В поместье Чёрч-Фарм у Батта открыли сезон гастрономических вечеров с оперой на свежем воздухе

'I had a delightful evening of luxury and champagne at Bath farm' It was such a treat I had not been that excited for a press review for some time, I thought as I drove to Bath. But I guess that is to be expected; it is not very often that I describe a place as being "out of this world". So it had been a quick, easy yes from when I got invited to try Homewood's latest offering. While the logistical side of things was a bit harder to arrange from my side, that just made the evening to come even more special. After a sell-out debut last year, The Cowshed by Homewood - a boutique hotel on the outskirts of Bath - was returning to If Opera for its second season, transforming Church Farm, near Bath, into an open-air dining destination where food, beautiful surroundings and performance come together. For me, the location was one of the highlights of the experience. Surrounded by gorgeous countryside, it was a simply stunning place to spend a warm, Summer evening - it felt like such a luxury. Starting our time at Church Farm with a glass of Taittinger champagne, this was the perfect way to set the mood for what was to come; a few hours to relax while enjoying delicious food, good company and memorable music. We began our meal by sharing some starters, including the staple sourdough with butter, oils and hummus. The no-dig garden tomatoes and burrata were outstanding and we both agreed how rare it is to get such flavoursome tomatoes in this country. The ham hock terrine was so soft it melted in your mouth, while the maple-glazed Loch Duart salmon was beautifully delicate. I also enjoyed the haloumi and chorizo parrilla - but what is not to like about such wonderful combination. The mains were equally superb and I thought the food was even better than I remembered it at Homewood. Deciding to share, we had the rump of Cypriot lamb, which was served with feta, beans, oregano, rosemary and onion gravy. We also had the provençal beef blade, which was accompanied by sun-blushed tomato and garden peas. We both loved our mains, finding the lamb deliciously fatty and the beef perfectly soft. This came with a sharing bowl of no-dig garden vegetables and minted Charlotte potatoes. By the end of all this, we felt nicely full and luckily it was now time for the opera to start before our dessert. Wandering over to the stage area, we saw quite a lot of people enjoying a picnic in the gorgeous grounds; a great idea and I would totally do that, had we not been invited to Cowshed. Neither of us had ever been to see an opera before, which made the experience even more special. We were there to see The Chocolate Soldier, an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus on George Bernard's Shaw play Arms and the Man. We loved the experience, enjoying the stunning live music and singing. There were also plenty of funny moments, which was much appreciated. However, for me, it was the setting - the being able to look into the countryside if I turned my head - that made the experience even more memorable. In the interval, it was time to head back to Cowshed for our desserts; an Eton mess with honeycomb, passion fruit and mango, together with a classic trifle with custard and crime as well as a raspberry sponge. We couldn't help ourselves and we ordered a second glass of champagne, which we took with us to watch the second half of the performance. During a stressful period of my life, an evening at Church Farm gave me some much needed self-care, joy and happiness. I can't wait to see what else the team at Homewood come up with. Homewood is a boutique hotel on the outskirt's of Bath. It has a Michelin Key as well as having a 4* AA rating, with two AA rosettes for its food offering. Find out more and book here.