Please note our writers visited these hotels prior to the coronavirus pandemic
Summer is but a distant memory. Days are downright chilly, breath visible as you leave the house and cheeks pinched red. Escaping to warmth or hibernating until spring becomes all the more appealing. Thankfully, Britain excels when it comes to cosy spots that tick all the right boxes: crackling log fires, piping hot hearty food, sofas squashy enough to sink into and heavy throws to swaddle oneself with.
Whether a traditional inn, shooting lodge, climbers’ retreat or city bolthole; whether by the sea or deep in countryside, these hotels all make excellent, welcoming winter retreats.
Wiltshire
This wisteria-clad inn is loved for its flower and pear tree-filled garden, cosy interiors and superior food. After taking over from Marco Pierre White in 2014, the current owners have amassed a loyal army of local fans and tempt visitors with eight snug but stylish rooms. The ‘farmhouse kitchen’ deals in robust flavours which are spot on at dinner. Portions were generous too, with tasty, seasonally inspired dishes appetisingly piled onto plates.
A thatched, quintessentially English pub, all age-old wood and exposed brickwork, and an annexe of glamorous, state-of-the-art bedrooms make a winning combination (just an hour from London by train). It’s the enterprise of chef Guy Manning and Brittany, his American wife, responsible for the guest house, Troutbeck. While Guy creates inspired dishes using locally sourced produce and ingredients from the garden, Brittany ensures their guests’ well-being in five New York-style rooms, with marble bathrooms, bespoke beds, Egyptian cotton sheets and private decks.
This shooting lodge turned dining pub affectionately known as ‘The Welly’ ticks all the boxes, appealing as much to locals as urbanites in search of a rural idyll. It’s owned and run by Simon Page (front of house) and Jason King (chef), and has had the critics cooing over Jason’s deft, unpretentious cooking, served in a country dining room. A converted hay store houses three enchanting bedrooms and there’s a permium suite in the main house. Outside you’ll find immaculate gardens, beehives and farm animals.
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Dorset
A sleepy village among the hills that inspired Dorset’s most famous author is home to the Acorn Inn, where tight spaces and creaky floors are the real deal, rustic charm comes in spades and the wonderful restaurant shows how a locally focused gastropub should do its job. The main bar area, with skittle alley, thrums with locals’ ribbing from 5pm, and next door is the restaurant. Along another passage you’ll find a lounge, made cosy with a fireplace, rows of books and leather sofas. Food is gastropub without forgetting the foundations as a proper pub.
Berkshire
The former fishing retreat of the Duke of Marlborough, on its own private island, has been a popular place for visitors to dine and stay since the 19th century. An inspired addition is the creation of a Floating Spa, housed in a specially built riverboat moored along the bank. The Thames here is remarkably peaceful and kingfishers can often be spotted. A feeling of seclusion immediately descends once on to the pastoral island with its gentle river views. Rooms are slick, comfortable and glossy in look.
An intimate riverside hideaway in an idyllic countryside setting. The Swan at Streatley delivers on great views, good food and relaxing times, making the most of its Thames-side setting with balconies, terraces and well-kept lawns. This is the place to come for a taste of English village life with a luxurious twist. The absolute highlight, though, is the hotel’s position right on the River Thames – ideal for towpath walks and riverside sundowners.
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Somerset
One of the most exceptional country house hotels Britain has seen. The Botanical Rooms, with its fabulous, homely open kitchen, is the perfect place to retreat for a hearty dinner, before retreating to the cosy Loft rooms. Guests can enjoy a wintry day out strolling around the gardens (arranged in a Baroque-style maze), or try a cyder tasting experience with the Estate’s Cellar Master. Special mention goes to the gorgeous spa, which includes a sauna, salt steam room and beautiful pool leading to a heated outdoor hydrotherapy pool (check when booking which thermal facilities are open).
A gorgeous honey-stone house decorated in classic English country house style. The Bath Priory cossets guests in its 33 enveloping bedrooms and is set in a four-acre landscaped garden. It has a Michelin-starred restaurant, an informal new brasserie, spa, gym and sitting rooms with a private-house feel. These plush lounges have ticking clocks, real fires and large-scale colonial-era, militaristic and sporting paintings.
