A brand new farm shop and café has opened along a quiet south Suffolk road.
If you trundle along East End, near East Bergholt, and on the way to Brantham, you’ll now happen upon the huge premises, set on a country lane, and operated by Abby and Andy of outside catering and events company Fields Kitchen.
Open seven days a week, Fields Farm Shop has a “rustic vibe”, with a focus on local, seasonal produce, and a low waste, low plastics policy.
"This has been something we’ve wanted to do for quite a while,” says Abby. “We joked about opening a farm shop and looked into it, but never thought it would come to fruition. But then we were approached by someone who had the land and was considering building just what we wanted.” And the rest, as they say is history.
Building work began in April this year, with the couple taking the keys in September and putting in long hours throughout autumn, opening just last week.
The farm shop is, says Abby, “lovely”. It’s surrounded by horse fields, and is quite rural, but also within easy reach of surrounding villages and towns.
“Our offering at the moment is not huge, not quite where we will get too, but we’re starting small, trying a bit of everything, and seeing what customers want and need. Then we can grow – we've got lots of space for that.
“At the moment we have fresh, seasonal veg grown a mile down the road, and taken straight from the field for us, local eggs, bread cooked in the kitchen here, oils, cheeses, jams, crisps, loose products, milk refills, some Christmas products, quite a few household items, and dog food and treats. Plus there’s the sort of things you’d expect to find in a local shop – stocks, spices- that kind of thing.”
Breakfast is available from 9am to 11.30am daily, and lunch from 12noon to 3pm (with a full roast on Sundays), and is cooked from scratch by head chef Andy.
“Everything is seasonal, made from scratch and delicious,” adds Abby, saying, “we also have fantastic freshly made cakes, loose leaf teas and fresh coffee.”
Stop by in the morning to sample a full English, a veggie English, variations on eggs Benedict, smashed avocado on toast, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and piles of fluffy pancakes with your choice of topping.
Lunch could be something sweet or savoury grabbed from the counter, or perhaps a minute steak sandwich with roasted garlic aioli, a sustainable fishfinger sandwich with homemade tartar sauce, a stovetop three cheese and mustard sandwich, winter grain bowl, homemade soup, or mac and cheese.
"The response so far as been really nice. Everyone’s been so kind, giving positive feedback,” says Abby. “They’ve enjoyed the food and lots of people are saying it’s handy for them to have something like this nearby. We’ve been busy since we opened – long may that continue.”
Fields Farm Shop is open 9am to 5pm Wednesday to Saturday, and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.
It’s dog-friendly, there are places to hook up your horse if you come by saddle, and safe areas to stow your bike. Electric points for cars, a play area and farm trail are planned for 2022.
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