THE PIG-in the South Downs | Hogwash issue 04

PIGGY BITS

Exciting PIG news!

It’s been a little while since we have had new PIGs on the horizon. Choosing properties that make a perfect PIG isn’t something that can be rushed. We had a view to open two new PIGs over the next couple of years: THE PIG-on the farm, near Stratford-upon-Avon, and THE PIG-at Groombridge. But, sometimes, opportunities arise when you are least expecting them and earlier this year, we also acquired the 17th century Barnsley House hotel. It’s tucked away in the quintessential Cotswolds village of Barnsley, just four miles from Cirencester.

Nestled in historic Arts and Crafts style gardens created by renowned garden designer, Rosemary Verey, this gem of a property has all the makings of a PIG already weaved into its DNA… with a few twists. It comes with its very own village pub – which will be a first for us, a PIG pub! It also has a small, but perfectly formed, spa which will see us extend our Potting Sheds beyond our treatment offerings.

Stepping into this very special house feels like coming to visit your great Aunt Rosemary. It’s instantly cosy and homely – the sort of place that would hold all your summer holiday memories. We’re looking forward to doing this beautiful building justice and restoring it sensitively, with its historic importance at the forefront of all decision making.

FORAGER’S PICKS...

All of our kitchens love to make the most of wild seasonal produce. We’ve built relationships with foragers who bring us the best goodies out there. These foraging picks are from Chris, from Heavenly Hedgerows, who supply us with our delicious preserves at THE PIG-near Bath.

MAY

St George’s mushrooms (which appear around St George’s Day on 23 April) can still be found in early May, as well as dead-nettle, cow parsley, sorrel seeds and garlic leaves (you can dry, crush and preserve them in rock salt).

JUNE

This summer, bring a sweet taste of the PIG home to your breakfast table with our first jars of THE PIG Honey! Each 340g jar holds a delicious combination of the liquid gold harvested from our hives across THE PIGs. Pick up a jar in reception, or buy online at gifts.thepighotel. com/products/the-pigshoney OUR HOMEGROWN HONEY

We’ll be opening THE PIG-and The Village Pub this summer and we can’t wait to see you there to raise a glass together. Bookings will soon be open for THE PIG-and The Village Pub; visit thepighotel.com for all the latest updates

Elderflower (ideal for cordial or to sprinkle over scones or strawberries), chicory, clover and pineapple weed (camomile’s cousin – it has no petals and can be used to make a delicious tea).

JULY

Chestnuts, thistle heads, blackberries, elderberries (perfect for making vinegar), and meadowsweet (for a syrup to pour over ice cream).

AUGUST

Plums, samphire (deliciously salty; serve with melted butter or raw in salads), hogweed seeds and strawberries. Crab apples are a perfect partner with last month’s blackberries, added to half a bottle of whisky with a little sugar – leave for a couple of months and enjoy.

Notes from the Kitchen Garden

Ollie, our go-to Kitchen Garden expert, shares a summer update

With the warmer months upon us, it’s finally time to plant out the seedlings that have been lovingly propagated at our nursery in the New Forest. The nursery has been established for around 10 years now and we predict that in 2024, it will produce more than a quarter of a million seedlings – all to be planted across our PIG Kitchen Gardens, from Cornwall to Kent. Most recently in the Kitchen Gardens, we’ve been harvesting tomatoes, peppers, agretti (an Italian plant that is somewhat similar to samphire) and beans. These first came to us as nursery seedlings and replaced the last of the overwintered crops in our veg beds.

But while our plants were dormant over the winter, our garden teams certainly weren’t! In February, we rolled up our sleeves along with our friends at Sapling Spirits to create a nut orchard (or “nuttery”), at THE PIG-near Bath. We planted trees including cobnuts, filberts, almonds, walnuts and sweet chestnuts. They’re flanked on one side by a

Join us in our Kitchen Gardens

Enjoy a free guided tour of our Kitchen Gardens across THE PIGs (excluding THE PIG-in the wall and THE PIG-and The Village Pub), every last Friday of the month at 11am. Our kitchen gardeners will help you explore

