Words Lucy Drane
Photography Elliot Sheppard

“Evolution – I think that’s implicit in the name and that’s something that we’ve always hung our hat on,” says Andrew Lowkes, founder of Landrace. Having begun as a neighbourhood bakery in Bath in 2018, the business grew when Andrew (formerly of Neal’s Yard and Pump Street Chocolate) joined forces with husband-and-wife duo Rob and Jules Sachdev (a chef and general manager respectively, who collectively cut their teeth at Brawn, Jolene and The Quality Chop House) to open a restaurant upstairs six months later. The collaboration was a case of right place, right time, they say, but it also marked the beginning of bigger things. As Andrew explains, “the real engine of Landrace is the mill” at Westcombe Dairy in Bruton, which produces “speciality grains and beautiful ingredients” and shapes the produce-driven goods and the menu at the bakery and restaurant.

With a sophisticated and joined-up approach to seemingly everything they turn their hands to, Andrew, Rob and Jules have made a swift and indelible mark on their community in Bath. As well as having built steadfast relationships with regional growers and producers, they’ve secured rank as one of Somerset’s most revered regional restaurants. The food is relaxed, pared-back and well-designed, perfectly aligning with the space they have created to enjoy it. But the trio is far from finished: their new focus, they explain over a Gotland lamb dish with broad beans and salsa verde (discover the recipe below), is a wine bar that has literally just opened. Andrew also tells us how an unyielding commitment to the regenerative agricultural movement continues to drive the team’s wider ambitions, as we follow him from the restaurant to the mill.

Andrew: “‘Landrace’ is the word for a genetically diverse species of something – a plant, wheat or a pig, for instance – that is able to adapt and evolve to its environment. That has always been a constant source of inspiration for us – to forge the closest links to the original ingredient. The greatest expression of that is the mill, which is the key to accessing grain directly from growers. We’re all about milling grain fresh because that means quality and flavour – the most volatile nutritional components of the plant are kept intact.

“Prior to owning the mill, we were never able to really talk to cereal croppers as we were working with millers, who have a huge degree of expertise but are brokers in the transaction between baker and farmer. We’re trying to raise a level of knowledge about milling within our own family.

“There are little metaphors like that all over our business. For example, we might get a grain that we think is going to be good for bread, but it also works for pasta. All of a sudden, we have a wholemeal leaven in our sourdough and orecchiette is on the menu. They might be made from the same grain – and they may be milled in the same way – but those different food types offer different perspectives on how the grain behaves. They are the moments that really excite me.

“The restaurant is inspired by Continental bistros and traditional Italian trattorias. We don’t have a word for it in the UK, we’ve just got ‘restaurant’. That is a broad term for what is a much more nuanced style across Europe. As well as the trattoria, Italians have the osteria, the agriturismo… This is something we talk about quite a lot. We wanted to create a place where people come for a glass of wine or a little plate of food and just hang out.”

Jules: “Everything we make in the bakery and the restaurant is inspired by fun, fresh dishes you might have on holiday. And we’ve created an atmosphere that people like to dine in. In fact, the loyalty of the community in Bath has taken my breath away.”

Andrew: “We all moved to Bath from London and it has opened our eyes and changed our dynamic. Working with local growers is really important here. We’ve partnered with Undercliff Urban Farm and Middle Ground Growers since the beginning. We get our flowers and herbs from Re-Rooting and our coffee beans from Roundhill Roastery. We collaborate with farmers – and at the core of that is Westcombe Dairy. Cheesemaker Tom Calver also grows grains for us and that relationship has led to the creation of the mill.”

Rob: “Most of my career has been in London, where you can get almost anything delivered to your door twice a day. As a chef, that takes away a lot of the planning. Some of our suppliers here, however, are one-man bands, their ingredients delivered on a push bike. I’ve had to build proper relationships with the producers themselves, which is inspiring and a refreshing way to work.

“Everything I like to cook in the restaurant has roots in European bistros and trattorias, but with a twist. I like to cook like this at home too, but at Landrace, it’s elevated, partly due to the quality of the ingredients.”

Jules: “Something else we do here is apply wine analogies to cider, which we’ll expand on with the new bar. There are a lot of amazing growers here who either have their own orchards or they regenerate old ones – for example, Wilding Cider in Chew Magna. These businesses understand the concept of drinking cider alongside food to give it a different lease of life. When it comes to wine, we work with small suppliers, who in turn work with small producers, so we might order a certain cuvée from one winemaker and when I’ve sold through that it may not be available again. But that’s what makes this exciting.”

Andrew: “You hear a lot of London chefs talking about getting ‘the best’ ingredients but if you only ever buy food in the same way from wholesalers, your dishes aren’t really going to develop. If you get to the root of where you’re sourcing from – if you talk to growers, if you buy directly from butchers and work with dairy farmers – then you have an infinite capacity to build a cuisine around your business. That is truly special and it’s what we’re trying to get towards here.”

Rob’s recipe for Gotland lamb rump with broad beans, peas, naked oats and salsa verde

“The star of the show here is the Gotland lamb. Gotland is a landrace breed originally from an island in Scandinavia. They have adapted to living on steep slopes and harsh conditions. Ours was reared at Westcombe Dairy and grazed in the field on top of the cheese cave there. I have chosen rump here as I like the fat covering on top of the muscle – it gives plenty of flavour to the meat as you cook it. You could also use leg or saddle, but I would avoid shoulder and belly as these cuts generally need longer, slower cooking or they can be a bit chewy. The garnish is a riff on the type of vegetation that the lamb would have grazed on throughout its life.”

Serves two

Ingredients

Salt
100g peas, shelled
100g broad beans, shelled and podded
100g naked oats (or pearl barley)
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 bunch mint, finely chopped
1 bunch tarragon, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2tsp dijon mustard
Olive oil
Some red wine vinegar or merlot
360g lamp rump
200g lamb stock (or chicken)
Pepper

First put a large pan of water on to boil and salt it well. Blanch your peas and broad beans for three minutes in the boiled water. Once cooked, remove from the pot and chill under cold running water to keep them bright green and stop them cooking. Place them in the fridge until ready to serve.

Boil your oats in slightly salted water until tender. They should be soft to eat but not falling apart or mushy. Once cooked, refrigerate until ready to serve.

Place your herbs and garlic in a mixing bowl. Add the mustard and then slowly add olive oil and mix until it is the consistency of a salsa. Add a splash of vinegar and salt to balance the seasoning. You want a sharp punch that will cut through the fat of the lamb.

Before cooking the meat, make sure it is at room temperature. Season it with salt all over. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Cook it in a cold frying pan with a little bit of oil on a medium heat, fat side down. As the pan warms up the fat will slowly render into the pan. Caramelise the lamb all over so it’s golden brown – this will take about four minutes. Then place it in the oven for five minutes (for a medium-rare piece of meat). When it’s cooked, take it out and allow it to rest.

While this is happening, warm up the lamb stock and reduce it slightly to develop the flavour. Add the cooked broad beans, peas and oats, and season with salt and some freshly ground black pepper. I also like to add a little drop or two of good red wine vinegar.

Serve in a large bowl. Plate the vegetables and oats first and then pour the broth over the top. Separately carve the lamb and place it on top of the vegetables. Finally, drizzle the salsa verde all over, being sure to be generous. This will bring a brightness and freshness to your dish.