Homestead Kitchen shrugs off green star loss with sustainable expansion

Homestead Kitchen in North Yorkshire’s Goathland has doubled down on its sustainable ethos, launching a spate of new initiatives in response to Michelin retiring its green star accolade earlier this month.

The farm-to-table restaurant, which was awarded a green star last year, has taken on an additional five-acre field to “significantly increase the volume and variety of produce cultivated on-site”.

As well as growing organic vegetables, the expanded lot will be used to grow flowers to use in the restaurants, with the surplus to be sold to local residents and operators.

The restaurant also aims to expand its garden this autumn to host workshops and private events, “that connect people more deeply with food, nature and sustainable living”.

Homestead Kitchen has also secured a grant from the North York Moors National Park Authority to enhance rainwater harvesting across its premises, including the installation of solar-powered pumps and efficient sprinkler systems to irrigate the expanded garden.

Co-owner Cecily Fearnley said: “Green tourism is about more than where you stay or eat — it’s about how those experiences support the environment and the community.

“We want to be part of a future where hospitality plays a positive role in shaping that.”

Homestead Kitchen’s of sustainable initiatives come shortly after Michelin announced plans to retire its green star accolade – which championed restaurants pioneering sustainable practices across their menus and operations – at the end of this year.

Speaking to The Caterer, Fearnley said of the move by Michelin: “This week’s decision isn’t us no longer meeting Michelin’s standard – it’s not like a restaurant losing a [red] star,” she added.

“It’s not personal, but I think transparency about the reasons behind having to do this is something as an industry we should be calling for.

“The whole way this has been handled with the retiring of the green stars has undermined the work that goes in behind the scenes of these small businesses working their socks off.”