Can Fine Dining Establish Its Own Supply Chain? Simon Rogan’s Restaurant-Farm Model

Sustainability in fine dining restaurants is often addressed through purchasing local products, reducing waste, or preparing seasonal menus. British chef Simon Rogan has developed one of the examples that extends this approach to the restaurant's supply system. Located just a few minutes away from Rogan’s restaurants, Our Farm in the Cartmel Valley operates using a model based on product planning between kitchen teams and growers. According to L’Enclume’s official statement, the farm is seen as an extension of the restaurant kitchen; production methods are planned according to the seasonal needs of the restaurants throughout the year.

The key difference in the model is that instead of chefs preparing menus based on the products offered by existing suppliers, they are involved in deciding which products will be grown during the production phase. At Our Farm, growers and kitchen teams work side by side; products can be harvested before service, and the varieties needed by the restaurant can be planned accordingly. This system allows the restaurant to have greater control over the production method, harvest time, and quality of the ingredients.

The Rogan group’s approach to sustainability is not limited to production. The company’s own statement mentions that Our Farm supplies about 80% of the ingredients used in restaurants in the Lake District and that compost systems are used on the farm to process food waste from the Cartmel restaurants. The group’s goal is to incorporate waste back into the production cycle as much as possible in restaurant operations.

Our Farm has also been transformed from a background supply area of the restaurant into an experience that can be sold to guests. In the ongoing “A Day at Our Farm” program in the summer of 2026, a limited number of guests first tour the production area and then participate in a dining experience centered around the products grown on the farm. The organization is held with groups of 16 people. This way, agricultural production combines supply, brand storytelling, and an additional gastronomic experience within the same system.

Simon Rogan’s approach will also be discussed in Istanbul as part of Gastromasa 2026. According to Gastromasa’s announcement on August 6, 2026, Rogan is among the speakers at the event to be held on November 26-27, 2026, at the Haliç Congress Center. However, from StaffMag’s perspective, the real value of the issue is not the chef’s participation in the event, but the business model that shows how restaurants can address sustainability in conjunction with supply chains, menu development, and waste management.

In our opinion: It is not economically or operationally realistic for every restaurant to establish its own farm. The main lesson to be drawn from the Simon Rogan model is not that production must necessarily belong to the business, but rather that the relationship between the kitchen and the producer should be taken beyond the purchasing process. In Turkey, restaurants can engage in pre-season product planning with producers without owning a farm, develop long-term purchasing agreements for specific products, and involve kitchen teams more in the growing process of the products. Such a system can make the menu more compatible with supply conditions while providing advantages in terms of product standardization and traceability. However, for businesses that transition to their own production, agricultural knowledge, personnel, land, logistics, and production risks create separate cost items from the restaurant's normal operations. Therefore, the sustainable supply model should be measured financially and operationally before a romantic “farm-to-table” narrative.