We interview Stella and Griff from Woodfire Camping, the UK’s first gastro campsite located in different locations across Sussex.
How did the idea for Woodfire Camping come about? Was it a long held ambition to run a campsite?
Woodfire Camping was the first gastro-campsite in the UK – we combine comfortable camping with delicious food cooked over fire, using the most sustainable models we can find and we are based on sites across the South Downs.
Basically, we stole ideas from people who had the lives we wanted and then combined all the elements that we loved. Apricot festivals in a tiny French village, Italian agriturismi menus, Argentinian barbecues and Oktoberfest trestle tables…we added some good tents and a lovely canvas shelter in case of rain.
Our role is to be good hosts and act as a conduit to the South Downs.
You both live on site for most of the summer. Tell us about that. What do you love and what do you miss when you’re living in a field?
All the clichés fill me with joy – birdsong as an alarm clock, the first bluebell of spring, the terror in a child’s eye when they first use a compost toilet….
The best bit of it all is the unwinding as guests start to realise that the routines and values that they rely on can be put on hold for a few days. Things like charging mobiles and feeding kids at 5:45 on the dot start to matter less, the more time you spend outdoors. You see shoulders drop and how people really behave with their families when they’re relaxed. It reaffirms your faith in human nature because they’re (almost) always lovely. Of course there are rows and things, especially putting up a tent on a Friday night with kids crying, but that’s even more affirming – we’re all the same! Our cooking began with a big stew and flatbreads on a Friday night for exactly that reason – one less thing to think about after a stressful day.
It’s a pleasure to welcome people and give them better food than they were expecting and see them start to enjoy themselves. Feels like that’s the definition of hospitality.
All of the food you serve is cooked on a fire. What sort of food do you serve? What do your customers enjoy about the culinary experience?
We serve food that comes from the surrounding farms and Sussex producers and, like you say, we cook everything over fire – either charcoal or wood. We only cook one meat and one vegetarian option each night and we use cooking equipment like asados, chapas, potjies and good old-fashioned grills. We actively avoid the whole machismo scene – less emphasis on baseball caps and beards and instead look towards a kind of Elizabeth David with smoke-type of menu.
Guests bring their own cutlery and crockery and sit together on long wooden benches outdoors and chat.
I think because they’re eating outdoors and the scenery is so beautiful that guests tend to love the occasion anyway, the fact that the food is good means that they are very happy. We’ve tried to create a very relaxed environment where kids can get down from the table to run around and we don’t move guests on from their table. They can sit and enjoy themselves then wander back to their tent when it’s dark.
How has your business adapted to current economic conditions and people’s changing travel habits?
Weirdly COVID was our friend. Obviously people couldn’t travel and, because we are outdoors, we could open, so we found that we were really busy. The main change for us was that a load of our mates who are chefs were going a bit stir-crazy stuck at home and they started to come down to work on menus, go foraging and sit around the campfire. Gradually we started impromptu nights with different chefs and the whole thing grew quickly because we were bringing good food to a field in Sussex and we started running feast nights with chefs from Scully’s, Ottolenghi’s ROVI, Temper and a load of others.
More recently it’s got harder because money is so tight and people are waiting later to decide if they are coming. From a food point of view this has meant a lot of focus on less expensive cuts and a big development of our plant-based menu.
Who is your favourite Sussex Supplier and why?
For reasons to do with my own safety there’s no way that I’d name any of our food suppliers above any of the others. The one Sussex supplier that I would love everyone to know about is Ali at Blackdog Forestry in Wiston. Blackdog supply all of our wood (we use oak and birch) and most importantly, our charcoal. The charcoal they produce is amazing – it’s created in a retort kiln which means that the gases that are released on the first burn are re-introduced to the fire and burned off to improve the charcoal, rather than released into the air. They source their wood for the charcoal from Sussex so it’s all very local, sustainable and doesn’t have any chemicals added.
Has there been a review or accolade that has been particularly special to you?
Our first FSA inspection was a little nerve-racking – a completely outdoor kitchen in the middle of summer was definitely a challenge and so the five stars were a relief.
Last year we were one of just four companies to be awarded a Green Tourism Gold award from the South Downs National Park because of the work that we are doing to deliver a net zero plan.
That was an enormous recognition of the work that we’ve put into a small business.