“foraging hedge”, made up solely of native species that all produce an edible fruit or nut. In the future, we’ll be able to use produce from these in our kitchen at THE PIG-near Bath, and even in delicious cocktail syrups. In spring 2024, we also started work building the Kitchen Gardens for our newest PIG in the litter, THE PIG-and The Village Pub. We’ll have exciting progress to share from these veg beds in a future issue. Finally, if you’re heading to any of the horticultural shows this summer, you may just run into some of our PIG gardeners on tour. We will be busy building show gardens at BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC, Birmingham (13 –16 June), and at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival in London (2-7 July). We’ll also be helping our friends at Alitex Greenhouses decorate their stand at RHS Chelsea Flower Show (21–25 May). We love to chat about all things planting and gardening, so if you do see us, come and say hello.

☞

SAPLING X THE PIG COFFEE VODKA

The story behind our limitededition Coffee Vodka, created with our friends at Sapling Spirits.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

At THE PIGs, we’re big supporters of many independent, artisanal brands – that’s why we’re proud to use Sapling Spirits as the go-to vodka and gin behind our bars. It’s a friendship that was meant to be. We share a passion for high-quality spirits, reducing waste and sourcing locally –plus, we have a penchant for a bit of a party!

☞

A PERFECT PARTNERSHIP

the veg patches, peek into the polytunnels and even say hello to our four-legged friends. We can even lend you wellies. Simply speak to the friendly reception team to join us. thepighotel.com/events/walled-garden-wanderings

[Back page answers: Before it was a PIG, A; As a matter of fact, B]

Together with Sapling, we’ve created our very first Coffee Vodka using spent coffee grounds from THE PIG. Usually, waste coffee granules are destined for compost – but we are always on the lookout for creative ways to reuse waste products at THE PIGs, and so, our Coffee Vodka was born. It’s a match made in heaven for espresso martinis!

☞ PLANTING TREES

Our Coffee Vodka doesn’t just taste good, it does good, too. Sapling plants a tree for every bottle it sells, so this February, we planted 32 nut trees together at THE PIG-near Bath (see Notes from the Kitchen Garden, left).

☞

TRY IT YOURSELF

Our limited run of 1,000 bottles is being sold exclusively online at THE PIG Market. Once they’re gone, they’re gone! Grab yours at gifts.thepighotel.com/ products/sapling-x-the-pigcoffee-vodka

One of the

Flower power

l oved gardeners , SarahRaven is a green-fingeredpioneer andoneof THE P IG’s favourite

HORTICULTURE, SAYS SARAH RAVEN, one of the UK’s best-loved gardeners, can be almost as capricious as fashion. What’s in vogue today could quite easily be on the compost heap tomorrow. Take hydrangeas, for example. Long considered the frumpiest of shrubs, they are now, according to Sarah, having a moment. “Girliness is back in fashion,” she explains, between potting workshops at Oxleaze Barn, Gloucestershire – a class she’s led for the better part of 20 years (and which she now co-hosts with her protégé, florist and author Arthur “Chicken Boy” Parkinson). “Instagram has had a real effect on the look and feel of what plants are in favour because, in the same way that men dominate food and design, women dominate floristry. And so hydrangeas, with their lacy, whimsical femininity, suddenly fulfil that role perfectly.”

It’s worth taking note. As an award-winning author and broadcaster, Sarah has become something of a green-fingered trendsetter, especially among those who like to mix their edibles with their ornamentals, or perhaps lean towards a more relaxed style of planting. Perch Hill Farm, her home in East Sussex, has become the flagship for her brand of bold and brilliant gardening. It’s here that she trials everything for her eponymous online nursery business, and where thousands of budding horticulturalists head year after year (perennially, even) to learn about succession planting, flower arranging and sustainable floristry.

“A friend of mine, [gardener and food writer] Mark Diacono, helped with the planting at THE PIG-near Bath, and I remember walking into the gardens and seeing these otherworldly kalettes, also known as flower sprouts,” Sarah recalls. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, they obviously know what they’re doing here,’ because I thought I was the only person in England growing them. I heard about them from an amazing Belgian seed grower called Peter Bauwens.”

