This is just a small insight into our produce grown here by me in the 2 acre garden at The Silk House. We have what many say is the best private Japanese garden in Kent, that we open to the public for charity, but we also have a very busy kitchen garden with two greenhouses, cold frames, raised beds, potting shed and ample space. Lot's of restaurants claim to use local produce but in fact get it from wholesalers. Our idea of local is 100 yards from the kitchen. We grow 20 or so herbs, salads, tomatoes, apples, legumes, limes, beetroot, carrots, cucumbers, squashes, celeriac, potatoes, peas, various beans, courgettes, rhubarb, quince, mushrooms, nettle and dock and dandelion, garlic, pine needles, lavender, sweetcorn, peppers, chillies, aubergines, lavender, bay, raspberries, kohlrabi, wild garlic, Japanese wineberry, black Spanish radishes, three corner leeks, strawberries, a few limes, Swiss chard, marrow, squash, pumpkin, broccoli, brassicas, sprouts, cabbages, edible flowers, onions, shallots, leeks, parsnips, fennel, celeriac, chicory, broccoli, purple sprouting, cauliflower and we get plums, pears, damsons and cider, cooking and eating apples from the orchard. We have several bee hives and make the honey we use. Asparagus is a struggle on our plot so we are starting again this year but we have a neighbour who supplies us from some excellent old beds. The plan is to add gooseberries and more redcurrants soon. We don't often grow artichokes as they spread like a weed (worse than mint), but a regular customer nearby supplies us in season. We make cider and vinegar. We even grow flowers for table decorations and edible flowers for food. We're the real deal when it comes to sustainability: extensive hot and cold composting, no pesticides, no chemicals, no waste, organic.

It does not get fresher or more seasonal than this. Silke "Head Gardener" :-)