( feature )
ROLLING BACK THE MILES Three more companies who are keeping things local
Thanks to their ‘nose to tail’ butchery, you can buy any cut of meat direct from Coombe Farm
ensures lower production costs and produce that is full of flavour. That’s why Cacklebean eggs are so revered in the Cotswolds, say owners Paddy and Steph Bourns. They’re passionate about ‘supplying fresh produce straight from the farm to the customer with minimal mileage and packaging’. “We work with a number of national distributors who have the same ethos as our business, supplying top-quality ingredients in the most efficient manner,” they say. It’s not just the taste that makes their business a real success, they reckon. “Our customers have bought into the whole concept of Cackleberry Farm – they understand our ethos and the work we do to create our eggs.” Katharina from Coombe Farm agrees: “People of all ages from all around the UK are interested in organic, healthy, high-quality produce with provenance. “As well as for health reasons and the exceptional taste of our products (we’ve won three gold medals at the Taste of the West Awards), our customers appreciate the easy delivery service and knowing where their meat comes from.”
THE ORGANIC FARM SHOP Brilliant farm shop and excellent cafe with food that’s grown onsite clearly labelled. In summer nearly all café food is from the farm. GIBSONS ORGANIC Organically grown fruit on the owner’s land, distilled and turned into delicious liqueurs and bottled on site then sold at farmer’s markets in the Cotswolds. THE SWAN AND THYME AT SOUTHROP Boutique hotel, cookery school and pub serving up delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners using seasonal produce from the kitchen garden and farm.
IS IT JUST A TREND?
Pete Tiley hopes our interest in shortening the food chain is not just a fad: “Some food trends go in cycles but it seems that as a society we became so detached from how our food is produced that we were happy leaving it to other people to produce our food in whatever manner they deemed to be the most commercially efficient, totally ignoring ethics or quality,” he says. “As a result we’ve had various food scares and scandals, the most recent obvious example being the horse meat scandal, and now there is significant
crumbsmag.com
mistrust in how large companies produce our food and drink. “Thankfully more recently there has been a strong movement towards local, small producers and people are more than ever interested in farming and food production methods. “To be able to look your customers in the eye and tell them exactly how that pork chop or pint of beer ended up on their table is incredibly valuable and I think will continue to be so for a while longer yet.”
53
Locavore’s address book Cacklebean, Stow-on-the-Wold GL54 1JY; cacklebean.com Coombe Farm, Crewkerne TA18 8RR; coombefarmorganic.co.uk Gibsons Organic, Westwell OX18 4JT; gibsonsorganic.co.uk The Organic Farm Shop, Cirencester GL7 5HF; theorganicfarmshop.co.uk Salutaion Inn, Ham GL13 9QH; the-sally-at-ham.com The Swan and Thyme, Southrop GL7 3NX thyme.co.uk