Cornwall
This is the joint venture from chef Tom Adams of London restaurant Pitt Cue, and April Bloomfield, English born chef/proprietor of The Spotted Pig in New York. Both wanted to get back to the roots of food and hospitality and the result is this relaxed communal dining farmhouse bed and breakfast. Delightful Tom and his equally charming partner Lottie live off the land and share their fresh, foraged, pickled and harvested produce with their guests. If you want to be alone, don’t come here; if you want an adventure, both culinary and social, and to get back to the roots of food and hospitality, do.
This beautiful brick-and-granite Georgian townhouse has been designed to provide an ‘open house’ experience where quality and comfort merge; relax amidst a backdrop of seaside hues and spectacular coastal vistas, where attention to detail and informality of service lie at the heart. Dining is based on a ‘supper club’ formula, serving seasonal ingredients, fresh produce grown on local farms and wild food specialties. The newer suites are the ones to book, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows offering spectacular panoramic views across the harbour to St Michael’s Mount, and south across to Lizard Point and Mousehole.
Cider House
Dartmoor, Devon, England
A sophisticated bed and breakfast, more like a boutique hotel, set in the building in which the monks of Buckland Abbey made their cider. Surrounded by glorious National Trust land, with free access for guests to Buckland Abbey, it would be hard to find a lovelier setting. It is decorated with great taste, with an honesty bar in the spacious lounge-cum-breakfast room, but it’s owners Bertie and Bryony’s infectious bonhomie and brightness that makes it special.
This exquisite Regency fishing lodge set in verdant Grade I listed gardens is owned and designed by hotelier Olga Polizzi and part-managed by her daughter, Alex – aka The Hotel Inspector. No surprise then that this is one of Devon’s most perfect hotels – refined, intimate and ever-so-English. Stepping straight into the grand hall, softly lit, fire crackling in an enormous grate, huge antiquarian shire maps lining the walls, there’s a sense of stepping back in time. The gardens, designed by Humphry Repton, have verdant glades, secret grottos, ancient trees, rose-wreathed arches, a shell house, formal parterre, and lawns that sweep down towards the River Tamar.
The Stafford, open since 1912, is a perfect study in how to update a grande dame hotel: the stylish interiors bring it into the present day, but there is still a sense of its grandeur and history. The Game Bird restaurant is a must-visit: the enticing menu and expert cooking champions British food, putting an indulgent spin on classic dishes, while The American Bar is one of the West End’s best spots for an elegant cocktail. Suites in the Mews building has the plushest options and is ideal for those looking for somewhere to spread out.
This Georgian dream of a hotel, set on a cobbled street in Spitalfields, is an antidote to beige modernity and a welcome contrast to the soaring glass and steel structures of next door Bishopsgate. Take tea in the pretty courtyard, hole up in the library and enjoy a rather civilised breakfast in bed. Each room is named after a different eminent local figure from the 18th century and all are individually designed, filled with antiques and period features, such as large portraits, Rococo mirrors and fireplaces. You’ll find plenty of nooks to unwind in.
The Bedford
Balham, London, England
A lively music and comedy venue in south London that hosted early gigs for the likes of U2, The Clash and Ed Sheeran. It now comes with 15 stylish rooms, some with roll-top baths, in retro hues, and with supremely comfy Hypnos beds. The hotel still has a busy Club Room where you can catch up-and-coming musicians DJs, and comedians. For food, expect pub classics such as burgers, roasts and fish and chips. There’s plenty of beers to choose from too, and a good range of cocktails – trade dessert for a lovely espresso martini.
Kent
Where better than to stay in one of the stylish bedrooms – choose from Dairy, Churn, Byre or Buttery – at this 16th-century former hall house where the food is sourced from within 20 miles and includes a menu of pub classics as well as more adventurous dishes. Sissinghurst Castle Gardens are on your doorstep and at Bedgebury National Pinetum eight miles away, fiery leaves and brilliant berries make a sharp contrast to the background of rich green conifers, the finest collection on one site in the world.
