Growers
5 min read
The tomato lady
Nell Hartigan
For eleven years the same family has driven tomatoes to our back door. We went to see the greenhouse.
Marta Kessing grows eleven kinds of tomato in two glasshouses in Kent. Every Tuesday she loads the van and drives ninety minutes.
Why we ask for ugly ones
The best-tasting tomatoes are rarely the best-looking, so she sends us the split and the lumpy ones for half the price. We roast them or make sauce.
More notes
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Kitchen
Why the menu changes at four o’clock
Every afternoon the growers’ vans arrive before service. We write the menu around what is on the counter, and print it at half past four.
Wine
A short guide to natural wine
You do not need a vocabulary to enjoy it. Iris explains what the label means and how to order without feeling lost.
Bakery
Sourdough at four a.m.
Our head baker gets in when the yard is still dark. This is what a morning at the oven looks like.