FORGET “Veganuary” – meet “Regenuary.” Well no, you probably don’t like either of these made-up words, and the idea that any given month or week or day should be designated to make us change the way we eat or drink or think. But beneath the tiresome ad-speak there is a serious message here, and it’s…
BURNHAM-on-Sea based eat: Festivals has had a great start to 2022 with the news that they are finalists for the Dog Friendly Business of the year in the Bristol, Bath & Somerset Tourism Awards. Joint organiser Sarah Milner Simonds says: “We work really hard to make our one-day food and drink festivals welcoming for the…
COMMUNITY groups and charities keen to plant or extend community orchards this spring can apply for help from Somerset-based Thatchers Cider. The Somerset cider-maker’s Community Orchard Project is being launched this month, with 250 apple trees to be donated to groups either undertaking new planting this year, or looking to extend a community orchard they…
THE ever-inventive Marcus Fergusson at Feltham’s Farm near Wincanton has produced an enticing addition to his range: a bloomy, white-rind organic cheese called Gert Lush, which came out just in time for Christmas and New Year cheeseboards. As any Somerset person knows, “Gert Lush” is a dialect phrase meaning “really lovely” (lovely as in attractive),…
THE Trethowan brothers, who make award-winning farmhouse Cheddar and Caerphilly at Hewish in north Somerset, have won the Best British Cheese award at this year’s World Cheese Awards, held at Oviedo in Spain, during the Asturias Paraíso Natural International Cheese Festival. Overall, the Trethowans’ Gorwydd Caerphilly took seventh place. The World Champion was a soft…
SOMERSET cider-maker Thatchers, which has more than 500 acres of orchards and the largest and most diverse collection of apples used in cider making, is working with the University of Bristol on a project using DNA fingerprinting techniques to identify apple tree varieties. With many old and heritage varieties of apple trees beginning to disappear,…
THE 2021 World Cheese Awards, taking place in Oviedo, Spain, on Wednesday 3rd November, have received more than 4,000 entries from a record-breaking 45 countries. They include not only the great cheese-making nations, France, Spain, Italy, England and Switzerland, but also India, Guatemala, Japan, Colombia, Israel and Ukraine. The 33rd annual awards are taking place…
WEST Dorset artisan charcuterie producers Capreolus have once again received a list of two and three stars in this year’s Great Taste Awards, including the prestigious three stars for Wild Venison Chorizo and Dorset Soft Salami. David and Karen Richards, who have been creating delicious artisan charcuterie since 2009, also received three two-star awards for…
THREE outstanding meat products from the South West have received the coveted three stars in the newly announced 2021 Great Taste Awards. The world’s leading food award scheme attracts entries from around the world. This year 14,113 different products, from 108 countries, were judged at the Gillingham HQ of organisers the Guild of Fine Food,…
CIDERMAKING has been at the heart of country life for hundreds of years. But the fascinating story of how this drink came into existence and why it became so deeply rooted in the nation’s psyche has never been told. In his new book, Cider Country – How an Ancient Craft Became a Way of Life,…