This historic Grade II-listed house has been transformed into a haven of fun, good living and hospitality, with all the much loved elements of The Pig group in place: the enormous kitchen garden, two Potting Shed treatment rooms using Bamford products, and the barbecue and ‘Garden Oven’ for flatbreads and outdoor eating. There’s a gentle rock ‘n’ roll vibe that recalls the past of the building as Kent’s foremost rock’n’roll venue in the Sixties and Seventies. Go for one of the romantic little wooden Hop Pickers’ Huts, which are ranged along the Nailbourne stream, accessed via a boardwalk.
West Sussex
Gravetye Manor
East Grinstead, West Sussex, England
This Elizabethan mansion – the one-time home of celebrated gardener William Robinson – sits prettily within a thousand acres, surrounded by a wonderful riot of flowers and shrubs and footed by a lake. Pleasingly squishy sofas, padded windows seats and thick curtains set the tone for cloistered relaxation, with four-poster beds in some higher-grade rooms. The dishes served in the Michelin-starred restaurant used produce from the kitchen garden.
The Cat Inn
West Hoathly, West Sussex, England
A pub to make you purr, The Cat dates from the early 16th century and is timber framed with a brick and tile exterior. The interior is a happy blend of character and style: on the one hand, a vast inglenook, polished wood bar and pewters; on the other, airy dining rooms and four bright, well-equipped bedrooms. Expertly run by landlord Andrew Russell and with simple but superb food, it’s a buzzy local haunt.
A country house hotel that feels like a family home. You can swim, play croquet on the lawn, tennis on a grass court or golf on a private course, walk on the Downs, relax in the spa or just curl up with a book in the drawing room. There’s an honesty bar, and dogs and children are both welcome.
Herons can be seen on the doorstep of this modernised 350-year-old pub beside a bird sanctuary, where guests can stay in cosy upstairs bedrooms or an adjoining cottage. Tuck into locally caught seafood in the bar-restaurant and plan nature walks or trips to nearby beaches. Some rooms have attractive views towards Pagham Harbour (binoculars provided).
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East Sussex
In glorious cobbled Mermaid Street in the historic heart of Rye, a creeper-covered 16th-century house makes an endearingly off-beat b&b. Long-time owners, Jenny Hadfield and Richard Martin like to greet their guests personally and guide them through the warren of steps and passages to their rooms. Welcoming and traditional, many of these have brass, mahogany or four-poster beds. Downstairs, there are blazing fires, antiques, an honesty bar and impressive galleried breakfast room in a former chapel.
The Bell
Ticehurst, East Sussex, England
A former haunt of Sussex homeboy Rudyard Kipling, this kooky 16th-century inn on the Sussex-Kent border has a curious offbeat charm. Although a village pub at heart, its quirky rooms, whimsical lodges and gastropub-style restaurant makes it a captivating and rather romantic retreat for the weekend. The seven rooms and four lodges are all cosy, but the Love Nest is particularly so. It comes with curved wooden walls, a freestanding copper bath, and a birch wood ‘birds nest’ roof terrace.
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Norfolk
Cley Windmill
Cley next the Sea, Norfolk, England
Echoes of children’s adventure stories crowd in as you climb higher and higher in this ‘real’ windmill, finally mounting the ladder to the look-out room on the fourth floor. On the inside, everything is just as you might imagine: a lived-in circular sitting room with open fire, comfortable sofas, books, magazines and television, and a little dining room where breakfast and a three-course dinner are eaten communally at a long pine table. There are two circular bedrooms in the tower itself, and other rooms in older parts of the building. All are charming and full of character.
This renowned gastropub is a local culinary destination and also has some very comfy rooms in the converted stable block next door. It’s a lovely, rural spot for a foodie weekend. The menu changes daily and is classic in style and inspiration, with big flavours based on high-quality, often local ingredients. It’s perfect for exploring the footpaths, coast and countryside of this relatively unknown part of north Norfolk.
The White House is a perfect base for swanky Burnham Market and the North Norfolk Coast. The Georgian house has been lavishly and thoughtfully renovated in a contemporary style while losing none of the signature space and light. Rooms share a contemporary, uncluttered crispness while at the same time being homely and welcoming. When you’ve exhausted the delights of your room, there is plenty of space to laze about downstairs, or at the patio and garden.
