A shabby-chic shepherd's hut with a cosy wood-burner and fairy lights is perfect for two. Nearby is Messums West, a brilliant modern arts centre in a 13th-century tithe barn with a sculpture garden (free; B&B from £130 in a shepherd's hut for two ( • Giles Coren reviews Pythouse Kitchen Garden, Wiltshire This may be one of the smaller kitchen gardens on our list (at just one third of an acre) but we love it because it shows how much you can do in a small space, even in an urban setting. There are multiple tasting menus to choose from, allowing for hyper-seasonal dishes that show off the garden's character. Take for instance the pelargonium leaves that are used to make a delicious ice cream, served with a honey gel made from the restaurant's beehives. There are eight stylish rooms, and you're just five minutes from the beautiful Nottingham University campus where you can go boating on the lake (£7pp; B&B doubles from £540, including a ten-course tasting menu for two ( • Garden fork to table fork — the value of a well-planned kitchen garden Dine at the Farm Caff and you'll receive a map with your menu so you can take a stroll around the farm after you've eaten (mains from £19, tours from £4). There are 50 acres to explore, with views out to Glastonbury Tor, fruit and nut orchards, agriwilding ecosystems (also known as 'food forests', which create abundant food and regenerate the environment), a four-acre market garden and a lake for wild swimming. The ethos here is focused on bringing the farm to the table, which means salads, herbs, greens and more are harvested just a few minutes' walk away and wild ingredients are foraged from the surrounding hedgerows. Our favourite? Crumpets made from the farm's wheat and served with seasonal soup. Make a weekend of it with a stay in one of two boho glamping cabins; the charming market town of Bruton is a five-minute drive away. Details Room-only doubles from £130 ( • Discover the best hotels, restaurants, things to do and places to visit in Somerset If bigger is better, Gordon Castle's walled kitchen garden close to the River Spey and Moray coast has to be one of the best. At close to eight acres in size, it's one of Britain's largest and was built more than 200 years ago for the Duke of Gordon, who lived here. Visit today to find more than 200 varieties of vegetables grown from seed every year (carrots, pumpkins, kale, peas), many of which you can buy in the brilliant on-site shop. There's also a relaxed café with fresh salad leaves picked every morning and a play area for kids (mains from £16). Cottages that sleep between 2 and 14 are spread through the estate and always feature fresh flowers from the garden. Stalking, shooting and salmon fishing trips can be arranged and each May the castle hosts its annual Highland Room-only doubles from £555, three-night minimum stay ( • 14 of the most beautiful places in Scotland This working family farm, situated in a south-facing valley near Truro, has been rearing cattle and sheep for nearly 250 years and is now in the hands of the ninth generation. Come for one of the regular ticketed feast and supper events, with set three and four-course menus that showcase organic meat alongside seasonal produce grown on site (four-course feast from £50, three-course supper from £45). The feasts are communal events where you mingle with other guests over long tables, the suppers are best for those who prefer to dine à deux. Get there early to take a wildlife walk, where you might spot deer or hares and peek in the kitchen gardens before you dine. Later, you'll want to stay in one of the converted farm buildings, which include a grade II listed mill house and a former piggery. The following morning you can clear your head with a walk along the golden sands of Perranporth beach, which is a 15-minute drive B&B doubles from £155 ( • Read more about the best hotels in Cornwall
The Sun
a day ago
- Business
- The Sun
I'm a skint dad, the barcode secret means your groceries will always be fresh and will last way longer
SUPERMARKETS across the UK are changing the way we shop for fresh produce by removing "best before" dates from fruit and vegetables. This initiative aims to reduce food waste and encourage shoppers to use their own judgement when deciding if their produce is still fresh. 3 3 The move is designed to help families save money and lessen environmental impact, making it a positive step for both shoppers and the planet. However, not everyone feels confident about this change, with some shoppers expressing concerns about not knowing when their fruit and vegetables are most likely to expire. For those unsure, a TikTok user known as ' skintdad ' has shared a clever hack to decode the hidden freshness codes on produce packaging. In a video shared with their 3,871 followers, they explained how to identify which items will stay fresher for longer. The caption read: 'Use this simple hack to decode the best before dates on fruit and vegetables to make sure you get the freshest produce.' The account revealed that instead of traditional "best before" dates, supermarkets in the UK now use a coded system on packaging. These codes rely on letters that correspond to months of the year. They explained: 'So A was January, B February, C March, D April and so on. "So you know that if you see something that says D27 that stands for April 27th. "You can use this to work out whether something is fresh or if you want to potentially leave it on the shelf and get something else.' My budget's so strict I pray at the till on my food shop - this week I did it for a family of 4 for £100, here's my haul For those hesitant about the removal of "best before" dates, this simple hack could be a game-changer when it comes to picking the freshest produce. The video, originally shared last year, has since garnered 124.3k views, 1,951 likes, and 161 comments. 