Melissa Blease talks to food hero Gerard Coles of Honey’s Midford Cider
Aside from sounding like characters from the much-loved, 1970s ITV children’s series Worzel Gummidge or locations for the BBC’s Last of the Summer Wine, what have Brown Snout, Stembridge Cluster and Slack m’girdle got in common?
You may be surprised to learn that, if you’re a real cider drinker, you’ll be very familiar with all three. For they’re all traditional west country cider apples, and they’re all – alongside orchard-mates including Yarlington Mill, Dunkerton Late Sweet and Crimson King – currently in the process of being harvested and turned into cider at Honey and Daughter – aka the makers of Honey’s Midford Cider – at its headquarters just outside Bath.
In the 1960s, Upper Midford Farm was a busy dairy farm, home to Dick and Babs Honey, their seven sons and one daughter. The Honey’s Cider story only began just over a dozen years ago, when two key events took place. Firstly, former antique dealer Gerard Coles, better known as Krow, married Jules Honey, Dick and Babs’ granddaughter by their son Bob in 2000.
Then in 2002 Bob Honey spotted an 18th century cider press up for sale in a farming magazine. Gerard recalls how the cider business began: “We brought the press back to Bath in a convoy of vans and set about squashing apples with the assistance of most of the inhabitants of Midford – looking back, you could say the whole affair was like a cross between the Harrison Ford movie Witness and The Good Life.
“It was definitely tough at first, but over the years the venture improved to the point where Bob and Jules could start selling our cider commercially.”
When the business first started, Gerard had little interest in cider – apart from, of course, the obvious. But his big antiques van increasingly became more useful as a cider delivery vehicle, and his involvement in the business grew. Bob now concentrates on rearing his heard of traditional Hereford cattle and Jules enjoys a completely different career altogether, while Gerard is now co-owner and director of the Honey’s Cider operation, known locally as the ultimate go-to local cider man.
Years on since Gerard gave a whole new meaning to the term ‘antiques roadshow’, Honey’s has gained a reputation for being one of the west country’s most thriving independent cider businesses. What is the secret of the company’s long-standing success?
“I guess what makes us successful is primarily the quality of our cider, coupled with our attention to detail,” he says. “Even when we were only making a couple of thousand litres a year, we were focussed on getting everything right, whether it was the particular blend of apples we use, the style of our labelling or offering our trade customers excellent service. That and the fact that we really are so proud of our really good cider.
“I’m also proud to produce something that is so intrinsically linked to Bath; we supply many of the best restaurants and bars in this wonderful city, and it’s all made less than three miles away from the city centre. We send cider further afield now too, and I have to admit that I get a bit of a buzz when someone contacts us to say they couldn’t believe they were drinking our cider in Newcastle or even Hong Kong. But really, Honey’s is all about Bath.”
Gerard admits, though, that there are downsides and drawbacks to running such a business; as he says, “there’s a lot more to the cider business than squashing apples and turning the juice into a tipple. There’s all sorts of legislation we have to satisfy too and duty to be paid. But it’s all part of the job, and it’s a job I love.”
He loves it so much, it seems, that his working day isn’t over when the working day is over. At the time of going to press, Gerard is crossing the i’s and dotting the t’s on a new venture in collaboration with his good friend Chris Lewis, owner and director of fellow Bath brewery the Electric Bear Co, based on lively Moorland Road in a former fancy dress hire shop.
Fire and Brew will specialise in serving wood fired pizzas accompanied by a huge range of craft beers, ciders and contemporary cocktails. “It’s an entirely new direction for Chris and I, showcasing both our own products and supporting the work of similar independent, artisan brewing operations in the local area. We really want it to be a social hub for the fantastic local neighbourhood and community, and we really want to have our doors open in time for the big Moorland Road’s Christmas lights switch-on party on Saturday 26 November.”
Party on? You heard it here first. But surely there must be some down-time built in to such a hectic schedule? Unsurprisingly, Gerard’s support of local producers and traders guides his off duty tastes too. “There are a lot of great foodie businesses in and around Bath, and Jules and I pretty much dine solely on locally-sourced food. Graham Padfield at Bath Soft Cheese in particular has set the standard for quality local produce.
“As for eating out, I’m old enough to remember when pretty much the only thing to eat in Bath on a night out was a carpet burger from My Van (that flashback should sort out the old Bathonians from the newcomers), so on that basis, everywhere else is an improvement. But for me, eating out is as much about the experience and the company as it is about the food, and I like unusual venues.
“My favourite meal last year was eating homemade burgers made from our own beef, with the family on a beach in Pembrokeshire, cooked on a driftwood fire. Closer to home, I love the new Castle Farm Café just up the road from us in Midford; it’s little more than a barn really, offering fantastic, fresh vegetarian dishes.”
So if we were to sit down to eat a seasonal, locally-sourced feast with Gerard, what would he suggest we drink with that?
“The cold weather gives us the perfect excuse to drink mulled cider made with our own special mulling syrup, or hot Stoney Bonk (our magical blend of cider and ginger beer) – lovely! And after that? Another glass, of course!” And who could argue with that? In Bath, Gerard’s cider house rules.
Honey and Daughter/Honey’s Midford Cider. Email: cheers@honeyanddaughter.co.uk; web: honeyanddaughter.co.uk.
Photographs courtesy of Mike McNally
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