After the success of last year's Nouveau with Josh Stanbury, we are repeating the format and are lucky enough to have tempted Rose Maxwell back into the kitchen after her summer working in France to help us celebrate the 2026 harvest.  

This year has seen awesome challenges to winemakers across the continent as climate change and extreme weather events have caused havoc.  In Beaujolais our steadfast provider, Sylvere at Domaine Séléné suffered a massive loss of 80% of his crop due to summer hail.  He was certainly not alone in this.  We feel incredibly grateful to be able to get hold of our allocation this year.  Rose has spent the summer working on farms in France so we asked her to write up her experience.

"July, volunteering on farms in in France - how bucolic!  In our weeks spent working with farmers and cheesemakers in the Ardeche and the Loire, learning about organic, raw milk, pasture-based sheep and goat dairying systems, we got to grips with artisanal, farmhouse cheesemaking and met some wonderful, welcoming people producing some truly delicious fresh, lactic crottins and nutty, mushroomy Tommes. But this was not the whole picture. We were mercilessly reminded of the impacts of climate crisis on agricultural systems. Winter's hay stores were being used to feed animals in the height of summer, due to the complete lack of grass. With temperatures regularly above 40C, sheep were being walked into the forests, partially due to the lack of shade in enormous, hedgerow-less fields, and partially in search of any fresh green growth that might sustain them and allow their lactation, and thus our hosts' cheesemaking, to continue. Winemakers we met spoke of catastrophic losses due to the successive heatwaves (July's was the third of the year so far), interspersed with devastating hailstorms. Farmers and food producers, who understand that life is full of curveballs and challenges outside of their control, are some of the most resourceful and resilient people you can meet. But they have been tested in unforeseen and unrelenting ways this year, and the impacts of this, on them, their land, their vines and their animals, will be felt for a long time to come."

Some background on Rose in case you missed her last popup here: 

Having trained and and worked her way up the ladder at the renowned kings-of-pasta, Padella, and their fine-dining Italian sister restaurant, Trullo, Rose left London and moved to Cornwall over 5 years ago to take over the kitchens as Head Chef at Coombeshead Farm.  Embracing what’s in season and focussing on farm-to-fork produce, Coombeshead is renowned for celebrating the best local produce.  In this time Rose has focussed her cooking style on a passion is for simple, good cooking, inspired by the farmhouses of Britain and Europe. She’s now cooking and growing her own produce at Mora Farm, an 11 acre organic market garden near Liskeard in Cornwall with popups across Cornwall and the south-west. 

Thursday 19th November - 6pm/8.15pm

£50 per person - this includes all food for the evening and a welcome drink of Nouveau.

An additional cheese course will be offered on the night at £10pp.

Booking is for a two hour slot. 

Please let us know of any dietary requirements when booking.