Page 51 - WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE DISCOVERING ENGLAND

As we cautiously proceeded, the path
My first impression of the café was that
made me think of the yellow brick road a bunch of clever kids decided to play
with mad cows instead of wicked witch- restaurant in their backyard. They set-
es. I knew there would be no great Oz at up used tables and chairs on the bare
the end of this road, but hopefully a cu- dirt, made shade canopies from bam-
linary wizard would be there to perform boo mats and metal poles, decorated
some magic in the kitchen for us. with ferns and bougainvillea, and hung
out the open sign. Rustic – indeed, but
A half-mile later, we exited another somehow it worked and in fact was very
gate and finally spied our destina- cool. But could they cook?
tion. It certainly looked like a garden
center - an upscale Martha Stewart We were warmly greeted and seated
rustic one at that, given the expen- at a table next to a large potted palm.
sive luxury cars huddled together in The shabby chic chairs were actually
the dusty parking area at the entrance. quite comfortable, but it was still a bit
We wandered through the nursery and of novelty to look down at a dirt floor.
the Petersham Teahouse, which serves We turned our attention to the short
a seasonally and Italian-inspired sweet lunch menu created by head chef Cat
lunch menu of cakes and other baked Ashton and supervised by culinary di-
goods, before we spied our destination. rector Lucy Boyd who is the head gar-
dener and former chef. Boyd has a new
Winter 2014 winedineandtravel.com 51