Peacock House, Aldington, KENT Giggers Green Road, Aldington, Kent TN25 7BY London
In a 300 year old cottage in the Kentish woods, Sæl Projects by British chef Tobyn Excell hosts SixSeats, an intimate rural dining experience connecting people with landscape.
Once a month we open up the cottage to 6 guests to join us for dinner at our kitchen table for an evening of natural wines, genuine old-school hospitality, and creative food from the wildlife in the marshes, woods and coastline surrounding us, where we rediscover forgotten ingredients and unearth buried methods.
For each SixSeats edition, Sæl Projects collaborates with a guest wine pro to curate our drinks. The winemakers they support produce lesser-known artisanal, authentic wines which are terroir focused, follow low intervention principles, and truly let the fruit and vineyard speak for itself. This month we are delighted to welcome the incredible Ania Smelskaya of Silo Restaurant and Spencer & Smelskaya. She'll be bringing some unique LI wines along with her zero-waste expertise to the dinner. We can't wait to see, and drink, what she brings to SixSeats!
The menu is an expression of the landscape, and evolves right up to the last moment as the season changes every day. Here's one of our previous menus:
Beeswax custard, dulse, roses Pine Raspberries, acorn cream
Here's what some of our recent guests said about the SixSeats experience:
"The most inspirational meal of the year" "beyond passion, it's like inventing your own language" @claudiowithachanceofmeatballs
“Probably the UK’s best hidden secret and easily landing in the top 3 meals I have had the past year. This is Tobyn in his element. The experience from beginning to finish was simply magical, contrasting world class techniques and menu composition with warm hospitality. I’m not sure I can say the experience has actually finished as I have frequently relived it in telling friends and colleagues about Sæl Projects. The experience has already become a seasonal event on our calendar when I agreed to join again with some wonderful companions I met during the dinner." Tiffany J. Ng, CEO of @RSVPyes
"Sael Projects is a love letter to Kent written in ink and paper harvested here. You won’t find a more down to earth experience than dining in a place that challenges the preconceptions of British cuisine in such ways. SP is crafted with knowledge of the land woven into Tobyn’s passion for food and expert technique. An intricate menu is made simple by the homely environment provided by the Excells and their humble vibe. This could easily be the most pretentious dining experience in which someone schools you on their findings but instead it feels like a lifelong friend sharing their weekly harvest around the fire— an experience so genuinely human it keeps you wanting more. " @hola_silver
"Tasty pieces of art... I felt like I was visiting old friends" @mliavaag