Embracing the season changes….

And in the blink of an eye October is here!  It brings an abundance of beautiful, colourful fresh produce full of seasonal flavours, with an array of squash, brassicas, wild mushrooms, nuts, apples and pears.  A harvest of seasonal blooms give us golden tones, warm soft hues of pink and rich dark blackberry reds to fill vessels with. Welcome Autumn!

With the cooler nights, a more comforting menu is often desired. We chat to our new pie maker, The Fine Piehouse. You know how we love a collaboration, and these guys didn’t hesitate to include our watercress in a quiche paired with Norbury Blue cheese and their version of Homity Pie.

Last month we launched our ‘Kingfisher Kid’s’ Competition to design this year’s Christmas card. September’s heatwave arrived and it felt very strange to be shouting out about anything Christmas related. Therefore we have moved the deadline to the 20th October. There is still time for all our little kingfishers to enter! We can’t wait to see your creations.

We truly embrace this time of year with autumns harvest. Displays of squash and pumpkins provide a cheerful welcome to the farm shop. We look forward to seeing you, exchanging an email or if you can’t make it in person visit our online shop. Thank you!

The warming delights of October’s Autumnal flavours

….We are getting ready, are you?

Yes, we know it’s a bit crazy to start planning festivities…but we wanted to fill you in on Kingfisher at Christmas this year. We will be taking orders on our website for Christmas week, offering both deliveries and collections betweem Friday 22 December - Sunday 24 December. If ordering on line isn’t for you, we do have paper order forms available in store. Please ask a member of staff.

Look out for the ‘Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Kingfisher’, which will explain in more detail how to place your order. This will be available at the end of the month. The guide offers some Christmas shopping inspiration featuring some of our hampers, and ideas for adorning your home with our wreaths and beautiful winter blooms.

Our order book opens 1st November! Of course we are always at the end of a phone, to answer any questions you may have….01306 730703

Fine Piehouse …

Fine Piehouse are a relatively new addition to our chiller. Having received some wonderful feedback from those of you who have tried their products already, we thought it was only right to give them a ‘shout out’ and tell you all about them.

The driving force behind Fine Piehouse is ‘Harry’ Arwel Hughes. A man who has an eye for detail and a passion for making the perfect pie! The business is just 6 years old and in the last two years has won 2 categories in the prestigious British Pie Awards. This just goes to show they really do pride themselves on making an exceptionally good pie!

Harry’s story is an interesting one. At the age of 15 he chose to become vegetarian, which gave him an introduction to cooking for himself. He very much taught himself. “It was very different back in the 80’s, in the era of Keith Floyd and the Good Food programme.” That was the source of TV inspiration. With the ability and knowledge pooled from reading, Harry was able to earn money as a cook whilst studying art at St Martin’s College, London. The life in the kitchen won his favour. He met some colourful characters and it was fun!

He left his art school days behind him and immersed himself in London’s culinary world. Harry gained a huge amount of experience which has stood him in good stead.

The Fine Piehouse started its days in Ockley, neighbouring Village Greens Farm shop. Tradition is key to the business. They (a team of two!) have their hands, a rolling pin and a fork to create their products. Genuinely handmade, no machinery! Key ingredients are sourced locally from Etherley Farm, Pasture for life, Reigate’s Pilgrim Brewery, Norbury Blue Cheese, to name a few and now, Kingfisher Watercress! Connecting with people and the product is an integral part of Fine Piehouse business. Building relationships, working with small farms, collaborating, brings important connections and long term relationships.

These relationships are often invaluable to small businesses. When Fine Piehouse quickly grew out of their space in Ockley, Michaela from Norbury Blue was able to point them in the direction of Norbury Park, for larger premises. The help received from Micheala over the 6 years, has been immeasurable and greatly appreciated by Harry. It is funny how things turn around, as Norbury Blue are now based at Ockley in Fine Piehouses first home!

The pies are based on traditional methods and recipes using good quality ingredients, sourcing locally where possible, keeping food miles to a minimum. Their customer base is mainly butchers, farm shops and markets in and around Surrey. The business has grown organically, Harry’s artists eye always focusing on quality control! He is immensely proud of the performance of the business thus far, without any financial backing, but lots of hard work and “a heavy measure of bloody mindedness”, says Harry!

As we enter the winter months, Harry is getting ready for Christmas, adding some special editions to the menu!

Thank you Harry.

Photography Credit: @chloe.hardwick

Photography Credit: @henry.catling