It’s hard to say the name of this farm shop without smiling, Jolly Nice by name and Jolly Nice by nature. This Gloucestershire farm shop, the brainchild of third generation farmers, Simon and Rebecca, was founded for a more sustainable, happier future. They prioritise the wellbeing of their livestock and their land, championing old fashioned, sustainable rare breed livestock and farming methods.
And with this ethos at the forefront of everything they do, the shop has thrived. They regularly feature beautiful local produce and succulent meat and publicise its provenance.
They believe, that with each season, it is important to adapt eating habits to live in tune with nature’s calendar and, if you shop at this fabulous farm shop, this is not hard to do. The fresh and seasonal produce is grown by local farmers and micro producers just a few miles down the road:
Celeriac and Potatoes are produced by Farmer Fred from Close Farm – 8 miles away. Kale, Turnips and Winter Salad are produced by Purton House Organics – 18 miles away. Savoy Cabbage, Leeks and Purple Sprouting Broccoli are produced by Paget’s Produce – 28 miles away.
But there are plenty of “extras” to fill your basket with. Why not try their award-winning ice cream whilst visiting? Their salted caramel and gooseberry & elderflower have both won the highest accolade in the food world – each gaining 3 Gold Stars at the Great Taste Awards.
Or perhaps quench your thirst with a shot of Sicilian blood orange juice.
Another reason to smile is that you can enjoy a lot of what Jolly Nice Farm Shop has to offer without even leaving your car! During the pandemic, they came up with the genius idea of introducing a “drive through”.
Built within 8 weeks of the first Covid lockdown, it helped keep customers safe and staff employed. On the menu is the beef brisket burger, pulled mushroom burger, triple cheese & caramelised onion sourdough toastie and grass fed beef & fennel meatball sourdough toastie. Yum…
And this wonderful addition won Jolly Nice farm shop the title of ‘Best Rural Innovation’ in the Southwest regional finals of the Rural Business Awards. This has encouraged the owners to expand the drive through and work is underway to create a new area with a state-of-the-art production kitchen to ensure they produce food of the highest quality in a few minutes plus the addition of seating in a cosy yurt and unique “Lambing Shed”. This should all be ready soon – mid Spring.
What a jolly nice idea!
Check them out at jollynicefarmshop.com.
