Coombeshead Farm

Many foodies will know Tom Adams as the precocious chef and founder of London’s meat-loving Pitt Cue, although this venture sees him out in the sticks – at a 66-acre farm in east Cornwall, which he runs jointly with Birmingham-born April Bloomfield, chef at New York’s Michelin-starred Spotted Pig (who visits when she can).

Dinner is a multi-course set deal that kicks off with nibbles served in the lounge of their 18th-century farmhouse – or outside if it’s fine. Ingredients are often grown on the farm and are always seasonal. Recent tasters have included asparagus and Tymsboro goat’s cheese, home-reared ham, and crackers with salted plums.

After snacks, guests commune around a 12-seater table just off the kitchen, with views of the chefs at work. Unsurprisingly, the menu largely revolves around animal protein, particularly locally- and home-reared, rare-breed Mangalitza pigs – from crispy skin with rowanberries to cured ham with cassis. Cornish fish pops up from time to time (Looe scallops with braised kelp and smoked broth, say), while vegetables and herbs always get a decent look-in, from asparagus with hogweed to a sweet riff involving nettle curds, pineapple weed and rhubarb. If you want to make a trip of it, book one of the five stylish ‘farmhouse’ bedrooms, and expect an equally meaty breakfast.

If you do choose to stay at Coombeshead then you have the option of a lighter meal one evening, which you can pre-book with the kitchen, because as they point out, while the menu will have slight differences day-to-day, it may largely remain the same during your stay.

The team here also run a bakery, which supplies lots of local hotels, restaurants and farm shops, but you can call ahead to pre-order your own loaf if you’d like to take a slice of your experience home with you.  

Tom Adams made a huge name for himself at Pitt Cue in London in the early 2010s, where his waste-free meat-lovers paradise was always full, and won him a string of accolades. But Tom was one of the first to buck the trend of moving to the capital - instead of doubling down on his London success, he upped and left, taking his talents to Cornwall where he opened the restaurant in 2016. 

Coombeshead is a farm-to-fork guest house, somewhat along the lines of an Italian agriturismo, deep in the depths of rural Cornwall. You can visit for dinner but it's often advised to stay given how remote Coombeshead Farm is and, who wouldn't want to stay here? Guest rooms are rustic but cosy and thoughtful, with a variety of homemade snacks and drinks in the rooms. The house itself is surrounded by 66 acres of farm and woodland, home to chickens, ducks, sheep and rare-breed curly-haired Mangalitza pigs, as well as beehives, a fully-functioning bakery and the varied wild bounties of Cornwall, which also feature heavily on the menu.

The lunch and dinner offering changes regularly depending on the season and what the farm is producing. The farm produces as much of the menu as possible - almost all of the protein, vegetables and fruit that come into the kitchen comes from the farm (as a result, fish and seafood is rare on the menu here). Menus in the winter also feature a variety of game, shot by local hunters. 

As well as fresh, seasonal ingredients, pickles and ferments also feature heavily as a way to preserve flavours from other seasons. Freshly-baked sourdough comes out of the on-site bakery everyday (and many of these loaves head off to restaurants around the country, such is Coombeshead's quality and reputation). The multi-course tasting menu is simple and rustic, but incredibly varied - the range of what the restaurant can do within this space is mighty impressive.