Cambridge Edition August 2019

FOOD & DR INK

“I can see some really exciting stuff for the future now”

with a sandwich. And we’re going to get all our mates to come round. And we’re going to take up car parking spaces for the day.’ So suddenly we were thrust into hospitality. And that’s been so challenging: it was a real experiment that took us down a different path.” Embracing hospitality and continuing to diversify the offering has seen the team grow in size to what’s now around 45 individuals, and has put the farm in a fantastic place for the years to come. “This is the best position this business has been in for a long time. We’ve got the bedrock, and we’ve got the infrastructure right. Don’t get me wrong: I can look around and see a million things I need to change – but now I can see how I’m going to do it,” Charles says. “I’m a very visual person: I remember in the early days when we just had a couple of old barns. And people say to me now: ‘Could you imagine it looking like this?’ And actually, I could. Once you’ve got a visualisation, you go toward that – and I can see some really exciting stuff for the future now.” Charles is keen to continue focusing on events at the farm, merging retail

more customers and staff, which were both in short supply in the early days. “I remember we’d look out the window of the kitchen and say, ‘Well, who’s going to serve this customer?’” Charles laughs. Implementing change in a business that’s so rich in family history and layered with stories would be a challenge for even the most deftly skilled CEO, but Charles and Marcus took on the task with relish – and the bravery to just experiment. Of course, it hasn’t always gone to plan. “I could give you a long list of the things that haven’t worked,” Charles laughs, “but, with all of it comes learning.” One of the best examples of this is the now much-loved cafe’s arrival at the farm. Previously, the deli and shop were all that tempted visitors up the hill, but Charles had a vision. “I’d been to Italy, and seen how the Italians stand very close to the coffee machine as you extract the espresso – they have their quick coffee, they drink it and they go about their business. I thought – we could do that here: it’d be perfect,” he grins. “But then, of course, customers turned round and said, ‘That’s great – but can we have it as a latte? And I’d like it

In 2004, Charles and his brother Marcus returned to the farm with the shared mission of helping their parents to retire, and seeing what they could accomplish with the space. Charles gave the project an arbitrary four-year deadline and set to work, with one of the main driving factors being his own personal journey with food. “I love going to restaurants, I love eating well – but I realised early on that there was a massive gap in my knowledge about food,” he says. “When I lived in London, I lived around the corner from an incredible cheese shop, an amazing deli, a great grocer and wine shop and butcher – all brilliant – but I wouldn’t go in any of them. I was terrified to have an interaction with somebody, to go and ask about wines, about meats and things – and I was a farmer’s son. And I just realised there was a big knowledge gap there.” For Charles, it was crucial the farm became a place where people could feel as comfortable as possible, and ask the sort of questions he’d been hesitant to ask in London. It was a slow start: the barns required a lot of building work and – crucially –

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