The promise of Spring

We stride into March with purpose as the promise of Spring truly begins.  It is so welcoming to shrug off a few layers and enjoy longer days and perhaps some sunshine too!

March and April give us celebrations to come together as families, with Mothering Sunday, 30 March and Easter Sunday, 20 April.  Spring flowers make the perfect seasonal gift as a posy for a vase or planted in pots.  At this time of year with offerings of delicate stems of frittilaria to wild wavering branches of blossom, the Flower Shop comes into its own.  Need flowers for the house, then let the flower girls help.  Bring your vase or desired vessel in and leave the floristry to them.

We can even deliver the finished arrangement back to you!

Spring allows our own homegrown super food to triumph.  The lush green, peppery leaves of watercress can be used as an alternative to spinach in dishes such as fish pie, lasagne, a quiche or roulade.  If on the look out for a tasty dish to serve, that is gluten free and vegan, we have the answer.  The Vegan Wellington can be found in our freezer.  Packed with lots of vegetables, it taste good, looks beautiful and is made locally.

This time of year is often described by the farming community as the ‘hungry gap’.  A period between March and May, when there aren’t many fresh crops to be harvested and winter’s stored crops are running out.  Our regular weekly trips to New Covent Garden Market provide the opportunity for us to bring you seasonal produce from Europe to cover the lag time before British grown spring green leaves arrive.  There is light at the end of the tunnel, wild garlic, purple sprouting broccoli and the sheer indulgence of forced asparagus can be a saving grace

at this time of year. 

Enjoy!

The results are in ...

Thank you to everyone who entered our marmalade competition this year.  We very much appreciate your enthusiasm, time and effort.

This year we had 52 jars of marmalade with entries for every class, and it was a joy to see some friendly competition in all categories.

Judging was by no means easy, Nellie Budd - Fanny’s daughter, Debbie Nicholas -

Debbies Preserves,  Joanna Rowlands - Too Many Cooks and local chef Will Walton

spent several hours tasting all of your lovely preserves for appearance, taste, texture and aroma.

We were able to donate £52 to the Phyllis Tuckwell foundation in memory of Fanny Maiklem and our dear Margaret Arminson.

We look forward to seeing you all with your jars of marmalade early next year.

Please click the link below if you wish to make a donation to Phyllis Tuckwell. There is also as charity box at the Kingfisher till.

Joyful Pots for Spring...

As the native trees around us unfurl their bright young leaves and we venture back into our gardens, there’s a yearning for seasonal colour.  Sadly, early spring blooms are over, and the vivid hues of summer are a way off, so it’s a good idea to look at planting garden pots as a quick fix solution.  If you didn’t have time to plant bulbs in the autumn, we have a colourful array of potted spring bulbs just about to flower that will add instant colour and a warm welcome to a pot placed by the front door.

Mother’s Day falls at the end of March this year and what better way to say a lasting “thank you” than with a flowering bulb planter which can be planted out into the garden later in the year giving an annual reminder of the gift of gratitude.  Get in touch with the Flower Shop, or have a look at our website to see if we can deliver a planter along with your Mothering Sunday wishes on 30 March.

Fingers crossed that a late Easter will bring weather warm enough for alfresco dining.  Bring your pots to the Flower Shop if you need a hand and some inspiration and we’ll do the planting for you ready for the family visit.

And for those with fingers itching to sow seeds, now’s the time!  You’ll find a selection of flower and vegetable seeds in the shed by the Flower Shop, and we’ve ordered bigger sizes of seed compost this year.

Let’s grow!

Thanks Mum...

It’s Mothering Sunday on 30 March this year, and our talented Flower Girls will be creating an abundance of beautiful posies and bouquets, as well as a selection of pretty spring planters for all the lovely mums out there.  Take a look at our website for a wide choice of floral gift ideas that can be delivered along with your personal message, or a Flower Subscription for the gift that keeps on giving.

If flowers aren’t the order of the day, how about starting mum’s day with our Breakfast in Bed Hamper, or perhaps the indulgent selection found in the Little Foody Hug Hamper with a cup of tea might hit the spot.

We’ll be taking orders for flowers online until Friday 28 March and over the phone until Saturday 29. We offer a delivery service on Mother’s Day, and the Flower Shop will be open for collections from 10am - 2pm.

To avoid disappointment, please try to order sooner rather than later.

Get creative with colour...

... and learn the secret to successfully decorating your home.

Do you feel overwhelmed with all the choices on offer and decisions to make when decorating your home?  Then this is just the ticket!  In just 2 fun filled, creative hours Interior Designer Jenny Branson will guide you to producing your very own take-away moodboard, filled with the colours and patterns you love, ready to translate into interiors schemes that make your home and heart sing.

