Grei at the Saxon centres its menu on a herb garden - we take a tour of it

It takes a few moments to meander down from Grei's restaurant kitchens to the garden. It's a smallish space near the gate of the revered, high-end Saxon hotel estate but considering that the two kitchens the garden caters for don't seat hundreds at a time, it holds a bounty of plenty.

It's almost like a fun game, bobbing around plants known and unknown, picking and nibbling at the botanical wares. I become infatuated with the wonders of a cucamelon - a tiny vine-growing Mexican orb also called a mouse melon. Essentially, it's the bastard child of a gherkin, a tiny watermelon and a cucumber. What's not to love?

"All our dishes start with herbs," says Candice Philip, the head chef of Grei. "It's the main flavour we work around." She and her team set out last year with the goal to centre the then new restaurant around a herbaceous menu, a move that instantly set them apart from their contemporaries. It's not often that the small yet arguably most flavoursome cornerstone of a dish gets star billing, but at Grei that star shines. And now, four seasons on, Philip and her team are really hitting their stride.

"It's become a big part of what we're doing," says Philip. "[Last year] we were wary of how to bring it in and how strong the flavours had to be. Now it's more fluid, we have the herbs down and know what we want to do."

And she finds her herbal inspiration here in the garden and works with what she has depending on the season. For new inspiration she works alongside Linda Galvad from Sought After Seedlings who goes around the world looking for rare and interesting finds and seeds for the Saxon twice a year. The two of them sit down and plan for the upcoming seasons and the plant elements Philip would like to add to the dish.

Although sometimes it's a little more spontaneous than that. "I would be like 'Linda, I've seen this white kale, can you see if you can find some seeds?' " she laughs. "We try to find things that are new, that nobody else has, and make a home for it in the garden."

Right now, the winter menu is coming to an end, so gone goes the marriage of nasturtium and octopus with broad beans, as well as the earthy warm smoked duck with liquorice and shiso. Philip is filling her head with buds of spring and ways in which liquorice grass will wind its way onto the diner's plate at the start of September.

For her new Vernal menu she idly turns over the idea of perhaps pairing the perennial grass with tuna, and likewise playing matchmaker with salty celery-like lovage and spring lamb.

But what of the cucamelon? She laughs. "They are not quite ready, but when we get into summer we'll squeeze them into something." I'm sure she will.

CANDICE RECOMMENDS

Three plants you can plant today and have on your plate by summer

1. Rose geranium, Pelargonium graveolens, var. roseum

This local plant grows really well in summer and is used to calm anxiety and lift the spirits. It's well known for its essential oils that are made from its flowers, leaves, and stalks - and is even known as a bit of a cheat if you can't get your hands on actual rose oils. "You can use it in a cocktail," says Philip, who turns it into a cordial and mixes it with Inverroche Classic, Laurent-Perrier Brut and Creme de Cassis to create the Mbokodo cocktail.

2. Lovage, Levisticum officinale

This is one of those classic insider foodie plants. This hearty leafy green, which sits somewhere between celery and parsley, is not the easiest thing to come by but if you do, your carbs will love you for it. "You either love it or you hate it, but I love, love, love it," says Philip.

3. Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum

This may feel like a common fruit (or culinary vegetable if you're fancy) that you can buy all year round in a store but this summer berry truly shines in the summertime. And don't be stuck on your usual red, round fare - there are so many wonderful untapped varieties. "There is a tomato called a yellow peach that has a furry skin, it's really cool!"