THE PIG-in the South Downs | Hogwash Issue 01

PIGGY BITS

The New Porkers

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had new PIGs on the horizon. Choosing the perfect properties isn’t something that can be rushed, but we are delighted to share that we have just completed on two sites with a view to opening a pair of new PIGs over the next couple of years, subject to all planning and listed building permissions.

We hope the first to open, just south of Stratford-upon-Avon will be THE PIG-on the farm in 2024, a mid-16th-century listed stone manor house set in 53 acres of pasture and arable land in the heart of rural England.

Following this, with a fair wind behind us, will be THE PIG-at Groombridge in 2025, in the landmark moated manor house of Groombridge Place, on the border of Kent and East Sussex near Tunbridge Wells.

Working closely with Historic England, we look forward to restoring these unspoilt listed gems sensitively. Their classic beauty complements our eight PIGs, and both are located in counties steeped in historic significance. We will be creating something a bit different to our other PIGs, but they will have our classic style running through the fabric of the buildings. Watch this space for more news...

FORAGER’S PICKS..

All our hotel kitchens love to make the most of seasonal wild produce. Over the years we’ve got to know a great network of brilliant foragers who bring us the best wild goodies they can find. Here’s what to look out for yourself this summer.

JUNE

Wild greens including Douglas fir, oxeye daisy leaves, sorrel, sweet gale, wild chives and wild garlic. Wild flowers and elderflowers

JULY

Wild greens including sea beet, sea purslane, wild fennel tops, wild mint and wood sorrel.

Wild fruit and berries including bilberries and cherry plums

AUGUST

Wild greens including horseradish leaves and roots, marsh samphire and rock samphire. Wild fruit and berries including blackberries and rowan berries

Held in the grounds and surrounding fields of THE PIG-at Bridge Place, Canterbury, Kent and Lime Wood in the New Forest, the Smoked & Uncut festivals offer so much more than just (excellent) live music. This year – our 10th anniversary – will be one to remember. Alongside some stellar acts, including an all female line-up at Lime Wood, expect festi-food stalls, bars, shopping, the Field Spa, the Den kids’ area, and chef-hosted feasts with Angela Hartnett, Nathan Outlaw, Lisa Goodwin-Allen and THE PIG’s James Golding. Find out more and buy your tickets at smokedanduncut.com

☞ STARSTRUCK

beetroot, spinach, onions, courgettes, garlic, white alpine

HARVESTING ... salads, broad beans, chard, strawberries, radishes, salad

onions, leeks, first few tomatoes, basil, herbs, edible flowers,

oyster mushrooms

We are excited to announce that in spring 2023, THE PIGs were awarded a three-star Food Made Good rating from the Sustainable Restaurant Association, which promotes positive change across the industry, and supports more than 10,000 restaurant kitchens globally with the tools they need to source and serve sustainable food.

AND WE'RE PLANTING... herbs, beetroot,

cabbage, cauliflower, edible flowers,leeks, kale, kohlrabi, salad

Notes from the Kitchen Garden

Our Kitchen Garden supremo Ollie shares a summer update from the veg bed

Summer means the Kitchen Garden teams are busy maintaining and harvesting the last of the crops that were in the ground over the winter, such as broad beans, garlic and onions. We’re also starting to harvest some of the faster-growing spring plantings, including beetroot, salad onions and spinach.

To maintain high levels of production, we reclaim and replant our beds successionally once a crop has finished. For example, we sow beetroot seedlings at our nursery HQ about three weeks before the previously planted crop is at its prime. Once that crop has been harvested, the new seedlings are planted out in the same turned-over beds. In this way, we can produce three or four crops in a year.

Tomatoes are also very managementheavy. Each PIG has about 200 tomato vines in polytunnels, and each vine needs to be pruned and managed weekly to produce an abundance of fruit in varying colours, shapes

and sizes – including our popular big beef tomatoes, like Steak Sandwich and Orange Wellington, and the delicious Sungold and Apero cherry tomatoes that are always a hit with the chefs.

Much of the rest of our time is spent weeding and watering to ensure the produce is in its prime when it reaches the chefs. We constantly monitor all the plants, ensuring we spot the first signs of any pests or diseases that could spread. When problems strike, we use cultural, biological and organic control methods, such as placing netting over the crops or introducing predatory insects.

Our kitchen gardeners are also working on a pop-up garden for the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival from 4th to 9th July. It is the 10th anniversary of our first RHS show garden this year, and if you happen to be going, do come and say hi to the team. You’ll find us in the community allotment area.

