Our commitment to bringing you the best UK FARM SOURCED FOOD
What do we mean by provenance? "Please, not more foodie snobbery"
No, not at the Farm Collective. We mean the food source, and by source we don't just mean where it came from.
We mean how the livestock was bred, fed, reared and produced. How the vegetables are sewn, grown and bought to town.
Well, firstly we are committed to ensuring that the products that we use are UK farm sourced. Being an island some things are impossible to get but if we can get it here we will. It also means that we will celebrate seasonal varieties of fruits and vegetables and provide you with a changing menu to keep you in tune with the seasons.
Fair point. We use coffee sourced and roasted by the Square Mile Coffee company. Their sourcing policy is based on quality and traceability, right back to farm level, even down to variety grown.
The prices they pay the producers are based on the quality in the cup and believe that buying on traceability and quality is a better route to sustainability.
In order to be one of our suppliers any farmer or producer needs to be able to fulfil criteria over and above their UK'ness:
They need to demonstrate sound animal husbandry and a progressive commitment to welfare both physical and emotional.
They need to demonstrate that there is no inclusion of what we call 'nasties' or preservatives into products.
These criteria ensure a joint identity and common goal between us and our suppliers – in essence a 'collective' approach to standards.
We pull on our wellies and we go down to the Farms and to the producers and check everything for ourselves.
Oh, and we tell you exactly what came from where and from who and you are welcome to call them up or maybe if you ask nicely go and give them a visit for yourselves.
As they say, you are what you eat (not literally of course).
We believe that knowing the source, knowing how and where your food was created and being able to sleep easy is a worthwhile way to run a business.
And lets not forget that all of our produce tastes like food should; full or flavour, rich in goodness. Our food had credentials and it tastes brilliant.
Did we mention that we also do all our own preparation, fresh everyday? We cook our own meats, roast our own vegetables, it's the only way we could ensure everything tasted as good as possible. And of course every sandwich and salad is prepared by hand, by us, fresh every morning.
Dominic's Vision
'For me the Farm is about celebrating UK produce. Over the years as a Nation we have become the poor men of Europe lagging behind, in perception anyway, our French and Italian cousins. This is simply not the case. We are a nation of food fanatics who produce some incredible food, and the Farm is a vehicle to get this wonderful produce to the City masses. How we do that is of key importance. The Farm experience has to be the best, both in terms of experience and service. The Farm has a great product and the brand is something to be proud of, that pride and sense of fun should be evident when consumers meet any member of staff.'
Craig's Vision
'It's simple, consumers are changing, no longer passive in their choices, no longer wanting to be compromised by quality or ethics and this is especially so in their decisions around food and nutrition. The Holy Grail for brands is to allow consumers to own and involve themselves with the things they consume and choose to have in their life – think back to the local butcher, baker, milkman; bygone days' maybe but these institutions acted as social glue, trusted, respected, honest and real. To create a slice of this in a modern day World not only puts a fire in my belly as a business but fuels me emotionally'