By Fiona Walker
WHEN I was considering my column a month ago, I thought I might write about the situation at La Cidrerie, but then I had second thoughts. After all, I reasoned, things must surely be resolved by the middle of the summer. No one would be cruel enough to let this sorry saga drag out for even longer than it already has.
How wrong can you be?
If you don’t know about La Cidrerie, it is a restaurant at La Petite Robeline, a small and well-loved farmhouse, buried in the wilds of St Ouen. There, Richard and Sarah Matlock have created a unique dining experience, one that has been enjoyed by scores of Islanders and visitors.
We were introduced to La Cidrerie by family members, who are themselves hugely successful in the local catering sector. They raved about this little gem, created to showcase local produce in an authentic Jersey setting, and we were keen to experience it for ourselves. On our first visit, there was one problem…we couldn’t find the place. A tour of the more remote corners of the parish and a series of phone calls eventually led us down one of those tapering lanes where wildflowers stud the hedgerow and weeds push their way through the tarmac in the centre of what is barely more than a track. Back then, parking was in a nearby field and the last few yards had to be completed on foot; somehow it all added to the magic of the evening.
Drinks were served in a granite courtyard bordered by vibrant blooms, where chickens pecked around in the flowerbeds, and chatter and laughter accompanied the aperitifs.
Dinner followed, delivered on trestle tables in a towering barn where massive steel cider vats lined the walls, and the scent of apple fermentation imbued the air. Unmatching cutlery, glasses and crockery marked place settings linked by colourful vases of flowers, freshly picked from the garden. It was always fun to watch first-time visitors to La Cidrerie, as they craned their necks and grabbed their phones to take in and record this unique and convivial environment.
If the surroundings were good, the meal was better. Sarah Matlock – better known as The Cider Maker’s Wife – was an attentive and welcoming host, while her husband, Richard, put his cider-making aside to don a chef’s hat and prepare mouth-wateringly delicious meals, originally in the farmhouse itself and later in a kitchen, complete with open woodfire, within the barn. Hand-dived scallops, local beef, freshly caught fish, fragrant cheeses, home grown herbs… La Cidrerie showcased the best of the Island and the best of the season, and guests chatted across tables as they acknowledged just how blessed they were to be sharing this special experience.
In 2021, the Matlocks made an application for retrospective consent to change the use of the barn, build a kitchen within it, and make a new entrance to allow parking in a nearby field. All was approved, with the exception of the proposal to redesign the entrance to the field, which resulted in the entire submission being thrown out. A new application, without the parking, was approved on 1 March this year and work commenced to prepare La Cidrerie for the season.
But on the afternoon of 28 March – within just hours of the appeal window closing – one solitary appeal was lodged.
Instead of allowing La Cidrerie to remain open until a final decision was made by the Planning Minister, all work had to cease.
Seventeen weeks have now passed, and still no decision has been announced.
In that time, despite huge support from the public of Jersey, the Matlocks have been pushed from pillar to post by Planning and by ministers, as responsibility is avoided and those who pay lip service to supporting the plans decline to actively facilitate the reopening.
Surely there is something wrong with a planning system that allows an appeal by one individual – bearing in mind, it came in after consent had been granted – to have such an aggressive and detrimental impact on a small business?
And how ironic that while all this has been going on, we saw The Cider Maker and The Cider Maker’s Wife supporting the same government that is making their lives so difficult, by promoting Jersey beautifully, enthusiastically and eloquently on Channel 5.
Shame on you Planning, ministers and all those in government who have had every opportunity to make the right decision for Jersey and fudged it.
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Postscript: On Tuesday, planning consent was confirmed. However, in another twist to this indefensible saga, the Constable of St Ouen then raised further concerns regarding the temporary licence, putting it back on hold.