[Back page answers: A; Led Zeppelin]

Since we opened our first PIG in 2011, we have been obsessively focused on sourcing locally. We work closely with valued suppliers and strive to operate responsibly – growing our own fruit and veggies, rearing our own livestock, bottling water on-site, cutting down on food waste and packaging, seeking out sustainable suppliers and charity partners, getting into beekeeping and improving our composting skills. The rating reflects all of our teams’ hard work and commitment to creating restaurants that are a force for good in the world.

☞ BEST FOOT FORWARD

You’ll now see our PIG frontof-house teams proudly wearing Cariuma sneakers. These stylish trainers have comfy cork insoles, an ethically tapped rubber sole and a design we love. Plus, for every pair sold, the brand plants a pair of trees in the Brazilian rainforest. So that’s 800 more trees from us!

HOTEL INFORMATION, ROOM GUIDE, POTTING SHED TREATMENT MENU, THE BEST OUTINGS, LOCAL HEROES AND THINGS TO DO.

Hot buzz

ONE OUT OF EVERY THREE mouthfuls of our food depends on pollinators such as bees, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature. The trouble is, this isn’t just an observation about how helpful these busy little critters are. A quote attributed to Albert Einstein is perhaps more matter of fact in saying, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live.”

We’re not quite there yet, but it’s fair to say that factors such as climate change, pesticides, parasites and habitat loss are making life increasingly difficult for our poor old bees, whose numbers are falling year on year. Estimates suggest it would cost UK farmers an incredible £1.8bn a year to manually pollinate their crops. And while manual pollination might sound like a far-fetched dystopian nightmare, it’s already happening in China.

The good news is there are folks out there doing everything they can to save our bees, a few of whom we can count as our own.

Jo Macina joined us 11 years ago. At the time, she was living on a narrow boat in Hackney, working in the arts, but she’s a country girl at heart. She came to THE PIG, in Brockenhurst, looking for a job in the kitchen garden, and while we couldn’t give her one that day, we were happy to hire her to join our restaurant waiting staff.

It wasn’t long before a gardening job came up, and Jo was in her element. One of the first things she did was install a couple of beehives. A nice addition, we thought, unaware that for the budding horticulturist it was the realisation of a lifelong dream.

“Bees fill me with a sense of wonder,” says Jo. “My grandfather kept bees when we were young and I have fond memories of summers spent scooping fresh honey onto sourdough crusts. His apiary was under lime trees – Tilia cordata – so the honey had the most beautiful fragrant flavour. I always wanted my own hives but never had the opportunity until then.”

A year later, as head gardener at newly opened THE PIG-on

the beach, Jo installed another 10 hives. Fast forward to now, and between them, THE PIGs have more than 100 hives. We’ve just finished building a dedicated honey-extraction room at our head office near Brockenhurst in the New Forest, and Jo has put together a team of expert beekeepers to help keep the little fellas happy. Her star signing was Sonia Salva from Argentina, an apiarist by trade who chooses not to wear gloves while tending to her hives, and has quite rightly earned the nickname Queen Bee.

“Last year we made over two tonnes of honey,” Jo says proudly. “Each hotel goes through about a tonne a year so we’re still just contributing to that, but we’re adding more hives all the time. Our honey is put on the breakfast tables and any left over will be used for puddings. We are also about to start bottling some to sell.”

Given their different geographies, each PIG has its own distinct honey. At THE PIG-on the beach, the bees feast on gorse flowers and heather, giving their honey a jelly-like consistency with notes of caramel and stone fruit. At THE PIG-at Combe, they love the red clover, dandelions, blackberries and horse chestnuts, while in the South Downs, surrounded by woodland and meadows, the honey is imbibed with a light and summery floral flavour.

“It always gets me when I open the hive,” muses Jo. “The outside world disappears, worries don’t matter – I’m transported. I’m in love with the buzz; the collective buzz of this one superorganism, the colony.”

Sounds idyllic – but it’s certainly not all roses. One winter, Jo decided to feed her bees without wearing a beekeeper’s suit and was stung more than 50 times. “That was a nasty hive,” she says, grimacing. “That’s what happens when the queen mates with the wrong drone: the whole hive goes mad and starts attacking people. Fortunately, that’s where Sonia comes in. She’ll remove the angry queen and ‘re-queen’ the hive. It’s her job to make sure our bees are nice and pleasant to be around.” Sounds like quite the responsibility – but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

BUSY BEES: GARDENER JO MACINA AND DAUGHTER STEPHIE, THE PIG'S NEXT APIARIST IN TRAINING

“After a dinner or two, we hatched a plan”

HERE’S CAUSE FOR A TOAST. We’re taking THE PIGs’ collaboration with Sugrue South Downs – the Sussex-based winery founded by Dermot Sugrue and run together with his wife, fellow winemaker Ana Dogic – to the next level. The couple will now be joined by THE PIG’s founder, Robin, in a wider collaboration that will enable exciting new ventures – including cultivating our own wine.

