George Blogg Finds His Eden

Hever Castle has a new resident. This time, all eyes are on the kitchen.

Named after the river that flows through the Hever Estate, George Blogg MCA opened Eden this Summer, the intimate new restaurant in the Castle’s private Astor Wing. After more than a decade at Gravetye Manor, where he won and retained its first Michelin star throughout his tenure, it is a fitting move for a chef whose cooking has become almost inseparable from the garden.

And Hever has quite a garden to inherit. William Waldorf Astor, who bought the Castle in 1903, created much of the landscape seen today and built the Tudor-style Astor Wing for his family and guests. More than a century later, Blogg’s dining room occupies that same wing, looking across Anne Boleyn’s orchard towards the Castle.

Blogg’s fascination with what grows began long before Gravetye. He recalls childhood allotments, hedgerows and orchards, and eating fruit and vegetables still warm from the sun. At Eden, he has Hever’s gardens and the produce of Kent at his disposal.

The menu is carte blanche. Vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers command the plate as readily as fish or meat, with fully plant-based, vegetarian and pescatarian menus too. For Blogg and his team, it is a chance to show their craft and what they can do with one of England’s great estates as their larder.

Eden opens for dinner, just as Hever’s daytime visitors have departed. Guests arrive through the private Astor Wing for a rather different view of Anne Boleyn’s childhood home, after hours, looking across the orchard with George Blogg in the kitchen.

George Blogg has truly found his Eden.

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EDEN AT HEVER CASTLE
Hever Castle & Gardens, Hever, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NG
Tuesday–Friday evenings; sittings from 7pm, final seating 7.30pm
Carte blanche tasting menu £140 per person; optional cheese course; 10% discretionary service charge
hevercastle.co.uk