In doing so, he says he has gained a deeper understanding of the concerns around conventional farming, from chemical use to the implications of subsidies, and a desire to showcase how agriculture should be approached. While that will inevitably happen through his cooking and tableside conversations, he also has plans for events and workshops, as well as link-ups with chefs, who he hopes will explore the farm and return to their kitchens armed with new knowledge. ‘Organic, or regenerative, farming looks after the soil and works with nature – it’s the only way forward for us all,’ he says. ‘Conventional farming is broken. Agriculture has a huge part to play in climate change, and I don't think there’s much awareness of that in our industry, so I want this to serve as an example of how things can, and should, be done.’

He sees Crocadon Farm as a blueprint for the future of farming in the UK, characterised in large part by powering up, so to speak, the soil, increasing its microbial life with the likes of compost teas and manure. The site's crop diversity and self-sustaining perennial varieties nourish and enhance the soil, rare and heritage breed sheep and cattle graze rotationally, returning nutrients to the soil and resulting in exceptionally healthy animals, while food waste is channelled into composting. Or, as Dan puts it: ‘If you look at the soil as a bank account, the more you take, the less you've got. The more you put in, the more savings you have. If you continue to extract by growing things, you are extracting all of that nutrition so the more we can put back in, the better.’ And when it comes to waste that can't be composted, it's a case of thinking outside the box – the team saves up bones and meat used for stocks and sauces, for example, dries them out in an AGA and burns them with coppice wood into an ash before using them in a pottery glaze. That's mixed with Cornish China clay and water, and turned into crockery made from the likes of fig leaf, chicken and crab ash.

Over the last six years, Crocadon Farm has blossomed into a bespoke natural larder packed with produce. Chilli, lemongrass, ginger and artichoke make up just a handful of the vegetables, fruit and herbs that will supply the restaurant – there's two orchards, pear, plum, walnut, fig and cherry trees, heritage grains and chickens, bred for both meat and eggs. There's the cattle and sheep, including many older breeds with beautiful marbling, which are dry-aged at the farm. And if that's not enough, there's the on-site microbrewery, initially set up by keen home brewer Dan, but now run as the Ideal Day Family Brewery by James Rylance, formerly of Beavertown. There's a farm shop, plans for a bakery (which will be run by pastry chef Zak Poulot, who Dan met at Fera) and even a pottery, again created by self-taught potter Dan, where the restaurant's tableware is made. And, of course, it's all produced organically.

There's certainly a lot going on, and that's without the restaurant. As his focus shifted from farm to fork last year, Dan, who also worked at Simon Rogan's Aulis and the now-closed three-star Can Fabes in Catalonia, brought in the experienced husband-and-wife duo Tim Williams and Claire Hannington-Williams. Their stewardship has given him the space to shape Crocadon's menus, which will be dictated by what is harvested on the farm that week. There'll be fermentation, smoking, raw ingredients and open-fire cooking, drawing on elements of Dan's classical training and combining his technically complex and aesthetically pared-back cooking style. Its two evening tasting menus (a short and longer version) will include dishes like Nuka golden turnips, Gigantis beans and cured saddleback pork loin, brown crab and lemongrass and whey caramel, yoghurt and caramelised apple. When Crocadon opens its doors, for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night dinner service, as well as a three-course, sharing-style Sunday lunch menu, Dan will be working alongside head chef Michael Thompson, formerly of Cub, Fera and Pollen Street Social, and Cat Kirkwood in front-of-house, who was previously general manager of Amass in Copenhagen. 

Crocadon Farm has a deliberately broad appeal. While its farm shop and bakery is bound to prove popular with those in the local area, able to nip by for a loaf of sourdough or pastry, Crocadon is in a strong position to become a destination restaurant. But whatever the nature of the visit, Dan hopes the farm's ethos will travel across the UK. 'I hope people visit and and come away with some of our pottery, or our sourdough bread, or vegetables,' he smiles. It's clear he is as keen for people to engage with the story behind his food as the dishes themselves, and to view produce, and how it is farmed, with fresh eyes.