Dermot is one of the UK’s most awarded winemakers, and has had successful tenures at Wiston Estate and Nyetimber. Having planted the first Sugrue South Downs vineyard in 2006, his English sparkling wine The Trouble With Dreams won a host of prizes, including The Decanter Trophy for Best UK Sparkling Wine in 2014, coming first out of 102 UK wines.

As for the name, it comes from an Eels song, as Dermot explains: “The line was, ‘Trouble with dreams is you never know, when to hold on and when to let go.’ Story of my life really!”

ROBIN I’ve got to know Dermot over the past few years, and am so excited by what he and Ana are doing. Their wines are at the vanguard of the industry right now. After a dinner or two, we hatched a plan together. I will now be personally involved as an investor-director, working with Dermot and Ana to help them fulfil their ambitions for the business.

DERMOT I started Sugrue as a labour of love really, so I could make my own wine, rather than just making wine for other people. I planted a small vineyard in Storrington, West Sussex, for a monastic order of Catholic priests.

RH We first met at the pre-opening of THE PIG-in the South Downs in 2021, although I already knew Dermot by reputation.

DS Robin became our neighbour when THE PIG opened in Madehurst, just down the road from us. When

he showed us around the kitchen gardens, Ana thought he was either the head sommelier or head gardener!

RH My favourite people in life are those with an infectious passion for what they do. Dermot and Ana are unbelievably talented in their field and have a passion for winemaking that is off the scale. We instantly hit it off. When we started talking about business, it became clear there was a natural fit: they needed investment, for sure, but perhaps equally they needed some help to shape the business for the next phase. While we want to stay at the boutique end of the wine scene and maintain our high-quality reputation, we want to grow the business steadily, too. We have secured long-term leases on two vineyards that Dermot has been working with for some years and have just acquired our first freehold vineyard in East Sussex, where we will create the winery and cellar-door facility.

DS Robin getting involved immediately allows us to become a grown-up business. For the first 15 years, it was just me. When Ana finished teaching winemaking in 2021, she became Sugrue’s first employee and absolutely transformed the business. Now, with Robin on board, we have real focus and direction. The fact

that he is almost as obsessed with wine as we are is a massive bonus.

RH Dermot and Ana will be making wine from the vineyard at The PIG-in the South Downs. With some luck from the weather gods, we will be making our first vintage of still wines from our own vineyard in 2023.

DS At that little vineyard beside the hotel, the terroir is ideal – perfect South Downs chalk soil. Alex, the head kitchen gardener, is first-rate, and along with Luke, the resident Head of Wine, has shown it a lot of love. We’re eager to get some fruit from it this year – however you've got to be patient with young vineyards, as they need time to establish themselves.

And finally … favourite wine for a Friday night?

DS I taste English wine all the time, however I love European red wines. I need the tannins!

RH Quite often it will be a glass of English fizz on a Friday night, not always a Sugrue – I love to taste the creations from other producers. Find out more at sugruesouthdowns.com. Watch this space for news of our wine, Alpaca Block ‘Field Blend’.

When our founder, Robin Hutson, met award-winning boutique winemaker Dermot Sugrue, they enjoyed a glass or two and started to plot THE PIG’s own wines

“Robin is almost as obsessed with wine as we are”

ROBIN

~ HOTEL & ROOM GUIDE

~ POTTING SHED TREATMENT MENU

~ SUSSEX CALLING: THINGS TO SEE AND DO

~ THE INSIDE STORY OF THE PIG’S FIRST WINES

THERE’S A QUINTESSENTIAL ENGLISHNESS and gentle grandeur to the South Downs in this part of Sussex, where the villages don’t get much more hidden away than Madehurst. But if you know where to look, you’ll find our elegant Georgian house, not so far from the more prominent Arundel Castle. Historically, Madehurst Lodge, as the house was previously known, was part of the neighbouring Dale Park Estate. Land for the estate was purchased piece by piece in 1780 by the then MP for Arundel, Sir George Thomas (grandson of the Governor of Pennsylvania), who planted extensive woodlands. He is buried beneath the altar in St Mary’s, the village church, where there are also monuments for both George and his wife, Sophia, who remained in the house after his death. For many years, Madehurst Lodge was owned by the Barron family, who were champions of organic farming and early supporters of the Soil Association. They sold the house to the Tod family, who remained here from 1971 to 2017, when THE PIG’s story here began. Our move included a long and careful process of converting the house and outbuildings, and making sure we can gather a plentiful daily harvest from our carefully tended Kitchen Garden, as well as planting our first-ever vineyard, before proudly opening to guests in September 2021.

