- 11-bedroom restaurant with rooms located in the village of Holcombe, Somerset which has a strong Sustainability focus
- New sustainability initiative includes installation of a new insect wall and beehives
- Gastronomy is key for owners’ Alan and Caroline; professional chefs focused on providing guests with an exciting food offering that is both locally sourced and sustainable
Somerset, UK 2022-Apr-07 — /Travel PR News/ — The Holcombe, a recently upgraded 17th century grade II listed restaurant with 11 bedrooms in Holcombe Somerset, has launched an initiative focused on making its operations as sustainable as possible.
Sustainability has been key to owner-operators Alan Lucas and Caroline Gardiner, who relaunched The Holcombe last year following an extensive renovation, and while their focus to date has been on sustainable food and interior offerings, they have now taken a deep dive into their operation ensuring The Holcombe is as sustainable as it can be.
The initiative sees the installation of a new insect wall in the garden alongside new beehives with the bees arriving to take residence this month. The Holcombe also has edible hedgerows for the bees and pollinators and a second for the kitchen.
Several other sustainability initiatives are also underway including a significant focus on recycling. All glass is recycled, dirty oil is recycled for fuel and eggshells, coffee, fire ash and teabags all go to the compost. Dead hedges have also been created from all the pruning to create a natural environment for local wildlife.
The Holcombe also ensures it consolidates deliveries to site to limit use of fuel and reduce environmental impact.
Commenting on the sustainability focus, owners Caroline and Alan said: “On purchasing The Holcombe, our vision was for it to be a beautiful country Inn that offers affordable luxury with a genuinely sustainable focus.
“We know how important sustainable travel is to our guests and sustainable operations are equally as important to us and driving our decisions on The Holcombe’s offering.
“Our insect wall is now the proud home to many bugs, having been introduced last month and we are excited for the imminent arrival of our bees to take up residence in our newly installed beehives.
“We are excited to continue introducing sustainable offerings and certainly hope visitors to The Holcombe can have an unforgettable stay with us knowing their stay is as kind to the environment as it can be.”
Both Caroline and Alan, along with their team, are passionate about sustainability and are focused on reducing food waste by using as much as they can of everything they purchase. They source local, free-range produce, and work with suppliers to reduce as much of the plastic packaging as possible, encouraging everything to be packed in paper.
They pickle, brine, and preserve food to be able to utilise at a later date and create seasonal menus with local producers and try to make as much as possible themselves. Further supporting their locally sourced ethos, The Holcombe have also recently partnered with a rapeseed oil company just outside Bath.
The key focus of The Holcombe is the kitchen garden and 42ft polytunnel which occupies most of the gardens. Alan and Caroline are both trained chefs, and their passion has always been to grow more and deliver a fantastic garden to plate experience. They are both passionate about growing food, sourcing food locally from artisan producers and protecting the environment.
The Holcombe’s RHS trained gardeners work tirelessly, alongside Alan, to deliver ingredients that make for a great menu. Alan and Caroline endeavour to use as much from the garden as possible and always aim to use all produce – if it’s not on guests’ plates it will be added into stocks. Homemade infusions for gins and vodkas are also produced using ingredients from the garden.
Located in the heart of Somerset, just 30 minutes from Bath, The Holcombe is set on the highest point of a small parish in the northeast of the Mendip Hills with views across to Downside Abbey.
The 11 bedrooms at The Holcombe all slightly differ in style and size with a set up also in place for families wishing to have two rooms connected by a small entrance hallway. The Holcombe also caters for guests wishing to bring dogs with two lodges set within the garden grounds.
After 30 years spent running successful London based catering & event companies, Alan and Caroline decided to “escape to the country” and bought The Holcombe Inn in November 2019. COVID-19 restrictions forced their closure just a few months later and whilst closed, they took the opportunity to renovate and rebrand as The Holcombe.
For more information about The Holcombe please visit: https://theholcombe.com
ENDS
Nightly rates start from £170.00 based on two sharing.
For further information, please contact: Gloria Maydew/Katie Kershaw on 07972 892 416/07539 437 238 or gloria@kershawandcompany.com/katie@kershawandcompany.com
Notes to Editor:
Images are available here: https://wetransfer.com/downloads/87c8e92d4c964957d0f3f01e6571bccf20220407095823/df31a779e5493c2f46f310724c2b73b820220407095854/9e8b29
About The Holcombe
The Holcombe is an 11-bedroom property set in Holcombe – a small parish in the northeast of the Mendip Hills in Somerset.
It is owned and run by Alan Lucas and Caroline Gardiner, both trained chefs who are passionate about growing food, sourcing local produce & protecting the environment. After 30 years running successful London based catering & event companies, they decided to “escape to the country” and bought The Holcombe Inn in November 2019, a few months before the pandemic hit! Whilst closed they took the opportunity to renovate and rebrand as The Holcombe.
Both Caroline and Alan, along with their team are passionate about the future of our planet and try to reduce food waste by using as much as they can of everything they purchase, they buy free range & locally, and work with suppliers to reduce as much of the plastic packaging as possible and encourage everything to be packed in paper.
The key focus of The Holcombe is the kitchen garden and poly tunnel; their passion has always been to grow more and deliver a fantastic garden to plate experience.