Garden centre joy as food hall wins industry accolade
TAKES PRIDE IN LOCAL PRODUCE
A GARDEN centre has been hailed as having the ‘food hall of the year,’ having won a prestigious industry award.
The food hall at Squire’s Garden Centre, in Frensham, has been recognised as Garden Centre UK Food Hall/Farm Shop of the Year 2023, at the Garden Centre Association’s (GCA) annual conference.
Given it was a new category, Frensham is the first site to win the award. The garden centre, which has been owned by Squire’s for five years, has recently completely refurbished the food hall, which contains an extensive range of locally produced and artisan food and drink such as a cheese counter and butchers.
This meant the centre picked up the gong, introduced to recognise the importance of offering an alternative to supermarkets as well as promoting locally produced items across a wide product range, supporting sustainability and reducing food miles too.
The garden centre can count royalty among its visitors. The then-HRH the Countess of Wessex visited in September 2020 as part of a tour of Surrey Hill producers and retailers. Her visit was to highlight the importance of local food production and see producers’ ‘field to fork’ collaborations.
The food hall sells a range of products including freshly baked bread, preserves, pastries, pies, cheese, fresh fruit and veg, ice cream, beer, wine and spirits, plus much more.
The Frensham branch also has Kellwood & Co. Butchers offering quality meats and meals.
As well as the food hall, the garden centre sells a range of plants, garden products, garden furniture, barbecues and gifts.
For more food, the Café Bar serves a seasonal menu for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, with both indoor and outdoor seating.
The GCA Awards also saw Squire’s Frensham, Woking and Washington presented with joint-third in the Garden Centre Outdoor Living Award category.
Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres, said: “We are absolutely delighted our Frensham food hall has been recognised by our industry inspectors at the GCA as the Best Food Hall in the Garden Centre category, and against nationwide competition too.
“We are proud of the role our food hall plays in the local community we serve. Supporting the community and amazing local produce is really important to us, and we are honoured to have been recognised for this.”
Address: The Reeds Road, Frensham, GU10 3BP;
Opening times: Mondays to Saturdays, 9am to 5.30pm; Sundays, 10am to 4pm ( the Cafe Bar closes at 5pm from Monday to Saturday);
Parking: There is free parking available as well as electric vehicle charging points.