Sunshine in the sky and on our plates

Summer’s here at Kingfisher and we find our shelves filled with an abundance of local and British grown fresh produce with the arrival of young tender vegetables, a plentiful choice for the salad bowl, and deliciously sweet soft summer fruits.  Too much choice!  We have created three new seasonal fresh produce hampers which you can order on our online shop that can either be delivered or collected from the shop.  Pushed for time but needing something healthy?  Then Kate’s Kitchen (based in Dorking) are stocking us with a range of ready made salads and energy balls which are proving very popular.

Back in May, so many of you came and enjoyed our ‘Surrey Day’ celebrations.  Thank you to everyone who visited and met some of our finest small producers.  The day exemplifies how really important connections between food and people are.  We are so proud to be part of a thriving small business community that allows for so much creativity.  Over the years our collaboration with other producers has grown, and a multitude of watercress products have been created.  Of course it goes with out saying that all these products can be found in store!

Cardboard boxes are always in plentitul supply with us as a majority of our products are delivered in cardboard.  Many of you use them to take home your shopping.  But what else?Why not get the children to grab a box when vou visit and enter our Kingfisher Kids Box Clever Summer competition.  The world is your oyster when it comes to what you can do with a cardboard box and you have the whole summer holidays to be imaginative and creative.  Can it become automated, metamorphose into another shape, or perhaps it could be worn? 

Surprise us! Pop in and pick up an entry form and choose a box from 21 July. Hand in your masterpiece by the 31 August.

Have fun, eat well and enjoy the beauty of summer!

Dirty Vicar Toastie

At our sunny Surrey Day celebration in May, Michaela from Norbury Park Cheese Company created a divine toasted sandwich by pairing her Dirty Vicar blue cheese with our Watercress Pesto, a match made in heaven.

Michaela will be with us on 5th July if you’d like to come and sample her Dirty Vicar Toastie, but should you wish to create it yourself, here’s our Watercress Pesto recipe. The Dirty Vicar can be found in our chillers.

Looking After the Land

As farmers, caring for the environment is ingrained in our history, sustainability running naturally through the core of our business.  From our farming methods to the renewable energy supplier that we charge our electric delivery van through, we know that every decision we take has an impact on the environment.

We strive to keep waste to a minimum.  Left over fruit and vegetables go to feed local chickens, sheep and goats, and Flower Shop waste goes on our huge compost heap.  Egg boxes and glass milk bottles can be returned to us for reuse, plus we endeavour to choose products with recyclable packaging wherever possible.  All of our bags are made of paper, except our freezer food bags which are compostable, and we offer our own ethically made denim tote bag available to purchase at the till.

We could go on.  The way we operate today is not part of a new green initiative, but is the result of caring for the land that we farm and the community that we support with the goal of leaving as little impact on our beautiful planet as possible.

Partnering Watercress Companions...

Surrey Day was a celebration of the whole Kingfisher community.  We were delighted to be able to showcase some of our talented producers who have created delicious products using our peppery watercress as one of their ingredients.

Simon at Celebration Cakes in Cranleigh bakes our Watercress Bread as well as the ever popular Watercress & Cheese Scones that are delicious served slightly warm with butter.  You may have seen our Kingfisher cup cakes at Surrey Day, and these too were created by the fabulous team at Celebration Cakes.

On a savoury note, A & R Bailey in Warnham produce very tasty pork sausages with our watercress added.  We regularly cook some for tasting in the shop, always very popular with our customers (and staff!)

Super-Greens Crackers from The Artisan Forest Kitchen have been a runaway success since Joanna brought them into us last year, as have the generous focaccia sandwiches made by Claire of Vegan Wellington fame that has our watercress in the pesto.

Dorking based pie experts Fine Pie House have created a Watercress, Asparagus & Norbury Blue Quiche and a tasty Homity Pie that also contain our cress, and our lovely friends at Chalk Hills Bakery make their very popular Pork and Watercress Pesto Sausage Rolls, and our Watercress Gingerbread Man biscuits that are enjoyed by children of all ages!

We love to welcome new producers and to watch their success flourish and grow.  Good Fermentation Watercress Kimchi has won two food awards this year with a product that is little over a year old, a powerful example of what can be achieved with a great idea and a huge amount of hard work.

