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RIGHT & BELOW<br />
Up until recently,<br />
the team relied<br />
on just a few very<br />
mature fruit trees,<br />
but now Anne<br />
Marie can offer<br />
a vast variety of<br />
different tastes<br />
thanks to<br />
Raymond’s<br />
new orchard.<br />
HEAD GARDENER’S NOTES<br />
With more than 800 fruit trees in the<br />
new orchard, head gardener Anne Marie<br />
is looking forward to producing homegrown<br />
fruit for the chefs.<br />
The new orchard has been planted to the<br />
east of the kitchen garden, and after years<br />
of planning and research, the first phase<br />
of tree planting has been completed this<br />
winter. Tastings have taken place over<br />
the past five years with me, Raymond,<br />
the hotel’s chef pâtissier Benoit Blin and<br />
the development chefs Adam and Kush, to<br />
discover the best flavours. It is my job to<br />
continue recording the progress of each<br />
variety, and after a few years, we will be<br />
able to identify the right apples and pears<br />
for very particular tastes and uses. Most of<br />
the apples we have planted are on M9<br />
rootstock and have been planted as<br />
maidens. This rootstock will produce neat<br />
bush-shaped dwarf trees, which is the<br />
most sensible use of space.<br />
The apple varieties selected include<br />
‘Winston’ - a sharp eater which is ripe in<br />
October; ‘Chivers Delight’ - this was<br />
excellent in tarte Tatin when tested, and<br />
will store well; and ‘Egremont Russet’,<br />
which is praised for its juicy fruits and has<br />
a picking date of late September.<br />
The biggest job has been marking<br />
out rows and planning the placement<br />
of each tree. I will keep you updated<br />
on progress. Anne Marie Owens
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