Camille Calyssa

Things To Do

Jason Allen 14/04/23


At Home Farm

At Home Farm | Long Table Banquets & Woodland Gigs in North London

Old McDonald’s farm had a lot going on.

If reports are to believed, there was everywhere a quack quack.

And yet however bountiful his menagerie, it pales in comparison to Home Farm, an oasis just at the end of the tube map which – aside from being a proper farm growing grains & cereal crops across its 150 acres of beautiful pastoral landscape – is once more staging a magical series of events and residencies this summer, including woodland gigs, a nostalgic summer circus, and outdoor banquets with some of the city’s top chefs. And after two sell-out years, this time they’ve really brought in the cream of the crop.

at home farm

Camille Calyssa

Kicking off the festivities in June, Ben Quinn’s Woodfired Canteen will be returning for a third year, filling a meadow with one long, communal table, and collaborating with an exciting line-up of chefs who’ll each be putting together a unique menu cooked over a wood-fired stove. This year that line-up kicks off with Sabrina Gidda (you might recognise her from a little show called Celebrity Masterchef), who’ll be infusing her dishes with the flavours of her Punjabi heritage. She’ll be followed the next day by Sarah Turner, head of development at Social Pantry, who’ll be drawing on her time spent at Silo to create a sustainably minded menu of foraged treats; capped off by a feast with Berber & Q co-founder Josh Katz.

Finally, rounding off the season in September will be a special banquet set beneath a giant tipi canopy, with the head of Ottolenghi’s test kitchen, Noor Murad, cooking up a storm of Eastern and Western flavours.

at home farm

Edu Hawkins

But of course, that’s not all. Because tucked away in the woods is a secluded stage, with hay bales scattered around the glade and branches festooned with twinkling lights. And it’s here that the entertainment wing of At Home Farm takes place, which this year includes:

Live gigs from the likes of Laufey, with her jazz inspired by young love; country singer-songwriter duo The Shires; and Ronnie Scott’s Blues Explosion, featuring some of the legendary jazz club’s finest musicians;

A vintage big top, which the magical Gifford’s Circus will be filling with acrobats, jugglers, dancers and clowns in a rambunctious new show inspired by French romanticism; and

Intimate comedy sets with a hand-picked line-up for the first ever edition of the Home Farm Comedy Club.

This gorgeous rural oasis is somehow only a ten minute ride away from the end of the Jubilee and Northern lines, so it’s easy enough to pitch up for the evening and get home to your own bed. But you can also literally pitch up by booking one of their inviting bell tents, which come equipped with comfy double beds, a barbecue, and your very own fire-pit. In fact, the only thing it doesn’t have…

…is ducks.

 

NOTE: At Home Farm’s 2023 events run between June and September. You can find out more, and book tickets at the website right HERE.

At Home Farm | Home Farm, Aldenham Road, Elstree, Hertfordshire, WD6 3AZ


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