ABOUT US

Brassica Mercantile neighbours its successful sister business, Brassica Restaurant in the beautiful town square of Beaminster in West Dorset.

We stock a wide range of organic, local and European provisions, meat & poultry, cheese and wine, some of which is available for nationwide delivery. The kitchen at Brassica Restaurant provides the shop with ready meals, pasta sauces, feast boxes and suppers for two; all available for collection or local delivery. We source across the globe for textiles, ceramics & glassware, all displaying a strong colour and pattern element. Tableware from Italy, linens from France and glassware from Scandinavia. A carefully edited collection of cookery, nature and design books sits alongside all of this.

Read all about Brassica in Beaminster and Bridport here.

Louise Chidgey
Owner/Director

Louise is one of the UK's leading creatives in design, retail and interiors, with more than twenty years' experience spanning retail buying, restaurant and brand design, and global trend forecasting.

She began her career as a Senior Buyer at The Conran Shop, before moving into Manager and Design Manager roles across Tom Conran Restaurants, Marks & Spencer and Selfridges. From 2005 she built an international reputation as Head of Home Design at global trend forecasting authority WGSN, and from 2010 as Senior Vice President, Content: Product Design, at trend forecasting and product development agency Stylus.

That grounding in both retail and forecasting shaped a clear ambition: to build a brand rooted in a relaxed way of life, driven by colour, pattern and a deep, considered warmth — Louise's own answer to hygge, the Danish concept of intimacy, comradeship and contentment that resists easy translation into English. She has brought that philosophy to life as founder of Brassica Dorset, which today incorporates Brassica Restaurant, Mercantile, Handmade Meals and Forno — a food brand rooted in equal measure in quality, low impact and taste, candle-lit by night, warmed by an open fire in winter, and centred on a Modern European menu and an Old World wine list.

Louise is co-author of Paint & Paper: A Masterclass in Colour & Light.

Cass Titcombe


Chef/Director

Cass has extensive experience in the restaurant business. During the late 1980s and early ’90s he worked in Hole In The Wall, Circus and Woods restaurants in Bath. Under David Price’s tutelage at Woods he learned the day-to-day business of running all aspects of a busy restaurant: managing the kitchen, the bar and the floor; creating and maintaining a happy staff, and – most importantly – cooking for a loyal (and contented) clientele.

In 1994 Cass moved to London and became sous-chef at the celebrated Daphne’s in South Kensington. Following this he opened two restaurants, The Collection and Pasha, for Mogens Tholstrup. Moving to Sussex in 2000 Cass was integral in the opening of The Real Eating Company, a delicatessen, bakery, café and restaurant that specialised in locally sourced food as well as imports from Italy and Spain. After this success he co-founded Canteen in 2005 and, with his two partners, won Best UK Restaurant/Observer Food Monthly Award in 2007. He is the author of Canteen: Great British Food and has consulted for large hospitality brands and restaurant groups. In 2014 he opened Brassica in West Dorset with his partner Louise Chidgey.

Graham Chidgey
Wine Consultant

Graham Chidgey joined the London wine trade in 1953. He began his career in cellars treating and bottling bordeaux, burgundy, port and sherry, all of which were at that time bottled in London by importing merchants. From London Graham moved to France where he worked in the cellars and vineyards of different wine-producing regions: Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy and Bordeaux.

In 1965 Graham took over a small London merchant, Laytons Fine Wines, which he ran successfully until its sale in 1997. In its 32 years under his stewardship Laytons not only covered the classic French wines but made its own innovations such as introducing bordeaux sales ‘en primeur’ and domaine bottled burgundys; laying down vintage champagne for late degorgement, and bringing wines such as Brunello and Piedmont to a wider audience.

Following the sale of Laytons, Graham moved to Tuscany where he extended the sales potential for Montalcino, Chianti Classico and Piedmont. In 2014 he moved to West Dorset where he lives with his wife, the painter Angela Chidgey – and not too far from his daughter Louise.