Norfolk-based Ingham Swan teams up with local farm in ‘grow your own’ project

The Ingham Swan will partner with the Tacons to produce food on land set aside for the scheme.

The restaurant plans to engage with diners on how and where the produce is grown. This will be done via the restaurant’s blog, website, menus and social media.

There are also future plans to sell food from the farm at a pop-up shop on-site.

The Ingham Swan, which has a Michelin Bib Gourmand and two AA Rosettes, is owned by Daniel Smith and Gregory Adjemian, who trade under the company G&D Ventures.

According to Smith, the project will be rolled out to the two sites recently acquired by G&D Ventures – the Wildebeest Arms, in Stoke Holy Cross, and the Mad Moose, in Norwich.

Local economy​

Smith, who is also chef at the Ingham Swan, added that the initiative was rooted in provenance, education and supporting the local economy.

He explained: “Our vision is to work in tandem with our farm partner the Tacons to create a meaningful relationship between our food and its environment.

“We will encourage our chefs and growers to work in unison and to educate and engage our customers to understand the relationship between cooking and growing.”

Kitchen staff from the restaurant, which was bought by G&D Ventures in 2010, will have an important role in what’s grown at the nearby farm and will regularly volunteer to select and tend to each crop.

Smith said: “By having regular input in the growing process, planting seeds, harvesting and carefully checking every single ingredient by hand, this will enable the chefs to cultivate fresh, traceable produce every time.”

He added: “The overall aim of this partnership is to be mindful about how we select what we grow.”

Diverse offer​

The Tacons Farm, in Rollesby, has a reputation for supplying a diverse number of crops, and is known in particular for its asparagus and strawberries.

Charlie Tacon said: “Kitchen staff from the Ingham Swan will be given the freedom to visit the farm as desired and will be asked to help select and plant crops each season.

He added: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming the team. Now the season is fully upon us, the first crop we will be working together on is six-acres of asparagus and an acre of rhubarb.”