Once a year we take the tables outside, push them end to end and cook for everyone at once. This year ninety guests sat down at a single table that ran the length of the garden.
Setting the table
Linen runners, borrowed candlesticks and jars of herbs from the kitchen garden. We kept the flowers low so people could see each other across the table.
Place settings an hour before the first guests arrived.
The seven courses
- Chilled pea soup with mint
- Fern Hollow tomatoes with whipped ricotta
- Grilled sardines and charred lemon
- Hand-cut tagliatelle with summer herbs
- Lamb cooked over the fire, salsa verde
- Strawberries, elderflower and cream
- Shortbread and coffee by the lanterns
"The best part of the night was not a dish. It was ninety people passing plates to each other."
Next year
The Midsummer Long Table returns on the last Saturday of June. Tickets go on sale in April and usually last about a week.
