All About.

When Jane met Sam… it was back in 2005 just as the doors of the Riverford Field Kitchen were about to open.  

They struck up a unique partnership during the five years they worked together  - a dynamic combination – Jane cooks, Sam organises- a force to be reckoned with!

Jane Baxter

Jane started cooking whilst at Leeds University and decided to take it up as a career. She was lucky enough to work for George Perry Smith at Riverside in Helford, followed by a stint at The Carved Angel in Dartmouth under Joyce Molyneux, whom she sites as one of her major influences.

Her time at The River Café in London also gave her invaluable experience and started her love of all things Italian. After working in various London establishments Jane went “off piste“ to the South Pacific where she worked and lived for 7 years.

On her return she started working for Riverford, first setting up the staff canteen, then local school meals  and finally was responsible for the style of food and service at the Field Kitchen along with Sam.

Jane also wrote the recipes for the two Riverford Farm Cook books – the first of which gained two Guild of Food Writers awards.

Recently she has written Leon Fast Vegetarian and has a regular column with Henry Dimbleby in the Saturday Guardian Cook.

She has just finished Leon Happy Salads which will be available in May and is working on Leon ‘Free From’. She also contributes to the Liz Earle Quarterly Magazine.

Jane is now living in Kingsbridge with her son David, when she’s not in Puglia!

Samantha Miller

Sam grew up in North Devon starting her hospitality career at the age of 13 year working as a waitress in a local restaurant. After completing studies in tourism and languages, she worked in hotels around the country for a couple of years before packing her case to pursue her dream to live abroad.

She spent 9 years in France working winter and summer seasons in La Baule, Meribel and the South of France, before settling in Nice to work for a leisure based business specialising in villa rentals, yacht charters, hotel & restaurant management, as well as organising hospitality for events for the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix. 

Coming back to the UK, Sam continued her career in event management, co-ordinating conferences in Europe and the US, before joining the Riverford Field Kitchen in 2005. Together with Jane, they built up a solid reputation for good food and won the 'Best Ethical Restaurant’ at the Observer Food Monthly Awards two years running.

More recently, Sam has worked for Visit South Devon on the first ever South Devon Crab Festival, and later at Hannahs Seale-Hayne leading the hospitality team, organising weddings and managing key events such as the Beer & Music Festival, the Annual Ball and the Christmas Fayre.

Sam lives in Torquay, loves walking and has a weakness for a good slice of cake.