Speciality Food January 2024

30 @specialityfood W alking around her family’s farm on a cool, crisp morning, Hilary Chester- Master says she feels an enormous sense of pride at what they’ve collectively achieved – particularly when the bank manager wasn’t originally convinced by her vision of creating a wholly organic business. There is a tangible air of purpose at The Organic Farm Shop at Abbey Home Farm near Cirencester, which permeates the entire site. From the shop itself, which bursts with an almost impossibly huge array of homegrown produce, to the popular café, the gardens (where the next generation of organic growers are being shown the ropes), and even the onsite children’s nursery, which encourages outdoor play and adventure in nature. Of course, like many who’ve wound up running a farm shop or diversifying, none of what Hilary sees around herself on a daily basis was planned. She and husband Will were quite happily operating a shop in Cirencester selling Indian goods 35 years ago. Beautifully printed fabrics. Tactile reclaimed furniture with stories to tell. Intricate pieces of jewellery. “That was our life,” she says, remembering packing up their three children for their annual cross- continent buying expeditions. Meanwhile, Will’s family had been farming all around the Cirencester area since Tudor times. “After the war, like most farmers, they turned to chemicals,” Hilary explains. “When Will grew up and we got together, because we had both, since the 70s, embraced organic grew to where we are now. What I’d call a proper farm shop.” The Chester-Masters’ commitment not only to remaining staunchly organic, but also to squeezing every last drop of potential out of their land in a nature-friendly, sustainable way, is astounding. Meat in the butchery – pork, lamb, beef, chicken – for example, is all grown on the farm (apart from turkeys from a trusted supplier) to ensure its standard never wavers fromwhat they, and their customers, expect. “Because we’re certified organic there’s a big difference between us and other producers. That we cannot buy GM feed for and environmental issues, we felt uncomfortable being a part of the family farm. Although we did love it, we found it difficult.” In 1990, the couple – concerned about the impact of modern conventional farming – decided to up sticks and go back to Will’s growing roots, considering taking on a smallholding near Totnes, where they could grow and raise their own produce, and continue to operate their shop. But, “Will’s family decided, actually, we could try and work organically on the family farm, which, at that time, was a very brave thing to do. In 1990 I don’t think there were any large organic farms in this country.” Hilary and Will became custodians of the mixed farmland. She admits it felt like they were ‘in over their heads’ at the beginning. “Although we’re both country people and really into conservation, neither of us actually wanted to be a farmer,” she laughs. “We had to find a farmmanager. And to our delight, he’s still here today! He took over the day-to-day running of the farm, and by 1997 all our products were organic – the meat, the milk, the crops.” Which was all great. “However, I found people would come up to me and says it’s a lovely farm, but that they were still shopping in the supermarket. We weren’t really providing local food for people. What I really, really wanted to do was to have people come onto the farm, to see how food was growing and raised, and to make this almost a one-stop shop.” our animals makes this incredibly expensive. It’s very stressful buying in feed, but we supplement it with what we grow here.” In addition to rearing livestock to supply the butcher’s counter, the farm has a herd of, primarily, dairy Shorthorns and Red Friesians that are milked twice a day. Most of the milk goes into an organic co-operative, which Will and Hilary were founder members of. The rest is siphoned into their on-farm vending machine for customers to top up their own bottles. Or...is transformed into something entirely different by The Organic Farm Shop’s cheesemaker Sarah. ‘IFYOULOVEWHAT YOUSTANDFOR, JUST DO IT’ As part of a new series delving into some of the UK’s most fascinating diversification projects, Speciality Food heads to a farm in The Cotswolds that has, quite literally, grown organically The mission begins Hilary was a woman on a mission. And that mission began with the founding of a vegetable garden, which, she admits, “failed miserably” in its first year. She doesn’t punish herself too much, though. “I had three kids and a busy shop to cope with! We did have a part-time grower. I said to him ‘would you work for us full time here and we’ll start a farm shop?’ and he said, ‘I’d be mad if I said yes’. He was here for 17 years and set up the vegetable garden. Then the farmmanager learned about laying hens and table birds and dairy. We brought in pigs, and took on a part- time butcher. So slowly, slowly we What I really, reallywanted to dowas to have people come onto the farm, to see how foodwas growing and raised, and to make this almost a one-stop shop