The story of Forage Farm shop and the Homfray family who own it is one that could easily be turned into a historical drama. The plot would span 300 years – beginning with the founding of one of Wales' great iron dynasties, featuring a marriage to the richest man in the world, a castle, a three-decade wait to build a roundabout, shrewd property deals, a global pandemic, and ending with poached egg and avocado on sourdough toast in the farm shop café.
South Wales has changed beyond recognition in those three centuries but one thing has remained the same throughout – the Homfrays have been constantly striving to modernise and improve not just their lot but those around them too. We visit on a Thursday – it's not even 11am and already the bright and airy café at Forage Farm Shop is alive with the clink of coffee cups, the gentle hum of chatter, and the clatter of pans in the kitchen. The April sun is streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows which look out over the River Thaw and the Homfray-owned 2,500 acre Penllyn Estate on the outskirts of Cowbridge.
The scene is every inch modern café culture but don't be fooled by this idyllic scene. "We were a bit naïve," said owner Tom Homfray about the chaotic early days of the shop. It was due to open in 2020 in the same week the pandemic hit the UK. Tom and his wife Katherine were still living in London at that point and had planned to move to Wales at the same time.
