26/3/25 - updated with Baked by Cordia opening date
Two years ago Chantelle Nicholson opened Apricity in Mayfair, a restaurant that perfectly showcased her strong commitment to sustainability and vegetable-forward approach to cooking. The restaurant later won the chef a green Michelin star for her efforts.
For her next opening, Chantelle is taking those defining principles out to West Sussex where she's opening The Cordia Collective within Borde Hill Grade II listed country estate. For this, she's also teaming up with wine expert Ruth Osborne, best known for the excellent Wine Car Boot pop-ups as well as top baker Janine Edwards.
Edwards, previously at Little Bread Pedlar, Darby’s and Toklas, will be kicking things off with her bakery and garden café, Baked by Cordia. That actually comes in two separate cafes. There's Gingko, which you'll find at the visitor entrance and Gloriette, which is within the gardens.
The signature bake will be Edwards' curlicue, an enriched dough bake that is "coiled like a fern". On the sweet side, they'll be topped with cinnamon & magnolia butter, rhubarb crumble & meringue, and caramelised apple. But if you want to go the savoury route, they'll have versions with wild garlic pesto with Slipcote cheese or bacon jam & Cheddar. They'll also have focaccia sandwiches (with herbs and salad from Borde Hill Market Garden, just across the road). As for drinks, alongside coffee and tea, there will be rose and Roebuck Estates Sussex sparkling wine.
Later on in 2025, The Cordia Collective cafe and workshop will open in the estate's 118-year-old Victorian stables building, which will be getting a new glasshouse restaurant (and a terrace) that will overlook the kitchen garden. That garden will be a big focus of the menu, which also has a focus on regenerative principles. As you'd expect, the menu here will be very seasonal, led by the surroundings (we'll have more details about that closer to the opening). The drinks will follow the same ethos and you can expect to see lots of Sussex wines on the list.
Talking about the opening, Chantelle says "To have the opportunity to be in the heart of nature, and work in tandem with the terroir and seasons is a true realisation of a dream. I can’t wait to immerse myself in it all and, alongside Ruth, create a new, dynamic collection of nature with delicious food and drink, and warm hospitality".
More about The Cordia Collective
Where is it? Borde Hill Ln, Haywards Heath RH16 1XP
When does it open? Baked by Cordia opens 31 March 2025, with the restaurant following in the summer.
Find out more: Follow them on Instagram @thecordiacollective.
Photo by Lisa Tse
Subscribe to be the first to get the news from Hot Dinners
