Some evenings linger long after the last glass leaves the table. Indeed, the most memorable ones tend to involve produce with a real story behind it. On Tuesday 21 April, the Food & Drink Studio on the third floor of Fortnum & Mason hosted one such occasion. The British Table brought together chef Ruth Hansom and English vineyard Whitewolfe. Together, they delivered a five-course toast to the best of British produce, from vineyard to plate.
A Partnership Rooted in Provenance
The premise of The British Table is simple. First, bring together a chef who lives and breathes seasonal British cooking. Then, pair her with a vineyard producing exceptional English Chardonnay. Finally, let the combination do the talking. In Ruth Hansom and Whitewolfe, Fortnum’s found two collaborators whose values align beautifully. Both work with the land rather than against it. Moreover, both have built their reputations on patience, provenance and a stubborn dedication to doing things the long way round.
This partnership feels less like a marketing exercise and more like a meeting of minds. Ruth’s menu drew on the larders of Yorkshire, where she now cooks. Meanwhile, Clare Whitehead and Luke Wolfe’s wines arrived from the chalky North Downs of Kent. The geography is wide. However, the ethos is shared. Above all, both teams champion small British producers, celebrate seasonality, and let the ingredients sing.
Meet the Chef: Ruth Hansom
For anyone following the British food scene, Ruth Hansom needs little introduction. She began growing her own vegetables at the age of thirteen. Naturally, that early obsession soon became a career. First, her training took her to The Ritz London through the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts. There, she became the first female Young National Chef of the Year. Later, she reached the finals of the BBC’s Great British Menu. She then took the helm at The Princess of Shoreditch, earning three AA Rosettes and a place in the Michelin Guide. Today, she runs her own restaurant, Hansom, in the Yorkshire market town of Bedale.
Hansom in Bedale has rapidly become one of the most talked-about openings in the North. In fact, Giles Coren named it his top restaurant of 2025. Ruth’s cooking is ultra-seasonal, produce-led and unapologetically British. Every plate feels considered. Every sourcing decision feels deliberate. At Fortnum’s, that ethos translated into a menu that read like a postcard from Yorkshire. Furthermore, her ingredients travelled south to share the spotlight with their Kentish wine counterparts.
Meet the Vineyard: Whitewolfe
Whitewolfe has quietly built serious credibility within English wine circles since its first vintage in 2022. Clare Whitehead and Luke Wolfe started the project after meeting at Plumpton College, where they both studied oenology and viticulture. Today, their ten hectares of south-facing vineyard sit at the foot of Blue Bell Hill in Kit’s Coty, on Kent’s celebrated North Downs.
The area is special. Chalk-rich soils warm in the sun. A sheltered microclimate protects the vines. Weather fronts famously split around the vineyard before continuing on their way. Indeed, this is the sort of land English winemakers dream about. Clare and Luke have planted seven Chardonnay clones across fourteen blocks. They manage each block individually to coax the most expressive fruit from the terroir. Their cuvées take the name KC after the Kit’s Coty area. KC1 is the elegant, Chablis-leaning bottle. Meanwhile, KC2 offers a more powerful, lemon curd and vanilla-scented profile. Finally, KC3 brings a lively, citrus-driven option.
Sustainability runs through everything they do. Whitewolfe co-founded Sustainable Wines of Great Britain, achieving accreditation in 2020. Notably, the team has never used herbicide on the vines. Wildflowers grow freely in the headlands. As a result, the soil has climbed from below 3% organic matter to over 4.25% in just a few years. Theirs is a long-game philosophy. Naturally, it aligns beautifully with Ruth’s own.
A Five-Course Celebration of British Cooking
The evening’s menu unfolded as an edible map of Britain. Yorkshire produce sat alongside Kentish Chardonnay. Indeed, the dialogue between the two felt less like a pairing exercise and more like a conversation between old friends. Ruth’s plates carried the refined, ingredient-forward style she has become known for. First came poached fish with cauliflower, brown shrimp and a vivid herb sauce. Next, chicken with purple sprouting broccoli, leek and parsnip. Finally, a Yorkshire rhubarb dessert with sorrel and meringue nodded firmly to the Yorkshire Triangle. Meanwhile, the Whitewolfe wines slipped in alongside each course with layered minerality and structured fruit.
As Fortnum & Mason’s third-floor Studio filled with guests, you could feel something in the air. Everyone there came to celebrate British growers, makers and winemakers. Ultimately, this is what the modern British table should look like. It is collaborative, curious and quietly proud of its own backyard. Tucked within the elegant upper floors of Fortnum & Mason, the Food & Drink Studio feels like a private playground for gastronomes. Polished, intimate, and quietly theatrical. It’s a space designed not just for observation but participation, where guests move beyond passive dining into something far more engaging. The programme spans a carefully curated mix of events: expert-led tastings that decode fine wines and rare spirits, hands-on workshops that bring technique to life, and intimate chef-hosted evenings that blur the line between supper club and masterclass. There’s an effortless sense of occasion throughout, underpinned by Fortnum’s heritage yet delivered with a contemporary, interactive edge.
For more information, visit Hansom Restaurant, Whitewolfe Estates and Fortnum & Mason.
All Images Courtesy of Jean Egbunike / Ruth Hansom.