St John At Spitalfields City Farm

Produce from Spitalfields City Farm

 

One of my great delights of 2024 was introducing Farokh Talati, Chef at St John Bread & Wine to Chris Gorgay, Grower at Spitalfields City Farm with the result that fresh produce from the farm has become an integral part of the menu at St John, where you can now enjoy vegetables grown locally and picked fresh that morning. The farm is just six minutes walk from the restaurant in Commercial St and almost every day a chef visits to select what is in season.

At harvest time last year, I accompanied Farokh and Chris on a tour around the vegetable patch and Contributing Photographer Patricia Niven came along too. Chris introduced us to his cherished produce, regaling us with the stories of their origin and cultivation while inviting us to enjoy the variety of fragrances, and taste the leaves and fruit of his plants as we made our way around the farm.

Chris’ vegetable patch is not ordered into straight lines upon bare soil, he grows his vegetables close by each other interspersed with flowers to create a beautiful grove of dense foliage where plants flourish. ‘We use marigolds as companion planting to distract aphids from the vegetables but also to attract pollinators,’ he told me, explaining his method. ‘What you plant in your growing space can really affect how much it’s going to be impacted by pests. We let some vegetables go to flower so we can harvest the seeds for next season and that attracts more beneficial insects too.’

Chris plants crops in rotation to renew the soil. ‘Potatoes take quite a lot of nutrients out of the earth which is why we will follow them the next year with chard, which is not a very heavy feeder, and replenish the soil with manure too.’

‘Here at the farm, we teach local kids how to grow vegetables and maintain their crops. Then they get to harvest and cook them, so they get the all round experience. We teach them how to save their own seeds too, so they have a sustainable approach to gardening.’

When Farokh asked if cucumbers were part of the same family of plants as melons, Chris replied in the affirmative. ‘You can often tell by the seeds, because the seeds of one genus of plants often look very similar – melon, squash and cucumber seeds look alike,’ he said.

As we made our way around, with Chris explaining the culinary potential of each of his varieties, I could see Farokh’s eyes lighting up in inspiration as Chris suggested ways that he could employ these vegetables in his cooking – which in turn became a source of wonder and delight for Chris.

‘Every time I come here I learn something new!’ Farokh declared to me. ‘I’ll go over to the farm once a week, chefs will go on other days, and Chris delivers produce maybe twice a week. And we’re always talking to each other, Chris will send me a picture of something that’s coming up soon. I’ve been over with Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson too.’

‘For me it’s important for St John to have a strong sense of connection with the community and the joy that it’s given us to use this farm, and to know that we can go over there and say, ‘Can we grab this?’ or ‘Can we grab that?’ or for them to come over and put their produce down on the table in front of guests. People will be eating their lunches and in walks Chris with onions, fresh garlic and mulberries and it’s such a proud moment.’

‘It’s rare in London restaurants. In many places I’ve worked the produce is there in the morning in boxes and you can forget where it came from. I have a huge sense of pride when I brief the waiters to say, ‘This dish has come from Spitalfields City Farm and I want you to talk about it at the table.’ How proud we are to announce, ‘These were picked this morning at the farm down the road.’

Honey melon

Sweetcorn

White aubergines – the origin of the name ‘egg plant’

Runner beans

Basil and chillies

Chris Gorgay, Grower

Marigolds and tomatoes as combination planting

Farokh Talati, Chef

Mulberries

Melons

Farokh uses fig leaves to flavour ice cream and buttermilk pudding

Fig leaf, radish and cucumber

Kudu, a bottle gourd grown from seeds brought from Bangladesh twenty five years ago

Photographs copyright © Patricia Niven

Vegetables can bought direct from the Farm Shop at Spitalfields City Farm, Buxton St, London E1 5AR

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Spring at Spitalfields City Farm

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