Apr 24, 2020
Calixta is a farmer and the owner and founder of Flourish Produce in Cambridgeshire. They grow the most amazing vegetables, fruit, and salad and supply a lot of the best restaurants in London - the likes of Pidgin, BRAT, Ben Chapman’s restaurants Kiln and Smoking Goat, Silo, and the list goes on.
Calixta studied Sustainable agriculture and forestry in America and lived and worked there up until just over three years ago, when a series of extremely fortunate events, and a chance encounter with her two co-founders - Comtois workhorses Bill and Ben, led to her moving home to the UK and starting her own farm.
Like so many people and businesses who work in food, Flourish has been impacted by this pandemic - as they grow their produce specifically for chefs and only supply direct to restaurants, they lost all their customers pretty much overnight. They’ve adapted and now supply their beautiful produce to consumers in London and Cambridge so you can now order yourself some of their delicious produce on their website.
I was lucky enough to head out to Flourish early last month to meet Calixta and record the episode. We sat in her kitchen and chatted about what set her on the path to becoming a farmer and how she came to start Flourish. We talk about what it means to be a regenerative farm, her rare varieties of produce she grows which come from all corners of the world, Bill and Ben, and what life on a farm is like.
Calixta has such an immense love for what she does, and she goes about it with such grace, integrity, and heart. I know you’re going to love hearing her incredible story.