Garden Centre Catering Awards winner profile

British Garden Centres was founded back in 1990 when two brothers, Charles and Robert Stubbs, opened Woodthorpe Garden Centre in Alford, Lincolnshire. Since then, the company has experienced exponential growth to the point where now, in 2025, it has 73 centres nationwide. The restaurants have been a huge part of this growth and have been instrumental in the success of the brand.

As a business, British Garden Centres wants to support its local communities as much as possible, which sees it supporting local charities and schools across the country. It is also a platinum partner of the Greenfingers Charity, fundraising thousands each year to build gardens in children’s hospices.

The menu is reviewed and edited annually, but this year was different as the company oversaw a restaurant rebrand and a brand-new menu was created. This was rolled out across all of its sites in March. Throughout the year, the team created specials and seasonal menus, with British Garden Centres’ famous Christmas offering being released in August.

The carvery is the best-selling item, even though it is only available in 27 restaurants; over 430,000 carveries were sold in 2024. Other popular dishes include the full English breakfast, Italian chicken, pie of the day, burger selection and barbecue smothered chicken meal.

These have all proven extremely popular across the estate of restaurants and are staples on the menu and specials boards. Alongside these main meals, the hot drink selection is also beloved by customers. The company sold over 2.8m hot drinks across the country in 2024.

All the chefs at the restaurants with a carvery go through a special masterclass, perfecting the art of slicing meats and creating the best-looking meal for customers. This is something that is followed up with internal one-on-one training and guides.

The menu development team and restaurant support spend an enormous amount of time researching trends in the food industry and what people are looking for, whether they be existing concepts or new emerging ideas. This is done by visiting trade shows, speaking with suppliers, talking to other establishments and monitoring market trends.

Doing all this allows British Garden Centres to create the best customer experience in its restaurants, with delicious, good-value food being at the heart of what it does. Its menu is reviewed regularly to ensure that it stays on tend with what its demographic is looking for, while also being ahead of the curve when it comes to the overall customer experience.

British Garden Centres' restaurants are so much more than a garden centre café; they are stand-alone establishments. It has 68 restaurants in the group, and it is currently going through a renovation stage as it looks to take them into a new era. These renovations are breathing life into the spaces, connecting them to the core of the garden centre through large foliage displays and warm lighting. The garden centre may be what brings the customers in, but the restaurants’ warm and inviting atmosphere, alongside the excellent menu, is what keeps them coming back.

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