Wales
An appealingly unpretentious inn, with outstanding food and comfortable rooms, in breathtaking scenery between the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains. The first of Edmund and Charlie Inkin’s trio of places to stay embodies their ethos of honest simplicity, and is a particular favourite with foodies, hikers and book lovers (Hay-on-Wye is nearby). The decoration is warm and tasteful, and bedrooms have considerate extras like Roberts radios and excellent bedlinen. Ideal for escaping the hurly-burly.
Penally Abbey
Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales
As soon as you walk through the door of Penally Abbey, your spirits rise, so warm is this delightful Strawberry Hill Gothic house and its hospitable owners, Lucas and Melanie Boissevain, who have refurbished it with care and style. From its location at the heart of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, a magnificent vista stretches across the bay as far as the gower peninsula. In the elegant dining room, the food is a treat.
Inspired by his Grand Tour travels, an extravagant Reverend West decided to blow his family’s fortune on building Gliffaes in Italianate style in 1883, with a campanile and a wide stone terrace overlooking hedge-chequered hills. It is now an impeccable example of old-fashioned class. Stucco-embellished ceilings, Delft tile-rimmed fireplaces, polished barley-twist wood, Lewis & Wood fabrics and antique chairs reupholstered in Welsh tweed blend in with contemporary works of Welsh art.
This is quite possibly Pembrokeshire’s smartest country-house hotel. In a thoroughly rural and peaceful spot near the pretty little town of Narberth, The Grove offers Georgian meets Arts and Crafts interiors, luxurious and attractive bedrooms – expect treats such as the softest of sheets, posh toiletries, thick towels and house-made biscotti on your tea tray. The atmosphere at dinner is upmarket traditional country house: white tablecloths, candles and soft jazz playing in the background – all served with imaginative, fussed over and memorable food.
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Rutland
On the north shore of Rutland Water, part of the Exton Park estate of the Earls of Gainsborough, this former farmhouse has a pretty courtyard, attractive bedrooms and a warm and welcoming ground floor. The long cosy flagstone hallway features an original cast iron stove and there’s a picture-filled, warm red sitting room, sunny conservatory dining room and another dining room that has a clubby feel fit for the hotel’s aristocratic owner.
Sensitively converted village inns serving the sort of hearty but imaginative food that people yearn to eat (especially in winter) instead of fiddly dishes spattered with foam, make perhaps the best, and least expensive retreats for a cosy few nights away. The Olive Branch (and Beech House, opposite, where its attractive bedrooms are located) is a prime example. Created from three farm labourers’ cottages, it’s rustic, quirky and fun, with brilliant food, wine and ales, and the homely mix of antique and pine furniture, open fires, logs piled high, books, blackboards and wine bottles lend a laid-back atmosphere.
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Shropshire
Pen-Y-Dyffryn
Oswestry, Shropshire, England
Settle beside a glowing log fire with a book or a board game from Pen-y-Dyffryn’s collection at this timeless, cossetting hotel a stone’s throw from the Welsh border. The house is a Georgian former rectory and stands in a flower-filled garden on a lush hillside, surrounded by arresting views. Traditionally furnished, but with some bold modern art, it has neat light bedrooms, dedicated staff and a well-executed and delicious daily-changing menu. A haven of peace in a crazy world.
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Derbyshire
The one-time dower house for Haddon Hall, The Peacock was built in 1652, opened to guests in 1820 and is now a welcoming, well-run, yet hip hotel, where fishermen rub shoulders with movie stars. Owned by Lord Edward Manners, Haddon’s present incumbent, it combines the past with 21st-century comfort and chic. Choose to sample Dan Smith’s inventive dishes in the main restaurant, the more intimate Wye Room or the snug bar. Outstanding fly-fishing on the Wye.
Fischer’s Baslow Hall is an attractive creeper-covered building set in well-tended gardens. The former family home is a magnet for foodies – it has held a Michelin star continuously since 1994, thanks to food that is beautifully presented and brilliantly executed. It’s well-placed for comfort-loving walkers and weekenders exploring the Peak District countryside, but the intimate public spaces and spruced up rooms are also equally inviting.