‘Better than therapy!’ Clare, Westcott

‘Bit the decorating bullet and I love it. 100% credit to your workshop!’ Kate, Peaslake

‘The whole experience has left me feeling a lot more confident with how to use colour in my home, it just makes so much more sense now.’ Rosie, Dorking

‘The workshop was so creative and so much fun - I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for some home inspiration.’ Louise, Bookham

Jenny Branson is passionate about interiors and believes that with the right guidance, a beautifully designed home isn’t out of anyone’s reach, regardless of the budget you are working to. 

Jenny’s work has been featured in numerous publications including Living Etc,

25 Beautiful Homes, Real Homes, Kitchens Bedrooms & Bathrooms and Sheerluxe.com, and she holds the Best of Houzz award for Design & Service. 

She was also a lead designer on the 2022 series of Channel 5s ‘Dream Home Makeovers.  You are in good hands!   

Discover Jenny Branson by visiting www.jennybranson.com or following her on instagram @jenny.branson.interiors

On Wed, 21 May 2025 10:30 - 12:30. Tickets £45

All happening at Kingfisher, in the Old Bunching Shed.

The Vegan Wellington Company

What inspired you to make a Vegan Wellington?

It came about solely because I wanted to blow my sister’s vegan socks off on her birthday!  In a way, I wanted her to realise that I respect her being a vegan and wanted to celebrate that too.  I was excited and determined to create a showstopper that everyone would love as there was going to be no meat alternative, just this one delicious centrepiece with some crunchy roasties.

I knew I’d nailed it when she exclaimed “I want to cry, it’s so good!”

Describe your journey in the food industry

My journey into the food industry began 10 years ago when I was launching my own startup, Beautiful Stays.  To support myself, I took a job with local top tier catering company, Two Many Cooks.  It’s fair to say I discovered my vocation.  I loved every aspect of the work, but it was mostly the exceptional food and the high quality ingredients (that TMC never comprised on) that really sparked my passion and obsession with creating good, wholesome tasty food. I still work for them and still love it.

I have a long history in nutrition for health, and with a sister who is both vegan and soya intolerant

(and finds cooking challenging), I’ve always enjoyed crafting meals that work for all of us. I thrive on the joy of feeding freshly prepared, nutritious meals to people.

Who are your customers?

My customers are primarily family and friends.  Word got out thanks to my sister that my Wellington was delish and that’s been more than enough to keep me busy! I usually make 3 Wellingtons at a time which works perfectly for me as there are quite a few different components to prepare and cook.  I quite often get requests to make a wellington gluten free or with no chestnuts, and I’m happy I can personally accommodate that for people.

What is your connection to Kingfisher?

I have been going to the Farm Shop for 17 years!  We used to live in Abinger

Hammer and I would religiously pop in on a Saturday morning for a Chalk Hills croissant.  I love the fact I can just nip in anytime and always see a friendly face there.  Marion has been very supportive of my little venture, I thank my lucky stars for such an incredible supportive community.

Where do you source your key ingredients?

From a great family run company called Fresh Connect, they choose all my ingredients from New Covent Garden Market.  I get my watercress from Kingfisher of course.

How have you adapted your business to be kinder to the environment?

Fresh Connect don’t use plastic boxes or

plastic bags which is a small but mighty

difference.  My Wellington boxes are

compostable as are the little stickers closing

the sides down..

What do you see for your business in the future?

I’m really happy providing a healthy, nurturing special meal to vegans and non vegans here in Mole Valley.  I’m looking to make a second umami variety, with watercress and maybe some cooked mini vegan parcels, but have to perfect the filling as I’d like them to be different to my welly recipe.

One extra perk is coming in to the Farm Shop to offer tastings and meeting some of you, it’s great to receive your feedback.

Please do support my Instagram page @theveganwellingtoncompany by following me and do let me know who you are!

A date for your diary…

On Saturday 10 May we will be taking part in the seventh annual Surrey Day celebrations.  This year’s theme looks at how World War 2 shaped Surrey and coincides with the 80th anniversary of  VE Day.  We have invited some of the best local producers to be with us for tastings from 10am - 2pm, so come along to get to know some of our wonderful suppliers and take home a few delicious treats.

We will be throwing open the doors of the Old Bunching Shed Watercress Museum for you to experience the sights and sounds of watercress production and distribution, from the spring water in Abinger via New Covent Garden Market to some of the finest Michelin star restaurants.

Tours of the Watercress Beds will run from 11am and take about half an hour.  Please book via the Surrey Day page on our website.  The whole of the £5.00 ticket price will be donated to RABI, a national charity providing much needed support to the farming community across England and Wales.

As part of our celebrations this Surrey Day we are running a Watercress Pesto competition, the recipe is featured in this edition.  There are two classes one for children and one for adults.  All entries should be named and brought to the Farm Shop for judging on Saturday 10 May before 10.30am in a sealed, clearly labelled container.  Entry forms are available on our website or from the Farm Shop. 

Good luck everyone!