By Shirley Booth While driving along the A303 from West Dorset, many people, like myself, will have been intrigued by the huge signs alongside the road: Teals Farm Shop… Only three fields to Teals…
Usually I am reluctant to break my journey, but last week I stopped to find out more. I am so glad I did. What I found was uplifting.
Meeting owners Nick and Ash Sinfield, I discovered that the inspiration for this business came on quite a different journey, undertaken many years ago.
Nick and Ash lived in Africa when they were young – and later, in their 20s, took a long cycling trip across the country they both love.
While pedalling through tiny towns and villages, they encountered numerous small business enterprises – roadside stalls set up by local farmers to sell their produce: few mangos here, a few yams there.
As well as providing a living for the people there, Nick and Ash were struck by the strong sense of community, and connection to the area, that such enterprises created.
Much later, settled in England, and after a variety of different business ventures, in 2020 they set out to create a sense of community of their own.
Choosing a site next to a busy main road didn’t seem an obvious choice. However, a welcoming sign declaring: “Smile, you’re on a Ley Line” is the first clue that this is no ordinary ‘service station’.
In fact, the site, as well as being on a ley line, lies in the shadow of the ancient earthwork, Cadbury Castle, linked in legend to King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
What you’ll find inside Teals Farm Shop
Teals (named after Nick and Ash’s daughter) is a farm shop, a deli, a café and a place to stop and relax on your journey. You can also charge up your electric car if you need to – and, while you are waiting, recharge yourself by walking the dog (or the kids), or even have a picnic in the surrounding orchards and fields.
Inside the converted barn is a large welcoming space, boasting both a café and restaurant, and a wonderful food shop, where you can buy freshly prepared items from the deli, as well as plenty of other delicious foods, many made locally.
You can pick up quality products to take home, such as breads from Chapel Bakery in Bruton, local honeys (Black Bee and G&J), chilli products from South Devon Chilli Farm, Fenton Farm mayonnaise, Old School House jams and pickles, fermented foods from Cult Jar and Baboo Gelato (from our very own corner of West Dorset), to name just a few.
As well as food, there is also a carefully selected range of books and gifts to choose from and, in line with their designation as a BCorp business – championing sustainability and environmental awareness – you can even refill your own containers with eco-friendly products by EcoLeaf and Faith in Nature.
Nature is at the core of what they do at Teals. The salads that are offered in the restaurant and deli and sold in the fresh produce section of the shop, are grown and prepared by a local woman, Tia.
They currently have around 98 local suppliers, and Nick told me that some of them are so local and so small that it would be difficult for them to sell to bigger and more commercial outlets. Others are well-established West Country businesses, such as Montgomery Cheeses and Longmans Dairy.
Nick wants to show all that is good about Somerset and the West Country, and to help generate interest in, and income for, the area.
“People see stopping at Teals as part of their journey,” said Nick. Surprisingly though, only a third of their business comes from people passing through. Most of their customers are locals and destination seekers – they come here for the quality of the food and personal service.
Sam Brickell, Teals’ on-site butcher, will prepare a cut of meat just as you like it.
It can even be a day out, and some families come every week for lunch together in the restaurant. In both cases, when you shop and eat here regularly, you get to know the friendly staff who serve you, the name of the farmer who grew your food, and where it came from – and that is what creates a sense of community and belonging.
Nick is also passionate about promoting the benefits of regenerative farming for a strong and healthy world. He believes it is the only sensible way forward. “There is a growing aspiration to do things differently, and we want to be part of that.”
All Teals’ small local producers have the same goal. Beef sold here comes from Red Ruby Devon cattle, raised on Bagnell Farm in Somerset, chicken comes from Jeff Cracknell, second generation poultry farmer on Cracknell’s Farm near Langport, started by Jeff’s parents, Tony and Eileen, more than 70 years ago.
Sustainability at the heart of Teals Farm Shop
Long before it became a buzz word, this post-war generation were champions of ‘sustainability’, re-using, mending and re-cycling, and now Jeff is doing exactly the same (albeit with more paperwork unfortunately!)
A much newer business, Edington Pigs, is run by young couple Cameron and Liz, assisted by their five-year old daughter (and fledgling farmer), Hazel.
They started raising Black Pigs on their farm in Wiltshire only eight years ago, and now supply free-range, ethically produced pork products to Teals, as well as to local butchers and restaurants.
All their pigs are registered pedigrees (which contributes to the conservation of the breed), and run free on their six-acre smallholding. They are fed on soya-free, locally grown and milled, organic grain.
Teals’ closest supplier is Hurdlebrook, who produce delicious organic dairy products on Olive Farm in Babcary, only a couple of miles away. Using regenerative methods, Dave Paul’s grass-fed herd is moved around different areas of pasture in order to feed on a range of different forage, and waste is used to nurture the soil – all classic regenerative practices advocated by the American maverick farmer and author, Joel Salatin (currently advisor to the US government).
It is truly uplifting to find such dedicated farmers – young and old – here in the West Country. If only all our farmers would do the same.
For his part, Nick will soon be doing what he can with what he has: Teals sits on 14 acres of land, and he is aiming to use it more productively to support regenerative farming.
He is leading the way elsewhere too, opening another site next year in Stamford, Lincolnshire. But we need a bigger plan for the country as a whole.
Meanwhile we must do our bit by supporting these hard-working and inspiring small producers. I heartily recommend you take the time to turn off the A303 the next time you are passing, and stop at Teals.