A timely and very tasty collaboration
When lockdown happened back in March, like so many local businesses, our friends at Boconnoc found all weddings and events cancelled for the foreseeable future. The knock on effect was that their wonderful kitchen garden had an abundance of home-grown vegetables and fruit ready to be harvested but with the worrying prospect of no one to eat it. A timely phone call to the Nursery created an opportunity that would mutually benefit both businesses.
Built on a sunny south facing slope by Captain Desmond Fortescue, the kitchen garden at Boconnoc has slowly evolved over the years, first serving the family to now growing fruit and vegetables for the many weddings and private events held at the estate.
Planning for a very busy spring/summer of 2020, the kitchen garden had been planted with a variety of vegetables that would continue throughout the season. However, no one planned for the pandemic, subsequent lock down and the knock on effect this would have on all areas of business and production.
The team at Boconnoc contacted our head chef Rich and invited him over to the kitchen garden to take a look around and meet Stuart the gardener. At the time, the Nursery were just in the planning stages of re-opening after lockdown and putting measures into place for the cafe to safely reopen. It was a well timed invitation.
From this meeting it was agreed that the cafe at the Nursery would take what Boconnoc could provide, ensuring that there was no waste and that the fruit and vegetables would feature on the cafe menu and be enjoyed by one and all.
This timely collaboration provided an opportunity for everyone to create something meaningful out of an extraordinary and unprecedented situation. The cafe has received in the past few months, onions, tomatoes, beans and potatoes, with the latest delivery including beetroots, french beans, heritage beets and carrots.
Simple, local, field to plate seasonal produce. To see a sample of our current menus click here.
