A Week on the Estate: Forage Crops, Purer Alcohol & Café Creations

Angelica – Tristan Jørgensen’s 120L hybrid still – had an early Christmas present. She now sports two columns and a total of 18 plates, allowing a higher ABV during rectification. Originally built by DES Subotica of Serbia, she was named after Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807), a pioneering female artist whose work adorns South Ormsby Hall. Tristan and Angelica have produced award-winning gins whose taste and quality are creating a buzz among gin aficionados.

Are you starting to get organised for Christmas? If our delicious Massingberd-Mundy produce is on your shopping list, here are some ‘last order’ dates that might help:

• Lincoln Red beef – order before 12-noon on 9th December for national delivery – order before 12-noon on 20th December for local delivery OR click & collect.
• Free-range turkey & chicken – order before 12-noon on 11th December for local delivery OR click & collect.
• Artisan gin – order before 12-noon on 21st December for national delivery OR click & collect.

NB – Local delivery will be available in the following postcode areas: LN3, LN8, LN9, LN10, LN11, LN12, LN13, PE23, PE24, PE25 & DN36.

Finally, as we prepare to meet the commercial demands of the festive season – and the day-to-day challenges of managing a rural estate through the coldest, darkest months – we’ll be talking to some of the Estate’s key players. Last time, we chatted to Poultry Manager Charlie Winship about the joys and challenges of managing a flock of curious, pasture-raised, heritage-breed turkeys. If you missed that feature, you can find it HERE. This week, we catch up with Coffee Shop Manager and Kickstarter, Toby Ridsdale.

“Working at the Estate is going well,” said Toby. “I’ve been given a lot of things to do. I started in March as Community Vegetable Gardener. We achieved the goal of getting a lot of people involved and creating well-tended gardens. Colin also taught me loads and shared plenty of tricks of the trade. He’s been a gardener his whole life and knows the Latin names. The only downside was losing a crop of spuds to potato blight. Luckily, we grew pumpkins as a back-up and they did very well.

“I started at The Old School Tea & Coffee Shop in September. The passing trade falls off a bit with winter weather but there are plenty of events to keep me busy. Word has also spread about the beef rolls and people come just to try them. I’m on hand for things like estate tours and visits from the Porsche Club or Wragby Young Farmers. I usually work independently but Paula and I work together on Sundays when we’re often busy with events.

“I took to the café like a fish to water. I knew how to cook and how to make soups and flapjacks. I like to get creative and experiment with seasoning. I take my time and the flavours are different every time. You never know exactly how many customers to cook for, but there are predictable seasonal variations, and event planning and the pre-booking system help.

“Working for South Ormsby Estate has been a positive move with a huge range of experience. I didn’t imagine I’d ever work as a gardener or cook. I was the first Kickstarter and I’ve picked up a lot of different skills, from hands-on spadework to research.

“In the run-up to Christmas, I’m going to experiment with seasonal soups. If you’re coming to the café anytime soon, bear in mind that I’ve got a big crop of pumpkins to get through! My pumpkin-and-honey soup is a delicious option.

“I’m looking forward to the Christmas break. My dad’s coming home from Saudi Arabia so we’ll have a nice, quiet, family catch-up. That’ll suit me.”

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