“I saw plants at THE PIG I thought I was the only person in England growing”

Sarah’s style of gardening might not be for everyone – “We get letters of complaint saying that Perch Hill is a bloody shambles,” she laughs – but it’s exactly to our taste. It’s tulips from Sarah’s Tudor Rose collection that you’ll see around the grounds of many of THE PIGs, among other flowers grown from her bulbs, and we’ve planted her seeds – kale, tomato, courgette, beetroot and basil – in a number of our Kitchen Gardens. And with a bit of luck, Sarah may start running masterclasses from one of our new openings – so watch this space.

One of the beauties of kalettes, says Sarah, is that they’re a wonderful example of a vegetable that is still relatively difficult to buy, but incredibly easy to grow – and this is very often the case with edible flowers, too. “We eat with our eyes,” she says, “so flowers can really help to make a dish look pretty. But I think they also help to visualise this idea of garden to plate – you know they’ll have been grown nearby. At Perch Hill, every month we’ll have five or six different edible flowers: some sweet, some savoury.” Dahlias, she says, can add “real razzmatazz” to a salad, nasturtiums offer a wonderful pepperiness and ‘White Valley’ tulips, which taste “halfway between a cucumber and a bean”, can offer a delicious crunch. “I used to chat with [chef Yotam] Ottolenghi, and about 15 years ago, I specifically remember him saying he purposely avoided using edible flowers because they were ‘far too wine bar’ for his taste,” she says – though we’re not sure whether or not he’d still feel that way in 2024. “Sometimes these things are merely a matter of fashion.”

She certainly welcomes the return of the popularity of the kitchen garden, something we’ve long been advocates of at our PIGs. “It’s the result of a greater interest in real food,” says Sarah. “Slow food was a buzzword several years ago, but then it faded away somewhat.” From food to flowers, “caring about provenance is not elitist, and it’s no longer perceived as elitist,” says Sarah. “It’s essential.” For info on open days at Perch Hill and more, visit sarahraven.com

Photo: Jonathan Buckley

“Fictional

the look and feel of my designs”

characters inspire

Our interiors guru, Judy Hutson, talks colour and character with Ruth Mottershead at Little Greene

EVERYTHING AT THE PIGS, from our food to the fittings and fixtures, helps to create the distinctively authentic, one-of-a-kind look and feel of our rooms and restaurants. Here, Judy Hutson, who masterminds all our interiors, chats to Ruth Mottershead, Creative Director at our friends Little Greene, the paint and wallpaper company. With a factory based in North Wales, Little Greene is an independent, family-run business.

JUDY It’s great to speak with you about colour, because I know you’re so passionate about it. For me, when I am decorating, I am always inspired by the anchor fabrics that I choose for curtains and blinds. I use them to find a colour for the room, because that way I arrive at one that complements that fabric.

RUTH The colours you choose to surround yourself with really can determine how a space will make you feel, can’t they? We feel the effects of colour even when it is used as a backdrop to support other textiles, accessories and design pieces. Because warmer and cooler tones evoke different feelings, I always find that creating a sense of atmosphere is not just about considering the colour, but also the brightness, the base tones and the depth of colour.

JH My top tip is always to apply some paint from the sample pot in various locations within a room, not just one spot. The look can change dramatically in different areas because of the light and shade. I also recommend choosing a paint that is washable, so it can be used in high-traffic areas of the home. From a practical point of view, one of the things that appeals to me about Little Greene paint is you can easily wash away any marks with soap and water. In a hotel environment, there is always a fair amount of wear and tear. But beyond that, I love Little Greene’s depth of colour, choice of palettes and the chalky texture.

RM Some of that will be due to the fact our paints have high levels of pigment – 40% more than many ordinary paints – which gives them excellent coverage. And our Intelligent paints range is 15 times tougher, making them fully washable and hardwearing.

JH Some colours will become more or less popular at any given time. I have always followed my instincts without worrying about trends. How do you think people can balance looking at the colour options that are more on their radar because they are current, with what will work best for a space?