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Suffolk
The medieval building – all oak beams and creaky floors – in this fine old coaching inn has a snug bar, filled with Second World War US Air Force memorabilia, a romantic, galleried dining room and an airy brasserie. Wrap-around comfort in the bedrooms and pampering in the new Weavers’ House Spa. With the help of design team Todhunter Earle, the hotel now very successfully blends the old with the new and shows how even a rambling, very old coaching inn can be made to feel airy, fresh and modern.
Cotswolds
Dormy House
Broadway, Cotswolds, England
Dormy House is complete treat of a hotel with stylish and deeply relaxing décor, terrific food and impeccable service. This handsome haven of comfort and wellbeing is above pretty Broadway on the north western edge of the Cotswolds. The core is a 17th-century farmhouse, complete with big stone fireplaces and flagstone floors. Facilities are glorious, especially the outstanding spa, with lavender sauna, salt-infusion steam room, infinity pool and more (though check what’s open due to government guidelines). Don’t miss the three restaurants, all glorious gourmet havens in their own right.
Kings Head Inn
Bledington, Cotswolds, England
This 16th-century cider house makes an inviting inn. The all-wood bar, with high-backed settles and log fire, keeps a good selection of ales and is popular with guests and locals alike. Don’t ignore the excellent restaurant, and choose between a cosy, country-cottage style room above the pub or one of the larger, sleeker courtyard rooms. Both have character and charm.
Buckland Manor
Worcestershire, Cotswolds, England
You half expect to see Miss Marple taking tea in this mellow old manor, sitting sedately in its coomb next to a little church. Inside, you’ll find gracious, countrified bedrooms, reception rooms with beams, some fine wood panelling and roaring log fires, and a dining room where gentlemen must wear jacket and tie. It’s the antithesis of contemporary cool, and any suggestion of change would elicit an outcry from regulars who return again and again to enjoy its old-school snoozy charm.
Buckinghamshire
The Mash Inn
Radnage, Buckinghamshire, England
Described by its owner Nick Mash as a ‘new generation inn’, this pub’s aim is to remove the barriers between chef and diner and put honesty and communality back into increasingly sanitised contemporary inns. Walk into the diminutive pub, past cosy corners with original settles (old carved wooden benches with high backs) and a tiny bar, then into the airy, vaguely Scandinavian dining area, and the open kitchen takes centre stage: a solid wood workstation groaning with ingredients and stacked plates, beneath a ceiling rack dripping with pots and pans, in front of an open fire for rotisserie cooking.
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Yorkshire
The Blue Lion
Leyburn, Yorkshire, England
Time seems to have stood still in the bar of this refreshingly traditional 19th-century inn, much loved by locals and walkers. It’s all scrubbed floorboards and oak settles, with a cheerful fire, prints and knick-knacks. Here, and in the romantic dining room, the food is unfussy and excellent. Even the friendly staff look right, in old-fashioned black uniforms and white shirts. Bedrooms in the inn have more character than the more contemporary ones in converted stables.
The Yorke Arms
Nidderdale, Yorkshire, England
This Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms in an off-the-beaten-track location ticks all the boxes for an indulgent getaway: spoiling food, a restorative night’s sleep, and walks on the doorstep. Comfortably traditional public rooms mix with well-judged, contemporary country-house bedrooms. There’s a welcoming sitting room with log fire, a pretty courtyard for al fresco drinks and a voluptuous kitchen garden, across a babbling brook, with private dining table in the gazebo. Guests can visit the cellar to select and taste wines.
The Star Inn
Harome, Helmsley, England
Against a rustic backdrop of 14th-century rafters and intriguing nooks, Andrew Pern serves superb modern Yorkshire food at his thatched pub and restaurant. After a break of a few years, he regained his well-deserved Michelin star in early 2015. Accommodation is across the road in a handsome building with nine country-chic rooms and a comfortable living area, warmed by an open fire. A perfect blend of the laid-back and the sophisticated.
