Padstow Kitchen Garden supplies Watergate Bay Hotel with the freshest seasonal produce, grown sustainably overlooking the Camel Estuary in Padstow. Tending the land here for seven generations, this family farm offers abundant naturally grown, hand-harvested vegetables using traditional techniques.
From heritage cucumbers to delicate courgette flowers, Ross Geach grows vegetables as they should be: full of flavour and vibrant colour that comes from growing naturally under sunlight and in fresh coastal air. With no chemicals or sprays, Padstow Kitchen Garden grows fresh, seasonal produce bursting with nutritional goodness – and helping the farm’s soil, biodiversity and surrounding environment thrive.
Name: Ross Geach
Business: Padstow Kitchen Garden / padstowkitchengarden.co.uk / @padstowkitchengarden
What we buy: Seasonal vegetables including winter salads, cauliflower, carrots, spring greens, summertime padron peppers, courgette flowers, little gem lettuces and radishes
Where they’re based: A stone’s throw from Padstow on Trerethern Farm, set in 105 acres of rolling fields hugging the headland above Little Petherick Creek.
Distance from Watergate Bay: 10 miles
Padstow Kitchen Garden is led by Ross Geach, a seventh-generation farmer and former professional chef championing regenerative agriculture. You won’t find herbicides, pesticides, fertilisers or even fridges on his farm – just vegetables picked fresh from the soil each morning, ready for Watergate Bay Hotel’s chefs to showcase the best natural flavours.
Ross personally hand-delivers his fresh produce – and also shares his growing plans, so our chefs can build their menus around the seasons, ensuring goodness from field to fork.
Sustainability is at the heart of everything Ross does. Unpicked winter crops in the kitchen garden are eaten when the sheep are allowed to roam inside. Grass is left unploughed, and instead grazed by the animals. And five acres of untouched woodland crown the farm to help keep the natural habitat thriving.
“We grow some amazing heritage and heirloom varieties. King Charles – Prince Charles at the time – was absolutely delighted by our dragon’s egg cucumber when he visited Padstow in 2015. The cucumbers grow smooth and rounded like an egg, and they’re so mild and sweet.”
Ross’ vegetables grow in the natural sunlight and rain, in soil enriched with nutrient-dense sand from the Padstow estuary just a mile away. Trerethern Farm is a no-spray zone that relies on natural methods to keep the weeds at bay, including an experimental ‘no dig’ bed that preserves the delicate eco-balance in the soil by leaving the ground undisturbed.
“Growing crops naturally and exposing them to the elements means they will 100% taste better than veg grown under artificial light in so-called ‘perfect’ conditions,” says Ross. “When they grow slower and fight to survive, the flavour is unbeatable.”
“Ross supplies us with the very best seasonal produce, picked and delivered to the restaurant within hours. I love talking to him about what he’s growing and working those ingredients into our menus. My favourite veg for the spring has to be his courgette flowers – I can’t wait for those to come back in and to get them on the menu at Zacry’s.”
Chris Eden, executive head chef
Ross loves barbecued veg – especially little gems and beetroots. “Quickly blackened on the outside, they become infused with a delicious charred sweetness against the crisp bite,” he says. Pull up a table at Zacry’s on the sea wall one ‘golden hour’ spring evening to discover how our chefs are teasing out the best flavours – washed down with a crisp glass of white.
“Working with the seasons is key to sustainable growing. By April we’re planting like crazy and can easily fill up two acres with vegetables. We’ll have 900 padron pepper plants and 150 courgettes for the flowers. By early summer we’ll be in full flow.”
Padstow Kitchen Garden supplies Watergate Bay Hotel with the freshest seasonal produce, grown sustainably overlooking the Camel Estuary in Padstow. Meet the farmer putting nature first for the best possible taste.
Read moreChris Eden has been busy evolving our food game and reimagining the menus across Zacry's, The Living Space and The Beach Hut. Meet Chris and hear what makes him tick.
Read moreWith imagination, patience and heart, Tammy leads the charge in the Kids’ Zone. We meet Tammy to find out why the Kids' Zone makes up such a big part of family holidays at Watergate Bay.
Read moreCarrying forward and developing what the Extreme Academy started in 1999, Wavehunters distills the surf lifestyle into lessons for all ages and abilities. We caught up with Wavehunters co-founder and director Andy Cameron.
Read moreCarving out world records from our north coast shores, racing a polo pony while lashed to the wind and putting the flag in the sand with Big Air, one of the first UK kite schools, Dreya Bennett is a big part of Watergate’s story and has been for over 28 years.
Read moreInvisible, changeable and unconquerable, the wind is a mighty force. Harnessing its power, windsurfer, kitesurfer, wind foiler Dreya Bennett is well-versed in the many faces of the elemental energy.
Read moreWe'd love to keep in touch and send you the latest news, events, competitions and offers from the Bay. Sign up to receive our e-newsletter.