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Good enough to eat (or drink)
Born on the shoreline here at Watergate Bay, land&water’s products for bath and body are bursting with sustainably sourced fruit, flower and plant essential oils and botanical actives. Blended with spirit and imagination, and created by ex-chefs, their all-natural recipes evoke the therapeutic benefits of time spent on the threshold of land and water.
From uplifting lime to cooling mint, salty samphire to sharp sea buckthorn berries, land&water’s signature ingredients are quite literally good enough to eat – which might be why they also pop up throughout our restaurant menus, especially in Zacry’s.
In a nod to land&water’s Watergate Bay origins, we look at how our executive head chef, Neil Haydock, and resident mixologist, Christina Knight, bring land&water’s favourite ingredients to life in their own creations*, and reveal the incredible benefits they bestow…
(*please note: our menus change regularly, so these particular dishes/ drinks may not be available at the time of your visit)
Photography by Goodrest Studios
1. Sea buckthorn benefits
With its tiny, nutrient-rich orange berries, sea buckthorn flourishes on Cornwall’s rocky cliffs and salt-sprayed dunes. Packed full of skin rejuvenating properties, it’s also an essential ingredient in land&water bath oils and body scrubs.
Bursting with vitamins and essential fatty acids, sea buckthorn may help to prevent skin dryness, stimulate skin regeneration and lead to speedier wound healing.
Read more about the benefits of this wonder berry in Liquid Gold over on the land&water Journal.
Sea buckthorn on the menu
Dark chocolate & brown butter ganache / tuile / sea buckthorn sorbet
Sea buckthorn has a fresh, quite fruity, sharp yet slightly sweet flavour, which breaks through the bitterness of dark chocolate.
— Neil Haydock
2. Mint benefits
A highly aromatic herb, mint brightens land&water balms, washes, candles and haircare with a mind-clearing, fresh scent and cooling effect – helping to recreate the feeling of invigoration that comes from being amongst the elements.
Mint is also the Greek herb of hospitality – forming a neat link with land&water’s connection to Watergate Bay Hotel. Ahead of the arrival of guests, the ancient Greeks would scatter the earthen floors of their houses with mint leaves, ready to release a refreshing, welcoming fragrance when stepped on. (Today, at Watergate, we use land&water’s 5L refills to top up the hand wash, hand lotion, body wash, shampoo and conditioner in our guests’ rooms)
Mint on the menu
To eat: Compressed watermelon / whipped feta with lemon zest / mint pistachio dressing
To drink: Elderflower Lemonade – elderflower cordial, lemonade, lemon slices, mint spri
Sweet watermelon, salty feta, and mint are a classic pairing. The sweet fruit with a single herb and the creamy cheese really sing.
— Neil Haydock
The classically refreshing taste of mint and elderflower to cool you down on a hot summer’s day.
— Christina Knight
3. Lemon benefits
Lemon holds an enduring power to energise and cheer, delivering the perfect balance between sweet and sharp. Using its uplifting, zesty aroma to enliven an upcoming new natural soap bar, land&water calls on the potent antibacterial effects of lemon to cleanse and invigorate. Rejuvenating both the mind and body, lemon awakens the emotions and encourages smoother-looking skin as a natural astringent.
On the menu
Lemon posset / blueberries / shortbread / candied lemon
The bitterness of the lemons brings out the sweetness in the berries and cuts through the richness of the cream.
— Neil Haydock
4. Samphire benefits
How land&water harnesses its benefits:
From traditional remedy to chefs’ foraged favourite, samphire crops up on the salt-seasoned fringes of the earth. At home on Cornwall’s coastline, you’ll likely spot it on the cliffs at Watergate Bay – but you’ll also find it in all land&water lotions. A hardy, succulent, salt-tolerant plant with incredible hydrating properties, samphire extract (hydrasalinol) forms an important element of land&water’s botanical DNA. Helping to moisturise, restructure and smooth out skin, samphire also has considerable anti-oxidant, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory powers.
Discover Seven Samphire Secrets over on the land&water Journal.
On the menu in Zacry’s:
Whole Cornish plaice 'on the bone' / cockles / samphire / cucumber / sweetcorn / bacon jam
The samphire is so local we pick it from the cliff edges at Watergate to garnish our cocktails
— Christina Knight
The salty yet zesty flavour of the samphire adds colour and natural seasoning.
— Neil Haydock
5. Lime benefits
Just like its citrusy siblings, lime has considerable antibacterial effects – making it the ideal addition to land&water’s cleansing recipes, from hand wash to body wash. Stimulating and refreshing, lime leaves a fresh-out-of-the-sea skin feeling, while its tart fragrance clears fatigue and encourages focus, clarity and an elevated sense of wellbeing.
On the menu in Zacry’s
The Summer Breeze: Black Cow Vodka, grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, lime
Sour to semi-sweet in a drink...the lime helps bring out the sweetness of the fruits
— Christina Knight
Zacry’s gin mojito recipe
A taste of land&water:
Featuring all five key land&water ingredients – order our zesty Gin Mojito next time you find yourself in Zacry’s after a day out in the waves / on the beach and cliffs (or make it at home and feel transported to the Cornish coastline).
Ingredients
50ml grapefruit gin
50ml sea buckthorn puree
4 lime wedges
Mint leaves
A dash of gomme
Soda water
Samphire to garnish
Method
1. Put 4 lime wedges, 50ml Sea buckthorn puree and 50ml Grapefruit Gin in a tall crystal glass and muddle well.
2. Add a handful of mint leaves and crushed ice to the glass.
3. Stir with a spoon and top with soda water.
4. Garnish with mint, lime and samphire.
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