We are delighted and honoured to be one of 6 new restaurants in the UK awarded with a 2024 Michelin Green star.
We are often asked to explain to guests some of the principles we adhere to in operating our business in a sustainable manner in the heart of the Exmoor National Park.
Our focus on operating to high environmental and welfare standards started around 15 years ago when we chose to transform our Exmoor hill farm from an intensive beef and sheep ranching system into a low density, organic system which leaves more space for nature and biodiversity.
We are certified organic with Organic Farmers & Growers. Approximately 700 acres of the farm is managed under a Countryside Stewardship Scheme as wildflower meadows and species-rich grassland. Being organic means we promote biodiversity from the soil up. Healthy soil means lots of insects and with that we can support complex ecosystems. On land rented from the Exmoor National Park, we are involved in the Exmoor Forest Landscape Recovery project. We have recently removed over 9km of redundant fencing around the farm to ‘open’ up the landscape and have been involved in a large tree planting scheme around Simonsbath this winter.
1) A supplier-focused approach:
We use mostly our own beef, lamb (or hogget) and purchase wisely from suppliers who share a similar vision and ethos to the standards with which we run our business. We hope that our guests will enjoy not only the flavour and quality of the produce but appreciate the efforts our suppliers have made to produce their food sustainably.
Meat
We care about the standards under which animals are bred, raised and slaughtered. As farmers, we have invested in improving the living conditions for our cattle over the winter. We are slowly replacing roofs to allow more daylight into the cattle sheds and have installed a new cubicle system with wider cubicles and thick rubber matts for increased warmth, cleanliness and comfort when the cattle lie down to sleep. These rubber mats reduce the amount of straw bedding required and the carbon footprint involved in cutting/baling and transporting animal bedding onto Exmoor.
We believe that animals should not be transported long distances in stressful conditions to slaughter. We use the small abattoir at Combe Martin where Kingsley and his team process a small number of cattle and can treat the animals with respect and compassion. We are pleased to have this close relationship with our local abattoir so that standards can be monitored and maintained. We hope that one day the Swedish model of the mobile abattoir coming to the farm will be permitted in the UK and the days of live animal transport to slaughter will end.
We breed animals that are suitable for the unforgiving winter conditions on Exmoor and low nutrient grazing conditions. We have a pedigree Galloway herd and an Angus cross bred herd (with Charolais and Shorthorn bulls). This produces hardy animals that thrive grazing on the moor, or on organic silage in the winter. These are not animals that require high input cereals and soy from the Amazon in order to be ‘finished’. You can read more about the way we run our farm here: Farm – Exmoor Forest Inn
We buy pork from Little Oak Farm in Timberscombe who produce rare breed Middle White pigs and we are pleased to champion game when in season on Exmoor. Venison is delicious, sustainable and very healthy (due to low cholesterol) and we are pleased to be able to supply venison from our farm. We also purchase small amounts of venison and occasionally rabbit and pigeon from Curtis Pitts deer services.
Fish
We purchase wild fish through the Devon & Cornwall Fish company. We check the sustainability of a catch using the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide and Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide. We select species that are rated as sustainable that are fished with methods that reflect the sensitivities in harvesting seafood in the Atlantic off the coast of Devon and Cornwall. We prioritise purchasing from small independent suppliers using day boats out of Appledore, a local harbour town on the edge of Exmoor.
Fruit & Vegetables
We use local organic suppliers such as Amary Farm in Ilfracombe as well as Riverford Organic. They produce beautiful seasonal vegetables and farm organically. We have our own vegetable garden on site and owner, Ed, and chef, Prim, are keen gardeners.
Drinks
We choose predominantly from excellent local producers such as Wicked Wolf Gin (5 miles from us in Brendon), Exmoor Distillery spirits (Dulverton), Exmoor ales and Otter Brewery beers.
We are proud to serve delicious wine by the glass from a BIB system which reduces wastage and massively reduces packaging and the volume of heavy glass bottles that require collection for recycling.
2) A seasonal menu:
We enjoy creating a menu based on what is predominantly available locally and in season. This helps us create food that we believe celebrates the uniqueness of Exmoor – its climate; its seasons, its altitude, its farming, its animals and its coast. It also helps reduce food miles and wastage.
3) Waste Reduction:
Our method of finishing animals for the restaurant relies on a real nose to tail strategy for the kitchen to avoid waste. No part of the animal is wasted – even the bones are used for stocks.
We have reduced our waste by feeding all raw vegetable waste (potato skin/carrot tops etc) to our neighbours’ pigs. We have a hot compost bin for waste food (not that there is much!) off plates. By choosing like minded suppliers who care about single use plastic packaging, we have managed to reduce waste sent to landfill.
We use our new cardboard compactor to bale waste cardboard for recycling.
All plastics/glass/cans/etc are separated and recycled. We are always looking for innovative ways to reduce our waste and welcome any ideas or solutions as this is an evolving process.
4) Energy use
We seek to reduce deliveries to save energy and aim to source supplies from within North Devon and Somerset (<20 miles). We avoid any air freight produce. We will support tropical produce that is fair trade and where the producer shares our values. For example we purchase chocolate through Pump Street Bakery who go to huge efforts to audit their supply chain.
We have invested in solar panels at the Exmoor Forest Inn. Our new system will help reduce energy required to run our fridges, kitchen and lighting. Any surplus can also be used in our two new, fast electric car chargers we have had installed in the rear car park.
We use a biomass boiler system that generates our hot water and heating from renewable wood chip that is HETAS audited and certified. We have managed to reduce the use of fossil fuels such as kerosene and LPG.
We are great advocates of slow, sustainable travel. From Simonsbath, there are miles of footpaths and bridlepaths to explore Exmoor on foot/bike or horse.
We strongly encourage guests to consider the footprint of their holiday and to reduce their car use and consider staying more than one night with us to thoroughly explore the area and all the attractions it has to offer.