POMALO

In 2019, our family of 5 moved to the beautiful Kent countryside with a dream… A dream to slow down, to reconnect, and spend more time together. After years of a very fast paced lifestyle, moving from country to country, we were desperate to create a home infused with a sense of calm.

Pretty quickly though, we found ourselves in the midst of a pandemic. Hardly having any connections in a foreign country created a double sense of isolation. We missed community, friends, family and easy city life in general. Thankfully, having lived an expat life for the last 16 years prepared us for almost any unfamiliar situation!

Living abroad, we had to create our own community over and over again, almost like building a family of friends. So we thought, what if we could do exactly this? Create a community? Open up our home as a place for the curious, the kind and open minded? Somewhere to pause and connect, where ideas and food can be shared, where we learn together, cook, feast, celebrate, where we embrace the seasons and welcome everyone with open arms - the Pomalo way!

ABOUT

Andrea

Pomalo is the result of the imagination, vision and thoughtful direction of Andrea Hilgers. Andrea has trained with Leith’s and Bettina Campolucci Bondi in London, and has recently achieved a diploma in boulangerie at the famous Le Cordon Bleu. She is a retreat chef, recipe developer and eternal hostess, devoted to bringing wonderful people together.

I grew up in a family where creating elaborate meals for friends and family was part of the fabric of our home, and I was involved in cooking by the time I was old enough to hold a spoon. My dad travelled the world for work and always came home with the most unusual (and not necessarily welcome!) recipes that he’d collected along the way. Our weekends were spent visiting markets to source the freshest ingredients, and our kitchen was always a place where everyone loved to gather, and enjoy delicious food and warm company!

Needless to say, food has always been a big deal in our house, and is tightly woven into our family traditions and celebrations. Christmas, Easter and birthdays were always huge events, and the build up the most exciting part! The German Stollen from my Grandma, my mum’s wonderful Christmas cookies which she started baking weeks in advance, or the tree decoration which was not to take place before the 23rd December… every event was a celebration of the seasons, with food and table settings to match. I suppose you could say that hosting and cooking is in my blood.

I have since lived in many different countries with my own family of five. My interest in the benefits of truly nourishing and nutritious foods was born whilst living in Sydney, Australia. Out of necessity to support my health, I took a deep dive into the concept of food as medicine, and wholesome, fresh and nourishing food is a joyful part of what I stand for today. I firmly believe in the benefits of a deeply nourishing diet, unprocessed and filled with local, seasonal and organic produce wherever possible. My style is relaxed, creative and centres around flavourful, beautiful dishes to nourish the body and lift the soul.

As a child, I had two dreams, which my dad and I spoke about a lot. The first was to live on a farm; to have chickens, fruit orchards, bees and grow my own vegetables. The second was to move to Italy, cook pasta all day long and have a big table to host my friends for every meal. And although I didn’t make it to Italy, hosting makes my soul sing, and setting the scene for friends to come together over beautiful food is what makes me happy.

‘Nourish by nature’ is a key tenet for my way of life. I’ve always had a strong connection to nature, and when we discovered our country house in Kent I found it to be a place to restore my energy, unwind and feed my soul. It’s a wonderful place to call home, nestled in the beautiful Kent countryside, surrounded by orchards, woodlands and incredible produce. It’s hard to imagine a better place to follow my passion. I can’t wait to welcome you to my table.