52. Daylesford Farm Shop – “the Harvey Nichols of the Cotswolds”

Daylesford – the iconic farm shop near Kingham – has been dubbed “the Harvey Nichols of the Cotswolds”.

It was founded in 2002 by Carole Bamford, who had a simple passion for real food. Vegetables, fruit, and herbs are picked each morning from the market garden and transported just a few yards into the shop and to chefs in the award-winning cafe.

Next door is the dairy and creamery and farm kitchens, while farm animals roam freely on the surrounding organic pastures.

Daylesford’s food comes straight from their farm to your fork:

• Meat and poultry
• Fruit and vegetables from the market garden
• Bread from the bakery
• Cheese, milk and yoghurt from the creamery

Daylesford is one of the most sustainable farms in the UK. When it doesn’t make a product on the farm, it is sourced from artisan suppliers who share their commitment to quality and sustainability, and who Daylesford’s food comes straight from their farm to your fork: meat and poultry, fruit and vegetables from the market garden; bread from the bakery; and cheese, milk and yoghurt from the creamery.

Daylesford is one of the most sustainable farms in the UK. When it doesn’t make a product on the farm, it is sourced from artisan suppliers who share its commitment to quality and sustainability and produce items according to its recipes.

Over the past few years, Daylesford has won more than 60 national and international awards for its delicious food, sustainable practices, and farmshop café.

Daylesford was the setting for the ITV1 series Saturday Farm in 2013 when father and son chefs Dick and James Strawbridge spent the best part of the year following the seasons through the English farming year, stepping into Daylesford’s bakery, creamery and organic cookery school.

The Bamford family has been farming organically for over 30 years. It started with wanting to make a difference on a small family level. As a mother, Carole was concerned for the health and well-being of her small children, and it was after a chance encounter with the Soil Association at an agricultural show that she realised the organic way of farming was better not only for her family but also for the environment. This led to the organic conversion of their family farmland. About 20 years later, they started producing milk at their farm in Daylesford.

Upon meeting an artisan cheesemaker, she was inspired to see if they could make her cheese. From that moment on, that same cheesemaker came to work at Daylesford to make what is now their award-winning Cheddar.

The farm began to produce more organic products including meat, seasonal fruit and veg and breads. This led to the opening of the first Daylesford farmshop in 2002 on the farm.

Today, Daylesford has grown to include two farmshops and cafés in London, a concession in Selfridges, and an expanded cookery school on its farm. Daylesford now grow over 300 varieties of seasonal organic fruit, vegetables, salad leaves and herbs on the farm, including many unusual and heritage varieties. All are available in their farm shops and café dishes and have been used to make their meals, soups, jams and chutneys.

The award-winning meat comes from animals that roam freely on their organic pastures. Daylesford also champions heritage breeds, such as Gloucester cattle. The on-site bakery produces award-winning bread, cakes, and pastries daily. The most popular breads include seven-seed, sourdough, organic fruit bread, and pumpernickel.