Worton Kitchen Garden

The story

Worton Kitchen Garden Oxford: Good Food Guide Local Gem for Seasonal Modern British

The seven-acre garden

David and his team have cultivated this Oxfordshire farm since 2005, expanding a single ploughed field into seven acres of Soil Association-certified production. They harvest heritage vegetables and open-pollinated fruits by hand, avoiding heavy machinery to preserve the rich soil structure. This rigorous organic approach yields the hyper-seasonal ingredients that anchor the kitchen's no-dig market garden output.

Chef Simon and the kitchen

Chef Simon and the kitchen apply a gutsy, no-frills philosophy to modern British cooking. The Saddleback pigs roaming the fields provide dark meat for spiced Tuscan fennel sausages and blackcurrant rillettes. Winter menus often showcase puntarelle alla romana with anchovies or confit Worton goose accompanied by beluga lentils.

The glasshouse and terrace

The dining space blends farm buildings into a cosy glasshouse restaurant where guests can sit near the woodburner during colder months. Summer brings diners out onto the terrace surrounded by the orchard and intensive cropping beds. A connected shop sells the same fresh produce, allowing visitors to take home preserves like kimchi, quincemeat, and pink grapefruit marmalade made by the bakery team.