Speciality Food April 2024

more nutrients because the eggs are healthier.” Eggs are literally the crowning glory onmany of the dishes coming out of Yolk Farm’s kitchen, which caters for around 100 people at full capacity (inside and out). “It’s quite niche,” Emma admits, saying that’s part of the reason they went for it. “We talked a lot about whether we should open a tearoom and do a standard farm shopmenu but, for us, it was really eggs that were at the centre of the farm. We thought we’d go hard on that as a concept. It’s also quite difficult to replicate unless you happen to have 500 free-range hens!” Design throughout the eatery is playful and thoughtful. “Toilets have duck egg blue tiles with yolk drips running down,” explains Emma. “And on the toilet doors it says ‘laying’ instead of ‘engaged’. The whole place is clad with wood, and we’ve got apple crates upside down as lights, and swing seats. The designer does themed attractions like Warwick Castle, and they’ve got a lot of experience with theming, that’s why we chose them. It’s supposed to be a great environment for grown-ups as well as kids. It has to work for both. We have lots of kids come with their families, but also lots of couples who just enjoy our food.” Service in the restaurant begins at 9am, with an all-day brunchmenu on offer. The bestseller is the kitchens’ chicken pancakes. “That’s fried chicken with buttermilk pancakes, hot hollandaise sauce, maple syrup and bacon. Then we’ve got dishes that are a bit more garden-based. Fresh sweetcorn fritters with poached eggs...and a buddha bowl with all seasonal produce and an egg on top.” specialityfoodmagazine.com As many other farm shops, business boomed during lockdown, which hit less than sixmonths after expansion, delaying the opening of the on-farm restaurant. “It was lucky that we had expanded,” Emma reflects, “because we were able to capitalise on that footfall.” Restaurant staff were folded into the farm shop operation until food service was allowed to continue. The restaurant was inspired by the chickens Emma and Ben inherited, and represents the tide change they have made on site. “When we moved here there were 6,000 hens supplying supermarkets. We did that for the first two flocks over three years, but we soon realised the money we were making from supermarket contracts covered costs, but didn’t make any money. Using the eggs in a restaurant setting we have complete control over the cost, and canmake money and add value!” The flock was reduced to 1,500 birds, and then to 500. The birds were also moved out of their big barn due to the risk of avian flu, and switched to a mobile unit which automatically opens everymorning, giving them plenty of space to roam free inside and out. “It’s very high welfare,” explains Emma. “They have loads of room and they are safe. We call it the ‘hen spa’. They love it down there.” The hens even have their own bodyguards in the form of a group of alpacas, who guard them from foxes. “They’re pack animals, and they’ll make a loud warning noise to scare them off,” Emma smiles. Moving the flock had another benefit, in that it allowed the couple to transform the old chicken barn into an indoor/outdoor play area with farm-themed play stations (including a farm shop and grow-your-own veg), a sand pit, and a coffee bar for weary parents. “This all goes back to our vision of reconnecting people with food,” says Emma. “And that really needs to start with children.” The chickens at Yolk Farm spend their days foraging in the grass, and gnawing on waste vegetables from the shop, whichmakes the yolks “really orange. It’s partly because they go outside and get their Vitamin D and eat grubs and scrap around. It’s better for you if they are eating Breakfast is incredibly popular, says Emma. “People come in just for our bacon sandwiches and breakfasts. Also, our cakes are amazing. They are all made in-house. We’ll have around three types of whole cake, from cheesecake to lemonmeringue pie, and an amazing range of brownies, cupcakes and muffins in all different flavours.” Appealing to all ages, younger diners can choose smaller versions of most things from the mainmenu, in addition to having their ownmenu, with options for toddlers and weaning children. Adding the dining space has proved a huge success story for Emma and Ben, drawing in large crowds. It’s hard to think, Emma says, that when they started out there were only five car parking spaces, the shop was half the size, there was nowhere to eat, and the farm itself was closed to the public. “Nowwe’re so much bigger, we have the pigs, goats, alpacas, chickens, the farm is fully open with a farmwalk, and there are dog walking fields you can rent.” Emma verymuch sees farm shops as a huge part of the conversation around the future of food and shopping in the UK, and says they have, just in their own little corner of the world, seen growth in sales and interest, particularly in products they make themselves. “What customers want from farm shops,” she adds, “is good value local produce, and things made on site. That real, genuine connection to food. That’s why when we bake something it’s made by our chefs from our own produce, and that’s quite rare to find, but it’s something lots of farm shops do. That’s what makes them so special. And we need to shout about that more.” Emma thinks more can be done to support farm retailers in their mission to supply local people with genuinely local fresh food. “There’s no voice for our industry apart from the FRA,” she says. “But we need someone else standing up to say we’re doing this properly, and supporting communities, we don’t break the bank, and shopping with us is more than putting something in a basket.” Her advice for other farm shops looking to innovate, expand and broaden their appeal? “You have to like people,” she laughs. “If you are diversifying your farm to invite the public in, the family members within the farmhave to want to do it too as often some of themwill live on site.” On the flipside, she says, “It’s a hugely rewarding thing to do. Ben and I have learnt so much in the last seven years. I never would have predicted this. It’s been an amazing journey.” Not being afraid to try new things is her mantra. “We didn’t know anything when we started this, but we’ve learnt a lot along the way, and that’s one of the most freeing things. When you have the necessity, you will work things out because you have to. It’s a great feeling to knowwhatever happens we can deal with problems that arise and solve them together.” I wanted tomake somewhere people could learn about farming in an interactiveway. Somethingwholesome that would also support the local economy