Adam Thomas meets me at the end of a farm track outside a derelict barn on Todenham Manor Farm. There’s work going on inside; the roof is being secured, tables built, sides dismantled, seating constructed, an open plan kitchen installed, outdoor seating assembled, toilets erected. It’s a hub of activity.
Welcome to the new look Pit Kitchen which has relocated from the Cornwell Estate near Chipping Norton to Todenham Manor Farm‘s former piggery 10 minutes down the road.
a wild flower meadow is being grown, with beautiful countryside vistas stretching across the Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire borders
The new site means that not only will the beloved Pit Kitchen now be weather and windproof, but double the numbers of diners can soon enjoy the middle-eastern street food devised by brothers Adam and James Thomas back in 2021. READ ABOUT IT HERE
For those reluctant to give up the views, a wild flower meadow is already being grown, with beautiful countryside vistas to enjoy stretching across the Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire borders past Moreton-In-Marsh. “The views are amazing aren’t they,” Adam agrees. “I think they’re even better here and that was really important to us, because it’s a big draw.”
tickets for the opening party on May 4/5 are selling out fast
His brother James has since moved down to the south coast, so Adam will be running the gourmet enterprise single handed, and can’t wait to open the doors to the new site on May 8.
So why move? “The last site was too exposed, so while it was glorious in the summer when the sun was shining, with people queueing out the door, when it rained or was cold it just wasn’t busy enough which was soul destroying. And it didn’t have power or proper toilets and had limited space.
“But the new site changes all of that and we can have fun with the space here, so we’ve got booths in each of the pig enclosures that can sit between 10-15 people, which means that large groups can now book, and we’re building a permanent kitchen here with more equipment to cope with the extra demand.
‘Pit Kitchen will still be very rustic and built using recycled materials, we don’t want to change that, but it will be a much more comfortable experience now’
“Because when we got really busy on our former site, it was hard to keep up with the numbers, but here it will be much easier. The new site just enables us to iron out all the problems and offer the same product in a better environment,” Adam says.
“So Pit Kitchen will still be very rustic and built using recycled materials, we don’t want to change that, but it will be a much more comfortable experience now.”
As for the food, the wonderful, inventive modern Middle Eastern dishes will continue to inspire, the meat hailing from the farm 100 yards away: “We’ve based our menus on the area where we lived in East London in Dalston which has such a vibrant community,” Adam explains.
‘If this goes well, it’s very scalable so could work on multiple sites, that’s the plan anyway’
“But it’s also inspired by the Hidden Hut in Cornwall which serves such great food on the beach, so it’s a mix of the two using British seasonal ingredients.”
Which means that Adam is now hard at work getting everything ready in time for the opening party on May 4/5 which is selling out fast. (Expect canapés and four courses for £50 a head. BOOK HERE) and the general public opening on May 8.
So how is Adam feeling? “Really excited. We can seat 100 undercover now so have extended our opening hours to include lunches on Saturdays and Sundays, which people had always requested.”
And come October 3 when Pit Kitchen closes for the winter, it will still run as a takeaway and event caterer.
‘I know some people from Chippy will be disappointed they can’t just walk over the fields to us but we hope they will still come and check us out’
“We know people really love to concept of Pit Kitchen and what we do, but this is just the next step in growing the business. If this goes well, it’s very scalable so could work on multiple sites, that’s the plan anyway.
“It also means we can employ people all year round, instead of relying on seasonal staff, which will make a big difference.
“So I know some people from Chippy will be disappointed they can’t just walk over the fields to us but we hope they will still come and check us out because this is such a nice space and we will have festoon lighting everywhere, great music and make it as welcoming as possible. It’s going to look amazing,” Adam says, before turning and getting back to work.
Pit Kitchen will be open on May 8 near Tottenham Manor Farm, Wednesday – Friday 5pm-10pm, Sat 12noon-10pm and Sunday 12noon-6pm. More info here https://www.pitkitchen.co.uk/pit-nights
Watch this space for the next instalment!
