Polesden Lacey Hotel

Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey

Situated on the National Trust’s magnificent Polesden Lacey estate, a beautiful Regency country house with sweeping views over Surrey’s North Downs, this well-stocked farm shop opened in spring 2009 and looks set to continue its initial success. Complementing the on-site café and courtyard, the farm shop allows visitors to buy cheese, chutneys and cakes for a picnic in the grounds or stock up on fresh fruit, vegetables and storecupboard essentials to take home. Which local food suppliers do you use? Wherever possible we turn to producers affiliated with the National Trust. For example, a lot of our meat comes from tenant farmer Steve Conisbee who rears sheep and cattle for his family-run butchers on the Polesden Lacey estate. We are also proud to be selling the first National Trust-branded beer – Viceroy India Pale Ale – made using organically grown malt and hops from NT Scotney Castle in Kent.

Then, of course, there is sparkling wine from Waddesdon, a château-style country house near Aylesbury bequeathed to the National Trust by James de Rothschild. We seek out delicious offerings from the local community, such as fresh fruit and vegetables from Secretts in nearby Milford. But will never compromise on quality, so if that means looking further afield then we will. As a result, we stock intensely flavourful pâtés from Patchwork Pâté in Wales and delicious artisan ice creams from Roskilly’s in Helston, Cornwall – although we are hoping to make our own in the future. We turn to Mike’s Smokehouse in Devon for their award-winning salmon, which is gently smoked over manuka wood chips. What sets Polesden Lacey apart from other food shops? Housed in a converted stable, the farm shop’s wooden tables, beamed ceilings and flagstone floors create a relaxed, rustic atmosphere, allowing us to offer a different shopping experience to that found on a high street.

Customers can sample and help themselves to a wide range of balsamic vinegars and olive oils, while hand-written cards introduce buyers to the producers behind each item and offer cookery tips. It is our aim to always offer customers a choice – for example, we don’t just stock one brand or type of mayonnaise, but also have saffron and garlic and sun-dried tomato and basil varieties from the excellent Le Mesuriers range. These are complemented by delicious organic pestos and sauces from Pollen Organics. We are also in the process of introducing a section that caters for specific dietary requirements. A passion for food should be nurtured from an early age, so with that in mind we stock a number of products designed for children, including pasta and curry sauces from Sauces of Choice, that are full of fruit and vegetables and have no artificial ingredients. What are your plans for 2010? In terms of Polesden Lacey, the big push for us is to develop our own product lines in the kitchen here – using meat from our land, fruit and vegetables from Kent and other quality produce. The shop was designed as something of a pilot. I am now assessing what we have learned and waiting for the green light to roll out a number of National Trust-branded farm shops across the UK.