How we grow, forage and source every dish at Water’s Edge

Food is one of the biggest highlights of any wedding, helping to bring people together and create memories that your guests will cherish for years to come. 

At Water’s Edge at Ewen, our foraged wedding menus are designed to work in harmony with the seasons and give your guests a true flavour of the glorious Cotswold countryside. Our Head Chef, Daniel Field, and his in-house kitchen team shape every dish around what’s growing, ripening, or ready to forage across our expansive 25-acre estate.

Below, we’ll take you behind the scenes to show you exactly where your wedding menu comes from, so you can see just how much thought goes into each and every mouthful.

Much of what ends up on your plate at Water’s Edge starts much closer to home than you might think. We grow several herbs on-site and pick them fresh, rather than ordering them in from further afield. And whenever it’s in season, we harvest watercress straight from the stream that runs through our grounds – bringing a peppery freshness that adds real depth to your dishes.

Daniel and his team also forage the woods around Ewen throughout the year, gathering wild garlic in spring, berries and damsons in summer, and wild mushrooms in autumn. They’re then used to create a variety of seasonal dishes, from delicious breakfasts to homemade syrups and bespoke cocktails. This means that the flavour of your day changes depending on when you get married, giving you and your guests a true taste of the Cotswolds at that exact moment in the year.

We’ve also introduced our own beehives on the estate, with the honey finding its way into our dishes and breakfasts for your overnight guests. It has a natural sweetness and freshness that elevates every dish it’s added too, whether it be a breakfast yoghurt or a dessert glaze.

Although we do what we can, we can’t grow or forage every single ingredient ourselves. When we do need to look further afield, we only choose local suppliers who are as passionate about quality and provenance as we are. That way, you can rest assured that even the ingredients we don’t grow ourselves have been chosen with just as much care.

These are the local food and drink suppliers we’re proud to work with:

Bramleys Wholesale

Based just up the road in Cirencester, Bramleys Wholesale is where most of our fruit and veg comes from. We order what’s ripe and in season rather than just working from a standard list, so that every plate is filled with the highest quality, tastiest local produce.

Walter Rose & Son

Walter Rose & Son is a friendly butcher in Wiltshire, with roots dating back to 1847. They work closely with local farmers to ensure that the meat on your wedding menu is properly reared, locally sourced, and as fresh as it gets.

Wanderlust Wine

Rather than buying in big-name labels, Wanderlust Wine partners with only small, independent vineyards and family-run producers. Every wine in their portfolio is chosen for its quality and character, giving every glass a signature depth of flavour.

Inn Express

Inn Express is a family-run drinks supplier who helps to fill our bars with everything from beers and spirits to soft drinks and mixers. This allows us to shape your drinks around every moment of your celebration.

However you picture your wedding day, we’ve got a menu to match it. We offer everything from elegant canapés to greet your guests, through to traditional three-course wedding feasts, relaxed BBQ sharing platters, and late-night bites for something more sociable. There’s plenty of choice within each offering and they can be adapted to your preferences, so you’re never limited to just one set menu.

Every dish draws on the same seasonal, foraged, and locally sourced ingredients you’ve read about above. That way, you won’t miss out on the seasonal flavours of the Cotswolds just because you’ve chosen a certain menu. And if none of our standard menus feel quite right, Daniel and his team are always happy to create something bespoke for your celebration, built around your own tastes, traditions, or favourite flavours.

Download our sample menu for a taste of what’s possible.

As a wedding venue with an in-house kitchen team, we take your food and drink very seriously. Every menu is shaped (quite literally) from the ground up, by our own local herb garden, the woods around Ewen, our beehives, and the local suppliers we trust wholeheartedly. 

Each dish is lovingly prepared in-house by our talented kitchen team, meaning you won’t need to source, manage, or liaise with a separate catering company. That way, you can spend less time stressing over catering and more time savouring every mouthful.

Keen to discover what your celebration could taste like? Book your private viewing and meet our in-house kitchen team today.