THE PIG -IN THE

SOUTH DOWNS

SUSSEX

THE PIG IN

Grape expectations

Alex, head kitchen gardener here at Madehurst, describes his very hands-on role in the first two seasons of our first ever vineyard

A FIELD WHERE ALPACAS used to graze and fertilise the land beneath them is the perfect spot for our vineyard, overlooked by the hotel restaurant and with the chalky hills of the South Downs as a backdrop.

The little vines we planted in May 2020 were in for the long hot summer. They managed to get their feet into the ground and start to grow, but fear set in as the heat continued, with just the building site of the hotel behind me, no real access to running water and the thought of thousands of watering-can trips. However, I was reassured by our consultants, Vine-Works, that it would be OK, and eventually the rain did come. The vineyard has a gentle slope away from the hotel and it was obvious from looking at the vines where the most available water was during this dry spell. Those were the strongest vines of 2020, and that head start is still apparent today.

Looking after the vineyard has been a learning curve for us all at THE PIG-in the South Downs. The to-do list is always changing, and when you’ve finished one job, you’re back down there and on to the next. Although our two-acre site is small compared to others around us, the work required is not to be taken lightly. By the end of the first year of shoot selection (bending down, lifting the rabbit guards and choosing the strongest shoots), some of us

Vineyard diary

Luke Harbor, head of wine at THE PIG-in the South Downs, on the year so far – and what comes next

WINTER

After a particularly chilly, wet winter, THE PIG-in the South Downs vineyard is heading towards its fourth year, which will be the first year of fruit production. Our South Downs sheep have been left to their own devices during the winter and have provided us with perfectly trimmed grass and left the soil enriched with more nutrients. During the winter, the team at the South Downs have wrapped up in their woollies to prune the vines into shape – a skill that requires a vision of how the vine will look in years to come. It sets the balance of vegetative vs fruit growth –the architecture, if you like.

SPRING

Given the amount of rainfall and cold mornings since the first day of spring, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was still winter. Fear not, in just a few days, life will start to emerge from the vines – a time known as “budburst”. Tiny brown buds on the bare wooden canes burst open, forming tiny green shoots. Keep your eyes peeled on morning walks, as this is a magical time to witness this phenomenon. Soon, the vine will have developed a leafy canopy and green shoots will be growing. Around this time in the vineyard, you’ll notice a delightful but subtle smell and the tiny white flowers that are the precursor to grapes, from which we produce the holy beverage we all cherish!

SUMMER

Don’t be tempted by the first sight of grapes; they have a long way to go before becoming delicious berries ready for fermentation. The fruits begin life looking more like green peas and tasting like you’ve picked up the lemon juice instead of the squash. As the season progresses, Mother Nature will (hopefully) continue to shine light and bring warmth to our vineyard, which will result in the grapes developing more sugar, swelling in size and decreasing in acid. Eventually, they will change colour and look far more like the fruit we are all familiar with.

AUTUMN

The autumn equinox means it will nearly be time to lace up our boots, grab our secateurs and start picking the delicious berries. During this time, we’ll be closely monitoring and tasting the grapes to ensure the optimum balance of flavour, acid, colour, tannin and – all importantly – sugar. This will be our first harvest and we hope to be tasting our first wine from the vineyard by the end of 2024. With harvest passed, wine safely tucked away and nights drawing in, it will be time for the vines to start winding down for a peaceful winter.

THE PIG's first ever vineyard hopes to produce its first vintage this year: Alpaca Block 'Field Blend'

were crawling on our hands and knees to get the last few done.

Since then, we have become more accustomed to the strains of viticulture, and with the hotel now open, the gardeners and grounds team have more staff to help carry out these tasks. In 2022, at least one member of the team in every department of the hotel came out to help with the winter pruning. From kitchen, treatment room and restaurant staff to senior management, everyone pitched in, edging us ever closer to tasting the first drop of wine from our own vineyard. A spot of vine pruning can be a welcome change of pace from everyone’s day-to-day role, but it’s a slow process. We decided to drop (almost) all the fruit in 2022, so as not to stress or put any extra pressure on these young vines – we just left them to soak up the rays and continue to establish.

In February, we even had a pair of hotel guests, John and Carol, return to help us prune the vineyard. They’d taken an interest when they stayed at Christmas, and came back to spend a morning with us learning more about the process.

It’s a great feeling to be able to take this vineyard in a small village in West Sussex into its fourth year. We hope to have picked our first crop of grapes for the winemakers by autumn and, before long, to be raising a glass of our Alpaca Block 'Field Blend' 2023 vintage.