Tanhurst Vineyard…

We’re delighted to have new local wines on our shelves from the Tanhurst Estate.  Located on the beautiful slopes of Leith Hill, this family-run business offers tours, tastings, a Saturday cafe as well as self catering stays.

We asked the family to tell us about their new venture.

What drove you to plant a Vineyard?     The opportunity arose to make the relatively small holding at Birketts Farm productive, whilst also remaining agricultural.  Previous occupiers had kept cattle, sheep, and horses, but the economics of those did not stack up on a small scale.  Birketts Farm is in a beautiful position at the foot of Leith Hill and within the Surrey Hills National Landscape (formerly the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), one of the first such designations in the country.  We were eager to create a business that was a destination the public could visit regularly, but also to produce something entirely grown and processed on site, and sold there as part of the visitor experience.  With external advice, and a passion for being able to join the growing industry of English Wine, the decision was made to become a vineyard.  We were told our fields were suitable and our traditional and converted buildings fitted the bill.

How old is your business?     Colin and Sarah came to live at Tanhurst Estate 40 years ago, but the first vines were planted in 2020.

Who are your customers?     By and large, residents of local villages and towns have been our key customers to date, and their support for local business and our wine has been very encouraging.  We deliver wine locally and this year we intend to begin regional and national deliveries through a trusted bespoke courier service.

What is your connection to Kingfisher?     The family have been regular customers of the Farm Shop and have got to know Barrie and Marion well over the years.  When working on local estates, George would always pop in for a pasty.  Kingfisher Farm Shop is the only stockist of our wines outside the estate shop at the moment.

Where do you source your key ingredients?     We grow our own grapes over about 14 acres, and other than bottles, very little has to be bought in.

What would you say is your signature product?     Our Rosé wines have been very popular, and as we expand our portfolio of wines over the next few years we will be excited to see the feedback on sparkling, reds, etc.

How have you adapted your business to be kinder to the environment?     From inception we have been extremely keen to operate in a sustainable manner.  One of our USPs is that the whole process of our winemaking is undertaken on site at Birketts Farm, from growing and harvesting the grapes through to labelling and selling the bottles.  We have also taken steps to appeal to those who can reach us without a car; those on foot, bicycle, or horse.  We have promoted ourselves to rambling and walking groups, cycling groups, and we also have cycling racks aplenty.  We have an external charging socket for people to charge their bike batteries and we are soon to commission our EVcharger which would mean attracting cleaner cars.

What do you see for your business in the future?     Due to the climate we expect, and the wish to be able to blend and produce all varieties of wine (including red and sparkling in due course), we ve chosen to plant Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Cortis, and Pinot Precoce. At the moment we have about 14 acres under vines, and have no immediate plans to plant further areas, though some unplanted areas are suitable.  At present we might reach 30,000 bottles per annum of production when the vines are in full maturity and yielding a good year’s crop.

We also have plans to become more of a destination beyond wine.  We already have 4 holiday lets which are available all year round, but we would like to offer other experiences which blend with holidaymakers, day visitors, and those seeking a new experience (which may or may not finish with a chilled glass of wine in the sunshine!).

Flower Shop News...

With British flower production at its peak, weddings aplenty and an abundant plant collection to care for, it’s been a busy time in the Kingfisher Flower Shop.

After the success of the hand tie workshop held in The Old Bunching Shed during British Flowers Week in June, we’ve put together a couple more events for you to enjoy in the latter part of the year.

As we move into harvest time, come and explore the colours, textures, hips and berries of the season in our Autumn Wreath Workshop on Wednesday 24 September, from 10.30am - 12.30pm.  Tea, coffee and delicious treats will be served as our talented flower girls talk you through the creative process of wreath making resulting in a beautiful piece to take home.

We know it’s too early to start talking about the ‘C’ word, but we’ve put our ever popular Christmas Wreath Workshop dates in the diary for this year already.  Come and join us on either Wednesday 26th November or Friday 28th November for wreath making, mince pies and merriment. 

All workshops are available to book online.

Photography Credit: @chloe.hardwick @stuartovenden @henry.catling