RM I would always advise people to focus on choosing colours for the atmosphere you wish

“It’s about brightness, tone and depth”

RUTH

to create in a room. The kitchen is often a hive of activity, the hub of the home and a vibrant space, so it can be a place to be adventurous with colour and opt for bold tones that exude energy, like joyful and energetic yellows. But you could also opt for a calm, comforting palette of softer shades that will reflect a sense of homeliness, warmth and creativity. We have a gold-toned paint called Light Bronze Green that to me recalls a natural earthiness, for example. It looks sumptuous paired alongside our colours Nether Red and Elysian Ground for a scheme that really draws you in. How about your soon-to-open new place, THE PIGand The Village Pub, in the Cotswolds – what’s the decor inspiration there?

JH Historically, I have always chosen a fictional character and imagined they lived in the PIG that we are working on. I then impose that character on the look and feel of the design. But that’s been a bit different here because the THE PIG-and The Village Pub is a new life for Barnsley House, which was the home and, in many ways, the creation of the celebrated garden designer Rosemary Verey.

RM So in this case, did you find yourself looking for the first time to a real person’s life and work, rather than an imagined persona?

JH Yes, exactly – the spirit of Rosemary Verey, who had the vision to create the extraordinary garden at Barnsley House. So my own contribution was a bit different this time. I wanted to create something that is at its heart a feminine design, with her legacy definitely inspiring some of the floral- and gardenthemed fabrics and wallpapers. It’s amazing to have this already well-loved property become a part of our PIG family.

RM I can’t wait to see what you do.

See the full range of Little Greene paints at littlegreene.com

JUDY

INFO & GOINGS ON

~ HOTEL & ROOM GUIDE

~ POTTING SHED TREATMENT MENU

~ SUSSEX CALLING: THINGS TO SEE AND DO

~ THE INSIDE STORY OF HOW WILDFLOWER PLANTING IS SAVING THE BEES

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.

Welcome to

THE PIG -IN THE

SOUTH DOWNS

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.

COMPLIMENTARY WI-FI

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

BREAKFAST,LUNCHANDDINNER

All served in the restaurant.

To find out our restaurant opening times, please call reception by dialling 0.

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.

Good to know

Our therapists have been professionally trained to offer safe and effective spa treatments for guests recovering from or undergoing cancer treatments. Just ask at reception to speak to one of the Potting Shed team if you would like to know more.

Potting Shed Treatment Menu

All treatments are 60 minutes and £115

RESURFACING RADIANCE FACIAL

This highly effective resurfacing facial targets congested, lacklustre and dull skin. Using a combination of seaweed extract, 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

A treatment suitable for all skin types. For those in search of antiageing results, this 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.

UPPER BODY UNWIND

A luxurious tailored treatment that starts with a warm exfoliation of the back, followed by a soothing back, arm and hand massage, and finishing with a facial oil specific to your skin. We use blended oils to feed your skin, leaving you completely relaxed and nourished.

MUM TO BE

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

BESPOKE MASSAGE

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.

HOT STONE MASSAGE

A deeply indulgent body massage using aromatherapy oils and volcanic stones, which help to melt away tension, ease stress and improve blood circulation. It is said that one stone movement is equivalent to ten hand movements.

ORGANIC OCEAN ESSENCE TOTAL BODY WRAP

Combining the detoxifying power of Fucus serratus and the cellulitereducing abilities of Laminaria digitata seaweed, this treatment stimulates the blood and lymph flow, detoxifies and hydrates the skin and encourages the renewal of skin cells.

FULL BODY SUGAR SCRUB

This refreshing, 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. Afterwards, enjoy a shower, and finish off with a deeply nourishing all-over body cream.

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.”

Buzz this way

How the South Downs National Park is creating the wildflower meadows – and vital pathways between them – that bees need

“WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE,” says Jan Knowlson, Biodiversity Officer at the South Downs National Park Trust. “When you walk into a room and can’t remember what you went in for.”

Jan is referring to the plight of bumblebees, specifically their reaction to some pesticides, which cause them to lose their bearings and forget what they were doing. This is far from ideal for creatures that, even at the best of times, are only ever 40 minutes away from starvation – that’s the longest time a foraging bee with a full stomach can last until it needs to drink more nectar.

