For most of us, food holds an important place in our hearts. A good meal is how we comfort ourselves, show others we love them and nourish our bodies. Ingredients tell stories and we all know that recipes hold memories. The smell of a grandmother’s special sauce or proudly grown garden veg – an activity enjoyed by many people for the first time during the pandemic. Food connects us to one another, inspires community and shares the culinary wisdom of cultures, and generations before us.
Here at 42 Acres, we take food one step further. As an experimental farm, following regenerative and biodynamic principles, we are working to provide a sustainable, highly nutritious food system that is good for nature, people and the planet. Our evolving food philosophy is based on guiding soil-to-gut principles from our co-founder Seth Tabatznik.
“Food is our connection to ourselves, our land and to others. We are what we eat, what we eat eats and what we eat eats eats. It’s all linked. If we want to be healthy humans, we need a healthy gut soil. To have healthy gut soil we must eat food that is fresh, diverse and grown in healthy, rich soils from the earth. What we put into the earth’s body, we put into our own. They are one and the same.” – Co-founder & CEO, Seth Tabatznik
Whilst we are only at the beginning of our journey, our vision at 42 Acres is a menu shaped by the belief that we can grow, gather and cook delicious food that is medicine. When you visit our kitchen you’ll find dishes prepared with hyper-local and seasonal ingredients; gut supporting ferments and pickles; and foraged, nutrient-dense wild foods. Plants take centre stage but you can also enjoy grass-fed dairy and meat products. These are consciously sourced from local, high-welfare farms that support agricultural systems existing in harmony with nature. Our chefs leave skins on for whole plant nutrients, find creative solutions for waste and serve flavourful meals using unusual ingredients – expect to taste oak leaves, hedgehog mushrooms and edible flowers!
How does this support the planet? Choosing hyper-local ingredients means less food miles and more resources into local communities and cooperatives. Choosing to grow and buy organic and biodynamic produce helps to ensure healthy soils, along with flourishing biodiversity. Eating seasonally means less imports, fresher ingredients and supports hardworking producers all year around. You won’t find almonds or avocados in our kitchen, as they have a high carbon footprint and aren’t easily sourced from the British Isles. That said, you may eat the odd organic lemon as we reserve 20% of our menu for much loved foods that enhance our flavours. We understand that sometimes simple pleasures are more important than perfection.
Our hope is that as each guest leaves, feeling nourished and inspired, we can make a difference to personal wellbeing and planetary health. If every person who stays at 42 Acres takes home simple, sustainable habits we can (over time) create impactful change. Veg by veg, dish by dish, connection by connection.
