How Carole Bamford, founder of the Daylesford and Bamford empire, entertains …
When my husband and I first married we were living in Staffordshire, in his family home, but we eventually settled on a house on the outskirts of a traditional limestone Cotswold village called Kingham, in the west of England.
When we bought Daylesford House and took over the farmland, the first thing we did was to convert it for organic farming. After years of being harmed by synthetic chemicals and fertilisers, the soil and the land needed time to heal. From those bare and tired fields, Daylesford blossomed into a thriving farm – and a business too. At the heart of the farm site is our market garden and heritage orchard, where we grow a vibrant collection of organic fruits and vegetables. It’s a diverse, mixed farm where the things that we grow and produce are sold in our shops in the Cotswolds and in London, as well as through other similar ethically minded retailers.
We have our own bakery, dairy, smokery and creamery on site, as well as production kitchens that turn our produce and waste products, such as the animal carcasses and vegetable scraps, into stocks, stews and fresh meals. We also have our farm shop, a café and restaurant with a Green Michelin star, a garden room, a cookery school, wine bar, wellness spa and an enormous barn where we host events. [Carole also founded Bamford, a sustainable body care, skincare and clothing brand.]
In 2012, one of the village pubs in Kingham came up for sale and its owners convinced me to buy it. The Wild Rabbit opened in 2013 and with it we established the aesthetic for which Daylesford has become noted: warm, understated elegance, paired with a feeling of being nurtured. I love the juxtaposition of old and new. Wordsworth wrote, ‘Let nature be your teacher’, and that is a philosophy I have always abided by. Nature is my greatest source of inspiration. ‘The Rabbit’ as it is affectionately known is now one of four pubs we have in the Cotwolds, alongside The Fox, The Three Horseshoes and The Bell.
My home is a place to entertain – to invite people to share a meal, celebrate an occasion at a party or simply to gather. Laying a table and making it look beautiful, seasonal and special is paramount to me. No matter what time of year it is, a walk through my garden is always my first port of call when I begin to plan a seasonal table. I generally keep flowers to a single colour, alongside foliage and other greenery, such as pots of herbs, and then add accents of other colours through the glassware or linens. My favourite tablecloth at the moment is one of our hand-blocked prints from India [Carole also founded Nila House, a handcrafts and cultural centre in Jaipur].
“Laying a table and making it look beautiful, seasonal and special is paramount to me.”
I usually seat people at long tables rather than round ones, because somehow it feels more intimate to me. I keep name placements very simple, just small white cards with handwritten names. I have a huge collection of cookbooks; Arabella Boxer’s books are a constant reference point. I learned so much about planning a menu from her and the River Café books are still favourites because their ethos of cooking and eating simply and seasonally mirrors my own.
It is often easier to entertain in the summer months, when you can be outside, bringing people together in a more informal way, and where the food and table arrangements can reflect that – though of course, you run greater risks with the weather. I usually have a back-up plan, such as keeping plenty of blankets on hand in case the temperature drops. I once held a summer lunch party in the middle of a huge field, with a beautiful view and not a building in sight, when the forecast was for heavy rain. I didn’t have a plan B and I still thank my lucky stars that the weather held.”
MENU SUGGESTION
For a summer lunch menu, Carole suggests dressed crab with herb salad as a starter, followed by an asparagus, spinach and wild garlic tart (find the recipe HERE) and a pudding of grilled peaches with lemon mascarpone and mint.
Daylesford Living: Inspired by Nature by Carole Bamford, is published by Vendome Press.
Photographs by Martin Morrell.