It’s this need for bees to be able to fly between different foodrich environments that Jan and the team at the South Downs National Park Trust have been working to support with Bee Lines, an ongoing charity project that launched in 2019. “Habitat fragmentation is the biggest issue facing bees,” says Jan. This is when parts of a habitat are destroyed, leaving behind smaller, unconnected areas that the bees can no longer reach. Bee Lines’ teams plant new wildflower meadows and are also creating a growing network of wildflower “corridors”, in part by supporting different landowners in the area to add this bee-friendly vegetation.

“If we can connect all these fragmented habitats, our bees will be OK”

“Here in the South Downs, we’ve got wonderful heathlands, hedgerows and woodland edges, so if we can connect all these fragmented habitats, our bees will be OK,” says Jan. The chalk grasslands that were once extensive in the area now cover just four per cent of the South Downs National Park, and so Bee Lines is creating a “road system” to help pollinating insects move between existing and newly planted wildflower havens.

“The chalk grasslands of the South Downs are the perfect habitat for bees and butterflies, with an array of stunning wildflowers – but chalk grasslands are essentially a man-made habitat that came about as a result of grazing,” explains Jan. “And, increasingly, farmers aren’t making a profit from [grazing] livestock.” That has meant a reduction in these bee-friendly environments. “So, one of the other things we’re doing is helping landowners to find other ways of grazing the land, such as with Exmoor ponies.”

The Bee Lines team of national park staff and local volunteers has so far created more than 66 hectares (approximately 163 football pitches) of lush wildflower meadows in strategic locations around the park. The areas they transform are often wasteland. “There are some areas of wasteland, covered in brambles or nettles, where you can tell from the vegetation underneath that they were once species-rich grasslands,” says Jan. “So we’ll come in and clear the area and plant locally sourced native wildflower seed mixes.” The results are here for all to see: stunning, colourful fields where St John’s wort, pyramidal orchids, marjoram, calamint and forget-me-nots all now grow.

And it’s not only the bees that benefit. “We’re creating a habitat for lots of different invertebrates and, consequently, beetles, bats and birds, too,” says Jan. “By creating Bee Lines in areas where previously there has been no forage, suddenly all of these creatures have access to much more of this bountiful landscape. In and around the local schools, you can see children enjoying learning about these things they’ve never seen before. It’s been an absolute joy to see these places changing.”

To learn more and support Bee Lines, visit southdownstrust.org.uk/beelines

How we’re helping Bee-friendly environments are a cause we’re fully behind here at THE PIG-in the South Downs. “We have a range of flowering crops and trees, so our pollinators have a food source throughout different seasons,” says Alex Coutts, our Head Kitchen Gardener. “It’s so important for us to be part of this effort, as the continuing deterioration of the chalk grasslands means our key pollinators are on the decline.” We’ve also supported Bee Lines with a financial donation, and our generous guests – that’s you! – top that up further, with a voluntary £1 donation option when you order from our 25 mile menu.

☞ 3 minutes

Take a look at the shelves at the back of the restaurant. You’ll find our Head Chef Adam’s impressive collection of cookery books – his most prized possessions from home.

☞ 30 minutes

Stroll down to the vineyard, where you might be able to spot some grapes growing – we had our very first harvest last September!

☞ 3 hours

Visit Newlands House Gallery in Petworth (just a 20-minute drive away) and enjoy discounted tickets as a PIG guest. Simply enter the discount code THEPIG15 on the website when you book.

From the loveliest bike rides to the best local pubs, we love to share our local intel. See our curated list online and ask at reception for our map of local walks.

Naturally inspired

Non-alcoholic Cornish spirits brand Pentire has become a global phenomenon – including at our PIGs, where we knew the founder when it all began

ALISTAIR “FROSTY” FROST was a regular at THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay long before he became a supplier, and could often be found in The Lobster Shed, tucking into a lobster thermidor and chips. That’s still very much the case – only when you’re the head of a fast-growing brand, you find less time to frequent your local haunts.

