British Travel Journal | Spring 2019

R E S T A U R A N T R E V I E W
FARMER , BUTCHER , CHEF
With much enthusiasm Jessica Way heads to the West Sussex coutryside, in
search of the holy grail of epicurean contentment, the perfect Sunday roast
GOODWOOD, WORLD-FAMOUS for its flagship events,
Festival of Speed, Goodwood Revival and the Quatar
Goodwood Festival, brings together thousands of
visitors from across the globe each year. Mostly, this is to
enjoy socialising within the fashionable country estate grounds – an
unrivalled location, set in almost 12,000 acres of woodland, gardens,
fields and farming. In the heart of the estate is Goodwood House, the
glamorously restored 300-year old home to the Duke and Duchess of
Richmond offering tours and afternoon teas.
A walk (or drive) around the estate and there’s also ‘The Kennels’
a clubhouse for the Estate’s Sporting Members, ‘Hound Lodge’
a 10-bedroom country retreat, a motor circuit, racecourse, golf
courses, farm, aerodrome and ‘The Goodwood Hotel’, complete with
Health Club and adjacent to this ‘Farmer, Butcher, Chef’, Goodwood's
sustainable restaurant - where we have a lunchtime booking.
Farmer, Butcher, Chef is one of Europe’s few self-sustaining organic
farms/restuarants, producing their organic meat just yards away
at Goodwood’s Home Farm. The restaurant champions seasonal
English fare using local suppliers and embracing the field to fork
ideology, serving up some of the country’s very finest cuts of organic
beef, pork and lamb to locals and visitors alike.
Although adjoined to the hotel, the restaurant, a converted barn, also
has its own private entrance, easily accessible from the main road,
with plenty of parking shared with the hotel guests. With exposed
traditional wooden beams counterbalancing the white washed walls,
large open fire place, and authentic countryside chic décor, inside is
extremely warm and welcoming – it really does have a home-fromhome
feel, further enforced by the lovely welcoming, relaxed staff.
For starters I went for the hand-caught Scallops with Samphire,
Salsify, Wild Mushroom with Coral sauce, followed by a main of Slow
Roasted Whole Rump of Beef with crispy beef shin, onion pressing,
and roasted cauliflower. The meat was succulent and melted in the
mouth, washed down with a lovely glass of Rioja Reserva. The closing
scene was a warm pear and fennel cake with fennel ice cream. A
surprising and delightful ending to sumptuous meal.
As the Sunday lunch clientele thinned out we spent some time
browsing the many quirky objects adorning the walls, an eclectic
mix of Goodwood’s racing and farming heritage. Artefacts included
radiator grills, badges, maps, horse harnesses and shearing scissors.
This gave a real connection with the Goodwood Estate and brought
the working element of the farm history to life.
Tour over, we then enjoyed a coffee by the roaring fire in the cosy
snug room adjacent to the bar. It was a chance to reflect on our meal
and an afternoon well spent. We all agreed. Contentment had been
found in this rural Sussex countryside gem. •
Ü Goodwood Hotel, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0QB
82 BritishTravelJournal.com