Summer Dining at Heckfield Place’s The Sun House
June 13, 2019 by Hidden Doorways
Heckfield Place Culinary Director Skye Gyngell is opening a new seasonal restaurant in the Georgian home’s striking grounds. The Sun House is a light-filled, glasshouse that will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 14th June throughout the summer.
Rewoven into the 438-acre estate in Hampshire, the Sun House hugs the walls of the 18th-century estate’s Upper Walled Garden. It will be nourished by the Home Farm, Market Garden and Orchard set just yards away, with the lunch and evening menu inspired by Heckfield-grown produce.
The menus will focus on vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs, all grown on the estate under biodynamic principles. The gardens are guided by the expert hands of Jane Scotter of Fern Verrow, a verdant 16-acre biodynamic farm in Herefordshire.
Lunch will be a relaxed affair, with a selection of small plates that can be enjoyed all-together or as a three-course meal. The lunch menu will include dishes such as stracciatella with peas, broad beans, young carrots and verbena or monkfish with elderflower butter, radishes and nasturtium. Fish and meat will be largely cooked on the barbecue.
For dinner in the Sun House, there will be a cleverly curated five-course offering, with the space lit by candles, clothed tables, and a mix of cut flowers on each table. The flowers and planting are designed by Fern Verrow and Kitten Grayson Flowers to capture both beauty and scent. For dinner guests, brazier lights will warm the entrance and blankets will be provided for guests on cooler evenings when the sun goes down. Aperitivo – such as sparkling wine with blackcurrants and verbena – will be served in the Walled Garden beforehand.
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- The Farm at Heckfield Place
“Making the most of flavours at their utmost seasonal best is the lifeblood of our kitchen, and this is a beautiful way to celebrate the abundance of the farm in the summer months. The dining experience will be visually beautiful, the food simple but thoughtfully considered—the service inclusive, knowledgeable and relaxed” says Gyngell, Heckfield Place’s Culinary Director. “It will be lovely to let beautiful produce and wild food—from healthy, clean soil—sing on the plate in such a stellar spot. I think it will be a unique and magical experience.”
“We’re thrilled to be transforming the much-loved Sun House into a restaurant and to elegantly evolve where—and how—we connect guests with nature and our home grown produce” adds Olivia Richli, the General Manager of the 45-room Georgian family home lovingly restored from its classic origins.
Resolutely natural, the creation of the Sun House dovetails Heckfield’s commitment to endless evolution.
The Sun House will be open from the 14th June. On Fridays and Saturdays: 12pm to 3pm for lunch; 6pm to 9pm for dinner, and on Sundays: 12pm to 3pm for lunch only.
Room rates start from £350 on a bed and breakfast basis.
Contact
Heckfield Place
Hampshire
RG27 0LD, England
Telephone: +44 (0) 118. 932. 6868
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