Jorge Artisan Foods opens new deli in Buckminster near Grantham after closing at Engine Yard at Belvoir Castle last year

A chef has opened a new deli after closing his former site at a castle retail village last year.

George Bennett - known professionally as Jorge - opened Jorge Artisan Foods Delicatessen in the Buckminster Estate, near Grantham, on Saturday, May 24.

The new deli is a relaunch for George, after his shop closed at the Engine Yard at Belvoir Castle following rent increases.

“It feels great, like a new lease of life for the shop,” said George.

He added: “I think we had outgrown the other one [at the Engine Yard]. We have more space to grow and the estate is great, they have been really supportive and are behind the plans to grow.”

After George left the Engine Yard in April last year, he started to look at different premises, some close to Grantham and some a few hours away.

It was in November the Buckminster premises appeared.

George said: “We got speaking to the estate and they were really helpful in trying to make it work.

“So, we converted the space and then spent the first few months over Christmas trying things out and re-adjusting.”

The deli offers a range of products, including artisan and Mediterranean oils, vinegars, breads, chutneys and cheeses, either created by George or sourced by him.

The products have been inspired by George’s travels over the years, including to the Alps, Germany and Africa, but mostly from his years living in Cuenca, Spain.

He said: “I have always been interested in food and travelling but it was during an exchange visit to Spain when I was at university – I was actually studying fine arts at university – that I really became engrossed in the Spanish way of life, of their love of small dishes and fresh food.

“The village I lived in was tiny. It was nestled in the hillside and was really pretty.

“I loved the fact that locals would visit the beach, start a fire and cook things that they had caught that day, fresh crabs, crayfish, and that everyone would chip in with the cooking duties.”

The opening saw over 150 people visit the new deli, leaving George and his staff very busy over the bank holiday weekend.

“The opening was great, however we weren’t as prepared as we should have been,” said George.

He added: “There were a lot of people who had been to us before, but they were happy to have found us again.”

Looking to the future, George hopes the deli can grow with its new and bigger space.

He said: “We are going to have a bigger range than we had before, with fresh products and a fresh deli counter.

“We are also hoping to have a cafe that gives something else to the people in Buckminster.

“We want to keep growing and we have lots of side projects going on.

“We want to use it as a hub and base and make more of our own products..

“We have ideas going in several different directions to offer more to customers.”

After moving back to the UK from Spain, George trained at Westminster Catering College, the same place that TV chef Jamie Oliver trained at.

He then went to work at restaurants including Electric in Notting Hill, Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant in Cornwall, and Scott’s in Mayfair.