Named after the rugged headland a few miles up the coast from Harlyn Bay, Pentire’s alcohol-free spirits are made by distilling native coastal botanicals. In 2019, Frosty returned to Cornwall after a few years in London working in the drinks industry, and moved to Port Isaac in search of a different way of life – one that “encompassed the outdoors, wellness and a great foodie scene”. He had a longstanding ambition to create his own healthy drinks brand, and soon discovered that the clifftops around his local surf spot, Pentire Point, were home to over 1,000 types of sea herb, including ice lettuce, rock samphire, sea purslane and sea fennel. With the help of a few friends – one a mixologist, another a botanist – he started sourcing herbs and distilling them in his garage using a rudimentary homemade still.

Pentire is perfectly in tune with the zeitgeist for boozing less, but so are dozens of other fledgling brands. Why has it been able to grow so quickly? Frosty puts its success down to “being around good people”. The whole team is very much drinks-focused, but many also have a passion for sport or the outdoors. “Our team is made up of GB athletes, surfers, climbers and marathon runners,” he says. “As a company, we’re all passionate about prioritising health, wellness and time outdoors – go for a surf, go to the gym, do it twice a day if you like. Because when your body is feeling good, your mind feels good, too, and that’s when you achieve incredible things.”

“We distil whole, fresh botanicals, which produces greater flavour and purity”

It wasn’t long before they came up with the recipe for Pentire Adrift, the company’s flagship, original product – a blend of rock samphire, sage and lemon citrus with a dash of Cornish sea salt – which Gordon Ramsay has described as “the most delicious non-alcoholic drink”. The company has grown at an average of more than 100 per cent, year-on-year, and as well as being offered at our PIGs, who were early supporters, Pentire is now sold in 15 countries. The New York Times also named Pentire Adrift among the best non-alcoholic spirits for three years running.

Of course, the drinks aren’t bad either. Other spirits in the range include Pentire Seaward, a zesty number made from pink grapefruit, sea rosemary, woodruff, sea buckthorn and wild seaweed that goes perfectly over ice with tonic. “With Pentire, we distil whole, fresh botanicals, which produces greater flavour and purity,” explains Frosty, who’s long since moved operations out of his garage. “I think that’s the appeal for chefs and bartenders. They tend to lean towards fresh, seasonal ingredients that are grown or farmed naturally.” The fact that Pentire has achieved certified B Corp status for high standards in sustainability backs him up on this point.

There’s never been an “anti-alcohol” mission behind Pentire. “Eighty per cent of our customers do drink alcohol,” says Frosty. “We just want to offer an alternative. Pentire can elevate a food experience for someone who is looking for something more healthy to drink.” Try Pentire drinks, including Pentire Adrift, when you stay at any of our PIGs

PENTIRE’S FOUNDER, ALISTAIR

“FROSTY” FROST, ABOVE. THE BRAND’S NON-ALCOHOLIC SPIRITS ARE MADE WITH BOTANICALS NATIVE TO THE CORNISH COAST

Cocktail

Muddy Farmer

• 40ml Sapling x THE PIG Coffee Vodka

• 10ml coffee liqueur

• 10ml rye whiskey

• 2 dashes orange bitters

• 2 dashes chocolate bitters

• 12.5ml spiced orange syrup, and dehydrated orange slices to garnish (see below)

For the spiced orange syrup (makes 500ml)

• Peel of 2 oranges

• Spices such as: 2 cinnamon sticks, 6 cloves, 2 anise, 8 juniper berries, pinch of nutmeg

• 250g sugar

Put the orange peel in a saucepan and cover with 250ml water and the sugar before bringing to the boil. Add spices, remove from heat.

For the dehydrated orange slices

• 1 orange

Heat the oven to 110°C, 90°C fan (230°F). Thinly slice 1 orange and arrange the slices on a baking tray. Bake for 2 hours.

For the cocktail

Stir all the ingredients (except the orange slices) in a cocktail shaker. In your chosen drinking glass (a whisky tumbler works well), add a large ice cube, or enough ice to fill the glass. Strain the mixture into the glass, using a fine strainer such as a hawthorn cocktail strainer. Finally, add a slice of dehydrated orange.

What to drink with our dark chocolate and hazelnut slice…

Our PIG Wine Team recommends this wine as the perfect match for this delicious pud.

