Cottages for Foodie Experiences

If you’re anything like us, sharing foodie experiences is a huge part of the enjoyment of a luxury cottage holiday. Whether you are travelling with family, friends or colleagues, sitting down to eat and drink together, bonding over a cooking class or socialising over a cheese and wine-tasting, are fantastic ways to unwind. Our property experts have put together suggestions for cottages for foodie experiences, whether you are a serious gourmand, prefer to linger over a leisurely lunch or like to get hands on.

Freshly baked sourdough bread on a tray at Northfield Lodge in Yorkshire

Make Sourdough in the Yorkshire Wolds

Want to try your hand at breadmaking? Our featured properties in the Yorkshire Wolds, Blacksmith’s Shop (sleeps 2), Rabbitdale Barn (sleeps 4) and Cowdale Cottage (sleeps 6), offer a fantastic sourdough making class.

The owner, who is a professionally trained cook and passionate about food, will teach you all the skills and tips you need to make your own delicious sourdough loaf – perfect for nibbling on with some local cheese back at your cottage. You will also be provided with a sourdough starter kit so you can work on your new hobby when you’re back home.

What’s more, additional loaves, along with cooked English breakfasts and homemade stone baked pizzas are available to pre-book at an additional fee. Meanwhile, The Northfield Lodge dining room is available to pre-book for family meals and celebrations for up to 14 guests during your stay, with menus created for you by the owner.

Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about availability, cost and pre-booking.

View Cowdale Cottage

Pizza Party in Cornwall

Thinking of a beach break in Cornwall? That can only mean relaxing beside the sea and simply going with the flow. And, what better way to chill out than with a pizza party in your very own beach house?

We feature a collection of beach houses, that are part of a resort tucked away on a stunning and tranquil part of the Cornish coast, perfect for laid-back coastal living. Whether you book a Salt Water Two Bedroom Beach House, Sunset Three Bedroom Beach House or Seashell Four Bedroom Beach House, each has a private deck, hot tub and sauna, and is just a 5-minute walk from Gwithian Towans beach.

Pre-book the Pizza Party extra (or request it on arrival – 24 hours’ notice required) and around 5pm on the day of your choice, an Ooni pizza oven and a pizza hamper with everything you need to whip up tasty pizzas in minutes will arrive at your door. The hamper includes 12 pizza doughs and a choice of fresh ingredients such as rocket, mushrooms, Dorset nduja, homemade chilli oil and vegan cheese.

In addition, the resort also has a seasonal (Easter to September) street food truck where you can grab a bite to eat, plus a private chef service where a chef will come to your beach house to cook everything from a barbecued feast to a five-course tasting menu.

Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about cost and pre-booking this experience.

View the Two Bedroom Beach House

Wine and cheese platter laid out on a table outside at Kerry Vale Vineyard

Vineyard Tour with Cheese and Wine in Shropshire

If you’re a foodie, then we think that there might be a good chance that you appreciate fine wines too. If so, the award-winning Kerry Vale Vineyard in the heart of the Shropshire countryside offers a range of vineyard tours and wine tasting experiences to choose from.

We like the vineyard tour with cheese and wine. It begins with the tour, during which you will be escorted into the vineyard where your expert guide will tell you all about the grape growing and harvesting process for English wine.

You will then get to try some of these wines for yourself, with explanations of each one from your guide. You will also enjoy a platter of local cheeses, pickles, chutneys and bread, plus a glass of wine to enjoy in the beautiful vineyard surroundings.

Where to stay? Upper Tumble Cottage, Middle Tumble Cottage and Lower Tumble Cottage in Powys are just a 10 to 15-minute drive away. Located on a working farm, these properties allow you to collect fresh eggs from the free-range hens for your breakfast too. Plus, if you happen to be staying in September you can catch the nearby Newtown Food Festival – mid-Wales’ biggest free food festival.

View Middle Tumble Cottage

Cookery Classes in the Cotswolds

The Cotswolds is a patchwork landscape of beautiful countryside and farmland, where delicious produce is grown and farmed. That’s why it follows that there are some very good cookery schools in the region.

Take Thyme, it offers two types of cooking class: 2-hour master skill classes such as patisserie and 4-hour cook and dine classes such as the Italian course. Classes usually begin with a tour of the kitchen garden before delving in to the practical.

Thyme is about 15 minutes from Milk Barn, Haymaker Barn and Orchard Stable, plus about half an hour’s drive from Anthology Cottages, Ember Cottage, Crooked Cottage and Luxury Penthouse.

Then, there’s the Cookery School at Daylesford Organic where cookery classes are inspired by the seasonal produce growing on the organic farm. You will learn a host of tips and artisan techniques on courses such as the plant-based kitchen, the art of an afternoon tea and the seasonal dinner party.

Daylesford Organic is about a 5-minute drive from Upper Cottage, 10 to 15 minutes from Crooked Cottage, Luxury Penthouse, our Anthology Cottages, Church View Cottage and Acorn Barn.

View Cotswolds Cottages

Set of gin spices in small bottles for gin making

Gin-making in Devon

Whilst not strictly a foodie experience, gin-making is the perfect experience for gin-lovers and connoisseurs. Informative and fun, this experience at Roupel Hall in Devon is in partnership with Devon Distillery. Over a two-hour session, participants will learn all about gin-making and can select from a range of spices and botanicals to create their own personalised blend.

The experience can be pre-arranged at Roupel Hall (sleeps 12), Roupel East Wing (sleeps 6) and Roupel Estate (sleeps 18).

Please contact our Guest Services team to enquire about availability, cost and pre-booking this experience.

View Roupel Hall

Top View Of Michelin Star Restaurant Dish

Michelin Star Dining

If you love the experience of savouring the very best in fine dining, we’ve selected a number of cottages in some of the finest destinations in the UK that are near to a Michelin Star Restaurant.

So, if you’re a self-confessed foodie who likes to live in the lap of luxury and appreciates the art of Michelin Star dishes and stylish places to dine, read our Luxury UK Michelin Star Restaurant Guide before you book your next cottage holiday.

From menus that utilise the freshest seasonal produce and use local suppliers, to those that combine traditional techniques with unusual ingredients, there is plenty to whet the appetite.

Do be sure to check opening times directly with the restaurant and book your table well in advance to avoid disappointment, as these places are very popular amongst discerning diners.

View the Michelin Star Restaurant Guide