PETERSHAM NURSERIES
Gael Boglione on how family forms the heart of the much-loved business
Petersham Nurseries is a veritable labour of love. What began as a humble garden centre that backed onto the 17th-century Richmond home of Gael and Francesco Boglione has become a thriving family business of restaurants, homeware shops, a deli and an artisanal nursery. ‘It was a simple idea: our vision was to reflect how we live at home,’ explains Gael, ‘the way we socialise, enjoy food and surround ourselves with nature.’
The couple initially set their sights on opening a teahouse for the nursery in 2004 and approached their friend Skye Gyngell to develop a menu. But with such rich potential for a flourishing kitchen-garden, Gyngell floated the idea of starting a restaurant specialising in organic produce instead. They began the enterprise with ‘a four-burner cooker and a few pots and pans’, just three dishes to choose from and 25 seats around a marble table. After only a handful of dinner services, Gael says, ‘Word got out that the food was completely delicious and the atmosphere under the trees was gorgeous.’ They soon installed a proper kitchen, expanded the menu to 25 dishes, the capacity to 120 people – and a few years later, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star.
Having banished chemical pesticides from all of their produce, Gael is stringent about the provenance of the food she serves – ‘I have to know where it comes from,’ she says. The menus are designed to minimise waste, ‘so if vegetables don’t need to be peeled, they won’t be; and if a radicchio stem is too thick for a risotto, it goes in a staff salad’. Any leftover vegetable matter goes on the compost heap. Petersham’s meat, greens and eggs come from the biodiverse Devonshire farm run by the Bogliones’ son Harry and his partner Emily, and the Italian wines and olive oil are made in Siena by their daughter Lara’s in-laws. The running of Petersham is a real family affair, as Lara is also the business’ managing director, their middle daughter Anna holds health retreats with Petersham, and the youngest, Ruby, works on recipes with the chefs. ‘They all have a passion for the environment,’ Gael says.
She describes Petersham’s style of cooking as ‘very simple and slow’ (she’s a proponent of the Slow Food Movement), allowing the natural flavour of ingredients to sing through. ‘I get excited about seasonal produce, like broad beans, courgette flowers and British strawberries – all delicious things.’
While its food may be slow, Petersham continues to accelerate in popularity. And with a beautiful new book of recipes and a possible hotel on the horizon, there is much to look forward to. Taking stock of the year in lockdown, Gael and the rest of the team have looked to ‘nurture what we have’ – firmly staying true to their values.
‘Petersham Nurseries’ by the Boglione family (£65, Petersham Nurseries) is published on 20 May.