Phew! What an exhausting week it has been! I can barely keep up with everything that is going on right now!

Well, to begin with, Mr.P and I arrived shell-shocked in the middle of the countryside, proud new owners of our own establishment but a bit dazed by the prospect of how much work there is to do.

There we stood with the keys in our hands and stars in our eyes, and a whole load of boxes to unpack! It wasn’t long, though, before an army of workmen trooped in and brought us back down to earth and onto the job in hand.

Almost immediately, carpets were ripped up, woodwork was being sanded, walls were being painted, and the hectic creation of the British Larder, Suffolk is in full swing – if slightly hard to visualise in the midst of a building site!

It really rang home when I woke up this morning to look out of my window to see bunnies chomping on the grass and butterflies dancing in the country air. We had taken a walk across the field behind the pub the night before, only to discover a delightful lake inhabited by playful otters. This was truly it – rural reality.

The most exciting news came when we took a stroll around the grounds only to stumble across a small meadow right next door, and there over the fence was a little herd of rare Hebridean sheep grazing contentedly in the sunshine. We happened to get chatting to the owner of our new found friends, and to our delight, it transpired that it was the Wildlife Trust sitting practically on our doorstep.

With a hop and a skip of an explanation about the British Larder, Suffolk, we made an agreement to be able to select out sheep from the herd and (vegetarians close your eyes now!) send them to a local abattoir, so that we can use the fresh meat to make wonderful dishes! Now you can’t get more local than that!

The bucolic idyll didn’t last long though, as important things that needed our attention flooded in like a great tsunami wave of exclamation marks. Between finalising menus, ordering stock, overseeing the ‘building site’, organising the installation of the kitchen and unpacking boxes, I’ve even had to cook lunch for all the hungry workmen!

It’s so exciting I can hardly express it, but with so much to do before the British Larder, Suffolk is ready to open its doors and offer a fantastic wealth of food and drink to locals and beyond, there’s not even a single second to take a breather.

I have to admit, there have been times where I have been filled with fear, but it’s a journey of discovery and new experiences, and while it might be stepping into the unknown, it is my passion for food and everything I have created in the British Larder that is keeping the momentum going!

While I might be hammering nails and cleaning paintbrushes at the moment, it certainly won’t be long before I’m over the fence picking out one of our Hebridean sheep friends to feature on the British Larder Suffolk menu, gathering dandelion leaves from the meadow, and baking fresh bread in the kitchen…