Taste local, seasonal food at its finest from 20 September to 5 October 2008
British Food Fortnight is the biggest national celebration of the diverse and delicious range of food that Britain produces. This gives us at The National Trust the perfect excuse to celebrate, as local food is at the heart of our restaurants and tea-rooms.
Hundreds of thousands of visitors enjoy The National Trust’s food and drink in the East of England. More than simply offering delicious food, we are committed to producing, selling and promoting seasonal and local food.
Paul Coleman, Catering Operations Manager for the National Trust in the East of England, explains the Trust’s food policy:
'We want to know where our food comes from and how it is produced, and to share this knowledge with our supporters.
'Wherever possible, our chefs and cooks use produce from our own kitchen gardens and tenant farmers,” Paul continues. 'By offering this in our restaurants and tea-rooms, we share our passion for local, seasonal food. Our scones are a great example. We use flour milled at our own Lode Mill at Anglesey Abbey from grain grown at Wimpole. Another popular product is local apple juice, most properties sell juice which has been grown and pressed within ten miles.'
One of the benefits of this approach is the investment in the regional economy. In the East of England, The National Trust supports local businesses by contributing over half a million pounds to producers in the region.
Essential to our cream teas is strawberry jam. Suffolk-based Stonham Hedgerow supplies The National Trust in the East of England with jams, marmalade and chutneys made from local fruit. Kathy Neuteboom, MD, says:
'When we started working with The National Trust over 12 years ago, it was one of the first big organisations to look for local producers. Supplying both catering and retail operations is great for us, as it gives people the chance to try the products in the restaurant before they buy them in the shop.'
Another local producer is Criterion Ices, based just outside Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Paul Myatt, Operations Manager, says:
'We have supplied The National Trust for nearly 15 years, producing high quality dairy ice cream in a variety of flavours, from traditional vanilla to stem ginger. You won’t see our name on the tubs because we supply the ice cream under The National Trust brand, complete with Ickworth House on the base. The National Trust spends around £80,000 a year on our dairy ice cream and is one of our best customers. We keep food miles to a minimum by co-ordinating deliveries to National Trust properties around the region.'
Why not use British Food Fortnight as the perfect excuse to sample some National Trust favourites? Find out how we are putting local and seasonal food as a top priority at the historical and inspiring places we look after in the East of England.
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