Ruth Leigh and Oliver Brown to open Updown restaurant with rooms next month
A new restaurant with rooms called Updown is set to open in a former farm near Deal, Kent, in July.
Over the past few years, Ruth Leigh and Oliver Brown have been restoring the former farmhouse and grounds to house seven rooms, including two cottages, during which time they hosted a series of supper clubs with chefs such as Anna Tobias, Will Bowlby, Rowley Leigh and Alex Jackson.
Set within seven and a half acres and 15 minutes from the coastal town of Deal, the 17th-century, Grade II-listed farmhouse has been transformed to offer four rooms in the main house and three in the farm's outbuildings, including its stables.
Updown's ‘hidden garden' forms a quad between house, barn and pergola, housing the outdoor dining area and open fires. As well as the main dining terrace, there will be an outdoor kitchen with a baker's oven built into the stable wall.
Brown will oversee the food at Updown, having previously founded Duck Duck Goose in London's Brixton, as executive sous chef at the Continental Hong Kong, and head chef at Le Café Anglais in London's Bayswater.
Leigh will lead on front of house, having previously worked as general manager of Harcourt Inns' the Crown in London's Chiswick. The couple have created a simple, Italian-leaning, seasonal menu using local ingredients. The concise and seasonal drinks menu will feature cocktails made with produce from the garden and local wines as well as those from France and Italy.
The menu will use produce from nearby the Goods Shed, butcher the Black Pig and fishmonger Jenkins and Son. Menus will change with the seasons and suppliers, with dishes such as raw sea bass with almonds and cherries, and grilled lamb chump with broad beans, artichokes and bagna cauda.
Brown said: "Updown Farm is a dream come true for Ruth and I. After the last few years working on the house, and hosting some of our favourite chefs and good friends at the farm, we can't wait to have people here to stay, and get completely immersed in life here. Updown is a celebration of what the area has to offer – from some of the most beautiful fruit and veg from our neighbouring farms to wines from local vineyards. We have big plans for the Updown and hope to restore more of it in months to come – watch this space!"
