New Northumberland Restaurant

Gourmet Nights and Michelin Chefs for Bistro at Herding Hill Farm

Aug 3, 2008

The Bistro at Herding Hill Farm near Haltwhistle is a new Northumbria restaurant, with gourmet nights and Michelin-star chefs to tempt visitors to Hadrian's Wall.

The Herding Hill Farm near Haltwhistle in Northumberland is a rare breeds farm with a shop selling, among other things, meat from their own herd of Dexter cattle. Dexter beef is known for its exceptional quality, and breeders concerned about quality choose the Dexter even though it's smaller and there's less yield than with other breeds of cattle.

Michelin-starred chefs also buy their Dexter beef from the Herding Hill Farm herd, as their system of grass feeding and slow-maturing of the cows produces the most tender beef.

New Restaurant

Until now local people and visitors to nearby Hadrian's Wall have had to buy the meat from the shop and take it home to cook for themselves. This summer, though, the farm has opened its Bistro restaurant, with gourmet nights where chef Kevin Gauvain will treat diners to some of the Dexter beef as it should be cooked, along with dishes prepared from other local produce.

Berkshire Pork and Shropshire Lamb

As well as the Dexter beef, other rare breed produce that will be appearing on the Herding Hill Farm Bistro menu include their Berkshire pork and Shropshire lamb. The Berkshire pig is the old-fashioned British butcher's pig. Pigs raised for most supermarket pork are killed after about 16-18 weeks, the Herding Hill pigs are matured from 9-12 months, making for flavour, not water.

The owners at Herding Hill Farm, Debbie and Charles Rayson, also ensure that all of their animals have a 100% pedigree, and the cattle, pigs and sheep spend almost all year grazing free in the wonderful Northumberland landscape near Hadrian's Wall.

The Raysons also butcher all the meat themselves, on the premises, so they can ensure the highest standards. Restaurant diners can be happy that there are no "food miles" involved in any of the dishes that they eat. There's even a chance to sample some elderflower wine, made from locally grown and picked elderflowers.

Daytime visitors to Herding Hill Farm can also sample home-made scones and cakes, and have a coffee, in the farm's café, before visiting the shop and choosing from the farm's own beef, pork and lamb, as well as their other products such as pickles and chutneys, and other local produce too.

Gourmet Nights and Michelin-Star Chefs

For the evening Bistro menus, Herding Hall Farm is also able to include its own bread, ice cream and desserts, as well as the rare breeds meat, all prepared by their Guernsey chef, Kevin Gauvain. Kevin in turn has trained Charles Rayson, who has also attended courses with the Michelin-starred chef, Steve Smith, formerly of Seaham Hall Hotel, the only 5-star hotel in the north-east of England and which buys meat from Herding Hall Farm.

Steve Smith will also be cooking at some future gourmet evenings. These are not advertised, so if you want to find out if there's one planned for when you're visiting Northumberland, or if you live in the area, contact the farm via their website or phone (see below) and put your name down. When the next event is planned, Herding Hill Farm will contact you with details of the menu.

Practical Information

The Herding Hill Bistro Café and Farm Shop on Hadrian's Wall is open in summer Tuesday-Sunday 10.30am-4.30pm and in winter Friday-Sunday 10.30am-4pm

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