Field to fork: the High Legh farm kitchen winning Cheshire's top honour

There are few restaurants where you can look out of the window and see tomorrow's lunch growing. At Groobarbs Field Kitchen in High Legh, that is precisely the point, and it is an approach that has earned the farm restaurant one of the county's most coveted titles.

Groobarbs was named Cheshire and North Wales Restaurant of the Year at the 2025 Cheshire Life Food and Drink Awards, finishing ahead of fellow finalists L'Ulivo in Alsager and Linden Stores in Knutsford. It was a significant moment for a restaurant that only opened in the summer of 2022.

The story begins with the soil. Farmer David Fryer and his wife Rebecca, known as Becky, are the team behind Groobarbs veg deliveries, and they created the Field Kitchen in a beautifully converted barn at Groobarbs Wild Farm. Rather than serve produce from elsewhere, they wanted diners to taste vegetables picked just yards from the table.

The kitchen gardens cover around six and a half acres and are visible from the dining room. Groobarbs grows more than 50 different crops through the year using sustainable methods, and whatever is ready on the day is handed over to head chef Jake Boyce to turn into the menu. It makes for cooking that changes constantly, shaped by weather and season rather than a fixed list of dishes.

That connection to the land runs through the calendar too. The farm marks dates such as the summer solstice and holds a traditional wassail, the age-old ritual of blessing the coming year's crop, as a nod to the rural customs that once punctuated the farming year.

Reviewers have been quick to praise the experience, with one describing it as a rustic restaurant in the middle of a Cheshire field that is well worth the scenic drive. It is a fair summary: unhurried, rooted in place and refreshingly honest about where its food comes from.

For anyone curious about what truly seasonal eating looks like, a lunch at Groobarbs is about as direct a lesson as Cheshire can offer. Booking is recommended, and the menu is best approached with an open mind, since the fields have the final say.

Groobarbs Field Kitchen is at Groobarbs Wild Farm, High Legh, near Knutsford.