🦐 Table Talk #44 - Not Your Average... Garden Centre 🌿

TABLE TALK #44

Everywhere I look, it feels like we’re confronted with suggestions that summer and the accompanying good times are coming to an end. Well, I refuse to believe it and so today, we’re celebrating somewhere that typifies everything that is glorious about the Great British summer.

🍡 Amuse-Bouches 🍡

#1 The Welsh Atlantis

#2 Charting the growth of indie food zines

#3 Where to drink wine outside

🌿 Characters Behind The... Garden Centre 🌿

There are places that make the heart sing, your mood lift and your troubles melt away. For some, this might be a restaurant, whilst for others it might be a place in nature or a family home. Imagine if a place could be all of those things, consider how magical it might be, and then question if it might already exist and happen to be called Petersham Nurseries.

Having made the all-too-infrequent pilgrimage to their original riverside haven for lunch this past weekend, I was struck by quite how incredible what they’ve achieved in the past 20 years is. The first question you naturally have to ask yourself is is this a restaurant with a garden centre or a garden centre with a restaurant? Does it matter? I think it does, but I can’t work out why and what the answer is. Beyond that, I’ve been wrestling with why places like this are so special - is it the abundance of greenery and nature, the simple but curated chaos of the surroundings, or something else entirely?

Petersham Nurseries in all its chaotic glory

In search of an answer, I tuned into the frequencies of the place’s owners and creators, the Bolgione family, who remarked on how natural and unplanned the evolution of the restaurant was - “we realised that almost every garden centre in the country has a teahouse and I felt a light switch on in my mind. Where could be more magical to eat than here? I could see it all, tables set amongst the plants and dressed with garden-picked flowers.”

Reflecting on the fact that family have had over 30 people stay with them for extended periods of time since moving into the house back in 1997, Gael Boglione surmised it perfectly when saying that they simply wanted Petersham Nurseries to be “an extension of our home where everyone is welcome, where there’s no need for airs and graces; a place where people can simply be themselves.”

In those two statements, we may have found our answer. Perhaps a place like Petersham Nurseries’ beauty lies partly in its aesthetic, but primarily in the feeling it engenders in its guests. An occasion restaurant that doesn’t bat an eyelid, a garden centre that celebrates the fruits of its labours.

 

📖 Key Ingredients 📖

 

Who says Petersham Nurseries should hold the keys to creating otherworldly and perfect mealtimes?! We’re big believers in the joy of small moments - whether that’s cutting up carrots to your favourite track, tweaking a well-worn recipe or welcoming friends into your home - so let us do the heavy lifting with this week’s Key Ingredients.

#Tunes - Mousse T’s Glitterbox Joy


#Podcast - WeCrashed


#Recipe - Sweet and spicy king prawns

The calm before the storm at Christie's Staff Art Show

🍷 What News From Wednesday's Domaine? 🍷

Yesterday marked the very first time that a glass of Wednesday’s Domaine was served in hallowed halls of Christie’s as we took up residence at the opening of their Staff Art Show.

Continuing on the intersection of drinks and design, we’re finalising plans to appear at the beautiful Edition 04 of raye the store - location, opening hours and details to follow very soon.

Finally, a reminder that if your glass is empty or your cupboards are running dry, you can refill them using the link below.

Until next week,
Luke