IF YOU ONLY HAVE ...

☞ 3 minutes

Savour one of our freshly baked cookies; ask at Reception if you can’t see any.

☞ 30 minutes

Why not get close to some real pigs while you’re here at THE PIG? Simply ask at Reception if you can arrange to join Mark, our groundskeeper, to feed the pigs and chickens.

☞ 3 hours

Visit Chichester's Pallant House Gallery and cathedral, then stop for lunch; ask our team for tips. Or drive out to Cissbury Ring to take in the views and enjoy a country walk, then head to The Gun Inn at Findon for lunch and local ale.

EXPLORING...

From the loveliest bike rides to the best local pubs (and we’ve tried them all), ideas for outings and more, we love to share our local intel. See our curated list online and ask at Reception for our map of local walks.

Useful info for your stay

HAVEAQUESTION?

Just call Reception by dialling 0

DIALLING OUT

To call an outside line please dial 9, wait for the change in tone, then dial the area code and number required.

Potting Shed Treatment Menu

To activate, just select “THE PIG Public” on your wi-fi settings and away you go!

COMPLIMENTARY WI-FI

BREAKFAST,LUNCHANDDINNER

All served in the Restaurant.

To find out our Restaurant opening times, please call Reception by dialling 0.

RESURFACING RADIANCE FACIAL - £115

This highly effective resurfacing facial targets congested, lacklustre and dull skin. Using a combination of seaweed extract and naturally derived glycolic and lactic acids, blended with pineapple fruit enzymes, this facial will give your skin back its natural radiant glow.

ANTI-AGEING RESTORATIVE FACIAL - £115

TREATMENTS

To book a treatment in our Potting Sheds, please call Reception by dialling 0.

CHECK OUT

Check out is at 11am.

Wander through the walled Kitchen Garden

... past the raised beds and fruit cages, and into our original lean-to Victorian Greenhouse, where you will find our warm rustic retreats: the two Potting Shed treatment rooms, quiet and calm and designed to help you escape it all.

Take inspiration from the garden surroundings and experience deeply relaxing full body and facial treatments using products by VOYA, made only with natural and organic ingredients and accredited to the highest standards by the Soil Association. VOYA is an Irish familyrun business that shares our ethos of authenticity and wellbeing. The brand’s seaweed-based products and results-driven treatments use top-quality botanicals and aromatherapy oils, and are all created using sustainable processes.

Inspired by the breathtaking natural beauty and longstanding traditions of Ireland’s northwest coast, three generations of the Walton family have harnessed the healing properties of seaweed to create VOYA’s organic beauty products and treatments from the sea.

This treatment is suitable for all skin types. For those in search of anti-ageing results, the restorative facial uses VOYA’s finest organic ingredients combined with antioxidant algae complexes and a restorative blend of aromatherapy oils. It is this mix of seaweed and botanical ingredients that helps to stimulate collagen production and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, resulting in instantly firmed and tightened skin with a natural and more radiant glow.

ORGANIC WARM SPICED MUD WRAP - £115

Seaweed, taken fresh from the ocean on Ireland’s north coast, is combined with purifying elements of peat to produce a mud wrap rich in potent antioxidants and minerals infused with aromatic spices of ginger and orange to revive the senses. This wrap has immediate and noticeable effects on the skin, including firming and toning. It is also a serious detoxifier, metabolism stimulator and a natural anti-ageing boost – a must for the results-conscious guest.

ORGANIC OCEAN ESSENCE TOTAL BODY WRAP - £115

Combining the detoxifying power of Fucas serratus and the cellulitereducing abilities of Laminaria digitata seaweeds, this treatment stimulates the blood and lymph flow, detoxifies and hydrates the skin and encourages the renewal of skin cells. This wrap is an excellent skin rejuvenator, combating the appearance of cellulite and fatigue, while producing a deeply moisturising effect.

FULL BODY SUGAR SCRUB - £115

This refreshing and all-over exfoliation treatment awakens the skin and body using an uplifting mix of organic peppermint leaf, seaweed and sugar to invigorate, exfoliate and nourish the skin. Afterwards, you enjoy a light cleansing shower, and finish off with an all-over, deeply nourishing body cream.

HOT STONE MASSAGE - £115

A deeply indulgent body massage, using aromatherapy oils and volcanic stones, which help to simply melt away any tension you may be holding on to. The treatment helps to ease stress and improve blood circulation at the same time. It is said that one stone movement is equivalent to ten hand movements.