Cumbria
Originally a farmhouse, the cream-rendered building has been a pub for most of its 300-plus years. The current owners took over in the late 1970s turning it into one of the area’s first gastropubs, later with a micro-brewery. But it retains a sense of a country inn mixed with a quirky contemporary style. No two rooms are identical. The short-choice menu, which kicks off with a savoury taster, might include treacle-glazed beef shin as starter then hake with pickled samphire and fennel jam as mains. Lovely walking is on the doorstep.
Rothay Manor
Ambleside, Lake District, England
This is a smart country house hotel with a seriously good restaurant and relaxing, elegantly understated bedrooms. It’s surrounded by pretty gardens on the outskirts of Ambleside. All 19 rooms, with several on the ground floor, are generous in size and encourage lounging. Think country house in style – thick carpets and curtains, big armchairs and sofas.
A dramatic young couple has lovingly restored this Georgian village inn, transforming it into a captivating place to stay, bursting with character and vitality. Downstairs, you’ll find wood-burning stoves, sofas, paintings and photographs, and the contemporary yet cosy style carries on upstairs to the individually decorated bedrooms. The restaurant showcases produce from the Lowther Estate, prepared with flair, but no fuss. The Estate also provides fishing and stalking.
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Scotland
An icon updated in a deft recreation of jazz-age glamour, dripping in luxury with an added measure of fun. With quietly classy bedrooms, championship golf courses, a fabulous spa and two-starred Michelin food, there’s a little bit of (expensive) heaven for everyone. The range of country pursuits is staggering, from horse riding to country shooting and fishing. After a day of action, retire to The Dormy restaurant for a reassuring hearty meal next to a burning fireplace. The whole experience is all the more magical in the winter, when the hotel and the grounds are blanketed in snow.
The Fife Arms
Braemar, Highlands, Scotland
This wildly romantic, sublimely comfortable, uniquely fascinating passion project is from international art dealers Hauser & Wirth. You’ll like it for the location and because it’s a great hotel, but you’ll love it for the extraordinary imagination: high-class bric a brac has been turned into into objets d’art to create meticulously realised, light-hearted design drama in the public areas and individually themed rooms. Retreat from the cold weather with a massage, before exploring the library and the hotel shop. Recover from your efforts with afternoon tea in the drawing room or upgraded pub favourites at the jolly The Flying Stag bar.
Arrive at this whitewashed 1840s house in a glorious garden to a slap-up complimentary tea and good old-fashioned hospitality from welcoming owner Henrietta Fergusson and her tartan-trewed team. Inside, it is homely, with 10 traditional yet stylish bedrooms, decorated in warm colours and with fresh flowers. In the dining room, there’s a four-course table d’hôte dinner from much lauded chef, Mark Easton, whilst lighter dishes are served in the bar conservatory. Come here to unwind.
Foodies flock to Kinloch Lodge, home to Lady Claire Macdonald, one of Scotland’s best-known cooks, and run by her hands-on daughter Isabella. The style is pitch-perfect: walls hung with family oils and comfortably muted rooms. Cookery courses are laid on too. Families will enjoy the hotel’s ghillie and walking expert. The hotel stands at the southern end of the island, tucked under Kinloch Hill on the peaceful shores of Loch na Dal in the Sound of Sleat. There are loch views from many of the rooms.
From Rob Roy’s Loch Voil farmhouse, the hands-on Lewis family has created a contemporary version of the cosy hotel: a pair of slipper baths in one room; wood-burning stoves in others; and home-grown vegetables served in an airy restaurant. As well as organising Highland tours, stalking, and photography courses, the enterprising Lewises also own a fish/fish-and-chip shop and an artisan bakery/tea room, both on Callender’s main street.
Boath House
Nairn, Highlands, Scotland
Despite its grand proportions, this Grade A-listed Georgian manor has a truly friendly feel. The fires are always lit, and the warmly decorated rooms have views over the 20-acre garden. A bedroom you won’t want to stir from, No. 3 has a super king-sized bed and a pair of freestanding roll-top baths. But don’t miss dinner, when chefs cooks up a storm with organic, seasonal ingredients, many of them home-grown.
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Contributions by Benjamin Parker and Venus Wong
