Bites: Local food
Eat local produce - in more places that make the very best of it
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A gastronomic peak in the flat Fens. This pub restaurant has well-kept Adnams and Greene King, and takes cooking seriously. Two chefs, one the county's Young Chef of the Year, see to that. They bake the bread, use Lincoln Red beef, crab from the coast, fish from Kings Lynn, and local game. As asparagus ends, samphire takes over, and they're into their roots: potatoes, beets and celeriac are grown nearby.
Talbot Inn, Knightwick, Worcestershire (01886 821235)
Characterful pub run by movers and shakers in the Slow Food movement, using ingredients as local as they come. Beer's brewed on the spot, fish like pike comes from the River Teme which flows past, and they grow vegetables, gather wild food, and serve neighbours' cheeses (with their own chutney, in the ploughman's, £4.75). Eat beetroot soup, chicken and leek pie, and navarin of lamb in the restaurant or bar.
Terra Firma, Munstons Lane, Shaftesbury, Dorset (01747 858883)
Attractive café, attached to a chapel turned food market, which doesn't just preach to the converted. Most food is organically and locally produced. Children can't complain about organic sausages, chips and carrots. Adults enjoy salads of leaves grown in Dorchester, fluffy scrambled eggs and satisfying and substantial dishes like lamb fillet with salsa verde and couscous, steak and fish at less than £10 for lunch or for dinner on Saturday night.
The Food Rooms, The Chapel, 53-55 High Street, Battle, East Sussex (01424 775537)
A vision of south coast deliciousness in this café and deli specialising in local produce. In the latter there are wine, pickles and preserves, a meat counter and carts of potatoes, cherries and fantastic leaves – and you can sit in the café and enjoy these ingredients cooked with zip. Greek salad with local feta-like cheese, and gammon with pineapple and black pepper chutney (two local producers cleverly matched) are typical. A nearby related restaurant, The Pilgrims (01424 772314) has the same remit for lunch and dinner.
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