The Netherwood Estate, home to Michelin Star restaurant, Pensons, on the Herefordshire/Worcestershire border, launches a capsule collection of seasonal hand-picked dried herbs, florals, infusions and blends available to order.
This new range will complement the existing produce from the Estate including Rapeseed Oil, Apple Juice and Honey.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced the temporary closure of Pensons restaurant on 20th March. However, the Kitchen Gardens continue to flourish and are brimming with seasonal produce ready for harvest. This presented a new idea to diversify the business to capture and bring the taste of the gardens to home cooks – making good use of produce that was originally destined for Pensons where Head Chef, Chris Simpson, would create ingredient-led seasonal dishes for guests to enjoy.
This new initiative presents a different vision of Estate to Plate, taking culinary inspiration from what is growing in the gardens. The garden-fresh flavour is captured at source using small batches of concentrated hand-picked and carefully dried herbs and edible flowers. Although not certified as organic, the range is grown on the Estate without the use of any sprays or ‘nasties’ and is cultivated entirely naturally.
Building on the Pensons ethos of sourcing food as locally, seasonally and sustainably as possible, the range will include Pure Herbs, Florals and Garden Tea Infusions in addition to seasonal House Blends including a versatile Summer Chicken blend and a classic Vinaigrette.
Pure Herbs will be a range of five varieties and include well-loved kitchen staples such as Bay and Rosemary alongside lesser known herbs such as Lovage which offer a
complex flavour and certainly punch above their weight in culinary terms.
The Garden Tea range will launch with two infusions, a classic Pure Mint and a more unusual and flavoursome Lemon Verbena.
Complementing the herbs will be a collection of colourful dehydrated Pure Floral petals including Rose dried from classic English Rose varieties and Marigold. These can be added to recipes, used as delicate natural decorations for cakes and desserts and to bring a pop of colour to sweet and savoury dishes.
Owner of The Netherwood Estate & Pensons, Peta Darnley, comments: “With the pandemic forcing the closure of Pensons restaurant to our guests, yet our Estate gardens so full of produce, we wanted to find a new way to capture and transport these garden fresh flavours. We are passionate about our seasonal and sustainable ethos and this initiative has given us the opportunity to use our garden’s bounty and diversify our business to create a range of fresh, seasonal ingredients that can be enjoyed from home.”
Pensons Head Chef, Chris Simpson comments; “The seasonal flavours from the Kitchen Garden have always inspired my cooking and the dishes developed for our ingredient-led menu at Pensons restaurant. It is great that these flavours have been captured to be enjoyed by cooks at home.”
In addition to the herbs and florals collection, Estate Apple Juice, Honey and Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil are also available to buy. The Rapeseed Oil is made in small batches from Netherwood Estate single variety Campus rapeseed and is cold-pressed to maintain its flavour and nutritional qualities. It is low in saturated fat, a good source of vitamin E and Omega 3 and 6. It is ideal for use in cooking due to its high smoking point, as well as in dressings.
Hampers and seasonal gift collections will also be introduced with a Father’s Day Hamper and Foodie offering alongside linens and bone china gifts.
The initial range will launch in June with a selection of five Pure Herbs, two Pure Florals, two Garden Teas and three House Blends.
All products will be available from www.pensons.co.uk/shop and priced from £6.00