Spring 2025 will see the launch of The Cordia Collective, a new culinary venture from green Michelin-starred chef Chantelle Nicholson.
Located within Borde Hill, the beautiful and historic 2,300-acre estate in West Sussex, the project will bring Chantelle’s regenerative ethos into the English countryside for the first time.
The Cordia Collective will be dynamic and multifaceted, championing locally sourced, seasonal food, while celebrating the rich biodiversity and plant heritage of Borde Hill and respecting the restorative power of nature, making a positive impact on the planet and people. The project, much like nature itself, will continue to evolve, starting life as a bakery and Garden Café in spring 2025, before developing into a glasshouse restaurant, café and wine bar and workshop space in the former Stables in autumn 2025.
Chantelle is owner of Apricity, a restaurant in Mayfair.
Joining forces with Chantelle for The Cordia Collective is Ruth Osborne, co-founder of London’s Wine Car Boot, who brings with her experience from running a wide variety of hospitality projects in London and overseas including wastED for Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
Ruth has recently returned from seven years in Stockholm, where she ran a project looking at local resilience, land equity, farming and how to create a new blueprint for future food systems alongside owning a restaurant geared towards circularity and reducing waste.
‘Baked by Cordia’ will mark the start of the journey at Borde Hill, headed up by acclaimed baker Janine Edwards. Janine brings with her a wealth of experience from Little Bread Pedlar, Darby’s and most recently, London’s much-loved Toklas Bakery. Championing the field-to-plate ethos, the bakery will offer beautifully crafted bread, pastries and other sweet treats, as well as daily-changing lunch options. Made for locals, garden visitors, and those further afield, and all with seasonality and taste at the fore.
Later in the year, The Cordia Collective will take up roots in the estate’s 118-year-old Victorian stables building, transformed to encompass a new café and workshop space.
With a clear focus on regenerative principles, the menus will fittingly highlight responsible sourcing and champion small-scale farmers and ingredients grown from seed in the garden itself, or from nearby fields and farms including Borde Hill’s biodynamic market garden which is adjacent to the walled garden.
Dishes will be driven by the rhythm of the seasons, making the restaurant a true reflection of its botanically rich, exceptional surroundings. The drinks programme will include local, Sussex producers and hero low-intervention wines, as well as garden-led cocktails and spritzes. Outdoor seating will spill out of the restaurant and onto the terrace of the garden, where guests can immerse themselves in the estate’s collection of Champion Trees and rare plant species.
Borde Hill is listed by English Heritage as being of Grade II* historic importance, set within 383 acres of outstanding natural beauty on the High Weald. Owned by the Stephenson Clarke Family for 130 years, Jay Goddard is the fifth generation of the family to take the reins at Borde Hill.
Of The Collective, Chantelle said: “To have the opportunity to be in the heart of nature, and work in tandem with the terroir and seasons is a true realisation of a dream. I can’t wait to immerse myself in it all and, alongside Ruth, create a new, dynamic collection of nature with delicious food and drink, and warm hospitality, welcoming guests from near and far to share this experience with us next year.”
Jay, managing director of Borde Hill, added: “I’ve admired Chantelle’s ethos and cooking for years and it’s so exciting to be collaborating with someone who shares such a similar mindset and values. Her passion for sustainability and nature align with our future vision and plans for the estate, and we are so thrilled to be welcoming in an exciting new chapter for Borde Hill.”
