The team behind Groobox veg deliveries has launched a new local dining concept which serves dishes made with produce freshly picked on site.
Farmer and owner David Fryer and his wife Becky created Groobarbs Field Kitchen at Groobarbs Wild Farm in a beautifully converted 223sqm barn in the middle of one their fields in High Legh, Cheshire.
The Field Kitchen will be open every Friday and Saturday with a five-course set menu for lunch (at £29.50pp) or dinner (at £33.50pp). A three-course set menu will also be available every Sunday featuring a prime cut of beef. Children (aged 5-12) are invited to dine for half price with no charge for infants four years and under.
Heading up the kitchen is Mark Price, who returns to the North West after 12 years working down South. He was formerly head chef at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Canteen, helping them achieve a listing in the Michelin Guide just months after opening.
“As a chef I thrive on the opportunity to be creative,” says Mark. “Working with produce from the fields right in front of me… if you can’t get excited about that it’s time to pack up. Each week I get to walk the fields and discuss with David what is being harvested next, then I get a day to play around in the kitchen and come up with that week’s menu. Every week is different, that would be a challenge in most places but because the farm works around a weekly veg box harvest it works really well for the kitchen too.”
Every dish on Mark’s weekly rotating menu is inspired by Groobarbs Wild Farm’s harvest to introduce guests to what Fryer describes as ‘true seasonal dining’. Only ingredients freshly picked from the farm and prepared on-site will be used alongside meat and core products which have been carefully selected from some of the region’s best artisans and producers. This includes freshly baked sour dough bread from Lovingly Artisan; drinks from Dunham Massey Brewing Co.; dairy products from Clotton Hall Dairy in Chester and Sheldon’s Dairy in Knutsford; and meat from Ken Webb’s Traditional Farmhouse Meat.
Guests dining at The Field Kitchen will have the opportunity to see the Field Kitchen at work. Vast bi-folding doors providing views straight out onto the fields where the organic fruit and veg are lovingly grown and picked. For a closer look, guests are more than welcome to walk around the 6.5-acre Market Garden either before or after service.
Diners can also watch Price and his team work their magic in the large open kitchen which runs almost the full length of the modern rustic barn. The décor sees wooden paneled walls set against a polished concrete floor, with simple wooden tables and chairs dressed in soft cushions and flowers handpicked from the farm. The soft, almost ‘village festival’ feeling fits with Fryer’s vision to bring the North West community together and share his love of seasonal dining.
“As a farmer you have these mad ideas of creating a restaurant to showcase what you grow, but to see Mark turn our fresh produce into truly inspirational food is brilliant,” says farmer and owner of Groobarbs Field Kitchen, David Fryer.
“Over the last eight years we’ve been delivering our freshly picked produce direct to people’s doors with our Groobox veg deliveries. Now, thanks to our loyal customers, not just here in Cheshire but across a 35-mile radius reaching as far as Buxton, Bury, Liverpool and Stoke on Trent, we’ve been able to build something we like to think is really special, and are pleased to be able to invite people to enjoy the produce in the very environment in which it’s grown. I feel we owe it to everyone that has supported us to make something great and bring veg and fruit growing back to Cheshire.”
Head Chef, Mark Price, added: “I’ve been fortunate to work all over the country but to get the chance to do something like you would see down South and in my own back yard is great. Cheshire has always had the potential to do something like Groobarbs Field Kitchen.
Reservations must be taken in advance for The Field Kitchen with between six and twelve diners seated at large wooden tables for truly social and seasonal dining. Sittings are at 1pm and 7pm, and guests are kindly asked to arrive up to 30 minutes in advance. Private hire is also available and it’s also possible to cater for parties of up to 84.
Guests inspired by Groobarbs Field Kitchen’s menu can recreate some of the many dishes at home, with Groobarbs Wild Farm’s hyper-seasonal Groobox veg boxes delivered direct to the door.
Click HERE to find out more about Groobarbs Field to Fork Experience or make a reservation.
Groobarbs Wild Farm and Field Kitchen is located just off the A50 between Knutsford and Warrington (Sat Nav: WA16 0AA)
For guests coming on the M56, take junction 9 or from the M6 junction 20, then follow the A50 for 1.5 miles south towards Knutsford. Mag Lane, on which the Farm & Field Kitchen is situated is on the left, with the venue the first farm on the left.
Parking is plentiful, with cycling encouraged.
