Supper Club Strengthens the Hartland Village Community

When you move into a new home, a great way to get to know your neighbours is to invite them round for dinner. Jamie Schachar and his wife Annette Paterakis-Schachar, both 36, took this a step further however, when they moved into their new home in 2019, establishing and hosting an informal supper club to bring the whole community together. 

When the supper club was put on hold during the first lockdown, they were undeterred; the couple launched a three-course home dining kit for collection or delivery, which has since proved very popular with their neighbours at Hartland Village, St Edward’s landmark development in Fleet, Hampshire, Jamie explains: “Community is very important to us and we also love food and cooking, so it seemed natural to bring people together over an informal meal and chat.”

He added: “We’ve always enjoyed meeting people from different cultures, experiences and backgrounds and this is one of the reasons we wanted to move from our previous home – we had originally relocated from London to deep in the Kent countryside, but it was too isolated for us and we wanted to be part of a thriving community again.”

Designed by St Edward to foster community spirit, Hartland Village will have its own village centre with cafés, shops and other amenities, as well as a new primary school, play areas and a 70-acre country park. Over time, St Edward’s vision for Hartland Village will include the provision of social spaces and facilities that will foster a great community spirit and encourage friendships to build among residents, promoting active lifestyles and mental wellbeing.

Jamie explains: “Hartland Village is a really special place and the St Edward team has been brilliant in helping us feel at home – at Christmas, they even helped us to organise a socially distanced mulled wine stall for the residents to help lift spirits. The community here is really beginning to thrive.”

Jamie continues: “In all honesty, we didn’t really mind where we were located, we just wanted to find the right house in the right place – close enough to London so we weren’t too far from friends, but still near to beautiful open space. We looked online at many properties over a wide area and Hartland Village hit the mark for its ambience and surroundings. Our neighbours are from a wide mix of ages and professions - when we moved in, we instantly felt at home – you can sense the feeling of a new community being established.”

Jamie and Annette’s previous house was a Grade II converted barn with four bedrooms. They considered buying another four-bedroom house, but the layout of their three-bedroom house – particularly the open-plan kitchen and dining area - at Hartland Village better suits their lifestyle. In addition, there had been constant maintenance headaches with their barn; with no work required on their newly built property, they have more time to socialise. 

Their new house has a large open plan kitchen/dining area which has plenty of space for entertaining and working; alongside the supper club, Jamie runs the dining kit collection and delivery service from his own catering company, Hedone Dining. Annette, who specialises in mental training for equestrians, is using one of the bedrooms as an office. 
The couple have not had to compromise on their enjoyment of nature; Hartland Village is surrounded by rich natural woodland and will include its own 70-acre country park. Jamie says: “Green space is incredibly important. We walk every day and are very excited about exploring our new surroundings.”

If they want to travel to London to visit friends and family, Fleet and Farnborough mainline stations are nine minutes’ drive away; services to London Waterloo take from 40 minutes and 34 minutes respectively.  A shuttle bus service to the station means they can leave their car at home ideal if they want to stay overnight in town. 

To find out more about Hartland Village or to book an appointment, call 01252 758844 or find out more here.