The team at Forage Farm Shop and Kitchen, the exciting new shop and restaurant at Penllyn Estate Farm on the edge of Cowbridge, say they are all about local, seasonal produce, but what does this actually mean in practice? Damien Burnell, the General Manager who has worked on the Estate since he was sixteen years old, talked to us about the ‘farm to fork’ concept that is so central to the Forage ethos.
“The aim is to source as much as possible from our own farm and from local, trusted partners. There are three simple reasons for this: quality, community and sustainability.
“When we talk about quality, consider our beef. We fully appreciate that not everybody chooses to eat meat, but those of our customers that do should notice a real difference compared to the supermarket equivalent. The improved flavour and texture are due to good husbandry, careful management and minimal food miles. Our Aberdeen Angus cows are grass fed and reared outdoors, before being finished on a diet of good quality haylage and barley. They are not subjected to a long, stressful journey at the end of their lives.
“As regards community, we are loving working alongside other farmers and artisan producers. Our dairy products are supplied by Ty Tanglwyst Farm near Pyle, our bread comes from Windy Wick Bakery, and our brownies and Florentines come from Food with Flora in Cowbridge. And that’s not to mention the Coaltown Coffee served at our coffee bar, which comes from Ammanford in the Valleys. There’s loads of talent on our doorstep, and we’re delighted to reap the benefit of that.”
Like many conscientious businesses, the team at Forage is striving to be as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible. In due course, solar panels will power the shop and restaurant, and light pours into the airy interior of the Siberian larch building through myriad sky lights. As little plastic as possible is used in the shop and restaurant; at the chic new butcher’s counter, meat is wrapped in traditional grease proof paper. But the biggest credential in terms of sustainability is the origin of the produce – with the meat coming from the surrounding fields, the veg grown locally and the eggs coming from Penllyn Estate’s own free range brood. Damien comments “the fact you can buy a lamb chop in the supermarket that has come from New Zealand, when we have the highest quality lamb in the world on our doorstep, just seems wrong.”
It is clear that a huge amount of thought has gone into every decision in terms of design and customer experience. With the April launch postponed due to the pandemic, Forage is finally ready for lift off.
Forage
Penllyn Estate
Llwynhelig
Cowbridge
Vale of Glamorgan
CF71 7FF
Opening times
Monday to Saturday 8:30am – 5:30pm
Sunday 9am – 4pm
01446 772344
enquiries@penllynestatefarm.co.uk
www.penllynestate.co.uk/forage-farmshop
…
Are you a local food producer in the Vale of Glamorgan?
Vale Life supports and champions local producers. If you would like to promote your product, please email jennifer@goodlifepublishing.co.uk
Leave A Reply