3 Many viewers appreciated the tip, with one commenting: 'Oh great tip. Thanks.' Another asked: 'What month is E11? On onions?' to which they replied: '11th May. But you'll generally find they last a lot longer.' Foods must be stored correctly to keep them fresh and prevent the spread of bacteria. Nutrition expert Birgit Brendel said bread will last longer when stored in the fridge or freezer. However, this can compromise the flavour. Storing in ceramic or pottery containers is an alternative that allows for air to flow easily and slow the growth of mould. Robert Morris, managing director of food safety consultants, Complete Food Safety, revealed the best place to store fresh fruit and vegetables. He said salad foods should be stored in the fridge drawer, but away from anything grown in the soil such as carrots, parsnips and beetroot. Tomatoes are an exception to the rule as fridges can alter the natural ripening process and diminish their taste. He also advised against putting avocados and bananas in the fridge as this will cause them to blacken quicker.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Royal fans speculate about awkward mistake in Meghan Markle's 'garden haul' of vegetables
Meghan Markle has left people baffled after sharing a wholesome picture of her morning 'garden haul'. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, last night posted a sweet image of her and Prince Harry 's beagle Mia sniffing a basket of fresh produce grown in the garden of her Montecito mansion in California. Referring to Mia, who the Sussexes rescued in 2022, Meghan captioned her post: 'The unofficial quality inspector of this morning's garden haul.' The 'haul' comprised of broccoli, carrots, corn, red peppers and squash as well as spring onions and an assortment of fresh herbs as Mia buried her face in the produce. But not everyone was convinced, and people soon pointed out inconsistencies with the Instagram-perfect picture. Taking note of the squeaky-clean vegetables, fans noted there wasn't even a 'speck of dirt', despite appearing to be freshly picked, while others noted that, in California, May could be too early in the year to harvest several crops. Others speculated that Meghan could have gone to a local supermarket or Farmer's Market instead. Baffled, fans wrote: 'Huh. She's so good at gardening she can grow all things from all seasons at once'; The Duchess of Sussex, 43, shared a sweet snap of her pooch, Mia, sniffing the contents of her woven bag that was filled with fresh vegetables grown in her garden on Instagram 'And everything is perfectly clean. She is also the only person outside of the US Cornbelt to harvest corn in MAY?'; 'The only place I see all that in season is the grocery store produce section'; 'It's way too early in the season for most of those vegetables to be grown in her garden and ready to pick'; ''This morning's garden haul.' In California, bell peppers are in season from May through November. Yellow squash is June through August. Broccoli is October through April. Carrots can be grown year round. Fennel is October through early spring'; 'Who is harvesting corn in May? It's pretty early for squash and peppers too'; 'I've never seen vegetables so clean after harvesting'; 'No dirt?' According to the California Farmland Trust, sweetcorn is typically harvested from June to September - meaning it's likely slightly too early for Meghan to have grown her own at her home in Montecito, near Santa Barbara. By contrast, broccoli is harvested much earlier in the year, according to the Vegetable Research and Information Centre. Spring onions, bell peppers, carrots and certain types of squash may now be ripe for harvesting. The latest post on As Ever's social media page comes one day after Meghan revealed she plans to 'step back to assess' what the lifestyle brand had achieved in its first year - and what it could become in the future. Meghan, who unveiled the company at the start of the year, recently revealed she may never restock her famous jam - one of the many homely products she sold under the As Ever brand - in an interview with The Fast Company. The Duchess was speaking about her business and balancing work with motherhood as the first series of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, drew to a close yesterday. Asked about As Ever, Meghan said she would 'step back, gather data from the launch, and figure out exactly what' the company's future holds - as she confirmed new products won't go live until the first quarter of 2026. Meghan also revealed the surprising turn As Ever could take - hinting at a future step into the fashion industry that she deemed an 'interesting space for me'. The