A farmer and his family have paid tribute to his beloved late father by hosting an extraordinary ten-course banquet in the landscape where the family cattle herd he founded continues to thrive.
Josef Bowles and his sister, Elisabeth, welcomed 24 special guests to the first Burderop Banquet, an intimate event celebrating local food, farming and the legacy of their father, the late Dr Adrian Bowles.
Guests were taken by bus into a secluded valley at Burderop, Chiseldon, where they discovered a long table laid with white tablecloths, fine china, flowers and glassware in the middle of a field.
Behind the spectacle was a very personal story.
Adrian established the family's pedigree Dexter herd in 2019. Following his unexpected death in 2023, Josef and Elisabeth have continued what he started, producing Bowles Burderop Beef from cattle which are 100 per cent grass-fed and extensively reared on the estate.
Josef said: “Dad started the herd and this was very much about honouring him and what he began here.
Elisabeth and I are carrying that forward, so having everyone together in the landscape, eating food connected to this land, felt like a very special way to remember him.
“There was a moment as the sun was setting when we all raised a glass of The King's Ginger to Dad – one of his favourite drinks. That was incredibly important to us.
"This wasn't simply about putting on a dinner. There was a much deeper meaning behind it."
The banquet also told the story of a remarkable corner of Wiltshire through ten courses featuring food raised, grown, caught or produced locally.
The menu, ‘Ten Courses Through Burderop’, brought together Bowles Burderop Beef from the family's pedigree Dexter herd; Pete's Micro Bakery sourdough; traditionally churned organic butter from neighbouring, award-winning Berkeley Farm Dairy; Hodson Honey; chalk stream trout; Kennet Crayfish Company; Game Changer Charcuterie; vegetables grown in the farm polytunnel; and Brinkworth Dairy's award-winning Wiltshire Loaf.
Wild-shot woodland venison was grilled over additive-free charcoal made from the same Burderop woodland.
Other courses included Bowles Burderop biltong, pheasant chorizo, venison salami and a smoked Dexter beef-cheek croquette.
An optional English drinks journey showcased producers including Ramsbury, Chapel Down, Sugrue South Downs, Burn Valley Vineyard, White Castle Vineyard, Lyme Bay Winery, Hattingley Valley and Burnt Faith.
Hospitality Services in Royal Wootton Bassett supplied an eclectic mix of modern, vintage and international plates, while Nightingale Florist provided the flowers.
Photographer and grower Kirsten Smith, who manages the polytunnel and grew some of the vegetables, photographed the gathering before joining the team cooking over the fire.
The event took place against a backdrop of more than 700 years of history. Burderop was recorded as part of a manor by the 14th century and the estate has been associated with the Calley and Langton families for more than 400 years.
The landscape even has a place in Britain's literary history, as Victorian nature writer Richard Jefferies spent time with the Burderop gamekeeper, with the working estate helping to inspire his writing, including Round About a Great Estate, published in 1880.
Today it remains very much a working landscape. The land farmed by Josef is owned by the Langton brothers and equine sculptor Charlie Langton works from his studio on the estate.
Neighbouring Berkeley Farm Dairy produces organic milk, cream and traditionally churned butter from its Guernsey herd, while businesses including Bothy Gardens and Overtown Manor continue the area's tradition of farming, food, horticulture and hospitality.
Josef said: “Burderop has been here for centuries, but a place stays alive through the people working in it now.
"Dad became part of that story when he established our Dexter herd, and now Elisabeth and I have the privilege of continuing it. For one evening the field became our dining room.
"People could taste food grown, raised or made close to the land and meet some of the people responsible for it.
"I think Dad would have loved it."
The farm's next outdoor gathering is Burgers in the Field, scheduled for Monday 31 August and described as a more informal, family-friendly event centred on Bowles Burderop Beef's 100 per cent grass-fed pedigree Dexter cattle.
Previous events have been well attended and much enjoyed, offering another way for families to connect with the food and landscape.
For more information visit https://www.bbbeef.co.uk/
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