‘Food with Meaning’: Boconnoc X Fego

I am continually amazed and inspired by small businesses that work tirelessly to grow their business and provide exceptional customer service, with a mission to deliver this service in a genuinely positive and sustainable way. Boconnoc, a magical family-owned country estate in Cornwall, has partnered with FEGO Food Co., an innovative catering company that, although contemporary and high-end in style, has its feet firmly planted on the ground.

They are just as passionate about the provenance of their ingredients as they are about how beautifully plated they are. They care about seasonality, air miles, animal welfare, local produce, growers, soil health and farmers. They are a true inspiration, and I wish more catering companies would take a leaf out of their book.

This feature includes exceptional dishes, vibrant food styling and a mouth-watering menu… you have been warned!

Here at Boconnoc, we choose our partners and suppliers very carefully. We strive to work with businesses that align with our principles and ethos of ‘treading lightly on the earth’ while providing the highest quality service and experience.

Based in Falmouth, Cornwall, FEGO Food Co. is a thriving wedding catering business with storytelling at its heart. FEGO are passionate about food provenance, sourcing local and creating delicious food with meaning.

They understand that whilst food must be delicious, there is far more to it than taste. They believe people should be impressed before a single morsel enters their mouth. It should be vibrant and exciting: people should feel excited for what is to come and still be able to conjure the image long after the meal. But it is not just what is on the important plate; it’s how it got there. They work closely with their suppliers and small local companies supporting local West Country producers.

“Our dishes are much more than just the sum of their parts. We don’t just offer a choice of meats and vegetables but a choice of style. Together, we can create menus which have a meaning that can tell tales of enchanted woodlands, alpine mountains or rolling seas.” – Fego Food Co.

At Boconnoc, we constantly look at how to improve and how our business impacts the environment. Reducing single-use products and carbon emissions has been on our agenda for several years now, and our focus has now turned to soil health and the biodiversity of vegetation and wildlife, seeking out producers using regenerative and organic methods that help sequester carbon in the soil and move away from mass mono-crops.

But it’s difficult; getting large quantities of the right stuff at the right time from many small producers is not an easy feat… yet we always try our best. When sourcing our ingredients, we try to make sure they fulfil as many of the following criteria as possible:

• Regeneratively farmed
• Organic
• Local
• Seasonal
• Not flown
• Fairtrade
• Free range
• Line-caught

Local and seasonal produce has always been at the heart of our food sourcing plan, but we’re on a bit of a learning journey about best farming practices and soil health. Sourcing fresh produce from small-scale farms in large quantities at the right time is not straightforward. Still, we have found inspiring companies, such as Wildfarmed, that produce massive amounts of flour through sustainable and regenerative methods.

Home-grown produce

At a recent wedding planning event here at Boconnoc, FEGO showcased a selection of their stunning food, including a recipe using venison from the Boconnoc estate and produce from the kitchen garden. Our guests revered their delicious and beautifully presented canapés as some of the best they had tasted.

Why choose Boconnoc venison for your wedding feast?

Fallow deer have roamed the Boconnoc deer park since the 17th century and are an essential part of the history of the estate. Today, the 140-strong herd are managed by our Deer Ranger and Environmental Consultant, Ian Berry.

Using our venison for events and weddings means zero food miles and supports ethical deer management. Ian explains why eating UK-produced, humanely managed venison is essential; “Left unmanaged, deer in the UK can cause economic and environmental damage to our precious woodlands. By humanely controlling the number of deer and promoting venison as a healthy and versatile alternative, we hope to impact our environment positively.”