Pensons at the Netherwood Estate

Since opening Pensons in 2019, we have been on a steep learning curve to implement sustainable practices in our restaurant. Where possible, we grow, forage or farm as much produce as we can, both at Pensons and on the wider estate. The restaurant kitchen garden has been transformed from a wasteland into a beautiful and productive space, providing fruit, vegetables and honey for Chris and the team to use in the kitchen. This means that we know the produce hasn’t been treated with any ‘nasties’ and elminates packaging and food miles.

Soil health is one of the essential building blocks to ensure a thriving, productive kitchen garden. To help achieve this, the uncooked fruit and vegetable waste from the kitchen and our holiday lets is composted and then used to improove the fertility, pH balance and soil structure of the growing beds. We also shred the cardboard waste from the restaurant and add this to the compost heap as a valuable source of carbon and aeration, allowing the compost to decompose faster.

When creating new growing beds we have used the ‘no dig’ principles of excluding light from the soil and applying a deep layer of manure from our farmyard which eliminates weeds, improves the structure of our heavy clay loam and retains the all-important microbes.

Restaurants traditionally produce a lot of waste. Some are easy to cut down, such as our green waste being composted and any cooked food waste being fed to the pigs in the farmyard. We are working hard to reduce the use of single-use plastic. The starting point has been a change of mindset with small changes that add up to a big difference and our ultimate aim is to eliminate all SUPs. Dor example, all dry store items are kept in large storage containers, while herbs and smaller ingredients are kept in glass Kilner style jars and labelled with plastic-free tape. The biggest issue has been how goods are received from suppliers. We are now working with them to try and ensure that deliveries arrive in reusable, recyclable and returnable eco packaging.

We try to use renewable energy sources where possible. The farmyard is powered by photovoltaic panels on the grain store roofs, our heating and hot water in the holiday lets are generated from wood fuelled boiler and the restaurant electricity is generated by renewable resources.

We are constantly evolving, learing and implementing changes. You can read more about our efforts and keep up to date on our webiste and instagram.