Gidleigh Park

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Wild Garlic Soup - Chris Eden

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With Gidleigh Park in Devon currently closed, its talented head chef, Chris Eden, has more time on his hands than usual this spring. Now at home and taking up his new role as food tech teacher to his young son Lucas, currently being home schooled alongside the rest of the nation, Chris is looking to make the most of any trip taken from home to exercise and get fresh air, to set up activities for the day ahead.

With one of the UK’s best foraging bounties about to come into its own, Chris and Lucas have already managed to collect wild garlic on walks, easily found in countryside spots in their neighbourhood. Chris has shared a simple recipe to make a wild garlic soup that all kids can master, which can also be used to create delicious risotto or pasta dishes.

Summer in Gidleigh's Gardens

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A catch up from Estate Manager, Andrew Brimblecombe on Gidleigh Park's grounds & gardens and what they have to offer this summer.

While spring has well and truly come and gone, it has left us with so much to still look forward to.

All of our wild-flowers are a plethora of colour and abundance. Nature has really managed to pack a punch considering the wet winter, sub-zero temperatures and snow from earlier in the year.

We now have glorious rhododendrons and azaleas to greet your eye upon arrival.

Wandering along to our water garden, an impressive array of gunneras, acers and one of my particular favourites, epimediums all border the fast-flowing Teign river. This is not an area with an abundance of flowers at this time of year but the foliage is to die for.
 

Probably the most productive area of the estate at this time of year is our vegetable and herb garden along with our greenhouse. Providing plenty of valuable produce to support your culinary experience, these ingredients travel from garden to plate within hours of picking.

Many have witnessed members of our kitchen team harvesting herbs, fruit and vegetables under the expert guidance from my team.

Gidleigh Park Kitchen Garden

Nothing screams an English summer more than a good game of croquet on our manicured lawns. As any keen gardener will know, keeping a lawn looking fabulous is an impossible task when fighting the elements, be that too hot, too dry or too much water.

Our 18-hole putting course is almost a full-time job on its own and I obviously couldn’t achieve any of this without a great team behind me.

Putting green at Gidleigh Park

Why not come and see for yourself? We offer Garden Tour lunches throughout the year and myself and the team are always happy to talk about our magnificent grounds and estate.

See the latest events at Gidleigh Park.

We are but a small part of your overall Gidleigh experience but we work closely with the excellent team in the hotel.

As another season quickly approaches, so do new challenges and achievements that keep us on our toes around the estate.

Find out more about the gardens at Gidleigh Park.

2018 Welcomes Chris Simpson to Gidleigh Park

 

As Head Chef at Restaurant Nathan Outlaw for seven years, which has held two Michelin stars since 2011, Chris enjoys a reputation for outstanding cooking with the very best of local ingredients.

Chris focuses his dishes on the best seasonal ingredients combined with a deep-rooted classical cooking style and a modern interpretation. He enjoys experimenting with ingredients, exploring how to bring out the best in them and building flavour combinations, and one ingredient can be the inspiration for an entire dish.

Chris's à la carte and tasting menus are carefully crafted without pretension, and his food is defined by the absolute freshness and seasonality of ingredients alongside true clarity of flavour.

 


Chris said:

"It’s a privilege to have been offered the opportunity to take up the reins at Gidleigh Park, somewhere I’ve admired since I very first started cooking.  I’m delighted to be staying in the south west, to be able to continue to work with all the great local produce and suppliers in our region."

View Chris Simpson's menus at Gidleigh Park.