There is a lot of talk currently about reducing
the food miles - how far your food travels.
How is it produced and how long is it stored
are the questions you should really be asking when buying your food.
This is where Benson of Broadway is different.
There is such amazing food grown and produced locally in Worcestershire and the surrounding counties. It is produced for flavour.
Something supermarkets have forgotten. These are some of the discoveries I have made:
Kite’s
Nest Farm
Herefordshire cows toally grass fed on the pastures
of Broadway. A family farm now in the second generation, the cows are grass fed on the hills of Brodaway. There is no
use of pesticides, chemicals, antibiotics - organic in everything but the official ruling. Their cows - which they have bred
themselves from the original herd 50 years ago - are sent to slaughter just two at a time, so it is very select, and the meat
is butchered in their own farm butchery. During the exceedingly hot days in July, they took their cows into the orchard out
of the heat and hand-fed them on apples - they live to care about their animals - and as everyone tells me - it is really
worth it in the quality of their beef.
Carol Webb Chipping Campden
Carol has a small flock of sheep, a couple of
pigs and 5 cows at a time. She knows all her animals, and where they come from. The cows come two at a time from a farmer
who only has five cows. Her pigs are Berkshire breed - the best in terms of flavour and texture. She has just had a flock
of Shetland lambs feeding on the open pastures of Chipping Campden, producing the best quality of lamb any of my recent clients
have tasted. When I was there this week (August) she had hen eggs in the incubator, just starting to break
their way through, so free-range Campden chicken could be on the menu soon.
The Smallholding, Chadbury.
The Buckingham’s have been raising poultry
and goats for over 30 years. When you go to ’The Smallholding’ it is so good to see the ducks and chickens roaming
free in the field, and the goats on the hill in the background. You can’t get more free-range than that. Everything
is antibiotic free and organic in everything but the official paperwork. They hang your meat in their cold store to anything
up to a week, given enough notice, thus ensuring a quality and texture that you can not match anywhere.
Gorsehill Abbey Farm
http://www.gorsehillabbey.co.uk/
Michael Stacey has been farming in Broadway
for over 30 years. Cheese production is a newer feature, but has won awards already.
Organic cheese produced on the farm from the
cows fed on Broadway pastures. You can not get more local than that. Without all the food miles travelled, you get a depth
of flavour, a hint of muskiness that is so moreish.
Donnington Trout Farm
When I normally arrive to pick up the trout
from Donnington, it is still swimming in the fresh water tanks - you can't get fresher than that. They also smoke trout on
site. The fish are reared in crystal clear spring water which is free of pollution so they taste delicious, with none
of the muddy flavours sometimes associated with river-farmed trout.
Collis
A lot of the fruit and vegetables I use, if they do not come
from my own garden, come from Collis - the market garden shop just outside Evesham. They have been selling from here for a
few generations. Behind the shop you can see all the produce growing in their fields - it goes from the field straight into
the shop - you can't get fresher than that. And the difference - it's in the flavour and smell - because everything is left
to ripen, rather than what happens with imported ingredients which are left to ripen on the plane or in the warehouse. The
specials on my Classics menu are somewhat dictated by what looks good at Collis.
Collins, the butcher, Kennel Lane, Broadway
Renowned in the area for supplying the best quality meat which
I use when I've sold out all the local farms. Their fillet of beef is exceptional.
Miette, Stow on the Wold
Miette is an independent chocolaterie and patisserie bringing a taste
of France to the heart of the Cotswolds.
Their shop in Stow-on-the-Wold offers a collection of small
sweet things made on the premises from the finest, largely organic, ingredients or imported from the very best producers of
France.
I always get the feeling that you're walking into the heart of the
film 'Chocolat' when I walk in the door. There is always something delicious cooking in the background, being created
on the counter and the most wonderful aromas. Taste one of their chocolates and the flavours will stay with you for hours.
Pershore Produce
A trade-only vegetable supplier. Their policy is to source fruit
and vegetable locally first - the Vale of Evesham of course being historically the garden of England, and having many independant
producers.
Good health and peace of mind.
It's good to know where your food comes
from.
