Nestled in a bucolic paradise near Lavenham, Brent Eleigh Hall is a glorious Grade I listed country house.
But it is in its grounds that a miracle is now taking place: two acres of beautiful, but sadly neglected, Victorian walled kitchen garden is being brought back to life in a unique collaboration between Novikov Restaurant & Bar and Brent Eleigh Hall’s new owners.
Restoring the kitchen garden
Novikov’s ambitious plan is to restore this would-be paradise in order to provide its own kitchens in Mayfair with the very freshest fruit, vegetables and herbs possible.
To this end Novikov has appointed as head gardener, the appropriately named Merriel Gardiner, a green-fingered maestro who has already woven her magic in such impressive surroundings as the Lost Gardens of Heligan.
Assisted by her redoubtable team – including the legendary Tony, who has worked in Brent Eleigh Hall’s grounds for nearly four decades – and Cubby the one-eyed cat, Merriel is coordinating an amazing project that will see the vegetables, fruit cages, fruit trees and three listed greenhouses restored to their former glory.
Supplying the Restaurants
Already there are artichokes, asparagus, apples, strawberries, raspberries, pears and beans – not to mention vines and a peach house. To this bounty will be added yet more varieties that will eventually supply the Italian Restaurant with much of its fresh produce and the Asian Restaurant with an abundance of micro herbs. All will be handpicked and harvested and within hours, delivered to Mayfair.
Marco Torri, head chef at Novikov’s Italian Restaurant, has recently taken receipt of the first bounty – fresh and zingy leaks, still encrusted with soil. A huge supporter of the project, Marco is liaising with Merriel at every turn, even supplying her with seeds from Italy. The Asian Restaurant’s Jeff Tyler meanwhile is eagerly looking forward to the even greater depths of flavour that Brent Eleigh’s array of herbs will bring to his creations.
As the weeks go by and the gardens are brought back to life and the glasshouses and poly tunnel structures are rebuilt, Novikov will see its primary goal achieved: to taste something of the past in a setting of the future.
Novikov Restaurant & Bar, 50 Berkeley Street, London, W1
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