The Good Food Guide and Quex Park

So what do Quex Park and Tracy Emin have in common? Well, that would be The Perfect Place to Grow, located at Silver Avenue in Quex Park of course.

The Perfect Place to Grow and Quex Park feature in this month’s edition of the Good Food Guide and is a youth employment initiative named after a Tracy Emin artwork.

The aim of The Perfect Place to Grow is to give young people a ‘structured, supportive pathway to employment’, by introducing them to skills needed in the hospitality trade, from creating culinary delights to front of house customer service skills, all under the helpful oversight of award-winning chefs, baristas and bakers, who give their time voluntarily.

Another idea was to introduce the young people to the source of their food by getting them involved in producing great produce, something which is an essential element of any chefs great dishes. So what is now referred to as, the ‘field to fork’ initiative, has been incorporated into the ethos of the team behind The Perfect Place to Grow, partnered with our very own Vegetable Manager Jack Scott.

Jack Scott who was BBC Countryfile ‘Young Countryside Champion 2023’ and studies Environmental Science at the University of Kent, was given one of his first breaks into vegetable farming when he was allocated some underused land at Quex Park to begin a vegetable growing business. His entrepreneurial spirit gained pace and soon he was supplying not only local restaurants and farmers' markets in Kent, but growing to order too, so was the perfect fit to inspire other young people on their own journeys.

Bringing young people to an outdoor space such as Silver Avenue at Quex Park resulted in a positive experience for many. Our young people can be inspired surrounded by nature, while building their self-confidence and meeting new friends. Professionals in the trade can also give something back to the community by offering their insights and skills.