Win a day course with Kate Humble on her farm worth over £130!
Do you want to learn how to forage for wild foods, cure your own hams, make sausages, or keep chickens, all under the expert eye of Kate Humble? Then watch our exclusive interview and enter our brilliant competition.
TV presenter Kate Humble would be the first to describe herself as a country girl at heart, and so was delighted when in 2007 she and husband Ludo Graham moved to Monmouthshire, South Wales from London. It was only meant to be for a year, but they ended up falling in love with the area and decided to stay, buying an old farmhouse with a bit of land. Here they put a few chickens, some geese, and then (after a rather boozy dinner party) two pigs. They had unwittingly become small holders.
Watch our exclusive video
Humble by Nature
And so, whilst still juggling their respective media careers (Ludo is a TV producer), they’ve raised the steaks - quite literally - with their latest project. Humble by Nature gives people the chance to experience food production and farming techniques on a real working farm. The farm was owned by the local authority, and tenanted to young farming families who had no farm of their own. Then in 2010 when the last tenant retired, the council decided to sell the farm and break it up into lots for developers.
Kate and Ludo felt it was too important an asset to the area, farming, and the community to allow it to be sold in that way. So they persuaded the council to allow them to take it on, keep it tenanted, and run a business that in turn would support other rural businesses in the area. The farm is now home to Tim and Sarah Stephens, who breed Welsh Mountain sheep and Hereford cattle.
What you can do
Kate’s teamed up with local experts specialising in different areas, such as game charcuterie, curing hams, foraging for wild foods, as well as keeping chickens, pigs, and bees. “There’s something wonderful about keeping animals - it connects you to the natural world,” Kate tells me. “And to be able to take somebody a bag of sausages you’ve made, or a dozen eggs from chickens you’ve cared for... well, there’s something really satisfying about that.” There’s also more in-depth country skills like tree planting and hedge laying available.
Small holding course
I attended the small holding course run by pig expert Liz Shankland. On this we looked in detail at everything from keeping a few chickens, right up to pigs and sheep. The course is aimed at those who have a bit of outside space and are looking to produce their own food. “You don’t need huge amounts of land to do this,” Kate says. Indeed most suburban gardens could easily accommodate a few chickens.
Lunchtime!
All this learning, talking and fresh air works up a hearty appetite, and so at 1 we broke for lunch, which was cooked by Katherine Marland of Kather's Kitchen. The menu was local sausages, a smoked cauliflower frittata (the recipe uses 12 eggs, and one of the benefits of keeping your own chickens is a regular supply of lovely fresh eggs) and a rhubarb crumble cake. We've got the recipe for another of Katherine's puddings on our site - a honey cake with honey buttercream.
What’s great about Humble by Nature is that it’s not a Farrow and Ball’d sanitised version of a farm in the Cotswolds, but a real working farm. The knowledge, passion and experience I learnt that day will stay with me forever. Even if you have no outside space and live in a big city like I do, there’s still much to learn here. And one thing’s for sure, shearing sheep is a lot harder than it looks.
Enter our competition
Kate’s very kindly offered one lucky lovefood winner a day on a course of their choosing. All you need to do is leave a nice comment in the comments box below.
Dear lovefood and Kate Humble, I’d love to visit the farm because …..
And Kate will personally pick the winner.
Closing date
The closing date is Thursday 23rd August 2012. Usual lovefood T&Cs apply and the editor's decision is final.
The small print
Transport and/or accommodation are not included. The farm is just outside the town of Monmouth. If you’re coming from further afield and want to make a weekend of it, there are plenty of accommodation choices in the local area, from Michelin starred restaurants with rooms to pubs and B&Bs. See Humble by Nature’s accommodation page for more details.
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