After having quite a few rants, I am now doing something a little more concrete about our local food sourcing for our Suppers and Feasts.
This issue was brought to head last year, when a wholesaler we use could not supply green beans from the UK in July or August, or Swiss chard or, or, or... the list went on and on! This felt an incredulous situation to me, alongside them still selling Spanish courgettes in the middle of summer.
Winter is often a time of reflection for me, including thinking about what we could do better in the future. As a chef, if primary ingredients are not of great quality and whole earth provenance, then purses and sows' ears come to mind! So, this year will see the following changes...
Lamb and pork will be sourced from farms on the Bere Peninsula and if not, from Salt of the Earth. This is a farm a little further afield at Sourton, run by a young couple committed to farming in a sustainable way. My biggest bugbear is pork, as I just can't stand tasteless pork: it needs to be native or rare breed all the way! Poultry will come from Mary Tavy or from Greedy Carver in Crediton, with wild game through Andrew at Howells of Tavistock as it always has. And when J & S Downing butchers are using their own Ruby Reds which graze freely up at Brentor, beef will come from them. These choices mean we can support and promote local producers raising high welfare animals with the use of less intensive farming methods, which also results in better tasting meat.
Fish will come from Jacksons in Newton Abbot (where Matt does the best salt cod and fish smoking) or The Devon and Cornwall Fish Company, which buys from small boats in Appledore, North Devon and comes to Tavistock weekly. From long standing connections with these suppliers, they understand my demands for fresh, quality fish. And with Pengelly's having opened a shop in Tavistock, I look forward to talking with them too.
And back to the beans... As you may know, we have bought a small parcel of land next to our existing garden. We spent the months of October and November with their unseasonably good weather clearing brambles, nettles and the ex-tenant's rubbish, creating raised beds and putting up a poly tunnel. So, where possible, fruit and vegetables will come from our 'allotment at home' and for bigger events, we will have a 'source from Devon-first' policy, with Continental Fruits and the Veg man on Bedford Square in Tavistock our first ports of call.
Of course having many Mediterranean focused menus and, for instance, making desserts that deserve the best chocolate, we will continue to use a variety of specialist wholesalers for our Valrhona chocolate, 00 flour and so on, to supplement our continued relationship with de la Torre's as Tavistock's Mediterranean deli.
I want to do the right thing ethically and environmentally and from a micro-economics perspective, to be a showcase for, and enhance, local ingredients through our cooking. In Mediterranean food culture, the simplicity of a few, quality ingredients is key to every dish. We shall endeavour to keep both local and authentic in terms of provenance and
hope you taste this from our menus during 2025.
Happy New Year from the Birland Feasts Team
Commentaires