The Cottage Table

Lydia has come from a wonderful long line of bakers in the family. As a child she spent her days playing on the floors of the family kitchen while her mum and grandma made elaborate birthday cakes, traditional apple fritters, fruit crumbles, pavlova and profiteroles, just to name a few. Always from scratch and rarely from recipes, they used local and organic ingredients foraged by her grandad who has taught Lydia how to grow and gather berries, fruit and nuts from the gardens, farms and forests of Somerset.  Lydia grew up loving all things of nature, so much so she initially pursued a career as a marine biologist. She moved to Vancouver, Canada for her studies before moving into teaching Marine Sustainability. But before long, she realized her spare time was still spent on her favourite hobby; making cakes and pastries for friends. From then on, she went to culinary school, graduated top of her class and worked as a Baker at prestigious hotels such as The Four Seasons and The Fairmont. Just shy of the 2019 pandemic, Lydia, her husband and her beloved pooch, moved back to the UK where she began working as a pastry chef in the hotel at The Newt in Somerset. It was here that she had the opportunity to create beautiful desserts savoury pastries using estate grown ingredients; and it is from this that a new idea emerged. Living in rural Ashcott had many perks, like being able to grow your own food and flowers, keep small farm animals and plenty of hills and forests to explore. Having all that at Lydia's doorstep allowed her to begin her own bakery right from the table of her Victorian farmers cottage. Thus The Cottage Table began.   At The Cottage Table we pride ourselves on locally sourced, foraged and farmed ingredients from in and around the Mendip Hills. From the savoury English breakfast tarts in our brunch boxes to the foraged fruits in our cake fillings, our variety of options give you a true taste of the West Country.  All preserves, cakes, pastries and breads are made in house and our meats and cheeses are locally sourced. We try to use in season, home grown, locally foraged or farmed ingredients, and aim to reduce, reuse and recycle our packaging wherever possible.