The Ethicurean Somerset

Multiple courses, music and storytelling combine in the ceremonial feasts at The Ethicurean, an idyllic Victorian walled garden in Somerset. It's a suitably bucolic setting when you're celebrating the rich folklore of the British Isles with seasonal events such as mid‑winter wassail, St George's Day, the summer solstice and Apple Day.

Feasts centre around the bounty of the garden, plus produce from the surrounding countryside, fashioned into dishes such as sourdough with house ferment and whipped ewe's curd, and ember‑baked crown prince squash with toasted pumpkin seeds and salt‑pickled damson tapenade.

Fruity harvests from trees and bushes are crafted into desserts such as apple, blackcurrant and spruce‑needle pudding and post‑dinner delights like sweetcorn fudge, and blackberry and meadowsweet pastilles.

‘There's a palpable excitement about gorging on produce at peak deliciousness,’ says founder and director Matthew Pennington. ‘Our feasts allow for valuable time to catch up socially, and storytelling, laughter and setting the world to rights is the encouraged etiquette.’

Guests all arrive at the same time for drinks before storyteller Martin Maudsley and musician Fiona Barrow introduce the evening's theme with songs and tales. The feast that follows includes interludes of storytelling to tie in with the dishes being served. Audience participation is encouraged: two of the guests may be invited to play a part in the festivities by hiding something unique in a pair of puddings, thus randomly bestowing honours on fellow diners.

The remainder of the evening is spent in the torchlit orchard or garden with a secret ceremony which only guests can witness, or fireside where they can fall into conversation and while away the night.

Matthew sums up: ‘At The Ethicurean, we feast in a bountiful garden, cultivating close friendships centred around food and pleasure‑seeking, finding life's purest joys in the unique richness of human encounters ‑ exactly as Epicurus wisely philosophised.’