“TWENTY YEARS AGO, I walked into one of England’s most prestigious agricultural shows and discovered some stands occupied by organic farmers. It was like an unexpected but overwhelming homecoming: I experienced a sense of intense recognition. Here were individuals striving against industrial farming who paid real respect to the land and wanted to grow food in harmony with it. Here was the answer to what I had felt myself over many years – the urgent need to be sure that we safeguard our children’s futures, by feeding them real, wholesome, organic food. It was my moment of epiphany – an inspiration that has informed my work ever since.”
Carole Bamford, writing in Resurgence Magazine in December 2007 (www.resurgance.org)
I have been going to buy food and to eat at the wonderful restaurant at Daylesford Organic Farm ever since it opened, five years ago. Along with family and friends that I have taken there on innumerable occasions, I have been in awe of Carole Bamford’s inestimable energy and drive in setting up what is arguably the very finest organic estate farm shop in Britain. All 1750 acres of it. Last September a terrible fire burned down part of the barn buildings housing a section of the shop, and it therefore underwent a complete refurbishment. It re-opened on 22 May 2010, with a celebratory Summer Festival. I therefore decided to return, after all the media frenzy had subsided, to see for myself, calmly, how things have progressed.
Needless to say, Daylesford Organic goes from strength to strength. The new restaurant is now housed in the same barn where the fire first started. It is a wonderfully light, bright room, with large refectory style tables, a stone woodburning oven at one end with a sleek, modern open-plan kitchen, and a very beautiful, sparkly new bar area at the other. There are lavender wreath hearts on the wall, probably from the Bamford’s 560 hectare Chateau Leoube estate in Provence, from where they produce the house wines. From the flooring to the crockery to the packaging to the staff uniforms, the theme is holistic, ecological, uncluttered, simple country chic. The food is delicious, and the prices, ranging between £7 to £10 for a starter and between £10 to £14 for a main course, are reasonable and justified for food of this level of freshness and seasonality.
Daylesford Organics is a temple for discerning foodies who really want good quality, organic, artisanally produced food. An absolute must-experience moment is to stand in the cool of the cheese room, and look up and down the shelves. I would like to be buried in there when my moment arrives.
The Slow Food movement and The Soil Association philosophies of good, clean, fair food, produced transparently with humane animal husbandry, along with the safeguarding of the eco-system and sustainability are at the core of the enterprise. The prices are no higher than the organic food prices charged by quality supermarkets, and I saw a great deal of seasonal sale offers on display.
The whole educational journey from field to fork can now be taken at Daylesford, with seasonal farm walks, “Heritage Days” celebrating the cultivation of old-fashioned fruit and vegetables and courses at The Organic Farm school. They include introductory beekeeping, hen keeping and growing your own kitchen garden. I think that if every child in the land could spend a day at Daylesford, talking to the staff, understanding the link between human civilisation and the food we eat, seeing how real food is produced, problems like obesity and addiction to junk food, salty snacks and ready meals could finally be curbed.
In our mass-industrialised, transient world, we need a hundred Daylesford Farm shops, not just one. To inform, to show, to guide, to reflect.
Further reading:
Did you enjoy this article?
If you would like to subscribe to my mailing list just add your name and email address to the boxes below.
