Chef on a Farm

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The boys pulling the leeks!4 weeks ago I started work on Blaencamel Organic Farm in exchange for their Organic Vegetables for my Market Stall at Riverside Market and also my Supper Club in The Pot Cafe!

It’s always been a dream of mine to run a self sufficient restaurant where I water the plants with the stream water, I harbour the suns energy and grow vegetables. Oh yeah and chef too! But how on earth is a chef supposed to be able to juggle all these professions? I’ve always believed that a chef cannot be a farmer and a farmer cannot be a chef but more and more time I spend on the farm I’m being proved wrong, mainly by Mike!

Mike was a chef from Harbourmaster in Aberaeron who now works on the farm helping with Farmers Markets, growing vegetables and has even applied himself to the Kitchen to make products such as passata, beetroot hummus and chilli jam.

The time I spend on the farm is invaluable for me, placing my hands in the soil reconnects me with nature and reality. It’s great being outdoors and getting physical exercise, not to mention the wealth of knowledge I’m developing about growing, seasonality and cooking!

Reflecting on these 4 weeks, it’s easy to say that working for Anne, Peter and the team is a blessing, it gives me a huge feel good factor that I’ve rarely felt from a job. Maybe it’s something to do with the fact I now spend my lunch times sitting in a warm polytunnel eating freshly picked salad for my lunch rather than grabbing a quick piece of toast and eating it over the stove before the lunch rush starts!

Thanks for reading, expect the next blog to be towards the end of next month!

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