Macknade

Macknade creates spaces and experiences that bring communities together around a shared love of food and drink. Encompassing retail, hospitality, events, food service and farming, the Macknade brand has been synonymous with quality and community since 1847.    

Stefano Cuomo is the CEO and sixth generation of the family business at Macknade and leads the business today. His great, great, great grandfather, Fredrick Neame Sr, was the first to bring the family to Macknade in 1847, where they farmed the land for the first five generations. During this time, Macknade Farm was one of the region’s leading growers, nationally renowned for its hard fruit, hops and livestock. In 1947 pears from the Macknade orchards were served at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Phillip Mountbatten.

By the 1970s, the world was changing, and with pressure from international exports, there was a need to diversify. This is where we come to Macknade’s renowned Faversham retail operation, which opened the same year Stefano was born – in 1979. Patricia Neame and Renato Cuomo (Stefano’s parents) were the pioneers behind the new venture. Originally from the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples, Renato joined Patricia in Faversham and brought with him his continental, all-encompassing food culture.

What started life as a tent in a field offering pick your own is now Macknade’s flagship Food Hall in Faversham, dedicated to showcasing the very best food and drink from Italy, Kent and all over the world through its famous delicatessen, butchery, kitchens, grocery and greengrocery departments.

Just last year, Macknade was named the country’s second best farm shop in a survey conducted by HelloFresh, narrowly missing out on the top spot to Jeremy Clarkson’s infamous Diddly Squat Farm Shop. In 2024 it was also named Food Hall of the Year at the Farm Shop and Deli Retailer Awards.