Agritourism: Italian-inspired hospitality in the UK

Italy is famous the world over for its delicious food and beautiful countryside. The two come together in the form of the agriturismo, a type of farm-stay where the food – produced on the farm itself – takes centre stage. Agritourism there has been hugely successful since it was first established in the 1980s as a way to make small farms viable. It now contributes around 1.9 billion euros to the Italian economy every year.

Agritourism is in its infancy in the UK, where a young generation of chefs have decamped from the city to the countryside to take on farms, and ensure they have absolute control over how their ingredients are sourced.

Jaega Wise visits Coombeshead Farm in Cornwall, where guests can eat, sleep and explore where their food comes from and understand how it’s produced. The farm is managed by Tom Adams, who previously ran a successful food truck and restaurant in London.

She also talks to Hugo Guest and his wife Olive, who again left London behind to set up a farm restaurant and guest house in Devon. They discuss the influence of Italian agritourism on their venture, which opened just after the Covid-19 lockdowns.

We hear the thoughts of Gabriella Parkes, a researcher in rural tourism from Harper Adams University, on how the pandemic gave a boost to rural tourism and an interest in locally produced food.

Caroline Millar from Scottish Agritourism and the Global Agritourism Network tells the programme how Scotland aims to take inspiration from Italy for its own burgeoning agritourism industry.

Jaega discusses with chefs Dan Cox and Hugo Harrison the lengths they and others have gone to in order to chase the perfect produce.

She also talks to Tom Adams, Dan Cox and Hugo Harrison about the cost of establishing this kind of enterprise, and whether it’s inevitable that these places remain accessible only to wealthy people.

Finally, hotel critic Fiona Duncan sums up why staying and eating on a farm – as in Italy – is a truly immersive experience, and how more of these could invigorate the UK’s restaurant and hotel scene.

Presented by Jaega Wise. Produced by Fiona Clampin.