The field-to-fork foodist
Chef James Cross is on his own unique trajectory. Driven and highly analytical, this ex-noma chef opened Lake Road Kitchen in Ambleside specifically because of the local foraging opportunities. He then pledged to only use northern European produce (no lemons, no chocolate, no olive oil). It’s an approach as novel and cerebral as the way he treats ingredients – case in point the Cumbrian beef he ages for up to 300 days, which has earned him a cult following. ‘Things taste better straight out of the ground and onto the plate,’ says James. ‘Plus, when you’re a small restaurant in the Lake District, if you want specific grades of produce – and I’m a no-compromise guy – you have to grow them yourself.’
Using reclaimed materials on a small plot at his home, James has created an ingenious complex of pots, planters, raised beds, trellises, vertical growing systems, heated propagators and a polytunnel, as a result of which Lake Road Kitchen is 80% self-sufficient in terms of veg over the summer. It’s hard graft: planting black raspberries in winter snow, mixing 250kg loads of soil and compost, dealing with temperamental heritage varieties in wet, chilly Cumbria (‘This isn’t the Eden Project’). But, three years in, the results are profound. Most chefs use expensive sorrels as a garnish. James, who loves their citrussy acidity, uses them by the handful: ‘I tell guests, eat a mouthful, it’s incredible.’ His Alpine strawberries, served with a meadowsweet crème diplomat, have been refined each year by splitting and replanting the roots of the strongest plants. ‘They’re exceptional,’ James says. ‘I’d put them up against any chefs’ strawberries. There’s no need to mess around with them.’ lakeroadkitchen.co.uk
James’ growing tips ‘Start small. Don’t turn your whole garden into an allotment – it can be disheartening. Spend a year working out what grows well for you and what you like to eat.’
‘Carrots are a great starter. Using 12-inch-deep containers with a fine, sandy soil mix, you can pretty quickly get a great yield of delicious little varieties such as Purple Haze or the round Paris Market Atlas.’
‘In containers and raised beds, the most important thing is the soil-compost mix. We use two separate composts – multipurpose garden centre composts tend to be very low grade.’