MUM TO BE - £115

SHED MEETS SPA

Old tobacco tins, gardening tools, balls of twine … Unlikely as it may seem, the decor of our Potting Shed treatment rooms was inspired by Beatrix Potter’s grumpy gardener, Mr McGregor. “I fill the shelves inside the sheds with the sort of things I’d imagine Mr McGregor would have,” says Judy Hutson, THE PIG’s interior designer. “Oil lamps, vintage bottles, old mugs, garden tools – and, of course, no shed would be complete without a few potted plants. And the massage table is dressed with a big picnic rug.”

This massage treatment is tailored to suit the specific needs of a mum to be, and provides a peaceful and uplifting experience for mother and bump, which also helps to relieve fatigue and aches at the same time. Suitable for those in their second and third trimester of pregnancy.

BESPOKE MASSAGE - £115

We tailor this massage to make it truly unique and personal to you. Using blended natural oils, the treatment can help relieve any aches and pains, and totally relax the body and mind.

In good spirits

Our new drinks partner, Sapling, is a sustainable brand that started life with two friends experimenting in their kitchen

A TREE-PLANTING PROJECT in Scotland led two childhood friends into starting Sapling – a truly sustainable drinks brand.

In their early twenties, Ivo Devereux and Ed Faulkner decided they wanted to start a business together. At the time, Ivo was working in music and Ed in food and drink, but neither felt particularly fulfilled. “We were both passionate about sustainability and the impact we have on our planet,” recalls Ivo. “But we were both aware that the rhetoric at the time was turning people off the conversation, rather than galvanising support for it.”

In search of inspiration, they volunteered for a tree-planting project on the west coast of Scotland. More than 130,000 trees needed planting, a Herculean effort for even the most ardent environmentalists, so the boys set about rallying the locals. Drawing on their expertise, they brought in a sound system, built a makeshift cocktail bar and threw a treeplanting party. “Quite simply, we changed the narrative from, ‘do this amazing thing for the planet,’ to ‘come and have an amazing time with us,’ and it worked a treat. More than 80 people turned up to help.”

It was a eureka moment. The following year, they set up The Island Festival, a three-day music event on Eilean Shona, in an effort to “make sustainability fun”. Every aspect of the festival was carefully conceived to have some kind positive impact – apart from the booze, it turned out. “We just couldn’t find anything that really existed for sustainability,” says Ivo. “It always felt like an afterthought, something to add value to a brand’s narrative.”

And so Sapling was born in Ed’s kitchen in Peckham in 2018, built on the promise to plant a tree for every bottle sold. More moonshine

than the desired potato vodka, the pair’s first homemade batch came out blue, but, unperturbed, they continued to experiment with different recipes, and started working their way round countless distillery tours, soaking up every word. Then they met Charles Maxwell, master distiller at Thames Distillers (and the first inductee to the Gin Magazine Hall of Fame), who quickly convinced the pair to move to a wheat base. “If you’re drinking a potato-based vodka with a meal, it can be a bit harsh or overpowering,” explains Ivo. “You want something smoother and creamier and more biscuity, which is exactly what we’ve achieved.”

With Charles they struck gold. Sapling’s award-winning vodkas and Wildfarmed-wheat gins are so good that we’ve decided to use them across THE PIGs as our house pours. We’ve even started working with Ivo and Ed on a couple of new recipes (but that’s all we’re saying for now) and if they turn out anything like Sapling’s new raspberry and hibiscus vodka – made from “wonky” raspberries to further cut down on waste – we’ll be delighted.

“The key thing for us as a business was always to lead the conversation around sustainability in spirits, so what was deemed best practice back in 2018, for example, could be very outdated now,” says Ivo.

Indeed, while Sapling has already planted 110,000 trees and saved 74,224 bottles by offering refills, the boys have quickly come to realise they won’t be able to rest on their laurels. “One of the trickiest but most important parts about being B Corp certified is that we now have to show improvement every year,” grins Ivo. “We’ve got plenty of ideas in the tank, but that is definitely going to keep us on our toes.”

Find out more at saplingspirits.com

“Sapling was built on the promise to plant a tree for every bottle sold”

SAPLING FOUNDERS AND KINDRED SPIRITS IVO DEVEREUX (ABOVE) AND ED FAULKNER (ABOVE RIGHT)

If you’ve enjoyed a Sapling cocktail while staying with us, why not make one for yourself at home. Cheers!

Rosemary Bee’s Knees

•60ml Sapling Gin

•20ml lime juice

•15ml British honey

•4 rosemary sprigs

•a crack of black pepper

Add all the ingredients (setting aside one rosemary sprig for the garnish) to a cocktail shaker, and muddle the rosemary. Shake and double-strain over ice.

