The Pig’s Head in Clapham team to open second ‘pro-planet’ pub in Kent

The couple behind sustainable Clapham pub the Pig’s Head are opening a second ‘pro-planet pub’ in Kent, with the adjoining field already supplying fruit and vegetables for the business.

Maria and Scott Hunter are in the process of converting and extending a Grade II-listed building in Hawkhurst for a Spring 2024 opening. The Oak and Ivy pub will have 125 covers across the bar and dining room, as well as rooms upstairs, subject to planning approval.

The adjacent field on the 3.5-acre site is currently being transformed into a plot to grow organic vegetables to supply both pubs. The pair also plan to incorporate a zero-waste farm store on the site to sell produce from the land.

The plot is being run with regenerative, no-dig farming methods, with a focus on looking after soil health and the team is in the process of being accredited by the Soil Association with hopes to be certified organic by August 2024.

Work on the half-acre kitchen garden started in March 2022 and 20,000 seeds have been sown, including 100 varieties of fruit and vegetables which will begin to appear on the Pig’s Head in Clapham’s menu from July onwards.

Speaking to The Caterer, Maria said: “We really wanted to explore becoming self-sufficient with produce. While I don’t think it would be realistic to think that we’re going to be 100% self-sufficient, the hope for when we open next year is definitely to supply ourselves with the majority of the vegetables we need for the pub.”

Maria and Scott opened their first pro-planet pub the Pig’s Head in Clapham in October 2021, after previously owning the London pub group Noble Inns, which included the Princess of Shoreditch, the Pig & Butcher Islington and Smokehouse restaurants.

The Hunters’ operation at the Pig’s Head is carbon-neutral certified and they plan to go through the certification process at the Oak and Ivy site in Kent once open.

The venture is being financed by Max Richards, who was previously the couple's business partner for Noble Inns.

Maria said the Oak and Ivy would have a “top of the middle” offer with a “really good seasonal menu”.

“It’s not going to be a Michelin-star pub, it’s going to be a good local pub that serves good honest food grown in the field next door,” she said, adding how the pub will work with local suppliers for additional produce not grown on their own land, such as meat and wine.

Maria and Scott sold their Noble Inn business in 2018 before moving to Copenhagen. Upon their return they started a new venture with the intention of “exploring how [they] could run a sustainable hospitality business”.

“It was a matter of taking all the knowledge that we have from our previous business, and then sort of applying this new sort of green focus to it,” said Maria. “A lot of it is in the sourcing. So it's about where you buy stuff, what stuff you buy, making sure you buy from sustainable suppliers, and your processes on site.

“We know from doing our carbon footprint analysis at the Pig’s Head that the majority of our CO2 emissions come from the produce we buy. So by having a farm right next door to the business, you're eliminating a huge amount of your carbon emissions because it doesn't have to travel to you by diesel van.”

The couple are splitting their time between London and Kent as they work on the new venture, while continuing to run the Pig’s Head.