Recioto della Valpolicella Classico DOCG 2021

When pairing wine with desserts, one simple rule to follow is that the wine should be sweeter than the dessert, otherwise the wine will lose its character on the palate. Chocolate goes with very few wines, but the blackberries make this Recioto della Valpolicella Classico by Pier Paolo Antolini in Veneto, Italy, the obvious contender. This wine is the sweet cousin of the famous Amarone della Valpolicella, and has aromas of blackberry, morello cherry, baking spices and bitter dark chocolate.

Dark chocolate and hazelnut slice

We always want you to have the most delicious, relaxing time with us – so we hope that, even after a long lunch feasting with friends or tucking into a delicious supper for two, our dessert menu calls you to take a peek. This summery pud was created by our Group Pastry Chef, Kelvin … because, for us, chocolate is always the perfect end to a meal.

Serves 4

For the slice

• 150g 70% dark chocolate

• 150g ground hazelnuts

• 4 medium eggs, separated

• 150g butter, melted

• 150g caster sugar

For the stock syrup

• 50g caster sugar

• 100ml cold water

For the garnish

• A handful of blackberries (about five per person)

• A handful of hazelnuts

• A dollop of crème fraîche or soft, whipped cream

Heat the oven to 160°C, 140°C fan, (320°F), Gas Mark 3. Blitz the dark chocolate in a food processor until fine, then add to a bowl with the ground hazelnuts. Add the egg yolks and melted butter to the mixture, and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, using a hand or electric whisk, then slowly add the sugar, whisking all the time to incorporate. Carefully fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites until fully mixed, and pour into a 20cm (8 inch) lined cake tin. Bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the stock syrup. Gently heat the sugar and water in a small pan, and simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved. Place the blackberries in a heatproof dish and pour the syrup over them. Allow to cool at room temperature.

After the chocolate slice has been cooking for 20 minutes, remove it from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature.

While everything is cooling, place the hazelnuts on a roasting tray and bake at 180°C, 160°C fan, (360°F), Gas Mark 4 for five minutes. Allow the nuts to cool before gently breaking with the base of a small pot or rolling pin.

To serve, gently remove the slice from the cake tin, divide into four portions and plate up. Add the blackberries, with a little of the syrup, the toasted hazelnuts and a dollop of crème fraîche or soft whipped cream to finish.

OUR PIG PEOPLE

ARE 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 on-site 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 believe that our team of almost 1,000 talented professionals working across our hotels –chefs, kitchen gardeners, waiters, sommeliers, bar teams, housekeepers and everyone behind the scenes – is helping to shape the future of caring and considered hospitality. From the newest apprentice to the most experienced manager, they are what make the PIGs 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!

Here at THE PIGs, we work with our friends at Clean the World to recycle our used soap bars from our bedrooms and turn them into new bars of soap. These recycled bars are donated to global NGOs and distributed to communities in need. We have collected over 535kg of soap so far, which equates to 10,794 bars of recycled soap being created and donated!

Our dedication to “supporting local” is central to the way we do things at THE PIGs, so we asked Clean the World if we could send some soap bars back to our local communities. We were pleased to be able to deliver two big boxes of soap to FoodCycle and Genesis Trust – two charities THE PIG-near Bath has been supporting through volunteering efforts. This spring, we also sent a box down to Harbour Housing near THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay. These three brilliant organisations are doing amazing things, supporting local people facing challenging times. So, if you don’t fancy taking your soap bar home with you, rest assured that it is not going to waste!

“I’mhopingtobethefirst

quadrupleamputeetorow acrosstheNorthAtlantic”

Discover more about how soap can be recycled at cleantheworld.org

Alex Lewis

The adventurer and campaigner/fundraiser taking on the PIG 2 PIG challenge

In 2013, Alex Lewis contracted strep A and septicaemia, which led to him having all four limbs amputated. Since then, he has dedicated his life to the advancement of assistive and medical technology, raising funds through a series of extraordinary escapades. His latest adventure, the PIG 2 PIG challenge, will see him row 350 miles from Falmouth Harbour to THE PIG-at Bridge Place before hand-cycling back to THE PIG-at Harlyn Bay.

