Looking Beyond the Plate

At 116, every dish begins with an ingredient. 

Not because that's where the recipe starts, but because that's where the story begins. 

Before a menu is written or a plate is carefully finished, there's always a conversation about what's at its best, where it's come from and how to let it shine. It's a way of cooking that celebrates the ingredients themselves. It lets their character take centre stage rather than asking them to compete with everything around them. 

Perhaps that's why British Food Fortnight feels so natural to us. 

For two weeks each year, it celebrates the extraordinary food produced across Britain, but more importantly, it celebrates the people behind it. The growers, farmers and producers whose work sahapes every meal long before it reaches the kitchen. 

This year, those stories carry a little more weight. 

Months of prolonged dry weather and extreme heat have created real challenges for Britain's farming community, affecting harvests, livelihoods and the future of food production.  

It made us stop and think. 

Every day, we're fortunate enough to cook with ingredients that have been grown, reared and cared for by people behind the scenes. Their work becomes part of every breakfast, every lunch, every afternoon tea and every dinner we serve. 

It only felt right to give something back. 

So throughout British Food Fortnight, we've partnered with RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution), a charity that has supported the farming community and their families for generations. When you dine at 116, you'll have the opportunity to add an optional £1 donation to your bill, with every contribution going directly towards helping the people who work tirelessly to produce the food we all enjoy.  

It's only a pound. 

But then, the nicest gestures often aren't the biggest ones. 

If enough of us each do one small thing, together it can make a meaningful difference. To the people whose dedication rarely makes it onto a menu but is present in every dish. 

As you enjoy your meal with us this British Food Fortnight, we hope you'll join us in celebrating more than the ingredients on your plate. 

Here's to the people behind them.