Chef's Farm - First 'Support from the Start' Approval!

Tom Denman started Chef’s Farms eight years ago with the primary aim of connecting food buyers with local producers. Enabling people to make food-buying decisions that allow them to build trusting, reciprocal relationships with farmers. 

Firmly rooted in West Sussex, amongst many of the best fruit and vegetable growers in the country, Chef’s Farms is perfectly positioned to be a conduit into the south London and Brighton markets. But simply acting as a wholesaler is not enough, these chef-to-farmer relationships must work both ways. To achieve this, Chef’s Farms go one step further with their customers, collaborating with them to build accurate forecasting on key product lines for the season to come, inviting them to earmark whole crops from favourite growers and engage in brand partnership with farm businesses. 

One example of this is their recent project connecting Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair with Berries on Tap to produce a ‘grown-to-order’ range of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries for use in the hotel kitchen and event space. Through this arrangement, Archie at Berries on Tap can continue to build his fantastic brand via exposure in a high-end London venue whilst the Brown’s team are ensured consistent access to a premium product from a Sussex farm and farmer that they know, for the season. 

Chefs' Farms believes that by facilitating relationships like this, they can begin to shift the status quo in food buying to better align with how farming in the UK actually works, benefiting chefs and farmers alike. For Chef’s Farms, standardising local sourcing and providing structure and reliability to vegetable supply chains means food businesses can source more locally from Sussex.

Why SALSA?

“SALSA is 100% the step you need to take for your business to be viable to scale into bigger markets.”

Tom Denman, Managing Director, Chef’s Farms

For Chef’s Farms, certification was a practical requirement for growth. Supplying larger-scale businesses creates an expectation that recognised food safety certification is in place, and the company saw SALSA Approval as the means of meeting that expectation.

The company first heard about Horsham’s ‘Support from the Start’ scheme through Sussex Six networking events. The funding provided Chef’s Farms with two days of mentoring with SALSA Mentor Alan Wakeford. This support made the difference in taking the step towards certification.

"I was first asked to help Chef’s Farms with Mentoring as part of the Horsham SALSA Go grant funding to help Tom on the road to SALSA. It was clear from the start that Tom and his team were committed to the highest standards and SALSA was an obvious next step in the growth of his business. All the advice given was embraced and put into practice which led to achieving a great SALSA result within a good realistic timescale. It really has been a pleasure and so rewarding working with Tom and his team "

Alan Wakeford, SALSA Mentor

Working Towards Certification

Balancing day-to-day operations with the demands of SALSA certification is a familiar challenge for any small business. Once the required systems and processes were in place, achieving and maintaining the certification became a manageable part of one team member's role.

“As an SME, our team is used to wearing many hats. Once we had implemented all of the systems and processes SALSA required, the certification became another hat that a member of our team took in their stride."

Beyond the SALSA Approval, the work to standardise the company’s processes and systems has delivered tangible operational benefits. Chef’s Farms reports that its food safety and HACCP arrangements are now more consistent and more efficient to run day-to-day.

Chef’s Farms, the West Sussex produce supplier, has become the first business to achieve SALSA approval through SALSA Go! This funding programme is delivered locally as part of Horsham District Council’s ‘Support from the Start’ scheme and funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. To find out more visit 'Support from the Start'