As the festive season gathered pace, we stepped away from the December rush and into the world of Hunter Gather Cook’s Medieval Christmas Feast, held within the beautifully pared-back Shepherds Barn on the Firle Estate in Sussex.
Driving down the drive of the Firle estate to a dark gravel car park, we were unsure if we were at the right place. But greeted by one of the local sheep farmers and his tractor towing a large people carrier we knew we were on track. Escorted for around five minutes to a beautiful 1820s old threshing barn, the light was just about bursting through the gaps in the roof as we waited to be let in.
While HGC began in their crowdfunded Treehouse on a 40-acre farm near Lewes, the move to Shepherds Barn allowed the team to expand while staying rooted in their philosophy of working with nature.
Founder Nick Weston built the original Treehouse from birch, oak, and sandstone, living off the land and foraging for six months - an experience chronicled in his book The Treehouse Diaries. This hands-on, resourceful approach remains at the heart of every HGC course: seasonal, fire-cooked food, prepared with skill and respect for the ingredients and the environment.
Upon arrival we were welcomed in with mulled cider and mince pies seated on long communal tables. Nick, wife Clare and his wonderful team of hunters, foragers, and fire masters brought the feast to life, the centrepieces being a whole deboned and stuffed Fallow deer from the Firle estate and a stuffed pigs head alongside delicately smoked Pheasant. All served on Falcon Enamelware, demonstrating its truly timeless and versatile nature.
No conventional ovens were used - everything was cooked over open flame, from game to veggies, in true medieval fashion.
Nick shared that when he first started HGC, he spent a significant chunk of his own money on enamelware, so it felt pretty full circle to now be working alongside Falcon in support of their events.
The evening concluded with a raffle in aid of Action Against Hunger, and a delicious homemade Christmas pudding, before guests returned to the modern world by tractor - a fitting end to a truly immersive experience.
