Orchard Feast 2025 – Celebrating the Harvest Together
On Saturday 20 September 2025 we opened the gates to The Orchard Barn for our Orchard Feast. As the trees bowed under the weight of ripening fruit, we welcomed guests into our own orchard for an afternoon that celebrated flavour, harvest and community.
A menu rooted in our orchard
From the moment guests arrived, we wanted them to feel connected to the season. We began with an Apple Collins on arrival, an elegant nod to the apples growing all around us. Our small plates showcased produce from our friends at Flourish: a smoky kohlrabi tartare with cured egg yolk and chives, and chargrilled Badger Flame beetroot with smoked goat’s curd and cobnuts on one menu, while another included apple-cured Cornish mackerel with celery and frozen horseradish. Each dish highlighted the crisp, sweet and earthy flavours that define the early autumn harvest.
Working with Flourish is central to how we cook. Their growers harvest at peak ripeness and focus on soil health and biodiversity, which gives us vegetables with real character, crunch, sweetness and depth that carry through the fire and onto the plate.
For the main course we offered two paths. One was our Vegetarian option: a wild mushroom, spinach and marjoram pithivier, accompanied by rainbow chard, salad tossed in a smoked vinaigrette, a creamy Gorgonzola sauce and wood-fired potatoes with shallots and garlic. The other celebrated the best of local meat with wood-fired Holkham Estate venison, served alongside rainbow chard, smoked-dressed salad and a fragrant sauce of venison, shiso and local blackberries, plus the same wood-fired potatoes. Both menus finished with our signature Provenance Orchard Apple crumble topped with smoked honeycomb ice cream, a dessert that truly honours our apples.
To accompany the food we curated a good selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, including wines from Gutter & Stars, local ciders and a range of softs, something for everyone to raise a glass and toast the season.
Hospitality from the heart
The Orchard Feast was about much more than food. We wanted guests to feel as if they were part of our family. One attendee described the atmosphere as warm, rustic and enchanting, with vintage planes from nearby Duxford flying overhead and apple trees forming a natural canopy. Our team worked hard to ensure everyone felt cared for; Josh, who hosted the event, was praised for his passion, attention to detail and genuine warmth. These qualities are core to how we operate every day, whether at a special event or Sunday lunch.
We are grateful for the kind words guests shared afterwards. A first-time visitor said the feast was “a real celebration of seasonal produce” and noted how deeply our chefs respected the ingredients. Others commented on our attentive yet unobtrusive service and the little touches, like packing up leftover vegetables to reduce waste, that made the meal memorable. Such feedback affirms that our focus on fresh, seasonal dishes and genuine hospitality resonates with our community.
Looking ahead
Hosting the Orchard Feast allowed us to share the fruits of our labour, quite literally, with our guests. It underscored our commitment to celebrating the bounty of our orchard, supporting local farms and growers, and bringing people together over good food and drink.
If you missed this year’s feast, don’t worry. Our events calendar continues with our October Event at The Orchard Barn, a family outdoor event with games on the lawn and a chance to watch the planes, as well as our whole-beast feasts. We hope you’ll join us for future gatherings as we keep exploring new ways to honour local produce and create magical experiences in our unique setting.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Orchard Feast. We left the day feeling inspired and humbled by the enthusiasm of our guests, and we can’t wait to welcome you back to the orchard soon.