THERE’S NO RECORD of a quadruple amputee doing offshore rowing. So for the PIG 2 PIG challenge, we’ve had to develop new prosthetics, attachments and mechanisms. It’s pretty daunting. But in the UK, we have access to the best engineers, technicians and universities, many of whom are on standby in case things break.

ROBIN HUTSON, THE PIGS’ FOUNDER, worked with my wife, Lucy (and said she was one of the best pastry chefs he’s ever known) at Hotel du Vin, and has always been supportive. He was always asking her, “How do we keep your hotel [The Greyhound on the Test] open? And how do we make sure you’ve got enough time to spend with Alex?”

THE PIG 2 PIG CHALLENGE is a way to fundraise. The money will go to Hospitality Action and the Murray Parish Trust, a children’s health charity. It’s also an opportunity to champion my own foundation, FLOAT (For the Love of Assistive Technology).

I’M NOT IN IT FOR MEDALS I’m in it for the endeavour and the education around it. By working collaboratively to design new equipment, you can achieve some really cool stuff. I’m hoping to row from Newfoundland to Lymington in 2026, becoming the first quadruple amputee ever to row across the North Atlantic.

THIS CHALLENGE IS made possible by the Wild Wheelchairs Project, an initiative that business leader David Collinson and I created to develop vehicles for wheelchair users that can traverse mountain, desert, sea, snow, ice and air. We’ve ticked off mountain and desert, so it was always going to be sea next. We’ve been working with Rannoch Adventure to create an ocean-rowing boat with the necessary adaptations.

IF I CAN COMPLETE this PIG 2 PIG challenge, I’ll be delighted. Physically my body’s going to be wrecked by the end of it, but I’m fine with that, especially if we get people talking about assistive technology.

Spotter’s guide: collared doves

These charming birds (actually a type of pigeon) have pinkish-grey feathers with dark grey wingtips and the striking neck collar that gives them their name. They coo at length, with a distinctive “hoo-hoooo-hoo”. Collared doves can now be found throughout the UK, but have only been present here since the 1950s. As long as the weather is mild, they can breed all year round. Their numbers are decreasing in the UK – bird experts believe this could be due in part to competing with wood pigeons for the same food and habitats.

BEFORE IT WAS A PIG...

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

A Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house set in 3,500 acres in the Otter Valley is THE PIG-at Combe today. The first recorded owner of a property on this site, Bishop Odo, was the half-brother of a famous figure, who later imprisoned him. Whose brother was he?

A) William the Conqueror

B) Queen Elizabeth I C) Henry VIII D) King George VI

[Answer on page 3]

As a matter of fact

We serve delicious, sustainably caught, roasted lobster at our Harlyn Bay outdoor dining spot, The Lobster Shed. Which of these amazing claims about lobsters is not true? a) If a lobster loses a claw, it can grow back b) Lobsters change colour when happy c) Lobsters are cannibals

[Answer on page 3]

PIG HACKS NO. 4

Milk urn umbrella stand

Take a leaf out of our book and try repurposing an old milk urn (often available at garden centres or online) as an instantly stylish umbrella stand.

HALL OF FAME

WINSTON CHURCHILL’S PIGS

As well as having many beloved pet cats and dogs, Winston Churchill kept a variety of livestock at Chartwell, his country estate in Kent, including Middle White pigs. It seems he thought very highly of them, because in 1945 he reportedly said, “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” Churchill certainly did like pigs, but there was likely also a double meaning to his words, as it is thought they were said in response to the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin having used the word “pig” as an insult.

THE PIG IN NUMBERS...

251,944

seedlings grown in our New Forest nursery in 2023, to supply our Kitchen Gardens.

535

kg of used in-room soap bars collected across THE PIGs in 2023. Every kg has been recycled into new soap bars by our friends at Clean the World.

... find out more here

1,037

® Company. The paper is carbon balanced with the World Land Trust, an international conservation charity. With special thanks to all of our partners and those in THE PIG team that have contributed to this issue.

hours of volunteering for local charities by our PIG teams in 2023.

OVER AND OUT