Serve in a rocks glass or tumbler and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Garden Bay and Chilli Highball

•35ml garden honey, bay and chilli syrup

•50ml Sapling Gin

•20ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

•FeverTree soda water to top up (approx. 90ml)

•2 bay leaves to garnish

For the garden honey, bay and chilli syrup

•12 large bay leaves

•250g honey

•8g chilli flakes (we have made our own from dehydrated, then blended, chillies from the garden last year)

Finely chop the bay leaves and add to a heat-resistant bowl along with the honey and chilli flakes. Add 500ml boiling water and stir until the honey has dissolved. Leave to infuse until the syrup is cold, then pass through a sieve to remove all solids. (For more clarity, we have strained the syrup again through a v60 coffee filter.)

To finish the cocktail, shake all ingredients (except soda) in a cocktail shaker and double-strain into a highball glass over ice. Top with soda water and garnish with 2 bay leaves.

Broad bean & English mozzarella salad

Podding broad beans is endlessly satisfying – the feel of your thumb running along the edge of the pod and then that perfect pop revealing the emerald green jewels inside their velvet overcoat. When they’re fresh and in season, you really don’t need to do much to prepare your beans, leaves and pods – they’re tender and delicious enough just as they are, uncooked. Add soft, fresh cheese – try an English mozzarella such as Buffalicious, which is made with milk from a water buffalo herd – and lots of minty dressing.

Serves 4 as a starter or side dish

•150g broad beans, podded (shelled weight)

•a few broad bean leaves

•400g fresh young broad beans in pods

•2 x Buffalicious mozzarella balls, roughly torn salt and pepper

For the garden mint dressing

•50ml white wine vinegar (infused with 6-8 leaves mint)

•2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

•100ml rapeseed oil

•8-10 leaves mint, finely chopped

•a little honey or sugar to taste if needed

For the dressing, infuse your vinegar with mint at least 2 weeks in advance. Place the bruised mint into a jar with the vinegar, seal and leave for 2 weeks.

On the day it’s needed, remove the leaves and mix the minty vinegar and mustard to a smooth paste. Whisk the oil into this and finish with the mint. (Otherwise blend the vinegar and mustard in a small spice grinder, add the oil and mint and blitz.)

Depending on the vinegar you use and your personal preference, you might want to add a little sugar or honey to take the acidity down a notch.

Blanch the podded broad beans for 1½ minutes, drain into a sieve, run some cold water over them, then pop them out of their skins. Pick the leaves off the stalks. Finely slice the young beans in pods.

Combine in a bowl with the mozzarella, salt and pepper and the mint dressing. Toss together and put onto your plates. If you have any cornflowers to hand, add a few petals on top.

IT’S A PIG THING

TO BE THE FUTURE OF

CARING AND CONSIDERED HOSPITALITY

AT HEART, THE PIGs are restaurants with rooms where everything starts with the Kitchen Garden. Our gardeners and chefs work hand in hand to create menus brimful of the freshest seasonal flavours. What we can’t grow ourselves, we source from our local heroes – the best farmers, fishermen and foragers we know, who are the foundation of our 25-mile menu. We are obsessive recyclers and restorers: from vintage fabrics and china to DIY onsite smokeries and upcycled chicken sheds, we love anything homemade and ultra-local. Each of our eight PIGs is totally different – we always go with the grain of the place, taking our lead from the spirit of the building to create somewhere that feels lived-in and well loved. The bedrooms are pretty comfy, too!

Rooted in some of the most stunning parts of the English countryside, the places that we are lucky enough to call home are pretty special –with endless things to do and see, tight-knit communities and loads of talent all around. It’s important to us to play a positive role, whether it’s providing employment, sourcing local ingredients, forging links with nearby schools and charities or simply being the go-to place for our neighbours to celebrate their special moments. It’s a privilege to work so collaboratively with all of these local heroes that we count as friends and to play our part in these strong, supportive local communities.

Our PIG people are what really make us tick. We think of the team of almost 1,000 talented colleagues working across our hotels – chefs, kitchen gardeners, waiting staff, bar teams, housekeepers – as a bit like an extended family. From the youngest apprentice to the most experienced manager, they are what make THE PIG a happy place to be and the reason our guests enjoy their time with us. We couldn’t be more proud of them – and you couldn’t be more welcome here!

A CLEAN START

We’re always on the lookout for clever new ways to reduce waste, and when we heard about Clean The World, we knew it was our sort of thing. We already worked with local artisan soap producers to create smaller bars, to minimise our environmental impact, but throwing away used soap between guest stays still bothered us. Our new partnership means our housekeeping teams now collect used bars at the end of your stay and send them to Clean the World. There they are sanitised, ground into soap ‘noodles’, lab-tested and formed into new bars. That soap is then distributed to vulnerable communities internationally, who really need it. Learn more at cleantheworld.org.