inaugural run of As Ever products, such as jams, honey and teas, sold out within 45 minutes of the launch. Her previous store sold out in 45 minutes and contained homely items as well as her long-awaited pots of jam. Meghan and Harry's rescue, beagle Mia, was first seen in the family's Christmas card last December. Among six pictures included in the festive greetings card was one which featured the Sussexes with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, as well as their rescue dogs including Mia, beloved beagle Guy - who passed away earlier this year - and their labrador Pula. Nine-year-old Mia was rescued by the couple from an animal testing centre in 2022 The pup was one of 4,000 dogs bred for Envigo breeding and research facility in Virginia. Mia had arrived at the rescue centre having just given birth to eight puppies. The dogs had been bred for pharmaceutical and biotech research - but inspections of the centre had found dozens of violations of federal law over a two year period. Animal lover Meghan has adopted a number of rescue dogs over the past few years and brought her American rescue beagle Guy to the UK when she married Harry. Also in the picture was the couple's black Lab, Pula, who was introduced to the family ahead of Archie's birth in 2019. The pooch's unique name is the currency in Botswana, a country the couple visited in the early days of their relationship. Though not included in their greetings card, the Sussexes also own several rescue chickens, who live with them at their $14m, seven-acre mansion in Montecito, California. Meghan's latest As Ever post comes one day after the Duchess released the eighth and final episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, featuring Spanx entrepreneur Sara Blakely. Promoting the podcast and As Ever, Meghan told The Fast Company that she wouldn't know 'what to call herself' if she had to write a resume. She said: 'If I had to write a résumé, I don't know what I would call myself. 'I think it speaks to this chapter many of us find ourselves in, where none of us are one note. But I believe all the notes I am playing are part of the same song.' Meghan added that the 'mom moments' push her to success in the business world, with plans in the future ranging from home goods to fashion. Revealing her son Archie has begun to lose his teeth, she described becoming the tooth fairy and leaving coins and a little dinosaur underneath his pillow. She said: 'I had a lot of business meetings the next morning, but I still chose to cuddle with him the rest of the night. Those mom moments energise me to be a better founder, a better employer, a better boss.'
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
These carrot lettuce wraps are bursting with texture, color and crunch
One of my signs that spring is officially here is the day my go-to farmer returns to the farmers market. It always feels good to welcome him back after a long winter and pick up fresh, locally grown produce. The joy of it is more about the promise of what's to come: In the summer, his farmstand overflows so much that I have to restrain myself from overbuying. Get the recipe: Roasted Carrot Lettuce Wraps With Avocado Mid-spring, however, things are a bit sparse at the farm, with mostly herbs and lettuces available. I buy what I can, and get the rest at the supermarket, grateful for access to foods that don't grow quite so near me. (Hello, lemons and avocados!) This recipe centers on one of those lovely lettuces — Bibb, which can also be found in the supermarket — where the tender leaves become wraps for layers of flavorful, colorful fillings. I like to serve it DIY taco-bar-style, arranging individual components in separate bowls so everyone can build their own. Start by spreading Greek yogurt over a lettuce leaf for a creamy base. Top that with some of the carrots, which have been roasted with warm spices — cumin, coriander and ginger — until tender and fragrant. Then layer buttery slices of avocado, a generous sprinkle of toasted sunflower seeds and some of the carrot greens (which have a beautiful carrot-y aroma); finish with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of hot sauce; and take a bite. Once you're done eating a wrap, make another (and another, and another) for a satisfying vegetarian meal that's creamy, crunchy, savory, fresh and just right for the season. Get the recipe: Roasted Carrot Lettuce Wraps With Avocado
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Steak drives food inflation to highest level in a year
Food inflation in the UK has increased for the fourth month in a row largely driven by the increasing costs of fresh produce and beef, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).The annual rate of food price rises hit 2.8% in May, after April saw a 2.6% Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said retailers were passing on the costs of higher minimum wages and increased employer National Insurance Allen, of the British Meat Processors Association, told the BBC the price of beef has risen to "record levels" due to stable demand and lower supply. He said competition between supermarkets had previously been keeping the price of beef down, so it was only a matter of time until customers were hit by cost increases.
