Chef Simon Rogan opened L’Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria, in 2002 and was an early pioneer of the farm-to-table movement. He oversees Our Farm, which supplies the three-Michelin-starred restaurant, with head farmer John Rowland.
Inside Simon Rogan's Gourmet Garden
Words by
Simon Rogan
6th September 2024
Step inside Simon Rogan's Michelin-starred garden, where home-grown vegetables and fruit straight from the soil taste better, and producing your own crops is easy, satisfying and fun.
What do you need to consider initially when you set out to create the optimal kitchen garden?
There are various factors to look for: soil type, a mix of shaded areas and areas with full sun, wind protection, access to natural water, and good access for materials to be delivered.
Setting the table where the vegetables were grown
Which are some of the easiest vegetables and fruits to grow?
Most vegetables are easy to grow in the right conditions — some good ones to start with are beans, peas, kohlrabi, alliums and kale cabbage. Fruits such as strawberries and currants can be easy to grow as well.
Talk us through some of the best edible flowers...
We grow a large range of edible flowers, such as alyssum, tagetes, nasturtium, oxalis, verbena, chive, garlic chive, elderflower, viola, oregano, rocket, cime di rapa and borage; we also use cucumber, squash, courgette and pumpkin flowers.
What’s the best way to keep pests under control? Is it possible to do this without resorting to chemical products?
The best way is to build up the biodiversity of nature in your garden, by doing things like incorporating a wildlife pond, planting flowers that attract pollinators, and having a food source for wildlife such as birds and beneficial insects. Between them, these should take care of most of your pests.
Chef Simon Rogan laden with kitchen garden bounty
What are you looking forward to using most from your garden this summer?
Our peas, radishes and cucumbers, and a large selection of our herbs.
Which is your favourite tool?
My favourite piece of kit is my Barnel hori-hori weeding knife which is pretty versatile and can be used for various different things, from tackling deep-rooted weeds and cutting stubborn roots and making drills to using the planting depth measurements on the blade, lifting root vegetables and cutting sod.
Which are the most difficult crops to grow? Are there any that you avoid?
Up north we get a lot of wind, so anything that dislikes those conditions can be difficult — so globe artichokes and celeriac can both be hard to grow.
Cooking and eating outside is one of the pleasures of summer
What do you do in the fallow period?
I always want to work to improve our farm garden, so I try to plan projects to further enhance our growing area, apply compost where needed, tend the hedges by trimming them back — and check out the catalogues. It’s nice to spend time looking for unusual plants to try in the new season.
Do you make any fun drinks from kitchen-garden ingredients?
We make soft drinks using our apple marigold and perilla, and then it’s also nice to make a stout from woodruff.
Which are your favourite kitchen gardens you have visited over the years? Are there any that have inspired you?
The kitchen gardens at Crocadon in Cornwall were very interesting, particularly the raised beds.