Paul is fundraising for our chosen charities

ACTION AGAINST HUNGER

A world without life-threatening hunger is possible. That’s the view of Action Against Hunger, a charity that works internationally to deliver life-saving care and to lead research on how to prevent and treat life-threatening hunger.

HOSPITALITY ACTION

Hospitality Action was established in 1837 and has since offered vital assistance to all who work, or have worked, within hospitality in the UK. From physical illness or mental health issues to financial difficulty or family problems, this charity offers help, advice and support whenever times get tough.

Paul Trifanov

Our colleagues get up to some amazing things in their spare time, none more so than THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay kitchen porter Paul Trifanov. After developing a taste for running during lockdown, Paul decided to take on the extraordinary challenge of running the Montane Dragon’s Back Race, often dubbed the toughest mountain race in the world, a 380km, six-day ultra-race across the most rugged Welsh terrain. It's all in aid of two of THE PIG’s chosen charities – now that’s what we call going the extra mile. Here he explains how it all came about.

I STARTED WORKING at THE PIG-on the beach in 2015. I had just finished college and heard about the role from a friend of mine who was a waiter here, and I thought it sounded like a great opportunity. The locations are so great – so far I’ve worked shifts at Beach, Harlyn Bay, Combe, Brockenhurst and Bath. I also enjoy the atmosphere in the kitchen – it can be stressful, but we help each other out.

I HAD BEEN A RUNNER BEFORE COLLEGE, but not competitively. When I moved to the UK and started working I was looking for a way to quit smoking and be more healthy, so I started running again at THE PIG-on the Beach in 2016 but I wasn’t strong enough. Then, during lockdown, I started running again and have done so consistently since the last lockdown in January 2021.

I LOVE THAT the Cornish coastline has such varied scenery. (I’ve also come to love Cornish pasties and Cornish beer. But in moderation – at least until I’ve run the Dragon’s Back!)

IN 2021, I RAN IN THE HOSPITALITY ACTION CHALLENGE with colleagues. I enjoyed looking at the daily leader boards – it definitely inspired my competitive spirit! Then, last year, I set myself a target of running 700 miles in one month, which I’m pleased to say I achieved. Teams across THE PIGs aimed to raise £40,000; in the end, we raised £53,996.

I FIRST HEARD about Dragon’s Back from our head chef here, Adam. Robin Hutson’s trainer, Shaun, told him about it and Robin knew I enjoyed running, so got in touch with Adam. Initially, I thought it was a race along the coastline, but after I found out it was across mountains I thought, “This is what I’m looking for.” I’m very excited - I like challenges – and this one is extreme. I’ll be running with Shaun.

THE CHARITIES WE’LL BE FUNDRAISING FOR are Action Against Hunger and Hospitality Action. I’ve worked in hospitality for nearly eight years now and it’s a great way to support people working in my industry who might find themselves in difficult circumstances, while also doing something I love.

I HAVE MY EYE ON a race called Cape Wrath Ultra in the Scottish Highlands – maybe that could be my next challenge?

FAMOUS PIGS OF HISTORY

Spotter’s guide: swifts

Swifts are among the loveliest signs of summer, swooping through the skies from early May until they depart in August for warmer parts. They appear black in flight, but are actually sooty brown with a white throat, and are recognisable by their forked tails and curved, scythe-like wings. With declining populations, they are a less common sight than they used to be... so make sure to enjoy the view when you spot one.

BEFORE IT WAS A PIG...

Which legendary rock band was paid £100 to perform at Bridge Country Club (the building that's now home to THE PIG-at Bridge Place) on 13 December 1968?

Clue: on the night they played Communication Breakdown.

[Answer on page 3]

As a matter of fact

Mother Ivey’s Bay, Cornwall, is named for a witch who put a curse on a local man when he wouldn’t share ... what? a) His unsold fish b) The best spot on the beach C) His secret recipe

[Answer on page 3].

PIG HACKS NO. 1

How to make a coffee table out of an apple crate...

To help support birdlife, we have installed 149 nesting boxes across our PIGS.

THE PIG IN NUMBERS...

33,418

kg of fruit and vegetables harvested at THE PIGs in 2022

07/2011

Calling all upcyclers! We love a design hack at THE PIG, and this has to be one of our favourites.

1. Find yourself a nice old wooden apple crate.

2. Decide whether you want it sideways-on as a coffee table or end-up as a taller bedside table.

3. Get a glazier to cut you a piece of glass to sit on top. Voilà!

date the first PIG opened, in Brockenhurst

715 trees planted by THE PIGS since 2011